Why god? .........?

Question

Do you ever wonder... why people even NEED to know? About god, the universe, where it came from, where we're going... Dont get me wrong or anything I wouldnt be here if I were not fascinated by these various vague concepts... which made me ask the first question first in the first place.... why is it some people NEED to know... so badly that they make it up. People believed firmly in Ra, or XipeTotec, or Baal... most people see these names and relate them to an ole superstitious religion...or even have never heard of them at all... But is that it? Is that the answer to the question there? Do we just desperately need to shed ourselves of the realization that one day, be it a thousand years, one hundred years, or ... tomorrow? Our name will be utterly erased from the universe. My name that I bear so proudly, my words, my sum total, eventually as a matter of absolute fact, will be gone.
Personally, I like it, frees me up to wonder at it all...
*Step off soap box, light up... exhale*

Answer 1

>> Why god? .........?

Why not -- God?

Better answer than evolution. Better answer than any other reason for life. Better answer than just being dead once you're dead. Personally, I don't even find that believing in God is purely a faith-based exercise. I find plenty of proof for God in nature, in His Bible, and in the scientific proofs against evolution.

Here is where I've previously talked about the proofs in the Bible:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhQTY4iLbyt0lQi.nS0jxi3ty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071110155947AAJvBZK&show=7#profile-info-KrhPNa4Saa

...and here is where I just briefly touched on science proving that evolution is false:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuXnEovd00DDGOL3l3jPtUnty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071109202121AA1pzup&show=7#profile-info-7f65e028a9299be65138de1d8d61b165aa

Answer 2

but will you still "know" you as separated from consciousness, or as a part of it. Will there be an awareness, an all knowing, or a nothingness? Humanity has been searching for the answer to that since we first became self aware. The fact that we did in the first place was the miracle of evolution or divine intervention. The moment that adam took the apple! Seperation from God, and the innocence of not knowing, as in the realm of the animals. So now we ponder if we take a part of this on with us to an even higher realm of existence, or simply be reabsorbed into the matter of the universe and annihilated from existence and become some echo of a past reality.
It an drive you insane delving into either possibilities. So its better perhaps to focus on what we do have and do know......TODAY - NOW, where we exist, where we are, and self aware. If God exists and we do have somewhere to go, he intended for us to be as we are. If there is no God and no where for us to go, is it better perhaps to focus on what we do and have and do know........TODAY - NOW, where we exist, where we are, and self aware.
Its the same either way, we're all heading that way and we won;t really know for sure what awaits us till we get there..........
Lets just hope (or pray!) that we get there later rather than sooner...........
HAPPY DAY!!!

Answer 3

Good question.

I feel the same way you do, that religion is absolutely fascinating, which is why I love talking about it. I freely admit that I could be wrong and that I don't have all the answers. However, I have also done enough investigating that I have reason to believe I'm on the right track.

I have observed people who NEED to believe a particular way, who NEED to feel they have all the right answers, or at least all the answers that "matter." In fact, I used to be one of those people.

I was raised as a fundamentalist Christian, a group which *claims* that it *does* have all the right answers and which instills in its members this same NEED to have them. It does this by fostering a heavy sense of sin and guilt and by instilling a strong fear of hell, demons, and God's judgment. People who have bought into this ideology can feel unbearable anxiety if they think they are somehow losing their faith. Why? Because of their belief that if they lose their faith, they will end up in hell. It's a vicious trap, and it drives the NEED to stick to this faith which claims to have all the answers.

Other totalistic religions promoting black-and-white, "we have all the answers" doctrines work on pretty much the same basis, from what I have seen.

I have found that once I shed myself of the fear-based ideological trap of fundamentalist Christianity, I was free to honestly investigate all religions and their claims without needing to be certain about any of them.

For another very interesting study which in part talks about this NEED, check out the book below.

Answer 4

I think we'd all like to know that someone has all the answers and that we are not alone. But, to buy into a lie just to comfort ourselves is going way to far out on the limb. Being the creatures of comfort we are, discomfiture does not set well with us. When I was a teen growing up in a Pentecostal home, I used to sing John Lennon's song Imagine over and over, wishing it to be true. I was in such torment and fear. I would think if god just wasn't real everything would be okay. Effed up, huh? I wish I had known then what I know now. I could have grown up normal. I do know that our souls or spirits or what ever you like to call the life that motors our bodies around, are immortal. This I know. But, no god.

Answer 5

It seems like it may have arisen from the same very structures in our brain that help us make sense of the world.These structure seem to be the most recently added.We have modules in our brain that aid in pattern seeking and recognition.That piece together information gathered by our senses.It could very well make sense in a terms of survival.An organism seeking information and answers will probably benefit from its findings.We know that temporal lobes give rise to religious experiences.It might be "in our genes"so to speak.......beep beep beep....beep beep beep......bull s**t detected bull s**t detected.............Dave c....YOU CLAIM and i quote:...and here is where I just briefly touched on science proving that evolution is false:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index .. No you dont briefly touch on anything other than a simply making a lame claim.There is no science showing evolution wrong.That's why you didn't post any.Start being honest Dave.those of us who actually study and do science can sniff this out miles away.You didn't actually study evolution.You looked at some dishonest creation sites that lie about it.Please retract your statement.I'll check back at about 11:15 EST.

Answer 6

There was an article in Time a while back called The God Gene. Basically, humas have an instinct that drives them to figure things out. To make progress for progress' sake. That's why we are at the top of the food chain. Our ability to reason and all that comes with it.

Answer 7

People are naturally curious and if they can't find an explanation for something, somebody will usually capitalize on this dilemma by creating a good story. People like good stories as much as they don't like being ignorant. Unfortunately, it seems that most people just don't enjoy the mystery and wonder that surrounds them in this life. It seems like a waste of time, but I really don't know.

Answer 8

In some unknown amount of time all of the remnants of humanity will have disappeared forever. That seems to scare a lot of people. I just can't figure out why that's true. Live for today. It's all we really have.

Answer 9

Curiosity is an adaptive characteristic of the human species. And for most of our history we did not have the scientific method to answer the questions we had.

Answer 10

the last count i had is, they are 2,464 gods and untold millions have been killed for them. most, only believe in one god and i'm a lot like them, i just believe in one less than they do.