Do you reject the concept of God because of the absurdities that have been attached to it?

Question

I'm just wondering if you might believe in some sort of a God if it weren't for all the theological baggage that religions often attach to the concept. Would you believe in God if it didn't involve accepting other things like virgin births, sacrifice, prophecy, miracle healings and the like? I saw a quote earlier today that prompted this question.

There are so many answers, I'm not sure which one to pick as best. I think I'll put it to a vote and let the majority decide who should get the points. Thanks for the answers everyone...very interesting and informative.

Answer 1

I reject the concept because there is not a single shred of evidence for the existence of any god.

Answer 2

I do not reject the "concept of God"
not because of some special religion.
It is not relevant whether you believe in Ahura Mazda, Baal, Poseidon or YHWH
simply put, the world is an extremely complex creation. The universe is even more complex. It is difficult to believe that it all came to be by accident
If life on Earth is there y accident- why there is no accidental life on Mars? or the Moon?
After all, oxygen breathing is not an essential element of life forms- even on earth
And if you happen to believe that God created all the universe, then what possible difficulty would it be to God to grant a miracle healing?
OTOH the purpose of why God created the universe remains an open question

Answer 3

The absurdities certainly help, but the biggest problem with believing in a god at all is the fact that there isn't a shred of evidence for its existence beyond the say-so of its followers.

The absurdities are really what make up the bulk of the Abrahamic god's mysticism, and really make their followers look more gullible than they might be.

Answer 4

pretty much, yeah. its the more or less absurdities that attribute to make lack of belief of the anglo God. Im not quite atheist, i think there must be some higher power, but the belief that there is some all knowing/obnipotent God that preforms random miracles/prophecies or whatever you have it does deter me.
So to answer your question, if were just the acceptance of God (as some higher power) and not all these miracles, then yes, i would be much more likely to believe.

Answer 5

it somewhat is an exceedingly solid question. i've got been investigating the mystical for some time and have little question that there is a few thing previous this existence. once you may have an sensible communique with somebody who has gone via digital Voice Phenomenon and then be certain it somewhat is them via voice analysis, that to me is evidence of the information (soul) a manner or the different placing apart from the physique. the thought of heaven and hell grew to become into particularly integrated into present day Christianity from Zoroastrianism. maximum Christians do no longer understand this and those examining this are particularly putting their index palms of their ears maximum appropriate now and shouting " la la la i did no longer only examine that!". God is an thought that has been around when you consider that guy has been around and is rather misunderstood. the appropriate thank you to describe God is via calling God "LOVE". so a techniques as introduction and evolution, there could desire to be no confusion. Evolution is a certainty.

Answer 6

Human life is absurd.
Yet here we are, a 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 to 1 shot.
I believe I exist. The rest is up for argument.
Still , I refuse to believe that mankind is the pinnacle of intelligent life in this universe. The Biblical God, as told by man(the weak link) may be a bit iffy, but to believe there is no possibility of something out there, superior to human ( "God", if you will), is short sighted. And sad.

Answer 7

Kind of. I have become what you would call a "spiritualist", though I practice religion in a more pagan manner. I sometimes miss the gathering that occurs in a church environment (it's harder to find good, organized pagan celebrations here in the midwest/Bible belt region), but I absolutely refuse to spend a bunch of time with people who are going to criticize me for lifestyle choices or beliefs.

To me, it's not the concept of "virgin births" or "prophecy".. it's the concept of "original sin" or "hell" or "end times".. these scare tactics are consistently backfiring on organized religion, driving people AWAY from the church (which should be a supporting environment), to the arms of more tolerant, supportive religions.

I believe that science and religion CAN be co-compatible.. I believe that any diety that exists works in harmony with the laws of nature and science.. that they, in fact, created those laws. I know, as an artist, that part of my joy in creating a piece of artwork is seeing it develop.. I imagine any diety that exists is the same way. Not necessary some scary figure that is out to get you if you do bad. But that's what a lot of organized religion preaches, in order to get people to conform with what their church leaders believe is right and wrong.

God/dess is higher than that. It creates through evolution, it cherishes us as we are, and it allows us to learn from our mistakes, one lifetime to the next. (In my opinion). After all, what are we here for, if not to live and experience life?

Answer 8

Perhaps. But a God without the 'theological baggage' sounds a lot like the Deist God, who retired to contemplation and is nothing like the believe-or-burn bastard most Christians seem to want to make you believe in.

Answer 9

Actually the things that hurt my beliefs are all of the power hungry church leaders who lie to their followers and make tons of money while their followers starve. If God exists, it truly is a miracle based on our physical science and laws. Hence, I need miracles attached to the concept of a God in order to believe in him.

Answer 10

The kind of god I am often told about is cruel. If a child rejects his mother, does a mother reject his child? God certainly does. I don't believe in God, but I wouldn't mind people believing in one that had morals.