Why do you believe in the god you do?

Question

I've asked before why people believe in god at all. The answer that seems to make the most sense to me is that people have had personal experiences that led them to believe that god exists. Many people were helped through troubled times by what they perceived to be "god".

My question for these people is why they believe in the specific god they believe in. I can understand that if, for example, a person falls from a tall building and survives that person might believe that god saved them. What doesn't seem to make sense is that often they will say that Jesus (or some other specific incarnation of god) saved them. How do they know it was Jesus?

On a related note, do people with specific religious beliefs think that those beliefs would arise in them even in the absence of outside influence? Would you hold the religious beliefs you hold even if there were no religious texts or religious institutions telling you that those were the correct beliefs?

C.L. Richardson: I'm afraid I don't really understand. Did you personally hear "god's" voice telling you that god exists as described in the Christian Bible? Please give me more details on how you know that the god of the Bible is the god who saved you.

cvo: How do you know that what you saw was Jesus?

magix151: I understand that belief is a choice, I just don't understand how one chooses which specific beliefs to embrace.

clayton M: If you feel god all around you, what is your perception of what god is? Can you define briefly what god means to you?

majeed3245: I think you may not have a firm understanding of science. I advise you to read a scientific textbook on natural history. While your claim that life as we know it is dependent on many of the things you list is true, this is not a proof that god exists.

Answer 1

It is all luck and whether adequate medical services were available in time.
There is only universal energy called the creator. It is not partial nor biased to anything or anyone.

Answer 2

The God who picked me up out of a ditch, saved me, changed my life, and blessed my socks off is the God of the Bible and has always presented himself to me as such.

Edit: Yeah I do hear God's voice - Jesus' voice, and I feel his presence. He's never been wrong. He's directed me in where to live, how to handle difficult situations, who to marry, and what to do with my life for about 4 years now. Before I met him my life was messed up because I was trying to sit in the driver's seat where I didn't belong. The difference I see is the difference between black and white. I don't even think the same way anymore. My eyes are wide open. I can never go back.

Answer 3

I feel God when I look up at the stars or walk outside on a nice spring day. I feel him during the power of a storm. I really feel him when I hike thru the forest. Maybe people feel or see him in different ways. Could be that is the way he presents himself to each of us.

Answer 4

Because they called to me and make me feel at peace. It makes my soul happy. :) Salvation doesn't exist in my religion, there for nothing "saved" me. I am responsible for my own life and choices and the gods expect no less of me.

Answer 5

I percieve the "God" concept as really the Universe.
It is what all things are.
I reject the big guy in a cloud concept.

Answer 6

when you believe then you started to understand all will come together for you. but you must first believe in Jesus.

Answer 7

I believe because I choose to.

Answer 8

i jump the floor was made of cotton

we don't belive because we want he actually came to us and took us out of the negetavity

Answer 9

I almost died once and I seen Jesus.

Answer 10

I do believe on God the Almighty because He created heavens and earth and a life supporting system on planet earth for us that could not have possibly evolved by itself with such a perfection.

Think if God eliminate any one of the listed below, ask yourself will this earth be able to support life for ever.

1. Earth round & tilted on an angle. If it didn't have tilt at this
angle we wouldn't have four seasons. If it was flat, we
would have night and sun would burn every thing. Nothing
will grow on earth.

2. Sun grows our crops, gives sweetness to our fruits and vegetables. If it was too close nothing would live on earth. It was too far, earth would be frozen. No life on earth.

3. If we had only one whether all the time nothing will grow on earth. Constant summer whether would dry up all water resources. No life on earth.

4. Without sun heat rain would never happen. Leaves of fruit trees convert sun light into sugar and sweeten the fruits. Without sun heat agriculture would be impossible.

5. Without Oceans there would be no rain and fish for our food. The current of warm water in oceans affect wheather in coastal areas.

6. Without mountains, we won't have natural water reservoirs that supply us water through out the years.

7. Without night constant day light will destroy all trees and plants and nothing will grow. Humans and animals regain their strength in night and plants get enough oxygen in night to survive next day light.

8. Constant night would make it impossible to grow food.
9. Without Archtic and anarchtic zones think what will happen
10. Moon also affect weathers and may have other benefits which I don't know to mention here.
11. Without Oxygen there would be no life on earth.
12. Without trees and bushes we won't have oxygen to live.
11. Without water there would be no life on earth.
12. Without birds and insects trees won't polenize and we won't have fruits.
13. Without animals and all life forms on earth we won't have balance in echology on earth. Remember American sheep owners killed all the woolves and in result population of deers grew in millions. The grass in jungle wasn't enough for them to survive and they starting eating crops and also started coming into towns to eat plants and bushes by houses. Then American Government brought Woolves from Canada some 40 or more years ago to correct human mistakes.
14. Without vegeterian animals, humans won't have source of their protein. So God creates more females in such animals than males to keep their population balanced.
15. Every specy of animals and birds etc. help balance the ecology of earth. It is meant to support life on earth..
16. W/O good soil on earth food production isn't possible
17. W/O trees, plants and crops we won't survive. Where is baren, people and animals are hungry and migrate to fertile areas.
18. If producing elecricity wasn't possible, think what would be our life.
19. If steel wasn't in earth, we wouldn't have durable goods and high rises wouldn't be possible to build.
20. If plants and minerals were not here, we will not find cures of diseases.

I am running out of things to add. May be many of you will add more in this list.

Atheists please explain:

Did this near perfect life supporting system evolve by itself without any creator ? If you say Yes, you are not accepting your wrong belief.

if sun wasn't placed here by God, was life possible?

You know life wouldn't be possible if any of the major things in above list get eliminated life wouldn't be possible. For example Sun, Earth being round and its tilt, Water, Oxygen
Oceans, plant life etc.

How is it possible that every thing needed to support the life on earth happend by itself?

Every living thing on earth is playing its role to support life on earth. How all needed things came into existence by themselves without any creator?

If you say all are evolved by itself, you are wrong because if Oxygen wasn't here

NO LIFE COULD HAVE EVOLVED.