Why don't you believe in God?

Question

I am a believer. I try to follow His word. His word says that the best we can do is to love. We Christians lose focus of this way too much. I know, some Christians are so, self focused and really, just bad people. But it's because they aren't living out their faith. But I truly just want to know, why? Why, don't you believe. I want to understand. I understand the doubts and questions. Not them, but having them. Please, no rude answers. This isn't a debate. I don't want to look down at you for your beliefs. I just want to understand.

Answer 1

I find it very hard to believe in something that is impossible to prove.

Answer 2

What do you think of non-believers who appear to live lives consistent with your faith? (loving service, etc.) Are they virtuous despite not believing in some post-mortem reward or are they damned? For some it's not a question of doubt but of lack of necessity. Couldn't "God" simply be a projection of our uncertainty about the "meaning" of our mortal lives in an indifferent universe? We all grew up in awe of the powers of grownups to control, direct, punish and protect. Shouldn't we grow up ourselves and take a realistic responsibility for our own lives instead of expecting "God" to clean up our messes and protect us from mean old bullies? If praying to God for favors SOMETIMES gets favorable results, how is that different from random chance?

I don't dig through the Bible looking for inconsistencies and contradictions. It's a cultural history penned by many sincere hands. There will be contradictions. I think there is some valuable experience in there, as well as some cautionary lessons, but the supernatural elements don't correspond to anything in observable reality. It's clear the writers were using their imaginations to explain and put in order natural processes they were incapable of understanding. And when God was turned into a policeman, it was clear that religious leaders felt their personal authority was inadequate to make people behave as if they cared about others. The point is, with or without "God", our best interest are the same: taking care of the species. So if there's no difference, non-belief is the simpler explanation.

Once upon a time, a few people imagined how life would work if God didn't really exist, and discovered it was exactly the same! (except for the hypothetical, invisible parts). They became atheists and went on to live illusionless, meaningful lives despite the fact they knew they would die someday. They didn't feel the need for a prize to validate their existence, or threats to make them act decently toward others. They did good because it made living a little better for everyone and they resisted evil because they saw the damage it could do. Their responsibility was to their fellow humans, of whom they were a part, not some imaginary giant.

Answer 3

I actually used to be a believer. I was truly sincere. But as I got older everything didn't fit in the puzzle properly.........

I began to question my faith and it turned out that Christianity was a sham... I soon began looking for other religions and found those all were fake too... So my idea of God slowly diminished until God just wasn't there anymore and actually it is the knowledge I have now that keeps me from the ability to take belief in God seriously. It's like how you felt with santa claus and then as you get older Santa Claus just become a figure

Answer 4

I wasn't raised to believe in or worship any God(s), and yet I live a happy and fulfilling life, have many loved ones, am able to give back to the community, and have a personalized set of ethics and values that work for me. I don't need a superior being to put faith in, rely on, or blame because I know that everything I do and everything that happens to me is because of my actions,the actions of others, or pure random chance. I follow my own word and don't risk losing my individuality or failing myself by listening to others' versions of what is right. The "Word of God" that is known today is so distorted by its writers' agendas and translation that it couldn't really be what God said even if he did exist. Although pure religion can provide peace and ideally be beneficial, when combined with human nature the pain it causes outweighs the good. More people have died in the name of Christ than anyone else. Believing in God could make me more content and I could placate my curiosity with faith in unproved theories, but how can one be content to depend so much of one's beliefs on unproven dogma rather than seek the truths of life using scientific methods. I may not be able to understand the universe, but at least I admit I don't know instead of chalking it all up to a divine being and considering the matter closed. I believe god was created in people's imaginations to serve as a crutch through hard times. I think I can be stronger by not using the god crutch and rather depend on my friends, family, and "soul" to get me through.

Answer 5

I believe in god, but not what Christians, say god is, I believe I am not even close to comprehending what god is. I just believe if you are a good person, and treat people the way you want to be, that is good enough. It's all about your energy, you can choose for it ot be negative or positive.

I believe this way, because the current religions ue and abuse god, and do bad things in his name. god should not be used to start war, take from a nother, or spread hatred of others.

I really only believe in the Golden rule.

Answer 6

First, you have to define the term "God." The problem with most theists is that this term is a moving target.

In addition, because there is no absolute evidence either for or against the existence of God, you cannot use deductive logic (a+b=c; therefore c-b=a). You can only reach a conclusion by inductive reasoning using the balance of evidence (90% of A is also B; C is B, so the chances are 90% that C is also A).

So to begin with, I will assert (and others may shoot this down) that the only RELEVANT definition of God states that GOD INTERVENES TO CIRCUMVENT NATURAL LAWS.

If God circumvents natural laws, then it becomes impossible to understand natural laws. All scientific findings would have to include the stipulation, "It is also possible that these results are an act of God, a miracle, thereby making our research meaningless."

However, we have been able to expand our knowledge of natural laws (evidenced by every appliance in your kitchen). Therefore, because the scientific method leads to applicable discoveries, and the likely conclusion is that God, at least the intervening kind, does not exist.

Additionally, if God is defined as all loving, all powerful, and all knowing, then it is impossible to explain suffering. Either God is not all loving (he acts sadistically), not all powerful (he cannot prevent suffering), or not all knowing (he created suffering by mistake because he didn't know the consequences of his actions). A God who is not all-loving, all-powerful or all-knowing is also not sufficient for the definition of God, because any God that fails to meet these criteria becomes bound by rules that are greater than God.

If God is bound by external rules and/or does not intervene in our existence, then God is either non-existent or irrelevant. The classic Bertrand Russell argument is that I cannot prove that a china teapot is orbiting the sun between the earth's orbit and Mars. But while I cannot prove this is not true, the evidence against it is compelling.

The evidence against God is equally compelling, and while it is not possible to prove beyond any doubt, it makes enormously more sense to live your life as if there were no God.

It is more compelling to me that humans have invented God (a) to help people deal with the pain and fear associated with death and loss, and (b) to reflect the thoughts of the ruling powers in a particular time. Humans are always searching for explanations. When none were found, it was the natural inclination to declare that the cause of the unexplained was "God" (or gods). As the faith grew, miracles (coincidences) and laws were ascribed to this Divinity, and an orthodoxy grew up around it.

Now it seems unhelpful to believe in such superstition. The only matters that aid in our ongoing well-being are work, location, health, sustenance, and pure, blind luck.

So that's why I don't believe God exists. And you know what? It's okay if you continue to believe God does exist.

^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^

Answer 7

I guess the way I will answer that is to ask you a question: why do you believe in God?
For me, there is no reason to believe in God/Gods and any quality that the religious claim to possess is something I can achieve without theism.
To believe in a God, I need to see evidence. It's not that I believe that there are no gods, It's just that I think it's unlikely. There's a difference between not believing in higher beings and believing there are no higher beings. These are my beliefs.

Answer 8

i think the idea of god is good because it makes ppl behave better then the wouldif they didnt know about god . but i think thats all it is is an idea and it has caused wars also. i dont belive in god for numorus reasons there are alot of healthy ppl out there who despritly want children and cant have them yet there are still little girls getting prgnate and killing thiere children.child abuse really bothers me as im sure it does everyone else what did these children do why dosent god stop it ppl go apund talking about how they were so sad and lost in life and god saved them thats crap if god can save a person from just thiere own emotioal stuff why cant he help the innocent children getting raped and chained in basment and tied to potty cheirs all day. ppl take the idea of god and make thiere own way if ppl want to do good witch alot of ppl do then good for them but god is just an idea its not real

Answer 9

No evidence whatsoever. If you follow the development of relgions you will find that judeochristian is a rehash of even more ancient religions. It's a common theme. The bible itself is full of contradictions. Seriously, if there was a god, he would not be playing this "I'm gonna stay invisible and send anyone who questions my existence to hell." This is all a concoction of the keepers of the faith.

Answer 10

i really just got put off by the people.and their beliefs... the way they acted... the way they talked and what they wanted to do to make others... do what they thought was "right"
i saw religion more and more as a means of manipulation. a control of the population. and the more i looked at the more it became apparent to me that the power that comes from that manipulation and control is what makes me really scared of the religious.
so i started to ask questions.and then about 10,000 more questions...and now.. i dont believe
i saw contact.. the movie... check it out. interesting movie.
it will show you what i was talking about
have a great night

Answer 11

Man created god because of his fear of the unknown and also to have someone to thank for all the neat stuff he was given. Man was given water to drink and animals to feed and clothe him, pretty trees to cut down and make fire with, etc. He believed that the planet was made for him 'cause it was so perfectly suited to his needs, and who but another man (a super man, if you will) could build something so awesome? Obviously some really cool old guy with wicked powers created everything just for us! Man created god so he knew who (or is it, whom?) to send the thank you card too.

I don't believe in god because I believe he was made up to give comfort. Which is not a bad thing, but I am happier with truth. I hope you do not find the light tone of my message rude, I meant no disrespect, I'm just flippant by nature ;0)