Believing in God

Discussion in 'Religion, Beliefs and Spirituality' started by Thebluelotus, Nov 20, 2010.

  1. #1 Thebluelotus, Nov 20, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 20, 2010
    I am an atheist . An incident in childhood has itched in my brain that the concept of God is very absurd . However , I read a lot and the general notion that I have garnered from books and from people around me is as we grow old and mature we get closer to Him .Of course there are exceptions .
    I do believe in the concept of religion of virtues and of duties and has all through my 27 years postulated that God was a concept created by humans as sort of an enforcer - enforcer of 'his sayings' .
    So I just wanted to ask , do you guys believe that as we grow older , we get wiser to know God , whose presence to be felt as they say needs significant wisdom and spiritual elevation ?
     
  2. It depends on what you believe in. If you're already religious, you may feel like you're getting closer to God with age, because naturally as you get older you understand the world better than when you were young. Things seem to make more sense, and I think religious people attribute this to getting closer with God.

    If you're a militant atheist, you understand the world better with age as well, but you attribute it to logic and reason.
     

  3. Nicely put. The more experience with something(Growing older), the more we know it and feel "closer" to it. It's all about experience.
     
  4. explain this:

    [ame]http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z1S0wd3nsA&feature=player_embedded[/ame]
     
  5. :eek:

    I knew someone who said the same thing . He would add 'and this logic is his God'.
     
  6. I think as people get older they encounter more existential problems and in order to cope, they become closer to God. That's not to say God is or isn't real. I think as far as the concept of God is concerned, without being straw-manned and watered down by comparisons to the God of Abraham, is just as much a plausible teleological conclusion.
     
  7. #9 adambommb, Nov 20, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 20, 2010
    "yeah... he can actually fit the entire world into his hands"
    "well jesus he had a rough but kind face, sea blue eyes and a smile that lit up the heavens"
    made me laugh, but in all seriousness, "jesus" would have been middle eastern, and not with blue eyes

    and Dryice is partially right, when you have an NDE (Near Death Experience) your brain releases a massive dose of DMT which is to explain the bright light people see, and the life flashing before their eyes is the DMT activating all of the person's memories

    also, to the OP if you havent watched Ancient Aliens before , its definitely worth a watch.
    there's an episode named "Gods and Aliens" where they explain the theories and proof that aliens were the original "gods" that visited earth some time ago and set order and religion
     

  8. That is exactly my POV , wish there is more to it .
     
  9. #11 aero18, Nov 21, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 22, 2010
    I haven't seen any atheists plant roadside bombs or shoot up universities. I thought civilized people were supposed to discuss matters according to logic and reason rather than through "militant" means.

    Religious thinking seems to be always fraught with extremism and irrational polarization.
     
  10. #12 IwasA.Smurf, Nov 21, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 21, 2010
    I don't believe in god, but I'm spiritual

    Who we are now is completely different than who we are when we die.

    No, I don't think when I die I going to heaven and see my dad. I look at it as a transition.
     
  11. the personification of "god" is where humans went wrong , modern physics has a greater understanding of "god" then any church that's for sure
     
  12. Militant atheist is a colloquialism for an extremely outspoken atheist aka strong atheist.
     
  13. this :smoke:
     
  14. god is the stars themselves. me and you and everybody we both know is made up of old stardust. the closer to church the farther from god.:smoke:
     
  15. ^^ Sad thing is god is going to go supernova and kill everything in a few billion years...
     
  16. Religion was given to humans by the Annunaki and the illuminati has been manipulating humanity using the bible and the pope.

    Spiritually is different. Yes there is a creator/source. No there is no judgement and there is no rules you have to follow. Your soul is a spark of the source's creation or as I like to call it, his artwork. You are in your own path any you have the free will to do anything you wish. Believe what you want, just giving you some suggestions. Basically...if you don't believe in a "god" then just be nice to everyone and spread love where ever you go and you will do great in life.

    - peace, joy, love, and light
     

  17. I've thought about god a lot and have held various opinions at various times:
    10-14 years old - Good Christian read the bible cover to cover
    14 - 'til well after college - I'm so smart, and they're so stupid
    ~30 - 'til i dunno - "Oh, you say your a christian/jew/Hindu/whatever." "Thats nice."
    Now - They are killing us and i cant make them stop. I resent them.

    Epicurus proved the nonexistence of god in ~300BC:
    “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
    Then he is not omnipotent.
    Is he able, but not willing?
    Then he is malevolent.
    Is he both able and willing?
    Then whence cometh evil?
    Is he neither able nor willing?
    Then why call him God?”

    I assume that he was disproving the existence of Zeus, or his son by a mortal woman (sound familiar) Apollo. He didn't do us a lot of good because they are still out there:
    \t1.\tAnthropogenic Global Warming - The earth is warming because of the CO2 and methane we dump into the air. People of faith either deny the reality, or invoke god to fix it.
    \t2.\tOverpopulation - The carrying capacity of the planet is much less than 5 billion people. But, people of faith keep their women barefoot, pregnant and uneducated as best they can.
    \t3.\tEducation - We live in a complicated, technological society. People of faith do everything they can to cut funding for education, and demonize ecologists, paleontologists, and astronomers.
    \t4.\tPeak Oil - We have seen the availability of oil peak and i think i can see a decline in production capacity. (witness the inflationary problems in China). People of faith answer this problem with "Drill, Baby Drill!!!" God will provide.
    \t5.\tExtinction - We are watching the worst extinction event since the dinosaurs were wiped out. Did you see that jackass from Illinois that wants to get on the House Energy committee. He says "Only god can destroy the planet." God, with the help of his mindless minions.
    \t6.\tThe Economy - People of faith have solutions: Pray, cut taxes for the wealthy, and let corporations do anything/everything they want.

    You're likely thinking that i am conflating religion with politics, and i admit that i am generalizing a lot. Still, If you talk to a devout christian, muslim, etc. they will start with how much their god loves them, and then USUALLY (not every time) they start in on the rest.

    But why can anyone who cares to profile these people and be 90% or more accurate? I think that there is a "gullibility gene" that someone will eventually find that makes people of faith so predictable. Or, the reverse, makes otherwise intelligent people believe stupid things.
     
  18. I think as people get older they start to think more about death, and for most people it scares the shit out of them. Some people need God as a way of dealing with the inevitable. They might see it like this; Either I don't believe in God, and when I die I just cease to exist, or I can believe in God, and believe that I'll live heaven for the rest of eternity.
    Personally, I like not existing better than existing forever.
     

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