I get what you're saying completely, man. I get on the same kinda thought trains myself sometimes. I don't pretend to know where the universe came from. Nor where whatever was before the universe came from, or whatever was before that came from. It's all a giant mind fuck and I admit that I have no answers for any of it. But I'd much rather have no answers than take a guess and say a god did it. Because then, to me, you're saying that we were made by an omniscient, omnipotent creator who has simply always existed beyond the laws of space and time. That's quite a leap, I think. Theists get on atheists for not having a solid answer for where everything came from, while thinking they have a solid answer by saying "must have been a creator who has just always existed". That makes much less sense to me. That's a huge leap, and I'm not about to make that leap without any evidence.
To be honest...there is no way to explain our creation that makes sense. All explanations are hard to grasp because it is such a complicated thing that happened....no matter how it happened. I believe good things come to us from spirituality, and I think it is an important journey to take. If God doesn't exist in the end then what did you lose by believing? Nothing.
I'm an all or nothing type of person. If I do something I'm going to go all out or not do it at all. You can't make your self believe anything, you have to be persuaded to believe that way first. So I can't make myself 100% believe in God. (I guess this response isn't aimed at believers of god but christianity). I said that to say this. The bible says you have to fully believe in jesus and if there is any doubt in your mind then your destined for hell. Since the bible says that, it messes it up for me. I don't believe it's possible for me or anyone for that matter, unless they've been sucessfully brainwashed, to believe 100% in Jesus. Anyone with an open mind at all would realize that there is no way their making it to the christian heaven unless they've been brainwashed. I could probably make myself believe in jesus like 68% but there will always be that percentage left in the back of my mind thats saying that the whole thing is just a well thought out story. So if I'm not getting into heaven then why waste my time?
"If God doesn't exist in the end then what did you lose by believing?" In some cases, people lose the ability to even be respectful of others by saying that those who don't follow their specific religion will spend eternity in hell. I suppose when people choose their own god instead of following the Biblical god, they may not lose much. Though, I'd point out that for me personally, believing that I'm going spend eternal happiness in Heaven when I die might be... eh, comforting, but a burden if it isn't true. If there truly is no god, and we are truly just creatures alive on a random planet in the universe, then this is the only chance we have to live. There are no do-overs. You either get it right this time, or you don't. That's why I want to be as good of a person as I can in the short time I have alive. Like any other animal on this planet, I will eventually cease to exist. I want to make the absolute best of the time I have here. I'm not saying that some theists don't feel the same way, but in general, just knowing that you have an eternal afterlife to go to is not exactly a motivator for being good in the life that we have.
Well okay, but look... Even from an atheist, you don't have to believe in the biblical definition of god. There are plenty of people here and elsewhere who believe that the Bible is bullshit but still believe in the possibility of a god. It's not what I believe, but don't for one second think that you have to follow the Bible if you want to believe in a god. That's just one of dozens or even hundreds of religious beliefs in human history. Think hard and choose what you want to believe yourself. You don't need to analyze the Bible and try to justify a belief in that specific god.
What time are you wasting? Are you saying you would live your life differently if you fully believed? Also, the Bible has been rewritten far too many times to think that it is still holding original wording, messages, etc. Through translations to certain parts that were completely cut out. Man screwed up a bit with religion throughout many many years. Many books of the bible were omitted over time and that really pisses me off. I can't help but think it was twisted into something it wasn't originally meant to be. As in being rewritten to accomplish an agenda desired by man. To not believe in today's organized religion is one thing, but this is something you should give more thought too. I'm not here to preach or convince you...just saying there are different ways to see it. To sum it up...religion and science can coexist so one does not disprove the other, and we are surrounded by lies so it can be hard to make a choice here.
True that. I guess my "mission" is to confirm my beliefs which is exactly what you are saying. I believe in a god-like force, but not Christianity. My background is heavily embedded in christianity so this is why most of my responses are aimed at debunking it. But the mission that I'm on that has lead me away from the christian life has also made me respect all beliefs. It's amazing. I was always told growing up in the church that christians are the best people and the most understanding, but I've become way more accepting of people and others beliefs since leaving the religion.
I would suggest looking into buddhism, and also maybe judaism. Research other religions outside of Christianity, it will help even out your perspective. Personally, I believe there is no doubt that a higher spiritual being exists. Now what exactly that is, or what intentions it might have (if any) I could not tell you. But, if I had to speculate, it would be to treat all beings as oneself. Nobody does this, everyone agrees it should be done. interesting, no?
To be honest, it seems to me that most of the really accepting people either lack a belief in god or are only "somewhat religious". That's the kind of family I grew up in, a "somewhat religious" family. Moderate, I suppose you could call it. We never prayed, we never went to church until a pastor moved in next store and my parents were guilted into going to his church, we never really even talked about god. It wasn't a controversial topic in our household, it just wasn't even a topic. God? Yeah, sure, he exists. What's for dinner? And unfortunately those 'moderates' are exactly the kind of people who feel disrespected when they get caught up in the war between atheists and religious fundamentalists. I had a point I was getting at, but I got too stoned and forgot the point I was trying to make so I'm just going to end this post here...
ironically atheism is a religion.... believing that something doesn't exist, not being able to prove god doesn't exist.
"Atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sex position". Atheism isn't a religion, it's just a word that describes someone who doesn't believe in god. There are no requirements other than not believing in a god. Some atheists have similar views on many social issues, but I still don't think it's a religion any more than not collecting rocks is a hobby.
Life is illusion...not literally...but our perception of what it is... Life is what you make it...let it be a good one. That's all you need to know in the end.
[quote name='"A AnoesisOrange"']stop questioning and live. experience enlightens if you can receive. you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink.[/quote] Well fucking said. /thread
If you're asking people to convince you.. then you're already there. Like Orange said - live life, and if your beliefs happened to be questioned along the way then be the change you want to see, believe in what you want no matter what. DON'T let other people make you believe in something. Research things yourself, read up on the topic, etc.
Just because one person may not be Christian (or religious in general), it also does not make that person an atheist or agnostic.