i think that a lot of times examining why someone might hold a particular belief is much more interesting than the belief itself. it seems to me that many peoples "beliefs" are nothing more than a chosen side, more than likely a result of generations worth of conditioning. whats really interesting are beliefs that come from experience.
I think it's a way to cope with chaos and uncertainty. Life is over in a flash, and it makes people feel good when they believe that they're not insignificant, and things happen for a reason. Some people never believed in any type of God, then they have a near-death experience and they suddenly know what's behind the light at the end of the tunnel. Believing that there's some type of creator who'll grant you eternal bliss if you just believe he exists and don't do bad shit, is a hell of a lot more comfortable than knowing your survival was a fluke, and you will experience it again and that time you will die, and there's no way of knowing what's gonna happen next. It's like doublethink. You don't know if there is a God and most scientific evidence points to the contrary, but you believe there is a God anyway, cause if there is a God and you don't believe in him, for some reason you're going to hell.
That's only for the Christian faith. There are many other beliefs. And you don't have to follow a set belief, you can make up your own theory or belief. It doesn't matter what you believe in anyway, we are all still human. - peace, joy, love, and light
If christianity, or islam is correct, it does matter what you believe in. Eternal pain or Eternal happiness is a pretty big if
It is what it is. I'm not too worried about that. If a loving god wants to punish me for eternity for believing in a "different" god then so be it. I see that as illogical IMO, so I chose not to take up that belief. I have strong enough faith in my own beliefs that im comfortable. If being a loving person, doing good deeds, and being nice to people isn't enough to get into "heaven" than I have no desire to follow that "god". We aren't perfect all the time, but as long as we give and effort and have good intentions than you should live your next life with limited karma. That's my belief. Take it for what its worth to you. - peace, joy, love, and light
I Think People Need A Belief. GOD Is Something That Makes People Stronger And Helps Them Deal With Calamities. I Dont Care What Other People Believe In, As Long As It makes Them A Better Person.
My belief in Christianity comes from all my life experiences; family death, psychedelic trips, growing up, etc.
The Christian God is not an all-loving God. He's an all-powerful God and the basis of Christianity is love. This is what upsets me most about the misconception nonbelievers have about God. He hates, but He created hate (being God and all) so His hate is justified, He knows how to 'hate' in the most perfect way possible (this concept is difficult even for Christians to understand at times). When Jesus was crucified God had to (metaphor) turn His back and look away. People don't realize that Christians believe every human is corrupt, therefore every human including Christians deserve "hell". This is the complete opposite aspect that drugs give you. When I experienced psychedelic trips I learned that everyone is "good" and deserves the best. But in a sober mind i learned the complete opposite and agree with it. EDIT: And eternal punishment doesn't come from believing in a different God (there is only 1 true God). It's not believing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ which condemns you to eternal punishment and IMO rightfully so, but that's only my opinion.
how does belief in god make you stronger? theyre putting their faith in a belief system which gives them a false sense of certainty, its just their way of taking revenge against what is obviously an unmercifully indifferent universe. so its not strength but weakness. they cant deal with the real world so they convince themselves there is something beyond it, something stable and meaningful, and they use god as a crutch. at least thats what i see when looking at religion (christianity in particular)
Erm, care to expand on this? Indeed, this is contemporary christian philosophy, but I just can't see how a worldly event could have that great an impact on salvation so what was it before? animal sacrifice to get to heaven? it just seems like all the ritualistic stuff is far fetched / would be unnecessary, unimportant to such an omnipotent being. Not saying Jesus wasn't a wicked dude and enlightened beyond his years, just, how can you hold the belief he was Human God Incarnate?
why believe? why believe in an imaginary man that resides in a different universe that was somehow able to create every fucking piece of matter around you using nothing more than thought, the same god whos people would throw "witches" off a cliff with a broom to see if there a witch or not. i could go on but i wont because every fucking person who genuinely believes there is any kind of god that gives a shit about what you do, your a fucking idiot and in fact by supporting churches you are ensuring they continue to dillute this society with lies for generations to come. stupid god believers
I think why has to deal with us attempting to answer a question that we couldn't. And today we really still can't, but we can pretty certainly rule out all the previous explanations of mystical cosmology. It's also comforting to believe in something.
now that is interesting. would you elaborate on how those things tie into your Christian beliefs? what about those experiences lead you to believe that they confirm that ideology?
People believe in a higher power because they can't accept full responsibility for everything that happens in their lives.
Usually Its The Other Way Around. People Who Dont Believe In GOD Do Not Want Their Actions To Be The Determining Factor In Them Going To Heaven, Or Hell.
I don't believe in heaven or hell, and my actions in life will not get me 'anywhere' after I die. Heaven and hell are a great invention to keep christians from questioning god, because if you question god, you're going to hell. So, since you believe in hell, you won't question god, and you'll go to church and put money in the bucket and that's what it's about baby.