Which is better, believing in a god or not?
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I am a Protestant Christian. I grew up with fewer (I think) rules than Catholics, as we don't always follow the same rituals. I believe that sometimes you can't just find God in a church, temple, mosque, etc. There's more to Him than just "Thou shalt not have any other gods before me".
Whether or not it's better to believe, I honestly don't know. The "correct" answer for me would be to say that it's better to believe in God, but ultimately God is different for everyone.
Whether or not it's better to believe, I honestly don't know. The "correct" answer for me would be to say that it's better to believe in God, but ultimately God is different for everyone.
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butts wrote...
Whether or not it's better to believe, I honestly don't know. The "correct" answer for me would be to say that it's better to believe in God, but ultimately God is different for everyone. God is different to everyone, because he doesn't exist. If he were to exist, and he expects people to follow his commandments, then he's actually quite stupid.
Nevertheless - what makes you think your god is the true god? Why do you believe? You say that you grew up with the religion, which I think is a very strong reason as to why you believe what you do, but I don't think indoctrination makes a belief valid.
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Only if you want to be what Bill Maher calls a "Cafeteria Christian", although you are free to replace "Christian" with your own religion.
I suppose it's nice to believe there's someone who created you for a reason and is deciding everything that happens in your life and, if you pray to him, he will guide you through tough times. However, if you are serious about your religion it would also mean you would have to stop masturbating, wait until you marry to have sex, get your wee-wee chopped, stop eating certain food, go to church, hate gays/americans/jews, treat women as livestock (ten commandments), support genocide, blow yourself up, etc, etc.
There would also be the irrational decision of choosing a god, unless you are going with the general idea of a creator of existence, not as a deity per se. You could spend your entire life with the address to Heaven memorized but it won't do you much good if, when you get there, Allah or Horus or Zeus or Odin answers the door with a glorious "Jesus who?"
I suppose it's nice to believe there's someone who created you for a reason and is deciding everything that happens in your life and, if you pray to him, he will guide you through tough times. However, if you are serious about your religion it would also mean you would have to stop masturbating, wait until you marry to have sex, get your wee-wee chopped, stop eating certain food, go to church, hate gays/americans/jews, treat women as livestock (ten commandments), support genocide, blow yourself up, etc, etc.
There would also be the irrational decision of choosing a god, unless you are going with the general idea of a creator of existence, not as a deity per se. You could spend your entire life with the address to Heaven memorized but it won't do you much good if, when you get there, Allah or Horus or Zeus or Odin answers the door with a glorious "Jesus who?"
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I think overall it is better to beleive and disbelieving a God. I think everyone should study different religions and make their own mind up logically with actually reading. I'm an asian-american that was brought up Bapist church and later to left. I made my mind that I doubt this is all true as there were so many branches stem from another.
I think it is better to believe in your self.
I think it is better to believe in your self.
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Can't believe I registered just to answer to this. This is tl;dr, pleb. Prepare your anus.
To me, religion only supposes and imposes ethics based on religious history and literature (which are made by humans, and thus flawed, no matter what papal infallibility says). Pretty sure God didn't write the Bible.
To me, if humans or your senses cause your disbelief in a God, you're doing it wrong. Even perception is a questionable basis of reality, and things outside human perception have long since been recognized by philosophers.
If human tragedy and poor condition is what makes you disbelieve in God, you're really doing it wrong. This world is the mortal world. What it is is a result of human order (law, ethics, government and even religion) and the nature of the universe (science). You cannot blame this on a God or the divine. It is simply illogical.
Humanity taught humanity that God provides divine intervention and is all-loving and omnipotent, blahblahblah (so he can make 2012 meteors fall out of line and epidemics cease in a snap, right, crybaby?) and that Satan is the evil guy. So it simply doesn't follow that your argument that "if God is all-loving, why does he let evil exist?". Remember that Christians(humans) or whosir made those stories of God and Satan. Humanity is a flawed thing, anything that is based on our judgment is bound to be flawed, and religion and the things we made around the idea of a God is thus flawed. Although I've said that human definition is flawed, you cannot simply twist it. Note that to Christians and the majority, God represents good and Satan represents evil.
My idea is that the mortal and divine realms are separate. If there was truly an ultimate being, then that being would transcend mortal definition. Thus all our superlative adjectives would never fit him, can never describe him. Because he is not mortal. Our ideas of what a "God" really is is not really what a God is. Our plane of existence is separate and we only scratch their surface of existence, if any at all.
So as to a God's existence, I cannot say. However, as to which is better, I believe that believing in a god is better. The Christian God, which is my god, is made imperfect by the people of the religion, but the ideals are good and toward the betterment of all humankind (social order, respect, shame, etc.) which I believe is the grander scheme of things. His offer of salvation is secondary to me. His ideals and the religion's ideals (setting aside the hypocritical and superficial do's and do-not's of the religion) are the most important to me. It's what guides me in most of the things I do. Also, I've come to the realization that I cannot rely on myself and humanity (flawed) alone. So I make my ideals, and if majority of those ideals are upheld by this God, then I shall believe in Him. To not believe yields no gain as you remain what you are, but to believe is a gain in itself and more.
END TL;DR
PS: When you do decide to believe, remember: tailor the belief for best results. If there are occasions demanded by the belief, tag along. It wouldn't hurt to conform to your religion's events once in awhile. However, if there are demanding laws and do-nots, put them out of the way. Keep only those which will work for you and for others best.
How many times did I say flawed in this?
To me, religion only supposes and imposes ethics based on religious history and literature (which are made by humans, and thus flawed, no matter what papal infallibility says). Pretty sure God didn't write the Bible.
To me, if humans or your senses cause your disbelief in a God, you're doing it wrong. Even perception is a questionable basis of reality, and things outside human perception have long since been recognized by philosophers.
If human tragedy and poor condition is what makes you disbelieve in God, you're really doing it wrong. This world is the mortal world. What it is is a result of human order (law, ethics, government and even religion) and the nature of the universe (science). You cannot blame this on a God or the divine. It is simply illogical.
Humanity taught humanity that God provides divine intervention and is all-loving and omnipotent, blahblahblah (so he can make 2012 meteors fall out of line and epidemics cease in a snap, right, crybaby?) and that Satan is the evil guy. So it simply doesn't follow that your argument that "if God is all-loving, why does he let evil exist?". Remember that Christians(humans) or whosir made those stories of God and Satan. Humanity is a flawed thing, anything that is based on our judgment is bound to be flawed, and religion and the things we made around the idea of a God is thus flawed. Although I've said that human definition is flawed, you cannot simply twist it. Note that to Christians and the majority, God represents good and Satan represents evil.
My idea is that the mortal and divine realms are separate. If there was truly an ultimate being, then that being would transcend mortal definition. Thus all our superlative adjectives would never fit him, can never describe him. Because he is not mortal. Our ideas of what a "God" really is is not really what a God is. Our plane of existence is separate and we only scratch their surface of existence, if any at all.
So as to a God's existence, I cannot say. However, as to which is better, I believe that believing in a god is better. The Christian God, which is my god, is made imperfect by the people of the religion, but the ideals are good and toward the betterment of all humankind (social order, respect, shame, etc.) which I believe is the grander scheme of things. His offer of salvation is secondary to me. His ideals and the religion's ideals (setting aside the hypocritical and superficial do's and do-not's of the religion) are the most important to me. It's what guides me in most of the things I do. Also, I've come to the realization that I cannot rely on myself and humanity (flawed) alone. So I make my ideals, and if majority of those ideals are upheld by this God, then I shall believe in Him. To not believe yields no gain as you remain what you are, but to believe is a gain in itself and more.
END TL;DR
PS: When you do decide to believe, remember: tailor the belief for best results. If there are occasions demanded by the belief, tag along. It wouldn't hurt to conform to your religion's events once in awhile. However, if there are demanding laws and do-nots, put them out of the way. Keep only those which will work for you and for others best.
How many times did I say flawed in this?
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Weaklings need faith and to believe in something in order to live, even if this is rude, as long as you don't push your religion/god on me you can believe in whatever you want, just accept that not everyone sees it your way or believe in what you believe and you will be left in piece, push your believes onto me and it will be a shit storm that will make you regret what you have done. I do not believe in any go, nor am I religious, I am my own god, I have power over no one but myself, I make my own decisions and trace my own path, which is better, believe in a god or not ? Not. Clearly. If you need someone/something else to guide you through your life, then you clearly are late on the evolution process and need to go live back in the medieval age.
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zvenalot wrote...
Weaklings need faith and to believe in something in order to live, even if this is rude, as long as you don't push your religion/god on me you can believe in whatever you want, just accept that not everyone sees it your way or believe in what you believe and you will be left in piece, push your believes onto me and it will be a shit storm that will make you regret what you have done. I do not believe in any go, nor am I religious, I am my own god, I have power over no one but myself, I make my own decisions and trace my own path, which is better, believe in a god or not ? Not. Clearly. If you need someone/something else to guide you through your life, then you clearly are late on the evolution process and need to go live back in the medieval age. I agree with the first part. Remember not to push your belief onto others -- they've undergone different things and are in different states of mind and are under no obligation to comply to your belief. I think that's one critical flaw of Christianity.
But to altogether say that people who need guides are weaklings is simply illogical. By saying that, you derogate education, ethics, government and law, science, philosophy and other fields of life that serve as guides to living, including faith. Without these, we are no better than evolutionary degenerates that you speak of.
Also, to say that reliant people are degenerates is indeed offensive, illogical and hypocritical of you. What leads you to such conclusions? Personal, empirical evidence? You fail to see the bigger picture of things.
Everything in this universe is independent but coexistent. For example, had you not been educated, then your knowledge would be limited. You were guided to what you are now, not by yourself alone, but by several influences and other existences. You live now not by yourself alone, you are alive because there are people who make food for you, who serve you in establishments, who provide services to your household. So you are reliant too.
I understand that you press independence and human superiority, thus leading you to believe in yourself. That's a nice, strong lifestyle to live by. But to derogate faith and people of the faith, and the aforementioned fields of life that serve as guides to living (education, philosophy, ethics, law, science), is a strong statement but a weakly-founded one. I don't want to sound cliche, but simply no man is an island. Not even you. And you didn't even expound on why it's better to not believe, but you dare to say "clearly".
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I don't know the answer to that one. I believe a god is up there, I just can't believe in any book written by men.
If there's one thing i've learned in my incredibly short lifespan is that we are capable of complete and utter cruelty.
Humanity itself is the issue best discussed, why it is so terrifying, and what leads to war, how do we prevent it?
It would be more productive thought just saying.
In any case its a personal belief, claiming superiority over anyone just seems so...prideful.
Why think you're better then anyone else anyway? Let haters boil in their hatred, and walk away.
This issue is too contraversial to get into
If there's one thing i've learned in my incredibly short lifespan is that we are capable of complete and utter cruelty.
Humanity itself is the issue best discussed, why it is so terrifying, and what leads to war, how do we prevent it?
It would be more productive thought just saying.
In any case its a personal belief, claiming superiority over anyone just seems so...prideful.
Why think you're better then anyone else anyway? Let haters boil in their hatred, and walk away.
This issue is too contraversial to get into
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But to altogether say that people who need guides are weaklings is simply illogical. By saying that, you derogate education, ethics, government and law, science, philosophy and other fields of life that serve as guides to living, including faith. Without these, we are no better than evolutionary degenerates that you speak of.
Also, to say that reliant people are degenerates is indeed offensive, illogical and hypocritical of you. What leads you to such conclusions? Personal, empirical evidence? You fail to see the bigger picture of things.
Everything in this universe is independent but coexistent. For example, had you not been educated, then your knowledge would be limited. You were guided to what you are now, not by yourself alone, but by several influences and other existences. You live now not by yourself alone, you are alive because there are people who make food for you, who serve you in establishments, who provide services to your household. So you are reliant too.
I understand that you press independence and human superiority, thus leading you to believe in yourself. That's a nice, strong lifestyle to live by. But to derogate faith and people of the faith, and the aforementioned fields of life that serve as guides to living (education, philosophy, ethics, law, science), is a strong statement but a weakly-founded one. I don't want to sound cliche, but simply no man is an island. Not even you. And you didn't even expound on why it's better to not believe, but you dare to say "clearly".
Also, to say that reliant people are degenerates is indeed offensive, illogical and hypocritical of you. What leads you to such conclusions? Personal, empirical evidence? You fail to see the bigger picture of things.
Everything in this universe is independent but coexistent. For example, had you not been educated, then your knowledge would be limited. You were guided to what you are now, not by yourself alone, but by several influences and other existences. You live now not by yourself alone, you are alive because there are people who make food for you, who serve you in establishments, who provide services to your household. So you are reliant too.
I understand that you press independence and human superiority, thus leading you to believe in yourself. That's a nice, strong lifestyle to live by. But to derogate faith and people of the faith, and the aforementioned fields of life that serve as guides to living (education, philosophy, ethics, law, science), is a strong statement but a weakly-founded one. I don't want to sound cliche, but simply no man is an island. Not even you. And you didn't even expound on why it's better to not believe, but you dare to say "clearly".
[size=12]Understand that this is about religion and gods and faith and such, also I do not view the government as a guide, its more of a bunch of faggots in suits in need of power and control and there for self gain/benefits.
Education is a normal path to life, whether you go to school or not, as a baby you do learn some things by yourself, from your parents, school, work and when all that is done you still end up educating yourself, from daily life, experience, you are the only barrier to what you can learn, so education is a "guide" to some extend, but as the end of the day I don't go on my knees at an altar and pray to the oh mighty god of education. Science isn't really a guide either, its more of a tool to make our life easier.
Ethics is chains, so we can be stuck up and follow a set of rules, we are animals, if not worst then animals, but we set ourselves those rules to make us feel like we are oh so important and good in this world. When your alone, or with family, or with really close friends, there is a load of that ethic crap that goes off, its not a guide, its just some chains we are bound to so people who can't think out of their stuck up mind won't freak out.
But as you said maybe I should have chosen a different set of words, lets put it to everyone who needs holy/spiritual guidance are weakling ? Is that better ? No, everyone who needs guidance are weaklings, live your life and grow bigger out of it, dumb live someone else life to make yourself believe you grow bigger out of it.
You and only you can be your own guide, everything else is merely distractions, chains, or tools you can use to help you go through your path.[/h]
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It's really up to you, it's your own decision if you want to continue to believe in him or not.
I personally do not believe in god, and am glad that I don't. I have self discipline and I do work hard without wanting to do it for someone I'm being told to do it for. I personally believe that you're your own god really.
You should be good and do good for the sake of the just being good, you shouldn't do it because you are told you must or you will go to hell. I think that's silly, it should be a bit of common sense and education of what's right and wrong, not doing so just because someone may have sacrificed himself at a cross.
I just think it's far fetched, I don't see religion and god as a bad thing though, I don't believe in any of it, but my mother does, and it makes her happy, it makes her happy to believe that she has someone to believe in.. which I also think is silly, but I mean whatever makes you happy. If you feel you need to believe in an "all mighty power" or "god" to be a good person and do good things for the world, and you need to believe in this person to feel good about yourself, than do so.
Just try to think logically but also take into consideration what you feel and want, don't stop believing in him because people tell you it's stupid, if you decide to stop believing in him, do it because you feel you had a justified reason to do so, or because you just don't think it's true/real anymore.
I don't believe in god, because I don't need to, I believe in myself, and I know that being a good person is just a given, if you want respect, you give it.
I personally do not believe in god, and am glad that I don't. I have self discipline and I do work hard without wanting to do it for someone I'm being told to do it for. I personally believe that you're your own god really.
You should be good and do good for the sake of the just being good, you shouldn't do it because you are told you must or you will go to hell. I think that's silly, it should be a bit of common sense and education of what's right and wrong, not doing so just because someone may have sacrificed himself at a cross.
I just think it's far fetched, I don't see religion and god as a bad thing though, I don't believe in any of it, but my mother does, and it makes her happy, it makes her happy to believe that she has someone to believe in.. which I also think is silly, but I mean whatever makes you happy. If you feel you need to believe in an "all mighty power" or "god" to be a good person and do good things for the world, and you need to believe in this person to feel good about yourself, than do so.
Just try to think logically but also take into consideration what you feel and want, don't stop believing in him because people tell you it's stupid, if you decide to stop believing in him, do it because you feel you had a justified reason to do so, or because you just don't think it's true/real anymore.
I don't believe in god, because I don't need to, I believe in myself, and I know that being a good person is just a given, if you want respect, you give it.
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Some people can't accept the fact that life has no meaning or purpose. To me, religion is a pacifier for people who can't otherwise cope with reality's harsh facts. Of course, then you're left with the question of why anything should exist at all, is our universe part of some sort bigger multi-verse with no beginning and no end? Why/how/where did our sentience come about? Unpredictable behavior from simple well-defined rules? Emergence? Self Organization? The world is full of open ended questions and it's tempting to ascribe things we perceive as amazing coincidences to some higher being. It sure makes a convenient explanation, but discourages people from understanding the world around them. After all, "...god fills the cracks in our knowledge..." As we discover new things, some religions are forced to adjust their positions on things to continue to justify their theology. I think you're better off investing the truths about the world, it's up to you weather blind faith in humanity/religion is a good idea. "Follow the money..." is a quote I live by. Question people's motives, know the their history/past actions. Try to find contradictions. Ask difficult questions, if you don't get straight answers from people, consider what that implies. Questions I never get consistent answers on are: "Why do bad things happen to good people?," "Is divine justice arbitrary? If not, that implies justice is above god. If so, that implies god arbitrarily decided what is sin.," "What's the deal with 'messiah' stories that predate Christianity's account of Jesus? For example, Mithra.," "Or for that matter flood stories that predate Jewdism's account?" "The Bible hasn't always existed, do you trust the intentions of the people to decided what books to put in and what books to leave out? Why? (Especially given Christianity's history)," etc......
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Because and because also because and maybe because yes that's because and that's how it is because its like this because God is like that because that's God and because God is like that because and because! THE END!
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I'm not trying to get you to stop believing in god, but you see, if you are a bad Christian and you do not repent, you will be sent to hell to be punished. But if you are a good Christian you will be sent to heaven. You will never know if you have been good or bad as the border between the two is unknown. So you will never know if you have been "good" or "bad" until you pass on. If you are an atheist, when you pass, you simply don't exist anymore, whether it is better to just stop existing or have a chance to go to either heaven or hell is your choice.
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deathmetal247 wrote...
I'm not trying to get you to stop believing in god, but you see, if you are a bad Christian and you do not repent, you will be sent to hell to be punished. But if you are a good Christian you will be sent to heaven. You will never know if you have been good or bad as the border between the two is unknown. So you will never know if you have been "good" or "bad" until you pass on. If you are an atheist, when you pass, you simply don't exist anymore, whether it is better to just stop existing or have a chance to go to either heaven or hell is your choice.Treatening a christian abouth hell is useless :
The thing you don't get , is that a bad christian doesn't exist , as long as they believe in god they get a free pass to heaven . It has to be that way because if you think abouth , almost everyone would go to hell . Peoples know that , so they change the rules for themselfs , whatever they do , whatever sins they commit , they still think they will go to heaven .
If they knew they had a chance to go to hell , do you think they would still worship their god ?
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I'm not sure what i'm classified as in terms of religion. I believe in God but all of the rules that come with other religions I don't believe in. I don't believe in the back story to Christianity at all. Honestly if we are to believe those things that happened so long ago then why is nothing similar happening today. I keep my belief in God because I like to keep hope in my life. That's all any religion's good intentions are there to accomplish: Give hope. To answer your question: you should keep your belief in god in my opinion but don't allow religions to impose rules upon you. If God really had rules and wanted them enforced he wouldn't keep things so vague.
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Apathetic agnosticism. As an apatheist, I have no interest in accepting or denying any claims that gods exist or do not exist. I cannot insist on either because I simply do not know. And even if one happened to be proven right it would not alter my life.
