I write this post not in ignorance of the plentyful amount of posts already around on the topic of the existence of god for i've spent so long reading them. I write this post asking for ANYTHING to convince me, convince me of God, of religeon, of something more than science. The idea of a God seems to incredible but i'm afraid it just simply doesn't work in my head. I study Physics and see no place for a god however i know alot of you do.
I grew up in christian schools, praying everyday, studying the bible, attending church etc. Like a good Christian, right up until High school where God no longer held a seat, and my eyes were opened. I met face to face with science, explanations of the world without a need for a "god". Teachings i could be SHOWN and PROVEN in front of my eyes. Teaching's that could explain anything I wished to know, from the creation of Metabolic pathways to marvels of the light spectrum and Radiation. Now, i see no reason to need a God to explain the world around me.
However, i read everyday on ATS talks of the "anti-christ" and Doomsday theory. Constant mentions of biblical prophecy and i can't help but wonder "what if their right?". But to think this means nothing, i'm not simply going to change my views on life in fear of the "what if". This just seems like fear-mongering religeous propaganda to me but it does repeatedly beg me the question of why do people believe this stuff?
For me, it's because their is so many that do indeed believe in religeon and a god. If i was to make some bold claim that only i believed then no-one would give a damn, but the fact that there is millions of believers of god worldwide does make me uneasy. Too many people to be wrong right?
So really what i ask is:

"Why Believe?"

I'm sure alot of you are tempted to reply with comments along the lines of "Jesus Spoke to me" or "I feel god's presence" (i apologise if they seem generalised and insensitive) but those are not adequate answers in this post.
I require solid backed up evidence. Any evidence. You don't have to prove the whole bible to me or anything, just give me perhaps the main reasons why you yourself believe. Any neat fact backing up a biblical claim maybe. Any links to another post you think i may be interested in. Any videos, movies or books. I am simply curious how people believe the word of the bible.

Some of the big questions i'd love some info on are:

"Why Believe your religeon? there were plenty of Old World Religeons around before your one came into the picture"

"How is your religeon so unique, when the actual "idea" of a religeon was around LONG before yours?"

"What if YOUR wrong?"



Also any life experiences to back up your beliefs are welcome.
Really, just post ANYTHING that may sway me.
I am intrigued by religeon and although am Athiest, i am not unaware of the Phenomenon of Christianity. I know how much it means to you all.

All i ask is that you give me reasons to see as you see, believe what you believe.


- Thankyou all.

[edit on 10-6-2009 by MrGummyPants]

Mankind has been kept in ignorance for a very long time. The veil over our conscience is pretty heavy. It's a good thing you don't believe. You are one of those who need to experiment to know! Excellent!

There is so much manipulation going on, it's not even funny. All those systems of thoughts, religion, philosophy... When we'll know how to reach perfect balance of our spirit, sould and ego, we'll have all the answers within.

I noticed in your writting some traces of fear, but there is no problem. You are doing just fine. Just keep "not believing", because beliefs brings domination over your mind, and it keeps you away from your own intelligence, you own light.

Thankyou friend.

I should of put in my post that i welcome all responses giving me reason NOT to believe for I am Athiest after all, both sides of the story need to be observed.
Your right to sense i am fearful, i realise the differcult times coming whether i believe certain aspects of them or not.
I just wish to know how these people can be So sure of their god when i don't see him anywhere..

You have no energy to spare, keep it for yourself. Don't worry about humanity and what others might or might not believe. Just take care of yourself and your loved ones to the best of your ability.
Staying centered at all times requires practice, but with time, it becomes as easy as breathing.



[edit on 11-6-2009 by lagenese]

All I can say from my own experience is: Do not believe anything;
You see
You hear
You smell
You touch
You taste

only believe as true; what you feel and sense in ones own experience of every moment in time and space

[edit on 11-6-2009 by Epsillion70]

Originally posted by MrGummyPants
Thankyou friend.

I should of put in my post that i welcome all responses giving me reason NOT to believe for I am Athiest after all, both sides of the story need to be observed.
Your right to sense i am fearful, i realise the differcult times coming whether i believe certain aspects of them or not.
I just wish to know how these people can be So sure of their god when i don't see him anywhere..

i'm sorry, but you cannot prove or disprove religious belief...therefore there is no discussion as to it's validity. however, if that belief enfringes on any of my freedoms, those people should be put in prison for sedition.
it's real simple...keep your g*d d*mn religion in your home or your church.

Here's a short quote from an excellent book i'm reading called "Beyond the mind".

Humanity as a race is a historical accumulation of phychological and psychic distorsions developed through the domination of ideologies that distract the individual from himself. The more evolved human will, in time, disssociate from global ideologies and recover his identity. He will take possession of his mind, freely, with his own power.

Cheers!

[edit on 11-6-2009 by lagenese]

Originally posted by MrGummyPants
I just wish to know how these people can be So sure of their god when i don't see him anywhere..

...programming is the main reason why people think as they do... more often than not, intellectual traits are overshadowed or voided by the vast quantity of societal info most folks are force fed since infanthood...

...if a person is raised to believe that they were born flawed (sinful), their behavior will morph into what they are told they are (a sinner in need of a savior, a naturally bad person who needs the fear of their god's wrath to keep them in check)...

This is not proof of God, but questions science cannot really explain properly:

- How is water created and where did it originate?
- How is gas created and where did it originate?
- Where did the materials/molecules/chemicals/whatever needed to make the above come from?
- How did the very first piece of matter come to be? The component of this very first piece of matter was created with which materials?
- How does the brain gather and process information EXACTLY?
- How do electric impulses translate into images?
-How can anything be made from nothingness if nothingness has nothing?

These questions don't prove a God exists, but they sure do suggest a paranormal or supernatural type force created these things. Or at least one that is above our level of understanding.

So it is plausible to think there is some creator of some kind that is above our understanding. Of course, this cannot be proved with evidence, but evidence itself can only be confirmed through scientific method.

Somebody here on ATS has a very good signature that goes along the lines of this:

"People arguing that there is no God are like two cactuses in the desert who argue there is no ocean."

(I didn't make this up, but I think it sums up how things could really be.)

[edit on 11/6/2009 by Dark Ghost]

From what I have attempted to understand, how far an intelligent species or being has the potential to go towards becoming omnipotent is key for my own possibility of a God existing.

Omnipotence is the KEY word that makes a God a God.

Knowing everything that ever HAS been or WILL be and the ability to do whatever you want whenever you want outside the realms of any laws or boundaries.

EVERYTHING.

I myself like to state that my personal belief is a lack of belief and I am an Atheist. I am WILLING to say that anything IS POSSIBLE though. I just hold my own belief to be the more logical choice from the evidence that I have gathered. BUT I do not rule out any other beliefs or possibilities I just consider them lacking evidence.

So what I can surmise is that I believe humanity evolved on the Earth through evolution.

I believe that there are trillions of stars in space with the potential to have planets around them and the potential to have life evolve on them.

I believe that a race of beings could have been at around our level of technology. Maybe starting to launch vehicles carrying them in some way into space to explore boundaries outside of their planet.

What I find the key statistic in my beliefs is TIME.

If intelligent life exists elsewhere in the Universe then they would likely be exploring the area off their planet.

If they evolved to this stage of technology say 8 Billion years ago what types of limitations would be put on their level of technology? How far could humans get in another 8 billion years of technological snowballing?

Could it be possible to build machines or enhance their own intelligence to the level of knowing where every single molecule is at every second in the universe at any given time?

To manipulate them beyond the laws of known science?

I mean look how far we have come in 100 years? in 1909 humans were barely starting to build flying machines that worked. 100 years later we have built computers and built machines that go into space!

We have created a worldwide collective of knowledge that is nearly instantaneous accessed globally!

We LOVE to store information!

What if there are beings who have devised a way to store ALL information that exists or has ever existed? To us it seems insurmountable! But tell someone such a short period of time as 100 years ago about the internet and they might claim that it is just too huge a feat to be possible.

We bridged the gap between states and countries and continents with horse travel and train travel and airplane travel.

Someday it will be STAR TRAVEL! A huge network like the internet instantly accessible anywhere in the Universe instantly! Or maybe it exists already?

If a evolved God DOES exists I have yet to find a shred of proof for its existence. Maybe it is too busy recording the data of what I am currently typing down to be able to respond?

I suppose the term god is relative to what a person is willing to beleive.

Oblivion, is a good state to begin searching. But do not be dissapointed if the god you find does not sit on a throne and wear a long beard. In the end you may only discover yourself ...... god, incarnate.

It is a matter of faith alone.

Faith can never be proved or disproved by scientific experiment.

You are on the outside in utter darkness saying there cannot possibly be any light.
I feel really sorry for you dude, but that is just the way it is.

.

Sorry let me edit what I said.

I had to take time to understand what you said but I understand it now.

I am completely non-understanding of how something can know everything but to not be able to act upon it.

Or to be able to act upon everything but to not know how everything works?

I do not think these two things can have different meanings!

To know everything is to know how to DO anything. You would not have a limit to what you could do if you had infinite knowledge about everything.

And if you had infinite power to do anything you would HAVE to have infinite knowledge of how to do anything.

Trying to separate them does not work.

Are you trying to say that a God does not have to have unlimited power or infinite knowledge to still be a God?

[edit on 11-6-2009 by TurkeyBurgers]