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why do people believe in god?

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posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 07:07 AM
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Originally posted by ashanu90
hello ats i want to know why people believe in god
[edit on 10-4-2010 by ashanu90]


Mental illness, and because their parents tell them it's the right thing to do. Oh, and because it's a psychological 'enabler' for bigotry of all kinds.

Simple really!


Parallex.



posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 07:10 AM
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reply to post by Parallex
 


its good ur draining ur time, life, words, thoughts on something u detest so much, keep it up



posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 07:12 AM
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Hi there,

I guess each to his own. We all have various life experiences that project on our everyday way of life and heavily effect our belief system.

I can only base my opinion and Strong belief in God on the inner faith I have and the various impossible experiences that have come to be in different time frames of my life.

I dont agree with some of the posts that claim the belief in God is merely a weak point or a crutch. It is much like ..Islam, hindi etc a way of life. i see the changes and developments in my personal spiritual life daily and I dont regret my belief.

Thank you for your opinion and without various outlooks we would have a really dull world(IMO)

My opinion and question to all is simple... if your outlook is correct and there is no God and faith, religion and belief in such a higher power is only a historical fake then you have nothing to loose and neither would I As then my own belief system would have little to no effect. I you are incorrect however and GOD does exist .....

Lets just say that whether or not my outlook is right I am safe either way.... can you say the same.

God bless all.



posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 07:20 AM
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reply to post by butcherbob
 


Thanks for that highly helpful and constructive post Bob. Let's see how long it stays here eh?

Parallex.



posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 07:53 AM
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I think it's because we as a civilisation and species CANNOT bear to think about nothing happens after death...if nothing happens after death then life is meaningless, you might as well just do what you want to do break laws, do bad things as it doesn't matter.

The TPTB know this so they keep these ridiculous laws in place to stop that from happening..

Order out of Chaos.

"God" is just an excuse for the sheep to flock to their false religions.

I also believe God and the afterlife is what WE make of it.. if your athiest..enjoy the nothingness of death..if your a Valhalla believer enjoy the halls, if your a Christian enjoy Heaven, if your a mixture enjoy your own afterlife.

For all we know what we see at the end of the tunnel is just the ending of your imagination



posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 07:56 AM
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Personally I can't take the God in the bible seriously either.

One minute he's teaching love and forgiveness, the next he's acting like a wrathful, murdering, jealous idiot. He sounds like a massive troll to me.

Also, I don't understand how after the Bible was finished, all communication from this god apparently stopped. So where did he go?

Can you imagine if the Bible was written today? Noone would take it seriously, because much of the information was effectively 'channeled'. But this happened thousands of years ago so that makes it OK, rite


[edit on 11-4-2010 by Internet Explorer]



posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 08:06 AM
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reply to post by Internet Explorer
 


Im sure you are answering to the best of your understanding but we have to take into consideration that belief in anything is based on personal outlook and personal experiences. To bash a certain belief because it does not coincide with our personal outlook is shamefull.

Most believers in God dont follow HIM only because their upbringing or culture dictates it. Just like curtain professions/ jobs are more of a calling than choise so IMO is the Faith in GOD.

I myself willingly Believe not due to propoganda or pressured belief systems but because His pressence completes me.

Take it as you may and God bless



posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 08:11 AM
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Originally posted by Gabriel_
I myself willingly Believe not due to propoganda or pressured belief systems but because His pressence completes me.

If it works for you, personally, then who is anyone to argue



posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 08:58 AM
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I believe that people who believe in a God think that there must be something else, rather than believing the reality that we are just here by coincidence and there is no purpose to life. It gives hope to those who need it. However there are some who turn to God due to events and such things, i personally don't believe in god, but i don't judge or discriminate against those who do. People should have a choice!



posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 09:25 AM
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reply to post by ashanu90
 


have you ever come across the idea that somewhere in our genetic/dna make up, we're highwired to believe in a God? and here"s the catch, "They"
did it really good.
in our lifetime we are seeing this development.how much more for those who were just a few million years ahead of us...they must have perfected the technology...



posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 10:29 AM
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I have read many of the replies to this inquiry and each can be sorted into primary categories: those who control, those who are controlled, and those who are neither. The sub-topics are then broken down into definitions of life.

Support arrogance
Support altruism
Support a neutral stance

It is then broken down into specific definitions that includes religions and non-religions. Whether it is the belief of one god or the pagan belief of many gods, "god" is an idea that accomplishes a purpose: provides a drop box for that which has no explanation while offering justification and worthiness for sacrifices. The idea of a god provides a source for explaining why one must follow rules, laws and customs besides the unbelievable reason of doing these things because either one wants to or the reason that it is the way things are done. The idea of a god or gods doing justice is a form of control, otherwise everyone would believe they each had power over their own lives. It goes much deeper than this.

Religion is the first form of government law. The god idea is used to get results. Follow what has been discovered of the progression of religion and you will notice a pattern of social control. People are more willing to give in and be pacified if the idea of some super natural power will strike them down if they don't. Introduce arrogance and then you have a way to make people sacrifice to a select few. Humans are humans and greed does tend to make some people go a bit too far.

Most people today believe that Christianity was all of the sudden just there and a bible was written to tell the story. To explain away different religions was the warning to be wary of false prophets, a wolf in sheeps coverings, etc. But that is the human way to control. By providing a means to doubt, one can enlist believers. This is psychology 101. If I told you that you do not have to believe me that you can see for yourself, wouldn't you belive me, especially when I give you evidence of what happens to those who do not believe?

Why do people believe in a god or gods? If it sounds credible, it must be credible, right? If it cannot be explained by any other means in modern society, it must be a god because it has been written throughout written social history that it is that way.

The idea of a god satisifies the limited curiousity of those who have more important things to worry about. God does not have to be proven because to do so will send the curious to hell. Using fear, people will believe whatever is told to them as long as there is the promise of slavation. Religions have evolved to keep pace with intelligence provided by science.

Is it a coincidence that two thousand years ago, a man who claimed to talk to god is now consider a christ, lord, or son of god but people today, those who claim the same thing are medicated or locked up in a mental ward? If you try to promote an idea of god that is not socially acceptable, you are the head of a cult, insane, or a criminal. If you talk to a god, you are in need of medication.

It comes down to the idea of god or gods serving individual purposes controlled by social norms. If your idea is different from that of the socially acceptable, you have to prove it because a mass belief does not have to prove anything.

Notice how I never told you what my belief is; however, you can watch as arrogance will provide a belief to insult, altruism will provide scripture to convince, and neutral will ask more questions. Now we are back to the primary categories of why people believe in a god or gods.



posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 10:33 AM
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reply to post by peggy m
 


I wrote "slavation" but I meant salvation. In my mind it is the same thing but I did not intend the slip.



posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 11:07 AM
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reply to post by Watcher-In-The-Shadows
 


well i take it that your agnostic if so why are you on the fence? if not why do you beleive in god? that was the point of the thread
interesting post however



posted on Apr, 11 2010 @ 07:24 PM
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reply to post by ashanu90
 


(Foreword: anyone replying to this post in a negative way, saying that he has in some way offended you, just drop it now, you're not going to win. he has not said anything offensive.)



I do strongly agree with your beliefs through logical thinking on the contradictions the Bible makes with itself. Although, even though people say the bible to be absolute truth, the fact of the matter is that the bible is filled with Abstract ideas; for example:

Too many people take literally the story of Adam and Eve. While i dont argue that "eden" was a historical, physical place, the actual reason for the story is the turning of people from ancient sumerian and mesopotamian gods (the serpent) towards a more abstract idea of the creator.

Much like politics in the world today, the so called "divinely inspired" humans that wrote the bible, or rather put it together, needed a way to keep people in line. Thus, "hell" (fire and brim-stone verson)was invented as punishment for wrong doings.

Ultimately, any faith, not just christianity, ( i identify myself with the jewish culture and beliefs) is based on what it entails: faith. And with faith comes dogmas, with dogmas comes ignorance, with ignorance disagreement, and with disagreement comes violence.

There are many more contradictions of the christian faith then you have listed, such as people condemning so-called "infadels" in the name of a loving and just god. On subjects like this, many christians are very ignorant, two-faced people. (I'm not bashing the christian faith, but rather many christians themselves).

My view on the subject of an afterlife is that there is no hell, but rather a negative place where evil people go to learn why they should have lived their life as a good person. On heaven, as long as you are a good person you go there. Faith has nothing to do with it either way.

Now, pertaining to the actual subject of which you were speaking, i agree there are many contradictions to the Bible. I also believe no-one has come to explain creation in a believeable concrete way. if you are an atheist yourself i salute you, because you will most likely live your life according to logic, and a logical person's reaction to suffering or mis-deed is just. If a logical person walked past a homeless man, they would most likely help him. if a religious person walked past a homeless man, they would try to find some way pertaining to faith why he is homeless, and why he deserves his "punishment".

i am definately not saying all faith is bad. My reason for replying to this is for one reason: It does not matter what you believe in, not one bit, all that matters is that you live your life a good person, which i presume will not be hard for you, and the blessings will follow.

P.S.: good job not putting up with all the bull****, *high five*

(anyone wanting to discuss this further, please do)



posted on Apr, 12 2010 @ 03:45 AM
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reply to post by ashanu90
 

No, you asked why people believe in "God" I answered.

No. Actually, I am not agnostic to 100% honest. But what I am is truly honest with myself which makes me sympathetic to agnosticism. I believe what I believe. But I refuse to allow my belief to build a bias enforced sepf congratulatory illusion like most, if not all, enthusiasts of both sides in this debate do.
You may not agree with their conclusions but to attempt to pretend that it's anything other than a difference in preconceptions is to attempt to grasp for illogical and irrational ad hom attack.

And in reference to your "fencesitter" comment. If I was an a agnostic, my answer to you is a quote Marilyn Manson song called "Irresponsible Hate Anthem": "I wasn't born with enough middle fingers. I don't need to choose a side.". But, really the song as a whole says it best.

[edit on 12-4-2010 by Watcher-In-The-Shadows]



posted on Apr, 12 2010 @ 10:00 AM
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This artcile is pure bias atheist BS who act like fundamentalist loons for atheism instead of understanding differnt cutltures and faith and 100% factual deseases.It is a total insult to call God believers mentaly ill or delusional.Maybe some of the atheist should learn atheist is nothing more than a lack of a belief in a Creatoror God or a Deity.Has nothing whatsoever to do with a science class or brain chemials.Maybe they should learn about culture and heritage and realize that it is mostly christian men who have fought for their freedom.This is how it always is with this subject.Like a title bout match to see who can smear the other opponent with insults if God or exist or if God does not exist.



posted on Apr, 12 2010 @ 10:11 AM
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reply to post by Jobeycool
 


May i explain myself quickly...i am by no means an atheist and to be honest i think that atheists are lacking as much as the extremist, because they have been pushed so hard by the religions that they do a complete 180 degree turn without considering the fact that there might be a God/force/energy/etc... but rather that the religions have "converted" God to their religion and made it their own and give him/her/it anthropomorphic characteristics or whatnot. I consider myself spiritual and i do believe in God, but i am by no means associated with "any" religion at all. Rather i think religion is an ill disease that has been pushed onto man.



posted on Apr, 12 2010 @ 11:52 AM
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reply to post by CryptoZealot
 


that was the most excellent post ive probably ever read

you know exactly what im talking about (not many people do) and i thank you for your understanding.



as for you people who think i am attacking your belief system, i am merely questioning it as i have said, if there is a problem you have with questioning your faith maybe there is something wrong with the faith itself, i most certainly am not a christian and i dont beleive in this christ you speak of, but im sure he certainly would not have responded in the ways some of you have. thats not very christlike for some of you is it? if you think i am offending your god and you act as i have pointed out maybe it is you who are offending your god

[edit on 12-4-2010 by ashanu90]



posted on Apr, 12 2010 @ 12:24 PM
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Originally posted by Agree2Disagree







ive heard it said that the bible is historically acurate well yeah in alot of parts it is but then again its just a book and the OT which is a part of the bible i hope there is no confusion there says dragons and unicorns exist so its a bit hard to take the book seriously because of stuff like that



...never seen those verses


edit to add: You remember when that lady said that Kobe Bryant sexually assuaulted her(or whatever the case was)? She had an agenda, yes? But, just because she had an ulterior-motive, does that mean she wasn't telling the truth?

[edit on 11-4-2010 by Agree2Disagree]


the verses are right here

31) Unicorns have never existed, yet they are said to in Deuteronomy 33:17.

32) Fiery serpents have NEVER existed yet Numbers 21:6 claims they do and TO THIS DAY STILL inhabit certain cities.


as for kobe bryant there is no way he did that i wouldnt believe taht unless the girl was holding two forms of state idea and if kobe was surounded by at least twenty friends and his gma was there
just kidding i just wanted an excuse to say all that i never personally followed that case so i dont know the details but i know what dave chapelle said lol



posted on Apr, 12 2010 @ 12:53 PM
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reply to post by ashanu90
 


Contradiction? what are they i keep hearing this but noone can even answer me so if you want to start a thread with this in it then explain it.




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