Can you justify/explain/prove your religious beliefs?

 
TB
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#13
What if I considered myself a theist but did not follow any religion?

I would ask you why you were a theist.

Probably mostly because I was raised to believe in a deity, so it was hard for me to abandon my beliefs. While over the years I've come to the conclusion that organized religion is ridiculous, I've never seen much compelling evidence against the possibility of a deity/deities existing. I suppose I would more accurately be described as an agnostic.

In any case, hypothetically, I think that a deity would be very different than how most people see their God.


Sorry, I thought I would have something more thought-provoking to say but I'm drawing blanks.

You bringing up your childhood clears a lot of things up. I still have to remind myself that there is no evidence for god from time to time because it was programmed into me as a kid.

I don't really think you can identify just as agnostic. You're either a thiestic-agnostic (IE, I don't know whether god exists or not but I'm pretty sure he does because Pascal's wager [and even this is a bit of a stretch. belief isn't a choice, contrary to popular belief]) and atheistic-agnostism (me), that believes that there is no evidence for god, but we can't know for sure.
Yea this part a lot.
It kinda just gets to you after a certain amount of hearing about it. Just gotta pinch yourself sometimes.


 
Elai
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I tend to see that there is a higher power, perhaps its some cosmic creator or the universe itself or something. I don't know. And that's the point, I don't know and I'm not sure.
That doesn't make you an agnostic.

In Richard Dawkin's "The God Delusion", he comes up with a 7-point system for determining your religious beliefs. 1 being, "yes, there is a god", and 7 being "I am absolutely sure there is no god".

On that list, he scores himself a 6, because he cannot prove a negative, and cannot be sure that a god really doesn't exist. In this sense, he is too, an agnostic.

Where do you fit on that scale?

Quote
(What do you mean I'm not?  ???)

Because you either believe there is a god or there isn't. There is no middleground.
I guess I'm 4 or 5.

So you're saying that I have to be part of an extreme?

No, I'm saying that you either believe in a god or you don't. It's up to you, either way, I still like you as a person.

You can say "I don't actively know there is a god, but I know there is no evidence for one so  I will live my life accordingly", which is what I do. But you're still an atheist because you fall under the presumption that there isn't one.
But I do think there's one...its just that I don't believe in the Church's god.

That makes you a theist, then.

And all I'm asking you to do is justify it to me.


 
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What if I considered myself a theist but did not follow any religion?

I would ask you why you were a theist.

Probably mostly because I was raised to believe in a deity, so it was hard for me to abandon my beliefs. While over the years I've come to the conclusion that organized religion is ridiculous, I've never seen much compelling evidence against the possibility of a deity/deities existing. I suppose I would more accurately be described as an agnostic.

In any case, hypothetically, I think that a deity would be very different than how most people see their God.


Sorry, I thought I would have something more thought-provoking to say but I'm drawing blanks.

You bringing up your childhood clears a lot of things up. I still have to remind myself that there is no evidence for god from time to time because it was programmed into me as a kid.

I don't really think you can identify just as agnostic. You're either a thiestic-agnostic (IE, I don't know whether god exists or not but I'm pretty sure he does because Pascal's wager [and even this is a bit of a stretch. belief isn't a choice, contrary to popular belief]) and atheistic-agnostism (me), that believes that there is no evidence for god, but we can't know for sure.
Yea this part a lot.
It kinda just gets to you after a certain amount of hearing about it. Just gotta pinch yourself sometimes.

Over the first couple of years, it was pretty bad. Anytime I would get scared or need something, I'd turn to "god".

Now it's not really even a thought.

I just wish people would have some evidence for their beliefs. It irks me when someone believes something baselessly. I mean, if you are an advocate for something, you should be able to tell me why, right? Everything i do, every action I take, I have a reason. If I don't, I find out what my reason should be. If I can't find that out, I don't do it.


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uhhh...

- korrie
I tend to see that there is a higher power, perhaps its some cosmic creator or the universe itself or something. I don't know. And that's the point, I don't know and I'm not sure.
That doesn't make you an agnostic.

In Richard Dawkin's "The God Delusion", he comes up with a 7-point system for determining your religious beliefs. 1 being, "yes, there is a god", and 7 being "I am absolutely sure there is no god".

On that list, he scores himself a 6, because he cannot prove a negative, and cannot be sure that a god really doesn't exist. In this sense, he is too, an agnostic.

Where do you fit on that scale?

Quote
(What do you mean I'm not?  ???)

Because you either believe there is a god or there isn't. There is no middleground.
I guess I'm 4 or 5.

So you're saying that I have to be part of an extreme?

No, I'm saying that you either believe in a god or you don't. It's up to you, either way, I still like you as a person.

You can say "I don't actively know there is a god, but I know there is no evidence for one so  I will live my life accordingly", which is what I do. But you're still an atheist because you fall under the presumption that there isn't one.
But I do think there's one...its just that I don't believe in the Church's god.

That makes you a theist, then.

And all I'm asking you to do is justify it to me.
Hmm...I guess that I think that the universe didn't just come to happen at random.


 
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#13
What if I considered myself a theist but did not follow any religion?

I would ask you why you were a theist.

Probably mostly because I was raised to believe in a deity, so it was hard for me to abandon my beliefs. While over the years I've come to the conclusion that organized religion is ridiculous, I've never seen much compelling evidence against the possibility of a deity/deities existing. I suppose I would more accurately be described as an agnostic.

In any case, hypothetically, I think that a deity would be very different than how most people see their God.


Sorry, I thought I would have something more thought-provoking to say but I'm drawing blanks.

You bringing up your childhood clears a lot of things up. I still have to remind myself that there is no evidence for god from time to time because it was programmed into me as a kid.

I don't really think you can identify just as agnostic. You're either a thiestic-agnostic (IE, I don't know whether god exists or not but I'm pretty sure he does because Pascal's wager [and even this is a bit of a stretch. belief isn't a choice, contrary to popular belief]) and atheistic-agnostism (me), that believes that there is no evidence for god, but we can't know for sure.
Yea this part a lot.
It kinda just gets to you after a certain amount of hearing about it. Just gotta pinch yourself sometimes.

Over the first couple of years, it was pretty bad. Anytime I would get scared or need something, I'd turn to "god".

Now it's not really even a thought.

I just wish people would have some evidence for their beliefs. It irks me when someone believes something baselessly. I mean, if you are an advocate for something, you should be able to tell me why, right? Everything i do, every action I take, I have a reason. If I don't, I find out what my reason should be. If I can't find that out, I don't do it.
Yea, it seems a lot of people have that answer of "Well my parents taught me" or something akin to that. Some reasoning would be extremely fresh to hear.
[Don't even get me started on some of the excuses people have said... Oy vey.]


 
Elai
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Dude. I was at Matt's house and we had a 4 hour long discussion about how he's "religious" or whatever.

The only justification he could come up with was that he saw his aunt rise off the table when he was a kid.

Meanwhile, he had just explained to me that if God had revealed himself to me, that would interfere with my "free will". Why was it okay for God to show Matt and not me?

Some people, man.


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uhhh...

- korrie

Dude. I was at Matt's house and we had a 4 hour long discussion about how he's "religious" or whatever.

The only justification he could come up with was that he saw his aunt rise off the table when he was a kid.

Meanwhile, he had just explained to me that if God had revealed himself to me, that would interfere with my "free will". Why was it okay for God to show Matt and not me?

Some people, man.
You haven't MLG prayed hard enough.


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What if I considered myself a theist but did not follow any religion?

I would ask you why you were a theist.

Probably mostly because I was raised to believe in a deity, so it was hard for me to abandon my beliefs. While over the years I've come to the conclusion that organized religion is ridiculous, I've never seen much compelling evidence against the possibility of a deity/deities existing. I suppose I would more accurately be described as an agnostic.

In any case, hypothetically, I think that a deity would be very different than how most people see their God.


Sorry, I thought I would have something more thought-provoking to say but I'm drawing blanks.

You bringing up your childhood clears a lot of things up. I still have to remind myself that there is no evidence for god from time to time because it was programmed into me as a kid.

I don't really think you can identify just as agnostic. You're either a thiestic-agnostic (IE, I don't know whether god exists or not but I'm pretty sure he does because Pascal's wager [and even this is a bit of a stretch. belief isn't a choice, contrary to popular belief]) and atheistic-agnostism (me), that believes that there is no evidence for god, but we can't know for sure.

Well I think I should clarify that I don't believe in hell and I don't think that an omnipotent god would care whether or not their creations believed in them so therefore I live a completely secular lifestyle...but I don't know if that should classify me as an atheist.


 
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Hmm...I guess that I think that the universe didn't just come to happen at random.

But that doesn't really "prove" that a god exists... Besides, the universe isn't random if it's the only thing that's happened. Under the assumption that this is the only universe, and everything "outside" it doesn't exist, it's not random for it to occur. It just occurs, there's nothing random about it.

Furthermore, you're just pushing the unknown barrier further away. How do you explain where God came from? Did he have a beginning?

He essentially becomes the god of "well, we don't know that, so it must be god". I believe Dawkins again coined the phrase "God of the gaps."


 
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#13

Dude. I was at Matt's house and we had a 4 hour long discussion about how he's "religious" or whatever.

The only justification he could come up with was that he saw his aunt rise off the table when he was a kid.

Meanwhile, he had just explained to me that if God had revealed himself to me, that would interfere with my "free will". Why was it okay for God to show Matt and not me?

Some people, man.
4 hours? Jeez... That must have been a marathon. >.> Good on you though.
As for his justification that is some of the silliest reason I've heard to date. That literally could have been anything explainable...


 
Elai
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What if I considered myself a theist but did not follow any religion?

I would ask you why you were a theist.

Probably mostly because I was raised to believe in a deity, so it was hard for me to abandon my beliefs. While over the years I've come to the conclusion that organized religion is ridiculous, I've never seen much compelling evidence against the possibility of a deity/deities existing. I suppose I would more accurately be described as an agnostic.

In any case, hypothetically, I think that a deity would be very different than how most people see their God.


Sorry, I thought I would have something more thought-provoking to say but I'm drawing blanks.

You bringing up your childhood clears a lot of things up. I still have to remind myself that there is no evidence for god from time to time because it was programmed into me as a kid.

I don't really think you can identify just as agnostic. You're either a thiestic-agnostic (IE, I don't know whether god exists or not but I'm pretty sure he does because Pascal's wager [and even this is a bit of a stretch. belief isn't a choice, contrary to popular belief]) and atheistic-agnostism (me), that believes that there is no evidence for god, but we can't know for sure.

Well I think I should clarify that I don't believe in hell and I don't think that an omnipotent god would care whether or not their creations believed in them so therefore I live a completely secular lifestyle...but I don't know if that should classify me as an atheist.

It's simple. If you believe in a god/creator/entity that sparked existence, you're a theist. If you don't, you're an atheist.

Either way, I just want people to be able to backup their beliefs. You can be an advocate for child rape in my books if you can justify it efficiently.


 
Elai
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4 hours? Jeez... That must have been a marathon. >.> Good on you though.
As for his justification that is some of the silliest reason I've heard to date. That literally could have been anything explainable...

Yeah. It went from sexuality to anti-natalism to religious beliefs. Good time, though. I enjoy that sort of thing, you know that. I'm much better at arguing in person, IMO.

Well, I mean, it's not that "science" can explain how his aunt floated off the ground that makes me not believe him. It's that I don't believe that happened at all.


 
TB
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#13

4 hours? Jeez... That must have been a marathon. >.> Good on you though.
As for his justification that is some of the silliest reason I've heard to date. That literally could have been anything explainable...

Yeah. It went from sexuality to anti-natalism to religious beliefs. Good time, though. I enjoy that sort of thing, you know that. I'm much better at arguing in person, IMO.

Well, I mean, it's not that "science" can explain how his aunt floated off the ground that makes me not believe him. It's that I don't believe that happened at all.
Heh that's true.

Well yea. I was also implying that just a little bit. :P


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What if I considered myself a theist but did not follow any religion?

I would ask you why you were a theist.

Probably mostly because I was raised to believe in a deity, so it was hard for me to abandon my beliefs. While over the years I've come to the conclusion that organized religion is ridiculous, I've never seen much compelling evidence against the possibility of a deity/deities existing. I suppose I would more accurately be described as an agnostic.

In any case, hypothetically, I think that a deity would be very different than how most people see their God.


Sorry, I thought I would have something more thought-provoking to say but I'm drawing blanks.

You bringing up your childhood clears a lot of things up. I still have to remind myself that there is no evidence for god from time to time because it was programmed into me as a kid.

I don't really think you can identify just as agnostic. You're either a thiestic-agnostic (IE, I don't know whether god exists or not but I'm pretty sure he does because Pascal's wager [and even this is a bit of a stretch. belief isn't a choice, contrary to popular belief]) and atheistic-agnostism (me), that believes that there is no evidence for god, but we can't know for sure.

Well I think I should clarify that I don't believe in hell and I don't think that an omnipotent god would care whether or not their creations believed in them so therefore I live a completely secular lifestyle...but I don't know if that should classify me as an atheist.

It's simple. If you believe in a god/creator/entity that sparked existence, you're a theist. If you don't, you're an atheist.

Either way, I just want people to be able to backup their beliefs. You can be an advocate for child rape in my books if you can justify it efficiently.
I could not pick either with any certainty.


 
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What if I considered myself a theist but did not follow any religion?

I would ask you why you were a theist.

Probably mostly because I was raised to believe in a deity, so it was hard for me to abandon my beliefs. While over the years I've come to the conclusion that organized religion is ridiculous, I've never seen much compelling evidence against the possibility of a deity/deities existing. I suppose I would more accurately be described as an agnostic.

In any case, hypothetically, I think that a deity would be very different than how most people see their God.


Sorry, I thought I would have something more thought-provoking to say but I'm drawing blanks.

You bringing up your childhood clears a lot of things up. I still have to remind myself that there is no evidence for god from time to time because it was programmed into me as a kid.

I don't really think you can identify just as agnostic. You're either a thiestic-agnostic (IE, I don't know whether god exists or not but I'm pretty sure he does because Pascal's wager [and even this is a bit of a stretch. belief isn't a choice, contrary to popular belief]) and atheistic-agnostism (me), that believes that there is no evidence for god, but we can't know for sure.

Well I think I should clarify that I don't believe in hell and I don't think that an omnipotent god would care whether or not their creations believed in them so therefore I live a completely secular lifestyle...but I don't know if that should classify me as an atheist.

It's simple. If you believe in a god/creator/entity that sparked existence, you're a theist. If you don't, you're an atheist.

Either way, I just want people to be able to backup their beliefs. You can be an advocate for child rape in my books if you can justify it efficiently.
I could not pick either with any certainty.

Let me see if I can help you with that...

Do you believe the human race/the universe was created?


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"flaming nipple chops"-Your host, the man they call Ghost.

To say, 'nothing is true', is to realize that the foundations of society are fragile, and that we must be the shepherds of our own civilization. To say, 'everything is permitted', is to understand that we are the architects of our actions, and that we must live with their consequences, whether glorious or tragic.
So me giving you 1 million dollars is an act of god? It's unexpected and it helps you.
Depends on how it's perceived by the recipient, but yeah random acts of charity would probably qualify for most, I think.

Quote
So why believe it at all? Baseless belief is illogical.
Oh boy, it's not baseless, it's just not air-tight proven. It's like with how all Human beings learn, if X repeats itself and Y comes along with it, you associate X happening with Y. You're given the inclination to believe something because of what you've experienced in life, is it guaranteed? No, but you're inclined to believe so.

Quote
This makes no sense. If someone is given evidence that not all muslims are bad people, yet the still maintain the mentality that "all muslims are bad people" they are objectively wrong and, to be frank, stupid.
Okay, are you even Human? Do you understand people are not robots? Do you understand that adding 0 to -10 still equals -10?

Quote
Of course. Given that you can justify your beliefs with evidence, I have no problem with you holding a different belief than I do.
The fact of the matter is that religious folk cannot provide any evidence whatsoever to justify their position.
That evidence would be their entire life story and their interpretation of it based on their personality and state of mind at the time of events. Logically, you will not follow them from an outside perspective, because you are not them and cannot experience what they did. Claiming it's illogical because they lived a different life than you is foolish.

Quote
Which I've already conceited to. If you've only had poor-tasting candy in your life, then you are justified in your belief that all candy tastes bad. But as soon as I "show you the evidence" (IE give you a piece of candy that you think tastes good), and you don't change your beliefs, we have a problem.
Where's your evidence God doesn't exist then?

Quote
Except that under no circumstance is believing in a deity justifiable without evidence. It's illogical.
Addressed this earlier in this reply.


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the one true God is Doctor Doom and we should all be worshiping him.
Well, I don't know if God exists. Maybe there isn't a God, or maybe there is. Maybe there are many gods. Or maybe there aren't.

Hard to say. I can't see how anyone could dispute such a non-decision. *Sits back and smokes a classy pipe*


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I neither fear, nor despise.
I'd rather just watch this one, but I've just got a question OP.

Justify their religious beliefs in what sense? That you find approvable?
Because justification to one person may not be enough for another.


 
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Right. I don't follow any official religion, just a thought of mine that I enjoy thinking about. Maybe I just don't know the terms, but at best, you could just call me half assed faithful. So, I'll explain my personal belief of why I don't believe in "God," but at the same time entertain the idea of a god of sorts.

To me, when I look at the universe, and when I take a look at the structure of reality around us, it just seems to make sense. Everything that exists, does so in a mirrored, clockwork system of levels.

At the base, you have atoms. Fundamental building blocks. Through them, you get everything else. And, not only that.

Through atoms, under the right conditions, you get cells. Put enough cells in conjunction with one another, and you get a living organism. Humans, animals, you name it. So right there, my entire body is composed of atoms. My cells, are composed entirely of atoms, and my body is composed entirely of cells, bringing to life who I am.

But I can neither physically focus on one cell alone and tell it what to do, nor can any cell suddenly look up at me and say, "Holy shit, it's god!"

Apply the clockwork some more and zoom out a bit.

All life on this planet, living, dying, creating connections and ecosystems. All weather on this planet going in cycles and patterns, allowing life itself to flourish and grow. Our one planet, is part of a larger system. Our solar system. A central star and the orbits of all the other planets around it.

Our solar system, in conjunction with other solar systems, make up our entire galaxy. And the universe around us, out there, is composed of a number of so many galaxies that you could practically call it infinite.

So, my belief is that the universe is a form of consciousness. It's alive in some sense. And technically, while you could call that a god, I don't call it a god because it's not a god in the sense that we make gods out to be.

Just like I can't focus on a single cell in my body and talk to it, tell it what to do, and likewise, the cell can never look up and see me, neither can the universe.

And it's not a god because people separate themselves from gods. As if their god stand above them in some pure form. I say, we're part of the system. Because look at everything around us.

We have shape and form from atoms. Those atoms give shape and form to cells, which give shape to us. I say the universe isn't a god. It just simply is. It's a living, vast consciousness that comes from the result of everything else that exists in it.

Who's to say that solar systems and galaxies aren't cell clusters, neurons and vast networks that give life to something more?

Laws of physics and science of course. But, we are creatures of perception. We're locked to our sense of perception of the world around us based on our size, just like an ant, just like a cell.

And there's my justifications.



 
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I am not religious, just spiritual. I avoid religious communities because they tend to be irritating, and also (in various degrees) enforce something more than just a spiritual belief.


 
 
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<.<
I tend to see that there is a higher power, perhaps its some cosmic creator or the universe itself or something. I don't know. And that's the point, I don't know and I'm not sure.
That doesn't make you an agnostic.

In Richard Dawkin's "The God Delusion", he comes up with a 7-point system for determining your religious beliefs. 1 being, "yes, there is a god", and 7 being "I am absolutely sure there is no god".

On that list, he scores himself a 6, because he cannot prove a negative, and cannot be sure that a god really doesn't exist. In this sense, he is too, an agnostic.

Where do you fit on that scale?

Quote
(What do you mean I'm not?  ???)

Because you either believe there is a god or there isn't. There is no middleground.
I guess I'm 4 or 5.

So you're saying that I have to be part of an extreme?

No, I'm saying that you either believe in a god or you don't. It's up to you, either way, I still like you as a person.

You can say "I don't actively know there is a god, but I know there is no evidence for one so  I will live my life accordingly", which is what I do. But you're still an atheist because you fall under the presumption that there isn't one.
But I do think there's one...its just that I don't believe in the Church's god.

That makes you a theist, then.

And all I'm asking you to do is justify it to me.
Hmm...I guess that I think that the universe didn't just come to happen at random.
Think of erosion and formations of rivers as a comparison. Nobody created the river, it just happened. It's not random, a series of things happened which created what we see and are today.

I don't understand how people think there has to be a creator when you can see things in nature happen solely due to different natural effects. We used to attribute the wind and water and fire and other elements to individual gods, and now we look at that as "mythology". That's what the god of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism is, mythology. A poor explanation created by people to try and explain how everything came to be, and used religion itself to control other people.

We don't question how a river forms because we know how it forms. We don't attribute the formation to a river god. Why attribute the universe to a god? It's the exact same ignorance, just on a much larger scale.
Lies, the river gods are very real.


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emigrate or degenerate. the choice is yours
I don't think anyone can.

No offense to anyone religious here, but all it really boils down to is "my feelings" and "what I've always known." There isn't really any rational argumentation you can bring to the table to morally justify adhering to a religion. Whenever a thread like this is created, the religious folk always, without fail, resort to handwaving criticisms off as "religious bashing" and le funny hat memes are used in retaliation. It really only signifies that you don't have any kind of objective argument to use, and why I'm reluctant to participate in religious discussion here. It doesn't get us anywhere intellectually.


 
gats
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You will find out who you are not a thousand times, before you ever discover who you are. I hope you find peace in yourself and learn to love instead of hate.
I'm sure most religious folk are that way because of their upbringing, anyone that has complete faith in their religion without question should probably seek help. Please don't take this as an insult.


Strogger | Respected Posting Spree
 
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There's so many things I've seen and heard that just make me think there must be a God out there. Maybe my particular Catholic beliefs aren't correct, but I'm 99% sure God is out there.



CND AAA Beef | Posting Spree
 
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No.

Still think that Jewish Zombie Carpenter is a pretty cool guy though.


 
DAS B00T x2
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This is not the greatest sig in the world, no. This is just a tribute.
OP, convince me that the core of Germanic paganism isn't right and that there aren't 9 known multiverses tied together by what the unknowing ancient Europeans called the world tree or Yggdrasil.


maverick | Legendary Invincible!
 
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OP, convince me that the core of Germanic paganism isn't right and that there aren't 9 known multiverses tied together by what the unknowing ancient Europeans called the world tree or Yggdrasil.
This


 
Elai
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dracula can eat my whole ass!
Depends on how it's perceived by the recipient, but yeah random acts of charity would probably qualify for most, I think.
That's retarded. That isn't the intervention of god, that is me giving you a million dollars to prove a point.

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Oh boy, it's not baseless,
base·less
ˈbāsləs/
adjective
1.
without foundation in fact.
"baseless allegations"


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Okay, are you even Human? Do you understand people are not robots? Do you understand that adding 0 to -10 still equals -10?
That literally makes no sense.
If someone says "All pieces of chocolate are brown." because all they've ever seen is brown chocolate, they are justified in their understanding of chocolate's colour. But as soon as I show them a piece of white chocolate, they should conceit that they were wrong, and that not ALL chocolate is brown. You are seriously trying to justify intentional ignorance which is just another phrase for stupidity. If someone shows you the evidence that contradicts your prior understanding, and you still support your prior understanding, you are daft.

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That evidence would be their entire life story and their interpretation
Interpretation means fuck all, I'm looking for factual information.

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Claiming it's illogical because they lived a different life than you is foolish.
I'm not claiming that "living a different life than mine" is illogical. I'm claiming that believing anything without evidence is illogical.

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Where's your evidence God doesn't exist then?
1) You can't prove a negative.
2) Where's your evidence that the Loch Ness Monster doesn't exist? Do you believe in her until proven that she DOESN'T exist? (Although in this case, there is more evidence of Nessie than God.)
3) I believe it was Meta who made a thread about how a lack of evidence for God is evidence that he doesn't exist. But yeah, a lack of evidence for God is evidence that he doesn't exist.



 
Elai
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dracula can eat my whole ass!

I'm looking for you to explain why you believe.