Why dont we all believe????

[br0k3n 0]

With currently popularity of religious threads I thought I might pose the question:-

Why are we not all believers?

I mean what person would not want there to be a glorious afterlife, because as I see it that is really the root of or ultimate reward for most religions. If Christianity came with no afterlife promise I imagine there would be very few Christians around today, and there would be another dominant religion that does promise a glorious afterlife.

If we look around at the moment and the current rise in the popularity with the “paranormal” this can only but enforce the human desperation to try and prove there is something else out there, as the knowledge that when we die that is it for eternity, is just to much for some people to live there lives knowing..

Don’t get me wrong I as much as the most religious of people on this forum would dearly like to live on after my earthly body as expired, but I just am unable to except something that as of to date has no supporting evidence and tells me that it will all be ok if I just have a little faith. But why don’t I just have a little faith what have I got to lose, some would say nothing. However for some reason I can’t, it almost feels like there is no part of me, or my brain that needs or wants religion, in the same way a non-smoker doesn’t feel the need for a cigarette. Some would say this is the work of the devil, but will skip that hypothesis for now.

Is it possible that it the need for a god is genetic? Dean Hamer, the director of the Gene Structure and Regulation Unit at the U.S. National Cancer Institute, has a theory of there being a gene that some human beings bear which gives them a predisposition to episodes interpreted by some as religious revelation.

At the end of the day religion has no place in my life, and I have no need for it, but for many life with out religion would be unthinkable.....

What makes me and other people like me different to the millions of believers?

So if you believe, why, what is it about your particular god/religion that made you decide to embrace it?

And if you Don’t believe, why don’t you believe..

Would it be possible also to have the discussion with anyone quoting endless passages of the bible, or any other religious doctrine??? Please .... Pretty please.....

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--+ There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.. --+

[SpeedRacer 1]

genetics wouldn't explain why so many people go from atheist to agnostics to believers. It's an intellectual process, some people agree with & some dont, but for me, there's a LOT more to it than just getting a reward after I die.

Speed Racer
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[Darius11 12]

It’s funny how important perspective is.

All the reasons that scientist and non-believers bring up are more reason to believe in something. I am not saying Jesse, Allah, or Moses but something greater us.

I love watching documentaries on the planet and animals and all the wonderful life that inhabits this planet. To me there is no way it was just an accident.

To the non-believers I ask this?

According to the theory of evaluation life started, as bacteria now believed to have started at the bottom of the ocean where the earth’s molten crust meats the cold ocean water. Ok I am not saying that wrong but what I am asking is where did those bacteria come from? You say rocks ok where did the rocks come from? Where did the first two objects that are mention in the big bang theory come from? They have to have come from somewhere right?

I find science as more proof that there is a god. I don’t; believe in the descriptions of heaven or Adam and Eve, but I do believe in a god.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[peregrinerose 0]

I'm with you. It just isn't in me to believe in Christianity. I couldn't force myself to love the God of Christianity or Jesus than I could force myself to love anyone/thing else.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[lawrocket 3]

I don't really believe because I am naturally skeptical of things. This makes me an agnostic, because I apply the same skepticism to anyone who says that there isn't a God.

I believe that religion is deeply imbedded within human nature. It's why every culture from around the world throughout history has gods and religion.

We humans want an explanation for everything. In the past, and even at present, there are things that we simply cannot fully grasp and comprehend. But we want an explanation. The easiest explanation is one of God or of Gods.

I find very little wrong with religion. Too many people think the way I USED to think - that religion is a crutch. In the past decade I have concluded that it is not only a coping mechanism for people (and a better one than drugs or alcohol), but it is also a roadmap.

As with anything, it can be perverted. Like a loaded gun, it can be used for purposes both good and evil. But those are exceptions - highly visible exceptions that have little to do with the reality of the vast majority of religious.

Much as it is unfair to label all whites as racist because of the activities of a few white guys in Jasper, Texas, or even the activities of a million white guys spread throughout the country, so is it also unfair to label Catholics as child molesters. How many child molesters are teachers? Way more teachers molest kids than priests, and I'm not about to go cracking teacher jokes.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[JackC 0]

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We humans want an explanation for everything. In the past, and even at present, there are things that we simply cannot fully grasp and comprehend. But we want an explanation. The easiest explanation is one of God or of Gods.

Hmmm... take the universe, it's big, complicated and difficult to understand. I know, lets say it was caused by a bigger, more complicated, completely incomrehensible being for which there is no evidence.

That explaination sucks.

[billvon 2,990]

>I believe that religion is deeply imbedded within human nature.
>It's why every culture from around the world throughout history has
>gods and religion.

I think that's very true; in a way we are 'wired' to believe, and to be able to have the sort of mystical experiences that saints, mystics, shamans etc have. There's a good overview of this in the book "Why God won't go away" - it goes over some of that wiring and how/why it evolved.

>I find very little wrong with religion. Too many people think the way I
> USED to think - that religion is a crutch. In the past decade I have
> concluded that it is not only a coping mechanism for people (and a
> better one than drugs or alcohol), but it is also a roadmap.

Agreed. Its value lies in what it does for you and what you make of it - and for some people it does a _lot_ of good. Comparisons to the tooth fairy and Santa Claus miss the mark; the tooth fairy doesn't help people save themselves from a lifetime of addiction or debauchery. Often, religion does.

[Shotgun 1]

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According to the theory of evaluation life started, as bacteria now believed to have started at the bottom of the ocean where the earth’s molten crust meats the cold ocean water. Ok I am not saying that wrong but what I am asking is where did those bacteria come from? You say rocks ok where did the rocks come from? Where did the first two objects that are mention in the big bang theory come from? They have to have come from somewhere right?

And this brings us to the same old debate that never works to prove either side. Where did God come from? It had to have come from somewhere, right? Why are you able to believe that something as intelligent and magnificent as God (or whatever supernatural creator) is able to exist without having its own creator, but you're not able to believe that we are able to exist without a creator?

I don't claim to have the answer to where we came from, and I'm not trying to encourage anyone to give up their faith... But using this logic to explain your faith is, well, not logical (IMO).

[Shotgun 1]

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At the end of the day religion has no place in my life, and I have no need for it, but for many life with out religion would be unthinkable.....

What makes me and other people like me different to the millions of believers?

I am an atheist, but I think that I still have the same need that religion serves to fill for some people. Personally, I think that everyone likely has a similar need, but that it manifests itself in different ways in different people. I think that the atheist scientist, who is looking to genetics for explanations, is simply filling this need in a different way than the devout Christian who is looking only to religion for that purpose.

[narcimund 0]

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Comparisons to the tooth fairy and Santa Claus miss the mark; the tooth fairy doesn't help people save themselves from a lifetime of addiction or debauchery. Often, religion does.

The tooth fairy myth doesn't come with proscriptive moral lessons, but the santa claus myth does.

In fact, santa claus and the christian god are pretty close. They both tally up your moral worth then reward or punish you after a period of waiting.

Children often spruce up their behavior to improve their odds of getting lots of goodies from a big bearded guy with a throaty voice.

Adults do the same thing.

First Class Citizen Twice Over

[Shotgun 1]

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Comparisons to the tooth fairy and Santa Claus miss the mark; the tooth fairy doesn't help people save themselves from a lifetime of addiction or debauchery. Often, religion does.

I see God as something that is real to those who believe in it, and that belief alone makes God a very real thing with power to influence people. Santa Claus is very much the same way; the children who believe in him cause him to be "real" in the same sense that God is. So I think that the belief in God is a valid comparison to the belief in Santa Claus (well, from an atheist's perspective anyway). Yes, the belief in God has much more powerful effects, but they are both real in the same way.

Oh, and why would anyone need to be saved from a lifetime of debauchery?

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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According to the theory of evaluation

The theory of evaluations? What's that? Where stock brokers fuck over the rest of the market in order to influence the price of a stock?

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I find science as more proof that there is a god.

There may or may not be a creator (call it God if you must). The universe and it's creation is beyond my comprehension. But who created the creator? If everything in the universe can not be explained (and thus the religious folks automatically claim only God could have done it), who created the creator? Surely you folks can't believe that God has always been around and will always be around for eternity (and all his/her believers will be sitting in heaven forever and ever with virgins coming out of your ying-yangs). At least science has explanations and tangable theories we can follow. Man made religions only exist to brain wash people into thinking a certain way to ensure that the masses can be controlled.

I don't care if you're Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddist. It's all the same crap.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[headoverheels 333]

Why do you think I don't believe? I do believe. I believe there is no god.

[windcatcher 0]

A lot of people don't want to surrender their life and want to keep doing things that are contrary to God's word.

Mother to the cutest little thing in the world...

[nanook 1]

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I mean what person would not want there to be a glorious afterlife, because as I see it that is really the root of or ultimate reward for most religions.

A question I have asked was to the effect: "Why is it so important to have an afterlife?" "Is it really so bad not to have one?" You definitely will not know that there's no afterlife if it doesn't exist after all. Why is one so afraid of not existing anymore?

Personally, i have always had a problem with the "afterlife" concept. If you are a spirit or a soul, why would one spend some time in a body? Seems wasteful and unproductive, considering anything you can learn can be learned without "coming to earth". Soul created at conception? So this is the Cosmic Pupae stage of something bigger. Trial stage to see if you are going to end up in the Kindom of Heaven or be destroyed for not meeting the standards required for being one of God's people: A bad product discarded coming off the assembly line. The latter is the impression I get from afterlife religions.

Or does one feel they need Imortality? Can any of you can name your great-great-great gandfather?

_____________________________

"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

[niolosoiale 0]

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A lot of people don't want to surrender their life and want to keep doing things that are contrary to God's word.

Note that this is a direct result of being human which, according to the bible, is the way we were created. God knew what would happen, but he let it happen anyway.

"How wonderful our god is! How great is he who lets us stick pennies light sockets, then punishes us for doing so!"

Think about what any mother/father who cares about their small child what they would do if their child went to stick a knife in an electrical outlet after they told them not to....

Apparently, god is not so caring. Hey but at least he gives us the choice right?

[Shotgun 1]

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A lot of people don't want to surrender their life and want to keep doing things that are contrary to God's word.

If they want to keep doing things that are contrary to God's word, then that would mean that they do at least believe in God. A nonbeliever is never doing anything contrary to God's word, except in the minds of the believers.

[downwardspiral 0]

interesting thread.

I believe that I do not know if there is a god or not. I do believe in Buddha (yes I'm buddhist) and Jesus in the same way I believe in Einstein, Freud, Darwin, Davinci, Michelangelo, etc....

However, I do not believe in religion because it is largely driven by money and power IMO, both of which are essentially evil. Then how can I be buddhist you ask? My OWN personal buddhism is a practice, a way of life....not a religiion.

At one time humans BELIEVED the earth was flat as well as the center of the universe. Were they stupid? No. The truth wasn't obvious so they did the best they could with the information and technology they had at the time.

Belief does not make truth nor does truth make belief.

www.FourWheelerHB.com

[SpeedRacer 1]

You're all full of shit.

Speed Racer
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[SkyDekker 1,465]

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A lot of people don't want to surrender their life

Correct, many of us would prefer to live our life

[shropshire 0]

Need a beer?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[christelsabine 1]

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A lot of people don't want to surrender their life and want to keep doing things that are contrary to God's word.

Oh well. Another excerpt of your endless and superficial platitudes you're so kind to spray around - damn, Chuteless will execrate me for eternity for posting that to you

dudeist skydiver # 3105

[Vallerina 2]

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And if you Don’t believe, why don’t you believe..

I don't believe in anything because there is no god. However, if there is a god, I doubt that something that complex could be understood by humans and fully explained in one book. I'm open to the possibility that a higher power exists, I just don't think it does. I could be wrong, and that's fine.

My brother and his wife believe in god and go to church every Sunday morning with their boys. Sometimes, they take Bible classes throughout the week, and they read religious texts suggested by their pastor. This works for their family, and it makes them happier. They know that there is the possibility that they are wrong, and they are okay with it. They understand that what's best for their family may not be the best for every other family.

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Is it possible that it the need for a god is genetic?

Yup...seizures in certain areas of the brain can produce a "touched by God" feeling (that's a really bad way to put it....) I think religion can give people hope when they are at their lowest point....to know that there is something wonderful and good coming.

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What makes me and other people like me different to the millions of believers?

Nothing really...just a different point of view (I'm excluding the...ahem...more extreme religious folks from this.) I think everyone understands what "makes sense" to them in regards to religion...and my guess is that it's different for everyone...even amongst non-believers.

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[jpjc2000 0]

In my mind, I'm fairly sure being dead will be just like it was before I was born, and from what I remember, no good, no bad, just nothing!

[steveorino 7]

Many people consider religion as form of death denial. So beit. Last night I went over to a friend's house whose son was killed in Irag earlier that day. I didn't give him any religous quotes or scriptures. We cried and I listened to him talk about his son. Both the deceased son and father are Christians. Do we find comfort in our faith? You betcha. Is Christianity a crutch? You tell me. But thinking about him and my son-in-law who has done two tours in the middle east (and going back in the fall) and my son who is in Special Forces, who will no doubt be there soon, I'm a man who needs something to lean on. I don't mind admitting that. I wouldn't want to face this world without hope. Jesus gives me hope.

steveOrino