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ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
Does a god or gods exist?

There are many religions with the primary aim of worshipping god(s), some share their god(s) between religions, some god(s) are unique to a particular religion.

But who knows if the god(s) they worship are real or not?

I am atheist and say "no", god(s) do not exist. I have several good (in my opinion) reasons why my belief is strong.

Primarily, the lack of falsifiable evidence. I can add the futility of prayer, childhood leukemia, the mosquito, natural disasters, unavoidable suffering, science, inconsistency between religions, lack of need for god(s) etc among other reasons.

So how about you?
Are you religious or not?
And can you provide the main reasons for your belief/unbelief in god(s)

I am not here to pick and pull apart your reasons, i am genuinely interested in why you believe what you believe.

Thanks
 

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
I believe in God

I used to be an Atheist

I was very good at being an Atheist too

But then I came to believe there was a God because I thought that I experienced God communicating with me

However, I later stopped believing that God was communicating with me

But I maintained a belief in God

My belief in God survived this

That's how I came to believe in God
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Does a god or gods exist?

There are many religions with the primary aim of worshipping god(s), some share their god(s) between religions, some god(s) are unique to a particular religion.

But who knows if the god(s) they worship are real or not?

I am atheist and say "no", god(s) do not exist. I have several good (in my opinion) reasons why my belief is strong.

Primarily, the lack of falsifiable evidence. I can add the futility of prayer, childhood leukemia, the mosquito, natural disasters, unavoidable suffering, science, inconsistency between religions, lack of need for god(s) etc among other reasons.

So how about you?
Are you religious or not?
And can you provide the main reasons for your belief/unbelief in god(s)

I am not here to pick and pull apart your reasons, i am genuinely interested in why you believe what you believe.

Thanks
God exists alright in people's minds and imagination.

Just nowhere else.

So it's very easy to see that one without God's is pretty much the reality here and requires no introduction, as that is how people are born anyways.

If a person has to convince another on something, that means they have a problem.
 

SalixIncendium

अग्निविलोवनन्दः
Staff member
Premium Member
Does a god or gods exist?

Yes, I'm of the opinion that they exist.

Are you religious or not?

Yes, but not in the way most people think being religious is.

And can you provide the main reasons for your belief/unbelief in god(s)

Quite simple, really. If one experiences a god or god, then in that person's reality, god(s) exist.

As far as falsifiable evidence is concerned, the evidence is quite clear. Many behave differently as a result of the existence of god(s) than they would in the absence of their experience(s) of god(s).

If god(s) didn't exist, then neither would this forum.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
Does a god or gods exist?

There are many religions with the primary aim of worshipping god(s), some share their god(s) between religions, some god(s) are unique to a particular religion.

But who knows if the god(s) they worship are real or not?
"Real" by what definition? Is an opinion "real"? Does it become unreal if it's inaccurate? What if it's inaccurate but we can't ever prove it? And isn't whatever answer you give to these questions just your opinion? Why should your opinion trump anyone else's?

And why do we keep asking questions about what is "real" when we can't possibly determine the answer beyond just posing our opinion? Why is your opinion about what is and is not real any more real than someone else's?

I am hoping that by now you're beginning to see the circular foolishness of asking the question "is God real?" when we don't know what "real" is or is not. Or what God is or is not.
I am atheist and say "no", god(s) do not exist. I have several good (in my opinion) reasons why my belief is strong.

Primarily, the lack of falsifiable evidence. I can add the futility of prayer, childhood leukemia, the mosquito, natural disasters, unavoidable suffering, science, inconsistency between religions, lack of need for god(s) etc among other reasons.

So how about you?
Are you religious or not?
Religion is a different subject from theism. Are you asking about theism? Or religion?
And can you provide the main reasons for your belief/unbelief in god(s)
"Belief" is not a requirement of theism. Nor even of some religions. So theism is not about "belief or unbelief" in gods.
I am not here to pick and pull apart your reasons, i am genuinely interested in why you believe what you believe.

Thanks
Unless you are willing to expend the thought energy and take the time to be more precise in your questions, I don't think you're going to get any answers that will make much sense to you. But then that may be the whole point of this thread: theat the nonsensical answers that you do get will serve to bolster your otherwise unfounded atheism.
 

Guitar's Cry

Disciple of Pan
I believe that "God" is a metaphor dealing with our relationship with the Universe.

I use God symbolism to my worship in the same way and for the same purpose I add any other type of symbolism to my writing or music; it is art that adds inspiration and creative value to my life. And it helps me remember my connectedness to the Universe.
 

vulcanlogician

Well-Known Member
I'm an agnostic atheist because I've seen no arguments or evidence that suggest that gods exist.

Apparently, all this "God" stuff happens in the realm of the unseen. I'm sure some kind of stuff happens beyond what is empirically verifiable. But since I can't see it, I can't know it.

I'm pretty dubious of those who claim they do know. Not that I think they're wrong, but I can't for the life of me see how they're right. They've failed to make their case so far.
 

Soandso

Well-Known Member
At one time I used to be very religious. While I believed that god was an all good, loving god, I couldn't come to terms with the seemingly evil things he had done or had been done in his name as I had seen in the bible. It was paradoxical and didn't sit well with me

So, I did research and educated myself about other religions. I found out there were other religions with much less heinous (in my opinion at the time) monotheistic gods, so I took on more of a deistic belief in god

At that point, my fear of hell had gone away, so I was free to explore different ideas of divinity. I looked into various european and middle eastern polytheistic belief systems, took the pieces I loved, and took on a more eclectic, polytheistic view of the divine. This included ideas of gods as archetypal representations of the natural and societal world

I guess the last phase of my spiritual journey was one where I had eliminated the need for gods altogether. That which is natural is what resonated with me most. No gods, no supernatural, just the world we all share. Spiritual expression at this point to me was expression of the human spirit - which had it's own beauty and didn't need anything else

I was happy in my spirituality at that point, and to some extent I am still at that point, but that point requires no gods or supernatural things. My brain is prone to picking my beliefs apart, and now that those beliefs are worn down to their most basic and fundamental foundations, I am free to look over things without too many presupposed assumptions coloring the way I view them. It's actually very liberating

Am I done with my spiritual journey? I think not. I'm still asking questions, and I probably still will up until the day I die. I enjoy being curious
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
"Real" by what definition? Is an opinion "real"? Does it become unreal if it's inaccurate? What if it's inaccurate but we can't ever prove it? And isn't whatever answer you give to these questions just your opinion? Why should your opinion trump anyone else's?

And why do we keep asking questions about what is "real" when we can't possibly determine the answer beyond just posing our opinion? Why is your opinion about what is and is not real any more real than someone else's?

I am hoping that by now you're beginning to see the circular foolishness of asking the question "is God real?" when we don't know what "real" is or is not. Or what God is or is not.
Religion is a different subject from theism. Are you asking about theism? Or religion?
"Belief" is not a requirement of theism. Nor even of some religions. So theism is not about "belief or unbelief" in gods.
Unless you are willing to expend the thought energy and take the time to be more precise in your questions, I don't think you're going to get any answers that will make much sense to you. But then that may be the whole point of this thread: theat the nonsensical answers that you do get will serve to bolster your otherwise unfounded atheism.



Lets stick to the definition of real shall we : actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not imagined or supposed.

Who said i trump anyone elses? Oh you did while looking for an argument.

Back to the definition, your imagination does not count.

Im hoping by now you realise that is a silly statement. The definition of real is real.

"Belief" is not a requirement of theism.

Which is quite probably why i never mentioned theism. Have you considered that?


I don't think you're going to get any answers that will make much sense to you.


Your opinion is noted and filed under w for waste. There have already been answers that i can respect (and at least one that i don't)
 

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
Does a god or gods exist?

There are many religions with the primary aim of worshipping god(s), some share their god(s) between religions, some god(s) are unique to a particular religion.

But who knows if the god(s) they worship are real or not?

I am atheist and say "no", god(s) do not exist. I have several good (in my opinion) reasons why my belief is strong.

Primarily, the lack of falsifiable evidence. I can add the futility of prayer, childhood leukemia, the mosquito, natural disasters, unavoidable suffering, science, inconsistency between religions, lack of need for god(s) etc among other reasons.

So how about you?
Are you religious or not?
And can you provide the main reasons for your belief/unbelief in god(s)

I am not here to pick and pull apart your reasons, i am genuinely interested in why you believe what you believe.

Thanks

I am definitely not religious if you take as a premise that religion requires belief in the literal existence of some god.

I honestly don't see any legitimate reason for anyone to take such a premise, though.

At the end of the day, it is hard to avoid noticing that there is a lot of often intentional, sometimes well-meaning confusion and obfuscation infused into much of what is currently self-described as "religions".

There isn't really any constructive reason to value god-belief. So-called religions that insist in so doing are essentially corrupting themselves and have to hope that their own herectics can rescue them from their own foolishness.

The way I see it, belief and unbelief are nothing more than aesthetical stances towards a very unimportant question: "is there such a thing as a real, existing god?"

The question lacks value, and in truth so do the possible answers.

Religion, if it is meant to be a worthwhile thing, is something else entirely. I like to define it as variations of "the art and practice of dealing with abstract ambitions while living in concrete reality", but the word really has been abused beyond recovery. It means whatever anyone wants to make of it.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
I believe that "God" is a metaphor dealing with our relationship with the Universe.

I use God symbolism to my worship in the same way and for the same purpose I add any other type of symbolism to my writing or music; it is art that adds inspiration and creative value to my life. And it helps me remember my connectedness to the Universe.
If it's ok, I would like to add the idea of mystery to the idea of the universe. I think that for a lot of people, the mystery of our existence is both scary and wonderous. Significantly so. Which is why we feel the need to personify it, and hold that personification close to our hearts and minds like an invisible friend.

Maybe I'm just speaking for myself, but I don't think so.

Good post, by the way.
 

Hermit Philosopher

Selflessly here for you
…/or occurring in fact/…

For the purpose of understanding why someone else may believe in god(s), I think you should stick to above bit of your definition of “real”, for there are many who may not consider their God(s) to be physical “things”.

Yet, just as your definition of “real” allows for; some “realities” are only experienced as effects (e.g. group-mentalities, other’s personal emotions, etc.), while about their “essence”, we must simply take assumptions or another’s word for.

Humbly,
Hermit
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
For the purpose of understanding why someone else may believe in god(s), I think you should stick to above bit of your definition of “real”, for there are many who may not consider their God(s) to be physical “things”.

Yet, just as your definition of “real” allows for; some “realities” are only experienced as effects (e.g. group-mentalities, other’s personal emotions, etc.), while about their “essence”, we must simply take assumptions or another’s word for.

Humbly,
Hermit

Not my definition but the OED definition
 

PureX

Veteran Member
Lets stick to the definition of real shall we : actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not imagined or supposed.

Who said i trump anyone elses? Oh you did while looking for an argument.

Back to the definition, your imagination does not count.

Im hoping by now you realise that is a silly statement. The definition of real is real.



Which is quite probably why i never mentioned theism. Have you considered that?





Your opinion is noted and filed under w for waste. There have already been answers that i can respect (and at least one that i don't)
Why does my asking you for clarity make you so resentful?

By the way, your definition of "real" relies on states and conditions that have no definition in themselves ... "thing", ... "actually existing", ... "occurring in fact", ... what is "thingness"? How is it determined? What are the qualifications of the state of "actually existing"? And how does something "occur in fact" as opposed to ... occurring not in fact?

The problem is that we throw these "definitions" around like we are all supposed to know and agree what they mean, but when we stop to actually consider them, we begin to realize that we have no idea what they mean. It's just a circle of words that we pretend to understand, but don't understand at all.

I'm not posting this to attack you or fight with you. I'm simply pointing out that the questions your asking are based on blind pretenses that are not likely to advance anyone's understanding of anything. "God" is a 'meta-idea'. That is an idea that determines and defines the validity and value of a whole range of other ideas that we encounter in life. And we either accept it as such or we don't. "God" transcends these question of existence, and "thingness" and "actual factuality" because as a meta-idea God becomes the conceptual paradigm through which we identify and validate these other presumed 'conditions'.

In the end, God is a choice, plain and simple. We either choose it as a meta-ideal or we reject it. It's completely up to us. And all the reasons and justifications come after we make that choice, and because we made that choice. They follow from it, not lead to it.
 
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RestlessSoul

Well-Known Member
I'm an agnostic atheist because I've seen no arguments or evidence that suggest that gods exist.

Apparently, all this "God" stuff happens in the realm of the unseen. I'm sure some kind of stuff happens beyond what is empirically verifiable. But since I can't see it, I can't know it.

I'm pretty dubious of those who claim they do know. Not that I think they're wrong, but I can't for the life of me see how they're right. They've failed to make their case so far.


To the blind man, everything happens in the realm of the unseen. And I'm sure you'll acknowledge that the vision even of the most clear sighted, is constrained by the limitations of the senses.
 

Aštra’el

Aštara, Blade of Aštoreth
ADEDF530-9182-41B4-97D9-C0F076ED3EB3.jpeg


Does Mario “exist”?
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
Why does my asking you for clarity make you so resentful?

Who is resentful? My op is clear enough to everyone else which indicates you are hankering for a fight, sorry to disappoint you

By the way, your definition of "real" is nonsense

Not my definition
Tell the scholars at Oxford English dictionary that you think they are wrong.
Or is it your definition that is nonsense




As for the rest, you are welcome to your opinion
 
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Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
Does a god or gods exist?

There are many religions with the primary aim of worshipping god(s), some share their god(s) between religions, some god(s) are unique to a particular religion.

But who knows if the god(s) they worship are real or not?

I am atheist and say "no", god(s) do not exist. I have several good (in my opinion) reasons why my belief is strong.

Primarily, the lack of falsifiable evidence. I can add the futility of prayer, childhood leukemia, the mosquito, natural disasters, unavoidable suffering, science, inconsistency between religions, lack of need for god(s) etc among other reasons.

So how about you?
Are you religious or not?
And can you provide the main reasons for your belief/unbelief in god(s)

I am not here to pick and pull apart your reasons, i am genuinely interested in why you believe what you believe.

Thanks

See ... Interesting Experience and Thoughts about Interconnection (just the first post) and then times that by 50, and you'll get a sense of why I believe in God. It isn't logical, and trying to process it logically doesn't work. I hope you're having a great day. I know I will be, as every day is a great day here.
 
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