The Existence of God

What you fail to understand is that your lack of belief is BASED upon a belief. You believe there is no evidence to support god. You reject certain evidence that many accept. This, itself, is a belief. You cannot prove there is no evidence for his existence, nor can you disprove many of the claims that people make. This is not the same as "New World monkeys"

Once again, we can observe whether there is a such a house or living quarters for Santa in the North Pole. Empirical evidence can affirm a negative.

True... but I did not say a claim. I said a valid claim. One that is true beyond a reasonable doubt. I also noted that this was near-impossible to assert with the concept of god. As you would say, "please re-read my previous post."

I see, I did not interpert it like that. I was under the impression that you were discussing an interaction with god would have to be one that violates the laws of physics. In that case I will rephrase my question.

Why can a person only have a "mystical" experience with god? Why can't one simply have a conversationm with god. Why is one incapable to have a "non-mystical" experience with god? If we assume that a "mystical" experience is unlikely to be valid, what premise do we have to say a "non-mystical" is invalid as well?

I understand the concept. However, it is not that simple in this case. I discussed this above.

This debate is never-ending.

 

To believe in God you need to have faith. Saying you will only belive he is what he is when you see him will be to late to believe in him because the world will be at an end when you get to see him. And God being the person to create this world can do anything beyond the laws of physics. He is an awesome God that I will believe in forever.

 

Do you have any evidence to support your claims?

 

The concept of "Faith" and the concept of "Evidence" are completely counter-intuitive, though I would suggest the most "Practical" way to discover the "Evidence" would be to experiment with "Faith" yourself and record your results... of course, the paradox is that to have true faith you can't do it with the intent to find evidence, it has to be sincere - any evidence you discover would just be an added bonus.

Keep in mind that I am not speaking from the perspective of any religion.... this is just a fundamental mechanic of the universe.

Imagine this - You have no knowledge of how plants and seeds work. Someone tells you that if you plant a seed in the ground, it will turn into a plant. This sounds impossible to you, so when you plant the seed, you decide to dig it up every day to check and see if it's growing. That seed isn't going to grow under those circumstances. You need to have faith in the nature of the universe that the seed will in fact turn into a plant.

That's what it would be like if you tried to study the concept of faith with rational/scientific techniques.

 

i really do not know if there is a god, i would hope so and i believe because "we" cant just appear out of nowhere and there is always a beginning of something.
but the theiroy of evolution is pretty much proven and idk what to say about that and adam and eve? im really comfuzzled because there is so much pain and hate and bad things in the world so i really dont know

 

I was religious for the most part of my life - I stopped believing in greater beings a few years ago. Not once did I experience anything with faith, only a waste of money out of my pocket (literally).

Belief in a concept without any evidence is what I consider irrational. Disbelief (lack of belief) of something without evidence is not. I am not the one asserting the positive, therefore the one who is must provide proof in a logical debate.

 

I believe in god.

This post received a warning for spam.

 

The problem is that religion does not teach true faith in many circumstances... Which is the entire reason there's a hundred-page thread that goes no where about this topic.

Both sides of the coin are flawed... religion is corrupted and distorts the true meaning of spirituality, it acts as a mind control device; it's primary motives as a system, particularly in the west, are power based.

Atheism on the other hand, which is more accurately described as the worship of Logic/Rationalism/Science, completely disconnects the individual from the spiritual dimension... and the results aren't much better than what the previous paradigm of religion was able to bring fourth.

It's the same coin.

Of course I can say this a million times, it doesn't change anyones ability to actually understand it...

It's like waking up from a bad dream...

Most of the time when I post on here I feel like I'm talking to myself, and I am to a certain extent, writing is my way of processing information - so this post is just as much to my benefit as it is to everyone elses, but due to my compassionate nature I have this longing urge that one day someone on this site will actually learn to remember themselves.

THE DOORWAY TO FREEDOM IS HERE... I'm not talking about this post, I'm not talking about this website, I'm not talking about this computer, I'm talking about HERE - can you see it? It's always there, always RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW.

As your heart beats... slowly... listen to the beat man? Dig that? Isn't it a groovy beat.

I love you guys...

May all beings be happy

May all beings be healthy

May all beings be safe

May all beings learn their place

May all beings know their face

Eternal Love, Eternal Grace...

 

I do not believe that there is no evidence to support the existence of a deity, I am only stating that I have not seen any such evidence.

The evidence that I am looking for needs to meet certain standards - scientific ones, specifically.

The burden of proof is upon the one who asserts a positive.

And once again, the definition can be altered to a Santa that has an invisible house, or one that is in the center of the moon, or one that is in another solar system. The lack of direct empirical evidence of such a being can always be explained away by believers.

It takes a claim that is "true beyond a reasonable doubt" to prove the existence of God?

God could communicate with humans in a non-mystical manner, I suppose, but I would be inclined to be skeptical of their claim, especially if they had no way of backing up their story. After all, lunatics and attention-seekers claim to have contact with various deities/beings on a regular basis.

It has an end. I acknowledge that there could be scientific evidence for a deity, but argue that since I have not seen any, nor has the scientific community at large, I am justified in not believing in said deity.

Do you have a rational reason for believing in a God?

Atheism isn't the worship of anything.

Logic/rationalism/science justify themselves in our day-to-day lives.

 

Shredder, you might as well give up. I agree with you but we both know accepting religion is accepting that you will not search for the truth, but will blindly follow a figurehead. You will never change their minds, though I wish they would listen.

 

Well, I have converted a couple of people that I know of, and probably a few more who haven't mentioned it to me. Besides, it's kind of fun.

 

^_^ True enough, it is kind of amusing, although I tired of it when the counter argument became, "How can you prove there isn't a God?" Still, I suppose its mildly entertaining to watch the religious argue there points, mainly because they are usually ridiculous. Good luck ^_^

 

I'm pretty sure there is a God.

God is good for this world because it gives people a reason to treat others with kindness, so even if God is not a "real spirit", he is still an icon that IMO creates more loving kind humans.

 

Haha, cheers.

Why do you think that there is a God?

 

It works the other way around too. People treating others like crap, especially homosexuals whom are commonly treated like social outcasts amongst fundamentalist-Christian societies. Terrorist bombings, abortion cliniques being burnt to the ground, hateful preachers telling others they're going to burn in the fiery pits of Hell for all eternity, you name it.

At least it's a good thing the majority of religious folks are civilized, peaceful human beings, despite the few nutjobs that ruins the entire reputation of their particular religion with aforementioned atrocious acts of physical/verbal abuse.

 

yea i do i believe wen we all die we raise up to heaven unless we were bad or asses u may go to hell rofl but i say i do believe in god!

 

The origin of god ideas is lost in antiquity. At least
one reason for advocating a god idea was to explain natural
phenomena, such as floods and pestilence. Such god ideas
affect behavior, like causing people to offer sacrifices.
Rulers encouraged those beliefs that reinforced their
control. Most surviving religions owe their existence to
government support, which continues out of habit.

 

Could somebody like put some big bold text on the first page telling people to present their view with a reason and or evidence?

 

Christianity is essential
It ain't part, but fully official
You don't believe in God? Makes you unofficial
At the end he leaves you lethal
Satan is insecurity of all people
There is such thing as Good and Evil
Good refers God, Evil refers Satan
Adam and Eve is legitimate, it was God who made 'em.

 

Why do you believe in God?

I think I will.

A clever set of rhymes, but can you back up your beliefs with evidence?