Are you a believer in god?

Frank the tank

The "Sugar daddy turned murderer" thread has brought up god.

How many of us on here believe there is a god, heaven and hell?

Personally I am not a believer, however, at times I have questioned "him" and the reasons why things happen.

fat daddy

Nope ..... although I pretend he exists to satisfy my 5 y/o daughters needs to tell me who created the world.

the second she discovers Santa is not real, I am dropping the biggy and letting her know that the tooth fairy, easter bunny and god are also make believe

Stevo_666

I don't but keep an open mind - all I need is some verifiable evidence of the existence of the supreme being like a youtube clip of him.

sniper68

God only exists in peoples minds as some people need to believe there a "good" being looking after them.
Good needs and opposite hence we also "have" the Devil or Satan.
Some people need the crutch of Religion/God to lean on/blame.

I neither believe nor need the crutch

vimfuego

Which god's that then?

Pastafarian in outlook myself

homers_double

ibbo68 wrote:

Some people need the crutch of Religion/God to lean on/blame.

I neither believe nor need the crutch

Pretty much this.

There is no evidence of Jesus, yes there are anecdotes in an old book but compare that to a fossil for example.

LukeTC

I was brought up in a pretty religious house, was a believer for many years, went to church every Sunday up to about the age 12. Then my Nan died of cancer (multiple tumors hidden in the guise of IBS) which was pretty much the day I questioned why my God would allow that, struggled with my faith until about 15 when girls suddenly became interesting and as good a reason as any to finally call it a day much to the behest of my old dear, who still to this day is a bit frosty with me (I'm 27 now).

Part of me I guess will always want to believe that there's something beyond but I think the cynical part of me will always prevail now, all the evidence points to it just being a story to keep people being nice to each other, though it would seem religion causes more conflict than it solves these days.

Stevo_666

vimfuego wrote:

Which god's that then?

Pastafarian in outlook myself

A friend of mine had some fun with a bunch of Jehovahs Witnesses who turned up on his doorstep one day. He asked them if the believed in a number of Gods like Thor, Buddha, Zeus etc. When they said no, he replied that he just went one God further.

capt_slog

vimfuego wrote:

Which god's that then?

Good point that.

I went to a Christening of one of the family some years ago and the vicar in his sermon asked for a show of hands to the questions...
Do you beleive in god?
Do you NOT believe in god?

...and then discussed with some of the non-believers

My mum who also there noticed I didn't put my hand up for either and said I was avcoiding the issue. I pointed out that I didn't believe in HIS god, that might not mean that i didn't believe in some sort of god, and they weren't the same thing.

Christians tend to be a bit polar.

I still haven't made my mind up, I think there might be something, but it has nothing to do with the the fabled magic jew and there's no use in praying to 'it'.

davesnothere

No I'm not a believer.

If other people find some comfort in it then good luck to them, I wouldn't criticise them for it.

I once ruined Boxing Day by telling my (now former) Mother in Law that 'God was an imaginary friend for grown ups' since then I would keep that opinion to myself for fear of upsetting people. Ironically my new Mother in Law is even more religious. My fault as I seem to have a thing for former convent school girls.

rjsterry

homers double wrote:

ibbo68 wrote:

Some people need the crutch of Religion/God to lean on/blame.

I neither believe nor need the crutch

Pretty much this.

There is no evidence of Jesus, yes there are anecdotes in an old book but compare that to a fossil for example.

It is generally accepted that there's plenty of evidence for the existence of Jesus as a person - it is the Son of God bit that is contested.

There are lots of different ideas of what/who God is, but I notice that the more fervent atheists always pick on the easy target of the literalist bearded man on a cloud interpretation.

fat daddy

rjsterry wrote:

pick on the easy target of the literalist bearded man on a cloud interpretation.

seriously ? ... you don't think the 24 armed Indian goddess would have been an easier target. ?

LukeTC

fat daddy wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

pick on the easy target of the literalist bearded man on a cloud interpretation.

seriously ? ... you don't think the 24 armed Indian goddess would have been an easier target. ?

Or the bloke with the head of an elephant for that matter (Ganesh, not the actual Elephant man, that guy had it rough...)

Anonymous

Not at all - total bunkum !!

evil_breakfast

"It was Christianity which first painted the devil on the worlds wall; It was Christianity which first brought sin into the world. Belief in the cure which it offered has now been shaken to it's deepest roots; but belief in the sickness which it taught and propagated continues to exist." Nietzsche

NeXXus

No but I often came top in RE exams somehow

blueturtle

It amazes me how many people on this forum try to out do each other trying to prove that they are more secular than the next. For the record I believe in God and Jesus the Son of God. Always have and always will. Yes i am a committed Christian,and contrary to popular belief consider myself to be a normal everyday person without any bile or anger to my fellow secularists. Have a Happy Christmas one and all!!

mrfpb

Yep, I beleive in God. Spent a few years post-teen tyring my best not to, but he won't go away.

fat daddy

blueturtle wrote:

It amazes me how many people on this forum try to out do each other trying to prove that they are more secular than the next.!!

you only feel that way as you have a vested interest in religion ..... if you look at it from a far, people on this board try to out do each other with EVERYTHING

blueturtle

To fat daddy.Thank you for your words of wisdom!

charlie_potatoes

If it did exist then I'm not sure that I'd be worshipping it. Comes across as a bit of a nutter.

crispybug2

No, but the natural blonde is a regular attendee and my little girl had her first holy communion this year.

I will however be in church tomorrow evening for the children's mass, I know I said that I don't believe in god but I'm not enough of an atheist to boycott my once a year trip to church!

rjsterry

fat daddy wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

pick on the easy target of the literalist bearded man on a cloud interpretation.

seriously ? ... you don't think the 24 armed Indian goddess would have been an easier target. ?

You're rather proving my point. You'd have to check with a Hindu, but I'd guess that like most religious images, they are symbolic rather than literal representations of the deity. For example God is sometimes depicted as an old man with a beard to symbolise wisdom, not because people believed He actually was an old man with a beard.

FocusZing

Who created the God?

FocusZing

Who created the God that created the God?

FocusZing

Who created the who?

Phil&hisbikes

Nooooo!

I firmly believe it's some sort of emotional crutch for the weak willed and woolly minded!
That said, whatever gets people through the day .....

If I find myself at a wedding, funeral or other type of church/religious ceremony then I'll show respect as I would visiting anyone's "house"

Too many bad things happen to us individually and to the world as a whole for me to take a kindly, forgiving, all powerful god too seriously to be honest though.

meanredspider

Ever since I watched two teenage boys lower their dad into the ground, I've struggled to believe in any benevolent being. From the time at which the Wee Free preacher said that Jesus wouldn't let the boys down as their father had, I'm just plain angry at organised religion. That the father was one of the best human beings I've met only made me more angry. As my own son, at 13, was also suffering with cancer and that I'd lost another young colleague (and father of young kids) to necrotising fasciitis and a third to cancer within weeks just made me wonder why anybody would believe in a benevolent being.

I don't mind if people want to believe in god just so long as it has no impact on my life.

FocusZing

Who created (anti)matter?

smoggysteve

Don't be concerned about believing in God. Just hope that if there is one , he believes in you

city_boy

No. There is no evidence for any supernatural being but plenty of proof that humans invent gods.

I've just finished reading Sapiens by Yuval Harari (highly recommended btw) and he provides a number of compelling hypotheses as to how many man made fictions such as currency, politics, morality and religion (etc.) have played critical roles in human social evolution for both good and bad.

As others have said though, if someone adds value or meaning to their life through faith then good on them. Providing they don't try to impose their beliefs on others then they can believe what they like.