Why do you believe?

[scotth266]

So, no fellow Buddhists in this thread? I am a sad panda.

Oooh, a Buddhist! I have to say that your faith has always intruiged me. It's a nice concept.

Faith is faith, extremist or moderate. It's nothing to applaud at all. Alot of moderates are against homosexuality, gay marriage, gays adopting, and whatnot. In the past alot of moderates were against mixed race marriages, mixed schools, mixed bussing (I have a poster from a Christian group warning that mixed bussing would cause 'canniballism'), and black people in general. The only difference is that the extremists would kill while the moderates would holier-than-thouly stare or yell a bit.

We seem to have quite a different idea of which ones are moderate then, as I'd list all of those things as extremism

And you seem determined to only mention the bad things that have happened with faith of any kind. A lot of good came out of it too.

 

[scotth266]

Jesus Christ on a motorized jetski, enough with the religion/atheism bashing in this thread. It's like watching cats and dogs fight; or rather, dragons riding wolves fighting lions throwing pies. I know I'm not making much sense, so I'll finish with a "lay off the Haterade" sentiment.

I lol, and agree. To much bashing and pointless correction. The thread is supposed to be only about why people believe, for Crabman's sake. What happened to the first page?

 

[scotth266]

SNIP

Please, no more. I liked your previous post in this thread, but any more is unecessary. That war is over, and there's no need to start a new one. Let's just stick with the topic please?

 

[UltimatheChosen]

I'm an atheist. I was raised LDS (also known as Mormon), but abandoned that a few years ago. To me, the idea of God requiring faith makes very little sense... why would somebody give you the capacity for logic and deduction, then ask you to ignore those instincts?

 

[scotth266]

SNIP

Please, no more. I liked your previous post in this thread, but any more is unecessary. That war is over, and there's no need to start a new one. Let's just stick with the topic please?

I apologize, I'm not trying to start anything, just providing a little more information, I do nothing out of spite

Ok, I'll take your word for it. This thread just saw too much of that irrelevant stuff already: it doesn't nee to continue.

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

I'm an atheist. I was raised LDS (also known as Mormon), but abandoned that a few years ago. To me, the idea of God requiring faith makes very little sense... why would somebody give you the capacity for logic and deduction, then ask you to ignore those instincts?

You've never played the Sims?

 

[UltimatheChosen]

I'm an atheist. I was raised LDS (also known as Mormon), but abandoned that a few years ago. To me, the idea of God requiring faith makes very little sense... why would somebody give you the capacity for logic and deduction, then ask you to ignore those instincts?

You've never played the Sims?

As a matter of fact, I haven't. I really only play standard RPGs... the Sims genre/series has never appealed to me.

 

[SharPhoe]

I'm not religious, but I would prefer to believe in something... My reasoning for which is simple: I fear death. Not so much the act, but what comes after it. Or rather, was may or may not come after. I would like to believe there is some kind of afterlife or reincarnation or something waiting on the other side, and not just nothingness... you know?

 

[Mantonio]

I'm not religious, but I would prefer to believe in something... My reasoning for which is simple: I fear death. Not so much the act, but what comes after it. Or rather, was may or may not come after. I would like to believe there is some kind of afterlife or reincarnation or something waiting on the other side, and not just nothingness... you know?

Completely. What I would like to believe is something akin to what happens on the Discworld. Death turns up, you end up on a big desert, and afterwards you get what you think you deserve. Badd bing badda boom, everyone's happy.

My knowledge tells me that that probably isn't true though. Then again, who knows?

 

[HazukiHawkins]

What are your reasons for believing in a higher power (no matter what religion/faith you have), if you can name any?
Were there any special occurances in your life that made you believe? "Miracles"?
Was it your upbringing? Social influences?
Or something else entirely?

I only really believe in a godly entity of some sort -not some old guy with a beard and a glowy head in my case, no- that created the big bang or perhaps the cluster of mass that went off in the big bang... and bestowed the "spark of life", whatever it was that first caused a little bit of inanimate material to form a wiggly little amoeba or whatever the first lifeform was. "It came with a meteor" (Spore explanation) doesn't do it for me, because where did the meteor come from and how did life get there?

No, I believe something extraordinary must have happened at some point; either that, or maybe there was some sort of anomaly that happens when massive (big bang grade) amounts of energy are unleashed, which triggered a Frankenstein-ish animation of inanimate matter? And even if that isn't so, maybe two different godly entities did these two things (created mass and life, respectively)... I don't see any reason there can be only one, unless we're suddenly talking about Highlander. <.<

To answer your question, though, I believe these things because they allow me to feel I understand the world I live in; they would be theories as much as beliefs, I suppose, but since I choose to believe them rather than hoping to test them somehow, I feel it falls under the field of religion. It would be comforting to believe there is a divine entity that watches over us and makes sure that people who are good and/or pay it due respect come to no great harm, but I would have to turn a lot of blind eyes to be able to believe that and it just isn't in my nature to do so.

 

[simmeh]

Lots of big long expositions here, so I'll be quick.

I was raised in a religious family. I attended church twice every Sunday for 18 years. For those years, I was an outright Christian, without a doubt in my mind.

I then went to university and saw life outside of the "bubble". I talked to athiests and agnostics and Muslims and deists and Buddhists and a whole bunch of other people. Then, questions started to form.

I still believe in God. The best way to put is a gut instinct - no amount of empirical evidence can prove it. In fact, I would still say I believe in the Christian God. But, I feel like something is missing out of the explanation I was given for so long. What that something is, I don't know, and I don't know if I'll ever find that something. For now, though, I've reached a fairly comfortable spot.

 

[stormcaller]

I find it easier to believe in a god then the theory that we are all some big mistake.

To totally misquote the Bull McCabe from The Field play (We're reading it in English)

"God, he's the man I send my prayers to and sometimes argue with" Kind of that, god is someone to talk to about what you've done, what you haven't,why you did it, why you didn't do it. More over, the promise of Heaven gives me something to work towards by tring to be a good person in life. (Not to say I wouldn't anyhow but why do something your good at for free?)

It's part of my uprbringing, I was taught God is the kind, benevolent being who would reward you for good and always allow you a chance to repent, unless you seriously fuck up of course.

My arguement with the whole "Then why do bad things happen?" is and it's going to sound like a cop-out. Everything done is a punishment or a warning, if god never reminded us he is there (wo)man would get overly proud of him/herself and believe the works of the world are all by his/her hands.

 

[ZeeClone]

I spent 3 months after university with my Mrs living/working in the nearest city to our uni.

In that time we really hit rock bottom. Moving house three times in a week was the worst, spending less than 48 hours in one house before the landlord kicked us out because he didn't want to live with a muslim.

During that time I was working three jobs that were 20 miles apart with nothing but my bike & public transport to get me between them. My fiance was working 2 jobs as well, but they were slightly less crazy travel distance.

I was sleeping in snatches of 2 hours, running into the house to shower and reload my rucksack with food every other day.

Just before christmas in 06 I got a call from a company based near Bristol offering me a job and relocation expenses.

I truly believe that I would not have survived that time period without the will of the almighty. It truly was a hellish trial He put us both through, but we're stronger for it now.

So really, that's me. I look forward to reading other people's comments. Try to keep the flaming to a minimum.

That's a brilliant example of why it's good to have faith, and how it can give you strength. But what was it, if there was any single event or influence, that gave you, I don't know, the freedom I suppose, the have faith? (I mean upbringing, friends, etc).

Let me give you a bit of background first off.

I was born to Christian parents, my father is an anglican minister, my mother a lay-preacher. I was baptised and confirmed and was happy (as much as you can be as a teenager) in my faith.

Certain events occurred in my first year of university that utterly shattered my faith in Christianity and the Almighty. At best I believe I would have found myself a Christmas Christian for the rest of my days.

In my final year I met a girl who would go on to be my fiancée she is also a quite devout Muslim. Our relationship developed to the extent that the serious conversation of marriage popped up and that if she was going to marry me I'd need to be Muslim. (This particular point can be a debate for another thread, I'll try to keep on topic here.)

I personally could see little difference between the God of Christianity and Allah of Islam and this led me to read further into Islam, knowing in advance that if I converted just to get married it would be as though I never had. This was something I didn't want.

Through the reading I did I re-discovered the faith I had in God, like finding a single hot coal at the bottom of a fireplace covered in clinker.

Most of my reading went on hold just prior to the events detailed above at the end of 06. That turned out to be the fan that really re-ignited my faith.

To properly answer your question Dys, I would say that:
- it was my parents and my upbringing that instilled my faith in me
- Events in my late teens that shattered my faith in Christian dogma
- Meeting my fiancée showed me that dogma wasn't a pre-requisite to faith

I should also say something that has truly cemented my faith and that is that even after telling my parents about my intention to convert (which was a conversation I will gladly never have twice) they are fully accepting of me as a Muslim (especially from the dietary requirements end) and of my fiancée.

That's quite a post I must admit. If I've skipped a bit from not concentrating or I've managed to waffle around your question, I'd be happy to clarify.

Zee

 

[Skeleon]

Well, there was a lot of (more or less) subliminal aggression in some of the posts, I'm happy we seem to be getting back onto a plane of level-headed discussion/posting of opinions.

Anyway, here's another thing that came to my mind while reading through some of the latest posts. Unfortunately, I can't tell you where exactly I have heard of this because my memory fails me, but there was a theory regarding the big bang and the whole "what was before the singularity"-question.

It's quite simple but nonetheless difficult to imagine; this theory states that the universe is circular in that there is no chronological beginning or end and that there have in fact been infinite big bangs before the last one and there'll be infinite more after this universe has fully expanded and then collapsed in upon itself again.

Now, what is pretty difficult to imagine is the fact that there wouldn't be anywhere the "first" singularity came from, since there never was a first one. It was always there and will always be there, ever expanding and collapsing, forming a new universe everytime, with our perception of time being of no importance whatsoever.
If you think about this too long and in too much detail, it can really get your brain in a twist.
Just putting that out there for people to think about.

 

[SamuelT]

I don't have a religion, I believe in what I can see and understand. Some people believe in angels and heaven and hell and that kind of stuff. It would be neat to belive in such a thing, and know that after you die you'll have some kind of purpose, but my natural paranoïa and scepticism just won't allow me to belive in stuff I can't understand.

....Life's lonely..

 

[someonehairy-ish]

I'm an atheist but I think religion is a good thing because it reinforces a moral code. But I'm kinda of saddened that humanity is incapable of operating properly without believing that there is some kind of higher power about to punish them/reward them instead of just being good to each other simply because we should.
Nowadays there are fewer believers than ever and the world is definately slipping into the pits. Which sucks because being an atheist this means the world works much better while it is working around a lie.
As for being an atheist, there is plenty that convinces me that there is no God. People say its illogical that the universe just happened by itself. I say its illogical that Gods can have just happened by themselves. More illogical, even, seeing as they are supposed to be able to do almost anything with no explanation better than they 'just can.'

I was brought up as a christian but I've always had a scientific mind and apply logic to everything. If anything, being brought up christian reinforced my atheism because I hate being told what is and isnt so, I'd rather consider all suggestions and come up with my own answer.
If this seems at all aggressive, soz. If people have a good argument as to why they believe what they do then great, but blind belief annoys me and most religious people I know view everything with blinkers on because of their religion.


Phew,, post and a half.