Do you believe in God(s)?

http://nmaps.net/user/RadiumFalcon · Postby **Radium** » 2008.10.02 (02:08)

I personally do not. I am a man of science. Evolution is not a theory, it is a fact. The amount of evidence supporting God is virtually nothing. Evolution, however, has loads of proof.

I have no intention to offend anyone so don't post if you are going to cuss me out.

Discuss your opinion.

Postby **t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư** » 2008.10.02 (02:22)

Not as I've seen one defined as of yet, no.

http://nmaps.net/user/epigone · Postby **epigone** » 2008.10.02 (02:26)

I'm not particularly convinced by any current organized religions that their view of the world is correct. But I'm open to the idea of a god existing.

http://nmaps.net/user/Triptolemus · Postby **BNW** » 2008.10.02 (02:35)

God is a very peculiar word.

Mostly it provokes a sense that there is a greater being somewhere that is omnipotent. This idea scares most people. Only the idea of there being a heaven gives people the thought that god is kind. Truthfully if there is a god, then his motives are such that we cannot understand or begin to comprehend what he/she is starting to do.

If I had to believe in any god(s) just for the sake of it. I would definitely go Norse. Valhalla seems like such fun :D.

Seriously, I feel as if there is a being out there, but I don't truly believe there is a God.

http://nmaps.net/user/KinGAleX · Postby **KinGAleX** » 2008.10.02 (03:01)

I'm interested to know what you mean by 'being' that wouldn't be synonymous with an already established concept of a god.

I don't believe any widely established concept of a God, but I do believe in the interconnectedness of all things. Every single 'thing' in this universe can be appreciated on some level, if only the marvellous physical laws and theories they obey and relate to. This is enough of an 'all is worthy of praise' idea for me to see everything as a sort of god: not one superintelligent being, but a oneness that I can view spiritually. Also, my family's supposed experience with past lives, and my stepfather's belief in his having a spirit guide and ability to see aurae, which I don't ask you to believe me about, certainly instill some sense of spirituality in me external from the idea of an omnipotent being.

http://nmaps.net/user/Triptolemus · Postby **BNW** » 2008.10.02 (03:16)

KinGAleX wrote:I'm interested to know what you mean by 'being' that wouldn't be synonymous with an already established concept of a god.

the state or fact of existing

That is what I mean. I'm not trying to put forth the idea that "being" is a living organism.

I probably should have put the word "something" rather than "being".

http://nmaps.net/user/ · Postby **DemonzLunchBreak** » 2008.10.02 (03:26)

Evolution and theism are not mutually exclusive, Radium. It's possible for a person to believe (consistently) that God created the universe so that things would develop in a certain way. Of course, this means God's a dick, but that's a separate issue.

Personally, I am a strong atheist toward some gods, such as the Christian God or Zeus. I am a weak atheist towards pantheistic/deist gods. Strong atheism is the belief that God (or whatever gods the belief is being applied to) do not exist. Weak atheism is the belief that evidence is not conclusive one way or the other, and so it is best to withhold belief.

http://nmaps.net/user/RadiumFalcon · Postby **Radium** » 2008.10.02 (03:32)

DemonzLunchBreak wrote:Evolution and theism are not mutually exclusive, Radium. It's possible for a person to believe (consistently) that God created the universe so that things would develop in a certain way. Of course, this means God's a dick, but that's a separate issue.

Personally, I am a strong atheist toward some gods, such as the Christian God or Zeus. I am a weak atheist towards pantheistic/deist gods. Strong atheism is the belief that God (or whatever gods the belief is being applied to) do not exist. Weak atheism is the belief that evidence is not conclusive one way or the other, and so it is best to withhold belief.

In that case, I am a weak atheist. Man really should not try to comprehend the greatness and complexity of our universe.

http://nmaps.net/user/ · Postby **blue_tetris** » 2008.10.02 (03:33)

Radium wrote:I am a man of science.

Radium wrote:Man really should not try to comprehend the greatness and complexity of our universe.

Hmmmm......

http://nmaps.net/user/Triptolemus · Postby **BNW** » 2008.10.02 (04:01)

blue_tetris wrote:
Radium wrote:I am a man of science.

Radium wrote:Man really should not try to comprehend the greatness and complexity of our universe.
Hmmmm......

I read that twice, then fell off my chair in stitches.

I would suggest looking for consistency in your posts.

http://nmaps.net/user/maestro · Postby **乳头的早餐谷物** » 2008.10.02 (04:18)

I don't believe in God (weak atheism). Furthermore, I believe all the gods of major religions (i.e. every one I've heard of) do not exist.

Some reasoning:

All the major religions contradict each other, so the majority of them must be wrong. Considering there is nothing that makes any one fundamentally stand out from the others, I have to assume they're all wrong. Even if I thought one must be correct, I wouldn't have any idea which one to pick.

There's not a lot to go on when it comes to picking a God to believe in. Yet (let's go with the idea that there is a God) this is the most important decision of my life and afterlife. It's ridiculous to think it could all come down to something so arbitrary. A benevolent god simply wouldn't condemn me to hell—and not just me, but that majority of the population—because I/they picked the wrong one.

So, I lack belief because there's no clear or reasonable candidate to believe in, and I actively disbelieve in any god that is supposed to be all-loving.

http://nmaps.net/user/ · Postby **Zora_S_Kenneth** » 2008.10.02 (04:22)

So here's this really hilarious situation I was faced with at a summer camp a long time ago. This boy comes up to me and asks "Do you believe in Evolution?"

My response:
*Sharp Laugh* There's nothing to believe in. *Walks away*

Should have responded:
BELIEVE? Do you believe in Science? Do you believe in Scientology? No, that was a bad one... Do you believe in math? Do you believe in biology? What about posting consistency? Eh? EH?

Note for lawyers and/or Tsukatu:
If he said "agree with", maybe I'd have listened to him for a bit longer than 3.5 milliseconds before laughing at him.

Edit:
I'm a weak atheist with a vengeance against all organized religions.

http://nmaps.net/user/condog_111 · Postby **Condog** » 2008.10.02 (04:41)

I'm a weak athiest for the most part, but sometimes it is more convenient for me to believe in some sort of God.

Yeah, I'm a fucking huge hypocrite.

http://nmaps.net/user/turtles · Postby **Turtle** » 2008.10.02 (05:46)

I definately believe in God. I also believe in evolution.

http://nmaps.net/user/Twistkill · Postby **Twistkill** » 2008.10.02 (12:10)

Is it just me, or am I the only theist left around here? Keron's sporadic, mac_addict only appears every blue moon, maximo is now married and too busy, and Obby's the same way. Everyone who's posted here except for Turtle have said they don't believe in the concept of a God existing.

Yes, Christianity is my religion (albeit I'm not practicing it as much as I should be, but it's there regardless), but I'm staying out of this one anyway. I'm outnumbered and not knowledgeable enough to rebut.

Postby **Lenny** » 2008.10.02 (12:43)

You might want to backtrack and define "God". I believe in some other being or... force... if you will, but not a god as such.

Postby **ZZ9** » 2008.10.02 (15:17)

No. The universe is complicated enough as it is without having to through that into the works.

Postby **t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư** » 2008.10.02 (16:27)

Twistkill wrote:Is it just me, or am I the only theist left around here?

Welcome to the largely godless internet.

Postby **Rule** » 2008.10.02 (17:01)

Well, there is quite a lot of stuff that can't be completely explained.
But no, I do not particularly believe in god. Or anything else supernatural.

http://www.nmaps.net/user/Kablizzy · Postby **Kablizzy** » 2008.10.02 (17:56)

Twistkill wrote:Is it just me, or am I the only theist left around here? Keron's sporadic, mac_addict only appears every blue moon, maximo is now married and too busy, and Obby's the same way. Everyone who's posted here except for Turtle have said they don't believe in the concept of a God existing.

Yes, Christianity is my religion (albeit I'm not practicing it as much as I should be, but it's there regardless), but I'm staying out of this one anyway. I'm outnumbered and not knowledgeable enough to rebut.

Not as such. I believe in something - What that is, I'm not sure. I'm not on the opposite side of Atheism, however - Mostly because there's no dichotomy between belief systems to keep me from needing to defend my belief system - It's a belief.

http://nmaps.net/user/incluye · Postby **otters** » 2008.10.02 (18:00)

Tsukatu wrote:Welcome to the largely godless internet.

Sad but highly true. Nevertheless, I'm an ardent Christian myself.

http://nmaps.net/user/therealone · Postby **TheRealOne** » 2008.10.02 (18:31)

Personally I do not believe in God, or any form there of. I feel that science has proven many ideas of Religion wrong. Also I think that Religion was based of fear of the unknown. It is human nature to want to know. that said in biblical times people did not understand eclipses, the shape of the earth, our solar system, and many other things. they cant be blamed of this, they just didnt have the technology to be able to understand it, but they came up with ideas to explain what they saw. the ancient civilizations did this first with their ideas of sun Gods and thunder Gods. this need to explain what they didnt know lead them to think up Omnipotent Beings that control everything from some empyrean plan.

Now don't get me wrong I dont think its wrong to believe in God or Gods, but I think that one should have Ideas not Faith. I think that religion as an institution is a bad thing, more murders and atrocities have been carried out in the name of God when influenced by an institution. One should question and be free to question, if you think that what is being said in your chosen belief then question it, investigate it, find out for yourself. Now I am not telling you go out and try and prove God's existence, but have and idea rather than a firm, ridged belief.

i will be glad to debate this more in depth if anyone wants too.

http://nmaps.net/user/ · Postby **blue_tetris** » 2008.10.02 (19:10)

I think these people that despise organized religion because they need shit to hate make normal secularists look bad. I love my fellow man. Hell, I even think his religions have often given him good focus, morals, and insight. Sure, some people use religion to do bad things or act unethically; but some people use money, authority, science, and language in the same way. It doesn't make those aspects of society inherently bad, it just makes them like any other tool.

On these forums, if there's ever a topic about religion and you have a degree of faith, you're just going to get browbeaten again into submissions using some oft-underhanded techniques of beration. You're best to stick to debates about politics, policies, and intuitive hypotheticals. The religion debate really doesn't go anywhere anymore. Moreover, it's not even fun anymore. It would have to be one of those things to be a worthwhile waste of time.

Postby **Qix** » 2008.10.02 (19:23)

blue_tetris wrote:The religion debate really doesn't go anywhere anymore. Moreover, it's not even fun anymore. It would have to be one of those things to be a worthwhile waste of time.

I honestly have to agree, religion on the debate forum has been done way to much. I its better to debate issues that have a chance of being resolved...

As an answer to the question: I don't know.

http://nmaps.net/user/xaelar · Postby **xaelar** » 2008.10.02 (20:20)

I don't believe in a God and that worked/works quite well.

Metanet Forums

Do you believe in God(s)?

Who is online