Why Don't You Believe?

I want to put something out here: It seems to me that, if there is a just God, HeSheIt would be amenable to letting folks into HeavenParadiseWhatever if they lived good, respectable lives...like Ten Commandments lives, or Ten Cardinal Precepts lives if you're like me and want to be of an Indian religion even though you're white as a polar bear.

This whole thing of "Worship God and accept Jesus as your savior or you're FUCKED m'boy" seems really egotistical of God, to be honest. HeSheIt IS God, but c'mon. If you want people to just be nice and all, what do you care if they acknowledge your presence?

TAKiNGBACKSUNDAY<333:

I am a Christian and I'm proud of it.
I believe there is a God.
I haven't read the whole bible but, I'd love to.
Everyone sins but, few ask for forgiveness.
It's natural to sin, God doesn't like when you do it, but everyone does.
If you ask for forgivness, he will forgive you.
It's not like he expects you to be perfect because, only God himself and his son are. No one is a match to God's power..

but that's so ridiculous. o_o

TAKiNGBACKSUNDAY<333:

I am a Christian and I'm proud of it.
I believe there is a God.
I haven't read the whole bible but, I'd love to.
Everyone sins but, few ask for forgiveness.
It's natural to sin, God doesn't like when you do it, but everyone does.
If you ask for forgivness, he will forgive you.
It's not like he expects you to be perfect because, only God himself and his son are. No one is a match to God's power..

No, God forgives everyone. At last that is what I was taught. There just one problem in that. Why if he forgives everyone we still have to go and confess it in church?
Why if God is everywhere and knows everything I have to tell my sins to someone else and why cant I pray at home and ask for forgiveness myself?
I mean, I know people who are ashamed of doing something and then they don't confess it in church, juts the ordinary basic stuff and then they don't get forgiven by that.
How can God forgive everyone, including rapists and murderers if they don't fee sorry for what they have done?
How can I say I'm sorry for something that I have done because its a sin and I don't feel sorry at all?

I go to religion class for eight years and I still don't understand some facts

I dont believe in God. Im absolutely fine with people who do believe in God, whoever it is.
I respect any person, as long as the person is willing to respect me.
Ive asked myself a lot of times if there is a god.. I dont know. It could be easy to just say 'There is a god. Lets all believe in God the almighty, so he will help us all out of our distress.'
It just doesnt work for me.. So.. I think i believe there is something out there, but i dont believe in the God as described in the Bible.

i believe in a higher power(or powers) however, i don't neccesarily believe in god as one being that rules over everything. I think it is very much possible that man could have created god as the 'ultimate' authority figure. I mean, back then the rulers were kings and men were the only gender allowed to have a voice. In the bible God is described as a King and is obviously of the male gender-hence "father". The church put women in their place, only allowing women to go so far as to become a nun-only men were allowed the "holy" privialge to get the closest to god. I mean the whole church reflects the society of that time, wouldn't it make sense that it could have just been made up? Also the bible wasn't even written by jesus-it was written in various guys view points on what was happening at the time. God was also described in the bible as being revengful and cruel. They put the "fear of god" into many, could the whole bible just be a historical-fiction? Did they just take real events that were happening and put fake stories behind them to make people so scared of god's wrath that they do and believe whatever they say? maybe-thats just some of the questions that i have from having to go to mass for my whole life-but no one really knows do they?

Why don't I believe is Santa Claus? Oh, you mean God.

Well, I do believe. And nothing can change that. I go to church every weekend and I go to a Catholic School. I'll teach my kids about God and take them to church. I have two crucifixes(can't spell). One blessed by Pope John Paul II and the other by Pope Bendict(spell?). I wear one everyday. Without it a feel naked. I know that no matter what God will love me. Even though I love Green Day a lot and I love the songs Jesus of Suburbia and St. Jimmy, God always knows that those are songs and that doesn't mean anything. God always comes first. I mean I'm not the most religious person. If you really knew me you'd never guess that I was sort of religious. But I used to be worried I'd stop going to church, but not anymore. Lately I have been feeling closer to God. And I recently started listen to a lot of Christian Rock and watching a show called Steelroots. I love it all. I'm going to believe for a long time.

i beleave in god and jesus, but i don't beleave in everything the bible says, it contradicts itself too much and was writtian by men. and its been translated alot and people could have changed things in it. i consider myself christian becasue i beleave in jesus, but i don't beleave in evrything about it.

JESSY NIGHTMARE:

My Questions/Statements.
1.] How can you trust the bible if it's written by man who are sinners?
2.] Christians are told they have free will. 'Do what I say or die and burn in hell.' That doesn't sound like free will to me.
3.] If Christians are supposed to love eachother as thy selves or whatever. How come they always discriminate other religions and homosexuals? That's not very loving.

1.] The Bible was apparently written in God's Word, which means it comes from the Lord itself [I think].
2.] I don't think that quote exists. God gave the 10 commandments but that was to guide those people when they were stuck in the Jungle. He wasn't ordering them to follow the 10 commandemts but suggesting that they do if they wanted to survive as a communtity in the wilderness.
3.] I agree. What's with that??

And my reply to the topic in general... I don't believe simply because I don't want to close my mind. I'm still learning about the world and by giving myself to one faith I believe that I won't be able to learn all that I can without bias. Also, I believe that if you join a Religion then you must follow all aspects of that faith and to be honest I frankly don't want to; I like the way I'm living my life at the moment and if I were to be a Christian then I'd be giving up an awful lot of the things that I love, and in my opinion, my free will. And I don't want to.

Surfer Babe:

1.] The Bible was apparently written in God's Word, which means it comes from the Lord itself [I think].
2.] I don't think that quote exists. God gave the 10 commandments but that was to guide those people when they were stuck in the Jungle. He wasn't ordering them to follow the 10 commandemts but suggesting that they do if they wanted to survive as a communtity in the wilderness.
3.] I agree. What's with that??

And my reply to the topic in general... I don't believe simply because I don't want to close my mind. I'm still learning about the world and by giving myself to one faith I believe that I won't be able to learn all that I can without bias. Also, I believe that if you join a Religion then you must follow all aspects of that faith and to be honest I frankly don't want to; I like the way I'm living my life at the moment and if I were to be a Christian then I'd be giving up an awful lot of the things that I love, and in my opinion, my free will. And I don't want to.

Disclaimer: I'm not religious and I don't have an immense knowledge of the Bible, so I'm just gunna do my best...

1. The Bible is a collection of stories passed down between generations and laid down by people in around the 13th Century, although I'm not sure of the exact date. The four main books in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are what those disciples saw and how they describe the events that took place. At some points God is quoted directly, such as with the 10 Commandments.

2. True, the Bible doesn't say those words directly (probably) but the basic message is there. The laws laid down are, as you say, guidelines, but those who break the guidelines seem to be punished greatly. God himself seems to kill a lot of people throughout the bible, namely those who drowned when he flooded the earth to 'wash away the filth'. Christians don't have much free will though, especially if they're very strong religiously.

3. The Bible is full of hypocritical thoughts and statements, so just take it's assumptions with a pinch of salt. I don't believe that much of it is true, anyway. Its more a collection of stories that are thrown together to try and control people.


I don't believe in God mainly because I think it's preposterous that such a thing can exist. It's even stranger, to me personally, that people can continue believing in such things so strongly in this modern world. While there may be a truth and morals behind many of the book in the bible (eg. Jesus existing - although he wasn't the Messiah, just a preacher of sorts; Noah's Ark - there was a major flood around that time in the Middle East but nowhere near that large), I think much of it is just a way for he higher authorities to exert a control over people in a much more subtle and voluntary way. You'll probably all grill me and quote a lot of the bible for me but meh.... it's what I think.

409 Coffeemaker:

Disclaimer: I'm not religious and I don't have an immense knowledge of the Bible, so I'm just gunna do my best...

1. The Bible is a collection of stories passed down between generations and laid down by people in around the 13th Century, although I'm not sure of the exact date. The four main books in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are what those disciples saw and how they describe the events that took place. At some points God is quoted directly, such as with the 10 Commandments.

2. True, the Bible doesn't say those words directly (probably) but the basic message is there. The laws laid down are, as you say, guidelines, but those who break the guidelines seem to be punished greatly. God himself seems to kill a lot of people throughout the bible, namely those who drowned when he flooded the earth to 'wash away the filth'. Christians don't have much free will though, especially if they're very strong religiously.

3. The Bible is full of hypocritical thoughts and statements, so just take it's assumptions with a pinch of salt. I don't believe that much of it is true, anyway. Its more a collection of stories that are thrown together to try and control people.


I don't believe in God mainly because I think it's preposterous that such a thing can exist. It's even stranger, to me personally, that people can continue believing in such things so strongly in this modern world. While there may be a truth and morals behind many of the book in the bible (eg. Jesus existing - although he wasn't the Messiah, just a preacher of sorts; Noah's Ark - there was a major flood around that time in the Middle East but nowhere near that large), I think much of it is just a way for he higher authorities to exert a control over people in a much more subtle and voluntary way. You'll probably all grill me and quote a lot of the bible for me but meh.... it's what I think.

No, I think I agree with most of what you said. I actually wrote that first part in the view of a Christian from what we learnt in Philosophy. I really don't know that much about that Bible.

I don't think God punished people for not following the 10 commandments, though. I know he did kill a lot of people and I think that completely contradicts the idea of God being 'all loveing' and such, but if someone refused to follow his rules I'm pretty sure he didn't punish them directly.

And you're right about Christians not having proper free will. In my view Religions are really quite restricting, that's another reason that I'm not religious. But then I also don't think that anyone has proper free will, so there you go.

K I've run out of steam now ._.

If God is in fact non-existing what do you think the people who came up with the whole concept were thinking when they created it? Like "Oh, we're gonna make all these people follow a fake guy and listen to him so we can have them under our control." How did it last so long them? Maybe there was a man named Jesus he was probably a healer and preached many things but he probably didnt expect fo it to be around almost thousands of years after his death. Also where does the universe end? How far is forever? Why was the whole universe just here? Questions

Sheepo@_@:

Like "Oh, we're gonna make all these people follow a fake guy and listen to him so we can have them under our control."

Thats exactly what I think happened. People know that fear is power, fear to a higher authority can easily be used to control people, and having an all powerful God is the ultimate weapon of control. What do people fear? Spending enternity in hell, thats a fairly easy concept to use to control people.

Quote

How did it last so long them? Maybe there was a man named Jesus he was probably a healer and preached many things but he probably didnt expect fo it to be around almost thousands of years after his death. Also where does the universe end? How far is forever? Why was the whole universe just here? Questions

How did it last so long? Thats not really a tricky question.. thats like asking how any tradition got started. It was started by a select few and became popular and cultural.

Where does the universe end? What does that have to do with religion?

Why was the whole universe just here? Well, I can tell you that it wasn't because some 'god' magically appeared, snapped his fingers and it appeared, do you realize how compltely illogical that is? it makes NO sense at all. (in my opinion)

I_worship_tre_Cool:

Thats exactly what I think happened. People know that fear is power, fear to a higher authority can easily be used to control people, and having an all powerful God is the ultimate weapon of control. What do people fear? Spending enternity in hell, thats a fairly easy concept to use to control people.

How did it last so long? Thats not really a tricky question.. thats like asking how any tradition got started. It was started by a select few and became popular and cultural.

Where does the universe end? What does that have to do with religion?

Why was the whole universe just here? Well, I can tell you that it wasn't because some 'god' magically appeared, snapped his fingers and it appeared, do you realize how compltely illogical that is? it makes NO sense at all. (in my opinion)

But why make up a religion so people will follow you if you're gonna die anyway? God didnt magically appear he was always here [imo] and I also find it hard to beileve organisms were just here and created the universe because how did they get there? Its weird cause we will never know. And people make such a big fuss about it over believing and not believing.

Sheepo@_@:

But why make up a religion so people will follow you if you're gonna die anyway? God didnt magically appear he was always here [imo] and I also find it hard to beileve organisms were just here and created the universe because how did they get there? Its weird cause we will never know. And people make such a big fuss about it over believing and not believing.

I just told you why I felt they made up a religion, to brainwash and control people, and based on all those who follow it, I'd say its working fairly well.

And See, I have problems with this "God was always here" concept... it doesn't make sense. In all honesty, the majority of ideas about how the universe formed don't make sense, but that one in particular.

There are all different kinds of varried religions, how can you ever be sure the one you practice is correct?

I_worship_tre_Cool:

Sheepo@_@:

But why make up a religion so people will follow you if you're gonna die anyway? God didnt magically appear he was always here [imo] and I also find it hard to beileve organisms were just here and created the universe because how did they get there? Its weird cause we will never know. And people make such a big fuss about it over believing and not believing.

I just told you why I felt they made up a religion, to brainwash and control people, and based on all those who follow it, I'd say its working fairly well.

And See, I have problems with this "God was always here" concept... it doesn't make sense. In all honesty, the majority of ideas about how the universe formed don't make sense, but that one in particular.

There are all different kinds of varried religions, how can you ever be sure the one you practice is correct?

I am not sure. No one is. I said that.
How do you know if you're wrong? You dont know. But you feel its right not to believe. I feel its right to believe. You can call me brainwashed or whatever but I still follow it no matter what people say.

Sheepo@_@:

I am not sure. No one is. I said that.
How do you know if you're wrong? You dont know. But you feel its right not to believe. I feel its right to believe. You can call me brainwashed or whatever but I still follow it no matter what people say.

What it comes down to is faith. you either have it... or you don't.

I didn't really mean to use the word brainwashed... more decieved (in my opinion) but I don't share the same faith you do so.. you probably feel Im being decieved by not believing. Thats what makes this topic so much fun to discuss, no one can ever be proven right or wrong.

I_worship_tre_Cool:

Sheepo@_@:

I am not sure. No one is. I said that.
How do you know if you're wrong? You dont know. But you feel its right not to believe. I feel its right to believe. You can call me brainwashed or whatever but I still follow it no matter what people say.

What it comes down to is faith. you either have it... or you don't.

I didn't really mean to use the word brainwashed... more decieved (in my opinion) but I don't share the same faith you do so.. you probably feel Im being decieved by not believing. Thats what makes this topic so much fun to discuss, no one can ever be proven right or wrong.

True.

I_worship_tre_Cool:

Why was the whole universe just here? Well, I can tell you that it wasn't because some 'god' magically appeared, snapped his fingers and it appeared, do you realize how compltely illogical that is? it makes NO sense at all. (in my opinion)

True, but then you'll never actually know because you weren't there. No one ever will.

I think some people just want to give their responsibility to something else, or wanna someone to blame to, for the thing that happen to them..

And I don't like how the church and stuff tells you not to question god..

Make you Smile.:

I think some people just want to give their responsibility to something else, or wanna someone to blame to, for the thing that happen to them..

And I don't like how the church and stuff tells you not to question god..

However Some people feel that....

I think thats exactly right, religion is a safety net, more of a scapegoat for problems to offer moral comfort.