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Do you believe in god?


EASF

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Julio, in your house do you have long beads that look like curtains with the face of jesus on them hanging from like a room door. I hope you know what I mean! lol. The best is the dudes that put jesus's face on there headlights on there cars lol

 

LOL!

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Julio, in your house do you have long beads that look like curtains with the face of jesus on them hanging from like a room door. I hope you know what I mean! lol. The best is the dudes that put jesus's face on there headlights on there cars lol

 

Nope. I don't.

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I don't believe there is a god (or gods) to believe in or not. I mean seriously, we (humans) create a creator, so that we feel like our lives have a purpose, then many (but not all obviously) do things and act ways that are connected to this idea of a creator, ultimately ending up dividing humanity (often with death & suffering involved) vs bring it together. If there was a god or gods, i'm pretty sure they would want everyone to get along, otherwise what's the point? Also, the idea that the only thing that lead to our creation was chance & natural selection is far more humbling & amazing than some fairy god mother who wanted someone to worship them....

 

- A

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I believe in something. I don't know what it is...it could be God, a god, or a goddess. I don't think things can just come out of nowhere. Plus, I believe in intangible concepts such as love and trust that I can't see, so I can't completely discredit the existence of an intangible higher power.

 

Plus, I have survived through too much by sheer coincidence to believe that there isn't some kind of higher power.

 

What I don't believe in are dogmas. I'm not really into organized religions that seek to control people's lives.

 

EDIT: I think the term for what I am is "Theist".

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I believe in something. I don't know what it is...it could be God, a god, or a goddess. I don't think things can just come out of nowhere. Plus, I believe in intangible concepts such as love and trust that I can't see, so I can't completely discredit the existence of an intangible higher power.

 

Plus, I have survived through too much by sheer coincidence to believe that there isn't some kind of higher power.

 

What I don't believe in are dogmas. I'm not really into organized religions that seek to control people's lives.

 

EDIT: I think the term for what I am is "Theist".

 

Yeh, that's the basic definition of a theist; the belief that some (at least one) higher being/power exists... nothin wrong w/ that....

 

Thing is, people aren't really labeled as theists.... There's this huge assumption in society that, if you believe in a higher power, then you belong to some religion... which I think is unfair....

 

There are a number of ppl. that believe in a higher power, that don't resort to whatever methods to worship & show reverence to said higher power..... I mean, I don't know if that's your position, per say, but I thought I'd just throw that out there....

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Hey, the higher being could be the universe as a whole. Who knows!

 

I personally feel that the idea of a creator is ingrained in us from before we are born by society and input from outside the womb especially auditory input, so the notion of such is easy to conclude upon. When i was 12 years old i realized that life is too random and the universe too complex for anything other than chance to have "created" it. We make things, so in the back of our minds "who/what made us" comes up. When jesus was around, do you really think anyone knew anything substantive outside their own little part on earth, let alone anything about the earth itself? Back then things were seen as god, devil, magic, the night was seen as mysterious no one knew what the sun was, aside from light in the sky. You really need to put it in perspective, they didn't have the slightest idea about anything scientific, and things we today understand were seen as acted upon or caused by some unseen force. I mean, i believe jesus was a guy, a real person, but just one who made a difference in a very primitive society where women were seen as property and slavery was a unquestioned fact of life. When you see it from that perspective, vs a current, modern perspective, you really realize, at least i did, that a large part of understanding who you are rests upon the understanding of your place in the world & universe, the environment around you. If you think snakes are demons, you won't see them as living beings, if you see an eclipse and don't know why it happens of course it's going to be seen as a bad omen, people were freaked out by it. To not be freaked out "god has his ways" etc. Also, i personally feel the universe & reality in general are far too complex and beyond our limited perception to ever fully comprehend, that alone tells me there is no way that anyone can say for sure there is or isn't a "larger presence". Not existing until proven factually otherwise.

 

- A

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I believe in something. I don't know what it is...it could be God, a god, or a goddess. I don't think things can just come out of nowhere. Plus, I believe in intangible concepts such as love and trust that I can't see, so I can't completely discredit the existence of an intangible higher power.

 

Plus, I have survived through too much by sheer coincidence to believe that there isn't some kind of higher power.

 

What I don't believe in are dogmas. I'm not really into organized religions that seek to control people's lives.

 

EDIT: I think the term for what I am is "Theist".

 

Sounds a little like deism to me.

 

I am something of a pantheist/deist myself, but mostly I do not care to entertain any religious impulses whatsoever.

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Hey, the higher being could be the universe as a whole. Who knows!

 

I personally feel that the idea of a creator is ingrained in us from before we are born by society and input from outside the womb especially auditory input, so the notion of such is easy to conclude upon. When i was 12 years old i realized that life is too random and the universe too complex for anything other than chance to have "created" it. We make things, so in the back of our minds "who/what made us" comes up. When jesus was around, do you really think anyone knew anything substantive outside their own little part on earth, let alone anything about the earth itself? Back then things were seen as god, devil, magic, the night was seen as mysterious no one knew what the sun was, aside from light in the sky. You really need to put it in perspective, they didn't have the slightest idea about anything scientific, and things we today understand were seen as acted upon or caused by some unseen force. I mean, i believe jesus was a guy, a real person, but just one who made a difference in a very primitive society where women were seen as property and slavery was a unquestioned fact of life. When you see it from that perspective, vs a current, modern perspective, you really realize, at least i did, that a large part of understanding who you are rests upon the understanding of your place in the world & universe, the environment around you. If you think snakes are demons, you won't see them as living beings, if you see an eclipse and don't know why it happens of course it's going to be seen as a bad omen, people were freaked out by it. To not be freaked out "god has his ways" etc. Also, i personally feel the universe & reality in general are far too complex and beyond our limited perception to ever fully comprehend, that alone tells me there is no way that anyone can say for sure there is or isn't a "larger presence". Not existing until proven factually otherwise.

 

- A

People from Jehovah's Witnesses once told me: "There is almost no chance that life could have been created randomly. Just like a watch, someone must have designed it."

 

I thought it through and found the logic to be weak. Think about it. If everything of increasing complexity must have a more complex creator, where does the chain end? Why is it acceptable for a complex being as God to exist without a creator, but everything else must have a creator? Just because something is complex doesn't mean it couldn't happen by chance. The odds were slim, but if there was a chance, it was bound to happen anyway.

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I mean, i am someone who used to believe there was a god "up above". I now contribute that feeling to a mechanism tied to something far back in evolution, something linking all humans, something keeping us from mass self-harm (everyone killing themselves, going nuts and jumping into traffic on a mass scale etc), some kind of safety barrier that sets right, wrong, self preservation etc. This "presence" seems more like the foundation of our self identity, the presence of our own selves inside our own minds, and i think perhaps that presence is mistaken for the notion of "someone watching us", when we are the ones watching ourselves, subconscious, the "inner mind". It's this "inner mind" that biologists & psychologists etc are partly stumped by.

 

And yea, the whole idea of we make things so someone had to have made us is a BS argument, we didn't make everything, we only make a limited amount of things, so if there was this god being, using that idea, this god would not have created everything, only select things... which in a reference to the bible, is completely contradictory to "created the heavens & the earth & man"..... which is everything. They might counter that "we are not god so we only have limited abilities", but i counter that with "god created us in his own image", which is itself totally unrealistic, as men and women are different, in the bible etc women are objects not "human" even... Very bizarre thinking, especially when all most every other species on earth with gender has both male & female... The ones not only being female.... The arguments could go on till the believers of the bible concede that it was written by humans for humans, and not all at the same time, with many gospels missing......... If i could time travel i'd tell the pope in 1012 that the earth was slowing its rotation because of the moon's tidal friction, and that the moon is moving away from us and will eventually fly off into space... then escape before i was drawn & quartered for blasphemy....

 

It really doesn't matter what anyone believes, because the universe will slowly cool off into nothingness and nothing will be left aside from a particle here & there spread over all of existence very few and very far between. If i miss out on an "afterlife" oh well, i really don't want to live in a perfect world, or a heaven, i want to live in this reality, here, now (mars or the moon etc wouldn't be so bad either), because this it what matters, and this is what is real.

 

- A

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  • 1 month later...
I am a devout 7th day adventist Christian. I don't believe in:

1. Ghosts, even though I like wathcing ghost videos

2. Evolution/Darwinism

 

I am a muslim,so i believe in god,demons, and probibley ghosts.and i do blieve in spirits.and spirits have haunted my family back then.back then 4 demons possesed my cousien,spirits walked right threw my momther before and all we did was pray and it worked.when you pray its like all of your wishings comming true. when that spirit was running threw teh stairs and my mom walk walking up the stairs,all she did was pray,and thank god,the spirit walk near her. althou guys i do respect all your opinons and beliefs,but when you pray,great blessings come to you and your family.

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Hey, hey, hey, come on. That was uncalled for. So he believes that. You don't have to. There's a reason we have religious freedom in this country.

 

Would you say I was nucking futs if I believed that R62s will be running on the LIRR next week?

 

Edit: the protection of religious freedom in this country is a protection from government-instigated persecution based on religious beliefs, it is not an exemption from criticism from citizens.

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I'm not going to get into my personal beliefs, but I will say this. Everyone has a right to believe what they want and practice their religion. Religion is good when it unites people to do positive things and create a sense of belonging/community. What is NOT OK is to (incessantly) preach to others and/or force beliefs (or doctrines thereof) upon an unwilling party (ie government support/persecution of religion, etc), break the law in practicing religion, justify violence in the name of religion, and anything else among those lines. Everyone also has a right to free speech, which includes praising and/or criticizing one's or another's religion (so long as either is not done out of ignorance and is not excessive/harassing/violent, etc). Let's face it: whether we like it or not, religion as a whole is here to stay, and believers of different faiths and nonbelievers can and must learn to coexist and at least consider everyone else's views. But we can't judge a person and/or their morals based solely on their religion, or lack thereof.

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Would you say I was nucking futs if I believed that R62s will be running on the LIRR next week?

 

Yeah, but simply because that's a practical impossibility. And I definitely wouldn't mock you for it, but rather explain why it wouldn't happen.

 

Religion is a completely different animal altogether as something like your example can be physically disproven or proven. The existence of God can't be physically proven or disproven. Apples and oranges. Praying may actually work for some people.

 

You don't have to mock him just because he believes that praying to God brings blessings. Criticism is fine, but that just shows disrespect IMO. Isn't this thread for discussing religious beliefs, not mocking them?

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Yeah

 

Thanks for playing. Just like you think I would be nuts for my beliefs, I think he's nuts for his beliefs. Also, a quick hint: once you use 'but', it's all over.

 

Religion is a completely different animal altogether as something like your example can be physically disproven or proven. The existence of God can't be physically proven or disproven. Apples and oranges. Praying may actually work for some people.

 

Religion is a belief, just like any other. Believing in some higher power and believing that R62s will run on the LIRR next week are both beliefs, and therefore can be proven or disproven. I'm not sure where you got the idea that "religious beliefs" are different from any other belief...perhaps you should elaborate on WHY you think religious beliefs are infallible...? Furthermore, explain why the existence of some "higher power" is not debatable...

 

Isn't this thread for discussing religious beliefs, not mocking them?

 

That's not mocking, that's just showing him how silly his beliefs are. Mocking him would be calling him an idiot. Where did I say such? Quotes, lines, post numbers, thread numbers, let's see what you got.

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That's not mocking, that's just showing him how silly his beliefs are. Mocking him would be calling him an idiot. Where did I say such? Quotes, lines, post numbers, thread numbers, let's see what you got.

 

You may believe that his beliefs are silly, but that is a judgement. For someone who takes their beliefs seriously, they may not see them as silly.

 

Trying to make someone who believes something see that their beliefs are silly is like trying to make you believe in something you don't believe in.

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Religion is a belief, just like any other. Believing in some higher power and believing that R62s will run on the LIRR next week are both beliefs, and therefore can be proven or disproven. I'm not sure where you got the idea that "religious beliefs" are different from any other belief...perhaps you should elaborate on WHY you think religious beliefs are infallible...? Furthermore, explain why the existence of some "higher power" is not debatable...

 

Where did I say it wasn't debatable? The debate's been going on for centuries; it's just not going to get anywhere because the existence of God can't be proven or disproven. There's nothing to say that he exists, but then there's nothing to say that he doesn't.

 

Religious beliefs are different from your R62 example because there's nothing physical to support either side. With your R62 example we could wait until next week to see what happens. With religion, no one KNOWS anything, but people have faith.

 

That's not mocking, that's just showing him how silly his beliefs are. Mocking him would be calling him an idiot. Where did I say such? Quotes, lines, post numbers, thread numbers, let's see what you got.

 

Agree with ColumbiaDeath on this one.

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Where did I say it wasn't debatable?

 

Read your following quote and you'll see where you yet again said it wasn't debatable. You present the argument that "the existence of God can't be proven or disproven" as an objective fact, yet it is a subtle attempt to stifle debate. Tell me, if someone couldn't be proven or disproven, what would the arguments on either side be?

 

The debate's been going on for centuries; it's just not going to get anywhere because the existence of God can't be proven or disproven.

 

See above. It can be proven or disproven. What doesn't work out in your favor here is that no evidence to support its existence has been presented. Oops.

 

There's nothing to say that he exists, but then there's nothing to say that he doesn't.

 

Ordinarily, an "argument" such as this wouldn't even be acknowledged in a debate, but i'll let it slide and answer it nonetheless.

 

When a claim is made by a party, the onus of proof is on the CLAIMANT to support their idea. For example, if I put forth an argument that says the paper industry has been responsible for the destruction of the worlds' forests, the task of proving that is on ME. It is not the job of my detractors to prove that it was not. He who makes the claim supplies the proof, simple.

 

Religious beliefs are different from your R62 example because there's nothing physical to support either side.

 

What? You're admitting that there is no evidence to support religious constructs. That is a serious hole in your argument. I suggest lots of Bondo.

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Read your following quote and you'll see where you yet again said it wasn't debatable. You present the argument that "the existence of God can't be proven or disproven" as an objective fact, yet it is a subtle attempt to stifle debate. Tell me, if someone couldn't be proven or disproven, what would the arguments on either side be?

 

See above. It can be proven or disproven. What doesn't work out in your favor here is that no evidence to support its existence has been presented. Oops.

 

Ordinarily, an "argument" such as this wouldn't even be acknowledged in a debate, but i'll let it slide and answer it nonetheless.

 

When a claim is made by a party, the onus of proof is on the CLAIMANT to support their idea. For example, if I put forth an argument that says the paper industry has been responsible for the destruction of the worlds' forests, the task of proving that is on ME. It is not the job of my detractors to prove that it was not. He who makes the claim supplies the proof, simple.

 

What? You're admitting that there is no evidence to support religious constructs. That is a serious hole in your argument. I suggest lots of Bondo.

 

The only way I can respond to any of this is by using religious doctrine, and if I use doctrine I am presupposing God's existence which obviously won't hold bunk in Joe's court, so I'll make one final statement:

 

It all boils down to faith. You either believe in God or you don't; God is something that I don't think science or logic can explain. However, it is still important to respect other people's beliefs, which is where this little argument started. I would like to point out ColumbiaDeath's statement again. I don't think sarcasm is the right why to tell someone that his beliefs are silly.

 

I'm not a very good debater, I dislike religious debates, and I don't even know why I started anything so I rest my case.

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