Do you believe in the existence of God if so why?

[Anonymous]

Yes

No

[Hardon-Collider]

You should instead ask "what does god mean to you?" Asking if one believes in God is like asking "Do you believe in main character"?

But main character of what?

Or better, you should ask "does karma or other mechanism of returning our deeds exist?" Because many times people ask about God when they feel like they'll have to pay for their actions.

More importantly, the best way to ask your question could be "is there a correct way to live? Is there an immaterial measure of health that can guide us on whether an action is beneficial or harmful?"

be more specific. ㅤ

[Wolf_Thunderspirit]

It's interesting that you use the word "God", not "Creator" or "Higher Power". Some would say that Christianity is your only source of the divine, where I believe in the unilateral constant of a divine, that it can be all things to all people, regardless of the name you bestow upon it. So it is that it certainly could be God, it could be Jehovah, it could be Allah, it could be Wakan Tanka, it could be Dagda, It could be Zeus or Jupiter, it could be Odin, it could be Brahman, it could be the Great Mother. Truth be told, it could also be none of these, as names are mankinds feeble attempt at understanding something beyond their capability, such as a Neanderthal trying to conceive the intricacies of a gun, cellphone, or car. Even we human animals are more likely to understand the complexities of the human body and cellular design than something as grand as a deity's miracles. That's where faith steps in. Most atheists and non-believing scientists would have you believe that if you can't prove a thing, then it isn't. But even in science, they will tell you that everything within science is a theory, not proof. Facts on science are more about the proof of what a thing, conclusively, isn't. For example, it's a theory that an apple and a tomato are both fruits, but it is a fact that an apple isn't a tomato. This is why Einstein has a Theory of Relativity, rather than a fact, even though most science was based on this for years until Quantum Theory had to enter the scene and mess with it. Atomic Theory, once more evidence was discovered, was used to define the atom as the smallest unit of matter in existence, until it was realized that the atom is composed of subatomic particles and quarks. This illustrates how knowledge in the human sense is never finite or certain of itself, and science is remarkably astute in recognizing that as more facts become available to us, our theories can adapt instead of being held as a universal truth or proof. It shows that even in science, we take things on faith based on what we are currently aware of, but know there is always more that is obscured by our limitations.

I would question the current 37% who do not believe in God with the following questions:
1. is it the name "God" (the Christian derivative) that sways your answer?
if no to #1,
2. do you have any belief in a Higher Power, but do not adhere to dogmatic approaches to understanding it? (Spiritual, non-religious)
if no to #2,
3. Are you open to the idea that human beings are limited in their capacity to know everything in reality, and that there 'could be' something beyond mortal understanding at this point in time (my argument above) if you witnessed something we would only consider a miracle?
if no to #3
4. Are you absolutely certain, beyond all doubt, that no Higher Power than we can understand exists in the universe, and that any belief in such a thing is hogwash, foolishness, and ignorance? (Devoted Atheist/ Science-minded Point of View)

[PeachyPie93]

I am "catholic" I believe in god because even tho I suffered a lot in life I have always been lucky with money and opportunities. Where as I see people who do more bad stuff than me (even my own family members) really suffer a whole lot more and never get blessings. I don't believe in the bible tho because the whole trinity crap is bullshit.. god is one, not three and Jesus was the prophet not god himself. I believe in the 10 commandments and certain other things but that's pretty much it. Plus I like to believe people who wrong me will get to burn in hell for my trouble lol. One thing tho I don't tend to like people of the church because they are just annoying and cult like.

[Hardon-Collider]

Good shit, anemone. But regarding the jesus stuff: how do you even define "prophet"? Someone with a strong sense of intuition? I doubt.

Or, maybe, the body of the man named jesus was temporarily possessed by a spirit more evolved than an ordinary human?

Besides that, it's like a neat psyop, how you are disgusted by the trinity teachings is valid, but that doesn't mean you should resort to muslim-like monotheistic end-of-knowledge. The worst part about nutty religions is that they have defined the permanent stance of humanity. They are stalling the evolution, instead of being open to learn more spiritual stuff every day. The stuff not written in any books.

That's actually the exact opposite of what it means to be spiritual. Luckily for you, i have got some schizoid ideas to rub into these comments.

For example, i noticed that the most famous, consistent, and truthful remote viewers in the history of the CIA stargate project were all men: Ingo Swann, Pat Price, Joseph McMoneagle, Mel Riley. Even though they hired women too. They weren't successful.

Similarly a decades-long program at Princeton University's Ivy League, PEAR Lab, found that almost only women are really powerful at influencing random number generators using their minds. While men often "manifested" the opposite of what they intended to.

It sounds like proof that men who have the active physical body have a receptive soul, anima, that receives information from higher worlds. &&& But physically receptive women, have an active soul, animus, which imposes its will into the higher worlds. Probably including the world just right next to the physical, the regenerative "etheric", which explains why they live longer the more babies they make.

There we have proof that the reason humanity separated into sexes was to individually develop both of these polarities. I'm probably running into the comment character limit by now. And i hate making two comments. So it was nice to be a smart ass today once again.

[Simslover92]

Yes because there are too many things in this world that doesn't make sense without someone controlling it. Science explains things but we still have no idea out of all the creatures in the world why we're able to understand how things work and to be able to speak and write. Why were we chosen to understand the universe? And yet we don't know everything. Like why do we die? Where do we go after we die? Why were we born?

Science chops it up to be evolution but it still doesn't make sense.

How people can believe in it being just the big bang theory but not God is strange to me.

[fishcake_buttie]

Do you see cars on the road and wonder whether somebody designed and created them? Scale that up to this entire world and the things upon it and it becomes obvious.

Allow me to reveal something about Christianity that most people do not know... The first Christians rejected the creator of this world, identifying "Yahweh" as the creator of good and evil, rejecting the deity and the laws of Torah. They embraced the deity of love and truth that was revealed only by Jesus Christ, who was called "Jesus the Good" at the time. The rulers of this world despised him and his teachings and the first and only Bible of 144AD. Modern Christians don't even know why they are told to reject the ways of this world and those of the flesh, they don't get it because they believe that the deity of Torah (Old Testament) is the Father of Jesus Christ, because of that they are confused over why their god would create such an evil world and then demand that they reject it. It is balatantly obvious that there is a creator of all we see and what we use to see it with. We call it "creator-god" and reject it and all law of man, modern Christians worship this creature and luxuriate themselves in the things of this world - this being evident when you see their houses and volumous bellies.

The character behind the "Yahweh" deity is the same character of the ancient stories about Saturn, a deified planet, this Saturn character is the basis for the evil spirit known as "Satan". Many people know this instinctively, but not cognitively, that's why you see so many people who are obsessed with their flesh and this world throwing up the "hail Satan" hand-sign, surrounding themselves with goods to fill their lives, becoming people of the world. Satan is a farmer of souls and people are wheat to be cut down.

I can provide more details, if you ask, I don't like to ram all this down peoples throats too much but find it to be the most important knowledge - especially knowing EXACTLY what Jesus is saving people from.

[WhiteOwl]

I am a Christian. Perhaps the biggest reason why I believe in God (or at the very least a Creator) is the existence of the universe itself. Both my experience in life and science will tell me that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed. In other words, you cannot get something from nothing. Yet, it's widely accepted that the universe had a physical beginning.

And it's not just the fact that the universe exists, it's the order and design that exist all throughout it. This includes concepts such as dark matter, the weak force, and the laws of physics are the reasons why the universe is as orderly and organized as it is. Intelligent design must logically come from an intelligent designer. We don't just assume that the well-structured house we live or the technology we are using right now to be on this post came about out of nowhere or by chance. These things were made by brilliant minds. When I look at the earth and the universe, it seems more reasonable for me to believe "In the beginning, God" than "In the beginning, matter and energy".

Perhaps an equally big reason I have a belief in God is life. Similar to matter and energy, my experience in life and science both have only ever told and shown me that life can only come from life. You cannot get the organic from the inorganic. Again, to me it seems more reasonable to believe that God is the originator of life and created living things than to believe that life and all the complex yet intelligently designed systems that make up living organisms came about by chance from inorganic matter and energy.

Of course, many people will rightfully ask "But there are numerous religions that believe in a Creator of the universe, why do you believe in the Christian God specifically?" Simply put, in my years of studying the Bible, I believe it to be the inspired word of God. Here are some simplified reasons why:

1: The harmony between science and the Bible. The Bible is of course not a science textbook. Yet, when it touches on scientific matters, it proves itself to be accurate. Even when the facts it provides are contrary to the common beliefs of the time. To give a few examples, it accurately states that the earth exists in empty space (Job 26:7), even though many ancient peoples believed that the earth must've rested on something, such as a giant or huge animals. It also remarkably gives accurate details about the water cycle, many centuries before scientists understood this process (Job 36:27, 28, Ecclesiastes 1:7, Amos 9:6). And the Hebrew word used in Isaiah 40:22 used to describe the shape of the earth could be used to mean "sphere", despite the fact that the widely accepted view by ancient peoples was that the earth was flat. These among other scientific references is evidence to me that the Bible was inspired of God, not merely writings of human knowledge.

2: The fulfillment of Biblical prophecies. Some of these include descriptions of how Babylon would fall, down to the name of the ruler who would conquer, written hundreds of years before such events actually took place (Isaiah 45:1, 2). Then there are the prophecies related to the rise and fall of Greece that were written while Daniel was living in the Babylonian world power (Daniel 8:5-8, 20-22, 11:4. Compare these verses with the secular history of Alexander the Great and how his kingdom became divided after his death). These are just two of the vast numbers of prophecies in the Bible that have seen fulfillment that I will bring up for the sake of not getting into numerous more paragraphs of detailing some of the more deeper or layered prophecies.

3: Then there is lastly, but certainly not least, the historical evidence related to Jesus Christ. It is irrefutable to say that the man Jesus was a real human that existed based on secular evidence. Even opposers of Christianity did not doubt his existence. But was he actually the Son of God? Well, consider this: Imagine that someone told you that they were the Son of God, and that three days after their death they would be raised from the death. Say one day he does die, but he never rises from the dead. You'd rationally come to the conclusion that he was full of it, right? Yet, all throughout the Greek scriptures, Jesus' disciples spread the word that he was raised from the dead and returned to heaven with God and that they were eye witnesses of this. These men and women did this even down to their deaths, which sometimes involved execution by opposers. He appeared in front of hundreds after his death. If what Jesus said about himself was simply a lie retold by his disciples, why were they so willing to die on behalf of it? These reasonings, as well as the dozens upon dozens of prophecies in the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled while on earth, gives evidence to me that Jesus Christ not only existed, but that he truly is the Son of God.

[Physics-Man]

Yes, I do. Naturally, a public forum like this doesn't instigate or condone the world's dullards to introspect on their beliefs on God, and realize that they know very little to really arrive to any sort of educated conclusion. Much like with my belief of the Multiverse stemming from my knowledge and understanding of Wave-Particle Duality, the Double-Slit Experiment, the Copenhagen and Many-Worlds Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics, Hilbert Space, Calabi-Yau Manifolds, Supersymmetry and M-Theory, the Quantum Suicide and Immortality thought experiments, Wave Function Collapse and Decoherence principles, so does the educated guesswork on whether an ultimate Creator exists, require more than superficial knowledge and understanding past the point of just feeling that it isn't so, or an argument otherwise, that's as of poor integrity and stability as to the likes of a wet stretch of toilet paper.

There are several arguments that Philosophers, Scientists, and Theologians across centuries have formulated that are compelling and difficult to dismiss. They don’t all prove the same concept of an infinite, ultimate Creator, but taken together they form a powerful cumulative case, especially for the God of classical theism.

[Physics-Man]

Some of these arguments are: the Cosmological Argument, which dares to ask “Why does anything at all exist, rather than nothing?” Everything we observe is contingent, since it could have not existed, or could have been different.
If everything were contingent, then at some point there would've been nothing — but then nothing would exist now, because nothing comes from nothing. Therefore, there must be a necessary being whose existence is not contingent on anything else — something that just has to be, by its very own nature.

There's the "Fine-Tuning of the Universe for Life" argument, which posits that the Physical Constants, such as the Gravitational Constant, Strong Nuclear Force, Cosmological Constant, etc, must be fine-tuned to an incomprehensible degree for the existence of Stars, Planets, Chemistry, and Life to exist in the manner that they do. For instance, if the Cosmological Constant were different by 1 part in 10¹²⁰, no Galaxies, and possibly no Life, would have been able to spring forth. There are dozens of such constants, all dialed to knife-edge precision. Even if the Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics is the correct one, which I believe it is, the Multiverse would still require a principal "Mover"; some progenitor which causes it to flow in the first place. This is explained in more detail with the Kalam Cosmological Argument: that whatever begins to exist must have a cause.

[Physics-Man]

If the universe began to exist, as is described with Big Bang cosmology and the Borde-Guth-Vilenkin theorem, which posits that any universe with average positive expansion cannot be past-eternal, then it must have a cause. That cause must be timeless, spaceless, immaterial, enormously powerful, and even personal, because it made a temporal effect from a timeless state — and only a free agent can do that. That’s a strong match for the classical concept of God.
Then there's the Ontological Argument, which posits that it's possible that an ultimate being exists, with omnipotence, omniscience, and moral perfection — in every possible world. If it is possible, then it exists necessarily by definition of maximal greatness. Therefore a maximally great being exists. Many initially dismiss this as word-play, but virtually all philosophers now agree the argument is logically valid; the only debate is whether the key premise of it being possible is true. Theists argue it is at least as plausible as its negation, which flips the evidential burden.

[Physics-Man]

There's the Moral Argument: objective moral values and duties exist: rape is wrong, torturing children is wrong, murder is wrong, etc. The best explanation for objective, moral values is a transcendent, personal ground. Therefore God exists.

The Argument from Reason posits that physical accounts of consciousness being merely processes of the brain, which materializes as the mind, fails to explain why subjective first-person experience exists at all. Intentionality and the unified conscious experience resists reduction to blind physical processes. A fundamentally mental reality (God) at the foundation of true reality makes the existence of finite minds far less puzzling.
There's also the meticulous and exhausting study of religious experiences and miracles throughout the world, the majority of which, at least from the Roman Catholic Church, go through an arduous process of confirmation before they're accepted as such. Some events, such as well-documented healings and the resurrection of Jesus investigated as a historical hypothesis, are claimed to be miracles. While any one case can be disputed, the cumulative weight — especially when investigated with historical rigor — is taken seriously by many scholars. For example, Craig Keener’s two-volume work on miracles documents thousands of such cases.

[Physics-Man]

Of course, no single argument is an airtight “proof” that forces assent the way 2×5=10 does, but together they converge powerfully: a necessary, personal, timeless, spaceless, omnipotent, intelligent, morally perfect mind who created a finely tuned universe or multiverse or omniverse that began to exist and contains conscious, rational, and moral beings, looks extraordinarily like the God of the Bible, the Quran, and classical theism.

Here's a collection of 20 arguments:
peterkreeft.com/.../...rguments-gods-existence.htm

[Anonymous]

People who voted no, it's simple: either a) Religion and God were not established in your home for you to learn and expand on the meaning of life, or b) you believed in a government system filled with pointless books with ideologies that confuse people even more and enforced that you pay taxes where you don't know where every dollar for taxes goes, you don't know if the media on tv is fully reporting the truth, you don't know why you are taxed heavily working towards a "pension" after 30 to 40 years of working where you may not be alive to see 5 years after you retire. If people were born with a silver spoon in their mouth, having sex, eating like animals, mommy/daddy gave you everything, then obviously people wouldn't care much about God.

But I see society on the brink of collapse around me, especially in the United States. Sometimes, something bad has to happen for people to open their eyes. Did our world occur by chance? Because if the sun were even 30 feet closer to Earth, how the hell would we survive? You need a creator to map out the entire universe, the solar system, where things remain intact. I think it's foolish to believe the Big Bang happened and we all just coincidentally happened to be organisms that sprouted into life? Well if you need a man and a woman to procreate how is it possible to create life? How did the smallest ant, to a bird or lion and other animals get created? By chance? Come on now, God created this world, the universe and the heavens.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/4QH7T5KfKkc

[Telekinetic-Potato]

The Bible essentially says God is everywhere and everything. He breathed the world into existence and created humans in his image after consulting a council of angles also created in his image.

Science says that everything is just the fabric of reality vibrating at different frequencies at different places.

Seems like the same shit to me

But maybe it depends on one's definition of God and how the concept of a soul might play into that. But there's plenty of room in what's still unknown about the world for there to be room for souls

[OneViewpoint]

No. Thousands of Gods and Goddesses have all been invented by humans to serve humans. They are all comically flawed lies just like the people who invented them. They are adult fairy tales for simple minds who can't cope with a reality they don't understand and their own mortality which they fear more than anything else.

[capriVib]

I'm not really convinced. For a lot of people, faith is just a habit they picked up from their parents. But if you look at it logically, it doesn't make much sense. I think people just believe for spiritual comfort and because we're sort of hardwired to believe in a higher power.

[strateguy632]

Actually philosophers said the opposite, god is a logic necessity. Without a strong spirit god, is impossible.

[capriVib]

Yes, what you're saying makes sense. There are many events in the universe that couldn't have happened by coincidence, but people forget to ask the question "What is the beginning of an omnipotent God?" Apart from that, when we look at religions from a broader perspective, simply put: Christians say those who don't believe in Jesus won't reach salvation, while Muslims say those who don't accept Muhammad won't reach salvation. These are just the two most common religions; there are many others, each with their own different belief systems.
​But, if believing in God makes you feel good and fundamentally makes you a better person, go for it i respect that.

[strateguy632]

You think you are the FIRST to ask that? For hundreds of years just specified "god was eternal" no starting point. An infinite line has no beginning. Nor does god.

[capriVib]

So you're assuming God just happened by chance, but the world couldn't create itself? That's a double standard.

[Bitter_Sweet94]

I do, but in a very personal, quiet way.

For me, believing in God isn’t about rules or fear.

It’s more about feeling that there’s something bigger than us, something that keeps life from feeling completely random.

It gives me a sense of grounding, perspective, and humility.

But I also respect people who see it differently, faith is deeply personal.

[strateguy632]

Yes, i think dargil here said it best. A world starting from NOTHING is against all the laws of nature (physics, chemistry, biology), impossible, unless god did a miracle. The expansion, starting "by itself" called big bang, is a logical absurdity unless an omnipotent god started it.

[Joshydavid25]

Well, I believe that there has to be more than this world, I see the fact that the Universe is fine tuned and has laws that it has to follow.. Not to mention all of the evidence that has been shown of there being a creator... And the fact that religion and faith has a stronghold on humanity that Agnosticism or atheism never will..

[Pohjolan]

Evidence?

[strateguy632]

@Pohjolan he said, the precision in the universe and nature and laws of nature. (Not random. )

[Pohjolan]

@strateguy632
How would you know? Mind you you are claiming that the system is actually fundamentally not as it is understood and measured at both macro and atomic level and scientists plus engineers are all globally in on the hoax faking both the theory and results.
How would you know that there is precision when the current system as it is understood is a scam according to you?
You can't keep your cake and eat it too.

[strateguy632]

@Pohjolan @Pohjolan don't pretend to speak for me "you are claiming" i didn’t. Nor is it a scam, "according to you"!
But nature does have laws, NOT random. Protein does copy dna'! Micromachines , natural nanobots are not "random".
This is not a hoax, most of science is good , scientists DO change and adjust and replaced theories! Science is the WEAK thing! In contrast to history "facts" that hypocrits ALSO did not see, nor feel... but don't doubt, only claimed "not see" about god.
Scientists explained without god, science never refuted god.
No surprise that many scientists are Christian, hundreds. No conflict.

[Pohjolan]

@strateguy632
I can see what posts you have made.
How would you know that most of science is good when according to you they are engaged in a global conspiracy systematically faking results all over the world in each and every lab that has the related equipment and every physics teacher teaching radiation physics has it fundamentally wrong.
And you are the one who uncovered this flat earth level crazy conspiracy how?

[Straight2thepoint]

The struggle of time. As a younger knuckle head i belived stupid ideas. As I aged, I realized that I should of remained quiet and observed. The world answers you ur questions you seek. Not a man or woman with a title deserve to be right on this opinion. Its either u want good or bad. You get what you asked for.

As for my own opinion/ answer. Aside political issues. The wrongs massacred as good and rights attacked as taboo. I realized what I needed to do.

[BigBang1001]

Becuase God is a refuge and source of solace for the broken hearted, moreover the methods as taught in religions ie prayer and/or meditation, has helped so many through their hard times, maybe a loss of a loved one, in depression and anxiety, i fear and weakness. These methods (that God revealed through His chosen prophets and saints) actually work in restoring one's mental health and dealing with loss of health and spirit, in return loss of life...

[foxsquirrell]

I certainly do not think that there is life after death. Which is what seems to spark people's believe in religion of whatever sort. The fear if death and calamities. Wishful thinking. Avoiding the red pill. Or sugarcoating the pill. Whatever you prefer. People tend not to admit their fragility, their vulnerability, their uselessness. And so they seek to give their pathetic little lives some form of meaning. lol

However I do not feel an atheist even though I might think like one.

[Awesomesauce2005]

Im an agnostic libertarian. If God is real he cannot harm us or control us so he is not important enough to pay attention to because I have more pressing matters to attend to. Best thing to do is make sure you have a solid moral compass and you make good choices for you and others around you and if there is an afterlife they can't say you were a bad person.

[Pohjolan]

There really isn't any reason to presume that any of the current religions are correct. Like a real god wouldn't be constrained by geography.

And a unknown god existing doesn't mean that there would be souls, a afterlife or objective morality.

Religion is a coping mechanism to deal with the inevitability of our existence ending.

[strateguy632]

I liked your conclusion, fairh does benefit that but also, i agree not to presume but also you said precisely what the Christian bible said in book kings, "god wouldn't be constrained by geography".

[Anonymous]

I experienced as a very young child what some might call alien Abductions. They were horrible malevolent beings that I realized were demons later on. I also experimented with Ouija boards as a teenager. I had a demon injure me Infront of 4 other witnesses. The only way I could possibly understand experiences like these is through what the bible says.

[ChicoFromThe305]

Really ask yourself, everything you've ever known and seen that has a existence has a Creator, why should existence itself be any different, where is the logic behind that?

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

If we’re talking the christian god, no.
If we’re talking about other gods, or even just a conscious universe, yes.

[Jersey2]

Yes, I do. Why? That would take quite a while to explain. Anyway, if I am wrong it doesn’t matter. And if atheists are right, it also doesn’t matter. It only matters if there is a God.

[jshm2]

"Existence" means "beginning and end". There is a God, and he can have no beginning or end.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Faith. Reason cannot prove the existence of God because He is unknowable and does not do anything that would allow scientists to prove His existence beyond a reasonable doubt.

[strateguy632]

Reason did prove in both philosophy and science, "First Law of Thermodynamics energy can neither be created nor destroyed" unless god made energy by a miracle. it could not start existence from nothing.

[Opinion Owner]

@strateguy632 yes, but there’s a rational explanation for that, I just don’t know enough physics to know it. Faith is the only real way to affirm the existence of God.

[strateguy632]

If there was, then that would not be a real "law' of thermodynamics.

[Opinion Owner]

@strateguy632 it is a real law, but it doesn’t prove the existence of God

[CherryLove007]

God exists in the spark in our beings. He resides in the fragments of all life.

[Anonymous]

I would become religious if I actually saw something that really convinced me god, heaven or hell was real but so far I haven’t seen compelling evidence.

[strateguy632]

Philosophy proved god is real. even Des cartes, the extreme skeptic proved god as real as "odd numbers must be odd".

[Titanic1912]

I definitely believe in the one true God. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and I believe because the Bible tells me so.

[Wolf_Thunderspirit]

If books are evidence of a divine power, then Lewis Carroll is gonna blow your mind!!!

I believe, but I'd never say something as foolish as a book told me to, so I believed. It tells me you're obedient, a slave, and that your god-given freewill is useless. Try this on for size and see how it fits: "Because of my personal relationship with God, I choose to follow his doctrines and live a life based on his son's teachings, due to the sacrifices he made for me and the promise of a life with Him in Heaven that he has prepared for me when it is my time."

Because the Bible tells me so? That kind of thinking is exactly what leads people into cults, and some of the worst cults always have started with the name of God:
1. Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple, over 900 people died in a mass murder-suicide by drinking cyanide-laced punch on Jones's orders
2. The Branch Davidians, extremist offshoot of the Seventh-day Adventists, led by David Koresh
3. Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), an offshoot of the Mormon faith, led by Warren Jeffs, serving a life sentence for sexually assaulting underage girls
4. The Children of God (The Family International) Founded by David Berg, ncluded permitting and encouraging sexual activity with children
5. The Manson Family, Led by Charles Manson, combined some Christian imagery (like "Helter Skelter" from the Book of Revelation) to control his followers.

[Wolf_Thunderspirit]

6. Heaven's Gate, Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, mass suicides
7. Aum Shinrikyo was founded by Shoko Asahara, nearly 6k people injured or dead by poisoning commuter trains in Japan
8. Order of the Solar Temple, Luc Jouret, sacrificed a child they accused of being an antichrist, suicide days later
9. Westboro Baptist Church, Fred Phelps, protesting soldier's funerals
10. Nazi/ Neo-nazi groups in the past and modern eras claim Christianity is part of their beliefs, even if in name only, as a political tool for leverage. It was a common rumor in the past that the swastika was a different take on the Christian cross, but this has easily been disproved, as it has more in common with Hindu beliefs.

That's just 10, but the ways Christianity has been used by bad actors who do NOT have a personal relationship with God, but used the Bible to control people goes all the way back to the Dark Ages, since the Vatican has censored the Book of Mary Magdalene, All of the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, and beyond.

[Wolf_Thunderspirit]

No one's religion should be held in the hand. It should be held in the heart and soul. If this is not the case for you, your faith could easily be torn apart. h tt ps :/ /www. bartehrman. com/contradictions-in-the-bible/ My personal favorite is this: Genesis states that God created the Sun on the third day. How long were the first two days? How did you divide them?

I don't use the Bible as anything more than a Good Book. But IT is not my relationship with God, that comes through prayer, and a watchful eye to see how those prayers are answered, most of the time in such subtle ways; genius ways when reflected on. And sometimes it's how the song goes, 'sometimes God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers,' because you never knew what you needed was beyond your ability to know at the time, all you knew was what you wanted.

Take a while to consider these words and reconsider the foundations of your belief. The belief itself is wholesome, but its foundations are built on sinkholes if all you have is a Bible to prop them up. Even God would wonder why you never hear him in that scenario. He has a message, but too few listen anymore. Instead, they get told what they are supposed to believe. And they are sold a religion instead of believing in it. Most of those people will not find it so easy to buy their way into heaven as they bought their Bibles and Hymnals, or Jim & Tammy Baker videos...

[strateguy632]

@Wolf_Thunderspirit but carol never claimed it was history, in fact read the ending of wonder land.

[Abbycado]

No, don’t believe in things that can’t be proven.

[Wolf_Thunderspirit]

Wormhole Theory; Steven Hawking.

Go ahead... Prove it...
I'll wait.

[Abbycado]

who said I believed in that either?

[Miristheiss]

The evidence of creation.

My own conscience.

Scripture.

[AviatorTom]

When I was young, I believed in the existence of a god. Now, I'm not so sure.

[Agape93]

Believe it exists? Yes, but wholly unworthy of my love and respect.

[lightbulb27]

Is God love in your view?

[Agape93]

@lightbulb27 Nope. Only his modern practitioners view him as such and make those claims. Nothing in the bible truly supports that claim of him being Love.

[Dargil]

G0d's Creation is all around it. There is no credible science that it started on its own.

[beenherebefore]

I believe in something powerful that is bigger than me and watching over me.

[slatyb]

I don't, because I haven't seen any evidence that a god exists.

[genericname85]

if "being a fiction that people are aware of" counts as "existing", then yes.

[ABC1x1x]

Common sense. To think all thia just happened by accident takes a whole lot of stupid and blind faith. I just dont have that kind of stupid faith in me.

[Phoenix98]

I do and my reason for it is I've seen and personally experienced to much to not believe.

[Anonymous]

I used to, but I’m steering towards no. I personally don’t think that “god” would allow me to suffer the way I have been the last few years

[LiamJHayden]

I do, simply because a self-existent universe makes no sense to me.

[Northstar84]

Gods were invented as a means of explaining the world we once knew little about. There is no God and there will never be one.

[Staximus]

I see no proof of a god, just because some idiot wrote a book 2,000 years ago doesn't it make it true

[Staximus]

Good is about as real as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny

[DrPepper12]

Bayseian probability. God is a human figment.

[OneViewpoint]

@DrPepper12

Sticky human fingerprints are all over that sonofabitch. We created the Christian "God" in our image. Talk about conceit! Or is it just lack of imagination?

[DrPepper12]

Complete lack of imagination. We haven't invented one worthy of worship yet...

[Anonymous]

No, because it's against all the laws of nature (physics, chemistry, biology), and it's a logical absurd (impossible to be omnipotent).

[Talea]

No.

There’s never been any concrete proof of any of the thousands of gods.

[strateguy632]

Concrete? No tangible proof of radio waves so you deny?

[Gagforlifetime]

We will only know once we cease to exist other than that there is no way to prove it

[Anonymous]

He is more logical than you think. He is not something mystical.

[FreyaRed]

Yes, the Eternal Shadow is part of us all.

[FunkyMonkee]

No!! Because there's nothing to believe in!

[BarryLiverstone]

Yes, because He’s real

[Bloodparadise]

Yes I believe in God

[Raydergman26]

God made the hole earth

[strateguy632]

I like your spelling, but people expect "whole"*.

[Gabriel-Chicanito]

Where do u think, we come from naive'e?

[Jmmmfi4]

Don't know anymore

[loveyouoak]

I don't.

[jahaims]

Nope

[Anonymous]

Yes.