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Does anybody believe in God? (Or multiple Gods, depending on religion)
Personally I'm Catholic. I respect all religions equally, and atheists too, I think we all have a right to have our own opinions. I'm just curious to why somebody would not believe.
I believe in God, and I think it's 100% ok for someone not to, but I think there is something so beautiful about having faith.
People expect God to always come to the rescue, and they think that going through a hard time "proves" He doesn't exist, but what they don't realise is that no matter the situation, everything happens for a reason. Maybe not, or it might not feel that way. I've been there, feeling like it's unfair- and it is, being hurt is unfair, but let me explain my POV:
I've personally gone through a lot of trauma in my childhood and teenage years. Even right now at 20, yet I never blamed God for not making it stop. He gave us free will, I believe, for a reason, and humans aren't inherently bad or inherently good, we are just... humans. Some cruel, others kind, but human first.
Thinking God doesn't exist is perfectly valid, my sister doesn't believe in Him, she is very into solid facts and all that stuff, but claiming He doesn't exist because He didn't do something, doesn't count as proof in my book. (Again, I do respect it and I'd never force my religion onto anybody, at all. I love having conversations and friendly debates, and would never and have never been offended due to someone's lack of faith.)
I think a lot of people misunderstand me, they think I believe a giant man is sitting on the clouds watching us all, I don't think that way. I believe that God is more than just an image of us (or us an image of him, really, not in the physical sense at least...), I think that He is everywhere and nowhere all at once, He is always with us but we are generally insignificant in the great scale of things. Doesn't mean He doesn't care, though. Like for example, we can't see the messages transferring from one device to another, we can't see radiowaves or anything of the sort. We can't see sound, or smell, but we know all these things exist, and we don't question them. I think God is similar. He is not of flesh and bone, morelike an essence(?). So it's hard to prove His existence. We just need faith.
Imagine trying to explain and prove space to, I don't know, a caveman. Sure, you can show him images, and tell him it's a fact that planets exist and that we aren't on a flat earth, but how can you make him believe you? He has never been to the moon personally, neither have you (as far as I'm aware XD). I'm not denying the veracity of these facts, bear with me. My point is - none of us have confirmed these things personally, I feel like religion is quite similar in that way. The universe is so much bigger than we imagine, there are sooo many things that are possible that we cannot wrap our little human brains around, y'know? It feels even crazier to me to think a God (or many) wouldn't exist, whatever shape or form. Same thing with death, how can someone believe it all just... stops? What would be the meaning of existence were that the case? There must be some sort of afterlife. Reincarnation, Heaven, Hell, our souls remaining on Earth to watch over our loved ones? Something.
I also think a lot of people hate the idea of religion because of how many religious people have caused pain in the name of their God(s)... I do not condone that at all. I believe we are all created the way we are for a reason, for example I'm gay, I don't think that makes me any less loved.
I am open to any opinions, please feel free to debate or disagree, I would love to know everybody's thoughts on this stuff!
If you took the time to read this, thank you! I'd appreciate some Kudos :D
Comments
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N0ЯA
I love how u are very respectful in the way u presented this topic :D. I believe there is a possibility for god to exist just as much as the possibility that he doesn't. I will admit tho I find solace in the idea that when we die we become nothing. I feel more comfortable believing nothing matters than feeling the weight of pressure on whether or not i will end up in heaven or not (im not a bad person, but in the eyes of religious people im not exactly a saint either). Atheist ideology helps me come to terms with my eventual death along with all my loved ones dying. I don’t like the thought of something celestial deciding who deserves to go to hell and who doesnt. Truthfully the thought of god scares me so I try my best to pretend there isnt a possibility that he exists.
bones
ive dabbled with different faiths throughout life and i was a christian up until i turned 8 i think. i just eventually decided i wasn't benefiting from religion at all. i found no comfort in the fact that a divine being was watching me suffer. i didn't want to go through life following rules with the promise of heaven when nobody actually knows what comes after death anyway. i basically just weighed the risks and decided that it wasnt worth it. i still dont really beleive in god but sometimes i find myself praying anyway
Yuchun!
Besides trauma? Uhhh, at some point I just kinda decided I prefer the idea of nothing existing beyond. Personally I find following rules for some kind of dumb reward to be kinda telling of society as a whole, where we need heaven as a goal to have basic human decency. I don't like believing in something beyond, and if something beyond exists, I don't want anything to do with it until I'm deader than heelies. It allows you to live in the now, worry about tangible things, as opposed to some divine shit that's- especially in the old testament, really fucking weird.
tl;dr I prefer a life without religion because it's much simpler and much happier, it's all about what's happening now, as opposed to scriptures, art and architecture from thousands of years ago.
sorry if I sounded mean, it's just my take on things, I'll gladly roast in hell if I overdid it.
M
I don't believe in a God because religious traditions/personal beliefs have never piqued any interest in understanding or following for me. It's thanks to people who are way smarter than me and who have dedicated their entire lives to solving life's mysteries, that I don't even think about them. I have my own thoughts and beliefs but the second a discovery is made on the subject and there's an explanation about it, my thoughts change and evolve; the belief I had isn't necessary and hardens into knowledge. Into facts. More importantly I'm well aware of my reality and place in it. I'm on my own, on a beautiful rock that's orbiting helplessly within an infinite cosmos of stars. I'm meant to be here as much as the trees are...
What an INCREDIBLE responsibility that is! To not only take care of the planet but to take care of my neighbors and family. We are all we honestly have in the end. Reality can be so much more powerful and meaningful than any story we could possibly tell ourselves.
IF you wanna look through that lens, it's a choice. The thing about growing and living in a free country is that freedom is freedom and people are different. They get through things differently, see things differently and that's okay! I don't dislike someone for what they believe life to mean. If they're kind that's good enough for me, but in the back of mind I can't help but wonder if their kindness is fueled by self-righteousness sometimes.
To me, that's the type of person religions and their beliefs turn a lot of people into. Are you nice because you're "saved" or promised something fantastic in your afterlife? or are you genuinely this way. I'm not saying I'm genuinely kind to everyone I pass by on the street, I have bad days like everybody else, but when I show kindness, it is genuine. Gifts should be given and then you walk away.
Is all of this ridiculously pragmatic? Yes absolutely. Why should there be any other reason to live?
Jacob Persico
Great post. I really love the message you give in this and how open minded you are. I consider myself a theist; someone that believes in a God. I think of myself as pantheist now because I believe we are all connected and deep down we are all one, including one with God
sir trent
i believe there is a higher power but more as an energy as opposed to a being. i think that this higher power is so big and non human that it really doesn't have a "code" ig you could call it. it exists outside of being and outside of morals. the closest thing i can describe it as is the force in star wars lmao. it sounds corny but its true whenever theres a shift in the world you can feel it permeate the air and existence. i also believe in reincarnation and karma. i dont see karma as a instant thing like you take a cookie so the universe punishes you tomorrow. i think the things you do effect you in your next life and the things you do in this life others will do to you in the next.
R4PT0R
im an agnostic atheist, so i don't belive in the gods made up by religions,however i do say that there might be something that we would call a god -but there is no way to prove or disprove this
also i respect the opinion of others as long as their religious beliefs doesn't cause harm to anything or anyone and they are not forcing those beliefs on anyone
---i really hate creationists, bigots and stuff like that tho
sea slug cleaner shrimp
to me it's weird that you would believe in some book just because people say it's true.. If god does exist, I think he's cruel. Some people have suffered their whole lives and then died. What was the reason for their suffering? And at least with christianity it's like, there are different versions of god, so which one is the correct one? Is it one that makes gay people and people that aren't christian go to hell? Or is it one that is accepting of everyone? Plus, we can prove that even those things that we can't see or feel are real, but we have no way of doing that with gods. The whole point is to have faith, but I just don't understand how people can do that..
6eupion
I selectively dont believe in christianity because of the way they treat the people in the religion.
❥momo
iwas born and raised lutheran but im currently a hellenic pagan. i believe pretty much any god except the christian god bc of religious trauma, same for satan.
this goes for angels & jesus too. i refuse to believe in & acknowledge any christian aspect (good or bad) because it keeps me mentally stable.
by ❥momo; ; Report
karamazov
First of all, I really loved how you explained the existance of God based on your experience, i think its really sweet!! I'm agnostic at the moment, but ive been raised by a catholic family (ive received baptism, the holy communion and even confirmation). I feel like when i was growing up and started to really think about what God is for me, i realized i never actually had the faith you are talking about. It almost feels like I'm missing out sometimes lol, because religious people explain faith as such a beautiful and comforting thing (even a literature teacher i had in highschool said that he would love to have faith, but he's just spiritual, if that makes sense).
But i feel like what i believe is right for me right now. Even without having the gift of believing in God, what im doing with my beliefs now feels ok. I think that's also the beauty of humans: we cant all share the same view of the world, but we can make it work. As long as we treat others and ourselves with respect and care, i dont think our religion or lack there of matters much. Thank you for sharing your perspective with us! :D
eyeless jack
im not sure what religion i am, i don't know if i believe in god or not but i do believe in things that we cannot see (such as spirits), due to my personal experience interacting with them. i like to think that if there is a god, it was someone who decided that they wanted something to do with their time somehow. i saw someone say like it was sims, and i think thats a good explanation of it. obviously, we've gone through a lot of time, but maybe time is different for a god, maybe things are a lot different for a god. a god is something we cannot interpret, at least not very well... we can only come up with theories and stuff like that. i'm not sure how god fits into the whole spirit thing, from what i know angels and demons do exist, but not in the "good" and "bad" way. of course, from what i believe, there are bad spirits. but maybe spirits are just like us as people, they all sin and do good at some point. i think if there is a god, there was a reason we can't easily understand him. i know that the bible has had certain things changed over and over throughout time too, so i don't take every word to heart. i was raised in multiple different homes and they've all had varying religions, mostly christian, but i've lived with catholic and atheist people too. for all i know, god could be to us like the tooth fairy is to a child.
z0nefive
i, personally, am agnostic. it's not one you hear a lot, but i basically neither confirm nor deny the existence of a god. i don't believe in god, but there are also certain things that don't make sense without the existence of a god (eg. who created the world, etc). im not entirely sure where my belief came from, seeing as my entire family is christian, but i've been always been a more of a facts kinda guy myself, so until there's solid proof of a god existing (or not existing) i will continue to be agnostic :)
Cosmo/Any Kin Name
personally? I'm a satanist, i do believe in god, i believe in satan too, i actually agree with the many things you said, but thats my personal issue, god feels... wrong? it feels like how god acts is wrong
i personally beleive in reincarnation, i beleive god reincarnates you. I personally beleive he does this for his own personal fun as stupid as that sounds, its the same with how he has a plan for all of us, how everything was meant to be, it feels like hes playing with us
whenever anyone tells me of god it just reminds me of when i use to play the sims, id plan the characters life out, id make sure everyone i want to happen does, then when they die, i make a new game with a character that looks the same but is still played by me
i dunno if any of that made sence, but its why i turned to satan, i sort of beleive he had a reason to go aggainst god, and he represents everything i wish, the wish to be myself, without any of this "your pain was meant to be" thing, cause personally i feel like it wasnt. it wasnt meant to be and god just did this for his own pleasure, and satan gets that, he was stript of him angelic title because god beleived he could no longer be an angel
i dunno, this isnt a diss to you btw, i just wished to state my whacky thoughts lmao, my beleifs are quite odd now that ive typed them down lol
Betsy
"God is a concept by which we measure our pain." - John Lennon
Al
I was raised Catholic and now consider myself agnostic. I don't consider any religion to be more right than the other, and I imagine that there may be a higher power at play but it isn't something that I bring into my everyday life. I don't pray, or say a higher power is the reason x,y,z happened. I find it freeing to lean into the unknown, instead of grappling for a path to give me answers. I find that sometimes religion and the culture surrounding it can lead to justifying hate, and if you grow up in a religion while being one of those hated things, it can lead to a self-imposed (or imposed by other folks) feeling of banishment, unworthiness, and fear. For me, not subscribing to any religion as the one true path lets me discover my own moral code and reasons for living, trying to be a better person, and helping others. I'm not following what "should" be done, but instead I have to be internally motivated to do it first. When things go awry, my community is there to help me in my turmoil. It has been nice to accept the idea that there is no meaning at all, even, to our lives. I know that freaks a lot of people out, and I don't look down on anyone who needs religion to live a full and happy life, I just found it superfluous to me.
L00seCan0n
I was raised in christian faith for like... ever. Went to christian schools, summer camps, church every Sunday and ate the really nasty wafers. Now that i've allowed my self to explore and develop a bit more, i've stepped out of christianity and tried to explore and learn about more religions.
It's helped me develop more parts of myself and explore myself more. When it comes down to my current beliefs though, I believe in a god, truly. I just don't agree with the god that christianity provides us with the vision of. To say that I hate god would be far too extreme as well, which is usually what people jump to. I don't provide faith in a god either, I don't worship, go to church, pray, or eat the nasty wafers anymore.
Where I stand is more or less, "Hey! Yeah, there probably is a god out there but he's like... not for me lol." And i've met a lot of people who have been angry with me for believing in a god and people who've been angry with me for not having faith and worshipping a god. At the end of the day, I just think it kind of is what it is.
I've never really understood religion, but it's interesting to learn about. Especially with all the different religions out there!
Apav
There's a Christian group here that could use some activity if you'd like to join.
I'm a Christian without a denomination. It gets exhausting debating theology, because at a curtain point you realize every argument has been made throughout history it's just most people choose to stay in their own little bubble (Christians included). I would say Christianity isn't about escaping hell or making up rules as often misinterpreted, but having a personal relationship with Christ, and in-so-doing having the conviction to live your life for God. Nobody will ever scientifically prove God because He is untestable, but a relationship with God is the proof, because one cannot be in a relationship with nothing, especially when that relationship leads to a life that is counter to human nature.
Thank you =)
by Apav; ; Report
☆Morgan☆
personally im a satanist, i do believe in satan and that he is a caring being who takes in broken people and gives them a better life. Im queer and trans and all my life its been shoved down my throat i was going to hell, that god didnt love me and he never helped, not once. i prayed and begged for him to help me, just to make me feel okay, for him to show me i wasnt a bad person, to show i wasnt born wrong. but he never did. i began looking at other religions and found satanism and the different types, and i found satan. he was kind and loving and made me feel that even though i was broken i was still okay, and hed give me a better life next time since i was wronged so much in this one. its not that i dont believe in god, i just dont believe hes the loving and forgiving god everyone says he is.
FreshNewFanBoy
The way I see it, and bare with the downer attitude for a sec it gets good I swear, god is a measurement of faith, and faith can be converted equally to good and bad actions. Both sides of the coin have put millions of people in the ground, so like, there are no winning sides. BUT HEAR ME OUT. From my view personally, there IS a greater force driving us, and this is the universe her self. Equal and opposite reactions and all that jazz. The universe TALKS to us, and WE CAN LISTEN!? How beautiful is that?? The god that shaped us as an "oopsie" on the footnotes of reality TALKS TO HER CHILDREN! We ask questions and she gives us hints so we learn ourselves the answers to our questions! She gets mad and fights back when you break her things (Pollutants and war), and she provides to you if you provide to her (clean agriculture and healthy living). I believe in no god, no guiding hand, but I do always trust in my mother, who has gone out of her way to comfort me in knowing I can actively see her help in motion.