Do you believe in a God?

[AOA]

I believe in a God.

 

[ez78705]

This is merely an illusion because nothingness means there is nothing there.

But to speak of nothingness gives the illusion there is something there - but there isn't.

This is called sleight-of-hand and is a confidence trick.

And the gods and miracles and heaven and hell are simply confidence tricks like MBTI itself.

I guess what you mean is "to speak of nothingness gives ME the illusion there is something there".

 

[Blank]

I am! I love listening to people. I did not post this thread for argument, I just want to hear your ideas, how you came about them etc. People that say they don't care bother me, but I think deep inside they care. So I'm done, everyone reply.

You're living in a fantasy land; not everything is black and white.

To me you come across as being very closed-minded and ignorant because you "love listening to people," yet you can't accept being bothered by people who think differently than those who agree or who are on the completely opposite spectrum and disagree. You're also projecting your beliefs on other people, which I also find offensive.

Some people honestly don't care because whether there is a god or not has no effect on their life.


That being said, I personally don't believe, nor do I disbelieve that there is a god or gods. No poll option for me. :steam:

 

[ADISCIPLE]

You're living in a fantasy land; not everything is black and white.

To me you come across as being very closed-minded and ignorant because you "love listening to people," yet you can't accept being bothered by people who think differently than those who agree or who are on the completely opposite spectrum and disagree. You're also projecting your beliefs on other people, which I also find offensive.

Some people honestly don't care because whether there is a god or not has no effect on their life.


That being said, I personally don't believe, nor do I disbelieve that there is a god or gods. No poll option for me. :steam:

Yes I believe I am ignorant, but I'm not close-minded. I know you can only take your opinions from my post and I respect that, but I'm not a close-minded person, or at least I try not to be. Thank you for your thoughts.

 

[Mole]

I believe in a God.

And let me guess - you believe in MBTI too.

Bless your cotton socks.

 

[Mole]

I guess what you mean is "to speak of nothingness gives ME the illusion there is something there".

If this is what I meant, I would be as narcissistic as yourself.

 

[Southern Kross]

I do not know if I believe in "a God."

Seriously? I have probably given my don't know more thought than most people's definitely knows.

Same here.

I also have read the Old Testament (working on the New Testament soon - and maybe next the Koran) and have lived in the Holy land for a short period and have been almost all of the significant sights. I certainly have contemplated religious truths yet I am excluded because I don't, as Blank says, live in black and white terms.

 

[Thalassa]

Before an existence of anything, there was nothingness, right?

Thus, at some point between nothingness and existence, something happened. Now let's just assume that we don't know whether it was a god or a big bang or anything else. But suppose that it was either a god or a big bang that came to exist from nothingness and caused everything in the universe to exist, which one do you think makes more sense? Was it a god or a big bang?

Of course, any answer to this question cannot be proved in any way. You can only think about it.

But even if someone would believe that there is no god, it does not mean that there is no reason to respect living things. There are other reasons to respect living things besides existence of god. Having said that, I do respect people who believe in god as well.

It makes more sense to me that a God created it. The very idea that the entire universe and it's complexity came from a random big bang makes much less sense to me.

When did I say that all people who don't believe in god don't respect living things? I said that it is part of my spirituality. I really hate when people who are atheist or agnostic jump onto people who are spiritual or religious when they didn't do anything to provoke the response.

 

[Thalassa]

If this is what I meant, I would be as narcissistic as yourself.

Ah, nope, you strike me as pretty narcissistic too. I think it's the condecending way you think you're enlightening us all with your wisdom that MBTI is out to get us...

 

[heart]

When I really hate when people who are atheist or agnostic jump onto people who are spiritual or religious when they didn't do anything to provoke the response.

Yes, I do too. I also don't like the way that people want to box all belief into traditional belief vs. no belief. Or spirituality always means being theist etc. Those who want to enforce non-belief are just as destructive as those who want to enforce belief.

 

[ez78705]

If this is what I meant, I would be as narcissistic as yourself.

I see. So you are less narcissistic than me. That's fine.

 

[Athenian200]

I really hate when people who are atheist or agnostic jump onto people who are spiritual or religious when they didn't do anything to provoke the response.

Some of us haven't had good experiences with religious people, and are wont to assume that they're all just arbitrary, irrational, self-righteous, imposing, and irritating. Which means we look for those qualities in religious people, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

And once you get used to thinking of a group of people like this, it's hard to break the habit and rationalizations for the habit.

Sorry if we jumped on you without provocation, then.

 

[ez78705]

When did I say that all people who don't believe in god don't respect living things? I said that it is part of my spirituality. I really hate when people who are atheist or agnostic jump onto people who are spiritual or religious when they didn't do anything to provoke the response.

I know you didn't say that and I didn't imply that you said it. I guess this is just a sensitive issue that can easily lead to misunderstanding.

 

[Blank]

Yet I am excluded because I don't, as Blank says, live in black and white terms.

To clarify what I mean, it's that while the question may be something as simple as "Do you believe in a God?" and seems like a yes/no question, there are actually more than just those two responses.

 

[Blackmail!]

Where's Blackmail! when we need him?

You asked me???

Well.... I fully agree with you here. We could even imagine a very complete poll detailling several possible opinions, including deism, true agnosticism, pantheism, ignosticism, passive (practical) atheism, assertoric atheism, materialistic atheism, scientism... and so on, and so on.

 

[Mole]

The very idea that the entire universe and it's complexity came from a random big bang makes much less sense to me.

And there was no big bang.

Things are not exploding away from each other, rather it is space that is expanding.

And if there was a big bang it would have started from a point. However wherever you stand in the universe, it appears the big band started from there.

Believing in the big bang is exactly the same as believing the Sun goes round the Earth - they are both intuitive and both put us at the centre of the universe. And they both appeal to our narcissism and solipsism.

So the big bang is entirely a fraud.

And this fraud has become so popular because it confirms the religious view of a Creator - for if there was a big bang, there must have been a Creator to light the fuse and whoop! here we are.

And the gullible believe in the big bang for the same reason they believe in MBTI - because it suits their preconceptions.

Gosh, the big bang and MBTI seem so intuitive. But the problem is that apart from the tiny part of the universe we inhabit, the rest of the universe, the very small and the very big, is counter-intuitive.

The intuitive have never cottoned on to this and in their desperation are taken in by any nostrum that comes along.

 

[Into It]

Yes, I do too. I also don't like the way that people want to box all belief into traditional belief vs. no belief. Or spirituality always means being theist etc. Those who want to enforce non-belief are just as destructive as those who want to enforce belief.

This is only true assuming that none of them are correct, I think. If there is a God, then trying to get people on his side is actually not destructive, it's just impossible to tell who's destructive and who isn't, which is why the debate will never die.

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend, I will start a new thread about it...

 

[scantilyclad]

No I do not believe in a god.

 

[juggernaut]

You asked me???

Well.... I fully agree with you here. We could even imagine a very complete poll detailling several possible opinions, including deism, true agnosticism, pantheism, ignosticism, passive (practical) atheism, assertoric atheism, materialistic atheism, scientism... and so on, and so on.

This is exactly why you were paged. I knew you'd come through.

Merci!

 

[Eagle]

This is exactly why you were paged. I knew you'd come through.

Merci!

You'll never create a poll that has enough options to detail my beliefs fully.
WHAHAHAHA.