Does God exist? (your opinion anyways.)

[Doom Shepherd]

Pascal's Wager is also interesting, but following that logic would mean going to church, and forcing myself to believe in something I don't. Meh.

 

Actually, Pascal's wager is badly damaged by the fact that there's an abundance of religions, all claiming exclusive rights to the "truth." No matter what you do, you have about the same chances of being wrong if you choose a religion as you do if you choose no religion.

 

"Sorry, you chose one of the YHWH-based religions, but it turns out Moloch was the real God all along..."

[alphabetagamma]

Pascal's Wager is also interesting, but following that logic would mean going to church, and forcing myself to believe in something I don't. Meh.

Actually, Pascal's wager is badly damaged by the fact that there's an abundance of religions, all claiming exclusive rights to the "truth." No matter what you do, you have about the same chances of being wrong if you choose a religion as you do if you choose no religion.

 

"Sorry, you chose one of the YHWH-based religions, but it turns out Moloch was the real God all along..."

Very true. I have to wonder what the God of Christianity would do to an upstanding muslim and vice versa.

 

"You followed the faith you had been taught since you were a child instead of randomly abandoning it for a religion you were told was false? Eternal suffering!"

[Eedo Baba]

There's also the logic that if there are really hundreds of available religions, would you really expect one of them to be true? Is it really that special?

[Alyxx Thorne]

I believe God is as real as you want God to be. For Christians like myself, God is pretty much as much of a constant presence as the sun in the sky. Sometimes you don't see it but you know it's there. The thing about faith is that it's not about knowing something exists, but feeling it exists, so to think about God in any scientific terms is pretty much useless, because nobody knows that God is real, some of us just feel it.

[Eedo Baba]

I believe God is as real as you want God to be. For Christians like myself, God is pretty much as much of a constant presence as the sun in the sky. Sometimes you don't see it but you know it's there. The thing about faith is that it's not about knowing something exists, but feeling it exists, so to think about God in any scientific terms is pretty much useless, because nobody knows that God is real, some of us just feel it.

 

Ok, for arguments sake I'll accept that you can feel a presence that I can't. My question is why that leads you to Christianity? If all you feel is a single higher power, why not believe in any other monotheistic religion, like Islam or Judaism? What makes you lean towards Christianity if you're going off of a basic feeling?

[Alyxx Thorne]

Because Christianity is the religion that makes the most sense to me. If not I'd just be Agnostic. But I think that Christianity has a lot of good values and in general is a religion I want to live by. I'll never be very extreme about it though. It's just what I feel makes sense to me.

[Chuckthe2nd]

I'm just going to back up SiN on this and say, (being a Christian myself) that 100% agree with that...It's the only religion that makes sense.

[Doom Shepherd]

I'll never get that part about religion "making sense." From a purely sensible standpoint, the closer I look at any religion, the sillier it gets.

 

 

That's why I only believe in Trickster Gods. When your God is a screwup, it can't get any sillier.

 

[Chuckthe2nd]

Dude, really?

[Axeldeath]

It's the only religion that makes sense

 

Could you explain how? Or is it just a "gut" feeling, because having a gut feeling about something doesn't mean it makes sense. It just means you have a personal bias.

[Eedo Baba]

I'll never get that part about religion "making sense." From a purely sensible standpoint, the closer I look at any religion, the sillier it gets.

 

 

Pretty much this. Religion kind of stays in a stasis outside of logic, because it's taught to children that don't have the mental faculty to really understand or question it yet.

[Alyxx Thorne]

It's all about what you wish to focus on. If you take the bible too literally it's not going to make sense. It's very symbolic and is meant to be interpreted. It all depends on how you interpret it.

 

So either way, I really think the world, the universe, and everything living in it is created by God. I think evil and good are forces living in everything, both humans and animals. I see God and Satan as non-human energies existing outside our dimension or plane of existence, and that heaven and hell are more states of mind than real physical places as described traditionally.

[Eedo Baba]

There's actually evidence to support the idea that the Old Testament was commissioned by the Persians as a book of moral law. I feel no reason to follow the teachings of Persian rulers 3000 years after the fact.

 

So either way, I really think the world, the universe, and everything living in it is created by God. I think evil and good are forces living in everything, both humans and animals. I see God and Satan as non-human energies existing outside our dimension or plane of existence, and that heaven and hell are more states of mind than real physical places as described traditionally.

 

You don't seem to have any reason to think these things, which is why I can't take your beliefs seriously. If your only reason is faith, then I advise you to take a close look at what faith is, and weigh that information with the knowledge that your own mind is not infallible. It has subconscious desires and can make illogical assumptions, like all people.

[Alyxx Thorne]

You don't seem to have any reason to think these things, which is why I can't take your beliefs seriously. If your only reason is faith, then I advise you to take a close look at what faith is, and weigh that information with the knowledge that your own mind is not infallible. It has subconscious desires and can make illogical assumptions, like all people.

It's just how I see the world.

[Eedo Baba]

You don't seem to have any reason to think these things, which is why I can't take your beliefs seriously. If your only reason is faith, then I advise you to take a close look at what faith is, and weigh that information with the knowledge that your own mind is not infallible. It has subconscious desires and can make illogical assumptions, like all people.

It's just how I see the world.

 

I don't think I understand your thought process. Do you accept that it's not true, but just choose to live your life by those values?

[Alyxx Thorne]

What is true depends on your point of view and perspective. From my perspective I see God every day, in people, in life itself, in how everything in the world seems to be designed by some greater force. The Earth is more than a coincidence in my eyes, it cannot be a coincidence. Life itself is not a coincidence. Christianity as a religion for me gives me hope, a meaning and something to live by, and a feeling that there is something else in this world than what can be touched and seen with your eyes.

 

But yeah, it's all about what you choose to see and feel. And this is why I don't really post in serious topics that much, because I always tend to be -rep'd for what I say.

[Pinkie Pie]

There's actually evidence to support the idea that the Old Testament was commissioned by the Persians as a book of moral law. I feel no reason to follow the teachings of Persian rulers 3000 years after the fact.

What evidence do you know of that actually supports this? I'm actually really curious to know.

[Alyxx Thorne]

There's actually evidence to support the idea that the Old Testament was commissioned by the Persians as a book of moral law. I feel no reason to follow the teachings of Persian rulers 3000 years after the fact.

What evidence do you know of that actually supports this? I'm actually really curious to know.

I don't follow the old testament. I doubt few Christians do. We follow the new testament.

[Doom Shepherd]

Dude, really?

 

Absolutely nothing in that post is untrue.

[Pinkie Pie]

There's actually evidence to support the idea that the Old Testament was commissioned by the Persians as a book of moral law. I feel no reason to follow the teachings of Persian rulers 3000 years after the fact.

What evidence do you know of that actually supports this? I'm actually really curious to know.

I don't follow the old testament. I doubt few Christians do. We follow the new testament.

I'm talking more historical interest than anything.