Do You Believe In GOD

[ksm32]

?

[The General]

yes.

[Catsmile]

Does god believe in us?
When god takes acid does he see people?

[jazmunda]

For all the bad things yes.

When times are good who needs him.

[Eddie Coyle]

     When he was in Cream.

[phrodo]

Not sure what he/she/it calls itself ... but I definitely believe in a supreme being that created all. Stupefying question of all questions is where did that being come from? Another puzzler is - what was around before there was nothing?   

[b_dubb]

I think that what most people call god is the tendency to anthropomorphize an uncaring, unfeeling universe.  I have had a couple experiences that would suggest that there may be a higher power at work. But our brains play tricks on us. So at the end of the day I'm effectively an agnostic who is at times envious of Christians for their faith in god and at other times disgusted with them (see Young Earth Creationists).

[Zoo]

Which god should we pick? Who is right? Why are they right? Does it matter!!1
"Since the beginning of recorded history, which is defined by the invention of writing by the Sumerians around 6000 years ago, historians have cataloged over 3700 supernatural beings, of which 2870 can be considered deities. Those numbers are probably a very conservative estimate because we have no accurate information before 4000 B.C. This means any deities worshipped by man before this period are unaccounted for. In truth, the possibilities are nearly infinite. For example, in Hindu the entire living universe is merely a unique manifestation of Ishvara. This leads to the fact that there are 330 million "gods or goddesses." Some examples of the different deities documented are:Monotheism: Judaism: Yahweh Christianity: God Islam: Allah Polytheism: Greek: Zeus, Hermes, Hades, Hera, Aphrodite, etc... Roman: Iuppiter, Mors, Terra, etc... Norse: Odin, Thor, Loki, Njordr, etc... Hindu: Krishna, Vishnu, Kali, Ishvara, etc... Chinese Folk (Simple): Shangdi, Mazu, Shou Xing, Tu Di Gong, etc... Shinto (Japanese): Izanagi-no-Mikoto, Izanami-no-Mikoto, etc... Celtic: Cernunnos, Damona, Epona, etc... Egyptian: Ra, Isis, Anubis, Osiris, etc... Sumerian: An, Ki, Enlil, Enki, etc... Babylonian: Sin, Marduk, Ishtar, Nabu, etc... Persian: Simurgh, Rostam, Gaokerena, etc... Aboriginal: Bunyip, Kurreah, Mutjinga, etc..."
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_gods_and_goddesses_are_there

I think that what most people call god is the tendency to anthropomorphize an uncaring, unfeeling universe.  I have had a couple experiences that would suggest that there may be a higher power at work. But our brains play tricks on us. So at the end of the day I'm effectively an agnostic who is at times envious of Christians for their faith in god and at other times disgusted with them (see Young Earth Creationists).

I have to agree with you on this. I feel the same way about almost all religions. As long as you believe in what I believe things are fine if not, then we must kill each other. Just seems odd to me!!1
 

[phrodo]

Which god should we pick? Who is right? Why are they right? Does it matter!!1
"Since the beginning of recorded history, which is defined by the invention of writing by the Sumerians around 6000 years ago, historians have cataloged over 3700 supernatural beings, of which 2870 can be considered deities. Those numbers are probably a very conservative estimate because we have no accurate information before 4000 B.C. This means any deities worshipped by man before this period are unaccounted for. In truth, the possibilities are nearly infinite. For example, in Hindu the entire living universe is merely a unique manifestation of Ishvara. This leads to the fact that there are 330 million "gods or goddesses." Some examples of the different deities documented are:Monotheism: Judaism: Yahweh Christianity: God Islam: Allah Polytheism: Greek: Zeus, Hermes, Hades, Hera, Aphrodite, etc... Roman: Iuppiter, Mors, Terra, etc... Norse: Odin, Thor, Loki, Njordr, etc... Hindu: Krishna, Vishnu, Kali, Ishvara, etc... Chinese Folk (Simple): Shangdi, Mazu, Shou Xing, Tu Di Gong, etc... Shinto (Japanese): Izanagi-no-Mikoto, Izanami-no-Mikoto, etc... Celtic: Cernunnos, Damona, Epona, etc... Egyptian: Ra, Isis, Anubis, Osiris, etc... Sumerian: An, Ki, Enlil, Enki, etc... Babylonian: Sin, Marduk, Ishtar, Nabu, etc... Persian: Simurgh, Rostam, Gaokerena, etc... Aboriginal: Bunyip, Kurreah, Mutjinga, etc..."
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_gods_and_goddesses_are_there

I have to agree with you on this. I feel the same way about almost all religions. As long as you believe in what I believe things are fine if not, then we must kill each other. Just seems odd to me!!1

One would think that any being wise and all-knowing enough to create all we know would also be wise enough to present itself to the many, widely varied civilized societies of this planet in a way and persona that the particular society and culture would be able to relate and understand.

[The General]

I have to agree with you on this. I feel the same way about almost all religions. As long as you believe in what I believe things are fine if not, then we must kill each other. Just seems odd to me!!1

You're tar brushing the masses. 
Only the extremists think like that, maybe 2% of them. 
Most religious people are peaceful.

[b_dubb]

You're tar brushing the masses. 
Only the extremists think like that, maybe 2% of them. 
Most religious people are peaceful.

Never knew a Lutheran to strike out at anyone. Ever. Now Presbyterians ... they'll go for your throat.

tG is right. Most religious people are just trying to get by and live a good life. It's a lunatic fringe element that does violence in the name of. 

The dangerous thing about religion is that it does not endorse people who question religious dogma.  There's a "turn your brain off" phenomena and that is dangerous. See Young Earth Creationists.

[DigitalPigSnuggler]

Absolutely not.

[Foodlion]

I believe in God.

[zeebo]

From the movie The Island (2005) ...

Lincoln: What's "God"?
McCord: You know when you really want something, and you close your eyes and wish for it really hard? 
Lincoln: (nods)
McCord: God's the guy that ignores you.

[GeorgieForPresident2216]

Here's my take, summarized but still too long for a post.  Sorry about that.

I spent my childhood certain there was a God, my youth questioning that certainty, and now my mid-life certain there is no God, at least not the God of the bible.  However, I have no evidence either way.  I only have evidence that the idea of God has served man throughout the ages, on both a personal and societal level, and that civilization probably would have never gotten off the ground without religion.  So the simplest solution is that God is a creation of man and not the other way around.

I think the fundamental notion of God comes from our very nature.  In nature there is balance.  The golden rule is that everything is either in equilibrium or trying to establish an equilibrium.  In men and women that equilibrium was disrupted when we evolved an advanced sense of love.  It takes a long time to raise a human child, and so in response hominids developed a deeper sense of love than that which we probably inherited from our great ape ancestors.  This, in order to maintain a bond between couples and child during the extended rearing process. 

However, having established such a bond, the loss of a loved one can be devastating.. debilitating.  So nature needed to find something to balance it out.  It found spirituality, the notion that our passed loved ones are not truly gone so that we can have the strength to slog ahead and survive.  If we didn't, we'd just be a drag on our clan and waste scarce resources (ie/ food).  Evolution is all about making the most efficient use of those resources in order to allow the species to prosper at the expense of the less efficient.

Since the beginning of civilization, societies have taken advantage of that innate spirituality to mold the populace to the needs of the state.  In a time when every man between 18 and 80 had to pick up arms to protect the communal farmland, we had war gods.  In the time of unwieldy empires we developed pacifist gods.

Well I could go on but there it is.

[Mind Flayer Monk]

How do you know your GOD is the real GOD?

How do you know the devil is not playing a confidence game with you? The devil can wait forever.

[Kelt]

I find the idea of benevolent sky-daddies to be absolutely hilarious and pathetic in equal measure.

[FightTheFuture]

?

Yep

[aldousburbank]

!

[DigitalPigSnuggler]

So the simplest solution is that God is a creation of man and not the other way around.

It's often been observed that you can't prove God doesn't exist, because it's not logically possible to prove a negative.  However, if you reframe the challenge to proving that the Abrahamic god and his derivatives are constructions of man, the evidence is overwhelming and the arguments strong.  The need for a god, or gods, goes to the essence of what makes us human.  We willfully deceive ourselves with it, but the impulse is what elevates us above other mammals. 

[Bart Ell]

In the words of Victor Kiam...
WHO FED THE FUCKING BABIES?

[Zoo]

You're tar brushing the masses. 
Only the extremists think like that, maybe 2% of them. 
Most religious people are peaceful.

I was just looking at the things as a whole!!1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_war

[ksm32]

So at the end of the day I'm effectively an agnostic who is at times envious of Christians for their faith in god and at other times disgusted with them (see Young Earth Creationists).

A guest with Art long ago said "I'm a big fan of Jesus, but his fan club scares the hell outta me"

[UnscreenedCaller]

If by god, you mean unconditional love then yes, I believe in god. If by god you mean a cosmic cop, ready to squash people for their transgressions, then no, I don't believe in that god. Not a fan of the destructive side of organized religion.

[Unquenchable Angst]

Michael Tsarion - 2012: The Future of Mankind

[Tarbaby]

If by god, you mean unconditional love then yes, I believe in god. If by god you mean a cosmic cop, ready to squash people for their transgressions, then no, I don't believe in that god. Not a fan of the destructive side of organized religion.

yes. There are about a dozen types of fallacy modes that people fall into. One type is called "black/white" fallacy. It's one of mankind's favorites. It's all or nothing, no shades of gray in between. Either God doesn't exist at all or it is anthropomorphic. No room for a gestalt level of energy/matter that is non-anthropomorphic. Perhaps associated with our space/time bubble. A.k.a. unconditional love. Not the Saturday morning testosterone laden cartoon figure of mankind's imagination. Rather, a Gestalt principle that struggles against entropy and strives for Self-evolution.

[Heather Wade]

I've had an nde, and still not sure.  Been dealt a shitty hand in life, and found no God to help, no matter how hard I asked/prayed/wished.  When I speak to those with unwavering devotion to something they have never seen, like Mormons, Catholics, or Christians I have met, they seem brainwashed.

If there is a God, we cannot comprehend it yet.

During my nde, whatever/whoever it was I communicated with told me it is not the petty rules of this or that religion that matter.  What matters is how we treat each other during our lives.

[DigitalPigSnuggler]

No room for a gestalt level of energy/matter that is non-anthropomorphic.

No one shouts "Oh unconditional love...OH UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!!!" during sex.

[zeebo]

... During my nde, whatever/whoever it was I communicated with told me it is not the petty rules of this or that religion that matter.  What matters is how we treat each other during our lives.

I agree with you, (R).  Sometimes I wonder about all the religious practices people follow.  I visualize a scene where God is interviewing someone about their life, to see if they'll make it into heaven:

God:  Were you kind to people and animals?
Human:  Yes.
God:  Did you try your best to be fair?
Human:  Yes.
God:  Did you discover the value of love, compassion, and generosity?
Human:  Yes.
God:  Ok, you're doing great so far.  Last question.  Did you ever, even one single time, eat meat on Friday?
Human:  Um, I think like once or twice.
God:  Oooooh, sorry, you just blew it!  Hey down there, we've got another one for you!

[MV/Liberace!]

I'm sure I'm not the first to express this line of thought, and some might even view it as the simplistic observation of a theological dunce, but if there's a God and he's all powerful, why doesn't he just defeat Satan and be done with it? If God created all, this means not only is Satan inherently God's creation, but Satan also receives God's tacit approval since his existence and influence are allowed to continue.