Does God exist?

[Bio]

What I quoted from you is what I was addressing. If you think what I said is a cop-out than I could call that an excuse in itself. Either one could be as sound an argument as the other.

There is enough proof, in my opinion. It comes through believing things that are expressed in the Bible, though. If you are expecting someone to give you a resource of hard facts on the total existence of God, that probably isn't the best way to approach this thread.

 

[Napalmbrain]

There is enough proof, in my opinion. It comes through believing things that are expressed in the Bible, though. If you are expecting someone to give you a resource of hard facts on the total existence of God, that probably isn't the best way to approach this thread.

But why should I believe in the Bible? What proof does it offer? And why specifically the Bible and not the Qur'an, the Avesta, the Bhagavad Gita, etc.?

 

[AndThen?]

That's just an excuse so that when we pray for proof and nothing happens you can say "it's God's will, he'll show us proof when he feels like it"

And I could tell you that's just an excuse for when you don't get your way.

The idea is that God would answer a prayer when it's necessary. Not just because there's a post-it placed on some particular time and date, but because the timing is meant for when it would benefit us most. "When he feels like it" is missing the point. It is also in accordance to our own well-being.

I wonder how many people have died prematurely just because God didn't feel answering their prayer for food, or basic healthcare was "in accordance with their own well-being".

 

[Bio]

But why should I believe in the Bible? What proof does it offer? And why specifically the Bible and not the Qur'an, the Avesta, the Bhagavad Gita, etc.?

The only reasoning I can give you why I think the Bible is at least mostly legit is from what I have gotten out of it. One way I thought much of the Bible made sense was less about the grander, supernatural, miraculous things...but more about how the fundamental ideas made sense to me when seeing if they had a purpose in everyday life. Things about how people operate, their desires, their obstacles (these things I could peg as "proof"), they find their way of coming together with sensibility and often explain some of the spiritual confusion I or other people may have. At these times, I have more confidence that there is at least a general truth to it. I don't know how it compares to the other books, though, as I have not looked into them.

It's not to say that I totally believe or understand everything, but in a broad sense I think it all tends to work. Some of the often disputed stuff like homosexuality or sodomy or why horrible events happen like the holocaust in front of God, the male vs. female roles...those are things that even I am still trying to make sense out of.

I wonder how many people have died prematurely just because God didn't feel answering their prayer for food, or basic healthcare was "in accordance with their own well-being".

Good question. =(

I often ask myself those things, too. Why stuff like that (or other worse things like the Holocaust, horrible moments during slavery times, etc.) happen. I suppose it would show how important it is for individuals to pursue good lives. Even those who participate in governments. Cuz things like that are definitely not right. Why these consequences still happen is something I would definitely like to ask to a church ministry.

 

[Shadowking]

You're calling the excuse many Christians have given me when I ask for an explanation...an excuse for me to use? You make no sense.

 

[Bio]

You're calling the excuse many Christians have given me when I ask for an explanation...an excuse for me to use? You make no sense.

Sorry, I didn't mean to be confusing. I think I may have misread a little bit.

But as I read back, even though many Christians said it, I would still see it as an excuse, yeah, only because of its vagueness. I mean, "God wills it, he'll do it when he feels like it" is the gist of it, sure, but if someone asked me what you asked them I would have given a more thorough answer. I think for somebody to respond with "when he feels like it" takes the person who is praying out of the equation. That's why I gave that response earlier.

At any rate, I'm just trying to put on the table what I have been told through church and such.

 

[WiiAssasin]

God does not exist.

everything in the world we know can be explained in a certain matter. for example we came about through evolution and then advanced ourselves from cavemen ancesters to the highly technological beings we are today. some will argue God and i will even admit, some of the push needed to advance came from religion. does that mean God? no, but rather that these thiests gave thier help and claimed it was from god.
when an artist gets inspired and paints the greatest masterpiece in the world, many will say the artist was inspired. around the same amount will claim the inspiration came from God.

we can find evidence to explain almost every occurance possible. the ones we can't, we're working on figuring out. many thiests will claim it was 'Gods will, until we do, and the stubbern ones will after too.


to put it simply though, it all comes down to a belief of whether there is a God or not. its currently impossible to prove him yet currently impossible to disprove him. humans today simply don't know enough. when we learn more we'll likely revise our views and that will change the worlds beliefs. like how everyone believed the world was flat. until finally proven otherwise it was defined as fact.
God may not be defined as fact but you'll get a fair amount on either side of the arguement about his existance.


and this is just a rhetorical question: if there truly is a God, should we worship said diety? the world today is plagued with disease, tyranny, war, and hate. do those sound like something a caring and loving God would allow? i don't believe in God but if he existed, i would hate him with every fiber in my being for allowing such evils to run ranpent accross the globe.

So, the world is so messed up that that god couldn't have created it. So if i had a knife and killed someone with it does that mean no one created it? btw: what's with the picture, anime sux

 

[Shadowking]

So, the world is so messed up that that god couldn't have created it. So if i had a knife and killed someone with it does that mean no one created it? btw: what's with the picture, anime sux

The first part makes no sense and the second part is off topic.

@Bio: I think I MIGHT know what you're talking about but if I do have any idea then excuse is the wrong word. I'm not sure what the right word would be though...? Oh well.

Anyhow, when you guys ask the Atheists a question we respond thoroughly (especially Napalm) but when we ask you Christians a question you try to call us out on something instead of answering the question. Which is, I believe, why the subject keeps being switched to evolution. You keep trying to use that as a buffer. Hopefully we can stop that and start having a real intelligent discussion like a few of us have been having. (and yes, that does include a few Christians who are involved in the intelligent part and a few Atheists that are being retarded)

 

[Bio]

Yeah, excuse is probably the wrong word. I just think vagueness is a problem.

At any rate, I'll be honest with you: a Christian calling out an Athiest for asking something usually means they don't know the answer. I'd say most Christians don't know what to say and take the "cuz God says so" route. It's not that this route is always wrong, but I feel it's relied upon too often when there hasn't been enough information put on the table to reinforce it.

The challenge, I think, in discussions like these, is for the Christian side to combine some of the factual knowledge in this world with certain aspects of Christian faith. I don't want to be the "cuz God says so" person and I believe there is more detailed responses that are possible. I believe there is enough logic to the faith that a more intelligent discussion can be reached, but even I am still learning.

I think the "cuz God says so" route doesn't really do anything for the Athiest listener. If Christianity is the truth, then it should be expected that a more detailed explanation is possible and if the speaker is reasonably educated in their faith (I would argue that many Christians aren't), he/she should have more to say than just that.

 

[Shadowking]

EXACTLY. See, people like you I can respect despite disagreeing with your views. Because you're obviously not a blind follower, you're continuing to try to learn more about your faith. Too many people just believe because it's what they've been told to do. My parents gave me the freedom and encouragement to think for myself which is what brought me to Atheism. I'd love to believe, I really would. But I have no reason to.

 

[ssbb_lover]

This could be a well known contradiction, but I'm reading a book by the name of "Alpha & Omega" by Charles Seife (highly recommended) in my free time and came across this footnote:

The two Genesis stories of the origin of man and woman are somewhat contradictory. Genesis 1 has both man and woman being created on the sixth day; Genesis 2 starts with Adam and tells of Eve being fashioned from Adam's rib. For this reason, some Jewish mystics believed that Adam had a wife before Eve, Lilith, who wanders the Earth as a demon.

Upon my own re-reading of the first two chapters, one could even interpret it as, "God created men and women in other parts of the world, but then specifically after creating the Garden of Eden (which also seems to come after the 6 days of creation and the seventh day of rest), he created Adam and consequently Eve."

Just found that tidbit interesting as I did not notice it upon my own reading of the Bible a few years back (age 13, which is why I didn't notice it.. )

 

[Eddy122]

It's a tough question I'm catholic but I started to think about it and I'm stuck between catholic-christian and science :/

 

[Skippy]

It's a tough question I'm catholic but I started to think about it and I'm stuck between catholic-christian and science :/

Science and the Bible can be compatible almost all of the time. Actually Catholic theology contradicts the Bible more than science does.

 

[her01771]

yea^
that is y i am christian
btw: eddy, u might wanna choose by ur own. dont let a christian or a Athiest tell u what is what.
and "science" isnt the same as "evolution"

 

[ssbb_lover]

yea^
that is y i am christian
btw: eddy, u might wanna choose by ur own. dont let a christian or a Athiest tell u what is what.
and "science" isnt the same as "evolution"

Just lol at this whole post.