Explain why you believe as you do? Including Atheists

Marian said:
I have been on a lifelong quest to answer this question.
Repondering’s answer is just about as close to my belief as it gets and was so eloquently stated . I guess Buddhism is what resonates with me most. I view it as more of a philosophy than a religion though.
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I explored Buddhism a lot years ago. I found much wisdom and comfort. Meditation is such a good thing to practice.
 

Sitting in a Bible study at age 16, I questioned how children in Africa could possibly be condemned to "Hell" for never hearing the word Jesus. I was told this was why we needed to send more missionaries there.

A few years later I found the word "Agnostic," knew that was me, and have never looked back. The only thing I regret about my lack of beliefs is that I and others who have the same mind-set have no organized place to meet, to make music, to have fun, to further political movement.

Agnosticism, to me is simple: As relates to who or what created us, and is or is not in control: "I don't know, and neither do you."
 
I was born and raised Catholic. I went to a Catholic school and was taught by Nuns. I really believed in God when I saw my friend's niece for the first time. The baby was premature, and only weighed 4 lbs. when I saw the baby for the first time I believed there had to be a God. Where could anyone so small be born if there wasn't a God? She is in her 50s now and I have really believed because of her there must be a God.
 
Swirly said:
Sitting in a Bible study at age 16, I questioned how children in Africa could possibly be condemned to "Hell" for never hearing the word Jesus. I was told this was why we needed to send more missionaries there.

A few years later I found the word "Agnostic," knew that was me, and have never looked back. The only thing I regret about my lack of beliefs is that I and others who have the same mind-set have no organized place to meet, to make music, to have fun, to further political movement.

Agnosticism, to me is simple: As relates to who or what created us, and is or is not in control: "I don't know, and neither do you."
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Have you tried the Unitarians?
 
Marian said:
I have been on a lifelong quest to answer this question.
Repondering’s answer is just about as close to my belief as it gets and was so eloquently stated . I guess Buddhism is what resonates with me most. I view it as more of a philosophy than a religion though.
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Buddhism doesn't know a God or gods. For this reason most scholars regard it as a kind of philosophy, so do my wife and I. And yes, it resonates most with both of us too.
 
Swirly said:
A few years later I found the word "Agnostic," knew that was me, and have never looked back. The only thing I regret about my lack of beliefs is that I and others who have the same mind-set have no organized place to meet, to make music, to have fun, to further political movement.
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In Canada, the Unitarian Church serves this purpose for some.
 
My mother always dismissed many things as "Just God's way". Like children who are born with disfigurement or incurable illness? Was pain and misery part of God's way? Mother couldn't answer that. It just was.
I believe that this 'God' is simply a convenient name for things we don't yet understand.
 
I was raised Roman Catholic, in a fairly parochial part of that community. I had pretty much rejected most of that tradition by my late teens. Since then, I have come to view “religion” as synonymous with mythology. That is: a set of stories that serve to help individuals make sense their lives and their observed realities. Personally, I’m a Dianic pagan.
 
Anything I believe has to make sense & be logical to me. It also has to be part of "reality." Or, it has to be proven to me.
Otherwise, I won't accept it. :)
 
Pepper said:
Ed, I've been wanting to take the opportunity to tell you I hate your father. I cannot stand how a precious young boy (you) was so harmed. I carry you in my heart Ed; your threads are thought provoking and deep; the pain, grief & torment you endured, and still do..........to get to my point, and I deeply apologize for going off track.........I really care about you Ed, and look forward to your musings.
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I’ve hated my father for years. My father was sick in many ways, ignorance, childhood trauma, influence, narcissistic, delusional, and a coward. Do I hate the man whose actions influenced his behavior? He ruined my life, I’m looking for a trauma therapist to put this to rest.
 
The word. god automatically conjures preconceived notions of one’s opinion of god. The problem with defining god is many people humanize god in whatever context they choose. In my opinion god doesn’t make willful decision to cause death or earth quakes or rain for that matter. God does not think like a human so it is foolish to blame for anything, god doesn’t work that way. I believe the Bible is a poor source of information regarding god and Christianity whose design was to control the poor into submitting themselves to an unseeable power in exchange for hope monetary support.

god is a force or the force that all things come from and returns to. I believe god is one and all things are one in god. God is without human emotions, god is not joyful or happy, does not show anger or remorse, as far a sin I believe negativity and unresolved issues can obstruct happiness and one’s full potential
 
Mr. Ed said:
The word. god automatically conjures preconceived notions of one’s opinion of god. The problem with defining god is many people humanize god in whatever context they choose. In my opinion god doesn’t make willful decision to cause death or earth quakes or rain for that matter. God does not think like a human so it is foolish to blame for anything, god doesn’t work that way. I believe the Bible is a poor source of information regarding god and Christianity whose design was to control the poor into submitting themselves to an unseeable power in exchange for hope monetary support.

god is a force or the force that all things come from and returns to. I believe god is one and all things are one in god. God is without human emotions, god is not joyful or happy, does not show anger or remorse, as far a sin I believe negativity and unresolved issues can obstruct happiness and one’s full potential
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i mostly agree. There is a problem with defining whatever God might refer to in a very low precise way. To do so places it under our control - but it isn’t under our control. It contributes to making us possible at a level beneath our notice.

I never found any rationale for belief in God except in trying to understand what we are and how we work. Since so much goes on preconsciously without which we could not experience the world as we do, that is where we should look to understand what is said about God. Yes God created and holds together the world as we experience it and creates us as a self with a stable identity and trajectory. It is mysterious compared with empirical knowledge of things, but supernatural or Omni-anything? No, that is just an artifact of a time before there was any understanding of consciousness, of which our understanding is still very incomplete.

Something there is that gets the big picture of what should matter to us better than we do. That is valuable knowledge but our conscious selves are disconnected from it. At least some theology serves to connect we selves who exist on the surface of consciousness to the depths from whence comes insight and inspiration if we are receptive enough to receive them and where God hears every prayer.
 
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The issue for me is not "Why do I believe as I do," but rather, "Why don't I believe as I do." I know, I know. Preachers point to the stars, new born babes, and all sorts of awesome things to support the concept of a god. But none of that proves anything. For those who want to believe, there is an abundance of confirmation bias, but nothing else.

There is also not much to support the absence of a god. What it comes down to is that the world does not require a god for anything good, bad, awesome, or trivial. Why we are here becomes an interesting but unsolvable mystery, so we can live with that or make something up.

I spent most of my life searching, because I wanted there to be a god. I'm still waiting, but I'm at a point where I no longer care about resolving the question that can't be logically resolved. Be content, do no harm, and enjoy your life. I don't believe there is anything more.
 
I am interested in learning a satisfactory understanding of god, however, I doubt that will happen but who knows this for sure. I am angered by the false securities and misrepresentation of dad in association with the church, however. more so was his intentional distance from using his work as an excuse to avoid family interaction and limit the times my mother had him do odd jobs around the house. My dad was a coward, he purposely stayed away from the family because outside of the family and in the community he was special.

My warped upbringing consisted mainly of two factors, my dad who refused to notice me except in times of discourse and of course my dad's church under his watchful eyes where he was king. To question the king is to question god. Church was the extended arms of dad that had the backing of almighty god, something I was taught to fear and obey. This made life complex, my dad was unreachable and in his place stood the church I was forced to attend in support of my dad's ministry.

I believe people put themselves under the jurisdiction and scrutiny of god as they understand god is to them. This concept of understanding of god is reinforced and fueled by outside sources such worship services, church, prayer and the bible. Seldom do people expand their understanding of things without considering the possibility of new information. This act known as heresy does not encourage free thinking but as long as you adhere to the Bible or the will of god found in the Bible you will be free according to the stipulations of the Bible. This puts us at the beginning before we thinking was free.
 
I used to believe because I was taught to in Catholic grade school. I said it was all false one day and did not believe. Now I believe there is something out there to believe and just don't know what it is.
 
I am interested in learning a satisfactory understanding of god, however, I doubt that will happen but who knows this for sure. I am angered by the false securities and misrepresentation of dad in association with the church, however. more so was his intentional distance from using his work as an excuse to avoid family interaction and limit the times my mother had him do odd jobs around the house. My dad was a coward, he purposely stayed away from the family because outside of the family and in the community he was special.

My warped upbringing consisted mainly of two factors, my dad who refused to notice me except in times of discourse and of course my dad's church under his watchful eyes where he was king. To question the king is to question god. Church was the extended arms of dad that had the backing of almighty god, something I was taught to fear and obey. This made life complex, my dad was unreachable and in his place stood the church I was forced to attend in support of my dad's ministry.

I believe people put themselves under the jurisdiction and scrutiny of god as they understand god is to them. This concept of understanding of god is reinforced and fueled by outside sources such worship services, church, prayer and the bible. Seldom do people expand their understanding of things without considering the possibility of new information. People who are content with the knowledge they have will rarely venture into uncharted territory for fear of gaining new information and leaving behind the safety of self.

I used psychedelics to escape the grew up in, however, psychedelic awareness deemed temporary and once again I was Mr. Ed. Attempts to run away from included the purchase of a handgun from the pawnshop. I found myself on a deserted railway where I planned to end it. Here I am alone, no one else is near and I am worried the sound of the gun will draw unwanted attention to me. I removed the bullets and drove back to where I lived. I never tried anything like that again but I wish society did not view suicide the way it does by making it possible to die on one's own accord without judgement or stigma.
 
@Mr. Ed... From this an other posts of yours, I get the impression that you are locked in a struggle over the nature of God and having difficulty sorting it out because of your relationship to your father, a pillar of the church, but not much of dad, husband, and possibly not the ideal image of a good Christian either. I get it. I grew up under surprisingly similar circumstances. I understand trying to make sense out of endless logical contradictions of the Christian faith, or any other faith for that matter. I was never a good Christian starting early in my life, because I had too many questions without answers. I searched for a connection to a god into my mid 50s.

If there is a god, and he resembles anything like the Bible god, his existence would probably have the greatest consequences for our existence we could ever encounter. But none of this matters unless God exists. And this is the fundamental question that must be answered definitively before we can continue on in our personal growth. If he exists, we need to get with the program. If he does not, it's all just time lost chasing rainbows.

All the problems with your youth, family, and your father do nothing to contribute to an understanding of a god that may or may not be out there floating around in the luminiferous æther. Ask yourself if you believe or not. This is an either/or situation. Many people think they can avoid the issue by claiming agnosticism. Agnosticism is a valid and laudable position to be sure, but it is not a place "in between" the two polar opposites. If you cannot answer that you believe in God in the affirmative, then you don't believe in God. At least that is the way I see it, and it cleared the way for me to search within myself to develop a system of ethics that is useful to me and that does no harm to others. It also allows me to decide for myself, what is important to get the most out of my remaining years.
 
Belief in a higher power can most definitely be relative, not black and white just like many other less than certainties of life. In fact, that is a facet of hope and faith. An example of a certainty is all we organic creatures will eventually die. According to scripture, even those Jesus may save have to die first. An example of an uncertainty, is when each of us will die.

As a very logical oriented thinker, my own unique ideas are not something I treat as 100% certainties, but rather probabilities I choose to accept despite being unlikely for valid reasons, in order to pursue a path to eternal life. I love how God if he exists, hides certainty from all of us as it is an excellent way to filter goats out leaving sheep. None of us gets to know. And that absolutely trips up many otherwise intelligent humans that then use the lack of any certain evidence as a reason to not believe and instead behave in ways he has stated not to. If he flew across the sky thundering down in a voice, even many of the worst would believe. Instead they just get to die eternally.
 

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