Do you think God exists?

[MiMif]

I used to think he did but I really don't know. They say I should feel guilty since he sacrificed himself for me but if that's the case I never asked for his sacrifice I never wanted to exist in the first place. Isn't it cruel to thrust someone into hell that they never wanted to be in and then threaten to thrust them into another hell once they die due to trying to escape the hell they were already in.

If God exists I am a little scared. Cause if I do all this just to be thrust back into hell....I would be ...I don't even know it would be so miserable I wouldn't be able to function

 

[Hollowman]

What I'm saying is living feels as though it's hell. I'm confused on what ur saying

They don't even know what they're saying. Just repeating bs.

 

[EternalHunger]

If god existed, they would be a cruel neutral divinity beyond human comprehension, likely seeing the entirety of the human race, earth, existence etc as how humans see a single piece of sand in a large desert.

The closest you'd ever get to understand such a concept is through the process of life, which is cruelly and terrifyingly neutral towards all with no regards to suffering or pain especially from sentience. I wouldn't be surprised if the entirety of 'life' itself was created on whim IF a god exists; it's hard to understand it without realising that one's suffering is ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things, the only reason why it seems otherwise is due to innate ego-centrism that comes with sentience: even when people acknowledge the world exists outside of their minds, as rational creatures we place our perception of the world in much higher importance over everything else and as we feel all these emotions from first hand there is cognitive bias that those emotions/situations therefore hold greater significance to the rest of our perceived reality overall; it's the same thing with how we view 'life' itself, we believe somehow just because life is 'alive' it will hold more importance to the universe than a singular rock down the road despite that all we really are is a bunch of inanimate particles that work in a complex enough system to 'falsify' animation, likely referencing from how this 'god' works but failing in many ways.

I hardly believe the totality of life down to the smallest organisms throughout the entire universe hold the slightest attention of such a being if they exist even beyond spacetime; I like the idea of them coming from a higher dimension altogether.
I guess my thought process comes from my biomisian views, but that's just my take on it.

 

[iamanavalanche]

if there is a god, i dont think hes anything we could possibly assume him to be. im open to the idea but generally against using god as a manipulative fear tactic against people to "not sin".

 

[Off_Switch]

If God does exists, then God is evil. And the people that keep insisting that we need to "find God" really be to STFU.

 

[WonderWhatsOutThere]

I can't say whether there is or isn't a God. I don't personally believe there is one, but if there is one I don't think he exists in the way the most people think he does. There is a common notion that he is all powerful, all knowing, and all loving. But if that were true, life would have no hardships and would be a veritable paradise. Think about it: if he's all three, he can create humans to never experience pain or hardship, never be sinful, and stop anything that could harm his creations. But if he's only one or two of them, then life would make more sense. I'll share an image that makes my point pretty well.

 

[NaturalBornNEET]

No, unfortunately Makima doesn't exist

What I'm saying is living feels as though it's hell. I'm confused on what ur saying

Dw I think they're confused on what they're saying too

 

[Cosmophobic]

Good question! Individual salvation, I believe, is possible through a mixture of free will and divine grace. On a larger scale, though, our refusal to see truth ia part of a divine plan or a cosnic movement that trascends human reasoning.

lol

Sorry I just can't abide compatabilist takes. For two reasons. 1. It makes my head spin. 2. It comes across as apologetics, even when coming from an atheist like Dennett.

I can find some allegorical value in Christianity with ideas like the fall and original sin but the metaphysics of a more literal take is something I can't reconcile with a god that doesn't embody tyranny. If hell actually referred to earthly suffering I'd be more inclined to rediscover my childhood faith fully (former Catholic) but as you've said it doesn't. Can I assume you believe in a literal hell then?

 

[ididnotconsent]

No one knows that answer to that and i don't think anyone ever will.

 

[Dejected 55]

One of the great fallacies of humanity... The notion that God created us in his image... The reality is, we created God in our image. That's why he sucks so hard.

 

[NeoN0va]

I used to think he did but I really don't know. They say I should feel guilty since he sacrificed himself for me but if that's the case I never asked for his sacrifice I never wanted to exist in the first place. Isn't it cruel to thrust someone into hell that they never wanted to be in and then threaten to thrust them into another hell once they die due to trying to escape the hell they were already in.

If God exists I am a little scared. Cause if I do all this just to be thrust back into hell....I would be ...I don't even know it would be so miserable I wouldn't be able to function

I always believed in god, the first time i actually doubted his existence was when my best friend died in a car crash; he and the driver died, but the other 3 guys that were also in the car got out without any injuries, and i cant forget to mention that those 3 dudes were of the worse kind. I doubted gods existence many more times in life, but as of now i believe in him for the past year without any doubts. All of us who suffer and go through so much pain here on earth will meet in the afterlife, with nothing to worry about, just a cute lil world ^w^

We should be kind to each other as we all go through this miserable temporary life here on earth, and once we die let's meet in heaven! <333

 

[Upon a hanging Body]

This reality is much to chaotic and cruel for a God to exist and if for some reason one does exist they aren't doing a good job.

 

[copioushopelessness]

God isn't thrusting you into hell -- we are thrusting ourselves into hell by refusing to believe in him. If you are seperated from God, you are already in hell; it's not going to get much worse than that.

I'm not sure it works that way. Plenty who believe in God still suffer greatly. I've prayed. I've asked for forgiveness, for mercy. It doesn't seem to get any easier.

 

[SomewhereAlongThe]

God has been crammed down my throat all my life. My friend seems to believe or at least he's agnostic. He presented the unmoved mover argument to me. I was swayed by it, but even then I thought "whatever is out there doesn't care about us." We live unfair lives, bestowed with unfair advantages and disadvantages. There are children out there, dying from starvation, while another child somewhere else stuffs their fat faces with lobster. So no, I don't believe the overseer of all of this is God. God left the picture and stopped caring.

 

[lonelyinurarms]

i never believed in a god as such, but i think there's definitely something.

i'm not religious or a science denier but i just find the whole big bang thing a bit hard to believe.

i think something put us here. something bigger than us, but i'm not sure what.

i believe in reincarnation, as energy can not be created nor destroyed, only transformed. i really hope there is no heaven or hell, i don't want to go to hell but if it exists then i know i deserve it. i just really hope i don't have to suffer when i cross over

 

[wine is fine but]

Yes i do. But if I see God, my first question will be : why all this shit on planet earth ??

because it is up to us to make our own way in this life. perhaps he can help us for some things, but he is not supposed to be controlling us like we are part of his game

if there is a god and heaven awaits us, then what happens here is totally irrelevant once we are dead. that is no consolation to those who are feeling pain, fear and the like, but he doesn't have to mollycoddle us if we are going into eternal bliss after this world ends for us

 

[Dejected 55]

i never believed in a god as such, but i think there's definitely something.

i'm not religious or a science denier but i just find the whole big bang thing a bit hard to believe.

i think something put us here. something bigger than us, but i'm not sure what.

i believe in reincarnation, as energy can not be created nor destroyed, only transformed. i really hope there is no heaven or hell, i don't want to go to hell but if it exists then i know i deserve it. i just really hope i don't have to suffer when i cross over

I don't know why the Big Bang Theory is any harder to believe in than a "higher power." Mind you, the Big Bang Theory doesn't fully work in my mind either... but for what it's worth... most people don't seem to know that it was posited by a Catholic Priest... so, religion and scientific theory don't have to be at odds.

Also... IF there is a God, the Big Bang could have been how he created everything. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive... and I'm an atheist saying that.

 

[lonelyinurarms]

I don't know why the Big Bang Theory is any harder to believe in than a "higher power." Mind you, the Big Bang Theory doesn't fully work in my mind either... but for what it's worth... most people don't seem to know that it was posited by a Catholic Priest... so, religion and scientific theory don't have to be at odds.

Also... IF there is a God, the Big Bang could have been how he created everything. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive... and I'm an atheist saying that.

hmmmm i never really thought of that before. it's just the idea of something coming from nothing that i struggle to wrap my head around. and even if we came from a god or godlike entity, where does it start? everything has to be created by something or someone. i don't think we will ever have the answer, even in death

 

[GhostInTheMachine]

I can't say whether there is or isn't a God. I don't personally believe there is one, but if there is one I don't think he exists in the way the most people think he does. There is a common notion that he is all powerful, all knowing, and all loving. But if that were true, life would have no hardships and would be a veritable paradise. Think about it: if he's all three, he can create humans to never experience pain or hardship, never be sinful, and stop anything that could harm his creations. But if he's only one or two of them, then life would make more sense. I'll share an image that makes my point pretty well.

View attachment 178297

This alone pretty much dismantles any claims that fundamentalist christians like to hide behind, but good luck getting any of them to actually reconcile it. Me personally, I do not believe in a single powerful creator as opposed to a more "polytheistic" system where there are divine beings, but that they can only lay claim to specific domains of human existence. They are not so much "gods" or "goddesses" in the traditional sense, but more so concentrated spiritual entities that thrive off of whatever energies they lay claim to. The big caveat here is that none of this can be proven through scientific testing as this all transcends the material realm and can only be connected to through an abstract spiritual conscious.

I'm fully aware that what I believe in exists within the "that which can believed without evidence, can be dismissed as such", but I'm not here to "prove" my spiritual beliefs to anybody. I'm mostly at peace with it basically being a cope to make my shitty little life, a little bit less shit. That's all spirituality ought to be for people, but zealots exist with a perpetual chip on their shoulder and live mostly to spread their dogma. The irony is not lost on me that those who claim that "God loves you" are some of the most hateful people to walk this planet. If their God was actually real, and did actually punish the wicked, they'd be first on the chopping block.

But of course, they'll die satisfied in themselves regardless.

 

[thelastmessiah]

I think people get the idea of God wrong. God is not some man in the sky handing out punishments and rewards. God is the energy that flows through all things. We are God itself like the wave is to the ocean. If you like to read experiences about people dying and coming back, check out this site :) https://www.nderf.org/Archives/NDERF_NDEs.html Death is peace... Its the method into that peace we are afraid of.

Deism is an appealing concept to me but my mind is still too rational to believe in any sort of god or gods. The sort of Christian Universalism the late rev. Michael Dowd had going on with his climate change focused spirituality he called post-doom also sounds good to me so I might wind up being a Christian deist like some of the founding fathers where If my rationalism ever wears off.

 

[SissySteph]

Keep in mind your ideas and beliefs have a lot more to do with your geography than the validity of the God. The OP seems to believe in an abrahamic God. Your ideas might vary vastly had you been born in another place, and surely would be different if you had been born in a different time. If you accepted Jesus into your heart, did you do so because your family happened to live and attend a church that was local? Or did you do painstaking research to exclude 500,000 other gods and arrive at Jesus to the exclusion of all others?

I'm not trying to insult anyone, but see how silly this gets? I can't prove to you that you won't be tortured in hell for eternity if you commit suicide. I also can't PROVE that Count Chocula doesn't exist.

Wise words, I do hope that Count Chocula is a thing though

 

[mind3de]

I know that he exists. In 2022 he revealed himself to me. I know how crazy that sounds, but trust me: He does exist!

I was an atheist for almost 30 years. But recently I started believing in Judaism. I am a non-jew and I don't plan to convert to Judaism, but I keep the 7 Noahide laws.

So if you CTB you will meet YHVH. Maybe it's for some reason better to be alive. That's why I don't plan to CTB anymore.

I don't believe in an eternal hell where you burn forever. That's just bullshit. But I believe in reward and punishment. People like Hitler will go through some kind of hell, that's for sure.

 

[Warriorsfan]

Yes I believe in God. It's faith I have.

 

[PI3.14]

No. I'm yet to see one convincing evidence for his existence.

I've read a bit into epistemology, watched so many debates that mostly involve Thomas Aquinas five ways arguments, also the kinda modern arguments like Kalam cosmological argument, argument from thermodynamics, fine tuning argument...etc.

All of them are built upon assumptions that are either wrong or non special to the God's hypothesis, or unverifiable.

I speak both English and Arabic, this allows me to read into the arguments of Christians theologians as well as the arguments of Ilm al-kalam, and for those who don't know what this is, it's a way of thinking in Islam that tries to rationalize the Islam theology, i.e. using rational instead of religious arguments to prove the existence of God as well as other things like the necessity of prophets being sent, or miracles, or God's attributes (like being all knowing, all wise)...etc.

I've even debated clerics myself and they were unable to prove anything.

I'm not against anyone believing an a God or an afterlife, however, religions, IMO, put a veil on the brain and in one way or another it prevents us from rational thinking and ultimately do more bad than good.

I haven't given the eastern religions a chance but I don't think I need to, cus ultimately any religion will need to prove the existence of a God beyond reasonable doubt and all of them seem to use the same arguments.

IMO, humans created the concept of God(s) as a way to explain the unknown and a way to cope with life's cruelty and death, whether their own death or the death of loved ones.

 

[zappynomore]

hmmmm i never really thought of that before. it's just the idea of something coming from nothing that i struggle to wrap my head around. and even if we came from a god or godlike entity, where does it start? everything has to be created by something or someone. i don't think we will ever have the answer, even in death

We wrongly perhaps assume that there being nothing makes more sense. But perhaps there has to be something. Perhaps there being nothing at all is the thing that makes no sense.

 

[Forever Sleep]

My concern is that a God does exist because I can't see how they are good or loving. I'm hoping there's nothing.

 

[ididnotconsent]

One of the great fallacies of humanity... The notion that God created us in his image... The reality is, we created God in our image. That's why he sucks so hard.

Yeah, pretty much. God is jealous, vengeful, homicidal, genocidal, homophobic, transphobic, irrational, catty, and downright mean.

He is Regina George from mean girls.

 

[It'sMyLife]

I know that he exists. In 2022 he revealed himself to me. I know how crazy that sounds, but trust me: He does exist!

I was an atheist for almost 30 years. But recently I started believing in Judaism. I am a non-jew and I don't plan to convert to Judaism, but I keep the 7 Noahide laws.

So if you CTB you will meet YHVH. Maybe it's for some reason better to be alive. That's why I don't plan to CTB anymore.

I don't believe in an eternal hell where you burn forever. That's just bullshit. But I believe in reward and punishment. People like Hitler will go through some kind of hell, that's for sure.

Would you mind telling about this experience? I'm generally agnostic and have not found any religion that fits with me. I'm not being critical or anything. I have heard of people saying this happened to them and wonder what it was like and how you are sure it was the one true creator. That flow chart posted above really covers my skepticism. I'm very doubtful that you must believe or you're cooked literally. This is one of the big reasons I'm so skeptical. If there is going to be reincarnation or eternal damnation I'm demanding nonexistence since I couldn't have requested existence. There's a pretty good chance I'd request it anyway

 

[metfan647]

I had the belief as a youngster that God existed. I then floated between atheism and agnosticism. Around 7 years back I 'converted' to Islam. I did this, in hindsight, out of desperation and loneliness. I was trying to fill a void in my life and some aspects appealed to me, particularly the fraternity. It was an easy trap to fall into as I grew up in a demographically scewed town and I developed loathe for my own creed and country.

Nowadays, I'm just an agnostic with a repressed interest in the Abrahamic traditions.

 

[J&L383]

No.

 

[bipolar22]

No