Does God Exist?

[staninoodle 173]

NO!

The world in which gods once played a part has long since moved on,they were just contolling influences to keep the masses in check like kings and queens.thankfully weve moved on from that crap and replaced it with crap politicians.

We just need to realise were all one species and do away with borders and countries and maybe we can evolve into something more humane at last,once we accept we can share evrything we might grasp co habitation like the rest of the animal world!

[Anna B 1,401]

16 hours ago, staninoodle said:

NO!

The world in which gods once played a part has long since moved on,they were just contolling influences to keep the masses in check like kings and queens.thankfully weve moved on from that crap and replaced it with crap politicians.

We just need to realise were all one species and do away with borders and countries and maybe we can evolve into something more humane at last,once we accept we can share evrything we might grasp co habitation like the rest of the animal world!

IMO Religion is the controlling influence (please see my post 903) not God.

God (if you believe,) gave us freewill to decide what we believe and how we live our lives.

The rest of your post I agree with.

[Guest makapaka]

Homo sapiens ability to share common beliefs enabled them to work together in huge groups to a common purpose.

 

This is one of the ways we differed from other human/animal species and led to us becoming the deadliest species in the history of the planet.

 

belief in gods played its part at one time but this has now largely been replaced by other made up entities - such as limited companies etc.

Edited April 15, 2020 by makapaka

[badab1ng 11]

Ive just been speaking to a donkey and he assures me God exists.

[RootsBooster 24]

On 14/04/2020 at 16:26, Anna B said:

Is it just me, or has this Coronavirus pandemic had the effect of turning some people back to God, or at least given them pause for thought? What do you think?

You say "turning some people back to God" as though that's the default position, believing in a god.

Don't forget, belief in gods is something that people are indoctrinated with, not born with.

 

If a god actually did exist, specifically the Christian God, he would be responsible for this whole mess (in one way or another)  anyway so why would anyone want to worship him?

[RootsBooster 24]

On 13/04/2020 at 23:05, apelike said:

Everyone does have a right to personal belief but people's faith in God, especially in Catholic countries with Italy being a prime example , may just be what has helped spread this virus so fast.

 

A priest in Paris has defied lockdown and held a mass with 40 people present. A priest in India has done the same. A Bishop in Greece has done the same. A pastor in Louisiana held a service for 300 despite a ban on gatherings of 50 or more. He also told the worshipers that Coronavirus was politically motivated. Catholic churches in Tanzania are staying open despite lockdown elsewhere and the list goes on, and all in the name of God. If people need a faith in a God to help them cope then that is fine but blatantly disregarding common sense as above is not.

 

But.. personally I don't think God exists.

Yes, in the mainstream news there have been reports of groups from the Jewish and Muslim communities ignoring lockdown rules and attending worship together.  Most notably in Israel's large Ultra Orthodox Jewish population... Link

[Halibut 12]

26 minutes ago, RootsBooster said:

You say "turning some people back to God" as though that's the default position, believing in a god.

Don't forget, belief in gods is something that people are indoctrinated with, not born with.

 

If a god actually did exist, specifically the Christian God, he would be responsible for this whole mess (in one way or another)  anyway so why would anyone want to worship him?

I wouldn't say that quite so confidently. I think you would agree that there is an innate instinct amongst humans to see patterns in things and to look for meaning in apparently senseless events.

This, in my view (and that of many others I'm sure) why belief in God or Gods began and why it still exists.

 

Another thing - you assert that belief in gods is something people are indoctrinated with. But there are people from completely secular backgrounds who arrive at a belief without external influences.

[mikeG 16]

You can't create matter so God must have been created by a nobody with no raw materials. Similarly , the universe cannot have been created with no raw materials.

[Guest makapaka]

52 minutes ago, Halibut said:

This, in my view (and that of many others I'm sure) why belief in God or Gods began and why it still exists.

Installing and purveying common held beliefs on large groups of humans allowed people to work to a common goal to the species benefit.

 

thats where it stems from.

 

other made up entities have now replaces religion in this regard - limited companies being one.

 

 

[Anna B 1,401]

5 hours ago, RootsBooster said:

You say "turning some people back to God" as though that's the default position, believing in a god.

Don't forget, belief in gods is something that people are indoctrinated with, not born with.

 

If a god actually did exist, specifically the Christian God, he would be responsible for this whole mess (in one way or another)  anyway so why would anyone want to worship him?

Yes, OK, you have a point with regards 'back' to God. I should have left out that word, (crikey, you have to be so careful...)

 

Although, and this is purely a personal view, I believe we are born with a spiritual nature, and a number of scientific studies have tried to prove it, with different degrees of success. 

 

I disagree that God has to take responsibility for the 'mess' we're in. We're more than capable of cocking things up all by ourselves.

[Baron99 778]

Does God exist? 

Anyone remember David Jenkins, the Bishop of Durham who was consecrated at York Minister?  He had some doubts about the Virgin birth & the Resurrection?  2 nights later, lightening strikes York Minister... Hmm? 😁 

 

In a later interview with the BBC, after being reminded that, according to the New Testament, Jesus rose from the tomb, Jenkins replied: “All I said [was], ‘Was it literally physical?’ After all, a conjuring trick with bones only proves that somebody is clever at a conjuring trick with bones.”

 

He also told a BBC presenter that he doubted God would have arranged a virgin birth or for Jesus to walk on water.

 

There's a bloke who liked to live dangerously.  You think he'd have got the message the first time. 

[RootsBooster 24]

4 hours ago, Halibut said:

I wouldn't say that quite so confidently. I think you would agree that there is an innate instinct amongst humans to see patterns in things and to look for meaning in apparently senseless events.

This, in my view (and that of many others I'm sure) why belief in God or Gods began and why it still exists.

This is not the same as being born with belief in gods, it's nothing like it. It's actually a very shaky argument which is often used to try and rationalise belief in gods.

 

4 hours ago, Halibut said:

Another thing - you assert that belief in gods is something people are indoctrinated with. But there are people from completely secular backgrounds who arrive at a belief without external influences.

I said that in the context of the suggestion that belief is the default position. 

Of course, after birth people can develop belief without indoctrination. 

Arriving at a belief without external influences though? Do you have an example of that?