Are there any ex-atheists here who have now found God/Religion?

[plekhanov 10]

We can measure creation and marvel at it. It is from this viewpoint that we can perhpas understand how incredible creation is, all the numbers add up (laws of nature etc.) suggesting some sort of intelligence behind it.

Why does this suggest 'some sort of intelligence behind it'? In what kind of universe would the numbers not add up?

 

If I showed you a junkyard you would say that it had been dumped randomly. If I showed you a fully working Boeing 747, keeping in mind that if one part is missing, it may not fly, you would say someone built that.

1. You obviously don't understand evolution if you think it's analogous to 'a whirlwind blowing through a junk yard & assembling a jet' which is obviously the worn out creationist argument you are trying and failing to describe.

2.A whirlwind blowing through a junk yard & assembling a plane is still more probable than a magic man who lives in the sky creating the universe.

 

Think logically, science and faith compliment each other perfectly.

Have a leap of faith with your eyes open and your mind focused.

What nonsense science which is the study of the universe using reason and evidence is the opposite of faith.

[artisan 10]

i went to a church the other day, the building was nice i thought for a bit then left, i might pop into the cathedral in town to have a look, but i didn't feel the presence of God.

 

Yes I agree, In my travels I have been to loads of holy places, including the Blue Mosque and the Church of the Holy Nativity, but found them only interesting, and felt no sense of God being present.

It was on that instance that the sensation arose (might have been too much real ale in one of the towns hostelries:) )

(BTW if you get the chance visit the Church of The Holy Nativity in Bethlehem. To go down into the chamber where the Knights of St John positioned the silver star, where it was assummed Jesus was born, is amazing.

I know it not solid fact that was the exact place, but that is where it all began, 2000 years ago.

[dramadiva 10]

I have actually been full circle on this, when i was young i didn't care, but i was bullied and felt isolated alot of the time, and by 13 i 'found god'. I think that i just wanted to be accepted in something but i found solace and comfort in it even though i still got bullied. Anything bad that happened to me i saw as a test of faith and people assured me that it showed i was strong as i came through it all.

When i was 19 i was attacked coming home from work ( i was quite lucky in as even though i may not look much, i know how to defend myself). Even after that i stood fast. But when i discovered that this guy had not only attacked severel other women but also only got a 2yr suspended sentence that i really thought 'what kid of sick twisted god would allow this to happen to someone who worshipped him?' To me it stank, i was disgusted and disillusioned and i turned my back on god.

Since having done that i was forced to make myself stand on my own 2 feet and not use religion as a fall back or excuse. I had to become my own person, and my life has never been better.

I now really don't think that there is a god at all, i can't explain creationism or anything like that and i don't want to. The fact is that we are here and we have to make the best of it.

As harsh as this may seem, i think that alot of people either believe in god to feel part of something (like i did), or they believe in god and use religion as a scape goat because they are too scared to be themselves.

As quoted from Dogma 'people don't celebrate religion - they mourn it'

People pick and choose which bits of the bible suit them and follow select bits, or those who follow the whole thing strictly treat it as a burden.

 

I know that this is a harsh post - and i do sincerely apologise if i have offended anyone, but this is how i feel about religion.

[AtticusFinch 10]

How is it possible not to believe in God?

The fact that that universe exists, and life itself proves that some creator is present.

What is not able to be proved is that being knows we exist, or even more amazing, cares for us.

Having said that, the diversty of life on this planet makes you wonder if evolution could be responsible for it all.

If, as we are led to believe, there are millions of stars in our Galaxy, and millions of Galaxies in our Universe, how can we not say that life exists elswhere.

Somewhere else some creature may be asking the same question that you have asked

 

You should read Richard Dawkins' latest book "The God Delusion". He covers this very discussion along with many other interesting arguments. If the chances of evolution causing all of the seemingly-perfect co-existing species on Earth are slim, the odds of there being a "designer" who created them all must surely be even more slim. Also, who designed the designer? Were there several of them that gradually got more complex, or just one? Were there families of designers?

[Crayfish 10]

i went to a church the other day, the building was nice i thought for a bit then left, i might pop into the cathedral in town to have a look, but i didn't feel the presence of God.

 

I went to a church at the top of the Spanish Steps in Rome last Sunday, where they were celebrating mass. Absolutely fantastic atmosphere, a choir of monks and nuns singing intonations led by a lead tenor, very talented and musical performance.

 

What I felt was more wonder at the power of humanity to build such a place and to become so proficient in the musical sphere etc... there is a feeling of transcendancy that is obviously a feature available to any of mankind in certain situations - triggered by a beautiful piece of art or music, a special place or natural scene.

 

To attribute this to God seems an odd leap, couldn't we just wonder at Raphaels' Transfiguration for the skill of its creator? Or the Angel falls for their natural splendor? Why is there this leap to 'It was God! / Cabbage / Flying Spaghetti Monster' - Hardly intuitive, is it? I feel that by assigning such beauty to the whim of some magical sky man detracts from our faith in the potential of humanity - by saying 'Bach could write such complex and beautiful music because God was speaking through him', it's a combination of accepting ones own limitations and absolving from the labour required to truly create anything yourself. 'Oh well if I was going to write that music, God would give me the gift' - never mind the fact that Bach / Beethoven / Mozart (insert any other field of human achievement in here) trained from birth and worked incredibly hard to hone their musical, compositional skills. This is one reason why we have so many stupid, lazy people who despite having the same human potential as anyone else, decide to waste it.

[tom3t0 10]

Yes I agree, In my travels I have been to loads of holy places, including the Blue Mosque and the Church of the Holy Nativity, but found them only interesting, and felt no sense of God being present.

It was on that instance that the sensation arose (might have been too much real ale in one of the towns hostelries:) )

(BTW if you get the chance visit the Church of The Holy Nativity in Bethlehem. To go down into the chamber where the Knights of St John positioned the silver star, where it was assummed Jesus was born, is amazing.

I know it not solid fact that was the exact place, but that is where it all began, 2000 years ago.

ill bare this in mind although cant see it happening for a good few years yet but i would find it very interesting

[dramadiva 10]

You should read Richard Dawkins' latest book "The God Delusion". He covers this very discussion along with many other interesting arguments. If the chances of evolution causing all of the seemingly-perfect co-existing species on Earth are slim, the odds of there being a "designer" who created them all must surely be even more slim. Also, who designed the designer? Were there several of them that gradually got more complex, or just one? Were there families of designers?

 

i think creationism comes down to 2 basic beliefs (please correct me if i am wrong here, i am always willing to listen to ideas)

But, did the human race evolve over a period of hundreds of thousands of years in a land that was just an astronomical accident

 

...or......

 

One day an 'all seeing all knowing' divine entity 'created' the world out of (well not sure what he made it out of) in 6 days (for on the 7th he rested) and that one day a man an a woman walked out of a wood.

 

I know it may sound cynical, but i'm not sure i belive either theory.

[Faye12 10]

From being born i was brought up to believe in God, studying many books, reading about how he is behind the creation of the Universe, how he set the planets at the correct distances so we would not freeze or boil. I was also asked to read the bible on regular occasions, but now i have nothing to do with that faith at all im now 20 and I honestly think that the faith is more of a 'cult'.

[sccsux 10]

I have read a lot on those who find God once faced with adversity (e.g. death, prison), or after suffering a traumatic experience (e.g. car crash) Cat Stevens is a good example of the later.

 

 

It can also push you from balieving, into not believing. Which is what happened to me. Not seen anything in the last 29 years to throw the switch back:).

[plekhanov 10]

I believe in God. I don't have to prove my faith (as Douglas Adams point out, proof denies faith and without faith....). The universe is more than we can understand and it would be arrogant in the extreme for us to believe otherwise.

What could possibly be more arrogant than a belief that a magic man who lives in the sky created the whole universe just for us?

 

And as Einstein pointed out:

 

"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind"

 

I'm all in favour of a happy medium.

I think you'll find Einstein used the word 'religion' in that quote in a different sense to the one you are doing, a few more quotes from Einstien on the subject of God & religion:

 

It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.

 

I cannot conceive of a personal God who would directly influence the actions of individuals, or would directly sit in judgment on creatures of his own creation. I cannot do this in spite of the fact that mechanistic causality has, to a certain extent, been placed in doubt by modern science. [He was speaking of Quantum Mechanics and the breaking down of determinism.] My religiosity consists in a humble admiration of the infinitely superior spirit that reveals itself in the little that we, with our weak and transitory understanding, can comprehend of reality. Morality is of the highest importance -- but for us, not for God.

 

I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotisms.

 

By all means believe in 'God' if you want to but please don't pretend that Einstein supports your position as he clearly didn't.