What do you believe and why?

I'm an atheist, most people on here are already aware of that. Why am I an atheist? Because I have examined and there isn't enough evidence to support a belief in any deity.


Now, I'd like to ask all of you: What do you believe and why do you believe it?

This isn't a call for you to prove your belief or bring up all of the things that you claim support your beliefs. I want to know why you specifically believe it. Not what supports it, not what justifies it, I want to know why.

This is not a thread for you to attempt to convert or deconvert anyone.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


Had to post just to say that I love your picture. I'm atheist by the way because I cant believe the bs that "happened" in holy books.

I don't like titles, but I am an athiest. I was not raised in a religious household. My parents weren't religious. I have no need for religion.

hi, I am an atheist too. I believe in alien intervention ( i dont see how evolution has worked, and I dont see any concrete evidence)

I think the Bible is a story left by the aliens.

I beleive the link to religion can be found in Metaphysics.

Stephen Hawking once said that we should examine the construct of the universe in order to determine our views on God, how he creates, etc.

Now, we have proved alternate dimensions / parralell universes, we have proved time is an illusion that does not exist, yet is just a human concept used to measuer the spin of the earth on its axis and its revolution around the sun. We have time manipulation technology as well. Follow me here,

What this enabled us to discover, which we are in the process of currently being spoon fed, is that we are multidimensional beings.

How I learned it:

Your body has to sneeze. You can do one of 3 things, plug your nose, sneeze into your arm, get up and get a tissue. You choose get up and get a tissue, so JUST like that, the energy of the other two choices have to go somewhere, as energy is not created nor destroyed, so they branch of into a paralell universe.

So we have exact copies of us, on an infinite number of parallel Earths leading very similar lives.

Every single possible action, to every single possible choice that we make, is played out in every single possible way, through infinite realities.

This allows us to gather infite knowledge of our infinite experiences to bring back to the Source.

This is in fact THE SOURCE CODE / THE CODE TO THE SOURCE

[The source of all their is, The prime creator]
This is real, this is proven.
Everything is recorded. The purpose of all life is evolution of the conciousness, brought about by the accumulation of knowledge. Experience being the best teacher their is.


If youre a bible fan, which I am personally not, it is true that not even a sparrow falls from the tree without "god" knowing.
There is no god in the sense that we understand god to be. There is in fact, so much more greatness we can't even begin to comprehend.

Now that, is what I would call a grand design.

I grew up in a Christian household in the rural North GA mountains, and was taught that the Bible held the answers. I began to question what I was being taught when I realized that you are not supposed to question.

Really???
As I got older to many things did not add up. If God was loving and compassionate why then were there so many instances of incited violence throughout the Bible where "God told me so". If God was forgiving, then why is there hell...
As a very small child (my earliest memories really) I was very in tune with nature. I based the calendar on the changing seasons, and could even "predict" a storm by the way the wind blew. I found more connections with God in the woods than I ever did inside a church.
As a teen I began to ask why all of the other religions of the world were wrong. If God created us all, then wouldn't it be fair that he loved the Buddhists and Hindus as well? Would he really send them to hell just because they had never heard of the Bible?
I began my search for answers.
I read everything I could get my hands on. Buddhist philosophy, new age spiritualism, you name it. I finally found the Pagan path around my 20th year. I labeled myself as such (though of no particular path) mainly because it fit my personal beliefs in God etc better than anything else I had found.
I am still searching for the answers (12 years later). I see myself more as a Spiritualist than anything else since there is no "religion" that fits what I know to be personally true.
All of that being said, this is what I believe...
There IS a Creator. I refer to this deity as She because it fits the voice I hear when spoken to. Call me crazy if you want, but if I listen closely, She speaks to me. I believe everyone has the opportunity to speak with God, if only they are willing to listen. Nature is not separate from God. We are not separate from Nature. We are Nature, we are God. Free will is inherent in all of us, though we do have a path that has been set out. When we deviate from the path that will teach us what we need to know in this lifetime we get "smacked in the head" lol. There have been many times in my life when I chose the wrong direction, and when the SHTF and I was rock bottom I could almost hear her telling me to come back. I do not pray. I listen. When I have questions She answers me, though not always what I want to hear. If I ask "Why did this happen to me?", She simply says "Why do you think it happened? I told you what the answer was and you chose the other direction."
I believe suffering is part of our education. How can we know what happiness is if we have nothing to compare it to? We all know what happens to the child who gets everything they want... they become a spoiled brat. As parents we have to know when to let our children fall, if we catch them every time they will never learn that it could hurt. I believe God is the same with us. She will not catch us every time, we have to learn from our own mistakes. If we ask for help we will receive it, but otherwise we must learn our own lessons.
I believe in reincarnation because there is just to much to learn in one lifetime. We continue to return until we get it right. Eventually we will become "enlightened", we will realize that this body is simply a shell, and that our souls are so much more than we can comprehend within these confines.
There is soooooo much more, but I think maybe I have rambled on enough as it is.
Thanks for asking the question and giving me the opportunity to share my side.
I have no issue with any one being atheist, I can understand your point, though I will say this...
Just out of curiosity (if nothing else) sit down in a quiet place and listen, really listen. If you don't hear anything, that's fine. If you do, you can label that voice anything you like... conscience, God, whatever. But I'd love to know if you do and what you think afterward!
Peace be with you

I guess you could say I'm Agnostic with a twist.
I am in the "I dont know for sure, and no one really does" camp, in that any one who says they know for sure is either lying, deluded or indoctrinated. I believe dogma and the literal interpretations of ancient holy writings has only done us harm as a species.

I was raised Catholic; Church every Sunday, separate Catholic school board, the works.
Ultimately, it rings true within my entire being that this life is just a ride. An important one; but a ride nonetheless.

Do I believe a conscious being created this Universe and/or existence? The order, precision and grandiose scale of what small bit of existence we perceive is a good argument for it.


Maynard James Keenan about sums it up:

And as the walls come down and
As I look in your eyes
My fear begins to fade
Recalling all of the times
I have died
and will die
It's all right
I don't mind

www.youtube.com...

I was raised a methodist, and am still practicing today.

I suppose the reason why I continue to practice is a mixture of ideals and fear.

Following the basic tenants of the bible is to me being a good person, love thy nieghbor ect.

As far as the fear, fire and brimestone arent for me. I would rather be a good person according to Jesus's teachings wich dont hurt anyone IMO than risk an eternity in hell.

Good question-had to think long & hard about the answer,
I wasn't raised in a religious household, nor have I been exposed to any religion or attended church.
But I am very spiritual & I suppose it boils down to me having a 'sense' of God inside me. I have great faith ,that although tested, remains. I guess it feels part of the' essence' of me.
I don't know if this is the kind of answer you were looking for, but hope it gives some insight that you were looking for.

Originally posted by lokdog

As far as the fear, fire and brimestone arent for me. I would rather be a good person according to Jesus's teachings wich dont hurt anyone IMO than risk an eternity in hell.

Please don't take this as an attack on your beliefs, as I feel we all have the right to believe what we wish, but...
This is where I DO have a problem with Christian ideology...

Shouldn't there be more reason to be a "good person" than merely the risk of eternal damnation? Shouldn't we all strive to be the best we can be simply because it will improve our lives and the lives of those around us today?
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"
"Do as ye will, lest ye harm none"
The kindness and love in our hearts and actions should be for the betterment of life, not the fear of hell.

But, that's just me...

I believe in a God, I'm sure that that god isn't any of the gods that the religions of the world believe in, not because there are not some nice gods out there, there are, but because I think that if God is as perfect as they say it is then we simply are not able to understand that perfection, much less describe it, because we are all imperfect.

On the other hand, I believe its healthy to believe that there is something beyond our comprehension, because it helps people to become better persons and to evolve. Yet I still consider myself and atheist/agnostic because I know that my mind can't understand the God I'd like

I was raised Lutheran and I was an avid reader entering my teenage years. I had WAY too many questions and was given far to limited answers such as "who are we to question god" and "god works in mysterious ways" to "when you are ready god will show you". I decided that I would find out for myself and read the Bible from cover to cover over a week long period without anyone attempting to explain to me what the words meant. I took them for face value, the words of the one and only true god on paper without the interference of man or interpretation. After all why would the words of the infinite alpha and omega need some guy in a white collar to explain them to me? That was a major moment in my life. I went from praying before meals and before bedtime without question, to praying in the form of questions, to not praying at all. I have never received an answer during any of my prayers in my life.

Then I started to read books at my Library about other religions and gods. You cannot possibly imagine the number of gods that humans have and still do worship. The Abrahamic god is just one god among a HUGE list of others. If I were to list all of the gods that humanity has worshiped throughout history and presently it would probably take up close to an entire page of posting.

I would spend a large amount of time in America Online chat rooms about religion and atheism and would engage in trolling before it was termed trolling. There were some SERIOUSLY patient people in those chat rooms who would answer my questions as openly and honestly as possible. They really encouraged me to decide for myself. To trust no one including them and gather as much information as possible.

It took me a long time to find anything that was honest and truthful in my search for answers. Is there a soul? Is there an afterlife? Was the universe created? I suppose that reading a brief history of time did not help matters any either! I finally found what I was searching for after a long search.

Science is the only way that I have discovered to find truth. The Scientific Method could really give a dookey about what I want or hope happens, it gives me the real deal holyfield regardless of my preferences or desires. THAT was what I was searching for. The honest often times painful truth. Not some interpretation or metaphor. Not some test where I have to play pick the right god out of a list of ten thousand other gods. Honesty and truth. Nothing more. Once I passed through this doorway I realized that I could never go back and that so very few people have passed through it.

I look upon religion and a belief in a god/afterlife as a test that most humans have to face. Even the greatest humans in history that belong to organizations that claim a belief in a grand architect are forced to take this test. I consider myself risen above them all carrying the tiny spark of knowledge in a vast darkness.

I don't believe in anything. I am completely against religions because they stifle logical independant thought. I think religions were made up to help weak minded people cope with their fear of death, or to give thier life meaning because they can't handle the idea that there is no grand purpose higher than the food chain.

I think evolution is a much more valid theory on how we got to be here.

Based upon my observations of the world I think wether or not there is a god is irrelevant.
With that being said I don't like the term athiest or any other label.

I choose not to play the game, you can't call bald a hair color.

I have researched most all religions, in an honest effort to find one that I can most agree with.
I was raised Baptist Christian, and as I grew older, that did not resonate with me at all.
I find the 2 main religions I like the most are Hinduism, and Buddhism.
I think I lean more towards Hinduism. I like the Smarta branch of Advaita Vedanta best, of Adi Shankara, and Jnana Yoga.
I find it appeals to my intellectual side.
To me, it makes sense the most.
But aside from a religion name, my personal spiritual philosophy is based on:
Consciousness, and it's evolution, or growth, or revealing broadening.
Karma, cause and effect, action and reaction.
Energy, as everything.
Eternity, no beginning, and no end.

I believe everything is a form of energy, and this energy is eternal, and is never created or destroyed, but changes in form. Conscious life makes actions, and these create reaction, so it's like a thread, or links of a chain, in which everything is interconnected. So, the level of consciousness we attain, and the karma we have, creates the next life in which one resumes life in a different form, eternally.

To me, this is logical.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


I don't like to use the 'believe' label. It suggests that I am fixed in my interpretation of something and am unwilling to change my point of view in the light of new or changing evidence. At any given time I think of myself as leaning toward one possibility or another.

I apply this to spiritual matters as well. If your original question pertains to spirituality (do I believe in God or something else all together?), then I would respond that I currently sit on the fence. I see 'order' in the world that is suggestive of a creative force as possibly being required to bring about and maintain this order and structure, but nothing concrete enough or within the realm of my personal experience for me to say "I believe". On matters of spirituality I am undecided.

I believe in Islam .

I believe in the last prophet mohammed (peace be upon him) and his teachings and the teachings of Allah and the holy Quran .

In this universe we live in, everything is in balance, the presence of foot prints in the ground is a sign that someone walked here, the presence of dong is a sign that an animal was here, the presence of this planet and the universe is proof that God created it.

When I embraced it and accepted Islam and followed to it the best of my ability I cannot even describe how my life has turned around, my perspective on life has changed, I can't even begin describe how reading the Holy Quran has changed and affected me, everything in the world is set on a variable that if it got changed life won't exist, gravity, air composition and life itself .

I can't give this religion or describe it to give it any justice to how it has improved my life .
Its very strange that Islam is almost the only religion with heavy propaganda campaigns, with things taking out of context and blow out of proportion.

I would recommend you attend a mosque and watch people pray, listen to them reading the quran, or go in youtube and watch videos of Quran reciting, it will touch your heart. from there on decide for yourself .

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


Okay, I'll take the bait...

Some years ago, after much flip-flopping and questions on the matter I decided to pray earnestly to God to help me resolve my doubts.

Immediately after I made my earnest prayer I went out to do errands. Now, I have this little quirk occurrence that I like to believe is God acknowledging me. Well, within a half hour this "quirk" occurrence happened about a dozen times. I'm very mathematically inclined and know that the odds of this "quirk" happening once in a given half-hour is rare. Very rare!

A dozen times? Right after the most fervent prayer I ever prayed in my life?

It was like hitting the Powerball four weeks in a row.

Coincidence? I respect everyone's opinion on this subject, but ever since I've been 100% convinced and have never regretted it since.

Peace.

i believe there to be a creator.
none that has been told of or imagined by most on earth.

all the religious figures we know are probably some 'special humans' who were born on this planet to spread love, to help us realize our true potential.

and then everything went wrong.
thanks to the HUMAN attitude.

Originally posted by madnessinmysoul
I'm an atheist, most people on here are already aware of that. Why am I an atheist? Because I have examined and there isn't enough evidence to support a belief in any deity.


Now, I'd like to ask all of you: What do you believe and why do you believe it?

This isn't a call for you to prove your belief or bring up all of the things that you claim support your beliefs. I want to know why you specifically believe it. Not what supports it, not what justifies it, I want to know why.

This is not a thread for you to attempt to convert or deconvert anyone.

Your posts are always interesting, though it seems that you're determined to find a belief in God. I could be wrong though.

Perhaps deep down inside you want to believe but lacked the experience... Hmmm... Time will tell i suppose...


Why do i believe? Cause my mommy told me it was right...

I know what we call God, YhWh, Allah, is the supreme consciousness of the Universe, invisible to the senses, but eluded to by the precise arrangement of all that there is in existence. I know we all are intimately connected to this consciousness by our own and that this consciousness is revealed to each of us in the way in which the individual will best understand it.

Thus, I do not believe in a right or wrong view pertaining to God, for it is within you and your view, even if you disbelieve in it's existence, is as valid as my own. The only view I invalidate, is the view which seeks to invalidate my own.

In having this understanding, I can judge no one for all are part of the creator. To judge one, is to judge the creator.

In having this understanding, I can only share my view in hopes that through sharing, we come to a more complete understanding together.

In having this understanding, I can't help but truly love each and every part of this life experience for a simple gaze at the heavens leaves me awestruck in it's magnificence and diversity.

I believe nothing, for I am still experiencing everything.

With Love,

Your Brother