Convince me

[pantherz]

Hi everyone,
I'm an atheist, but I've always wondered: why do other people believe?
What are your arguments for a divine being? I'd like to know just so I can have a more profound understanding of religion.

Thanks

(Don't know if this is the right subforum, i'm sorry if it's misplaced)

 

[Dark_Lite]

Moved to Exploring Christianity from Creationism.

 

[drich0150]

Hi everyone,
I'm an atheist, but I've always wondered: why do other people believe?

Because God provides proof for those who ask, seek, and knock for it

What are your arguments for a divine being?

Because God told me so.

 

[abysmul]

Hi everyone,
I'm an atheist, but I've always wondered: why do other people believe?
What are your arguments for a divine being? I'd like to know just so I can have a more profound understanding of religion.

Thanks

(Don't know if this is the right subforum, i'm sorry if it's misplaced)

You are asking one of the greatest of philosophical questions, near impossible to answer in a short internet forum post.

If you are really interested you might want to go to youtube and search for one of the Christian apologetics like: Ravi Zacharias and watch some of his videos.

Also you might want to read something like C.S. Lewis's book "Mere Christianity"

 

[Annoula]

i could say that the belief in God can come from two major thoughts.

the first thought, is the fear a human being feels when they know they will eventually die. to exist now, but to become non-existent is a fearful thought.

the second thought, involves questions like "how can i exist in a chaotic universe", "what forces and laws apply to this universe"? eventually these questions end up to the necessity that a Supreme Being-Force exists that formed all creation and established appropriate laws.
this thought may also be a consequence of an inner search which was placed there by God so that we will look for Him.

sometimes, a combination of these two thoughts (train of thoughts actually) may occur. our mind needs explanations for many existential issues so we seek for answers.

hope that helps.

 

[Nanopants]

Firstly, sorry but I am not going to try to convince you. I am only sharing my point of view because it might be sort of interesting to you.

I'm an atheist, but I've always wondered: why do other people believe?

In a nutshell: common sense (though admittedly this is not available to everyone). Let me explain. Basically, I was agnostic but I was open minded enough to admit that I just didn't know if god exists or not. I figured why not give this spiritual nonsense a try and if nothing happens then I can rest assured that I shouldn't really bother with it.

So, I did, and I got a response that defied all reason and logic - many responses actually. Granted, the laws of probability dictate that given enough permutations, someone should experience something that might appear to be evidence of god. Well, that could be true in my case, but the odds of experiencing what I have should be on the level of being struck by lighting several dozen times, and at some point in life you have to stop questioning the reality of what you are experiencing and just go with it.

 

[1watchman]

Hello friend. Here is a poem that might help you in your quest.

- 1 Watchman

HOW HOPE MATTERS ​

If you walked on earth in heavenly hope
And was most happy in your bliss;
What would it matter if death is the end
And you then left the world like this?​

If you lived your days with faith in God's Son
And had peace and joy at the last;
Could it matter at all if hope should fail
And there's nothing when life is past?​

If you disallow God, His love and truth
As the Bible truly does tell;
Should that matter now as you ponder life
If your end might sadly be hell? ​

If you miss heaven's joy and all that's good
And you find the Bible was true;
If you die so soon and know not God's Son,
What will it then matter to you?​

- R. L. DeWitt, 7/04​

 

[oi_antz]

First off, how much do you know about Jesus?

 

[2thePoint]

Atheists take pride in being skeptical. But experience has taught me to be very skeptical of atheists saying "I'm just curious" or "I just have questions" or "I'm here just to learn about your faith". I'm going to watch for a while before responding to the OP's questions.

 

[Biblewriter]

The greatest argument for a Divine being (God) is that nothing comes out of nothing. This is a fact that is not only known to science, it is obvious to the common man.

In the end, we are forced to admit that either one or the other or two fundamental propositions is correct.

Either:

There is an eternal God who created everything.

Or:

The physical universe has always existed.

But all fires eventually consume all their fuel and burn out. Hot things always cool off, and cold things always warm up. Even a child knows this. This proves that the universe has not always been here, for if it had always been here, there could be no differences in temperature anywhere in the universe. So scientists have come up with an "age" of the universe. But that "age" does not solve the problem of where it came from.

The currently stylish answer to where the universe came from is the "big bang" theory. But even the "big bang" theory, as it traces our supposed "history" all the way back to the beginning, finally comes to a point, an infinitesimal fraction of a billionth of a second after the absolute beginning, when an external force is absolutely required to allow the development to take place. The philosophers who call themselves scientists have coined the term "an observer" for this external force, as if calling it an observer rather than a controller would solve the problem of recognizing that it could not have taken place without that external force.

But if they are eventually forced to recognize the necessity of an "external force" at any point along the path of development, then they have not managed to avoid the necessity of a creator.

"Scientists" have developed extensive theories about how life developed in this universe after it came into being. And when we listen to only one side of the debate, the arguments for this conclusion seem compelling. But "science" books rarely present the many logical arguments against these supposedly proved "facts" of science, and essentially never admit to the existence of widespread physical evidence that flies in the face of these theories.

I have repeatedly challenged professional geologists with well known geological facts that prove that the history of life on this earth has not been one of gradual development. Without even one exception, every one of them has at first denied the basic facts I have pointed out. But then, again without even one exception, every one of them has finally admitted personal knowledge that the facts I have pointed out are indeed correct.

The truth is that it takes far more faith to believe that the universe came out of nothing and developed without any external guidance than to believe that a God created it all.

 

[Deaver]

Too get us back to the topic of the OP.

Hi everyone,
I'm an atheist, but I've always wondered: why do other people believe?
What are your arguments for a divine being? I'd like to know just so I can have a more profound understanding of religion.

Thanks

(Don't know if this is the right subforum, i'm sorry if it's misplaced)

If you really want to understand the argument for a divine being, read and study the Bible, with an open mind and asking the same question you posed here. It will take time, but if you sincerely want to learn about a divine being and His message to mankind, you will find the answer.

 

[Cieza]

Too get us back to the topic of the OP.



If you really want to understand the argument for a divine being, read and study the Bible, with an open mind and asking the same question you posed here. It will take time, but if you sincerely want to learn about a divine being and His message to mankind, you will find the answer.

The OP should take note that the Bible was written by man - not God - does not contain a FAQ and does not contain a useful glossary. It is also full of writings that seem to be fictional - but the Bible doesn't specify what sections to take literally and what sections to take as hyperbole.

 

[elman]

Hi everyone,
I'm an atheist, but I've always wondered: why do other people believe?
What are your arguments for a divine being? I'd like to know just so I can have a more profound understanding of religion.

Thanks

(Don't know if this is the right subforum, i'm sorry if it's misplaced)

You can assume we exist for no reason, just accidents of chemistry and have no destiny but oblivion. Or, you can assume we do exist for a reason and that means there is an intelligence behind our existing. Either way you are assuming and do not know for certain.

 

[Deaver]

You can assume we exist for no reason, just accidents of chemistry and have no destiny but oblivion. Or, you can assume we do exist for a reason and that means there is an intelligence behind our existing. Either way you are assuming and do not know for certain.

I agree, the creation vs. evolution debate is really a question of origins. How did we get here? Were we created or did we evolve randomly? Are we the product of purposeful intelligence or are we merely the end result of countless cosmic accidents?
The fact is neither model of origins (Abiogenesis, a spin off of Darwin’s Origins of Species or Creationism) has been established beyond a reasonable doubt. Whether we like to admit it or not, those of us who subscribe to either theory of the origins of life do so by faith.

 

[addo]

Reasonable Faith:

This one sums it pretty well.

 

[visionary]

Hi everyone,
I'm an atheist, but I've always wondered: why do other people believe?
What are your arguments for a divine being? I'd like to know just so I can have a more profound understanding of religion.

Thanks

(Don't know if this is the right subforum, i'm sorry if it's misplaced)

God: I would like you to meet pantherz.. he would like to meet you.. amen

 

[Criada]

Mod Hat On​

This thread has been cleaned up.
Some posts have been moved to a new thread here.

Mod Hat Off​

 

[oi_antz]

I am an atheist, and I am here to tell you that believing in God is a coping mechanism. He's an idea that was made to explain something we don't fully understand... yet. I am 14 and I have tried and wanted to believe in the character known as God. I wish I could believe, I wish that when things went bad I could just relinquish all responsibility for my actions and pray to God that it would be okay. But that is not the world we live in, we either push through it and fight for our rights, as humans, to live. Or we can give in to God and rely on pure luck to make it by.

Wow, welcome to the site! I want to encourage your thinking around this but there is a rule on this forum that only the OP and Christians are allowed to reply. Would you mind taking your statement here and posting a new thread? I'm pretty sure you'll get a good response to this statement.

 

[oi_antz]

Oi_antz, I'm very surprised to be getting support from a believer, especially since I'm not.

We are not enemies, Jesus teaches that we are neighbors and we are to love our neighbor. Please open that thread so we can converse within the rules of the forum Thanks

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Hi everyone,
I'm an atheist, but I've always wondered: why do other people believe?
What are your arguments for a divine being? I'd like to know just so I can have a more profound understanding of religion.

For me it come down to experiences that I have had with God. I know God is real because I have experienced Him in various ways. To get a deeper understanding of what I mean by experiences I have included a link to my website which details these experiences. Know God Personally I have also included the first story off my website here to give you an idea of what I mean by experiences.

One morning I got up and walked into the hall and I heard a voice that I believed was God say "How would you like to be stabbed in the Valley". The Valley was known as the rough end of town, and the voice scared me a little, I wondered if I had done something to offend God. I had planned to go down to the Valley to ask people out to church as was my habit at the time. In the end I went anyway regardless of the fear. I walked up to the first person I met and asked him if he would like to go out to church. He said to me "I am an atheist, I don't believe in God". I just said "fine", but hoped to change his mind. He then proceeded to unbutton his shirt and showed me scar marks up and down his chest and stomach. He said to me, "I was attacked by a knife wielding man in the Valley some time ago and spent months recovering in hospital, How could God allow that to happen to me". Then I knew why God had said in the morning "How would I like to be stabbed?". God understood this man, but had a good plan for him. Some weeks latter this man came out to church and became a Christian.

I hope that helps you see why I believe.