Why should I believe in God?

[GR263]

I am nineteen year old college student. Since coming to college, I have never heard more debates on religion in my entire life. Frankly, I am fed up with hearing it all. It seems the age-old debate between believers and atheists boils down to accepting or refuting God's existence, and since neither side is WILLING to do either, arguing seems utterly pointless. I do however find it amusing that atheists spend so much time trying to disprove God that it seems to almost betray their own ideologies. Why would you have to disprove something you don't even believe in? Why is it necessary to discredit religion when religion is supposedly the farthest thing from ones mind? On the other side of the coin, "Christians" create many atheists. The man who spends his Saturday nights getting trashed in a bar with his friends and then attends Sunday a service the following morning is a walking contradiction, balancing two lives like the ultimate form of bigamy. Plenty of evil has been done in the name of God and Christian bigotry has turned more people off than Rosie O'Donnell. So why should I, or should I not believe in God?

 

[EveryTongueConfess]

You should believe in God
because think logically

Most of the disciples died for their belief in Jesus as God - People don't die for made up lies,
Would you die and get tortured for lies? If you do then you are stupid - if you hallucinate then the probability that 20 other people also hallucinated the same thing and could actually FEEL Jesus's wounds is highly unlikely

outside of that there is so much historical evidence of the Bible validating it

outside of that...Jesus fulfills all the prophecies...Really...what probability is that...

The chances that Jesus would fullfill everything and still claim to be the Son of God and gain followers and heal many people is...meh

 

[Christownsme]

According to scripture, you will believe in God anyway because every knee will bow and confess Jesus as LORD God. Whether you believe this now, I'm not sure. But even demons believe the existence of God! They just don't have faith in God.

So the question will become for you, "Why should I have faith in Jesus Christ?"

Mark my words, you cannot escape the words of Jesus in your mind. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and of Jesus' words. So you can't get away from it.

Why do I ahve faith in Jesus? Well first, I had to come to believe God existed, too! College was hard. And physics supports non-religious views just fine.

God gave me about 8 years of living hell in fear of, "What if this God thing really is true??!" God helped me believe in existence, and the love of God thru Jesus Christ helped me build faith in Christ, for He seemed to be the only One who really knew or loved me, inside and outside.

Christ entered my heart and the Bible teaches that there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.


So for love, security, peace and knowing truth (this is very important, too!!), you should "believe" in God, or have faith in Christ. Don't you want to know the absolute truth? Why would anyone assume there are multiple truths out there?? There is one truth: reality. What really happens. What really happened (Jesus was the sacrificial lamb for all the world to forgive them under the curse of the Law, the first religious system ever created - by God from Moses til Jesus; although true salvation is having faith in God like Abraham did; righteousness is imputed to someone who has faith in God, and they end up, in this day of grace [after Jesus' death] being more and more changed into the glory and image of Jesus - the old Law is not observed anymore, but we end up, flowing out of our lives because Christ is in us, obeying the ten commandments.)

And for the Christian who is seen Saturday night getting drunk, this man, if truly born again (we're talking about a real Christian guy), he is saved now and being saved. The Holy Spirit is working in the life of this man to help him find counsel thru pastors or Christian counselors, putting a heavy hand on the heart of this man, and eventually the man will be able to put this sin away, repenting and confessing resulting in salvation from the prison he is in.

Christians are sinful humans slowly being transformed into Christ's image. So don't be surprised to find lot's of problems on your journey to the truth. But from my perspective, it all makes sense, because the truth is in me and abides in me. I'm able to say that by the promises Christ made for me.

God bless you!

 

[Mandy_S]

I am nineteen year old college student. Since coming to college, I have never heard more debates on religion in my entire life. Frankly, I am fed up with hearing it all. It seems the age-old debate between believers and atheists boils down to accepting or refuting God's existence, and since neither side is WILLING to do either, arguing seems utterly pointless. I do however find it amusing that atheists spend so much time trying to disprove God that it seems to almost betray their own ideologies. Why would you have to disprove something you don't even believe in? Why is it necessary to discredit religion when religion is supposedly the farthest thing from ones mind? On the other side of the coin, "Christians" create many atheists. The man who spends his Saturday nights getting trashed in a bar with his friends and then attends Sunday a service the following morning is a walking contradiction, balancing two lives like the ultimate form of bigamy. Plenty of evil has been done in the name of God and Christian bigotry has turned more people off than Rosie O'Donnell. So why should I, or should I not believe in God?

First of all, I want to say that self professed Christians that will spend a Saturday night at a bar and attend church Sunday morning, and the people that have done evil in the name of God are just what they say they are, self professed Christians..they say they are, however, they are not true Christians..they are hypocrites...The true church, and by church I mean the true children of God, not the people in the place of worship on Sunday morning, has no hypocrites...If someone is a hypocrite, they are not a Christian. Having said that, I just want to tell you that the reason you should believe in God is because on the day of Judgment, every single person will be held accountable for their sins, for sinning against a Holy Just, God. If you have not repented and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you will spend an eternity in the torment of hell. We are all horrible wretched people that have sinned against a Holy God, and our conscience tells us so. Because God is just, He must punish those who are evil and we are all evil...God is perfect and has a perfect law..Think about it, have you ever told a lie, have you ever stolen anything no matter the value, have you ever lusted after someone? We all have, and because God is perfect and just we have to be punished..The same way a judge in a courtroom must be just and punish those who break the law..The only way to escape the wrath to come is to put our entire faith in the One who took that punishment for us..Jesus Christ took on the wrath of God upon Himself so we could be made righteous in the eyes of God. Whoever does not accept this and turn from their sin by putting their trust in Jesus, will die in their sins and be unable to escape the wrath on the day of judgment.

 

[Dark_Lite]

Moved to exploring Christianity.

 

[blaor]

Many of Jesus true followers who followed Him denied Him, but yet they were and still are His true followers. Just because some of the Non-Christians here are saying that they do not believe in Jesus does not mean that they do not Know Him. Someone who is telling these individuals that they do not know Him is the one who does not trully Love or Know Him.

 

[ranunculus]

You should believe in God
because think logically

Most of the disciples died for their belief in Jesus as God - People don't die for made up lies,

It needs pointing out how erroneous this statement is. A person could martyr himself If he believed a lie to be true. History is full of examples.

Would you die and get tortured for lies? If you do then you are stupid -

Not necessarily stupid but perhaps misguided, indoctrinated or ignorant.

if you hallucinate then the probability that 20 other people also hallucinated the same thing and could actually FEEL Jesus's wounds is highly unlikely

What about those groups of people who claim to have been abducted by aliens, who all have consistent stories and might even claim to have been abducted together? What about those millions of people in India who have witnessed miracles performed by Sathya Sai Baba?

outside of that there is so much historical evidence of the Bible validating it

There is also much historical evidence disproving the bible.

outside of that...Jesus fulfills all the prophecies...Really...what probability is that...

Some might call that interpreting after the fact. Kind of like how Nostradamus is constantly being reinterpreted after every major happening on earth. If people are actively working towards fulfilling a prophecy they could be retroactively applied or become self fulfilling.

the chances that Jesus would fullfill everything and still claim to be the Son of God and gain followers and heal many people is...meh

Many prophecies in the bible are vague, some are contradictory. Having followers only means you have followers. People dying for a cause only proves people are willing to die for a cause. It doesn't prove that cause true.

 

[aiki]

I am nineteen year old college student. Since coming to college, I have never heard more debates on religion in my entire life.

Yeah, I had the same experience when I left home to attend university.

Frankly, I am fed up with hearing it all. It seems the age-old debate between believers and atheists boils down to accepting or refuting God's existence, and since neither side is WILLING to do either, arguing seems utterly pointless.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! Sure, the endless arguing can be tiresome - if that's as far as you look at what is going on between the two opposing viewpoints. Its easy to just reduce the debate about God to an unanswerable question and so dismiss it. But this seems to me to be a very superficial characterization of the matter.

I do however find it amusing that atheists spend so much time trying to disprove God that it seems to almost betray their own ideologies. Why would you have to disprove something you don't even believe in?

Why indeed?

Why is it necessary to discredit religion when religion is supposedly the farthest thing from ones mind? On the other side of the coin, "Christians" create many atheists. The man who spends his Saturday nights getting trashed in a bar with his friends and then attends Sunday a service the following morning is a walking contradiction, balancing two lives like the ultimate form of bigamy.

Hmmm...I think what you're describing above is a hypocrite, not necessarily a Christian. The thing is, hypocrites can be found everywhere, not just in church. A preacher was approached by a non-Christian who said he wouldn't set foot in church because it was full of hypocrites. The preacher laughed and responded, "Hey, don't worry about it! There's always room for one more!"

Plenty of evil has been done in the name of God and Christian bigotry has turned more people off than Rosie O'Donnell. So why should I, or should I not believe in God?

Far more evil has been done as a result of atheistic thinking in the last 100 years than in the name of Christianity since its beginning. Over 100 million people have been killed in the atheistic regimes of Pol Pot, Mao, Stalin, and Hitler alone! While the Crusades and the Inquisition took many thousands of lives they did so in contradiction to the commands of Christ. The millions who have died in the atheistic regimes I mentioned, however, were killed in logical consistency with godless philosophy.

If you want to fairly and reasonably assess Christianity, do so by those who best live out its tenets, not by those who live contrary to the faith. Look at it this way: If you wanted to assess Beethoven's music accurately, would you go to a recital of his music by your neighborhood school's fourth grade music band? Or would you listen to his music played by a symphony orchestra? Which group of musicians would represent Beethoven's music most accurately?

Why should you believe in God? Check out these sites for an answer:

Welcome to Ravi Zacharias International Ministries
Reasonable Faith:
Stand to Reason: Stand to Reason: Equipping Christian Ambassadors with Knowledge, Wisdom, and Character.
Answers in Genesis - Creation, Evolution, Christian Apologetics

Selah.

 

[salida]

Why shouldn't you believe in God?

The phoney christians don't represent God but those who walk the walk do. Actions is what is going to count. Actions are like good fruit of a tree and the root is Christ.

I'm a christian for spiritual reasons first and intellectually second.

Christian concept: www.livingwaters.com/good/

Visit: www.TheBibleProofBook.com. And you can read The Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell (its overwhelming circumstantial evidence of bible) and Examine the Evidence by Muncaster a former athiest/The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel a former athiest.

Christiananswers.net, www.equip.org (articles), Bible Questions Answered


Listen to Aiki

 

[Jpark]

Never mind.

 

[ebia]

So why should I, or should I not believe in God?

Do you mean "what are the consequences of believing/not believeing" or do you mean "what will persuade me to believe?"

 

[98cwitr]

I am nineteen year old college student. Since coming to college, I have never heard more debates on religion in my entire life. Frankly, I am fed up with hearing it all. It seems the age-old debate between believers and atheists boils down to accepting or refuting God's existence, and since neither side is WILLING to do either, arguing seems utterly pointless. I do however find it amusing that atheists spend so much time trying to disprove God that it seems to almost betray their own ideologies. Why would you have to disprove something you don't even believe in? Why is it necessary to discredit religion when religion is supposedly the farthest thing from ones mind? On the other side of the coin, "Christians" create many atheists. The man who spends his Saturday nights getting trashed in a bar with his friends and then attends Sunday a service the following morning is a walking contradiction, balancing two lives like the ultimate form of bigamy. Plenty of evil has been done in the name of God and Christian bigotry has turned more people off than Rosie O'Donnell. So why should I, or should I not believe in God?

Being a former atheist for over 20 years, I started at 5 years old trying to convenience my siblings that mommy and daddy just wanted them to believe in God but that he wasn't real. I argued that the story of Genesis was a lie and didn't happen, but it was ancient people's way of making sense of things. I did these things because I didn't want someone I cared about living a life of falsehood and indoctrination. Later in life, during college just as you, I confronted some close friends about their "faith" and that if they weren't going to live a Christian lifestyle then why did they call themselves Christians. They preached on about grace and mercy, and I really felt it was just their excuse to get away with "sinning."

Bigamy exists in both cultures, and this so because many people claiming to be Christians aren't. They play along with going to church do to social norms and not their own faith in Christ. I am the biggest bigot I've ever met...when I was doing all of those things I was blind to my own hypocrisies and falsehoods. I was indoctrinated by sin, and not the Lord.

With that said, why should you believe in God? For me, it was an analysis of probability. There have been many many times that I should have been killed or taken to jail. I've been pulled over with hard drugs in my car more than once), completely DUI on many occasions, been shot at, lied and lied to, lost my closest relatives one by one, estranged from my mother and alienated myself for a time from my father...yeah pretty much ever one of the 613 commandments I've broken to pieces.

When I defied something I didn't believe existed, it picked me back up. It was not just coincidence any more. This took me 20 years to figure out and decide for myself.

My aunt and uncle put me through school, I quit all the horrible things I was doing, and now I have a good girl on my side and an awesome career ahead of me. Many tears and prayers have been a result of my ignorance, and yet the Lord smiles on those that love their neighbor.

These are the reasons I believe in God. Even though each instance in and of itself is merely a coincidence, you add all of them up and see I've never been to jail, never had a hand laid on me really, thus coming out of the wreckage of my previous life completely unscathed. Not by to workings of anyone in my life, but by something that I can't see or hear. I used to call it fate...now I call Him Lord.

 

[ranunculus]

It's an interesting story 96cwitr. I also read the one in your sig. Personal experience is a good reason for believing. But relating to the OP (Why should I believe) it's not compelling to anyone else because it is by definition a personal experience. And therefor to anyone else it's only hearsay.

 

[ranunculus]

Far more evil has been done as a result of atheistic thinking in the last 100 years than in the name of Christianity since its beginning. Over 100 million people have been killed in the atheistic regimes of Pol Pot, Mao, Stalin, and Hitler alone! While the Crusades and the Inquisition took many thousands of lives they did so in contradiction to the commands of Christ. The millions who have died in the atheistic regimes I mentioned, however, were killed in logical consistency with godless philosophy.

Ah jeez not this again. The claim that atheist regimes killed 100 million people. Well actually you're right. They regimes of China, Russia did claim millions of lives. But was it atheism that killed them? Let's look at the facts.
There's a difference between organic atheism and coerced atheism. If people reach the conclusion they don't believe in God out of their own free will it's called organic atheism (atheists in America & other secular nations). If the government comes to your house and threatens to kill you if you profess belief in (a) God(s) its called coerced atheism (every communist dictatorial police state). Religion in those countries is replaced by state worship, where the leader takes the place of god and is worshipped like one (N Korea). So it's not like those places are enlightened beacons of freedom every atheist wants to go to. They're more like theocracies were every dissenting opinion is silenced, including religious belief.
Now, Russia & China in the last century were atheist, totalitarian, communist, dictatorial police states. Let's take into account the many factors which could be responsible for genocide. Totalitarianism, check. Communism, check. Dictatorial police state, check. Atheism, not check. If atheism really was the reason those regimes killed people why don't we see the same in secular nations such as Sweden where a majority of the population doesn't believe in God. Or consider this. If there exists a dictatorial totalitarian police state that has a Christianity as a state religion. Do you think it's the Christianity's fault if the government commits genocides?
Atheism only means not believing in God, you can't draw any conclusions other than that. Now can we please put down to rest this nonsense that atheism leads to killing people.

 

[drich0150]

Belief in God all boils down to whom you have it in your heart to serve. (Yourself or God) Because realistically there are very convincing arguments on both sides, but neither have absolute proof.

If Christianity had the absolute proof that most atheists seek, it would destroy the reason we have been given this life, and the reason Jesus died for our sins. That reason is Freedom of Choice. The freedom to choose if we want to spend an eternity with God or not.

If we had the proof you seek, then there really would not be a choice to make about God. It becomes a choice about Heaven or Hell. Despite popular christianity's efforts to the contary, that is not a biblical principle. God wants you to start and develop a personal relationship with Him. One can not do that if your Goal is not a relationship, but a check list used to get to heaven.

So again the reason you should believe in God is because you want a personal relationship with your Heavenly Father.

Forcing yourself to believe through proof often times does not require the "Faith" we have been told that is required for the relationship we need. "Proof" yeilds simple belief. Belief in and of itself means nothing. For we are told even the Demons believe and shutter... (Their simple belief doesnot save them.) Nor will it save any of us. Jesus tells us that there are many who believe and do great deeds in His name, but He still says He never knew any of them.

 

[henryL64]

Why should you believe in God? Because you want to and because you feel Him, regardless of any religion.

 

[ranunculus]

Belief in God all boils down to whom you have it in your heart to serve. (Yourself or God) Because realistically there are very convincing arguments on both sides, but neither have absolute proof.

Aren't you setting up a false dichotomy. Worship either God or yourself. You don't think it's possible to be a non believer without 'worshipping' yourself? You're very right about the proof part.

If Christianity had the absolute proof that most atheists seek, it would destroy the reason we have been given this life, and the reason Jesus died for our sins. That reason is Freedom of Choice. The freedom to choose if we want to spend an eternity with God or not.

If a god were empirically proven, it would be impossible to not believe in god's existence anymore. But one could still choose not to worship him.

If we had the proof you seek, then there really would not be a choice to make about God. It becomes a choice about Heaven or Hell. Despite popular christianity's efforts to the contary, that is not a biblical principle. God wants you to start and develop a personal relationship with Him. One can not do that if your Goal is not a relationship, but a check list used to get to heaven.
So again the reason you should believe in God is because you want a personal relationship with your Heavenly Father.

So you have to presuppose the existence of a transcendental, spiritual being that is undetectable by our five senses in order to believe that it exists. That's very circular.

Forcing yourself to believe through proof often times does not require the "Faith" we have been told that is required for the relationship we need. "Proof" yeilds simple belief. Belief in and of itself means nothing. For we are told even the Demons believe and shutter... (Their simple belief doesnot save them.) Nor will it save any of us. Jesus tells us that there are many who believe and do great deeds in His name, but He still says He never knew any of them.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”. Most non believers would judge this (faith without justified proof) to be a character flaw. Because if you operated like that in real life, you'd have to believe every religion ever created, every crackpot conspiracy theory and every Nigerian 419 scam.

 

[aiki]

Ah jeez not this again. The claim that atheist regimes killed 100 million people. Well actually you're right. They regimes of China, Russia did claim millions of lives. But was it atheism that killed them? Let's look at the facts.

The fact is that each of these regimes formally denied the existence of God. The atheistic philosophies of these regimes did not oppose the atrocities of which they are guilty.

There's a difference between organic atheism and coerced atheism. If people reach the conclusion they don't believe in God out of their own free will it's called organic atheism (atheists in America & other secular nations). If the government comes to your house and threatens to kill you if you profess belief in (a) God(s) its called coerced atheism (every communist dictatorial police state). Religion in those countries is replaced by state worship, where the leader takes the place of god and is worshipped like one (N Korea). So it's not like those places are enlightened beacons of freedom every atheist wants to go to. They're more like theocracies were every dissenting opinion is silenced, including religious belief.

And so? I never said that the populations under these regimes desired the atheistic philosophy the regimes imposed on them.

Now, Russia & China in the last century were atheist, totalitarian, communist, dictatorial police states. Let's take into account the many factors which could be responsible for genocide. Totalitarianism, check. Communism, check. Dictatorial police state, check. Atheism, not check. If atheism really was the reason those regimes killed people why don't we see the same in secular nations such as Sweden where a majority of the population doesn't believe in God.

Atheism is the philosophical underpinning to the totalitarianism, communism and dictatorial politics of these regimes. Atheism is the philosophical ground out of which these regimes sprouted.

Or consider this. If there exists a dictatorial totalitarian police state that has a Christianity as a state religion. Do you think it's the Christianity's fault if the government commits genocides?

There has never been nor ever will be a Christian police state. Such a thing goes completely contrary to Christian values and beliefs. However, atheism, in contrast, provides nothing philosophically that is inconsistent with a police state.

Atheism only means not believing in God, you can't draw any conclusions other than that. Now can we please put down to rest this nonsense that atheism leads to killing people.

This is the biggest lie atheists tell themselves and others: The claim that God doesn't exist has no impact on anything else. In fact, it has an enormous impact on a wide array of issues. Here's a small sampling of what I mean:

1.) If God does not exist, then human life has come into being through random, mechanical, natural processes. Such processes impart to human life no more intrinsic value or meaning than they do to the life of an ant, or a dandelion, or bread mold. These natural processes are completely impersonal and unguided, without purpose or meaning. As such, they can confer no purpose or meaning upon those things they bring into being. Consequently, without God, no human life is intrinsically valuable or meaningful, but simply accidental.

Of course, humans give themselves meaning and value, but this meaning and value is utterly subjective, it is imposed rather than natural, it is artificial rather than intrinsic. Such meaning and value is also highly transient. Whatever meaning one may give to oneself, that meaning is ultimately no greater nor more lasting than one's own life. Without a Creator, one's life is merely a "vapor," having no more significance to the grand scheme of things than a rock or a weed.

2.) If all life is intrinsically valueless and meaningless, then cherishing it or destroying it ultimately makes no difference. One may polish a rock or crush it; the universe does not care.

3.) If God does not exist and there are only natural, random processes ordering our existence, then objective morality cannot exist. Random, mechanical, natural processes are amoral; they cannot confer or produce morality. Consequently, nothing is really wrong or really right. All morality is ultimately subjective and/or cultural; it is derived artificially, not from an objective, universally binding source. Thus, cannibalism isn't wrong; it is merely culturally diverse. Mother Theresa isn't better than Hitler, only different. Without God, a murderer, or rapist, or torturer can say to those who would accuse him of wrongdoing, "Who are you to tell me what is right or wrong? You are only a human, just as I am. You are no greater than I. What gives you the right to declare my actions wrong? You may not like them, but this doesn't mean they are actually wrong. Your 'morality' is nothing more, ultimately, than preference!" And in a world without a Creator he would be right.

Hitler's nietzschean atheism led him to the Nazi ideology that he promulgated. He understood that what I have outlined above was true if God did not exist. And he acted accordingly.

As to why we haven't seen the kind of destruction of human life in secular cultures like Sweden that were seen in the atheistic regimes I mentioned, I would say that if one goes by the record of history it is just a matter of time. Certainly, as a Christian, the per capita rate of abortion, of suicide and euthanasia in countries like Sweden and Switzerland point to the greater place death is always given in countries where God has been removed from the culture.

Selah.

 

[razeontherock]

We've all seen what religion can do. It divides people. It imposes restrictions on our freedom. It ruins lives. It creates division. It creates arguments. There is certainly no salvation in religion.

While I agree with this statement, I need to point out Faith in Christ is NOT religion, as it's being used here. And even then, the statement "it ruins lives" is either debatable or patently false.

 

[marklbernard]

I am nineteen year old college student. Since coming to college, I have never heard more debates on religion in my entire life. Frankly, I am fed up with hearing it all. It seems the age-old debate between believers and atheists boils down to accepting or refuting God's existence, and since neither side is WILLING to do either, arguing seems utterly pointless. I do however find it amusing that atheists spend so much time trying to disprove God that it seems to almost betray their own ideologies. Why would you have to disprove something you don't even believe in? Why is it necessary to discredit religion when religion is supposedly the farthest thing from ones mind? On the other side of the coin, "Christians" create many atheists. The man who spends his Saturday nights getting trashed in a bar with his friends and then attends Sunday a service the following morning is a walking contradiction, balancing two lives like the ultimate form of bigamy. Plenty of evil has been done in the name of God and Christian bigotry has turned more people off than Rosie O'Donnell. So why should I, or should I not believe in God?

Then if it is debates that are going to turn you off, there is a fair chance here that whatever anyone says to you will probably degrade into argument. My suggestion is that you seek the scripture for yourself, and just ask God, "if you are real, then could you show yourself to me through this book they call the bible."

my suggestion for what it is worth