On the Existence of "God"

u have a bad sense of geography then :roll:
hehe! :wink:

Tsss…… everything south of the Elbe river is south :)

uuuh…NO!
(postcount go up yipee!)
:D

How can you be not sure whether you believe in God or not?
Not believing in him doen’t claim that he does not exist, it simply states that there’s nothing which made me believe he does. So if I’m not sure whether he exists, I do not believe he exists.
Nobody can prove God does not exist, nor can anybody prove Dragons do not exist or Mickey Mouse, but it is very unlikely.

@Meijing:

How can you be not sure whether you believe in God or not?
Not believing in him doen’t claim that he does not exist, it simply states that there’s nothing which made me believe he does. So if I’m not sure whether he exists, I do not believe he exists.
Nobody can prove God does not exist, nor can anybody prove Dragons do not exist or Mickey Mouse, but it is very unlikely.

are you certain that you’re not really FinsterniS in disguise? 'Cuz if you were, you forgot about the toothfairy.

FinsterniS? toothfairy? I don’t know any of those.
Though FinsterniS is German meaning DarknesS.

I just wanted to point out that “I don’t know” does not mean, “I don’t know whether god exists or not”, but “I don’t know whether I believe or not”.
And the last sounds pretty strange to me, unless you didn’t talk to you recently.

@Meijing:

FinsterniS? toothfairy? I don’t know any of those.
Though FinsterniS is German meaning DarknesS.

I just wanted to point out that “I don’t know” does not mean, “I don’t know whether god exists or not”, but “I don’t know whether I believe or not”.
And the last sounds pretty strange to me, unless you didn’t talk to you recently.

FinsterniS was a poster here previously. Fairly logical and very antagonizable (is that a word?). He used the same logic as you - i.e. "just because i can not prove that the tooth fairy does not exist does not mean that it does . . . ".

first of all, i’m glad this hasn’t developed into something far worse than it could have. most wars ever fought have had some type of religious component, so obviously there had better be something to this. personally, i believe that whoever tries to be a good person and believes that there is a god, will get their version of heaven. if you don’t, no big deal. it can be argued either way, i guess maybe i shouldn’t have started in on this, but really, let’s just all agree to disagree. i’m too tired to be thinking straight, so i’m just going to stop before i ramble too much more.

The funny thing is:
If god exists, does it then matter what the people “personally” think?
If god exists, does a divine truth exists? Does that include universal laws of adoration?
So, does this “i believe in God because it does me nothing bad, and just in case i will then be on the safer side” count as true faith?

That’s not it at all. That was simply a response to someone who thinks that believing in God is a waste of time. :(

believing in god is not necessarily a waste of time, because i know plenty of believers who dont practice in any way. i think what it is is a false hope. like many false hopes, its not necessarily a bad thing, but it can prove to be one of the worst things there is.

Grigory said:

most wars ever fought have had some type of religious component

how true it is. one of many examples is the crusades, which cost thousands (im sure more, but i dont want to overestimate) of lives.

the islamic terrorist groups are examples as well. true, they are not the true representation of an islamic person, as it is a peaceful religion, but they are acting in the name of god (or allah) none the less.

ill leave with this thought.

while religion can be a very good thing, bringing joy, wonder, and meaning to people’s lives, and inspiring them to be good, honest people, it can also be a terrible thing, bringing pain and suffering, and inspiring mass slaughters, and countless “holy” wars. while you can see this as a regretful occurence, but think the benefits outweigh them, i think that religion of any kind, when practiced on any kind of large scale only leads to problems, and i think that belief in god is one thing, while religion is something truly different. if you choose to believe in god, that is all well and good, but it should be a private thing. if there truly is a god, i seriously doubt that it would require sacraments and rituals to be considered a “good, decent person” who belongs in heaven, or your belief equivalent. i think that religion should be abolished everywhere

@Janus1:

i think that religion should be abolished everywhere

ahhh yes. To do away with all of the hospital and prison chaplains i’m sure would improve the lives of patients and prisoners, as well as their keepers - nurses, doctors, prison guards everywhere . . . .:roll:
And how would we “abolish religion”? Where and who would be first? Do we destroy the churches with worshippers in them, or afterwards? And how do we amend that whole “freedom of religion” thing? I guess it’s easy to have freedom of religion if there is none, of course, but you appear to be forgetting the basis for the founding and settling of your country.
For me, i am nhappy to not negatively affect others by the practice of my religion - which nicely fits into the auspices of my religion . . . .

Exactly CC, I was just at the hospital and I walked right by the chapel. That made me think about how important it is to some people, and (whether you can factiously prove it or not) I guarantee you that it improves the quality of life for a patient if they are able to pray to their God before they go in for that major operation. Aren’t religious? Don’t pray. But don’t try to take it away from all of us.

theres a difference between prayer and religion. you can believe in a god, and pray to a god, but not practice a religion. as i was saying, private belief in god is fine, many people privately believe in worse things. this can include prayer. you can still pray, even if religion is abolished.

@Janus1:

theres a difference between prayer and religion. you can believe in a god, and pray to a god, but not practice a religion. as i was saying, private belief in god is fine, many people privately believe in worse things. this can include prayer. you can still pray, even if religion is abolished.

so how do you abolish religion without abolishing everything that is important to religious and spiritual people?

well i could give you a lot of answers for that.

1. Im an idea man, I dont do the details (true in some cases)
2. It doesnt matter if that occurs (the end justifies the means)
3. Removing religion is one of those things that may not be possible. Even if you think its a good idea, like I do, you may have to accept the possibility that it wont be accepted

Id say its pretty much a combination of all three, Im sure it could be done, even if werent too popular. But I think its pretty much unimportant. Because like most of my grandiose ideas, I realize it will probably never come to pass.

that was me, sorry, i forgot to log in

I’ve missed a lot in this thread since I had to leave for while. Can someone fill me in on what has happened since I left?

@Anonymous:

well i could give you a lot of answers for that.

1. Im an idea man, I dont do the details (true in some cases)
2. It doesnt matter if that occurs (the end justifies the means)
3. Removing religion is one of those things that may not be possible. Even if you think its a good idea, like I do, you may have to accept the possibility that it wont be accepted

Id say its pretty much a combination of all three, Im sure it could be done, even if werent too popular. But I think its pretty much unimportant. Because like most of my grandiose ideas, I realize it will probably never come to pass.

so how would this all benefit you if it came to pass? And have you considered the consequences on religion’s adherents?
If you think that getting rid of religion would solve the world’s problems, then its really time to take your head out of your a$$. People are going to be mean, rude and ugly to each other, and if they can not do it under the banner of a religion, then they will do it under the banner of a principality, ruler, money, or just plain orneryness. It’s like blaming Van Halen for some punk killing someone who loves rock and roll.

interesting comparison CC, but its not quite the same. actual wars have been conducted in the name of religion, as have terrorist acts. while i see where you are coming from, dont even try to compare it to the van halen scenario you posed, they are not at all the same. if you think that i think it will solve all the worlds problems, then you should take your head out of your own a$$. no one thing could solve all the world’s problems, there are too many of them, and many of them are unrelated. but lets not digress. you asked how this would benefit me, well it wouldnt necessarily, but it doesnt have to. there could be a direct benefit to me, other than me being happy that religion is gone, but i think it is just a good idea, so i dont need any direct benefit from it