I don't believe!!

[Lil'Bono]

No offense to any of you who believe in god, but i just can't bring myself to believe in any of that stuff!!
I believe that if there was a god then things like famine and war wouldn't happen,because he could stop them!!
I asked this christian guy i know why,if there is a god,why does all the bad stuff happen in the world,apparently,he said god is punishing people for the wrong they've done!!
Well, in that case, what have those people in countries like Africa ever done to deserve what's happening to them now?

Also, i think it has something to do with the fact that I've seen the damage religion can do to people to countries!!
I've lived in Northern Ireland my whole life and i've seen what happens due to religious differences in a country!!
I'm also sick of having religion shoved down my throat by the catholic church. In my opinion religion is just a way of keeping people under control!! It's the only way the church can control people now,because their power has been taken away by other institutions.

I'm sorry if i have offended anyone in my rambling,but it is my opinion and i believe that i have a right to express it, just as you all have a right to express yours!!

 

[DrTeeth]

Prepare yourself for some Bible quotes.

 

[Dutch Partygirl]

I agree on some points with you Lil' Bono. And of course you should be able to express this, just as anybody that does believe should be able to express their views...

 

[Tania]

I was born in Northern Ireland as well, and I know exactly where you are coming from and for that reason I don't have any religion.

What I get out of religion is that it is a way of being which looks after each other, is tolerant of other people (and their religious beliefs) and is considerate of the world in which we live. Whether or not there is a God, really should be up to the individual to decide.

In most conflicts religion is being used as an excuse for politics power and unfortunately, that is not going to change any time soon.

 

[WinnieThePoo]

religion is a club

 

[Dreadsox]

Prepare yourself for some Bible quotes.

Prepare yourself for a Bono quote.....

[Q] The Big bang was of the perfect strength to cause the creation of the universe as we know it. Any stronger and the force of the explosion would have made the formation of matter impossible, the energy of the explosion would have continued outward in the form of radio waves. Any less powerful and the pull back to the center caused by gravity would have have instantly sucked everything blown out back into the tiny pinpointwhere it all started. That this occured has made possible the formation of all matter, in the form off gas - the substance of all stars, and all other substances liquids and solids, the threshhold for the existance of matter is so tiny that the existance of the universe is either the greatest fluke immaginable or the inevitable result of some creative influence. Gravity is a mysterious thing. There is not enough real matter to account for theapparent gravitational form that can be observed, influencing x-rays as they travel through the universe, we have invented a theoretical material called dark matter. A substance that has all of the properties of normal stuff, but is invisible. This dark matter is five times more common than natural visible matter.[/Q]

 

[AcrobatMan]

I dont believe how 98% of the world ( or thereabout) believe in God so strongly.

See, I dont say God doesnt exist. I dont say God exists.

Science is the answer for most things.. Most times its a coverup...since apple falls down , we say gravitation exist...if the apple would had taken a different trajectory, science would have explained it.. since this thing is there , this happens..

but why this thing is there ..we will never know.. call it nature..call it power...call it God...you can call Sun as God..because if Sun wasnt there , humans wont have existed..

So, my view of God is pretty much confusing. But I dont deny the existence..nor do i support it blindly or without conditions. People have different definitions of God..

But I am sure the God as thought by most people doesnt exist..
God is watching us..and such stuff...its pyschological..its about human brain. Heavens and hells are lies..nothing more than that.

About religions, the lesser its said, the better

 

[U2Kitten]

I hate it when people blame God for bad things people do in the name of religion. It's not his fault. Some people use Ozzy Osbourne or Dungeons and Dragons to do something and it's not their fault either! Was it The Beatles' fault the Manson family used their songs Helter Skelter and Blackbird to kill? Of course not! If someone is bad or crazy they will use anything. There is no need to blame God.

And speaking of God, yes, I believe. I am not a Bible thumper or even a churchgoer, but I am a believer. There is way too much in the universe that cannot be explained any other way.

 

[verte76]

If you're from Northern Ireland, especially, I can see why you're turned off by religion. There's a guy on one of my U2 lists who's from Northern Ireland and he's had family members killed in the violence. If that happened to me, or anyone I knew, I might feel differently about religion. We don't have this in the U.S. so it's different. Still, when I was growing up I was pissed off at the local churches because they had racism in them. I still very strongly believe racism in churches sucks and undermines what they should be.

 

[AcrobatMan]

There is way too much in the universe that cannot be explained any other way.

even if you believe, you cant explain many other things.

probably the amount of things you cant explain while believing is more than amount of things you cant explain while not believing..

so it really depends on the things you want explanation for

 

[shooboxx]

I think there is some confusion with religion and spirituality. One can believe in a higher power, whatever that is, and have nothing to do with religion.
Religion is a man made thing and isn’t required at all to believe in god. So any resentment at a church or religious organization shouldn’t really be grounds for non belief. Be angry at the church, it’s a flawed, very flawed, creation of man.

Maybe before completely writing off god because of f'ed up religions... do a bit of reading on spirituality and other religious thoughts. Then you can get a larger picture of what religion, god, spirituality and all that complicated stuff is before you give up on it. Just a thought – I like to get as many aspects of things as I can before I made a definite decision on it, especially something so vast as god and god-stuff.

 

[MadelynIris]

But why are so many people drawn to 'God'?

 

[A_Wanderer]

Human mentality.

 

[AcrobatMan]

But why are so many people drawn to 'God'?

human pyschology...human brain.

they need a fantasy to exist forever.

so they believe in God - and they "feel" God is always with them... its all in the minds.

 

[pwmartin]

What you must realize is that everyone, by definition, has a religion, whether they profess it or not. If it is not known as an "organized" religion, then it is disorganized. But in order to live in this world, in order to be a human being, you MUST have some system of belief(s) that helps you to make sense of the world and what happens in it. A god is "that to which you look for good and to which you cling in times of trouble" (Martin Luther). As such, there is no such thing as atheism. If you claim not to trust a transcendent God with a name like Yahweh or Buddha, then you have another god or set of gods somewhere...and it might be just yourself.

 

[Laura M]

No offense to any of you who believe in god, but i just can't bring myself to believe in any of that stuff!!

Also, i think it has something to do with the fact that I've seen the damage religion can do to people to countries!!
I've lived in Northern Ireland my whole life and i've seen what happens due to religious differences in a country!!
I'm also sick of having religion shoved down my throat by the catholic church. In my opinion religion is just a way of keeping people under control!! It's the only way the church can control people now,because their power has been taken away by other institutions.

People in Northern Ireland use religion as a reason for killing others but really, are any of them going to Church and practising their religion? I highly doubt it. It's just another excuse to kill an innocent person. I think a lot of people here are slightly biggoted and while they say they are a protestant they could tell you nothing about their faith. Being a protestant means you stand by England and the Queen. Being a catholic means you see Ireland and the North as a single entity. It's nothing to do with believing in God really. People believing in God haven't caused the problems Northern Ireland have been experiencing during the troubles. It's people being narrow minded.

I bet this makes no sense.

 

[shooboxx]

But why are so many people drawn to 'God'?

Are people really "drawn" to a god? How many people are raised without any sort of importance put upon church and god and then grown up to become believers? I wouldnt suspect very many. I think most people just "know" about god because its been engrained into their minds from childhood. Its one of those things that cant be erased once there - some people don’t question what they were raised with and go to church and are just happy to have something to turn to in their hard times and appreciate in the good times. Some question their idea of god..but its still just there in their mind.
Religion serves the purpose of validating ones belief in an invisible guy in the sky. It is much easier to accept the faith parts of religion when there alot of others there to go with you down the path.
The idea of god has always been there to help humans explain what we don’t understand. We have pretty clear understandings of the world around us now, but our own nature, the humanity of us, is very unknown to most people. The belief in a god makes our human nature have some sort of reason to it. "Its god’s will." is a common term... it puts some sense in situations that sometimes just simply don’t make sense.

 

[AcrobatMan]

What you must realize is that everyone, by definition, has a religion, whether they profess it or not. If it is not known as an "organized" religion, then it is disorganized. But in order to live in this world, in order to be a human being, you MUST have some system of belief(s) that helps you to make sense of the world and what happens in it.

there is a difference of agressiveness of "system of beliefs"...

well if there is a religion which is very tolerant, believes in equality of sexes, doesnt force its members to believe in God or disbelieve in God... or doesnt rules on what to wear and doesnt have a list of what not to do.... FINE with me

 

[AcrobatMan]

I think there is some confusion with religion and spirituality. One can believe in a higher power, whatever that is, and have nothing to do with religion.
Religion is a man made thing and isn’t required at all to believe in god. So any resentment at a church or religious organization shouldn’t really be grounds for non belief. Be angry at the church, it’s a flawed, very flawed, creation of man.

Maybe before completely writing off god because of f'ed up religions... do a bit of reading on spirituality and other religious thoughts. Then you can get a larger picture of what religion, god, spirituality and all that complicated stuff is before you give up on it. Just a thought – I like to get as many aspects of things as I can before I made a definite decision on it, especially something so vast as god and god-stuff.

 

[pwmartin]

While violence in the name of religion may be an obstacle to faith, especially in places like Northern Ireland, it is ultimately a cop-out reason for denying the existence of God. How many wars have been faught in the conquest for land or over money? Do you deny the existence and worth of either of those? Probably not.

Secondly, it would actually make sense, in some ways, that religion would provoke people to fighting because it is something people can feel very passionate about. This does not condone or even justify the violence, it merely explains it.

 

[AcrobatMan]

Are people really "drawn" to a god? How many people are raised without any sort of importance put upon church and god and then grown up to become believers? I wouldnt suspect very many. I think most people just "know" about god because its been engrained into their minds from childhood. Its one of those things that cant be erased once there - some people don’t question what they were raised with and go to church and are just happy to have something to turn to in their hard times and appreciate in the good times. Some question their idea of god..but its still just there in their mind.
Religion serves the purpose of validating ones belief in an invisible guy in the sky. It is much easier to accept the faith parts of religion when there alot of others there to go with you down the path.
The idea of god has always been there to help humans explain what we don’t understand. We have pretty clear understandings of the world around us now, but our own nature, the humanity of us, is very unknown to most people. The belief in a god makes our human nature have some sort of reason to it. "Its god’s will." is a common term... it puts some sense in situations that sometimes just simply don’t make sense.

 

[pwmartin]

So, Acrobatman, why do you prize tolerance so much? What would you define as tolerance?

Is tolerance love?

 

[AcrobatMan]

So, Acrobatman, why do you prize tolerance so much? What would you define as tolerance?

Is tolerance love?

isnt tolerance better than fanaticism .

and i am particularly about religious intolerences.. because i read/see it on news everyday

Love.. i never had love ..how would i know

AcrobatMan

 

[AcrobatMan]

tolerence = The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others

as per dictionary.com

 

[speedracer]

Prepare yourself for some Bible quotes.

Rev. Lovejoy: Homer, I'd like you to remember Matthew 7:26. "A foolish man who who built his house on sand.''

Homer: And you remember... Matthew ... 21:17!

Rev. Lovejoy: "And he left them and went out of the city into Bethany and he lodged there''?

Homer: Yeah...think about it!

 

[pwmartin]

Acrobatman:

I hope you'll know love someday.

I suppose tolerance is better than harmful fanaticism, if that's what you're talking about.

But when I think of the real movers and shakers in history, the people who have lifted the soul of humanity and caused us to look to something higher than ourselves, they are people who didn't just 'tolerate.' They were fanatical about what they believed. Mother Teresa didn't tolerate people. She loved them. She was patient in trying to change others' minds. But that's just an example.

To me, tolerance is just not enough. I think tolerance sells us all a little short. Plus, it's a little self-centered in the long run.

On a different note,
What's the name of that last song on Best of 1990-2000 (not the B Sides)?

 

[Macfistowannabe]

Those who tell you that God made them break a law, whatever it is, no. They had a choice. Blaming something on God is much different than having faith. Also, Christians are definately not perfect. Nobody on earth is perfect. There's no good enough example of a Christian on this earth. We all have bad days, and we don't usually act accordingly to our faith system.

 

[sharky]

human pyschology...human brain.

they need a fantasy to exist forever.

so they believe in God - and they "feel" God is always with them... its all in the minds.

or we're not closed-minded enough to believe that if you can't see it, it doesn't exist. You can't see the wind -- are you sure it exists? You can't see emotion -- are you sure it's real? I get so sick of hearing atheists say it's all a fantasy or "it's all in the mind." How do you know? Maybe there is no God and I'm going to die and be dirt in the ground. So what? I'm a better person because I believe in God and believe there is someone more powerful than me. What's wrong with that? Is it hurting you in some way?

 

[Macfistowannabe]

Both sides have their share of being closed minded. However, we can always be attentive to opposing viewpoints, or shouldn't we?

 

[sharky]

Both sides have their share of being closed minded. However, we can always be attentive to opposing viewpoints, or shouldn't we?

No, my point was that we should all be open-minded. I don't have a weak mind because I believe in God and I don't believe an atheist is wrong if that is the decision they made. I just get sick of all this "I think rationally because I don't believe in God." Believing or not believing in God doesn't determine if one is a rational or irrational thinker.