Brought up Catholic, but no belief in God at this point. My education is in the sciences. God is a nice concept - I wish it were true - the idea of an eternal afterlife is a pretty cool idea (if you end up in the right place), but I simply don't believe it. I believe that once you die, that is the end of you.
R.i.p. Rigoberto Alpizar.
R.i.p. My Dad - May 28, 2007
R.i.p. Black Tail (cat) - Sept. 20, 2008
it is the paradox isn't it? you know, basic philosophy... can God make a rock so heavy he can't lift it? or a soup so hot he can't eat it?
As for me, I don't believe in God.
The Christian story is interesting but, from what i've heard, not very original at all.
I fail to see how people can trust a church that condemned a man for suggesting the sun is the center of the universe. I think church does a lot of good for people, but it does more harm... I see so many hateful things coming out of religion, homophobia, war, etc. Or telling people not to use condoms in Africa, because it will make aids worse...
One of the things that bothers me most? For many religious people, having their own beliefs is not enough, they feel they have to push it on others (my boyfriend used to go to catholic school, he said this is because God won't save them on judgement day if everyone isn't a believer... I dont know if thats true or not)... but it bugs me. They go on missionary trips to instill God on other cultures, then build a house and a well to make it justifiable. Why can't you go to help, do good, build a well and a house and a school, and why can't that be the end of it? Why take away their cultures? Or why do you have to stand at the train station and shove religious documents in my face?
At the top do they really think everyone should believe what they believe, or is it active recruitment for additional revenues and power. Maybe at ground level people believe they are saving people's souls as well as their own soul, but I always think there are financial forces at play there.
Nothing in science can be proven. Anything that science knows can be overturned with new evidence that turns up.
I don't think that science is a leap of faith at all--it's hard and prove-able....AND can be proved wrong or be overturned. I think that's what I like about science...the beauty of evidence, constant learning. It is what it is, and if it isn't, then there's a good reason for it.
Nothing in science can be proven. Anything that science knows can be overturned with new evidence that turns up.
Let me rephrase then: I believe in what I can see, along with reasonable explanations.
that's one of the beauties os science is always discovering new things and challenging old things, and if new evidence appear we accept and move on because there's no attachment to the ideas, with
believe in god is different you can't challenge or discover
anything new.
If tomorrow I present scientific evidence that god doesn't exist the believers are not going to become atheist, they'll find "reasons" to believe that god exist, but on the contrary a if someone present scientific evidence that god exist all the scientific community will become believers.
"The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it"
Neil deGrasse Tyson
I dont believe in Santa Claus
I dont believe in the Easter Bunny
I dont believe in the Tooth Fairy
And i dont believe there is a GOD..............
+1. I think it is a good story, what's in the Bible and all. But that's all it is, a story. Over the years it has become a belief that has spread to billions of people. Honestly, I think religion is another think that holds us back as a species. People living their lives around how a book tells them to live their lives. There is a lot of sadness, death, violence and pain in the world today. If there really is a God, what good is he REALLY doing. If he was real, he'd be looking out for us and not letting this world go to shit.
that's one of the beauties os science is always discovering new things and challenging old things, and if new evidence appear we accept and move on because there's no attachment to the ideas, with
believe in god is different you can't challenge or discover
anything new.
If tomorrow I present scientific evidence that god doesn't exist the believers are not going to become atheist, they'll find "reasons" to believe that god exist, but on the contrary a if someone present scientific evidence that god exist all the scientific community will become believers.
exactly, science is always open to change, something religion has always opposed.
hence, the aids epidemic vs pope, catholic church condemning Galileo for suggesting moons around jupiter, etc. Although i understand why religious institutions would oppose change - whereas science is always open to challenges in finding the truth to things, if religion was open to change, the truth might come out of how big a sham it is.
I could not have said it any better than Andy Partridge did (XTC)
"Dear God"
Dear God, hope you got the letter, and...
I pray you can make it better down here.
I don't mean a big reduction in the price of beer
but all the people that you made in your image,
see them starving on their feet
'cause they don't get enough to eat
from God, I can't believe in you
Dear God, sorry to disturb you, but...
I feel that I should be heard loud and clear.
We all need a big reduction in amount of tears
and all the people that you made in your image, see them fighting in the street
'cause they can't make opinions meet about God,
I can't believe in you
Did you make disease, and the diamond blue?
Did you make mankind after we made you?
And the devil too!
Dear god, don't know if you noticed,
but, your name is on a lot of quotes in this book...
and us crazy humans wrote it, you should take a look...
and all the people that you made in your image,
still believing that junk is true.
well I know it ain't, and so do you,
Dear God...
I can't believe in...
I don't believe in...
I won't believe in heaven and hell.
No saints, no sinners, no devil as well.
No pearly gates, no thorny crown.
You're always letting us humans down.
The wars you bring, the babes you drown.
Those lost at sea and never found,
and it's the same the whole world 'round.
The hurt I see helps to compound
that Father, Son and Holy Ghost
is just somebody's unholy hoax,
and if you're up there you'd perceive that my heart's here upon my sleeve.
If there's one thing I don't believe in,
it's you....Dear God.
It's difficult for me to see how someone would believe there isn't a God.
you and i have now bought balance to the forc... i mean the world... cause its difficult for me to see how someone could believe that there is a God.
Why mock his beliefs?
Why do you care what he believes in?
I bet you think you're hip.
no i dont think im hip. why would you think that??
ive been an atheist since i was 11 years old. it was a decision i came to on my own after much questioning and soul searching and its a position ive not wavered from nor questioned in the ensuing 33 years.
hear my name
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
how do you find comfort in death... both of yourself and loved ones?
death happens... it happens to all living things. i find comfort, for want of a better word, in the fact that whilst they were alive i loved them and once they are dead i have the memories to keep that love alive.
hear my name
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
how do you find comfort in death... both of yourself and loved ones?
I don't find comfort in death...death scares the shit out of me.
I think that the fear of death has a lot to do with why many religions plug on. People need that comfort of the unknown and what comes after life. Religion wraps the whole story up nicely with a little bow.
Like I said before, I WISH I had faith....but I just can't.
how do you find comfort in death... both of yourself and loved ones?
when my dad died, i was 15, my family started going to church and praying, and i just didnt get it, i got really angry that his death made them start praying and becoming spiritual, if there was a god... he would take a father of 3 young children away.. i think not, in my opinion its all just a bunch of hocus pocus, but if its what comforted them then i keep my mouth shut, but i find comfort knowing he was a great guy, and thats all, we all are going to be gone sometime...right? i'd rather just face the reality of it than put a blindfold on and pretend hes still here and some guy had a plan all along. just doesnt make sense i guess...
again this my view, i dont want to mock anyones beliefs, to each his/her own
how do you find comfort in death... both of yourself and loved ones?
death is part of life, I don't know if a fairy tale would change the fact that there's no after life. I could believe that I'm Martian and 2" tall but that doesn't change the fact that I'm human and 5'-10", it may change how I see the world but the facts are facts.
The only after life is the life of your kids and the kids of your kids, that's the only way that part of you may continue going on and on, is not a sad fact or a happy fact is just the way it is.
"The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it"
Neil deGrasse Tyson
quote
ive been an atheist since i was 11 years old. it was a decision i came to on my own after much questioning and soul searching and its a position ive not wavered from nor questioned in the ensuing 33 years.[/quote]
Sounds a bit like me
Hey just try this
ask for a private miracle- but you have to really mean it- from your soul- don't be afraid be Open
I was shocked and was not expecting what happened but since (13 years now) I believe and have comfort in what has been proven to me. I am not afraid to die because we are just "leaving this world" and its ok.
On an entirely different subject for me- Jesus is the MAN
and religion does not = God
I was raised in a similar manner to the original poster. I had twelve years of(Catholic) theology classes. Belief in god is as normal as belief in ghosts. People who claim to have seen either surely where fearful. There is only one place gods exist and it is in the mind.
Man-made empiricism might provide tools to deconstruct the dogma, tenets and narratives of organised religion. However, when we stop anthropomorphising or localising concepts of a vast, interdimensional network of extra-universal consciousness and behold the notion of God as something intrinsic to our pre-linguistic understanding, then we are probably coming closer to realising the supreme nature of ourselves and our spiritual potentiality beyond language, beyond dictates of reason, and into the Infinite.
*Passes the spliff your way*
You really should give someone credit when you quote them.
death is part of life, I don't know if a fairy tale would change the fact that there's no after life. I could believe that I'm Martian and 2" tall but that doesn't change the fact that I'm human and 5'-10", it may change how I see the world but the facts are facts.
The only after life is the life of your kids and the kids of your kids, that's the only way that part of you may continue going on and on, is not a sad fact or a happy fact is just the way it is.
why am i picturing thousands of 2 ft tall martians rocking out to pearl jam right now?
Comments
and this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faRlFsYmkeY
i'm not really sure what i believe, but all i know is that i hope someday to be at peace beside my grandparents, whom i love to death and miss dearly.
R.i.p. My Dad - May 28, 2007
R.i.p. Black Tail (cat) - Sept. 20, 2008
As for me, I don't believe in God.
The Christian story is interesting but, from what i've heard, not very original at all.
I fail to see how people can trust a church that condemned a man for suggesting the sun is the center of the universe. I think church does a lot of good for people, but it does more harm... I see so many hateful things coming out of religion, homophobia, war, etc. Or telling people not to use condoms in Africa, because it will make aids worse...
One of the things that bothers me most? For many religious people, having their own beliefs is not enough, they feel they have to push it on others (my boyfriend used to go to catholic school, he said this is because God won't save them on judgement day if everyone isn't a believer... I dont know if thats true or not)... but it bugs me. They go on missionary trips to instill God on other cultures, then build a house and a well to make it justifiable. Why can't you go to help, do good, build a well and a house and a school, and why can't that be the end of it? Why take away their cultures? Or why do you have to stand at the train station and shove religious documents in my face?
Let me rephrase then: I believe in what I can see, along with reasonable explanations.
I don't think that science is a leap of faith at all--it's hard and prove-able....AND can be proved wrong or be overturned. I think that's what I like about science...the beauty of evidence, constant learning. It is what it is, and if it isn't, then there's a good reason for it.
Whatever you are, be a good one --Lincoln
that's one of the beauties os science is always discovering new things and challenging old things, and if new evidence appear we accept and move on because there's no attachment to the ideas, with
believe in god is different you can't challenge or discover
anything new.
If tomorrow I present scientific evidence that god doesn't exist the believers are not going to become atheist, they'll find "reasons" to believe that god exist, but on the contrary a if someone present scientific evidence that god exist all the scientific community will become believers.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Why not (V) (°,,,,°) (V) ?
+1. I think it is a good story, what's in the Bible and all. But that's all it is, a story. Over the years it has become a belief that has spread to billions of people. Honestly, I think religion is another think that holds us back as a species. People living their lives around how a book tells them to live their lives. There is a lot of sadness, death, violence and pain in the world today. If there really is a God, what good is he REALLY doing. If he was real, he'd be looking out for us and not letting this world go to shit.
9/29/04 Boston, 6/28/08 Mansfield, 8/23/09 Chicago, 5/15/10 Hartford
5/17/10 Boston, 10/15/13 Worcester, 10/16/13 Worcester, 10/25/13 Hartford
8/5/16 Fenway, 8/7/16 Fenway
EV Solo: 6/16/11 Boston, 6/18/11 Hartford,
hence, the aids epidemic vs pope, catholic church condemning Galileo for suggesting moons around jupiter, etc. Although i understand why religious institutions would oppose change - whereas science is always open to challenges in finding the truth to things, if religion was open to change, the truth might come out of how big a sham it is.
even better .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk41Gbjljfo
"I don't believe in damn curses. Wake up the damn Bambino and have me face him. Maybe I'll drill him in the ass." --- Pedro Martinez
"Dear God"
Dear God, hope you got the letter, and...
I pray you can make it better down here.
I don't mean a big reduction in the price of beer
but all the people that you made in your image,
see them starving on their feet
'cause they don't get enough to eat
from God, I can't believe in you
Dear God, sorry to disturb you, but...
I feel that I should be heard loud and clear.
We all need a big reduction in amount of tears
and all the people that you made in your image,
see them fighting in the street
'cause they can't make opinions meet about God,
I can't believe in you
Did you make disease, and the diamond blue?
Did you make mankind after we made you?
And the devil too!
Dear god, don't know if you noticed,
but, your name is on a lot of quotes in this book...
and us crazy humans wrote it, you should take a look...
and all the people that you made in your image,
still believing that junk is true.
well I know it ain't, and so do you,
Dear God...
I can't believe in...
I don't believe in...
I won't believe in heaven and hell.
No saints, no sinners, no devil as well.
No pearly gates, no thorny crown.
You're always letting us humans down.
The wars you bring, the babes you drown.
Those lost at sea and never found,
and it's the same the whole world 'round.
The hurt I see helps to compound
that Father, Son and Holy Ghost
is just somebody's unholy hoax,
and if you're up there you'd perceive that my heart's here upon my sleeve.
If there's one thing I don't believe in,
it's you....Dear God.
-- Andy Partridge w/ XTC
I wonder if the only thing he found was a tac
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Why not (V) (°,,,,°) (V) ?
you and i have now bought balance to the forc... i mean the world... cause its difficult for me to see how someone could believe that there is a God.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Why mock his beliefs?
Why do you care what he believes in?
I bet you think you're hip.
how do you find comfort in death... both of yourself and loved ones?
no i dont think im hip. why would you think that??
ive been an atheist since i was 11 years old. it was a decision i came to on my own after much questioning and soul searching and its a position ive not wavered from nor questioned in the ensuing 33 years.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
death happens... it happens to all living things. i find comfort, for want of a better word, in the fact that whilst they were alive i loved them and once they are dead i have the memories to keep that love alive.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
I don't find comfort in death...death scares the shit out of me.
I think that the fear of death has a lot to do with why many religions plug on. People need that comfort of the unknown and what comes after life. Religion wraps the whole story up nicely with a little bow.
Like I said before, I WISH I had faith....but I just can't.
when my dad died, i was 15, my family started going to church and praying, and i just didnt get it, i got really angry that his death made them start praying and becoming spiritual, if there was a god... he would take a father of 3 young children away.. i think not, in my opinion its all just a bunch of hocus pocus, but if its what comforted them then i keep my mouth shut, but i find comfort knowing he was a great guy, and thats all, we all are going to be gone sometime...right? i'd rather just face the reality of it than put a blindfold on and pretend hes still here and some guy had a plan all along. just doesnt make sense i guess...
again this my view, i dont want to mock anyones beliefs, to each his/her own
http://exchristian.net/exchristian/2007 ... exist.html
http://www.atheist.net/article/article_352.html
TO each there own I say though.
death is part of life, I don't know if a fairy tale would change the fact that there's no after life. I could believe that I'm Martian and 2" tall but that doesn't change the fact that I'm human and 5'-10", it may change how I see the world but the facts are facts.
The only after life is the life of your kids and the kids of your kids, that's the only way that part of you may continue going on and on, is not a sad fact or a happy fact is just the way it is.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Why not (V) (°,,,,°) (V) ?
ive been an atheist since i was 11 years old. it was a decision i came to on my own after much questioning and soul searching and its a position ive not wavered from nor questioned in the ensuing 33 years.[/quote]
Sounds a bit like me
Hey just try this
ask for a private miracle- but you have to really mean it- from your soul- don't be afraid be Open
I was shocked and was not expecting what happened but since (13 years now) I believe and have comfort in what has been proven to me. I am not afraid to die because we are just "leaving this world" and its ok.
On an entirely different subject for me- Jesus is the MAN
and religion does not = God
CONTROL....CONTROL...CONTROL...CONTROL
This is what it's all about.
I was raised in a similar manner to the original poster. I had twelve years of(Catholic) theology classes. Belief in god is as normal as belief in ghosts. People who claim to have seen either surely where fearful. There is only one place gods exist and it is in the mind.
I'll quote George Carlin(RIP).
We only need 2 commandment:
Thou shalt always be honest and faithful(esp. to the provider of thine nookie.)
Thou shalt not kill(unless they believe in a different invisibl being then you.)
Oh and one more, Thou shalt keep thy religion to thine self!