Do you believe in God ?

Discussion in 'Living Room' started by Terrychris, 17th Dec, 2016.

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Do you believe in God?

Poll closed 7th Jan, 2017.
  1. Yes definitely

    15 vote(s)
    35.7%
  2. No not at all

    23 vote(s)
    54.8%
  3. I don't know if a God exists

    4 vote(s)
    9.5%
  1. Terry_w

    Terry_w Lawyer, Tax Adviser and Mortgage broker in Sydney Business Member

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    I like this quote by Epicurus:

    “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

    Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

    Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?

    Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
     
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  2. Propagate

    Propagate Well-Known Member

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    Those are the only 4 words in your post that make any sense.

    There are countless millions of people on the planet that would consider themselves Athiests, I don't consider myself Atheist only becuase I don't like labels.

    I absolutely do not believe in God though, neither do my parents but at the same time neither do I lie, cheat, steal or otherwise try and take advantage over my fellow human, nor was I tought do so by my hard working, honest parents.

    There are plenty of people in the world that do lie, cheat and take advantage....many of them believe in a God.

    The worst thing the human race ever did was evolve enough to become so self aware that we truly believe we are "civilised", as a species we seem to have an awful long way to go yet to earn that label.
     
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  3. Terry_w

    Terry_w Lawyer, Tax Adviser and Mortgage broker in Sydney Business Member

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    The reason you don't lie, murder, steal etc when you don't believe in any gods is that these things are dispicable and you will suffer adverse consequences. You can have pit on the victims too without believing in a god.

    If you steal from someone the victim will suffer a loss and the perpetrator will risk going to prison, getting a bad reputation. You will also be more inclined to comitt steal again in the future.

    No god needed for morality.

    Look at Buddhism - a whole religion built without a god.
     
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  4. Propagate

    Propagate Well-Known Member

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    I've never really paid much attention to Buddhism @Terry_w but your post piqued my ineterst enoug to do a quick Google.

    Do Buddhist believe in god?

    I suddenly have an urge to read up a bit more....
     
  5. Terry_w

    Terry_w Lawyer, Tax Adviser and Mortgage broker in Sydney Business Member

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    The Buddha taught in a 'hindu' environment so the scriptures are full of stories of various gods. But they are irrelevant to a person's salvation and they don't 'control' things.
     
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  6. willair

    willair Well-Known Member Premium Member

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  7. HUGH72

    HUGH72 Well-Known Member

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    "It is rather more noble to help people purely out of concern for their suffering than it is to help them because you think the Creator of the Universe wants you to do it, or will reward you for doing it, or will punish you for not doing it. The problem with this linkage between religion and morality is that it gives people bad reasons to help other human beings when good reasons are available."
     
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  8. Whitecat

    Whitecat Well-Known Member

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    Sometimes. But i don't believe if that thing exists, that's is as per any organised religion eg Allah Jesús krisha etc.
    It will never know
     
  9. Ted Varrick

    Ted Varrick Well-Known Member

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    God's is probably overwhelmed by Bellamy's shareholders right now, so it's probably a little hard to say...
     
  10. Zenith Chaos

    Zenith Chaos Well-Known Member

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    Firstly, how are atheists cowards?

    Secondly, doing the "right" thing by others should have nothing to do with there being a God. That is the problem with religion, the only reason you do anything is to go to heaven, not because it is the "right" thing.
     
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  11. radson

    radson Well-Known Member

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    This is obviously very true because in places where a lot of people believe strongly in God like the Middle East and Central America there is only peace and tranquility whereas in countries where the general population do not believe in an abrahamic deity such as Japan, Nepal, Bhutan and Thailand there is just basically daily ongoing mass genocides.
     
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  12. Gypsyblood

    Gypsyblood Well-Known Member

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    I read in one of Anthony Robbins books on beliefs being a table top. And once you have that table top, you look for and find the legs eventually.

    When i believed in a God as i was taught since childhood i found the legs to support that belief.
    When i questioned His existence every time i saw something that I believe a God should have helped, I found the legs to support that He doesnt exist.

    In all this i have always wondered if the human need to feel we go on forever is the only reason all these concepts of a God and an after life and what not exists. But even if there is no God, is there still a life after death of some form? Where we dont entirely cease to exist but a part of us carries on?

    And in all this I have also always always believed in the power of faith, with or without a God, the faith and belief that translates to people being cured due to the "miracle of prayer". Maybe it was just because they had utmost belief that they will be cured and the mind does have the power to heal the body.

    Ok i am rambling now. Very interesting topic btw.
     
  13. Luke T

    Luke T Well-Known Member

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    I don't have all the answers but i can say that I definitely believe in God .I just cant explain it rationally enough without him at the centre of my existence.
    My thing for seeking out what life is all about and our purpose for it all was looking at the world and all the different species of animals,and how they have different charachteristics built in/designed to them which allow them to live/survive/thrive in the world just points me to intelligent design (a creator).
    Then the way our human body heals itself when it gets a cut ,bruise etc .How the world is exactly the right distance from the sun to stay warm but exactly the right distance way from it to not burn up in an instant,The vastness of space and the stars,a rainbow that "appears"after the rain . To me the world is just too complex and amazing how we all are here for this 70 odd years then that's it ?
    -There is so much more that has gone into the planning and purpose put in us for that .
     
  14. spludgey

    spludgey Well-Known Member

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    If anything religious people are cowards as they are worried about going to hell (or whatever equivalent they have).
    You can tell me I'm going to hell, put a curse or a fatwa on me, make a voodoo doll of me, break a mirror in front of me, etc, and I won't care.

    It's funny to me when religious people try to scare non religious people with their own beliefs.
     
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  15. Dan Donoghue

    Dan Donoghue Well-Known Member

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    WTAF? You seriously think the only thing that gives people morality is a god? It's so laughable I have to wonder if I have just taken troll bait?

    I don't believe in a god yet I am extremely moral, I consider all people before making a decision that may effect others, I always try to see the good in everyone, in fact I would go so far as to say, I am a nicer and more morally balanced person than a lot of god fearing folk.

    I do good things, because it's just the right thing to do. I help strangers, I care for my fellow man, because it's right, no fear of a god, just because it's right.

    Now if I do these things because it's just the right thing to do, and a religious man does it out of fear of his gods wrath, who actually is the coward?
     
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  16. Dan Donoghue

    Dan Donoghue Well-Known Member

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    Damn I forgot about it. Happy terminus day for 5 days ago everyone :).