Is God Real?

I honestly don't think God exists in the way that a lot of people think he does. I mean many claim he's a real person or w/e. To me, he's more of a deity or spirit or something that represents your faith, your spiritual beliefs and values or something to that extent. I personally don't believe in any set religion so I'm not exactly a big believer in "God."

@ The Real Mitt Romney

Yes, He knows when and where and how someone commits a sin, but that doesn't mean He made them do it by any means. God created us and gave us free will. It's like a psychic. That psychic knows the future and what that person will do, but they still can't control that sinner.

God gave us free will because He loves us. If he didn't allow sin whatsoever on this earth, it wouldn't ultimately be free will. We would just be puppets. But God let's us make our own decisions and He wants us to choose Him of our own will, not because we are forced to. Otherwise we wouldn't have really chosen or loved Him.

Brianna Marie:

It's like a psychic. That psychic knows the future and what that person will do, but they still can't control that sinner.

So God is not omnipotent?

I'm quite surprised to find that this thread hasn't been updated in a month. I'll pitch in my two cents.

I'm probably reiterating and summarizing the thoughts of all the Atheists that have posted on this thread, but I'll share my opinion anyway.

I think many people are raised with this notion in their mind, and their parents don't openly introduce any other possibility to them. By the time they reach the age where they can think for themselves, they've already been so convinced, all these years, that God is real. I think some are so scared of the alternative that they can't bear to think of anything different. Who wants to live in an eternity of nothingness, of nonexistence? Heaven sounds like an absolute paradise. You get to be with the ones already deceased that you've missed, you have everything you've ever wanted (so to speak). It's an eternal happiness that you can look forward to.

So why is it that so many Christians are afraid of death? I asked a few dozen, and about 90% said they feared death. I asked them why they would fear death if they have Heaven to look forward to, and none of them could quite word it. I think it's because they have an inkling of doubt. They don't know it's doubt. Maybe they're afraid that they've made a few bad choices - or sins, my apologies - that would lead them to the terrible alternative, Hell. It's very clear that there is no proof of God. A smart Christian would say the same, because the belief in God is not based on any tangible proof, it's based on faith. It's based on belief in something you cannot see or feel.

It's very hard for many people to grasp the thought of simply not existing after death. Which I understand wholeheartedly. I've come to terms with it. But what I don't understand is how Christians get their morals strictly from the Bible. Or, more importantly, when Christians question Atheists on their morals because they don't understand how they have morals without believing in the Bible. There are many rapists, murderers, etc. who are Christians. There are many heroes who are Christians also. And both of them go just the same for Atheists. It's because morals don't come from a roughly 1600-year-old book. Morals come from a combination of society and basic instinct.

I understand wanting to believe in something more. I understand the hope, the feeling that someone is watching out for you during hard times.

I highly doubt God is real. I say this because I think god is someone people made up in the past because they could not explain certain aspects in life. Now that there is an advancement of technology, the idea of god is no longer needed, however there are those who still stick to the belief because of generational instilling and the fears attached to religion.

Sometimes I think Christianity was made up as another way to control people. It's not the first religion, so I'm not saying it's strictly those who believe in God, but I think they were all made up to control people and give them "morals" and guide them to be "good people".

I used to waste a lot of time thinking about this, but as an atheist now, I find there is very little proof and to me it depends on how you grew up and where. In my opinion, religion is created out of fear of death.

The Real Mitt Romney:

Sometimes I think Christianity was made up as another way to control people. It's not the first religion, so I'm not saying it's strictly those who believe in God, but I think they were all made up to control people and give them "morals" and guide them to be "good people".

This makes the most sense to me, although in combination with them just being an 'easy' way to explain away the things that people tend to want to understand. Religion has neat, cohesive answers to things like 'why are we here?' and 'what happens when we die?' People tend to like that.

@ Ayana Sioux
just take a lookto this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYz_RcErZP4

there is no god but Allah. Peace be upon him.

I'm sure this has already been said, probably a bunch, but:
It's not about having proof; it's about having faith.

Personally, even at my least religious, I've never been an atheist. I've been agnostic, but even as an agnostic I always leaned towards the idea that there was at least some kind of higher power and that it was probably God as understood by the Christian faith (that's my bias because that's the faith most common to my area and that most religious people I knew/know subscribe to.) But yeah, I've always felt in my heart that God existed in some form or another. I am very tolerant of atheists, but I've never really understood atheism, honestly.

Presently, I am a Christian, and I know in my heart He exists. I can only offer anecdotal evidence to nonbelievers at best, but like I said, ultimately it isn't about proof, it's about faith. I have faith that the Lord exists, that Jesus saved me and that He's saved so many more, and that faith is good enough for me. I am still learning a lot, of course, and maybe in a few months or years I will be able to return to this thread and offer more than this. I'd love to be able to spread the gospel more effectively (but at the same time I don't want to be preachy/overbearing about it, haha.)

If anybody in this thread wants to talk about faith, salvation, or anything like that, and would prefer to do it with someone who wasn't raised in it and came to it more or less on their own, feel free to hit me up any time!

The problem with the 'god' dynamic when it comes to religion is, the source of our existence is both masculine and feminine... EQUALLY. Proof of this is to be found everywhere within nature. Why would our source throw the dynamic of creation out of balance by choosing one gender over another to be known upon the earth?

@ LE Berry
You need to consider the society Jesus was born into, a heavily patriarchal society where men had more status than women. Also God the Father is a Father in as much as that was how humans designated authority when the Bible was written, but God is essentially genderless. After all He made humans in His image, male and female He made them. We are all made in God’s image.

God also isn’t an It, so a pronoun had to be chosen for Him. He is not a He as we define human males.

Hope that helps a little.

~~~

As to proof for God being real? Creation has His stamp upon it and since the beginning of humanity we have always been drawn to seeking something other than what is on this earth. There will never be any scientific proof for God. But for me at least, proof is in His Creation.

The term 'IT' is still preferred to making the Source of our soul of masculine identity. The fact that this has occurred throughout religions such as Christianity and Islam has caused great harm within humanity, especially to women through the real social dynamic which occurs everyday somewhere upon earth. Saying that the Source of us all, chose a gender to be known as 'god' has led to many forms of abuse which cannot be denied.

The term 'IT' is still preferred to making the Source of our soul of masculine identity. The fact that this has occurred throughout religions such as Christianity and Islam has caused great harm within humanity, especially to women through the real social dynamic which occurs everyday somewhere upon earth. Saying that the Source of us all, chose a gender to be known as 'god' has led to many forms of abuse which cannot be denied.

I don't know if God is real or not. But then again I don't think He's not real, either. I just choose to believe in Him. I think that's what a lot of people choose to or choose not to do. <3

i personally don't believe in god, but i will not shun anyone or poke fun at anyone for being spiritual or religious. i can't prove or disprove that god is real, so who am i to say? i don't believe, though. however, i love learning about religions, i find it highly fascinating.