Your View of God

[dinosaurodon]

Hm, hm, hm. Religion. I like to go back to ancient cultures for this. Ok, so i believe that many gods were involved in creation of the earth, and other planets. Ok. But I believe everything was created by one god, and creation is supported by other gods. Now these other gods are aliens who had superior technology to humans. They probably lived on Mars, which I believe at one point supported life. So my belief is that aliens governed earth, altered our ancestors genes, and then fled the solar system to find a new home in replacement of Mars, which heated it's core. Aliens with amazing technology still governed earth from the new location. Ok, and I believe that the gods are aliens because EVERY ancient religion is polytheistic. That clearly explains the gods traveled all around the world, or possibly altered the genetics of apes in Africa before our great civilization, then helped with the pyramids then left.

It's as if you took the words out of my mouth.

 

[poopnoodle]

"god" is an abstract concept i struggle to grasp because i was raised given simplistic, concrete explanations. i'm religiously non-religious, you could say, but i'm on a lifelong spiritual journey and i aim to understand existence, possibly by using ancient religious concepts to guide the construction of my perception.

 

[Hiroshi Zaiaku]

I am my own religion. so technically, i believe everyone religion's gods and satans are to be doomed for their death too.
im not atheist, but you can attack that statement if you like. but even if God/Gods are real and "omni-,"
just remember, we're talking about nonexistence eye things.

 

[assassinjay1229]

Hmmm, My views are this I do not believe in any religions God(s), but I do believe something made earth and everything on it. So I guess my God is known as the big bang :P.

 

[Rucario]

I am a Roman Catholic and probably always will be. I do struggle with the belief of God, because a lot of terrible things have happened to me. Yet, that should only strengthen my belief. I believe that Atheism is more common now because God isn't present in as much anymore. You can't find him in anything, much like the music or the television.

 

[Guillermo]

Honestly I'm surprised this thread is still open and there hasn't been any name-calling. Members these days must be mature. (;

Religion, in my opinion, is an incredibly silly topic to discuss because a) if someone is so sure that there is an almighty saviour up there, you aren't going to change their mind and b) especially on a Pokemon forum. That's life. I've seen countless documentries and interviews with people that've died and been given a second chance at life, and of course these kinds of things can't really be used as a reliable source due to bias as anyone that's died and come back to life can then try tell people something that happened based on what they believe. For example, a Christian would tell people that God or Jesus came around and said, "yo, welcome to heaven, but it's not your time yet so you've gotta go back to your body. Keep it real." But in saying that, 90% of these people all spoke of the same thing like a bright light and a feeling of warmth and seeing people that have been dead for years.

Personally I do believe Jesus exsisted, and I believe he was a prophet and he had teachings he shared with his pupils. People probably looked up to him and thought, "ah this guy is amazing, he is saaa smart srsly" and wrote a book about him. I do not however believe he brought people back from the dead, cured blind men, turned water into wine and all that other crap. If you do that's fine, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Pretty much there is something bigger than us out there, whether it's God or your soul or whatever the hell it is.

 

[lx_theo]

( Disclaimer: In My Opinion)

Religion and God are a manifestation of humanity's tendency to feel bigger than themselves. People see the entire world and how insignificant they really are (just saying that a person with little power in the world, or so much, can be driven to want something more. You may even call it greed) , and feeling that there is something out that that is beyond everything else and has a plan for you, no matter how good or bad for them, can be comforting for many who want some help dealing with life itself. It also means it is a very subjective treatment of the subject. Its very personal, and humanity also has trouble with others having different core beliefs than them. You can imagine (and see in history) where major rifts in belief have the lead to.

It is great and horrifying in the same stroke.

 

[femtrooper]

I do not believe in a God at all. Religion is something created by man as a result of fear of the unknown. Religion has caused so much damage to the human population throughout time. It has controlled the masses, justified slavery, justified polygyny, sexism, racism, homophobia, and taken away the independent thinking mind. I realize that there are religious people on this forum and I am not trying to insult, but I really don't like religion and what it stands for. It has held back the human race far too long.

 

[Lalapizzame]

I am inclined to disagree with femtrooper. It's not just religion that did all those things femtrooper lists as her grievances, but religion is easily a good scapegoat for many. I also have no clue how it deprives us of independent thought whatsoever; I believe this is due to a mind with a weak constitution rather than religion. However, I have no intention of tampering with her beliefs.

Religion was one of the greatest creations of man. It endears men to one another, it unifies, it comforts, it restrains, it encourages, it vilifies, it supports. Religion was one of the parents of education, but also one of its murderers. It is a scapegoat, it is indeed the culprit. Any man can create it, no man can destroy it. There is no other aspect of life as flexible and long-lasting as religion except for humanity. Now, as for myself, I'm not particularly religious, nor do I worship Jesus Christ or your God. Instead, I am a Buddhist. As such, I worship Buddha, I practice a limited amount of Buddhism, I accept his teachings. However, whereas I embrace Buddhist principles I do not accept Buddhist stories. They're nice to read, like the story of Odysseus, but I do not believe them.

 

[papps101]

i do not belive he is real but i would change my mind if someone gave me a reason to belive or prof that he exists

 

[Corvus of the Black Night]

I do not believe in a God at all. Religion is something created by man as a result of fear of the unknown. Religion has caused so much damage to the human population throughout time. It has controlled the masses, justified slavery, justified polygyny, sexism, racism, homophobia, and taken away the independent thinking mind. I realize that there are religious people on this forum and I am not trying to insult, but I really don't like religion and what it stands for. It has held back the human race far too long.

Religion is more of a way for people to help explain why certain things happen and as a cultural unity than necessarily bad things. Of course, people can use religion as an excuse to do bad things but religion (most of the time) in of itself is more of an internal belief than a way for people to hate each other.

That being said, as a Reform Jew I view "God" as a force of nature, a sort of electrical current powering the cogs of the universe. He (or rather "It") is more of just what makes everything "go" and "start" than necessarily a being of a human nature with traits like hatred and benevolence. This is perhaps why anything can happen to anyone and some horrible people can get away with horrible things, while good people can suffer and die early. Of course, the good, even if they die young, will understand a better higher meaning in their lives than those who were not, and would be in a sense closer to God, which essentially is the goal of mankind anyhow. But I typically don't think of the afterlife, just making the best of this one you know...

I guess in a way God is almost like science, and the more we understand about the universe the more we understand about God.

Remember, a text does not have to be taken literally. Believe what works for you.

 

[papps101]

how does that work its confusing

 

[Corvus of the Black Night]

God doesn't have to be like you and me.

God could be just energy. Or a force we don't understand yet.

I think a humanization of God is not the most realistic thing to view Him as (although preferable to many because its easier to associate with something with human-like qualities), since He existed before humans. One could argue that humans were created in the likeness of God as said in religious texts, however, this may rather mean that humans have the capability to even fathom the idea of a God.

If God is energy, or a force we don't understand, that runs the universe, this means that God doesn't have to conflict with science, but rather is science. And to understand the world is really what all people want to do. Think about it, the more you know about the world the more you can use it to make it more of a world that you want it to be. God might be just that one thing that is truly untouchable in terms of manipulation but by at least attempting to understand Him will bring some sort of happiness, like as if someone discovered a new species or other scientific discovery.

God doesn't necessarily have to be benevolent, but rather probably represents a neutral force (like gravity instead of goodwill). This is likely why He created free will in the first place, because it was generated and allowed for the most number of outputs, as God perhaps wanted. Of course one could ignore God and pass Him under a rug, but that's knowledge that you're refusing to know about. Ignorance is not bliss, after all. Throwing away morals to go do horrible acts against society works the same way - ignoring the rules and love for others makes you ultimately alone, and thus unhappy.

All in all God does exist but in a forme that doesn't represent some dude hanging out in the sky, but rather a force (or forces) that keeps everything running that we have yet to fully understand. I respect God in the same way that I respect the sun, or the rain, or the wind, or the earth, in that its a natural force that keeps me alive but could kill me at any moment as well... if the force that God suddenly helped mutate that one cell, I could die in months due to cancer. Of course most deaths are caused by external action (radiation causing cancer for example) but underlying everything as a trigger is that unifying thread that's God.

 

[papps101]

wow your smart how do you know that though

 

[Corvus of the Black Night]

Knowing and Believing are two separate things.

You can know that the world exists but you can only believe how it got there, since you weren't there to see it. You can formulate an educated guess based on all sorts of evidence to support your beliefs but you'll never truly know how.

 

[papps101]

yeah i think i know what your saying

 

[Kung Fu Ferret]

Religion is the opium of the people.

^I'm sorry, but I agree with this guy.

 

[Carter]

i perceive God's existence or non-existence as claims. i accept them based upon the evidence. should additional evidence surface that causes the claims to be modified, or even debunked, or proved, i will accept those on the same basis.

 

[Abnegation]

^I'm sorry, but I agree with this guy.

Ah yes, the Karl Marx argument. Being a follower of his work myself, I would normally agree with his sentiments. However, quite the broad assumption on his part. Such a cynical view on what Religion represents.

Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But man is no abstract being squatting outside the world.

So basically what Marx is outlining is that Religion is an escape to those who cannot find their own way in life, divulge their own path, but instead need to follow a set one because they do not have the confidence in them to do so. Whereas this this contradicted by some of the most successful people on the planet becoming Christians after they've in fact found their way in life, reached their epitome and who simply look to Religion due to faith and a sense of spirituality.

Man is the world of man—state, society. This state and this society produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritual point d'honneur, its enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification.

This however, I do agree with. I feel that a lot of what we see in Religion is man made, perceived by humanity by those who had placed it before future generations. And I'm implying that if Christianity or Religion in general is correct in its teachings, a lot of what we see today is still quite heavily edited by man. Parts of the original Bible collections have been stripped out, such as the accusations of Jesus being kissed by Mary Magdalene, amongst other passages lost and edited in time.

So I'll agree with Marx in saying that a lot of what we see in Religion today is our own creation. But it is not possible to determine any fact of truth when it comes to the existence of Gods or higher beings in terms of Religions, so Marx cannot state Religion to be a man made thing.

It is the fantastic realization of the human essence since the human essence has not acquired any true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly the struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion. Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering.

Again Marx goes back to the point that Religion is a reasoning for what we cannot explain, and he says that is why people follow it (except his own views of course). He shows how Religion is the people's only access to any "spiritual aroma" and is a distraction from the real world.

Again, I kind of have to take his point here, but it all comes from the basis that Religion would need to be proven to be a falsely trusted belief, which yet, it still has not gained enough evidence to apply to that argument. Claiming that one's Religion is a "distraction from the real world", is without substance also, given that some people's Religion is a way of life, and they firmly believe that way of life to be the one and only and it is not a matter of avoiding what is out there. The prime example is Islam, which is believed to be a way of life and not just a Religion.

Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo

Here, Marx is both sympathetic, and speaking in a somewhat positive light about Religion, saying it is almost like a breath of fresh air in world of ashes. But saying that abolishing Religion in exchange for "real happiness" is a completely outlandish statement. Marx is forgetting his own argument. If Religion as taken over so much as he has noted, it has more of a bearing on just the negative side of things. Communities, families, charities, ecumenism, so much of it is built around Religion. You will not find that when you lift the halo of faith people have that they will finally see this metaphorical real happiness. Religion is no mask, Religion is a foundation for so many things, but perhaps not the correct answer, and without that correct answer Mankind is not going to be happy. So what Marx failed to offer was a supplementary piece of guidance to those who would take upon his word and believe it as gospel. The criticism of Religion criticism of faith. Marx can call it what he will, but faith is all people have in Religion, and if faith is "that vale of tears of which religion is the halo", then we may as well stop having faith that rain is going to be wet, that the sky is going to be blue and that we will wake up in the morning. None of those are given as fact, neither is Religion; thus, Marx could not logically back up that final statement.

I'm not religious either, coming from a secular humanist who follows his work, I don't necessarily believe he had it all figured out as some do.

 

[NcTheory]

This can often times be a difficult question to discuss openly. That declaration isn't due to the question of whether there is, or isn't, but the statements of those that do, and don't believe.

The world has just changed so radically. We're all running to catch up. Not to jump to any conclusions, but God and Homo sapiens are often depicted as two separate entities, but suddenly and recently thrusted in the mix together. How could you have the faintest idea what to think?

According to the public, a verdict is still to be reached and often individuals will come to their own. In the scientific community, however, which is comprised of the brightest minds on this planet, and perhaps beyond, the verdict is in. There isn't enough evidence to support the idea that we live in a Universe that has, or even needs a God to exist. There are too many holes in religious text and human mind that starting to make religious thoughts come out of the woodwork – what causes people to think in that manner.

Everyone has their own reason for belief. Everyone has their own version of their own god in their mind, even if that god shares the same name as one written down by a primitive and unintellectual man. I say unintellectual considering the gravity of knowledge we have today, and the lack of knowledge in all religious texts from across the globe and gods. They are clever, albeit unintellectual ideas, but none have stood up to the test of time when tested.

So, my conclusion is the same conclusion that reality seems to present, as well as evidence: There is no God. There is no need for a god for any reason what so ever. To those that want to believe, they can put their own morality and immorality into themselves and call it Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, or God, but that is their own belief and is not shared among anyone else on a personal perspective. That alone shows me how brittle the God Hypothesis truly is.

God is the Homo sapiens ego.