Not believing in God

[Chronic]

Some people are convinced that not believing in God would anger him but I can't see why.
It's debatable whether or not there are signs that he exists but there is no indefinite proof which is why religion is ultimately about faith. Not believing in God isn't a lack of faith in God, it simply means that you think people made it all up which then makes it a lack of faith in a man-written book.
I cannot comprehend that if God exists he, being the greatest entity in existence, would be angry at people not having faith in a book, which might hold the truth.
Now if God made his existence known but never responded to prayers or explained why bad things happen to good people etc. then you could speak of a lack of faith in God if you didn't trust that everything is part of his plan.
And if God does get angry at people not believing that he exists wouldn't that make him incredibly petty and cruel?

Thoughts?

 

[PuffnScruff]

i have always thought that if there is a god , it would not judge you on how many times a week you went to church, how often you read your bible, how often you prayed to it, if you believed in it, etc. i always felt that it would judge you for the life you lived and the things you did with your life, how you treated your fellow man etc.

imo faith and holyness is in your head and in your heart and has nothing to do with an imaginary being

"And if God does get angry at people not believing that he exists wouldn't that make him incredibly petty and cruel?"

imo, yes

 

[ToopackShaker]

If Morgan Freeman does exist then he made us free-willed, intelligent beings. So blindly following the belief that he exists would be going against our free will and undermining our intelligence.

We aren't expected to use our 'faith' to guide other major decisions in our lives. We look for reason. So why would we be expected to ignore reasoning when it comes to god.

Peace God

 

[Jokerman]

 

[Khaled]

Some people are convinced that not believing in God would anger him but I can't see why.
It's debatable whether or not there are signs that he exists but there is no indefinite proof which is why religion is ultimately about faith. Not believing in God isn't a lack of faith in God, it simply means that you think people made it all up which then makes it a lack of faith in a man-written book.
I cannot comprehend that if God exists he, being the greatest entity in existence, would be angry at people not having faith in a book, which might hold the truth.
Now if God made his existence known but never responded to prayers or explained why bad things happen to good people etc. then you could speak of a lack of faith in God if you didn't trust that everything is part of his plan.
And if God does get angry at people not believing that he exists wouldn't that make him incredibly petty and cruel?

Thoughts?

this is basically one of the many contradictions in all religions.
if god as portrayed by religion does exist, he s prolly laughing his ass off about his followers...

 

[TecK NeeX]

i have always thought that if there is a god , it would not judge you on how many times a week you went to church, how often you read your bible, how often you prayed to it, if you believed in it, etc. i always felt that it would judge you for the life you lived and the things you did with your life, how you treated your fellow man etc.

We will be judged on our faith in God as well as how we live our lives. So in short we will be judged on both points you raised not just the former or the latter.

 

[FroDawgg]

i have always thought that if there is a god , it would not judge you on how many times a week you went to church, how often you read your bible, how often you prayed to it, if you believed in it, etc. i always felt that it would judge you for the life you lived and the things you did with your life, how you treated your fellow man etc.

imo faith and holyness is in your head and in your heart and has nothing to do with an imaginary being

"And if God does get angry at people not believing that he exists wouldn't that make him incredibly petty and cruel?"

imo, yes

i agree. i think atheists who lead good lives have a better chance of getting into heaven than a lot of religious people who live bad lives.

 

[Jokerman]

Why would a Supreme Being judge us on anything? Do we judge animals or insects or plants (except for roaches which we judge, find guilty, and execute)? Why would you think he judged anything if you don't follow the Bible or Quran?

 

[TecK NeeX]

To stay on topic, God Doesn't get angry if you dont believe in him, It doesn't effect him in anyway if all mankind rejected him, He's the creator and the judge. A judge in a supreme court doesn't get angry everytime he sentences a murderer or any individual who broke a law to death or life in prison, he is simply upholding justice, No different than God, you reject his laws and brake them you will be judged.

Now if God made his existence known

How, For example?

If he made his existence clearly known than our belief in him will not be based on faith but instead based on fear. You reject God because you are unsure of his existence yet if God made himself appear before you no matter how many times he ignored your prayers you will still fear him knowing that he Does exist and will be the judge of your doings.

 

[_carmi]

^personally i dont believe and i am not unsure of if he exists or not. i think he doesnt exist but for humankind to survive they needed to get hopes up and god was the best way to do it.

if you dont believe in god, then you dont fear a god judging you and sending you to hell.

my mom thinks i'm gonna end up in hell tho for not believing. its all a matter of faith.

 

[Chronic]

Please TecK read my post a little better.

To stay on topic, God Doesn't get angry if you dont believe in him, It doesn't effect him in anyway if all mankind rejected him, He's the creator and the judge. A judge in a supreme court doesn't get angry everytime he sentences a murderer or any individual who broke a law to death or life in prison, he is simply upholding justice, No different than God, you reject his laws and brake them you will be judged.

Did you really not get that I meant God would punish us for not believing in him?
To rephrase then, I'm trying to discuss the repercussions of not believing in God.

"No different than God, you reject his laws and brake them you will be judged."

First of all that's not a valid analogy (you can't compare the justice system punishing people to God punishing people) and secondly when did I talk about breaking his laws? I'm merely talking about not believing in his existence.

How, For example?

He yells out "I am God, I exist". It doesn't matter how.

If he made his existence clearly known than our belief in him will not be based on faith but instead based on fear. You reject God because you are unsure of his existence yet if God made himself appear before you no matter how many times he ignored your prayers you will still fear him knowing that he Does exist and will be the judge of your doings.

That's off-topic though.

my mom thinks i'm gonna end up in hell tho for not believing.

This is what I mean. Why would God send you to Hell simply for not believing in him? I wouldn't even want him to exist if that's true.
Say you had two people, one religious and one non-religious, who were equally good people. Are you telling me that the non-religious person would go to Hell, while the religious person goes to Heaven, simply because he/she doesn't believe in God?
I'd say that a person trying to be good despite not believing in God is something to admire.
Why would you reward someone following rules and punish someone that decided to live by these same rules by themself?

It makes God look petty. "You don't believe in me? Fine, to Hell with you!".

 

[TecK NeeX]

Please TecK read my post a little better.

Please Chronic study and understand religion before you question it.

secondly when did I talk about breaking his laws? I'm merely talking about not believing in his existence.

By not believing in his existence you're breaking the first, last and all laws. How could you follow his laws if you dont believe he exists? or why would you? do you follow his laws?

Did you really not get that I meant God would punish us for not believing in him?

Rejecting your creator or denying his existence is the ultimate unforgivable sin

you can't compare the justice system punishing people to God punishing people

Yes you can

That's off-topic though.

He yells out "I am God, I exist". It doesn't matter how.

How is it off topic when its the answer to your question about God "yelling" out he exists?

If he made his existence clearly known than our belief in him will not be based on faith but instead based on fear. You reject God because you are unsure of his existence yet if God made himself appear before you no matter how many times he ignored your prayers you will still fear him knowing that he Does exist and will be the judge of your doings.

This is what I mean. Why would God send you to Hell simply for not believing in him? I wouldn't even want him to exist if that's true.
Say you had two people, one religious and one non-religious, who were equally good people. Are you telling me that the non-religious person would go to Hell, while the religious person goes to Heaven, simply because he/she doesn't believe in God?
I'd say that a person trying to be good despite not believing in God is something to admire.
Why would you reward someone following rules and punish someone that decided to live by these same rules by themself?

It makes God look petty. "You don't believe in me? Fine, to Hell with you!".

It's unbelievable how uneducated and uninformed you are about religion.

 

[Chronic]

Please Chronic study and understand religion before you question it.

It's unbelievable how uneducated and uninformed you are about religion.

It's unbelievable how bad your reading skills are.

Some people are convinced that not believing in God would anger him but I can't see why.

Notice how I say "some people are convinced...". I am not discussing or questioning religion, I'm discussing statements like _carmi's mom made plain and simple.

By not believing in his existence you're breaking the first, last and all laws. How could you follow his laws if you dont believe he exists? or why would you? do you follow his laws?

You can follow his laws if you don't believe he exists because the rules are written down.
Why would you? Maybe because they're actually good rules to follow.
I don't know if I do, I haven't bothered to read any of the Holy Books yet. I try to live by what I feel is the right thing to do.

Rejecting your creator or denying his existence is the ultimate unforgivable sin

Not sure how that responds to what I said.
I meant that I'm trying to discuss the repercussions of not believing in God (I said "angry" but that's what I meant, sorry) as in a response to you saying a judge doesn't necessarily get angry at the people he judges. I wasn't talking about the judge becoming angry but rather the fact that the person is being judged.

Yes you can

Yes indeed you can but that doesn't make it a valid analogy.
Our justice system was put in place by people and it judges people.

How is it off topic when its the answer to your question about God "yelling" out he exists?

What question?
"Now if God made his existence known but never responded to prayers or explained why bad things happen to good people etc. then you could speak of a lack of faith in God if you didn't trust that everything is part of his plan."
I don't see a question mark.

 

[XIAN]

Religion is a way to connect man to God and man to man. The beliefs are just symbols of the connection, whether they are true or not cannot be verified or disproved, so in that way they are true for the people who believe them.

For me, the contemplation of God is sooo waaay over our heads due to the fact that we do not know the nature of our souls or the afterlife or the significance of "religous texts" to the universe.

Personally I think that everything happens for a reason and God has not made itself known to us because in our current form we do not have the capacity to understand it. It's like trying to comprehend a fourth or fifth or sixth dimension which cannot be done.

The only thing I am basically sure of is that we have a piece (or peace) of divine inside us which has been brought out by people just like us (Jesus, Muhammed, Buddha) and used to help the world, and I think that as humans we all have a purpose in life, whether it be on ourselves or on others. The "good" and "bad" in life are illusions brought about by separating things with our brains. For us, there are bad and good people, but in another dimension, they are what they are (in this place) for a reason. There is a Buddhist concept called emptiness, which exceplifies that there is no good or bad, things just are empty and we love them for that. I think that in our true state (our soul), that is how we function.

The universe is like a matrix that God injects us into. The rules and areas, however, are totally oppositte those of the real. We don't remember our past lives (in most cases) and we don't remember our true nature. We don't know why we are here or what we're supposed to do. I think religion can help us figure that out. I think the world has a destiny and to me it seems like it is to repair itself.
~peace~

 

[Illuminattile]

If he made his existence clearly known than our belief in him will not be based on faith but instead based on fear. You reject God because you are unsure of his existence yet if God made himself appear before you no matter how many times he ignored your prayers you will still fear him knowing that he Does exist and will be the judge of your doings.

If God made his existence clearly known, then belief in him would be based on fact, not on fear. You're confusing a belief in God with the decision to worship him.

The reason you choose to worship whatever god you worship would be the same whether you knew he existed or not. It could be because of the punishment you'd suffer if you didn't, the benefits you'd reap if you did or simply because you agree with the ideas and principles of the religion. Or it could be a combination of the three.

 

[Chronic]

If God made his existence clearly known, then belief in him would be based on fact, not on fear. You're confusing a belief in God with the decision to worship him.

The reason you choose to worship whatever god you worship would be the same whether you knew he existed or not. It could be because of the punishment you'd suffer if you didn't, the benefits you'd reap if you did or simply because you agree with the ideas and principles of the religion. Or it could be a combination of the three.

Thank you. I think you put it very well when you say "the reason you choose to worship".

I could only have a lack of faith in God if I knew he existed and doubted him.

And for the record I will never be able to conclude whether God exists or not but I will try to be the best person I can regardless. I simply cannot comprehend how people could think God would punish me for that.

 

[TecK NeeX]

Notice how I say "some people are convinced...". I am not discussing or questioning religion, I'm discussing statements like _carmi's mom made plain and simple.

I haven't come across anyone that believes God gets angry if people dont believe he existed, now that doesnt mean nobody does. In Islam God does not. I dont listen to people and take there word for it and believe it to be true without confirming it for myself from the scripture of that persons religion. People might believe that yet still be untrue according to their holy books. I'm pretty well informed about world religions and i have yet to find one that actually states that.

You can follow his laws if you don't believe he exists because the rules are written down. Why would you? Maybe because they're actually good rules to follow.

Come on do you honestly believe that? You wont follow the laws unless you believe in them and the entity that sent them. Your statement is the absolute definition of contradiction. "Ok i dont believe God exists but i like this mythical God's Laws so yeah i think i will follow them". I cant describe in words how stupid that sounds

I meant that I'm trying to discuss the repercussions

The repercussions are as stated in the scripture. I honestly can't comprehend how you cant seem to understand that your refusal to acknowledge Gods Existence (The first of all laws) will not grant you salvation. You're denying the exitence of your creator man, what do you expect?

Yes indeed you can but that doesn't make it a valid analogy. Our justice system was put in place by people and it judges people.

To me it does. People on Earth have passed laws that says if you break them you will be punished. God by definition the creator of all things have also sent down laws that says if you break them knowing full well of the consequences you will be punished. Simple as that

I don't see a question mark.

In response to your "If God made his existence known"

 

[TecK NeeX]

If God made his existence clearly known, then belief in him would be based on fact, not on fear. You're confusing a belief in God with the decision to worship him.

No, knowing that God really exists and when we look up at the sky we can see him watching every move we make it will solely be based on fear knowing that we will be judged on how we live our lives. Fact will not give us much of a freedom to believe or reject God's existence. We would all shit our pants if he actually did that knowing the discreption of hell in his scriptures, including you.

The reason you choose to worship whatever god you worship would be the same whether you knew he existed or not. It could be because of the punishment you'd suffer if you didn't, the benefits you'd reap if you did or simply because you agree with the ideas and principles of the religion. Or it could be a combination of the three.

Yes combination of all 3 and the love for my creator, I'm well aware of the reasons why i choose to worship God and well aware of the reasons why you dont. thats the freedom God gave us. Total freedom to accept him in our hearts instead of fearing hell or God while he looks down at us from the sky.

 

[HiGhTillDeaTH]

To stay on topic, God Doesn't get angry if you dont believe in him, It doesn't effect him in anyway if all mankind rejected him, He's the creator and the judge. A judge in a supreme court doesn't get angry everytime he sentences a murderer or any individual who broke a law to death or life in prison, he is simply upholding justice, No different than God, you reject his laws and brake them you will be judged.

What does God say about u speaking for him? Please speak for ur self only.

 

[Chronic]

"I haven't come across anyone that believes God gets angry if people dont believe he existed, now that doesnt mean nobody does. In Islam God does not. I dont listen to people and take there word for it and believe it to be true without confirming it for myself from the scripture of that persons religion. People might believe that yet still be untrue according to their holy books. I'm pretty well informed about world religions and i have yet to find one that actually states that."

Like I said before I didn't mean 'angry', I meant God punishing you for not believing in him. In this very thread _carmi said her mom believes that _carmi is going to Hell for not believing in God. So there's a person you've come across that believes it.
And again, please read my posts a little better...
When did I say that's what it says in the Holy Books? I didn't. I'm not discussing religion, I'm not discussing what it says in the Holy Books, I'm discussing the statement "if you don't believe in God you'll go to Hell", that's all. Please try to understand.

"Come on do you honestly believe that? You wont follow the laws unless you believe in them and the entity that sent them. Your statement is the absolute definition of contradiction. "Ok i dont believe God exists but i like this mythical God's Laws so yeah i think i will follow them". I cant describe in words how stupid that sounds"

Do you know how stupid you sound? By saying it doesn't make sense to follow God's rules without believing in God you're saying they'd only be good rules to follow if God existed. There are some rules that I think are good so I'll try to follow them regardless of whether God exists (not all of them though and I never claimed so either). What's not to believe about that?

"The repercussions are as stated in the scripture."

...
You're not even replying to what I'm saying. You took that entirely out of context.

"I honestly can't comprehend how you cant seem to understand that your refusal to acknowledge Gods Existence (The first of all laws) will not grant you salvation. You're denying the exitence of your creator man, what do you expect?"

I expect God not to be petty.
And you haven't exactly given any arguments to help me understand besides "it's the law". Blindly following a religion doesn't quite cut it for me. Any arguments you can give to help me understand?

I don't get it though. First you say you haven't come across a religion where God punishes you for not believing in him while here you say refusal to acknowledge God will earn you a spot in Hell. Or are you still discussing God getting angry even though I clearly stated that I meant something else?

"In response to your "If God made his existence known""

You only replied to that part of the sentence though, taking it out of context meaning what you replied to is off-topic.

"To me it does. People on Earth have passed laws that says if you break them you will be punished. God by definition the creator of all things have also sent down laws that says if you break them knowing full well of the consequences you will be punished. Simple as that"

That's the problem right there, I don't fully well know the consequences because I don't know whether or not God exists. I don't know for sure who wrote the Holy Books. I do know that if I break our societies laws and it's discovered I'll be judged for it. Which is why it's not a valid argument. God may very well exist but as long as we don't know for sure that analogy does not stand.