Does God Exist? Proof & Evidence for the Existence of God
Just once wouldn’t you love for someone to simply show you the evidence for God’s existence? No arm-twisting. No statements of, “You just have to believe.”
Well, here is an attempt to candidly offer some of the reasons which suggest that God exists.
But first consider this. If a person opposes even the possibility of there being a God, then any evidence can be rationalized or explained away.
It is like if someone refuses to believe that people have walked on the moon, then no amount of information is going to change their thinking. Satellite footage of astronauts walking on the moon, interviews with the astronauts, moon rocks…all the evidence would be worthless, because the person has already concluded that people cannot go to the moon.
When it comes to the possibility of God’s existence, the Bible says that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they have suppressed the truth about God.(1)
On the other hand, for those who want to know God if He is there, He says, “You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you.”(2) Before you look at the facts surrounding God’s existence, ask yourself, If God does exist, would I want to know Him?
Here, then, are some reasons supporting God’s existence...
1. Throughout history, in all cultures of the world, people have been convinced there is a God.
Could one say with any sense of confidence that all those people have been mistaken? Billions of people, who represent diverse sociological, intellectual, emotional, educational makeups…all came to the same conclusion that there is a Creator, a God to be worshipped.
“Anthropological research has indicated that among the farthest and most remote primitive people today, there is a universal belief in God. And in the earliest histories and legends of people all around the world, the original concept was of one God, who was the Creator. An original high God seems once to have been in their consciousness even in those societies which are today polytheistic.”(3)
2. The complexity of our planet points to a deliberate Designer who not only created our universe, but sustains it today. Many examples showing God’s design could be given, possibly with no end. But here are a few:
- The Earth…its size is perfect. The Earth’s size and corresponding gravity holds a thin layer of mostly nitrogen and oxygen gases, only extending about 50 miles above the Earth’s surface.If Earth were smaller, an atmosphere would be impossible, like the planet Mercury. If Earth were larger, its atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, like Jupiter.(4) Earth is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere of the right mixture of gases to sustain plant, animal and human life.The Earth is located the right distance from the sun. Consider the temperature swings we encounter, roughly -30 degrees to +120 degrees. If the Earth were any further away from the sun, we would all freeze. Any closer and we would burn up.Even a fractional variance in the Earth’s position to the sun would make life on Earth impossible. The Earth remains this perfect distance from the sun while it rotates around the sun at a speed of nearly 67,000 mph. It is also rotating on its axis, allowing the entire surface of the Earth to be properly warmed and cooled every day.
And our moon is the perfect size and distance from the Earth for its gravitational pull. The moon creates important ocean tides and movement so ocean waters do not stagnate, and yet it restrains our massive oceans from spilling over across the continents.(5)
- Water…colorless, odorless and without taste, and yet no living thing can survive without it. Plants, animals and human beings consist mostly of water (about two-thirds of the human body is water). You’ll see why the characteristics of water are uniquely suited to life…It has an unusually high boiling point and freezing point. Water allows us to live in an environment of fluctuating temperature changes, while keeping our bodies a steady 98.6 degrees.Water is a universal solvent. Take a full glass of water, add a cup of sugar, and nothing spills over the edge; the water simply absorbs the sugar. This property of water means that thousands of chemicals, minerals and nutrients can be carried throughout our bodies and into the smallest blood vessels.(6)Water is also chemically inert. Without affecting the makeup of the substances it carries, water enables food, medicines and minerals to be absorbed and used by the body.
Water has a unique surface tension. Water in plants can therefore flow upward against gravity, bringing life-giving water and nutrients to the top of even the tallest trees.
Water freezes from the top down and floats, so fish can live in the winter.Ninety-seven percent of the Earth’s water is in the oceans. But on our Earth, there is a system designed which removes salt from the water and then distributes that water throughout the globe. Evaporation takes the ocean waters, leaving the salt, and forms clouds which are easily moved by the wind to disperse water over the land, for vegetation, animals and people. It is a system of purification and supply that sustains life on this planet, a system of recycled and reused water.(7)
- The human brain…simultaneously processes an amazing amount of information.Your brain takes in all the colors and objects you see, the temperature around you, the pressure of your feet against the floor, the sounds around you, the dryness of your mouth, even the way this article appears to you on your screen.Your brain registers emotional responses, thoughts and memories. At the same time your brain keeps track of the ongoing functions of your body like your breathing pattern, eyelid movement, hunger and movement of the muscles in your hands.The human brain processes more than a million messages a second.(8) Your brain weighs the importance of all this data, filtering out the relatively unimportant. This screening function is what allows you to focus and operate effectively in your world.
A brain that deals with more than a million pieces of information every second, while evaluating its importance and allowing you to act on the most pertinent information…can we say mere chance brought about such an astounding organ?
When NASA launches a shuttle mission, it is assumed a monkey didn’t write the plan, but intelligent and knowledgeable minds. How does one explain the existence of the human brain? Only a mind more intelligent and knowledgeable than humanity could have created the human brain.
3. Mere “chance” is not an adequate explanation.
Imagine looking at Mount Rushmore, in which the likenesses of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt are carved. Could you ever believe that it came about by chance?
Given infinite time, wind, rain and chance, it is still hard to believe something like that, tied to history, was randomly formed in the side of a mountain. Common sense tells us that people planned and skillfully carved those figures.
This article only touches on a few amazing aspects of our world: the Earth’s position to the sun, some properties of water, one organ in the human body. Could any of these have come about by chance?
The distinguished astronomer Sir Frederick Hoyle showed how amino acids randomly coming together in a human cell is mathematically absurd. Sir Hoyle illustrated the weakness of “chance” with the following analogy. “What are the chances that a tornado might blow through a junkyard containing all the parts of a 747, accidentally assemble them into a plane, and leave it ready for take-off? The possibilities are so small as to be negligible even if a tornado were to blow through enough junkyards to fill the whole universe!”(9)
When one considers the intricacies of our life and universe, it is reasonable to think that an intelligent, loving Creator provided for everything we need for life. The Bible describes God as the author and sustainer of life.
4. Humankind’s inherent sense of right and wrong cannot be biologically explained. There arises in all of us, of any culture, universal feelings of right and wrong. Even a thief gets upset and feels wronged when someone steals from him. If someone violently grabs a child from a family and rapes that child, there is an anger and revulsion and a rage to confront that act as evil, regardless of the culture. Where did we get this sense of wrongness? How do we explain a universal law in the conscience of all people that says murder for fun is wrong?
And in areas like courage, dying for a cause, love, dignity, duty and compassion, where did these come from? If people are merely products of physical evolution, “survival of the fittest,” why do we sacrifice for each other? Where did we get this inner sense of right and wrong? Our conscience can best be explained by a loving Creator who cares about the decisions and harmony of humanity.
Next: God left a biography about himself as evidence for his existence
Copyright 2000 EveryStudent.com. Used with permission.
God didn’t help discover the planets shape at all, yet alone any other science. Brave humans that were willing to question what was seen as “true” discovered it. Religion has adapted to science not the other way around, remember what happened when the forces of nature were discovered? The pope tried to declare them a heresy and eventually the catholic and christian religion just said “well actually we can’t beat that logic so now God made those forces.” – Science has done more for humanity in 100 years than religion has done for humanity in the past 10,000 years… wait sorry i forgot according to the bible the world is only 6000 years old *cough*.
Don’t go allocating credit to a god that doesn’t deserve it. People like Einstein, Stephen Hawking..etc they’re the ones truly discovering and working toward a more advanced and knowledgeable humanity.
So did those of that era who didn’t write the Bible.
However, together we have come to the conclusion that planet Earth is indeed not flat.
Just imagine what else we might discover if we work together with an open mind, pocket our pride and listen to what our Creator God has yet got in store for us.
Also your planet theory is flawed seeing as the people who wrote the bible thought the world was flat. Good thing Science fixed it.
This is the most stupid article I’ve ever read. Most of the information is wrong and [expletive removed] – A) Right and wrong can be biologically explained – B) No one is saying everything happened by chance you’re just educated. There are hundreds of thousands of planets capable of sustaining life. The earth is not special or unique. Grow up and stop [expletive removed] arguments to justify your imaginary friends.
Richard you said, quote:
“Doubt is the great motivator for advancement of knowledge. You say we can waist too much time trying to understand things that are beyond our capacity to comprehend. If everyone thought like that we’d still be dying of infected cuts and your heart surgeon wouldn’t exist. You wouldn’t be using the internet…..etc.”
Yes, you’re right yet billions of people have lived that way since the beginning of time and I don’t think it would be right to look upon them as a people who, by virtue of the era in which they lived were under privileged or deprived in any way, were they? I don’t really need to think very hard to think of many inventions and practices that would suggest the very opposite.
Christians of all times believe that the importance is not how long we live, or what we die of, or what we invent, but the quality and purpose of life that leads beyond the grave to everlasting life with our Creator God. John 3:16
How do I know that? Yes, here I guess we part our ways, but I would like to point you to what I have said earlier on this website, on the 6th Oct. 2012 in respect of proof and faith.
Regards, Jim.
Jamie,
Contrary to what you say, we have created life to some extent:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/7745868/Scientist-Craig-Venter-creates-life-for-first-time-in-laboratory-sparking-debate-about-playing-god.html
We must remember that nature took perhaps billions of years of random events to create the tiniest spark of life that then took further millions of years to evolve in to us. So for us to have come as far as we have in only a few hundred years of science is quite spectacular.
You are right; I will argue that just because we don’t know something there is no reason to fill the knowledge gap with a god. There is just no reason to do that other than laziness.
I can’t argue that your life has become more meaningful because of a belief in a god. It still doesn’t indicate the existence of gods, just your need to believe in something bigger than yourself. If that works for you, that’s fine. As long as you keep in mind that belief in something without evidence is basically a delusion.
Contrary to what you say, I think it’s much scarier to realise that we have no one leading the way. No one to thank or blame. There is no purpose. We must all simply take responsibility for our lives. There is no second chance when we die. Just look at how many religions and gods the world has had over the centuries. We all want someone to look after us. This only proves humanity’s needs, not the existence of gods (unless we are going to accept as real, all the gods through history).
Do you honestly think your particular god has a purpose for you? How do you know what purpose that is? I am very interested in your response to these questions.
Jim,
Doubt is the great motivator for advancement of knowledge. You say we can waist too much time trying to understand things that are beyond our capacity to comprehend. If everyone thought like that we’d still be dying of infected cuts and your heart surgeon wouldn’t exist. You wouldn’t be using the internet.
Would you let me operate on you because I told you to have faith that I was a heart surgeon? I don’t think you would. You’d want to know that I’d studied for many years and was qualified for the job. If you had any doubts about my ability you could find proof of my qualifications. You don’t need to know everything the surgeon knows, but you do need to know that the surgeon is a surgeon
Well if we are really honest with ourselves Richard we have to admit that life does not occur in the natural world–or at least in a world created by purely natural forces. No matter how hard scientists have tried to recreate the original environment in which chemicals combined together to become the building block amino acids from which life is formed they have never been successful. The problem is that all natural processes used to create amino acids can only produce a 50/50 split of left and right handed amino acids. And yet all proteins are made up of only left-handed amino acids. Right and left handed amino acid molecules lack chirality and therefore cannot combine to make the complex shapes of proteins. Conversely, DNA nucleotides are exclusively right handed molecules but all natural processes create a 50/50 split of right and left handed nucleotide molecules. There is no way that the complex helix spiral of the DNA could be made out of both right and left-handed molecules.
Not only that but the experiments used to create that 50/50 split of right and left-handed amino acids were absolutely destructive to life. The high levels of methane and ammonia used in the experiment of Stanley Miller and Harold Urey would have destroyed any proteins that could have possibly been formed by the resulting amino acids.
There are no known natural processes that could have made exclusively left-handed amino acids that are needed for the development of proteins and no known natural process that could have created those amino acids within an environment that is safe for the development of life. So the existence of life just on that basis needs some unnatural force–I would suggest a supernatural force–to create these basic building blocks. As far as being repeatable, well the vast number of proteins and DNA say that whatever–or whomever–was able to introduce chiral amino acids and nucleotides was able to do it again and again and again.
And that is just one of the components of our ‘pond’ that does not occur in the natural world.
Now I assume you will suggest that we just haven’t found out yet what natural processes created the building blocks of life and that this is not of itself a proof that God made amino acids with proper chirality. But right now, we have to look at those and admit that something outside of what we know has done this, which could very well point to the existence of God. The more we look at the universe around us and begin to add up all the parts that cannot be explained by natural processes we eventually have to admit this is no puddle, it’s a pond!
The problem that so many people have with that is we then have to ask, “Who made our pond and what purpose does He have for us?” For all of us who are born with a desire to be the master of our own purpose and destiny, that is too scary of a question to face. We don’t want to have to conform to anybody else’s plan for our lives and so we keep on discounting the evidence and search for ways to describe our pond as a puddle. But what I have found is that when I was able to admit that our pond was made by God and began to investigate who He is and what His purpose is for me, a whole new reality of life opened up. It transformed the ways I related to the universe around me, other people in my life and myself. Looking to God for His direction and seeing His love for me expressed in a myriad of ways has brought a vibrancy to life that I could never have had otherwise.
Jamie,
Thanks for the even tempered response.
However, the pond in your back yard is clearly man made. There is a direct link to the manufacturer. It’s repeatable. We could have one made just like it. It’s made of materials that don’t occur in the natural world – plastic and rubber and probably rocks that have been cut with metal tools and cemented together. It’s unlikely that you’d find a natural pond with any of these elements, and if you did it would be reasonable to assume that it too was man made. Natural puddles will have none of these things and could be shown to have occurred though weathering or other natural act – no manufacturer needed.
So the point is, if some water (people) trickles in to a puddle (our world) there is no reason to think the puddle was created for the water. The conditions were right for the water to be trapped in the puddle, that’s all.
While I concede that it’s possible that for reasons unknown a greater power created the universe, then left it to evolve for billions of years; the likelihood is so remote and the evidence so non-existent that it doesn’t really warrant considering.
Given the vastness of the universe and the infinite possibilities it represents, the chances of life arising accidentally seems immeasurably more likely than it being created by a god.
And whether one is more likely than the other, the fact is there is no evidence of any gods existence.
Having said that, I’m open to hear any convincing argument. By the way -“The world is so beautiful and works so well, it must be god’s creation” Is not a convincing argument.
I love to think and debate about this subject, so I hope you’ll respond again.
Richard
Hi Jamie,
I like your analogy, spot on and very difficult to argue with even on the basis of the theory of probability and analysis of random happening.
I agree, there is no doubting that there was a purpose in the design of you and me and all of us, as well as our ecosystem, but Richard, we can waist too much precious time in trying to understand things that are beyond our capacity to comprehend. When we have this attitude that we must know all the details of God’s creation before we acknowledge Him for who He is and His purpose for us,we will stunt our growth spiritually. It’s like me saying to my doctor before I had my heart surgery: Doc. I will not go for this until I fully understand all aspects of this surgery and know all that you know. I think he would give my bed a gentle push sideways and say; Next !
No, on second thoughts God is not like that, but He might say, come back when you are ready….. that’s if you get the chance.( theory of probability?….trade it in for faith) If pride is the obstacle, get rid of it, before ……………
Hi Richard, I actually have a “puddle” created in my yard that was specifically designed to be a puddle–ok, we call it a pond–and shows all kinds of evidence that it does indeed have a purpose to its design. If the puddle in my yard looked at its rubber lining, rock surrounding and pump creating the fountain, it could surmise that it was created for a specific purpose.
Now I suppose that some other puddle could try to convince my pond that it all happened by accident and that it is deluded in thinking that it has a purpose but the sheer amount of elements that point to a specific purpose would be difficult to argue with.
While I concede that it is possible that our universe and all of the factors needed for life to exist on our planet came together by accident, I am swayed by the volume of elements that needed to come together in order for life here to be a reality, for us to explore and understand the universe we are in, and to connect with the One who created it all. To dismiss all of those elements as pure chance seems to denote a closed mind to the possibility of something divine. Are you saying that it is impossible for there to exist a God powerful enough, intelligent enough, and loving enough to create us and a universe for us to live in and enjoy relationship with Him?
Hi Anonymous, whenever someone says “like all…” and then makes a huge generalization about a group of people I get pretty suspicious. Your statement is not only not true–I have met atheists who have changed their views on issues of faith–but it is also demeaning. This forum is intended for people to have a safe exchange of ideas without being maligned or disrespected. It is a reasonable assumption that we can have different points of view but still show respect for each other. I ask that if you want to continue in this conversation that you show appropriate respect for everybody’s point of view.
Anonymous, I am indeed an atheist. I am an atheist because there is (so far) no reason to suspect that any gods exist. Contrary to what you seem to think, I am completely open to changing my views. When I see evidence that contradicts my current views I am more than happy to be proven wrong. I would have thought that was the very definition of reasonable.
Yes, the universe is an amazing place. But the puddle who thinks the hole fits him so well it must have been designed for him, is no more deluded than you are. We don’t know and will probably never know how existence came about, but simply inventing gods (as humans have done for millennia) doesn’t give us any answers. It just creates one more unnecessary question.
Could you ever entertain the idea that the reason god doesn’t “fix the world” is simply because he doesn’t exist?
I’m not one to defend the qua ran but if you “do some research” and read your bible, I think you’ll find it’s every bit as full of violence, rape, slavery, misogyny and baby killing.
Moses parting the Red sea, Jesus walking on water, Balaam’s talking donkey are so much more believable than the qua ran’s flying donkey because..?
Of course Yahweh is an Arab name. Where, and by which peoples do you think the bible was written? Or do you think jesus was a blue eyed American?
I can’t speak for all atheists (like you seem to) but I don’t believe in aliens – at least not ones who’ve visited us. No one I know believes in aliens. There is no more evidence of aliens than of gods.
“Heaven is sort of wrapped around the ever growing universe.” Could you tell me how you (sort of) know this?
I look forward to your response.
All the best,
Richard
Richard, you are an atheist and like all atheists, you are unreasonable and have no intention of changing your views. Think of it this way, we have food, water, gravity, air, a sun for warmth,and a moon to block meteors. That’s an awful lot coincidences if you atheist’s believe in the big bang theory. What are the chances that all these necessities just happened to come into existence? As for the unholy qu’ran, it teaches nothing but violence, rape, murder, and falsity. It states that mountains came from space,that muhammad flew on a winged donkey,that women can only amount to a footstool,that angels strangle people,that heaven has whore’s and little boy servants and that the Judeo-christian god,YHWH, was actually called allah, an Arab name. This makes no sense at all. Before you say it, the reason that God doesn’t fix the world is because he shouldn’t have to clean up OUR mess. The next argument you atheists would most likely throw at us Christians is ” Why is there a hell if God is all merciful?” Simple, would you want a mass murderer or rapist in paradise? Another common question would be why did he kill so many people? All the people that he killed deserved what they got. Sodom and Gomorrah was full of rape mobs, homosexuals,murderers,stealing, and even people who sacrificed their children to idols and ate them.As for the Jews that he killed, that was because the only thing that people of the day understood was fear.He was a little harsh but, he was fair. Cain received a mark, it is possible that he was turned into an ape-like person and that him and his descendants had to work their way back to being human. Most atheists believe in alien’s, well, it’s possible that the giants of the bible, called “Nephilim” were the aliens who gave the people the technology to make the pyramids. Leviathan and Behemoth could very well be descriptions of water and land dinosaurs. As for the Jesus wannabe’s like Mithra, that’s completely wrong.I researched Mithra, he didn’t die for peoples sins and therefore wasn’t resurrected either. Lastly, do some research, God has nothing to do with the sky, heaven is sort of rapped around the ever growing universe.
“Who did Jesus think he was? And why should I care?
In response to these questions, the first questions asked on this website, I would like to have a go at answering these questions from my own experience.
Who does Jesus think He is?
It is not a very polite question, in fact one that would immediately put our hackles up if we were asked that same question, wouldn’t it? Well, it didn’t with Jesus, He spent years responding to those kind of questions and explained who He was/is/will be, because He cares for them, you, me and everybody else and wants to show us the way to live lives that are for real, worth living. The only way to find out how to do that is to ask Him and show you.
I tell you it is not just pie in the sky as religious as you may think this kind of talk sounds.
Why should you care?
Well for me it was not a matter of why should I, but over the years I increasingly felt the need to find out more about Jesus and to me it is more important than breathing and I say that not just because I have been on death door more than once, but because He gives me peace, purpose, direction fulfilment and joy like nothing else can. Breathing you can do only just for a lifetime, but taking in all that Jesus has to offer is not just for the life hereafter, it starts from day one.
And who do I think I am? Just a bloke who’s been given a second chance, third one even, that’s the kind of Lord He is.
His love is divine and very pure!
How do we prove that God does exist, I exist, anything exists are popular questions that I believe some people would ask not necessarily in all sincerity, but more so to appear somewhat philosophical, or in search for the deeper meanings in life. In response to that question I would ask an equally valid question: how do we proof that anyone or anything does not exist. Think about it.
The answer in my book is, we cannot because what does not exist is not perceptible to the human mind and therefore beyond proof in the context of the meaning of the word proof. The only person ever to have any real dealings with that which does not exist is our Creator God who made this universe and us out of nothing.
If we then are unable to proof that anyone or anything does not exist on what basis can we assume that we can prove who or what does exist? What makes us think that we have the understanding and the capacity to reverse what God has created in the first place in an attempt to explain away ourselves, God and His creation?
Definition of PROOF according to the Webster dictionary is: The cogency of evidence that compels acceptance by the mind of a truth or a fact…. and the word COGENCY means: Appealing to the intellect or powers of reasoning; convincing.
I would like to ask the question; what is the significance of that which is “ appealing to the intellect of the human mind “ as compared with the wisdom of the One who created us out of nothing? Was does the Bile say about the wisdom of the wise?
What we need to realise is that the word proof is earthbound it has no application or validity in the spiritual realm. We literally need to trade that in for the word faith if we want any enlightenment whatsoever. Faith in our Creator God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ His Son, who has and continues to show the way to those who humble themselves and follow Him. It is like a metamorphosis where the butterfly emerges from its cocoon to spread it’s wings as it flies to the live giving light.
Proverbs 3: 5-6
There are some interesting stories on the link that you shared here Pavel. The similarities in the stories from other religions should certainly be reason to assess the claims of Christianity closely. I think one of the questions that comes to my mind when I consider that the stories of Jesus were ‘borrowed’ from other religious writings is, “Why didn’t anybody dispute the veracity of the stories of Jesus at the time they were written?” One of the unique things about Christianity is that there is so much specific information given in the accounts of Jesus life that speak of His public ministry that it could be quickly identified as a hoax by a large part of the population of the province of Palestine. You look at Luke’s account of the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar– when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene– during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” (Luke 3:1-2) The detailed historical specifics quickly identifies the time period that all of this took place. Considering that Luke wrote this account anywhere between 65 & 100 AD there were still many people around who would have been able to dispute the existence of such a man named John. Many of the aspects of Jesus life took place with huge crowds involved, again giving opportunity for dispute if the facts were altered or completely fabricated. Yet there is never a critique on the existence of the man named Jesus. There is no serious denial of the miracles He performed. The most notably public part of His life was His arrest, trial and death, yet the Jewish authority of the day never make any argument against those details of the Gospel accounts.
If those were fabricated stories why was there never any First Century dispute of their veracity?
Oh and just because a majority thinks it knows what truth is, does not make it a truth. Every religion at some point was treated as a minority, and each future religion that eventually outgrew the past ones condemned the older ones to being heresy and untruth. do you see the ultimate flaw of such logic? religions are just fads that come and go, that ultimately think they have the best radical way of viewing our creation. its ideas are fed to children with developing minds, and once taken root these ideas pretty much corrupt some of these children into a static/stagnant way of thinking. As our minds develop from child to adult the strongest memories are the ones from our childhood. The gradient flow of religions will always intertwine with how well we develop culturally, and technologically, and economically. Religion suits the Poorest of the economic classes the most as they have all the more reason to have faith as it grants them eternal bliss if they follow the set of rules, and morals written out by the bible. it also suits people who have experience some kind of miraculous event in their life that stemmed into religious thoughts like god saving them from death in a car accident. I think the ice cream effect applies to these scenarios. what is the ice cream effect? it’s just that people need something comfort them when they’re down. a motivation for progressive thinking and innovation and moving on with life. Religion does just exactly that for some people. the last reason as to why religious ideas are so ingrained into some peoples brains is their family’s personal beliefs. Beliefs are usually carried down a family line, down generations just like i said previously. It’s ingrained into children s heads through scripture readings, and going to church or having to pray, and lack of other kinds of education. You could even say that the unwillingness and stubbornness of religion is just a self defense mechanism in the mind that only there to defend the preexisting ideas, and their own credibility. When someone tries to convince you to another way of thinking, or that your ideas are flawed what is the first thing that people do? they stubbornly refuse to be incorrect, and say that because they’re so accustomed to believing in one think that they refuse to change. it’s like they’ve given a piece of their existence to accepting this belief. It’s in human nature to behave like such as these are neural traces built into these peoples brains.
If that’s not enough to convince you otherwise then i really do not know what will. here’s one concluding thought to leave you scratching at your head. if humans create synthetic life such as self aware robots in the future with the ability to upgrade themselves, and have emotion just like humans. will they look up to us as gods, or just continue to sustain their way of living. most likely the latter. they might even potentially go against us as they consider themselves superior at some point if they are completed enough. so in a way humans our they’re own masters and gods, we can modify, create, think, and spawn new ideas into reality. if the scriptures described anything it was that we are our own gods, and we live in a state of hell, and heaven based on the things we do to other people. and that we can spawn into creation whatever our imagination so desires as long as we put effort into it. Science will reign as the ultimate kind in the future, as it has the best way of looking at life. Have a good day sir i think I’ve covered pretty much every idea that atheists believe in.
Andrew,
did you know that several descriptions of “sons of god” exist with peculiarly similar characteristics like being a son of god, a carpenter, being to do holy things. I’m sure over a dozen of similar descriptions of men exist, and Christianity has failed to admit their existence in other scriptures. If you agree to completely disregard these people, http://listverse.com/2009/04/13/10-christ-like-figures-who-pre-date-jesus/ then what gives your god/savior any credibility at all. Writings aren’t proof of any deity at all and are succeptible to interpretation therefore coming to the absolute conclusion of the existence of a deity is preposterous. It’s like going on Wikipedia reading about how dinosaur bones are all human engineered makeups, and that they don’t really exist and then actually believing it even though a majority of people have enough empirical evidence to suggest that they do. theologians must consider the fact that the universe is remarkably gigantic by nature, and that life is probably one of the universes inevitable outcomes. Given enough time matter in some forms can shape up to understand itself through the form of programming. all of nature is just patterns, our universe is one, our neural programming is one, everything is a structure, a pattern that follows given rules. we do not understand the given presence of these rules, but cannot ultimately to jump to conclusions without properly investigating the matter. Religion does just this, but saying the universe is to complicated for it to have sprung up out of nowhere, but how does adding in a deity factor help solve an equation. it offers a radical explanation of our existence and is ultimately also very unsatisfying. questions like where did this deity come from, and in whatever shape or form he’s in what led to his creation? another diety perhaps? preposterous. our universe is just a random configuration of natural properties that exist under conditions which we are not all to familiar with. God theory just comforts the mind, and lets you ease into death much smoother, and feeling more complete. Its foundations are based on novels without any evidence, and on the belief that morals spring out of the existence of god. how do you know that morality isn’t just another step of evolution that intellectually enlightened being such as ourselves experience after a given amount of time, and learning about ourselves and the universe. several existing theological theories exist that are just as random as the other. What gives their idea any less validation then yours. under my skepticism their ideas have just as much validation.
Have you ever thought about the existence of alien beings that have visited our planet and enhanced our genetics as well as given as more knowledge to help us survive and give birth to future ultra intelligent beings. this idea is also very radical, but given scriptures, accounts from tribes in the past, the existence of pyramids and other such remarkable sights that are hard to replicate using modern tools all done over several hundred years using stone age tools? The ancient alien theory is all the more satisfying, and credible then the existence of said flying spaghetti monster that spends his time focusing on punishing people who do not follow his given set of rules. For all we know those were punishments given to people under the tyranny of aliens several thousands of years ago during a time when ancient language first sprung out in Sumerian times. I find it much harder to follow a theoulogist way of thinking than even that of the ancient aliens way of thinking. Evidence > no evidence. Truth > Belief.
Well said George.
good article but i guess we all have to experience if HE exist i know he does but its up to people if God exists i know through creation thank you for posting this
I really don’t know what to think. The level of ignorance by the author of this article is simply baffling. Yes, it’s very unlikely that we are alive today. UNLIKELY DOESN’T MEAN IMPOSSIBLE. Let’s say that there are a billion billion planets in the Universe, which, if I’m not mistaken, is actually close to the current estimate. Let’s say that there’s a one-in-a-billion chance that a planet can sustain life. That means that there are most likely a billion planets in this universe that can sustain life. Its that simple. Also, consider the fact that oxygen was once poisonous-and obviously you can’t have life in a planet with a poisonous atmosphere, so the plants adapted to taking this chemical in and eventually so did the animals. Think about arsenic-based life forms. Their existence seems mind-boggling to religious people, yet to atheists such as myself, it’s quite obvious that they evolved to withstand a chemical lethal to humans. About your first proof-it was Bronze-Age primitive people who came up with religion and convinced a whole bunch of people to follow it. Let me ask you something-do you believe in Hinduism? Of course not, you say. You reject that religion without a second thought. So what causes you to come up with these rationalizations in order to explain your own religion? It’s because you’re afraid of the truth. As for the 747 gambit, it’s utterly pointless and overused. Now let me ask you another question-who designed the designer? And if you find yourself saying that God is timeless, well then, I’m afraid you’re making up further rationalizations. Religion is an unstable house that can be brought down by a child’s innocent question. Questions like this include-why is there evil? Why did god send down himself to be crucified in order to save mankind from sin,
A quality that god bestowed on humanity in the first place? It makes no sense. God must be imaginary. In response to the argument that you will throw back at me, I offer these simple words from Hugh Laurie’s character on House, MD.
“if you could reason with religious people, then there wouldn’t be any more religious people.”
Richard,
The argument which you continue to use is that I am unable to provide you with any factual information that the Bible is true. Then let me reverse your argument as if you say you have an open mind then prove to me that what the Bible teaches is false as you would be unable to do so. You take only a piece of the Bible here and a piece their and distort it to what you believe it to be say as many times in the Bible it is not speaking in the literal since but figuratively and not the whole book so you mock the Bible as if you would take the time to try to disprove it’s prophesies you would be unable to or the argument that you use is because man did what was promised in the Bible it is untrue and not worthy of mentioning.
Their is one major difference between the Bible and the Koran the Koran was written by ONE man who died and he wrote his personal beliefs as I don’t profess to be an expert on the Koran. The Koran is not a prophetic book but the belief of what a man thought God was saying to him. The Bible was written by many Godly men who were instructed by God what to write which included the prophets as well as his disciples who witnessed his life during his three years of ministry.
You are speaking on purely legal terms whereas my argument is of the spirit as it is impossible to convince as when I mentioned you were in the minority and lonely it was in the figurative since. Sure there always will people of like minds for people to associate with. When you mention Christian nation you are purely talking legally as not all people believe that Christ died for them just as Hitler or Stalin never did!.
Why would I want to take your little pearl that is worthless from your open hand when I will have a house of pure gold that will last forever in eternity? You can try with all your might to discredit Christ however like Hitler, Stalin, Nero, former communist leaders, present day Chinese leaders all have failed. The reason for there failure is something which you will never be able to comprehend as Christ through the Holy Spirit gives a person a sense of peace and joy which is indescribable. This my dear friend is something you can mock all you wish as if you look at history many have done so. Communist countries leaders did not believe in God and tried to stamp out peoples belief in God. The same with China however according to this article http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/01/20/christianity-china
There are well over 100 million Christians in China alone which kind of beats your 25 to 35 % of Australia as your nation is 24 million so roughly 4 million don’t think God exists. If you take it a step further and take the whole worlds billions of people your 4 million is in the minority.
You can be as intellectual as you wish to be as when God created me he did so with the ability to accept him and sense his spirit after I accepted him the more critical, angry, irate you get the more I sense his love and Holy Spirit which is why I continue to answer your hateful messages. The greater the storm within my life the more I sense the Holy Spirit and Gods presence. God created people as yourself who have hardened their hearts to create strife so others will draw closer to him like the clam the more people try to destroy Christians the more it grows. This is what gives you peace because life can appear to be pretty easy when you believe in nothing but oneself. YOU can yell,scream, hurl insults all you wish as in the scripture it says that all human beings will bow before him which includes me as well as you. What you will never ever be able to comprehend is the trinity and mostly the Holy Spirit as how can you tell someone who senses God’s Holy Spirit through Christ that he is wrong? YOU Can’t. The only argument that you have is that it is magic ok call it that if you wish as it does not offend me. I know from my own personal experience and the experience of others that the Holy Spirit exists. If you want factual proof seek it out yourself because for me personally and the millions of Christians around the world know he exists which is enough for me. I am unable to interpret the Holy Spirit for you as until a person believes in Christ they only see one part of the scriptures and interpret as per their way of thinking.
YOU have every right to not believe in God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit as that is what free will is so then don’t believe in God. The right which you don’t have is to mock someones belief as Christian bashing is becoming a popular sport in the media as people like myself who believe in Christ respect your views however many atheists try through legal means and brow beating to remove God from the public. That is wrong. God Bless,
Andrew,
Yes the Koran was written by a man. A man who spoke directly to God. Just like the bible was written by men. Men who said they spoke to God or a guy who claimed to be God’s son. Why believe one over the other? Again I’m guessing it’s because you were born in a predominantly Christian country, not the Middle East. If you and I had been born in a Muslim county you would be backing Muhammad and I’d be arguing in Arabic.
You say I’m in the minority being an atheist and I must be lonely. Being in the minority doesn’t make me wrong. (Christianity was in the minority for a long time but it seems to have caught on a bit. So I can always hope that Freethinking and common sense will catch on too). As for being lonely, I simply don’t know anyone who believes in a Magical Sky God, so no, I’m not lonely so don’t feel bad for me.
Happily I live in Australia. Our current Prime Minister is an atheist.
According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreligion_in_Australia) something like 25 – 30 % of Australians consider themselves atheist and the number rises every year. Here are some quotes from the article:
In a 2008 global Gallup poll, nearly 70% of Australians stated religion as having no importance,[19] much higher than their American counterparts, and on par with similarly secular countries such as Japan, the Netherlands, Finland, and France. Only a few Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) and post-Soviet states (Estonia) are markedly less religious.
The Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian newspaper, asked its readers “Would the world be better off without religion?”. 81% responded in the affirmative.[20][dead link]
A 2006 study by Monash University, the Australian Catholic University and the Christian Research Association found that 52 per cent of Australians born between 1976 and 1990 have no belief in a God.[21
So no, I’m not lonely.
You say my intellect prevents me from having faith. I agree, just as my intellect prevents me believing 2 and 2 makes 5.
To continue your analogy, I am not a dog trying to pry open a clam. I am the man with the open clam, trying to offer you the oyster inside. You just don’t want to see it.
You have offered no “factual information” that proves the bible correct.
All the best.
.
Andrew,
Yes the Koran was written by a man. A man who spoke directly to God. Just like the bible was written by men. Men who said they spoke to God or a guy who claimed to be God’s son. Why believe one over the other? Again I’m guessing it’s because you were born in a predominantly Christian country, not the Middle East. If you and I had been born in a Muslim county you would be backing Muhammad and I’d be arguing in Arabic.
You say I’m in the minority being an atheist and I must be lonely. Being in the minority doesn’t make me wrong. (Christianity was in the minority for a long time but it seems to have caught on a bit. So I can always hope that Freethinking and common sense will catch on too). As for being lonely, I simply don’t know anyone who believes in a Magical Sky God, so no, I’m not lonely, so don’t feel bad for me.
Happily I live in Australia. Our current Prime Minister is an atheist.
According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreligion_in_Australia) something like 25 – 30 % of Australians consider themselves atheist and the number rises every year. Here are some quotes from the article:
In a 2008 global Gallup poll, nearly 70% of Australians stated religion as having no importance,[19] much higher than their American counterparts, and on par with similarly secular countries such as Japan, the Netherlands, Finland, and France. Only a few Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) and post-Soviet states (Estonia) are markedly less religious.
The Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian newspaper, asked its readers “Would the world be better off without religion?”. 81% responded in the affirmative.[20]
A 2006 study by Monash University, the Australian Catholic University and the Christian Research Association found that 52 per cent of Australians born between 1976 and 1990 have no belief in a God.[21
So no, I’m not lonely.
You say my intellect prevents me from having faith. I agree, just as my intellect prevents me believing 2 and 2 makes 5.
To continue your analogy, I am not a dog trying to pry open a clam. I am the man with the open clam, trying to offer you the oyster inside. You just don’t want to see it.
You have offered no “factual information” that proves the bible correct.
All the best.
.
Richard,
Their is one fairly significant difference between your belief & mine when it comes to religion. All other religions were created and designed by man as a blue print to follow their teachings of what they believed to be true for them to have eternal life. You mentioned Muslims as some believe that committing suicide and taking others with them is a method to receive glory however this method was designed by man as to what his interpenetration is. If I am not mistaken the Koran was written by one man who was the prophet Mohammad and he wrote his interpretation of what man needs to do as a guide and I fairly certain some of the Koran is misinterpreted. However I do find that a certain percentage of their faith are radical as these are the Muslims that are violent and their numbers are increasing. How many Christians do you hear of that do terrorists acts to destroy life as you do have the odd nut case who kills abortion doctors and you would think the World would come to an end from the media attention. However the Muslim at one of the army basis that murdered people in the name of his religion lost his way! The Koran was written by one person and same with the Buddist religion it was written by man for man to decide how to become pure.
You have the audacity to state that the Bible is “gullibility, a willingness to suspend reason, a complete lack of critical thinking.The only confusing thing about the bible is that any modern, educated, intelligent person could possibly take it seriously.” It must be fairly lonely for you to stand on an island trying to preach your belief that God does not exist when the very book you are critical of proves that he does from the many promises have been delivered.
The Bible was written by hundreds of authors over thousands of years as their are over 2500 prophesies which of well over 2000 have been fulfilled as I only mentioned a few. The very nature of Christianity is peaceful as if you would state this about the Koran your life would be very much in danger. This may be news to you but you are in the minority of the belief that God does not exist and are to blind to see the truth.
I quoted a number of verses in the Bible of the miracles that took place when Christ was alive and the religious leaders of its time like you scoffed at these however if you do notice the harder a religious leader scoffs at Christianity the greater the growth. You are mistaken their have been countless people who have been Christians who have been clinically dead that have been brought back to life. The few that do tell others about there experience are often mocked as what they seen was just a dream. Their have been many documented death experiences of Christians who have died and lived again. Muslims who try to take others lives and fail often are critically injured for life or if they completely fail will spend the remaining of their lives in prison if the event occurs in North America. Like the raising of the dead that Christ did in the Bible their will always be Pharisees like yourself who try to discredit God.
You have the right to believe that their is no God but you will never have the ability or strength to convince me that God does not exist for the simple reason that you don’t know him. The idea which you fail to understand is that concept of the trinity which is the Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. You can be as critical as you wish and as demeaning as you must and be intellectual superior as if your intellect prevents you from having faith to believe then that is your right but like the religious leaders of Jesus day they were successful in crucifying Christ as was foretold in the scriptures but they were unable to stamp out their belief in Christ. Your methods and means to discredit the Bible is nothing new as they were the same methods that the religious leaders of the day used to try to stamp out their beliefs. You will discover that the harder you attempt to discredit the Bible for weak minded feeble minded crippled people the more peoples belief will only become stronger. Like a dog trying to open a clam shell the harder it tries the tighter the shell becomes. You can belittle people who believe in God all you wish but like the person who throws water on a grease fire the fire only gets greater as your desperation of discrediting God is having the exact opposite effect as many non Christians and Christians read my posts and as a result due to the factual information that I provide within the posts it proves that the Bible is correct as it is only a select minority which you belong to that don’t believe God exists. God Bless