Have your religious/spiritual beliefs changed in the past year?

[Manic Ferocity]

@ V-G Yes it does, science has very very good evidence for the universe existing...what the heck are you talking about? We have no good evidence that a god exists. If a god were to create/destroy/fuck with matter or energy when invoked, I would have a much easier time disbelieving it.

Well the point of Christianity (and lots of other religions) is to have faith without any substantial proof. Obviously, having no proof is also justification for God not existing as well, which is why there's really no way to tell.

 

[wandering_taco]

I think when I die I would like to go the Floating Island of Mandango.

 

[supseudonymous]

I'm pretty sure anybody mildly intelligent is "of the authority" to tell people with clearly and overtly stupid and nonsensical beliefs that their beliefs are clearly and overtly stupid and nonsensical.

But what's the point?

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Exactly. Atheism is a disbelief in god, the antithesis of a belief in god. You can't intrinsically KNOW that a higher power exists or doesn't exist. So, in conclusion, of course there is no way to tell and who really cares if it's all about this "faith" thing. I don't have faith in god, which makes me an atheist. What is hard to believe?

 

[ohiogrinder]

ohiogrinder you ninja fucker!)

right on-par with "homosexual amputee"

 

[zabu of nΩd]

Obviously, having no proof is also justification for God not existing as well

What?

 

[Manic Ferocity]

Well, I'm agreeing with you (but what you're describing is more agnosticism than flat-out atheism).

@ V5

 

[skeptik]

Scientific evidence != rational justification.

As far as I can tell, the existence of the universe means that either it sprang out of nothing at some point, or it has always existed. Neither of those sound at all rational to me.

The universe would not exist if it didn't have a rational justification to exist. It does exist (or do you dispute that?), therefore it has a rational justification to exist. Maybe we don't know what that is yet, but that doesn't mean there isn't one.

when did I ever say I directly believed in Odin or Valhalla? the key word here is "if".

You pray to gods. That is a commitment to a belief.

But what's the point?

Fun, mostly, and stamping out stupidity.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Humankind is essentially a logical species. Science and logic apply to us, and we in turn use this logic to describe things around us and entertain notions of forces existing which keep us from flying, etc. By logic, we can reasonably say that a god does not exist. Faith is the deciding factor, though. However, I think OI is using "a god does not exist" and "I don't believe in a god" interchangeably which is an understandable, semantic faux pas.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

The universe would not exist if it didn't have a rational justification to exist.

How do you know this?

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

You're failing to be rational right now.

 

[skeptik]

Because everything exists because it has a reason to exist. Name something that has no reason whatsoever for its existence.

 

[mutantllama]

I'm actually starting to believe that when we die we become spirits where we can travel the universe in seconds. We can walk on the Earth but not be seen. You gain infinite knowledge. After traveling, after a while you will be reincarnated to some other being depending on how you life was before. I still don't believe in any higher beings but the one that judges you is the universe itself. After a while if you don't learn then you will be trapped in time where you can't move but can only think. After a while the Universe will let you free. Some may call this bullshit but I am starting to believe it. I dream about it everyone in a while and can see it happening.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

You're failing to be rational right now.

I'm asking for some reasoning behind that claim. Is there a problem with that?

Because everything exists because it has a reason to exist. Name something that has no reason whatsoever for its existence.

Matter.

Science merely claims it "can neither be created nor destroyed".

 

[Manic Ferocity]

If god exists, he's obviously not going to present himself to everyone because, obviously, there would be no dis-believers once he did so making faith pointless. Since proof would generally be contradicting the religion, there's simply no way to know for sure whether god exists.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

You're inherently closing your ears to reasoning if you can't even concede that the universe exists...

OI, that's a fallacious case against the non-appearance of a god. What should a god care whether faith is existent or not? The concept of religion and faith are HUMAN concepts. We invented the words and ideas behind them. A higher being would have no use for these.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

I'm actually starting to believe that when we die we become spirits where we can travel the universe in seconds. We can walk on the Earth but not be seen. You gain infinite knowledge. After traveling, after a while you will be reincarnated to some other being depending on how you life was before. I still don't believe in any higher beings but the one that judges you is the universe itself. After a while if you don't learn then you will be trapped in time where you can't move but can only think. After a while the Universe will let you free. Some may call this bullshit but I am starting to believe it. I dream about it everyone in a while and can see it happening.

Sounds like some good acid.

 

[mutantllama]

Sounds like some good acid.

I haven't done anything in a few years. This vision only came to me in the last few months.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Man if I believed everything my dreams showed me...I would probably be dead...

 

[Zephyrus]

I've slowly shifted from a liberal Catholic to an middle-of-the-road agnostic. I still identify with Catholicism, but it plays almost no role in my secular life. The main reason is that I just tend not to dwell on such matters of God and spirituality. I just live my life by practical means.