When did you stop believing in god?

[indecizo]

I didn't know you could delete posts, yeah he might deleted it

 

[drew_drummer]

I worship pussy and guitar.

 

[colonel kurtz]

Most of people dont want to believe that all ends with death, so they embrace some kind of religion to soften their fears. That´s here that some kind of GOD makes sense to a lot of people, they cant stand the idea that they are alone and without some kind of a divinity purpose in life.

it always seems funny to me how many people refuse to accept the fact that, in comparison to the vastness of the universe...or even our own planet for that matter, each of our lives is completely inconsequential. i feel like the sooner people realize this, the sooner they're able to just enjoy the time they have, and not sweat matters as trivial as wondering where the hell we came from and what we're doing here

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

1. In my opinion the picture of Muhammad should get taken down because it is tasteless. Putting that picture up is shoving your dick down the muslim's throat, telling the muslim that they should not worship their religion. You are doing the same thing everyone else here is preaching against. Totally hypocritical. In fact, I am disappointed the forum owners have not taken it down. That image crosses the line in my opinion.

2. A few of you say people believe in God because they cannot handle their insignificance to the universe and the extreme unlikeliness that there is a god. Count me in that group. I was about 17 years old with a friend eating at Burger King in Oakland, right across the street from Tech when for the first and only time it occurred to me the possibility that there is no purpose for me, you, or anything at all. It scared the absolute shit out of me. I never want to experience that feeling ever again. I can live without knowing there is a God. But I cannot live without there being at least some sort of purpose. It makes no sense to me that there would be a universe there for no reason.

3. There are ~9,000,000 different species on earth. There are ~1,000,000,000,000,000,000 animals on earth right now. Only 8,000,000,000 are human. What are the odds you got picked to be at the top of the food chain? Pretty slim. If there was no purpose, then I, in all likelihood, wouldn't be here. The fact that you even exist is absolutely crazy. Seems like a pretty big coincidence.

 

[ratsapprentice]

3. There are ~9,000,000 different species on earth. There are ~1,000,000,000,000,000,000 animals on earth right now. Only 8,000,000,000 are human. What are the odds you got picked to be at the top of the food chain? Pretty slim. If there was no purpose, then I, in all likelihood, wouldn't be here. The fact that you even exist is absolutely crazy. Seems like a pretty big coincidence.

Wut?

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

You think you are that lucky?

 

[ratsapprentice]

You're not making any sense to me.

 

[Jind]

1. In my opinion the picture of Muhammad should get taken down because it is tasteless. Putting that picture up is shoving your dick down the muslim's throat, telling the muslim that they should not worship their religion. You are doing the same thing everyone else here is preaching against. Totally hypocritical. In fact, I am disappointed the forum owners have not taken it down. That image crosses the line in my opinion.

Dicks will be dicks - it's in their nature. Clearly in expressing my opinion I've tried to make clear I'm extremely comfortable with whatever others opinions/beliefs are even if the opposite of mine, call it "free will" and all - if I speak of it as a value of mine I better accept it in others. I've also pointed to the fact that any opinion/belief can become extremism - or any non-belief for that matter. Feeling the need to insult others for their beliefs or those beliefs is certainly a case of "pot... meet kettle" - you've now become what you rail against.

2. A few of you say people believe in God because they cannot handle their insignificance to the universe and the extreme unlikeliness that there is a god. Count me in that group. I was about 17 years old with a friend eating at Burger King in Oakland, right across the street from Tech when for the first and only time it occurred to me the possibility that there is no purpose for me, you, or anything at all. It scared the absolute shit out of me. I never want to experience that feeling ever again. I can live without knowing there is a God. But I cannot live without there being at least some sort of purpose. It makes no sense to me that there would be a universe there for no reason.

I can respect that. Personally, I find "purpose" and "reason" in the simple act of trying to be the best son, the best husband, the best parent, the best person I can be to both those I care for deeply and those whom I simply interact with every day. If I've accomplished being the man I want myself to be, to the best of my abilities, why would I feel small or insignificant? Scale of significance is relative to ones expectations. No need for a higher power to set my purpose or reason in life.

3. There are ~9,000,000 different species on earth. There are ~1,000,000,000,000,000,000 animals on earth right now. Only 8,000,000,000 are human. What are the odds you got picked to be at the top of the food chain? Pretty slim. If there was no purpose, then I, in all likelihood, wouldn't be here. The fact that you even exist is absolutely crazy. Seems like a pretty big coincidence.

Like the other post on this section of your post - you've lost me on this one.

If you are questioning evolution, the fact that the "top of the food" chain is the result of how a species developed and advanced, which I expect with your previously stated 'skepticism" of every theory or hypothesis, is the case... then OK, I guess it's simply dumb luck to you. However for many of us it's the expected result given what is currently understood about how the species on earth have evolved.

 

[John_C]

3. There are ~9,000,000 different species on earth. There are ~1,000,000,000,000,000,000 animals on earth right now. Only 8,000,000,000 are human. What are the odds you got picked to be at the top of the food chain? Pretty slim. If there was no purpose, then I, in all likelihood, wouldn't be here. The fact that you even exist is absolutely crazy. Seems like a pretty big coincidence.

Classic logical fallacy.

Roll a die 100 times in a row. You get a random sequence of numbers. There are 6^100 ~ 6.5x10^77 different sequences you could of got (not far from the number of atoms in the universe), so there was a ~ 1.5x10^-78 chance of you getting the particular sequence you did, a vanishingly small chance.

That doesn't make that particular sequence special, or imply some purposeful hand of fate. It's just how probability works.

The same goes for the odds of being born a human (nevermind the implicit notion of a 'self' that is seperate from our physical existence that's necessary to let that make any sense at all).

 

[xFkx]

It's a nice philosophical dilemma, either you assume that all the events in the universe led to your existence in this moments, or your existence in this moment is the effect of all the events that took place in the universe.

If you win the lottery tomorrow, is it also a part of some grand scheme for your existence, or did the lottery machine just mindlessly select a series of numbers ?

Anywho, I'd call us lucky and let's enjoy it

 

[Jind]

You think you are that lucky?

How can one be so skeptical in general, yet still believe in good luck, bad luck, fate and all that?

I'm not being sarcastic, I'm seriously quite interested in how people think about the world they live in and when I come across what I see as opposing "beliefs", not from different people, but in the same person, I get curious.

You clearly don't seem what I would call "indifferent" since the feeling of insignificance bothers you (in the grand scheme of things that is), so one could say you yearn for meaning, but you also have stated that you essentially trust nothing so I'm unsure how significance can be found, or appreciated, as how it came about could simply be written off as shit luck, out of your control, not of your doing.

Sorry if my interests are piqued and if the conversation is not welcome I'll keep on topic.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

^It quite possibly could be blind luck. I acknowledge that. A lot of you guys think that there is no god and that there is no purpose and you weren't lucky in being human. Fine. I am totally cool with that. That line of thinking is much, much healthier than all this religious fundamentalist crap that others subscribe to. I strongly prefer your thinking to that of all those religious freaks out there.

The only problem I have with what y'all are saying is your certainty of it. I don't think you can be certain of anything. You guys seem to know for certain somehow that there is no purpose and God does not exist. It seems like a leap of faith to have no faith. I just don't see the value in being so close-minded.

 

[Jind]

^It quite possibly could be blind luck. I acknowledge that. A lot of you guys think that there is no god and that there is no purpose and you weren't lucky in being human. Fine. I am totally cool with that. That line of thinking is much, much healthier than all this religious fundamentalist crap that others subscribe to. I strongly prefer your thinking to that of all those religious freaks out there.

The only problem I have with what y'all are saying is your certainty of it. I don't think you can be certain of anything. You guys seem to know for certain somehow that there is no purpose and God does not exist. It seems like a leap of faith to have no faith. I just don't see the value in being so close-minded.

I said it earlier that others would deem me an atheist, while my personal opinion is that I'm probably more in the agnostic camp overall as I just don't worry about it either way, exist, not exist - it is not something that drives me or keeps me up at night.

As stated in my earlier response - I most certainly do have purpose, I do seek out meaning - through the human experience. Perhaps it's having had serious illness in my life, the Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, the two bone marrow transplants, the subsequent GvHD, that makes me appreciate each day and made me come to grips with the inevitability of life/death, made me realize that I controlled my reaction to it all.

If I doubted everything, believed in nothing, I would have given up the ghost long ago.

 

[Nuno Filipe]

I would be open minded if I accept that might exist a god? That doesnt makes much sense. Why I would need a god? Can he cook/work/wash the clothes for me?

I can have faith, in music, in people, in evolution but not on a imaginary person that is above of all us and controls the destiny of the universe! this sounds too ridiculous! Sorry if I offend some believer, but it´s true, well at least to me.

 

[colonel kurtz]

In my opinion the picture of Muhammad should get taken down because it is tasteless

not near as tasteless, offensive, or dangerous as religion...bitches can just get over it

 

[JeffTD]

1. In my opinion the picture of Muhammad should get taken down because it is tasteless. Putting that picture up is shoving your dick down the muslim's throat, telling the muslim that they should not worship their religion. You are doing the same thing everyone else here is preaching against. Totally hypocritical. In fact, I am disappointed the forum owners have not taken it down. That image crosses the line in my opinion.

This is stupid at best. They have zero right to not be offended. Was it in poor taste of me to post it? A pot shot? Totally, on both counts. But why in the fuck should it be prohibited or taken down? If it offends you, don't look at it. Explain to me why I should be censored because other people can't take a joke? Do you have the same problem with this picture?

 

[kass]

^It quite possibly could be blind luck. I acknowledge that. A lot of you guys think that there is no god and that there is no purpose and you weren't lucky in being human. Fine. I am totally cool with that. That line of thinking is much, much healthier than all this religious fundamentalist crap that others subscribe to. I strongly prefer your thinking to that of all those religious freaks out there.

The only problem I have with what y'all are saying is your certainty of it. I don't think you can be certain of anything. You guys seem to know for certain somehow that there is no purpose and God does not exist. It seems like a leap of faith to have no faith. I just don't see the value in being so close-minded.

One can't be certain of anything, but this point tends to be brought up only when someone is trying to justify their religious view. We also can't be certain that when I drop my pen it will fall to the floor.

Just because there is no God who gave you purpose doesn't mean you can't make your own purpose in life. There are plenty of conscious beings who could genuinely benefit from your kindness whether or not there is a deity to see it.

Leap of faith to have no faith is an illogical idea.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

This is stupid at best. They have zero right to not be offended. Was it in poor taste of me to post it? A pot shot? Totally, on both counts. But why in the fuck should it be prohibited or taken down? If it offends you, don't look at it. Explain to me why I should be censored because other people can't take a joke? Do you have the same problem with this picture?

I didn't say it should be prohibited. It should get taken down because it is disrespectful in a way that you obviously don't understand. In many, many people's eyes, by posting that picture, you've just done something far worse than any terrorist act, rape, or murder. The fact that you would put that picture up means either you are an ignoramus who does not understand what you are doing OR you are a complete and utter asshole who is willing to hurt innocent, though perhaps misguided, people for no reason but personal entertainment.

I don't think you understand what you are doing. There is no excuse. Sure, these people may be misguided, but they are not necessarily bad people. But you are hurting them by posting that. I don't know if you realize that. Like they see that shit and they'll start crying. It's fucked up that you would do that. It's like punching a retard and then laughing at him. I personally don't want that shit on this forum. I'm hoping you just did that for a quick laugh and didn't really think about it.

 

[Line666]

Woah, you just likened hurting peoples feelings by posting a picture to physical assault of a disabled person and on some level rape and murder.

Talk about hyperbole.

 

[lanky noob]

I've never believed, not that I have a problem with Christians (aside form the minority that paint the majority *cough cough westboro baptist church*), I just in my own mind can't wrap my head around the many many contradictions, and things I personally don't morally agree with, especially when there's so much evidence of evolution etc etc

I'm not gonna get into a big pissing contest about why I think i'm right and christians/muslims etc are wrong, i'm just gonna stand here and say a few things

1.I refuse to submit myself to a religion that punishes homosexuality and won't let me eat figs, yet condones incest and giving up your own children for mass rape/killing your own offspring.

2.The universe is huge and is constantly expanding giving a near infinite amount of possibilities, just like if you give a thousand monkeys a thousand typewriters one of them will type out the complete works of shakespeare eventually, if you give a universe billions of stars and planets, one of them will meet the criteria (however unlikely) to host life.
If that results in there being no pre-planned "purpose" for each and every one of us, i'm cool with that, it's a big world of possibilities we live on, make your own purpose.

There are only two commandments that matter
Be cool
Don't be an asshole