Why do people believe in god?

[Billy T]

"The reticular activating system (RAS) is an area of the brain (including the reticular formation and its connections) responsible for regulating arousal and sleep-wake transitions." From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reticular_activating_system

The reticular formation is only few hundred cells deep in the brain stem. One can damage it (in cat or other animals) and they go into deep permanent sleep. As confirmed by the EEG patterns of deep sleep. They will never again eat or drink, so die unless intravenously feed. Then their body can live for months. They are not "brain dead."

I believe those rare cases of a human recovering after years of coma-like state (definitely never from vegetative state) is due to the the regenerative recovery of the reticular formation*

* BTW, another part of brain, in the thalamus as I recall, is also frequently called the "reticular formation."

 

[Mind Over Matter]

A discussion we had in bible study..

what constitutes a 'person'?
(the discussion revolved around God as a 'person')
does one need a body to be a person?

I propose first that a person, a human being, has to have a body. So, part of personhood is occupying physical space.
Can we collectively agree so far?

 

[Enoc]

I am an atheist so I don't believe in God mostly because of personal reasons.

Too many bad things happened to me and to my family and I think that if God really existed and cared about me then he would not let my family suffer.

My mother's brother died when he was only 13 and my Grandfather (from my mother's side) died of heart failure when he was only 50 which is about the age of Michael Jackson.

Too many bad things happen to people in this world and if God really existed and loved everyone equally, then he wouldn't let innocent people suffer needlessly.

 

[SciWriter]

Why people believe in the Creator doesn't do much for its actuality, so come and help us truly derive it as something that must be; otherwise, there is just worthless suppositioning beyond, regardless of the comfort one may obtain:

http://www.sciforums.com/showpost.php?p=2816554&postcount=98

 

[NMSquirrel]

I propose first that a person, a human being, has to have a body. So, part of personhood is occupying physical space.
Can we collectively agree so far?

i believe (don't know for fact) that the word person comes from the latim persona
this describes a character, not a body...

----

I am an atheist so I don't believe in God mostly because of personal reasons.

Too many bad things happened to me and to my family and I think that if God really existed and cared about me then he would not let my family suffer.

My mother's brother died when he was only 13 and my Grandfather (from my mother's side) died of heart failure when he was only 50 which is about the age of Michael Jackson.

Too many bad things happen to people in this world and if God really existed and loved everyone equally, then he wouldn't let innocent people suffer needlessly.

welcome to the mix..
please do not confuse the term Atheist and Anti-theist..
it sound like you can be an Anti-theist (against God)
be careful what you ask..

 

[wynn]

Why people believe in the Creator doesn't do much for its actuality, so come and help us truly derive it as something that must be; otherwise, there is just worthless suppositioning beyond, regardless of the comfort one may obtain:

http://www.sciforums.com/showpost.php?p=2816554&postcount=98

"To derive that which must be" is a contradiction in terms.

 

[Mind Over Matter]

Every logical point leads to the fact that there is no god.

So in my personal opinion anyone who belives in god is ignorant. (Don't take that the wrong way)

Scientifically, there has been no evidence to suggest that there is no God.

 

[arfa brane]

There is nothing logical about the existence of God. We can't even explain logically why we have dreams, and dreams are a common theme in the Bible and other religious writings.

As to the notion of "believing in" God, is there a difference between that, whatever it amounts to, and believing God exists? If you believe God exists, do you "believe in" the existence of God, or is that just another way to say it?

Do you believe "in" the existence of a world around you, or do you believe the world around you exists? What's the difference? Is it all just worthless supposition?

Suppose you think the world exists in order to make your life enjoyable so you don't have any bad experiences. Then bad things happen so you think the world must not exist. Well sure, it doesn't exist the way you thought, it doesn't really care about you at all. But it does exist.

 

[NMSquirrel]

Is it all just worthless supposition?

if it excersises your brain, it is worth it.

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

If you believe God exists, do you "believe in" the existence of God, or is that just another way to say it? Do you believe "in" the existence of a world around you, or do you believe the world around you exists? What's the difference?

In the latter case, there is no difference in meaning, only in syntax.

Belief is equivalent to confidence in the truth, existence or reliability of something or someone. So to say that you believe in the world around you is equivalent to saying you have confidence that it exists and is what it appears to be, since "reliability" does not come into play.

But in the former case, there could be a difference in meaning, depending on context. When someone says they believe in God, we atheists automatically interpret that to mean that God exists and that he is true to the consensus definition of "God" as an all-powerful supernatural creature who routinely meddles in the operation of the universe and the lives of its inhabitants and may even have created it and them.

But I suppose someone who says this might mean that he also believes in the reliability of God. He believes that God is competent, that he can solve all problems and keep the laws of nature in harmony. That God is responsible, that he does not go off on vacation or get drunk, letting the universe unravel and leaving our lives in jeopardy. That God cares about us and would not let anything evil happen to us, unless of course, by his own celestial standards and in his own infallible judgment, we deserve it.

Note that "confidence" does not translate to "certainty." When one says one believes in God, one merely means that he is confident that God exists (or is true to the standard definition, or is competent, responsible and caring), not that he knows this with certainty.

This places belief somewhere below a scientific theory in the hierarchy of truth. A scientific theory is true beyond a reasonable doubt, which puts it between certainty and confidence. A belief can only claim confidence, which allows for reasonable doubt.

 

[NMSquirrel]

truth is he is drinking a beer and laughing his ass off at us...

 

[Mind Over Matter]

There is nothing logical about the existence of God. We can't even explain logically why we have dreams, and dreams are a common theme in the Bible and other religious writings.

As to the notion of "believing in" God, is there a difference between that, whatever it amounts to, and believing God exists? If you believe God exists, do you "believe in" the existence of God, or is that just another way to say it?

Do you believe "in" the existence of a world around you, or do you believe the world around you exists? What's the difference? Is it all just worthless supposition?

Suppose you think the world exists in order to make your life enjoyable so you don't have any bad experiences. Then bad things happen so you think the world must not exist. Well sure, it doesn't exist the way you thought, it doesn't really care about you at all. But it does exist.

Are you an atheist? If you are an atheist, what are your reasons for becoming one? Was it based on extensive studies of any religious texts or was it just through a sudden whim? Some people look for answers by analyzing this century's greatest scientific minds (e.g. Albert Einstein) and their beliefs and adopting their views without a single thought. Others think that morally every individual has the equal ability of distinguishing the difference between right and wrong and based on these understandings they can select a religion which best suits their own ideals/values. And if they are wrong, they go to Hell, get reincarnated or just die whatever the case may be.

If atheism is wrong however, you'd be risking your whole after-life in the Hell-fire, according to some religions, so my question is why take the risk in not believing in God? The rewards for believing in a God in some religions are infinite happiness (and other positive feelings that we are unable to comprehend in this life) and the punishment is infinite pain (and other negative feelings that we are unable to comprehend in this life). If atheism is right, then we all just die. In either case, the atheist is in a lose-lose situation. I think it's also rather pessimistic to not believe in an after-life. So, my question stands, why do atheists choose not to believe in God/s?

 

[universaldistress]

I firmly "believe" word juggling will not prove of God's existence.

 

[universaldistress]

Also, atheism is the default. We are all born atheist: without a belief in god.

 

[SciWriter]

Scientifically, there has been no evidence to suggest that there is no God.

Well, there is, such as looking everywhere and finding only the natural, for one.

 

[SciWriter]

…So, my question stands, why do atheists choose not to believe in God/s?

It's not about getting a reward or even the fear that believers must feel about life being a test and going to Hell, but about that 'God' cannot be shown and so there is nothing to work with. The question is moot and also mute.

 

[Mind Over Matter]

Well, there is, such as looking everywhere and finding only the natural, for one.

And you could be wrong?

 

[SciWriter]

And you could be wrong?

Not so far.

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

Also, atheism is the default. We are all born atheist: without a belief in god.

I'm not convinced of that. Jung wrote about archetypes and the collective unconscious at a time when DNA research was barely getting started. Today we would say that instincts are programmed into our synapses by DNA.

We might also rephrase Jung and say that the more-than-ninety-percent universal belief in the supernatural, and specifically in a creator, indicates that this belief is an instinct. While many instincts are clearly survival traits, such as the almost universal instinct among higher animals to run away from a large creature with both eyes in front of its face, there's no reason not to assume that some instincts are also the result of genetic bottlenecks or genetic drift, and exist for no reason except sheer chance.

It's possible that somewhere in our genetic ancestry the instinct to believe in God sneaked into our gene pool, and due to a horribly unfortunate set of random circumstances, all of us have it.

Or almost all of us, since my family seems not to.

 

[Mind Over Matter]

Not so far.

I don't think you can fully believe that there is no God. It's an on-going struggle..

Can you cite a specific evidence to suggest that there is no God?