For me, religion is pretty clear cut. I’m not religious, and won’t ever be. The easiest religion to discount as being credible is, in my opinion, Christianity. Most of the points I’ll raise below apply to other religions as well, but everything just seems to clear cut when it comes to Christianity. I’ll also cover all these points in more detail at a later date, so I’ll just touch on them briefly here.
So why am I not a Christian?
- I don’t like your God – I guess this is fairly fundamental, but it’s true. Bearing in mind the God doesn’t actually exist, I don’t like the concept. The one thing that really gets me is the whole “Worshiping” thing. If God is all powerful, why does he demand that people worship him? Does he crave the attention that much?
- Free Will – So this whole “free will” thing, the reason bad things happen to good people, it’s bollocks. If there really was free will, and it was supported by God, surely Christians wouldn’t be forced to attend Church? You can’t have it both ways.
- Church – Christians have to go to church. Why? Well, if you believe in something that isn’t logical, something you can’t see or hear, something that doesn’t exist, there’s nothing like surrounding yourself with people who think the same to reaffirm your beliefs.
- The Risk – A favorite question asked by Christians is “what if your wrong?”. As an argument, it’s slightly ridiculous, it’s almost suggesting that people should be Christians just in case their right. I’ve embedded a video at the end of this post which has Richard Dawkins answering this very question and he raises a very good point. My logical argument goes thus. If I am wrong, I’m in a better position that if a Christian is wrong. Imagine the day you die and you suddenly realize there is a God judging you. Would you rather have gone through your life having not worshiped anything, or gone through your life worshiping the wrong God? Would you rather have murdered the wrong person, or not murdered anyone at all?
- Your Heaven is my Hell – Seriously, the one thing that annoys me about Christians more than practitioners of any other religion is the fact they push their beliefs on you at every opportunity. If heaven is full of Christians, I don’t want to be there.
So those are my five top reasons for not being a Christian. I’ve left out the obvious (there’s no God, I wasn’t raised a Christian) and approached it from a more logical angle. I’m going to try and expand on the thoughts on each of the points over the next few weeks.
“Church – Christians have to go to church. Why? Well, if you believe in something that isn’t logical, something you can’t see or hear, something that doesn’t exist, there’s nothing like surrounding yourself with people who think the same to reaffirm your beliefs.”
i dont have to go. actually i go to church because i believe i found someone/something wonderful and i like it to be a part of my regular life. kinda like a husband and wife. would you say that they are in love and wanna be together? or would you say that they are simply surrounding themselves with each other to pretend that the concept of marriage is real and to keep reaffirming each other that they are in fact married?
Marriage IS a made up concept, just like Religion. You do not have to be married to be in love, nor do you have to spend every waking hour with your beloved to affirm that they still love you (Unless you have trust issues, paranoia or rejection complexes)
However, there are many couples who DO believe that they have to “be as one” for precisely the reason above: They are trying to convince themselves that marriage is real. They are trying desperately not to “cheat” on their spouse because someone more desirable has presented themselves. This is because they are NOT in love. This is because marriage is a concept invented to keep people from moving on and finding other mates as is the natural order of things.
I was not raised a Christian. I am a logical person, but not a stubborn person.
I came to faith a few years ago when I was faced with some rather full-on experiences of God that I could not logically or fairly dismiss, and because I am not stubborn I was willing to open my mind to the possibility that God may exist.
I have now chosen, out of free will and against the grain of those around me, to consider the evidence in my own life and choose to believe. Now that I believe I no longer require empirical proofs (though I believe there are very compelling ones out there) as I realise that faith is a matter of exactly that: faith.
Nothing in these debates will come to any conclusion, because ultimately the issue is not about proof, it is about faith. Any one can debate proof. But only I can debate my own faith.
Why debate other people’s faith? Only they know what they believe and only they can debate it.
Also, Christians do not have to go to church. I don’t know where that came from. Many Christians don’t go to church. The bible says that famous line “Your body is a temple”… you don’t need to go to the temple or church, because it is in your heart.
My faith does not live at church, it lives only in me.
“Nothing in these debates will come to any conclusion, because ultimately the issue is not about proof, it is about faith. Any one can debate proof. But only I can debate my own faith.”
Exactly, Ive found in my experience that it is entirely futile to debate with people who have already decided that faith outweighs truth, They see evidence against their faith as nothing more than tests of their faith, rejecting evidence feels like a victory to these people.
Ahmm, there is actually no evidence. Or is there? What evidence are you talking about? Cuz i’ve been searching so long to see this evidence that people talk about, but I just seem to can’t find any. Don’t talk about what you don’t know!
I just watched the Dawkins clip and was really disappointed! He completely ignored the question! His answer was really immature to me.
This is my answer to the issue:
It doesn’t matter if a christian is wrong (I’ll just use myself as an example because I can only speak for myself).
If I am wrong, and God is not real, it doesn’t matter one bit. Because when I die I will die like everyone else. Sure I was deluded all those years, but who cares because we’re all dead and buried now. There are no consequences.
But if an athiest is wrong, and god IS real, then it matters VERY much. Because when they die, they will have to face God. There are very significant consequences.
As I said, I was not raised a Christian (as Dawkins would assume).
If a theist is wrong, and God does NOT exist, there are no consequences for him. But if an athiest is wrong, and God DOES exist, there are very serious consequences for him.
Please not that if the theist is wrong, then he is probably in for worse consequences than the atheist if the theist is in fact worshiping the wrong god.
Allah will not be happy when he finds out you’ve been ignoring Muhammad and worshiping that Jesus guy.
I don’t like your God
How can you not like something that does not exist?
Christians have to go to church. Why?
Who is forced by whom to go to church?
The one thing that really gets me is the whole “Worshiping†thing. If God is all powerful, why does he demand that people worship him? Does he crave the attention that much?
He is King and those in hell, or everlasting condemnation will get exactly what they want…not God
Church – Christians have to go to church. Why? Well, if you believe in something that isn’t logical, something you can’t see or hear, something that doesn’t exist, there’s nothing like surrounding yourself with people who think the same to reaffirm your beliefs.
I would guess on the contrary you would hang out with non-believers?
Your Heaven is my Hell – Seriously, the one thing that annoys me about Christians more than practitioners of any other religion is the fact they push their beliefs on you at every opportunity.
No one should push their beliefs on to others. It is sad that some Christians do. Sharing information looks different than pushing.
Interesting view points by the writer of Why I’m Not a Christian. I noticed God was was capitalized throughout.
God is a verb. God is love and is the spirit of love. Jesus said that those who deny the Son will be forgiven, but not those who deny the spirit. In other words, Jesus KNEW that men would name/claim him and cause many to stop believing in him. That’s ok. As long as you continue to love one another, you understand the spirit, regardless of the ‘name’ you assign to the noun.
A lot of Athiests are living with the Spirit of God better than Christians are living for the name.
Live under love and thou shalt be the whole of the law?
Seriously, well said sir.
Even Jesus said that those who do not believe in him will be forgiven, only those who do not love will not be forgiven. Sort of invalidates that whole “Worship our god or go to hell!” thing, eh?
Poochz,
You probably shouldn’t quote Jesus to justify your beliefs.
Jesus also, said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
All I am saying is that if you believe that Jesus was the Son of God then you should probably take everything He said to heart. If Jesus wasn’t the Son of God, then everything He said was meaningless.
I believe that Jesus was the Son of God!
Master and servant. It does make a lot of sense. People trying to control people. If you don’t…then you will go to… Also, if it errr…”god” is all powerful and knowing why would it let the “devil” exist? Why would it let pain, suffering and hate go on? Oh wait that is only if you don’t have faith in (insert your god here) right? And it is a man? Really? Why would it have a gender? So many questions but no real answers except you have to have faith in the it you believe in. Count me out “brother.”
How do you think you got here? How do you think the universe got here? Don’t tell me you believe in the big bang theory…BOOM,here ya are. Why would you want to hate a God that loves you more than you could ever comprehend? Why would you want to be “counted out” of a one on one relationship with the creater of the universe? God knows more about you than you know about yourself. Christians do not have to go to church, it’s just nice to have other believers support you, and hang out with. God likes us to worship him, because worship is a chance to just be in awe of God… and our relationship can grow through worship in spirit and in truth…God loves you so much, and so do I!
I don’t hate God for the same reason I don’t hate the tooth fairy and Santa Claus. Note that they all share a common attribute, non-existence.
Do I believe in the Big Bang Theory? I certainly think it’s the most plausible explanation for existence, but I think it needs refining. Particularly in regards to the very early stages. Some of the work currently under way may go some way to helping us fill out the explanations.
The Atheist posted “Even if we all believed the Bible’s fables, then we’d be supporting slavery, part subjection of women, oppression of homosexuality etc etc etc. It wouldn’t be the paradise you seem to think it would be.”
Atheist,
I think your perception of the Bible is very skewed. If you study the Bible at all you will find that most of it is simply a history. And actually I think it is amazing that those people are portrayed so accurately, good and bad. So my point is that just because the Bible talks about slavery, adultery, poor treatment of women, etc. doesn’t mean that it approves of these actions. And as far as the accuracy, the Bible has been proven to be one of the most accurate historical documents based strictly on historical evidence.
The Bible is full of people who continued to fail, just like we all do today. Almost anything that “people” touch is flawed. That would include “religion”, government, etc. Remember Jesus said “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Now if everyone followed that “religion” I think we would be a little closer to that paradise you spoke of.
So please don’t be an atheist for some asinine reason. Be educated about what you are accepting and rejecting.
On a side note. I have always had trouble accepting evolution, even before I was a follower of Christ. Just the amount of variety is staggering. Plants, animals, insects, microbes, etc. I think that if it were truly survival of the fittest, then we would have a lot less variety out there.
concerned – To say that the Bible is historical record is both naive and dangerous. In it we find not only accounts of deplorable acts, but also endorsement of them. For example Leviticus 20:9, Exodus 21:20-21 endorse putting people to death as well as slavery.
You also can’t claim the Bible as historic fact. There are some known historic events mentioned in the Bible (there are also some major events that are completely overlooked) but there’s also a whole lot that’s got absolutely no basis in history. So where do you draw the line? What parts do you, personally, decide to believe and follow and which parts do you dismiss (presumably you don’t beat your slaves)?
As for your comment about the Bible being one of the most accurate historical records, you really need to read more books. I’ve read the Bible, I’ve studied parts of it, I’ve looked at numerous interpretations of it. Perhaps you would be well advised to show a similar to respect to the ideas you reject, for example, evolution. Evolution through natural selection explains, quite accurately, the means by which we find such diversity on this planet. Many species all matched to their habitats, many transitional fossils that are less well matched to their habitats but showing transitional forms that fit exactly where we would expect them to in the fossil record. Just a small amount of research into Evolution will surely put your fears to bed, unless you choose to ignore the mountains of evidence.
Atheist,
You said that the Bible being a historical record is naïve and dangerous because it talks about and endorses slavery and the death penalty. First of all “naïve†is an inaccurate attack on me and not the subject at hand. Do we still put people to death? Is slavery still a problem in the world? Ok, then I am not sure how that is naïve. I agree with you that it could be dangerous IF God were endorsing slavery. I do NOT believe that He does. The overall theme in God’s word is love. Matthew 5:43-44, Mathew 22:39, Luke 6:35. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I do have an open mind. I am going to do some research on the Old Testament scriptures that you referenced about the rules for slavery. One thing I do know is that the Hebrew word that is translated into slave in English could also be translated as servant. Sometimes people had to work off their debt as a servant. I do know that the Bible specifically condemns the kidnapping and selling of people, Exodus 21:16. As for the Bible being historically accurate, I still stand by my statement and you have provided nothing to prove otherwise. The majority of historical scholars who have looked at the bible from a strictly historical perspective to identify if the Bible is a historically trustworthy document have come to the conclusion that it is very trustworthy.
On another side note, you apparently don’t think that slavery or putting people to death is right. What basis do you have for those beliefs? What tells you what is good and bad? Why can’t I murder someone if I want?
I am glad to hear that you have studied “parts†of the Bible and I wouldn’t expect anything less. I have read many of your posts on this site and I don’t doubt your intelligence for one second. But, as with so many things in life, how you approach something can make all the difference. You asked me what parts of the Bible I personally believe and follow. I am a follower of Jesus and I try to follow His teachings. As I am sure you already know, you will find Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament (or New Covenant). I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God written by men. As I stated before I believe that much of the Bible is a History, some of it is poetry as well as some prophecy. I believe that when reading and studying the Bible we need to keep things in context and examine the time it was written, the culture it was written in, the original language it was written in, the limited scientific knowledge at the time etc. etc.. Although I believe the Bible to be accurate, I do not believe that it was intended to be an all inclusive history book, or science book, or social reform book. I believe it was intended to point the way to our salvation and eternal life.
Darwin’s evolution is so 1980’s. I believe that species’ have the capability of adapting to their environments, but I do NOT believe that a frog somehow changed into a giraffe (no matter how much time you give it). If I am not mistaken, Darwin himself said that some of his theory was dependant on the cell being a simple organism. Science has clearly found that the cell is anything but simple. One problem evolution has run into recently is irreducible complexity (A system performing a given basic function is irreducibly complex if it includes a set of well-matched, mutually interacting, non-arbitrarily individuated parts such that each part in the set is indispensable to maintaining the system’s basic, and therefore original, function.), I would like to hear your thoughts on this. So what do you think the odds are of life starting at random? And once life began in a single cell how long did it live (theoretically)? If it died before being able to reproduce, than how many times did life begin before it could sustain? What are the odds of life beginning multiple times? Do you think that the very first cell that “came to life†survived long enough to reproduce and evolve into something else? Even if I am wrong about evolution, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a Creator. All the stuff that makes up life had to come from somewhere or something.
How did I get here, it’s called evolution! Also the earth is 1.6 billion years old and not 6500 to 10,000 years old as the bible says. So if the bible is the word of god and this is one of many inconsistancies what else is wrong with the bible? Think about that before you place your trust or faith in a smoke and mirrors illusion!
Just simply having something to believe in is better than not believing in anything at all. As long as the belief you choose doesn’t cause harm to others. That should be the one true belief; the one that, if everyone followed, would bring all living things to a greater peace than anyone could ever imagine. And every belief has it’s high power(s). I just don’t get why everyone is so close-minded. There has to be some truth to every form of “religion.” If there weren’t then why would we all still be here.
Why? Why is deceiving oneself better than facing up to reality? Is that how you comfort yourself?
As for a true belief, I’m afraid that will never happen. Take all the major religions, they all have their axes to grind against certain sections of society. Even if we all believed the Bible’s fables, then we’d be supporting slavery, part subjection of women, oppression of homosexuality etc etc etc. It wouldn’t be the paradise you seem to think it would be.
As for persistence of religion, well I’ve written about self-preservation being built into religion previously and let’s not forget, there are an awful lot of people who live very comfortable lives off the back of religion. They won’t want to give that up without a fight.
Why? Why is deceiving oneself better than facing up to reality? Is that how you comfort yourself?
Hey dude it looks like your understanding of reality is a little…majorly…blurred. The REALITY is, is that there IS a God who is the Alpha and Omega, who created the Universe and everything in it(including YOU)Who saw that the people he created were going to rebel against him…so sent us a saviour…Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect life, so he could be an unblemished sacrifice, and he carried that cross for YOU. He was perfectly innocent, but he loves you so much that he DIED FOR YOU. How could you pass up such a love? And also, Christians do not have to go to church, but…okay, look at it like this: When you you have one, single stick, you can break it. But when you have a bundle of sticks, that are tied together, it is much harder to tear apart and break. Christians go to church because we understand that it’s harder for us to be torn apart and broken when we have other believers there to strengthen us with Christ’s love. And worship. we are not forced to worship.God doesn’t want our religion, he wants our relationship.In worship, it gives us a chance to connect with him, and feel him, and just worship him with everything we have and lay our lives before the one, true, king. Any questions? Ask me.
Spoken like a true brainwashed, cult member. You are putting your beliefs into a BOOK written by people (not god) who tells you this is all true. Did you meet jesus, NO. There is really no hard evidence proving his existence. No grave, no body, NOTHING. The shroud proves nothing, as proven time and time again. It is no difference if I convinced some ignorant tribe in Australia with a Superman comic book that he was real. IT IS WRITTEN so it is so! If you compare the similarities its uncanny. Came from the sky, was pure of heart died to protect us all and even resurrected. So if I convinced a tribe of aborigines that knew nothing of a religion that he was the savior we would soon have churches all over the place with a big red “S” instead of a cross.
The question that then bears asking is, ‘Just what has always existed?’ We have only two options: the material universe comprised of space, time, matter and energy, or an eternal and spiritual God, who exists separately from the material universe. Given that well-respected quantum cosmologists, such as Alexander Vilenkin, believe that science unequivocally shows the universe must have had a beginning at the big bang, that leaves only one other option, God. Since something must be eternally self-existent (not self-caused), and the universe itself does not qualify, the only logical conclusion open to us is that a spiritual, self-sustaining God exists and has existed eternally.
What you said in no way proves that there is a god or that YOUR faith is what made the universe. You are just trying to convince yourself that you have higher/purpose and that there is a god. Also, as you insinuated in a previous post, (“How do you think you got here? How do you think the universe got here? Don’t tell me you believe in the big bang theory…BOOM,here ya are.”) you in no way give the big bang theory any validation. So, I ask you, why use it in your argument? Beside the fact I think you hardly understand what the actual the theory really is.
I only regret, for you, the time you waste on believing the rubbish you do. Before you respond to that statement, ask yourself why your religion is the RIGHT one and all the others are the wrong ONE (because all the other religions think they are right ones too).
My faith is not what made the universe. The fact of the matter is that a “what” is not what created the universe, but a “who”…I DO have a higher purpose and that is the cause of Christ. There is a God. You don’t believe in what you cannot see…you must be blind, becaus we see God through his creation. Why is my “religion” the right one? Okay, first, it’s not a religion, its a RELATIONSHIP. second, the factor that sets Christ followers apart from every other corrupted religion in the world is that our founder is NOT DEAD!
Once again you fail to prove anything. Well, actually you prove your inability to understand anything other than your blind devotion to something you think is there. Your answer to why your faith, religion, or whatever you choose to call it to suit your needs, is the standard answer “the factor that sets Christ followers apart from every other corrupted religion” aka all other religions/faiths/or as you now call it relationships are wrong other than…because it is the right one. So, therefore your “relationship” is infallible and correct, no questions asked in your mind anyway. Most of all though, your blind narrow minded ideas reinforce why I am not a christen or follow any other ridiculous notion of a god/savior. As far as I am concerned you can keep your head in the sand as long a you, and others like you, do not hurt or cause suffering on innocent people because of your blind devotion. Remember, those people that flew the planes into the WTC buildings thought they where following a higher purpose too. “I DO have a higher purpose and that is the cause of Christ.” DANGEROUS.
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. Photographs 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 to consider…
1. Does God exist? 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.3 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 our massive oceans are restrained from spilling over across the continents.4
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. This property of water means that thousands of chemicals, minerals and nutrients can be carried throughout our bodies and into the smallest blood vessels.5
Water is also chemically neutral. 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.6
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 texture of your keyboard. Your brain holds and processes all your emotions, 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.7 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. The brain functions differently than other organs. There is an intelligence to it, the ability to reason, to produce feelings, to dream and plan, to take action, and relate to other people.
The eye…can distinguish among seven million colors. It has automatic focusing and handles an astounding 1.5 million messages — simultaneously.8 Evolution focuses on mutations and changes from and within existing organisms. Yet evolution alone does not fully explain the initial source of the eye or the brain — the start of living organisms from nonliving matter.
2. Does God exist? The universe had a start – what caused it?
Scientists are convinced that our universe began with one enormous explosion of energy and light, which we now call the Big Bang. This was the singular start to everything that exists: the beginning of the universe, the start of space, and even the initial start of time itself.
Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow, a self-described agnostic, stated, “The seed of everything that has happened in the Universe was planted in that first instant; every star, every planet and every living creature in the Universe came into being as a result of events that were set in motion in the moment of the cosmic explosion…The Universe flashed into being, and we cannot find out what caused that to happen.”9
Steven Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in Physics, said at the moment of this explosion, “the universe was about a hundred thousands million degrees Centigrade…and the universe was filled with light.”10
The universe has not always existed. It had a start…what caused that? Scientists have no explanation for the sudden explosion of light and matter.
3. Does God exist? The universe operates by uniform laws of nature. Why does it?
Much of life may seem uncertain, but look at what we can count on day after day: gravity remains consistent, a hot cup of coffee left on a counter will get cold, the earth rotates in the same 24 hours, and the speed of light doesn’t change — on earth or in galaxies far from us.
How is it that we can identify laws of nature that never change? Why is the universe so orderly, so reliable?
“The greatest scientists have been struck by how strange this is. There is no logical necessity for a universe that obeys rules, let alone one that abides by the rules of mathematics. This astonishment springs from the recognition that the universe doesn’t have to behave this way. It is easy to imagine a universe in which conditions change unpredictably from instant to instant, or even a universe in which things pop in and out of existence.”12
Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winner for quantum electrodynamics, said, “Why nature is mathematical is a mystery…The fact that there are rules at all is a kind of miracle.”13
4. Does God exist? The DNA code informs, programs a cell’s behavior.
All instruction, all teaching, all training comes with intent. Someone who writes an instruction manual does so with purpose. Did you know that in every cell of our bodies there exists a very detailed instruction code, much like a miniature computer program? As you may know, a computer program is made up of ones and zeros, like this: 110010101011000. The way they are arranged tell the computer program what to do. The DNA code in each of our cells is very similar. It’s made up of four chemicals that scientists abbreviate as A, T, G, and C. These are arranged in the human cell like this: CGTGTGACTCGCTCCTGAT and so on. There are three billions of these letters in every human cell!!
Well, just like you can program your phone to beep for specific reasons, DNA instructs the cell. DNA is a three-billion-lettered program telling the cell to act in a certain way. It is a full instruction manual.14
Why is this so amazing? One has to ask….how did this information program wind up in each human cell? These are not just chemicals. These are chemicals that instruct, that code in a very detailed way exactly how the person’s body should develop.
Natural, biological causes are completely lacking as an explanation when programmed information is involved. You cannot find instruction, precise information like this, without someone intentionally constructing it.
5. Does God exist? We know God exists because he pursues us. He is constantly initiating and seeking for us to come to him.
I was an atheist at one time. And like most atheists, the issue of people believing in God bothered me greatly. What is it about atheists that we would spend so much time, attention, and energy refuting something that we don’t believe even exists?! What causes us to do that? When I was an atheist, I attributed my intentions as caring for those poor, delusional people…to help them realize their hope was completely ill-founded. To be honest, I also had another motive. As I challenged those who believed in God, I was deeply curious to see if they could convince me otherwise. Part of my quest was to become free from the question of God. If I could conclusively prove to believers that they were wrong, then the issue is off the table, and I would be free to go about my life.
I didn’t realize that the reason the topic of God weighed so heavily on my mind, was because God was pressing the issue. I have come to find out that God wants to be known. He created us with the intention that we would know him. He has surrounded us with evidence of himself and he keeps the question of his existence squarely before us. It was as if I couldn’t escape thinking about the possibility of God. In fact, the day I chose to acknowledge God’s existence, my prayer began with, “Ok, you win…” It might be that the underlying reason atheists are bothered by people believing in God is because God is actively pursuing them.
I am not the only one who has experienced this. Malcolm Muggeridge, socialist and philosophical author, wrote, “I had a notion that somehow, besides questing, I was being pursued.” C.S. Lewis said he remembered, “…night after night, feeling whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England.”
Lewis went on to write a book titled, “Surprised by Joy” as a result of knowing God. I too had no expectations other than rightfully admitting God’s existence. Yet over the following several months, I became amazed by his love for me.
6. Does God exist? Unlike any other revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the clearest, most specific picture of God revealing himself to us.
Why Jesus? Look throughout the major world religions and you’ll find that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God. Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus apart from all the others. He said God exists and you’re looking at him. Though he talked about his Father in heaven, it was not from the position of separation, but of very close union, unique to all humankind. Jesus said that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father, anyone who believed in him, believed in the Father.
He said, “I am the light of the world, he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”15 He claimed attributes belonging only to God: to be able to forgive people of their sin, free them from habits of sin, give people a more abundant life and give them eternal life in heaven. Unlike other teachers who focused people on their words, Jesus pointed people to himself. He did not say, “follow my words and you will find truth.” He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.”16
What proof did Jesus give for claiming to be divine? He did what people can’t do. Jesus performed miracles. He healed people…blind, crippled, deaf, even raised a couple of people from the dead. He had power over objects…created food out of thin air, enough to feed crowds of several thousand people. He performed miracles over nature…walked on top of a lake, commanding a raging storm to stop for some friends. People everywhere followed Jesus, because he constantly met their needs, doing the miraculous. He said if you do not want to believe what I’m telling you, you should at least believe in me based on the miracles you’re seeing.17
Jesus Christ showed God to be gentle, loving, aware of our self-centeredness and shortcomings, yet deeply wanting a relationship with us. Jesus revealed that although God views us as sinners, worthy of his punishment, his love for us ruled and God came up with a different plan. God himself took on the form of man and accepted the punishment for our sin on our behalf. Sounds ludicrous? Perhaps, but many loving fathers would gladly trade places with their child in a cancer ward if they could. The Bible says that the reason we would love God is because he first loved us.
Jesus died in our place so we could be forgiven. Of all the religions known to humanity, only through Jesus will you see God reaching toward humanity, providing a way for us to have a relationship with him. Jesus proves a divine heart of love, meeting our needs, drawing us to himself. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, he offers us a new life today. We can be forgiven, fully accepted by God and genuinely loved by God. He says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”18 This is God, in action.
Does God exist? If you want to know, investigate Jesus Christ. We’re told that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”19
God does not force us to believe in him, though he could. Instead, he has provided sufficient proof of his existence for us to willingly respond to him. The earth’s perfect distance from the sun, the unique chemical properties of water, the human brain, DNA, the number of people who attest to knowing God, the gnawing in our hearts and minds to determine if God is there, the willingness for God to be known through Jesus Christ. If you need to know more about Jesus and reasons to believe in him, please see: Beyond Blind Faith.
If you want to begin a relationship with God now, you can.
This is your decision, no coercion here. But if you want to be forgiven by God and come into a relationship with him, you can do so right now by asking him to forgive you and come into your life. Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door [of your heart] and knock. He who hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him [or her].”20 If you want to do this, but aren’t sure how to put it into words, this may help: “Jesus, thank you for dying for my sins. You know my life and that I need to be forgiven. I ask you to forgive me right now and come into my life. I want to know you in a real way. Come into my life now. Thank you that you wanted a relationship with me. Amen.”
God views your relationship with him as permanent. Referring to all those who believe in him, Jesus Christ said of us, “I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.”21
So, does God exist? Looking at all these facts, one can conclude that a loving God does exist and can be known in an intimate, personal way.
First- Do not try and use science (once again) to prove your blind devotion (well pass off someone else’s writing to try and validate it). Even this does not support a creator. If anything it supports that fact the there was a high degree of chance which does not suit a higher power to be involved. Very random and inaccurate. Seems more like natural selection.
Second- As stated above…Do not try and pass this off as something that you wrote. Because you clearly did not write this.
Nope, you did not write this http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html (I still do not agree with it) . Now, you will claim that you never said that you wrote it, but you never state who wrote it, or give credit to the writer. Either way, you once again prove that you are false, your ideas are stolen and/or manufactured in your head. Besides using the works of others, without credit, is plagiarism. Also, again you try and use science and its theories to validate your “relationship”, while stealing writings of others to try and validate it. On top of it all, you in no way even believe these facts or theories that you are trying to use to validate your “relationship.” What is wrong with you? Are you really that narrow minded? You really just do not see beyond your little world. So, so sad for you. 🙁
I hope that you are aware of the fact that just because you use eloquent words and state false theories that I am in any way intimidated or that my faith is lowering in any measure. You can rile yourself up over what is supposed to be polite disscussion, but I would rather keep my dignity. If you would like to keep the veils over your eyes, and convince yourself that you are hiding from a God that isn’t here…You do that. But I will continue to pray to the Lord in my not-so-blind devotion…and I will pray for you, and for your understanding…Have an amazing day, I hope the Lord blesses you!
“Teach and command: Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for all believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”
1Timothy4:11-12
Youngster – “You can rile yourself up over what is supposed to be polite disscussion, but I would rather keep my dignity.” Really? So these following statments are polite? “Hey dude it looks like your understanding of reality is a little…majorly…blurred.” or “How do you think you got here? How do you think the universe got here? Don’t tell me you believe in the big bang theory…BOOM,here ya are.” These statements seem very condescending in their own right, which is also impolite. With that said, I also wish not to discuss with you any more as I do not want to look as if I am picking on you. That is if you really are a “youngster.” I only hope that you will see the world through different eyes at some point in your life. If not, so be it, but you have a good life. Please do not reply to this or have any other communication to me. Thank you.
I agree with you Youngster. All those facts add up to prove that god exists! I walk around every day watching the sins that people commit against each other and ignoring the commandments they are meant to follow for a long and happy life and I am saddened. If only they would follow the true way! The world would be such a better place.
And like you said, it’s amazing how blind people can be when the proof is right in front of them! Ramen exists in endless supply and is a Testament to His eternal Glory. I was in the noodle isle of the local Costco and I was struck, suddenly, by the incredible orderedness of the store. The pasta was right next to the red sauce, and the white sauce was next to that. There was pesto, cheese and meatballs only a stones throw away. It was a faith reaffirming experience. I had never felt closer to His Love then at that moment.
In closing, I see that if only everyone Worshiped the Flying Spaghetti Monster, everyone would go to Pasta Heaven and be happy for eternity in the light of His Everlasting Love. Amen.
Obviously your looking for a fight because that was absolutely pointless.
Or maybe, kid, you’re worshiping the wrong god. You have proof that a demiurge exists (so you’ve stated) but what if it’s Allah, or Ganesha, or Shiva, or Odin, or Bhudda, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster or the Invisible Pink Unicorn, or Eris, or Zeus.
All you’ve established (in your own mind) is Intelligent Design. The identity of the designer is not confirmed and cannot ever be. He/She/It refuses to show itself to us, so you can know NOTHING about that.
All of those “gods” are just different names for a God that other religions try to describe. It doesn’t matter what you call Him, as long as your statements and claims are true. You can call him Dad,Mom,Friend,Holy Spirit,Abba,God,Mighty,Alpha and Omega, and countless other names that don’t do Him justice. You, on the other hand, are bringing in ideas from religions, and are trying to kindle a fire. You honestly don’t care, and your just looking for a fight…Or I could be absolutely incorrect and you could be very interested and secretly seeking a relationship with Jesus Christ, the one who died for you to have eternal life, and your just testing the waters…hey, who knows?…Oh. God does.=)
Son,
Did you ever stop to consider your religion is just trying to put a name and a face on the real God? The God of Abraham and his Chosen People, the Israeli people?
Even I, a devout Jew, am not so egotistical as to believe for a second that there is no chance I am wrong. On the Sabbath I pray, like every good Child of El Shaddai. But I accept that I take this on perfect faith, that Our Father, Elohim is there. I do not believe however, that I am infallible. I am man, and of the seed of Adam, a man before me as flawed as I. As you are, flawed.
I am bringing in ideas, yes. From other religions, just as valid as yours or mine. Has God appeared to you? Given you his business card? Or some proof that he exists beyond a doubt? No. YHWH does not work like this. He works in our hearts and souls.
Your Jesus? What does he have to do with anything? Besides, he is dead these 2000 years. The Mashiach has yet to come to pass. Though, I will forgive you misunderstanding of our scriptures, you are after all, a gentile. And even though some rabbis amongst disagree, I do not personally believe that your idolatry of saints, statues and images of God and this Jesus is a sin for a gentile. You are after all, not held to the same standard we are.
I suppose as a good Jew, I should reprimand you for breaking the first commandment.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me”
And you do, you worship this man, Jesus before your own Heavenly Father. Elohim will forgive you in the end my son, for everything. He loves you more than you can know.
I read this long reply and have a question. If your god is ALL POWERFUL, ALL KNOWING, OMNIPRESENT,OMNIPOTENT, and created this planet just for us, why didn’t he write his own book?
Why would a perfect being let the same creation that screwed up write his book? Seems like that would clear a lot of things up
Also,it seems to run in his god family as his son wrote nothing down either.
“Huh?” Amazingly you blow off the entire post (even if copied from somewhere else) and then you want to accuse “youngster” of having “blind devotion” and being “narrow minded”. Hmmm…
You stated that science supports that our earth/universe is “very random and inaccurate”. I think youngster’s post and science proves you wrong. The more we learn about ourselves and our earth, the more it points towards being very intentional and accurate.
I have always disagreed with the idea of natural selection. If all these living things in our world started from the same “chemical soup” and from that point “natural selection” was taking place. Why do we have so much variety?
Sorry, but I have to step in at this point. Your understanding of evolution and natural selection is way off the mark. Evolution and Natural selection very cohesively explains the diversity of life on this planet. Why? Because it allows species to evolve to better suit the environments. And one thing we have in abundance on this planet is diverse environments.
Evolution is the process by which animals change over time. These could be useful or useless mutations. The animals whose mutations fit their environment survive. Animals carrying mutations that don’t fit the environment don’t. Those that live can breed and pass on the mutation to subsequent generations.
I find it amazing that people question the ability of evolution and natural selection (again, two separate ideas) to produce such diversity but don’t apply the same critical logic to the holy books, that have very finite lists of known species supported by physical impossibilities (i.e. Noah’s Ark).
Why would a species develop a “useless mutation”? Isn’t evolution a reaction to an environment, a change needed to survive? How did it survive before that change? Which brings me back to the first life, how did it survive before it evolved into something that could survive? It couldn’t have changed to adapt to a situation preventing its life before that situation occurred, could it? Or are we assuming that as soon as life starting it thrived, and if that is the case than why would it change, it was thriving? Next you’ll tell me that something changed to threaten it’s existence. Ok, how did it make the right change before it died? It wouldn’t know what change to make until it experienced whatever killed, but then wouldn’t it be dead? Or are you suggesting that this single cell had the ability to think and reason in order to save its life?
concerned, you’ve again demonstrated that you don’t understand the process of natural selection. No species consciously decides to mutate, it’s just something that happens. Just take a look at the human race. People are born with all sorts of different attributes (height, eyesight, hair color, number of limbs, number of organs, level of intelligence…), mutations happen all the time. Why would a species develop a useless mutation? For the same reason babies are born blind. We, as a species, have developed to the point where we can suppress the impact of natural selection through medical science.
Natural Selection, as proposed by Darwin, is the process by which the attributes of a species most suited to it’s environment carry forward through to following generations. The “useless” mutations don’t get carried forward because the carrier of the mutation dies off. This is obviously a greatly simplified interpretation, as the rate that which mutations are passed through generations is dependant on many factors, including the turn-over rate of generations and the sparsity of mates. The rate at which “useless” mutations die out are also dependent on multiple factors, such as the generational turnover rate, the sparsity of food, mates, the harshness of the environment and the degree of change etc.
Let’s take a practical example. Imagine a deer-like creature. It lives in the planes of Africa. It eats leaves. It stands at about 4 foot tall and has a maximum height reach of five foot. Competition for food is harsh, many other animals compete for the leaves it can reach. One animal is born with a slightly longer neck, through a random mutation, and can reach to 5 and a half foot. It has less competition for food and is therefore more likely to survive and breed. It breeds, and passes on its longer neck trait to its offspring, who are also more likely to survive and breed. Over thousands of generations, the longer neck trait continues to be beneficial, continues to improve the life expectancy and chance of breeding of these deer-like creatures and continues to be passed on to subsequent generations. Every so often, a further mutation leading to an even longer neck occurs and is also passed on. Mutations such as bad eyesight and shorter necks are not passed on as the holders of these traits are less likely to survive long enough to breed. At one point a creature develops a neck that is so long it either has no effective benefit (i.e. it reaches beyond the top of available leaves) and/or causes breathing or circulation problems. There is no benefit, and possibly even a drawback, so the trait is less likely to be passed on. In the end, after thousands of generations of mutations (evolution) and the passing on of traits because some are more suited to the environment (natural selection) than others, you end up with a Giraffe.
It’s a gloriously simple concept, and leads to predictable results. So far, in the vast majority of cases, even given the number of variables involved, the fossil record has completely backed up the ideas of evolution and natural selection.
I understand what you are saying about the small adaptations building over a very long period of time. I don’t agree with it. One reason I don’t agree with it is the lack of evidence. You keep saying that the fossil record has COMPLETELY backed up your theory. This is where you are wrong; if it had then we wouldn’t be having this debate. Scientists/Archeologists all over the world are still looking for those missing links; you know the hundreds or even thousands of steps between a deer and a giraffe. With all those changes over so many years we should be able to see every single step along the way in our fossil record. But we don’t all we can ever find is a slightly different version of what we already have. So slight in fact that it could easily be argued that the difference is a minor adaptation and not evolution.
For those who need proof of evolution, to me it’s simple. We all came from one cell, that’s how we all start off and then we all evolve to be us, just like you did.
BTW – aren’t ideas usually manufactured in someone’s head?
“concerned”…Thank you.
concerned – Your are absolutely correct. Ideas do come from our head. Which is where the idea religion of was manufactured too.
To “huh”: by the way…the verse at the end of my message…does THAT sound dangerous to you?? I follow the cause of Christ, and there it is.
To return to your plagiarised worship of intelligent design…
What has always struck me as mind-boggling about the concept of design is that perpetrators of this viewpoint have essentially ret-conned the history of the earth by stating that the conditions which have allowed life to develop on earth were the result of a divine creator choosing this one single planet to house his creations, and then ignored EVERY SINGLE OTHER PLANET there is.
To demonstrate the lunacy of such a statement, let’s observe a few statistics. In our solar system, there are 8 official planets. In our Galaxy, the Milky Way, there are, depending on which source you consult, between 200bn and 400bn stars. For the sake of simplicity, let us say that EACH ONE of these stars has a solar system. That’s 1.8 TRILLION planets, in just one galaxy. The Hubble Space Telescope has the potential to observe around 80bn galaxies. Assuming all galaxies are of equal size and composition (They’re not), this equates to roughly 144 SEXTILLION (144^21) planets.
So out of this absurdly large number of potential planets, our tiny little planet was hand built by the mysterious creator to hold life? Right…
Jamie…Why wouldn’t God do that? Why would he choose to put human beings or any form of life on every planet there is? Do you really think you are of such high authority that you are someone to tell The Creator of the Universe what to do?
Actually, yes I do, since I exist, and God doesn’t.
Also, if you carefully read what I actually wrote instead of giving one of your pre-prepared retorts, you’d notice I never once gave advice to this imaginary being or suggested I was of any level of authority whatsoever, rather I pointed out the absurdity of claiming earth is special, unique and bespoke since it is just one of a near-incomprehensible number of celestial bodies large enough to be considered a planet.
Straw men are easier to knock down when they don’t answer back, aren’t they?
actually there easier to knock down when they’re merely EXISTING and not really LIVING.
In your warped version of what constitutes a ‘complete’ life, I’m merely existing. However, since you’re living as though this is just a practice run for eternity, I might ask you who’s merely going through the motions, and who’s enjoying their short blip of existence in the vast expanse of time. I’m exceptionally happy with my life at the moment, I have no sense that my life would be better if I was religious. If anything, it would be less enjoyable, since I have no desire to stand up/kneel/sit in church, mosque, synagogue, temple or any other place of worship in lieu of spending time living the one life I’ve got.
When I look at the earth, I don’t see design, I see nature. The idea that all this was ‘created’ for us, for me, cheapens the majesty of the world. When I’m at the top of the mountain, or 30metres under the ocean, or just looking over the English counryside, I can see just how small we actually are. Again, I believe that us simply being spectators on the planet makes it that much more incredible. When science makes a new discovery about a new species, or if and when the Large Hadron Collider helps us learn more about the beginnings of the universe, it’s preferable to believe we’re doing it on our own, that we emerged from the primordial ooze, and slowly adapted over millions of years to become the planet’s dominant species.
When I consider everything humanity has accomplished, I mean,we’ve been to fricking space, landed on the moon, been to the bottom of the ocean, to the top of everest, we have all our technology, we can go to any other country on earth within 24 hours…yet there’s still so many things yet to discover, to achieve, to unlock, that we can’t possibly have been put here on purpose.
So whatever you believe about how we got here and where you’re going, that’s fine, but don’t let it get in the way of my enjoyment of life. We all end up the same anyway.
=)Your not religious? Sweet, me neither! It’s cool that you take time to enjoy life and that you see nature and the world as a Beautiful thing, I do to.
I wonder if the believers really believe the beliefs they believe?
of course we do
No you don’t.
oh thats mature.
* You don’t like God – Well there is no universal rule that GOD must be a lovable being … He does not require liking nor loving from his creation … because LOVE itself comes from HIM.
* Free Will – Nobody is forced to attend church services … however you’re attendance provides moral support for others … ever wonder why there is no “politically-correct” protest like pro-abortion rally … with only one person on the parade 🙂 .
* Church – … surrounding yourself with people who think the same to reaffirm your beliefs >>> hmmm would you prefer to talk to other atheist with your views? .. try it you’ll see the effect of “where you belong”.
* The Risk – is greater to an athiest … if there is no GOD … then your safe .. but if there is GOD … and you CHOOSE not to believe … that is not a question of RISK … that falls on the level of DEFIANCE. Ofcourse the risk is lesser if you lived in a time where the stage of knowing GOD is at the initial stage like the period of the caveman perhaps.
* Your Heaven is my Hell – Then you don’t hate religion … only those who practiced it … You measure the capacity of a Divine Being based on mere activity of mortals … its like trying to remove the water in the sea using a bucket.
Just keep telling yourself that.
Don’t be a vulgar idiot.
I see these kinds of Posts all over the internet. Atheists crying out for attention, making bold proclamations, so self absorbed with themselves as to think the world needs to hear their pretend wisdom.
Its all a cry for help. If they really were sure they wouldnt have to keep trying to re-enforce their beliefs–never realizing they’re obsessing over the subject because God is pursuing them.
Its sad–yet adorable in a way. The irrationality of proclaiming Christianity as the easiest to dismiss shows the helplessness of their reasoning being that is clearly the most coherent–as any religious professors will teach you(atheist or not–and many are).
I know loving the one who specifically created You and the entire universe is all “Icky”–but that just displays how depraved the enemies of God are. Thats all worship is..loving your God. Loving the one who actually became a human to suffer–to show you he was not unwilling to do anything he asked you to do. Christ is as close as you on your icky knees asking to know Him. He will burn the truth in your mind if you respond to him as a child instead of some arrogant enemy who knows it all.
If you were God–how would you feel about the display of the unimaginable wisdom you proclaimed in your post? An ant telling almighty God how stupid the idea of Him is.
Well, the real God still seeks to know you–yes, insignificant, arrogant you. Your reasoning about how Christians have it worse if God turns out be another god is astonishing. This isnt a guess brosef. Christians have Christ burned in their minds when they place their trust in God. We’re more sure about Christ than we are of our own names. Try it…or are you afraid to feel all icky?
Did you ever think about the fact that an all powerful creator, the one who has no limits,
if he wanted to write a book would without a doubt do it himself. The fact that he nor his son can write makes me lean towards the conclusion that all books are man made.
Try thinking for yourself and use your power of REASON.
“I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn’t, than live my life as if there isn’t and die to find out there is.â€- Albert Camus.
Your reasoning is so very illogical. Im sorry that you base your reasoning on feeling and not on scripture.
For one thing Christians do not have to go to church, obviously you have not done your research.
Two-you say an Atheist will be in a better position than a Christian which does not make any sense because when I die-if there is no God, Im dead so what. If you die and there is a God there will be judgment. If God is the wrong God–which if you were a true atheist you couldnt believe in any God whether its God or Allah–then we are both screwed.
3rd God does not need people to worship him, we want to worship him because of all the good he brings to our lives.
4th-Our Heaven is your hell– you cant believe in either your an atheist- No God-No heaven, no hell– so its really a moot point isnt it?
I use to be an Atheist too-wanting proof. Im now a Christian because I have that proof-
“Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened” Matthew 7.7