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Why do People Believe?
#1
Today at work, a volunteer was saying something along the lines that people believe in a higher power in order to feel good about themselves.
I suppose that is a good reason to believe. But I believe by faith that only a higher power could have been such an excellent designer of the human body and soul. Although I say, I am Christian. Yet, I have also become Messianc of my own self-accord albeit with God's guidance. What do you believe and why? Are you sure you have made the right choice in this life?
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#2
I am agnostic, and it is right for me. I think a higher power may have been responsible for why all of this is here, but don't subscribe to a particular organized religion. Excellent designer of the human body and soul.... hmmm. What evidence do we have, outside of what religious books that were written by men say, that souls even exist? And why do I, as a man, have nipples? That second one's a joke by the way. To each his own I always say, whatever helps people get through the day.
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#3
nleamons Wrote:But I believe by faith that only a higher power could have been such an excellent designer of the human body and soul.
This line of thinking, irreducible complexity, is understandable, but flawed. A counterargument would be the fact that the eyeball is a very complicated organ (one may suggest so complicated that it requires a maker), however it is actually very poorly "designed" and limited in its capabilities. I think there are better arguments to support the theory of a creator than the complexity of the human body.

bawhitsett Wrote:What evidence do we have, outside of what religious books that were written by men say, that souls even exist?
Ultimately, this type of question will lead an individual to a different answer depending on whether one is a dualist, materialist, idealist, or something in-between.
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#4
I believe that people created God as a means to explain the explainable and the belief has been around for so long that it is a hard to escape. For those in power, it provides a means of suppressing decent. Just tell those that suffer in this life that they will have it better in the next life. It is not easy to depart from the religion of one's parents. I have done so twice: once from Pentecostal to Mennonite and once from Mennonite to Atheist. I am all for religion as long as it causes one to treat others better. When it is used as a method to control or intimidate others I take issue with it.
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#5
Politics and Religion.

2 of the most dangerous things to discuss because they always end up in arguments. Fact of the matter you have to decide for your own on what you are to believe. In my life I have seen many of things. I have experienced war, peace, death, and life. I have seen so much, lost so much, and gained so much. Though I am a fan of science there are things that I can not explain. Some people may claim that science hasn't come up with the answers for that yet, and perhaps that could be the case; however, what if it isn't? I must say that after all I have experienced in life that it only reaffirms to me that there is a God. I only say this because you asked and I am not here to place my religious beliefs on anyone. I use science on a daily basis to help people recover from illness and injury, it is what I do but that does not change my belief. Like I already stated your experiences and environment shape you to what you will believe. What I have survived and experienced is beyond description and I believe I owe that to God. Since this is an educational forum I was once asked by a Sociology professor a question about religion. Now we all know how sociology classes are run; however, the professor ended up saying, "What is the harm in believing in God? In the end if I am wrong, I am in the same boat as everyone else; however, if I am right at least I can say I was on God's side". So I say to those debating this topic just let your experiences guide you. If you are curious about a religion, seek education on it and go to a service. If you are adamantly opposed to religion then enjoy life for that is all you have. Either way try not to get too crazy on this topic.
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#6
smf6824 Wrote:however, the professor ended up saying, "What is the harm in believing in God? In the end if I am wrong, I am in the same boat as everyone else; however, if I am right at least I can say I was on God's side".
This argument is not unique to your sociology professor, it has roots in Pascal's wager. To suggest that people should get on board because they may be rewarded, otherwise no harm no foul, is not very slick. To those of faith, upon deeper examination, this type of reasoning would probably be considered dishonest.


This is what Pascal's wager looks like:

---------------God exists------------------God does not exist
Belief--------Infinite gain (heaven)------Insignificant loss
Disbelief-----Infinite loss (hell)---------Insignificant gain
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#7
nleamons Wrote:I suppose that is a good reason to believe. But I believe by faith that only a higher power could have been such an excellent designer of the human body and soul.

So then who made "God?"

If you believe that something that is complex REQUIRES a designer, then by your own rules you are also requiring that the designer also has a creator. In other words, if you say "this world is so complex, it couldn't have come into existence without a creator" then the same argument is said of the world's creator; "Something that can create a world this complex would also have to be infinitely more complex than the world it created, and therefore it too must have a creator."
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#8
Outis Wrote:This argument is not unique to your sociology professor, it has roots in Pascal's wager. To suggest that people should get on board because they may be rewarded, otherwise no harm no foul, is not very slick. To those of faith, upon deeper examination, this type of reasoning would probably be considered dishonest.


This is what Pascal's wager looks like:

---------------God exists------------------God does not exist
Belief--------Infinite gain (heaven)------Insignificant loss
Disbelief-----Infinite loss (hell)---------Insignificant gain

Well, thankfully that argument never applied to me; however, I just put it out there.
A.A.S. IN RESPIRATORY CARE (LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE): 2007
A.A. IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE): 2015
B.S.A.S.T IN RESPIRATORY CARE (TESU) 2015
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#9
People believe for a number of reasons; these range from tradition, personal experiences, community, etc.

A good friend of mine is Afghani (American born w/ parents who emigrated from Afghanistan in the late 80's); he personally believes that God allowed his family to survive the Soviet invasion & escape safely to the United States. He's now living in Afghanistan doing community work (teaching kids to read/write, teaching the Quran, rebuilding homes, assisting the establishing of hospitals/support centers, etc).

Another friend of mine is an immigrant from Somalia; he was living in the closest thing to "hell on earth" that many of us can imagine. Basically his entire family was killed by people that rode in on horseback with machetes (janjawid), and he escaped by running into the bush and making it to a refugee camp in Kenya before coming to the United States. He thanks God for his life in the United States and for being able to survive those attacks.

Again, these are two extreme examples of why people may believe. I think to each person of faith, they all have their own personal reasons for following their faith (or lack of faith). My family is an immigrant family (Germany), and the majority of my family in the United States/Germany are Lutheran Christian. My parents are Lutheran (Christian) and I was raised to be a Lutheran. I have no doubt it all depends on your community and how you were raised; I strongly believe this because post-WW2 we had a section of our family emigrate from Germany to Egypt and the majority of my family in Egypt are Sunni Muslim. My wife is a Chinese national and is Atheist because her parents are Atheist as are the vast majority of Chinese. To each is own. Smile
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#10
Many paths lead up the same mountain. I heard someone define spirituality as the feeling of overwhelming awe upon considering the vastness of the universe. This can be felt looking at the night sky, praying in a church, temple, or mosque as well as simply gazing upon a blade of grass. Religion is the material/social expression of it and goes from very literal interpretations (fundamentalist) to very abstract (Pantheism). The multitude of expressions of this awe-ness does differ in its inclusiveness and herein lies the humanness of the issue.
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