Is God based on “Facts” or “Trust/Faith”???

That’s what a friend of mine argued? Says that Believing in God or having a religion is based on “Trust/Faith”, not really facts so to speak? So basically, People who believe in God do so because they “Have faith that he’s here” or they “Trust him that he’s out there”??? But they can’t actually 100% legitimately have facts that prove that he exists??

Would you believe that? If you do believe in God, do you think that’s due to that you “Trust him” or is it because History/Facts prove that he exists??

 

Something obviously created all existence, however it's not for humans to know the answer as to what that might have been. So----faith.

Existence is observable--what created that which CREATED observable existence? And what created that? And so on--------you get the point.

 

If someone believes in God because of faith, I can respect that. I don't get it, but I can respect it. They're admitting there is no proof of God's existence, but they believe anyway--which is how it is supposed to work.

But as soon as someone has proof through historical fact and stuff, I can't take it seriously.

 

Earth, blue sky's, green pastures, sunshine, I can believe in God.
Earthquakes, tornados, natural disasters, Mother Nature. Gods way of sending a warning.
Politicians, work of the Devil.
A quote I heard a long time ago; God will destroy mankind, before He lets mankind destroy Earth.

 

Religious institutions that administer the permissible views of their deity do indeed exist. These institutions have not yet been able to provide convincing proof of the existence of their deity, but they have bank accounts. There is an assumption that these institutions owe their existence to the non-existence of their deity. “Thirty spokes share one hub. Adapt the nothing therein to the purpose in hand, and you will have the use of the cart.” Salaries are paid, the congregation prays – everything seems to be fine. A fictitious deity is the optimal deity in this environment! Fictitious deities exist, they play a significant role in the social fabric of many societies. Isn’t that enough existence?


The Role of Psychotic Disorders in Religious History Considered
Evan D. Murray, M.D., Miles G. Cunningham, M.D., Ph.D. and Bruce H. Price, M.D.



Conclusion. We suggest that some of civilization’s most significant religious figures may have had psychotic symptoms that contributed inspiration for their revelations. It is hoped that this analysis will engender scholarly dialogue about the rational limits of human experience and serve to educate the general public, persons living with mental illness, and healthcare providers about the possibility that persons with primary and mood disorder-associated psychotic-spectrum disorders have had a monumental influence on civilization.

DOI: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.11090214

 

I'm a Christian. I not only believe in God primarily on Trust/Faith but that's also my basis for believing everything else about what we call reality. Nothing is certain, not even that. Some folks who are considered intelligent (I didn't say sane) and make much more money than I do (e.g.,Prof. Nick Bostrom at Oxford; Elon Musk) think our "reality" is a Matrix-style computer simulation. Mebbe so, who knows. I'm betting that it isn't. Faith/Trust is basically what Luther called a "joyful bet". But I think blind faith is ridiculous. I like to make educated bets based on the available evidence I get from reason, my senses, science, history, personal experience, and intuition. I tend not to believe things that are contrary to science---virgin births, walking dead people, walking on water, etc. And looking at the Bible in historical-metaphorical perspective, it seems less like the "word of God" than the words of men seeking God at different times and places, with different agendas--the P source, the J source, the E source, and the D source (Graf-Wellhausen documentary hypothesis), Paul, the Gospel writers, etc. It's a judgement call--not the same as blind faith/trust but not "proof" either.

I try to approach the subject the way I do most other important decisions: employment, marriage, voting, buying a house or a car, making investments, etc. I can't prove any of those, but I try not to just fly by the seat of my pants. The test I try to use is the same one government administrators use to decide what hazardous substances we're exposed to or whether or not our bridges are safe: substantial evidence--enough to convince reasonable people even though other reasonable people aren't convinced. So far, it works for me.

To me, the most important passage in the Bible is Genesis 1:27--God created humans in His own image. It's important to me, because that's the one that triggered the cascade of thoughts that made me a Christian. Since then, a trip to WalMart is a religious experience. Do I believe it's factual? Not really. I'm not a creationist , and deciding what it even means takes some imagination. As metaphors go, Genesis isn't bad: two humans in Paradise and they can't get their minds off what they don't have. Prototypical! (Buddhism seems to be saying something similar in a different way.) The other most important parts are Jesus' life and teachings, especially what He said and did to promote peace, love and understanding for all, including society's rejects and least advantaged members. To me, those are self-evident principles expressing what I think is the meaning of life and true reality. If everybody followed them, it could be like heaven on earth. If nobody did, it would be like the other place.

 

Those that believe there is a God have the best answer for everything. No explanation needed other than it was God who did it or had his hand in it. And they leave it at that. All other theory requires an explanation and proof.

• Humans evolved from the sea. Prove it. Hmmmm how. God created humans. Prove it. Don't have to because God said so.
• Joe was miraculously cured. The medicine worked. He wasn't given medicine for the condition. God healed him. There's no other explanation.
• The tornado ripped the house from it's foundation but I didn't get a scratch. God works in mysterious ways.
• When things happen we don't want to happen like why didn't God save her from drowning. It's because it wasn't in Gods plan.

I could go on and on but it all comes down to fear of the unknown. Why is it when a believer in God dies they are said to be going to a better place. If it's so much better why then do believers cling to life so hard. It is written Jesus said a believer will be with him in paradise. Wouldn't you want to be relieved of the pain and go ahead and die? You'd be in paradise, pain free. But you just aren't quite sure are you. Yet when faced with the unknown, death, troubles, or unmanageable issues people turn to the unknown - God. They pray to be saved from their dilemma. Oh, and here's the biggest cop out. When humans fuck up they blame everybody but themselves including another mystical being - The Devil. The bottom line is there is no God nor any other mystical beings. Just shit that happens which we can't explain given our limited intelligence. But as we do evolve we uncover explanations that make sense of how our world actually works, And it does without a God.

 

Here are 100 different verses about God existing

www.openbible.info/topics/how_do_we_know_god_exists

 

I think that Religion was developed by primitive societies to explain natural events that early humans encountered while hunting and gathering. The existence of a God(s) was a natural progression to organize and classify the unknown. As human understanding developed, Religion and Science came into conflict, which still exists in current society. What is confusing is that Faith and the Powers of Reason, guided by analysis and understanding of observations and principles, are still in conflict today. It is time for theologians to update their faiths to incorporate known scientific principles. We could all reap the benefits of advanced knowledge and the abilities to reason the unknown. Most posters in this forum follow the ideals of Yesua the Nazarine (Jesus), and most of his visions of humanity still make sense. It is time for all of the world religions to Unite in Principle, and redact the incursions of human opinion over the passage of time.

 

Yes, one can see why football players point heavenward after scoring. I'm always thankful when HE keeps an eye on the teams that I want to win. Mysterious indeed.

 

"the gods we've made are exactly the gods you'd expect to be made by a species that is about half a chromosome away from the chimpanzee." Hitchens.

 

As a matter of fact, most leading mainline Protestant theologians and clerics (those affiliated with the National Council of Churches) have updated their faiths to do just that. These include the Episcopal, Methodist, UCC, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterians, etc. They made their peace with the Enlightenment, Darwin and the "Higher Criticism". They differ from the fundamentalist evangelicals in taking an historical-metaphorical approach instead of a literal one to scripture, and in their strong commitment to social justice. True, they are a declining breed, in the competition with evangelical fundamentalists like Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson. We can't compete with the appeal of the old style hellfire and damnation preachers or the newer prosperity gospel types like Joel Osteen, in appealing to folks looking for clear, simple answers to life's problems without having to think much. We used to outnumber the fundies with 30% of the U.S. population , but the worm has turned, and we're down to 10% while the fundies are ahead, but losing ground to the "nones". But still, 32 million isn't nothing. The important point is that lots of the criticisms leveled against religion in general and "Christianity" in particular don't easily apply to the progressives; the wrathful, genocidal, homophobic deity who damns folks to hell if they violate his commandments but "loves them a bunch. (Actually, it doesn't really apply to Catholics or fundamentalist Protestants either, since the former have confession and the latter believe in justification by faith alone. But I won't pick on George Carlin, whose theological knowledge is apparantly limited, but gets him laughs.)

For examples of liberal and progressive Christians, see Adam Hamilton, pastor of the Kansas City, MO, Megacurch, The Church of the Resurrection. Making Sense of the Bible. Or anything by the Jesus Seminar. Or our Oklahoma Robin Meyers, pastor of the First Congregational UCC church in Norman, OK, Saving God From Religion and Saving Jesus From The Church: How To Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus. Or the late Marcus Borg, Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time and Reading The Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally. Or the late John Spong, Episcopal Bishop of Newark, N.J., Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism , The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love, and Unbelievable: Why Neither Ancient Creeds Nor the Reformation Can Produce a Living Faith Today Or John Dominic Crossan, emeritus professor at DePaul University and ex-Catholic priest, The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant and Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography.

 

Yes.... God is beautiful but religion is just made for control and its sad more cant see it!!

 

I think that's over-generalizing. I enjoy getting together with others who share my values every week in church and Sunday school. I came there voluntarily and can leave at any time. I don't feel "controlled". In fact, some would say the Sunday school is out of control. We question everything. I think it's unlikely we're the only church in the world like that--although I must admit there are lots of churches that are majorly into control.

Of course, my church, the United Methodists. has rules and policies stated in its Book of Discipline. The provision that's received a lot of attention lately and has been tearing the church apart is the one that forbids gays from being clergy or being married in the church. Lots of folks have left over that one, some because they think the rule is too strict, more cuz they thing it isn't strict enough! We got rid of that yesterday. Gay clergy and marriages in the church are now okay!

 

Some 80% of the public swears that magic is real, and weird crap happens all the time, but academia was founded on the principle that Good Lies Make Money! To this day, they swear there's no proof magic is real, or God, when they could not teach how to use a dictionary if their lives depended on it, and a quarter of their students still insist the sun revolves around the earth.

Taoist say, "Shit Happens", while academics attempt to censor everything.

 

I Thought that the Great Hippy Philosopher Said that. He must have been a Taoist. Thanks

 

Taoist can trace it back 12,000 years, and have the honor of being the first to symbolically represent shit happening. Eventually, that became the basis of their written language.