Does the denial of the existence of God derive from fear of people putting too much faith into a religion that isn't guaranteed to hold truth or simply because human beings feel they should have the power to determine their own outcomes?
Back in the ancient times (as I choose to call them), people have always created myths about the world around them. This was mainly due to the fact that they knew nothing about the world. And from this lack of knowledge, comes fear of the unknown. The myths were used to ease their frustrations and fear.
Now, because of our knowledge, we now know more then we knew before. We now know that thunder is the noise Lightning makes (i think but u get the picture), and its not created by Thor, Norse god of storms. But one thing that still frightens us is this fear of death that surrounds us all.
Eventually, someone came up with a being whom they named God, but regardless of what name he has, he is the same being no matter what religion you look at. And everyone seemed to jump at the idea of some being that loves them no matter what and will welcome them to paradise regardless of past sins. This also eased their fears of death.
But now, here we are. We are even more knowledgeable then before. And with this knowledge comes even more questions. People began to question whether or not God even existed.
Now, I'm an Existentialist, which basically means that I cannot put my faith and trust in a being that cannot be proven to exist. This would weaken my being in one way or another. Now, I'm not against the possibility of a God existing and I'm open to it, I just choose not to believe in him.
People have come to their own opinions as to whether or not this being exists. And I don't think you should limit the possibility of why people choose not to to just two choices: fear or freedom. People live their lives as best they can and they take the experiences with them to come to their own conclusions.
People ultimately have many reasons why they deny God's existence (in my opinion, your question implied that he already exists to begin with) and it is ultimately up to them to choose for themselves why.
Personally, I don't think it's because of fear. Christianity does have a violent history and I understand why people are hesitant. But they should learn that what happened, happened and can never unhappen. We live, we die, we grieve, then we move on.
I also don't think its because of people wanting to be free to make their own decisions. People do have a sense of free will and can make their own choices. But sometimes, things happen that are just beyond their control. Many things influence this, be it environment or other people's choices. And sometimes, things just happen. FNAR (For No Apparent Reason), so are we truly free?
I think people have come to realize that they have more responsibilities in this day and age. Many things happen in life and they have to live it the best that they can and with as few worries as possible. Perhaps they deny the existence of God because they have too much on their minds to worry about it. Maybe they are just indifferent and think that he has nothing to do with their lives. Like me.
I don't believe in God, because I just don't care.
I sometimes think about this myself. As a young girl, I used to hate the fact that I would have to go to church every Sunday with my family. I never understood the point, and quite frankly, thought it was dumb. Oddly enough, once I got to school I find myself in touch with God and pretty religious. I mean, I don't make it to church every Sunday and I don't pray before every meal or anything like that, but I do have a strong faith.
I think trust is a huge issue. Human beings, especially Americans, in my opinion are so used to hearing falsities in the news, in the workplace, etc. So I guess a lot of people's mentalities on God are, "Why should I trust him? He's given me no reason TO trust him..." And while I do have a strong belief in God, I sometimes wonder myself why I trust him so much...
I think that people who do not believe in God (I'm just going to refer to the God of Christianity) is a result of many different things. Both of the reasons that Tiera mentions could be causes for different people, but I also think in a lot of cases it is just because people have not had good examples of believers around them to show them who God is. A lot of people don't have facts to help them understand, and a lot of people are mislead by Christians that only "believe" in God because they are afraid of a hell existing.
My faith in God comes from fact such as from studying issues in science that to me prove there must be a God, and he created science just as he created everything. If you want information on this there is a great book called The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel. My faith comes from studying the Bible and reading books like Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Mere Christianity is a great book for people to read that do not believe but are seeking answers.
Anyway, I hope that those books, especially the Bible, will help anyone who wants to understand the Christian viewpoint of God better. Since I believe in the Christian God, and the Bible is God's guide for me, I trust in what it says. It says that he gives me many promises, and I've seen many of those fulfilled already in my short lifetime.
With all this said, I think it's important to listen to both sides of the arguement about God. Otherewise, how do you trust your opinion when it's the only opinion you know. I would really like to understand better why nonbelievers feel the way they do about God's existence, and I'd love to help them understand what I believe.
I think the reasons you stated on here make a lot of sense and are very true for some non-believers. I personally do not believe in god. I don't really think it's that I fear putting faith in somthing Im not sure exists, I just choose not to because I do not beleive there is a higher power. I just take life as it comes at me, and beleive things happen as they happen. Not because a god directed them to.
I think that human beings choose to believe in God because they want/need something to believe in. I think that it is human nature to want to believe in a higher power. However, I do not think that people who do not believe in a higher power are not necessarily afraid of believing in something that is not proven to exist. I just think that these people have found other things in life to satisfy their needs. I believe that some people believe in God because believing in a higher power gives them comfort and support. But everyone is different, so I don't think that it is correct to say that people who do not believe in God don't believe because they are afraid of something unknown.
I don't feel the need to put faith in one specific thing. It makes me feel like I would be waiting around for eternity for something to happen when I could get up and do it myself. Now I'm not saying people who believe in God just sit around and wait fro him/her to help them through things without actually doing anything themselves, I just feel that people who say "if its meant to be it'll happen" leaves you sitting and waiting rather then doing.
7 comments:
Back in the ancient times (as I choose to call them), people have always created myths about the world around them. This was mainly due to the fact that they knew nothing about the world. And from this lack of knowledge, comes fear of the unknown. The myths were used to ease their frustrations and fear.
Now, because of our knowledge, we now know more then we knew before. We now know that thunder is the noise Lightning makes (i think but u get the picture), and its not created by Thor, Norse god of storms. But one thing that still frightens us is this fear of death that surrounds us all.
Eventually, someone came up with a being whom they named God, but regardless of what name he has, he is the same being no matter what religion you look at. And everyone seemed to jump at the idea of some being that loves them no matter what and will welcome them to paradise regardless of past sins. This also eased their fears of death.
But now, here we are. We are even more knowledgeable then before. And with this knowledge comes even more questions. People began to question whether or not God even existed.
Now, I'm an Existentialist, which basically means that I cannot put my faith and trust in a being that cannot be proven to exist. This would weaken my being in one way or another. Now, I'm not against the possibility of a God existing and I'm open to it, I just choose not to believe in him.
People have come to their own opinions as to whether or not this being exists. And I don't think you should limit the possibility of why people choose not to to just two choices: fear or freedom. People live their lives as best they can and they take the experiences with them to come to their own conclusions.
People ultimately have many reasons why they deny God's existence (in my opinion, your question implied that he already exists to begin with) and it is ultimately up to them to choose for themselves why.
Personally, I don't think it's because of fear. Christianity does have a violent history and I understand why people are hesitant. But they should learn that what happened, happened and can never unhappen. We live, we die, we grieve, then we move on.
I also don't think its because of people wanting to be free to make their own decisions. People do have a sense of free will and can make their own choices. But sometimes, things happen that are just beyond their control. Many things influence this, be it environment or other people's choices. And sometimes, things just happen. FNAR (For No Apparent Reason), so are we truly free?
I think people have come to realize that they have more responsibilities in this day and age. Many things happen in life and they have to live it the best that they can and with as few worries as possible. Perhaps they deny the existence of God because they have too much on their minds to worry about it. Maybe they are just indifferent and think that he has nothing to do with their lives. Like me.
I don't believe in God, because I just don't care.
Simple as that.
Here is a YouTube video interview with Daniel Dennett. It is part 1/3. There are other YouTube videos on Dennett's book, Breaking the Spell.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLPnNp28Fzg
I sometimes think about this myself. As a young girl, I used to hate the fact that I would have to go to church every Sunday with my family. I never understood the point, and quite frankly, thought it was dumb. Oddly enough, once I got to school I find myself in touch with God and pretty religious. I mean, I don't make it to church every Sunday and I don't pray before every meal or anything like that, but I do have a strong faith.
I think trust is a huge issue. Human beings, especially Americans, in my opinion are so used to hearing falsities in the news, in the workplace, etc. So I guess a lot of people's mentalities on God are, "Why should I trust him? He's given me no reason TO trust him..." And while I do have a strong belief in God, I sometimes wonder myself why I trust him so much...
I think that people who do not believe in God (I'm just going to refer to the God of Christianity) is a result of many different things. Both of the reasons that Tiera mentions could be causes for different people, but I also think in a lot of cases it is just because people have not had good examples of believers around them to show them who God is. A lot of people don't have facts to help them understand, and a lot of people are mislead by Christians that only "believe" in God because they are afraid of a hell existing.
My faith in God comes from fact such as from studying issues in science that to me prove there must be a God, and he created science just as he created everything. If you want information on this there is a great book called The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel. My faith comes from studying the Bible and reading books like Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Mere Christianity is a great book for people to read that do not believe but are seeking answers.
Anyway, I hope that those books, especially the Bible, will help anyone who wants to understand the Christian viewpoint of God better. Since I believe in the Christian God, and the Bible is God's guide for me, I trust in what it says. It says that he gives me many promises, and I've seen many of those fulfilled already in my short lifetime.
With all this said, I think it's important to listen to both sides of the arguement about God. Otherewise, how do you trust your opinion when it's the only opinion you know. I would really like to understand better why nonbelievers feel the way they do about God's existence, and I'd love to help them understand what I believe.
Sorry this is so long.
I think the reasons you stated on here make a lot of sense and are very true for some non-believers. I personally do not believe in god. I don't really think it's that I fear putting faith in somthing Im not sure exists, I just choose not to because I do not beleive there is a higher power. I just take life as it comes at me, and beleive things happen as they happen. Not because a god directed them to.
I think that human beings choose to believe in God because they want/need something to believe in. I think that it is human nature to want to believe in a higher power. However, I do not think that people who do not believe in a higher power are not necessarily afraid of believing in something that is not proven to exist. I just think that these people have found other things in life to satisfy their needs. I believe that some people believe in God because believing in a higher power gives them comfort and support. But everyone is different, so I don't think that it is correct to say that people who do not believe in God don't believe because they are afraid of something unknown.
I don't feel the need to put faith in one specific thing. It makes me feel like I would be waiting around for eternity for something to happen when I could get up and do it myself. Now I'm not saying people who believe in God just sit around and wait fro him/her to help them through things without actually doing anything themselves, I just feel that people who say "if its meant to be it'll happen" leaves you sitting and waiting rather then doing.
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