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The conception of God is easy to understand, it is Man's desperate need to overexplain and overjustify Him (or Her) that makes it so difficult. People have died over thousands of years by living their lives based on a simple fanatical - and often political and/or purposeful - misinterpretation of God. S/He put us here and left us to our own devices to struggle and become and grow - or to insult, inflame, and empower ourselves on the backs of others. It is our choice how we live our lives, what fruits our lives produce. Most folks are not content with that, and hold God responsible for everything good or bad that happens in their lives - like blaming guns for killing people, or drugs for causing people to harm themselves or others. People look for scapegoats - even their God is a scapegoat - instead of accepting the responsibility for their own choices, their own lives. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter who's right or who's wrong - what matters is what each one of us did to grow, to enhance, to create, to inspire, to lead, or to follow. But most folks cannot abide that their choices lead to an ultimate conclusion dictated by reasonable and forseeable outcomes.
So to answer the OP - yes, many are. And many are not. Those who are most dependent on a written platitude or directive, those who most believe that "The Word of God" (as written, rewritten, over- and under-translated over time) is sacrosanct, are those who often are the ones who need to find a reason and rationality for how they live their lives, rather than accepting that their choices are theirs alone. Being alone in decisions and choices, as well as the direction of their lives, frightens most people. Religion teaches dependence and justification as well as blame, which comforts those who need those things to feel worthwhile.
Let's see:
Major religions (that I know of--just off the top of my head--so if I skipped your fav, don't attack):
In no particular order:
1. Christianity
2. Islam
3. Taoism
4. Buddahism (spelling--sorry)
5. Judiasm (actually this is really not a major religion as there are less than 20 million world wide).
....that's kinda it...
....they can't all be "right"; they can all be "wrong"
If God truly loves mankind, how come He isn't a little more communicative and a little clearer in what He wants/expects/thinks? Why is it that He is so difficult to understand and/or to agree upon meaning?
I just don't get why a loving God (or an angry one for that matter), would be so difficult to understand. --what I am not interested in is a story how Jesus saves, or how Mohammad instructs, or anything like that. What I am interested is some thoughtful responses to why there are so many different interpretations of God's Holy Word (whicever book(s) that really is).
I'm going to guess that you're a woman, judging by the "ashley" in the end of your name. Hopefully that's a correct guess.
Let's take a hypothetical situation here. Say you were a single, early-20-something woman. There are hundreds of millions (perhaps even billions) of single women out there. If a single man were to choose to be with you, instead of any of the other single women out there who would've been happy to have that same man... wouldn't that make you feel really good?
Contrast that with this: if you were the ONLY single woman on earth, better yet the one and only female human being on earth, and a man chose you, would that mean as much to you? It'd be like "well gee, I wonder why he chose me... NOT!"
God gives people choices and desires for them to choose Him. God is powerful enough to overthrow the Devil once and for all, and to wipe out anyone who adheres to a religion that is not "the right way". But yet, God doesn't do that. We are human beings with free will, and it means more to God when we CHOOSE the right way than it ever could if there were only one way.
I believe that this is why there are so many religions. God is testing people. "Will you choose the right way?"
Which atheists obsess about "God" or religion? The only time I think about it is when somebody else brings it up and I need a good laugh. If someone believed the universe was run by flying purple elephants I would find it equally as humorous as most people's infantile definition of "God" which is some old daddy figure (usually a white guy with white hair and a white beard sitting on a throne in a white cloud throwing lightning bolts) disciplining the misbehaving and rewarding the obedient. I can understand children believing fairy tales but for adults to believe these superstitions... Grow up already. I know life is tough but for "God's" sake, man up and deal with it.
If God is so loving and inviting, how come there are so many competing religions? And how come there has been so much killing and human suffering, "In the name of the Lord"?
Why? Don't tell me that God gave us free will....I gave my kids the freedom to experiment and try new things--to a point. When they became too rambunctious or mean spirited, I stepped in and stopped them. If God is a loving entity, why does he allow such evil inhumanity? I understand how he could "enable" it, but I don't understand how he could "allow" it.
I'm going to guess that you're a woman, judging by the "ashley" in the end of your name. Hopefully that's a correct guess.
Let's take a hypothetical situation here. Say you were a single, early-20-something woman. There are hundreds of millions (perhaps even billions) of single women out there. If a single man were to choose to be with you, instead of any of the other single women out there who would've been happy to have that same man... wouldn't that make you feel really good?
Contrast that with this: if you were the ONLY single woman on earth, better yet the one and only female human being on earth, and a man chose you, would that mean as much to you? It'd be like "well gee, I wonder why he chose me... NOT!"
God gives people choices and desires for them to choose Him. God is powerful enough to overthrow the Devil once and for all, and to wipe out anyone who adheres to a religion that is not "the right way". But yet, God doesn't do that. We are human beings with free will, and it means more to God when we CHOOSE the right way than it ever could if there were only one way.
I believe that this is why there are so many religions. God is testing people. "Will you choose the right way?"
I understand where you are coming from... but there are thousands of religions, both past and present, that have this central 'god' figure. How do you know your path is the right one? Why is someone else going to hell and yet they may have devoted as much time and effort to 'god' as you did, but maybe in a different way?
If God is so loving and inviting, how come there are so many competing religions? And how come there has been so much killing and human suffering, "In the name of the Lord"?
Why? Don't tell me that God gave us free will....I gave my kids the freedom to experiment and try new things--to a point. When they became too rambunctious or mean spirited, I stepped in and stopped them. If God is a loving entity, why does he allow such evil inhumanity? I understand how he could "enable" it, but I don't understand how he could "allow" it.
There is no proof of god's existence. There is no proof that if he/she exists that he/she would be loving and inviting. Why do you assume that if indeed he/she exists that he/she would be loving? That really isn't a valid arguement for or against the existence of god.
This may sound a bit flippant, and perhaps it is. But, think about it. If there were a god and you were he/she, and you were floating around out there somewhere all knowing and all seeing, and you looked down upon this planet and it's human inhabitants--their condition, attitude, actions, interaction, etc--would you want anything at all to do with it?
If I were in that position, I certainly wouldn't. I'd give our species the finger, move on to the next planet, and try to come up with something worth saving.
Yeah, I know... bad attitude. Luckily I am not, and never will be, in any position of power.
I understand where you are coming from... but there are thousands of religions, both past and present, that have this central 'god' figure. How do you know your path is the right one? Why is someone else going to hell and yet they may have devoted as much time and effort to 'god' as you did, but maybe in a different way?
You could run ten miles from your house over to the next town. When you're done, you'll be huffing and puffing (unless you're in great physical shape)... you'll be sweating, and tired, etc... but you will have made ten miles' worth of progress.
Now let's take another person, who gets onto a treadmill and runs until the odometer reads ten miles. Said person will get off in the same huffing & puffing, sweaty, tired state... but will have gone nowhere.
Devoting time toward a cause does not guarantee progress. You have to do it right. The same can be said for religion. Devote time toward the wrong religion... and you won't be going to heaven and that's a fact. I teach music lessons and if my students practice an hour per day, but do something dramatically different from what I tell them to do, they won't make progress. I've seen it happen. 15 minutes of good practice is better than an hour of bad practice. This is just another example of what I said above.
Why do human beings need to feel as if there is a god?
Sorry... I actually do have a student named Ashley who is male... it's just that most Ashleys I've ever encountered have been female.
Anyways... I think human beings need to feel as if there is a God because often, our own power is insufficient to solve problems and there are two choices... lose hope, or believe that a higher power will take care of what's going on. Let's face it... I have no choice but to believe that God was executing His greater plan on January 20th. If I didn't believe that, I think I'd be going crazy right now.
Sorry... I actually do have a student named Ashley who is male... it's just that most Ashleys I've ever encountered have been female.
Anyways... I think human beings need to feel as if there is a God because often, our own power is insufficient to solve problems and there are two choices... lose hope, or believe that a higher power will take care of what's going on. Let's face it... I have no choice but to believe that God was executing His greater plan on January 20th. If I didn't believe that, I think I'd be going crazy right now.
OK...so the "rational man" arguement loses out faced with the emotional needs of the evolved personality. If that is accurate (true? eplanatory? etc) then we should recognize that religion is here to stay--and find some way to improve it (religion) so as to eliminate the violence that seems to come from it. ??????????????????????????
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