Religion a scam?

God is a spirit. Worship HIM in spirit and truth through praise and worship. Thank HIM for what he has blessed you with and praise HIM for who HE is. You have health, eyes to see, ears to hear, feet to walk and hands to do many things for you. The evidence of GOD is everywhere and so is HE.

God is a trinity: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit. Read the King James Bible, pray and ask God to show evidence to you. Write me back when you encounter HIM. You have to be sincere and know this there is a heaven and there is a hell.

Confess your sins to God Acknowledge God sent HIS Son Jesus Christ The Lord to die for the world so that we would have everlasting life with God. Get baptised in your church. Jesus died and rose and ascended to heaven and is seated on the right side of God. The Lord is coming back one day soon be ready!

Watch the Passion of Christ it’s a good explanation and talk with your pastor. It’s not a scam study the word of God (the Bible for youself). HE is very much alive, well and real.

Nothing finite can be infinite (eternal). Since the universe is made of finite things (matter, time, space), it therefor must be created by something without time (timeless), thus making it eternal. If it is eternal, it must be infinite, and if its the Creator, it must be God.

The universe changes, and time is the measure of change. How many changes have happened before right now? If you claim an infinite number of changes (which is impossible because you can not have an infinite amount of finite things), it is a logically impossible to conclude we could ever have reached this moment in time. In a world of cause and effect (which we live in), there can not be an infinite regress (an infinite amount of cause and effect reactions to get to a certain cause).

Allow me to rephrase. Imagine that the Earth orbits the sun every 365 days (it does). Now, on Mars, a year is much longer than an Earth year, being 687 Earth days (basically double). So, for every 2 years of Mars, Earth has circled the sun approximately 4 times. Now, imagine that this has been going on for eternity. By your logic, they would both have circled the sun the exact same amount of times, because its been going on forever (this is clearly impossible). This shows the impossibility of an infinite regress, whereby there could not have been an infinite amount of (x) before right now, in a finite universe based on time.

Now, back to God. God exists outside of time, in Eternity. God created time, and time is irrelevant to Him. God is Eternal, not created. Firstly, you have 2 choices; either everything came from nothing (which is impossible), or something always existed and created us. You have no other choice. Take a moment to think about that, remembering that it can not exist in time, that would be impossible. Time can not be eternal.

This thing that always existed would be considered Eternal, having transcended time, space, and matter, being everlasting, having always existed. If you argue this is impossible, I would argue the contrary; it is impossible for this Eternal ‘thing’ to not exist, because the alternative is that nothing existed, which could only produce nothing. So, something always existed, and is therefor Eternal.

Now, for something to be Eternal, it can not consist of time, because time must have had a beginning. We exist in a universe of causality, so an infinite regress is impossible; there could not have been an infinite amount of time before right now, because we never would have reached this moment in time. That means time had a beginning, and whatever created time exists without time, beyond time, in timelessness; Eternity.

So, this Eternal Creator, created time, and the universe. This Eternal Creator clearly is extremely powerful, because the energy of the trillions of stars in the known universe were created by this Creator. And obviously, the Creator is extremely intelligent, having created an intelligent being such as mankind and a world in which to populate with it.

The Universe is not eternal. It had a beginning. The Universe always existing is not scientific. Matter, time, and space are finite and had a beginning. The Universe is dependent on time. Einstein showed that time and space are manifestations of the same thing; spacetime. Spacetime is finite and had a beginning. Time is dependent upon space and cannot be separated from it. Similarly, space cannot exist without time. Time is essential to measure anything. Without it, space cannot be measured, and cannot exist. Because spacetime is finite matter itself also has to be finite. Einstein showed that matter is a manifestation of energy. Without space there would be nowhere for energy to manifest into matter. Without time, when do you put matter? Matter, time, space, and energy are all dependent upon each other. The Universe could not have existed without time. This throws off the Universe existing as a singularity. The Universe had to have had a beginning because time had a beginning. The Universe could not have come about by itself. It had to be created.

In advance of matter and spacetime there was nothing. How can something come from nothing? There is absolutely no way. Something had to have existed prior to matter and spacetime. This something can only be God. Was there a point in time when he was created? Time began a finite amount of time ago. Prior to the beginning of time there was nothingness. There was no time. God existed prior to time. Therefore, there was never a point in time when he was created. He always existed. He exists outside of time and is eternal. God is not limited to matter and spacetime because he created these things. He is not bound by the Laws of Physics. He is all powerful. Because God is not consisted of matter he is immaterial. He cannot be seen, touched, tasted, or smelled. Because he is not limited to space he is omnipresent. Finally, because God exists outside of time he is eternal. He sees the past, present, and future at the same instant. Also, God can never be measured or proven scientifically because he is not consisted of matter and spacetime. You cannot understand God with science. The only way you can know God is by believing in him with your heart and soul. You must have faith in him.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

I didn’t ‘accept’ any of your points - I fairly conclusively (I think) showed how none of them actually apply as arguments for the existence of god.

melphina… you receive demerits for not siting wherever you’re cutting & pasting from, and for doing it FAR in excess.

blkbeauty… that movie was CRAP, and it doesn’t explain anything. Using a modern motion picture as justification for one’s beliefs, is completely weak-minded & foolish.

I actually just got it from a blog I wrote on myspace…so that is why I did not site it …I mean I didnt know I had to.

arachnid…you are right about the end being preachy and I didnt mean for that its just the way I had it in my blog so I forgot to take that part out. my bad

however I dont really see how the other point were refuted rathe you accepted them inn you own light

How can you think that your family was created by God? It’s one thing to think the world was but um…did you know your parents had sex and your mother gave birth to you? That’s how families come to be… Look everywhere in nature. It’s all very scientific. Reality is awesome. Give it a chance :) Peace

Wow, jolap, that’s an incredible number of unfounded assumptions you’ve packed into a few paragraphs, there.

…its not really evidence of GOD, either, that was the point. And the cells come from the people who are reproducing.

Oh, and mitosis has actually been discovered and PROVEN to exist. And the people who supply the cells necessary and actually INITIATE the process, also exist… no faith required.

well thats not really evidence of mitosis. Mitosis cant come out of nowhere, there has to be a cell to start with. Just thought id point that out…

most things to do with it are scams like tv evangelists and thgings on the internet but religion was created around the same time whwn people first began to appear because people needed something to look up to, something to answer all there ananswered questions, and something to blame for everything bad that happened. so religions were created, so all the poeple could follow the same thing its all based on faith though, theres no real evidence of any religion that has to do with beleiving in a “higher power” and theres many, many different kinds of religions as well the beleif I the “god” most people know of today was not the first …I dont beleive in anything, but its fine for other people too however, most people that do have no respect for people who dont there always trying to convice someone

…they were all created by God and therefore: evidence

sigh

That’s not evidence of God, that’s evidence of MITOSIS.

HEY WHOA!! there’s some evidence what are you talking about?

look around you. at your family. at your friends. at the people you love.

they were all created by God and therefore: evidence.

if you want TRUE COLD HOLD-IT-IN-YOU-HANDS evidence first off don’t believe anything on ebay. lol!! there’s some museums with artifcats they suspect to be from Jesus’s time period. Do you remember the story when He was crucified about a girl wiping His face with a cloth and a picture of His face showing up on a cloth?? Well, that cloth is in a museum. sorry I can’t think of the name.

GOD IS REAL. He has blessed my life in so many ways and it’s sad that it has taken me so long to realize it. Don’t let that happen to you.

[ [ G O O D .. L you C K ] ]

There’s no real evidence of gods, for the same reason there’s no real evidence of leprechauns.

Is religion just a scam? In the sense that it promotes deception, yes, but not necessarily in the sense that there is malice involved. Most religious laypeople are sincere. They spread their religion, because they believe it’s true, not because they are trying to rip you off or trick you. Most clergy are also sincere, although they have an interest that tends to promote their religion even in the face of their own doubts.

It’s interesting to read the deconversion stories of pastors. In most cases, they kept preaching long after they lost faith, because it was their livelihood.

Ipod_nano I do not fear god & I choose not to believe in him ask around a lot of the people who worship him are the ones who fear him A lot of people who has turned to biblical religions turn to it out of fear turn to it because they don’t know what they should believe so go to it as a back-up plan, as a just incase plan so incase it is real they don’t burn in hell those who do not believe in him do not fear him how could we fear that what we don’t believe? If you fear something it means you obviously believe in it, even if it’s subconscious

The biblical religions are supposedly to keep order & to comfprt pl who need something to believe in.

torikeene: References, please. Very little of the bible has any independent historical precedence, so I’d love to see these outside resources. Ditto for “great flood” stories.

Actually, religion is not a scam though many unethically people have used the belief of others to hurt them.

There may not be any actual proof of God, but many of the historical events recorded in the bible have been verified by outside resources, such as science or the documentation of other nations.

Did you know that almost every ancient nation historically has a story about a great flood. Most of those also involve a rainbow, and many speak of certain animals being saved. I know that many things seem rediculous and hard to believe in our own time, but there are grains of truth in the stories if you are willing to do the research.

pshh a scam. please. its those who, fear God who decide he isnt real and wont give him a chance. and no. religion is not a scam. religion is faith. just because you cannot see doesnt mean its there.

I wasn’t asking what you personally believe. I was getting at the point that even if you assert that “there has to be a creator god”, nothing says it has to be the one you believe in.

I truly believe that allah is the one and only and there is not other god , ,because and the Qur’an, we read that Allah is Compassionate and Merciful. He is Kind, Loving, and Wise. He is the Creator, the Sustainer, the Healer. He is the One who Guides, the One who Protects, the One who Forgives

mh2m: Assuming for a moment you’re right (which you’re not - just because stuff exists doesn’t mean it was created by some all-powerful being), which god (or gods)? Thor? Zeus? Lord Ganesha? Someone else? And why them?

there an evidence for example look at the sky and the earth and your self . who created all these things? of course they were created by someone who is more powerful than us , humans ,and every single thing on this earth , which is god,

“its those who, fear God who decide he isnt real and wont give him a chance”

That doesn’t even make sense. You can’t be afraid of something that doesn’t exist.

andrew97out: People have, historically, believed all sorts of silly things. That the sun went around the earth and the stars were placed in crystal spheres, for example. Just because people have believed something for a long time doesn’t make it real.

Besides, for most of history, people have believed (and continue to believe) in a range of gods. How are you supposed to tell which one? And if belief itself is evidence for existence, does that mean they all exist?

Wow. That’s something I’ve heard referred to as the “gish gallop”. Bury your opponents in so much argumentation that the sheer quantity is enough to prevent a comprehensive response. It’s much easier to make up things than to refute them. So I’ll just hit the high points.

“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.”

It’s true that there are people that deny silly things. There’s a world of difference, though, between something with real, significant physical evidence, and something that relies entirely on emotive arguments that it simply “must be so”. Further, the comparison is false: Men on the moon is a claim about something that happened in the past, whilst the existence of a god or gods is something that applies even today. If it were true, there ought to be testable predictions - but there aren’t - anything that might be used as evidence against a god is explained away as “god works in mysterious ways” and whatnot.

Points 1-5 all come down to “if things weren’t configured perfectly, we wouldn’t exist”. However, if things weren’t configured in some manner that allowed life of some sort, we wouldn’t be here to have this argument. Our presence implies that conditions must support life; and so says nothing about the existence or not of a designer. It’s like me saying “given the fact that I’m eating an ice-cream, what are the chances I would have an ice-cream right now?” You can’t draw sensible conclusions based on the post-hoc chance of something occurring when the observation depends on it having already occurred.

Further, several the points don’t even make sense. Take the claims about water, for example: That it’s a solvent is not remarkable - there are many solvents, and they all behave in the way described. The ‘chemically neutral’ claim is simply a restatement of this. The ‘unique surface tension’ is also a nonsense - all liquids have surface tension.

6.2 Relies on the old chestnut “it’s complex, therefore it must be designed” and on misconstruing evolution. Like it or not, evolution is a theory supported by mountains of evidence. It makes accurate predictions, unlike speculations about things being too complex. 6.3 is merely a restatement of 6.2, asserting that “random chance is an insufficient explanation” (it is; evolution consists of random chance combined with natural selection, not either on its own) without even attempting to justify its claims.

6.4 is another strawman. Few atheists claim they are certain there is no god, any more than they claim they are certain there are no leprechauns. They merely claim that they’re extremely unlikely to exist. And this sentence doesn’t even make any sense: “But as science has progressed, no scientific discovery has countered the numerical likelihood of an intelligent mind being behind it all.” Then, after conceding that belief doesn’t imply proof, it goes on to claim that, well, maybe really sincere belief implies a god (which one?) exists.

Everything after 6.5 on doesn’t even pretend to be an argument for why god (whuch one(s)?) should exist - they’re nothing but a sermon, with nothing but bland assertion to back it up. I would like to address this bit, though:

“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?”

If the majority of the people around you professed to believe in invisible, undetectable fairies that followed them around everywhere and affected their lives in invisible ways; if they spent substantial amounts of time trying to please those fairies; if they changed their behaviours and tried to force others to change to please the fairies; if they raised their children to believe the same thing; if they even started wars over whose fairies were best, wouldn’t you want to try and persuade them that the fairies aren’t real and that they’re wasting their lives and the lives of others on them?

So there you have it. I’ve refuted everything (in my humble opinion) worth refuting. And I wrote it all myself, while I’m fairly sure the original post was a copy-and-paste. All in the vain hope that it won’t be a complete waste of time and be ignored by those who might learn something about bad argumentation if not religion from it.

There’s some evidence that there are good evolutionary reasons for humans’ tendency to believe in irrational things, so I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it all as some plot to manipulate people. Certainly, it wouldn’t work if we weren’t inclined to believe in such things in the first place.

Just because we evolved to think this way doesn’t mean there really is a god or gods, of course, or that we should continue to believe in them now that we know better.

Organised religion, on the other hand, now there I can agree with you.

theres only two options either the world brought itself into existence or it was brought into existence by something else. if it brought itself into existence than it either created itself before it existed or after it existed. if it created itself after it existed it didnt do anything for there was no reason for it to create itself since it was already in existence and therefore it did not accomplish anything. if it created itself before it existed than it was nothing and out of nothing can neither come activity nor cessation of activity so therefore this proves a thing cannot make itself. so some infinite being had to have created it. whatever that being is thats what I call g-d. and for proof the world isnt infinite and at one point did not exist is:

People used to claim, (until recently), that everything was always here.(no beginning/first cause ). that would mean everything in existence has always been doing what it does. (All stars eventually fade aka black hole.) So if it takes x amount of time for the sun to black hole, it should have already happened, because there was an infinite time already. And so there was time for everything to have happened. Everything that can happen in the universe, should have happened, because no matter how long it takes for something to happen, it cant be any longer than infinity. SO it should have happened already. When? An infinite amount of time ago. The sun can’t be the sun, because it started forming an infinite time ago, so whatever amount of time it takes to have become the sun as it is, already passed, plus an infinite amount of time. Something moving through space? Should have moved passed an infinity ago. Including light. So it doesn’t make sense for everything to have been here an infinite amount of time, because everything’s still in the middle of developing or moving or whatever. Without a First Cause, there was no time for everything to start, so it started an infinite amount of time ago. So this shows that its impossible for the world to have always been here and for the world to be infinite or else there would be no way that man could observe the effect of anything taking place since it should’ve happened already, so it is inconceivable that a thing with no beginning (infinite) could become observable to man(since it all should’ve happened already) so therefore the world must have had a first cause and a beginning since it couldntve been here forever.

are people onn here just to argue?

arachnid- said something about writing a lot so the opponents lost in so much argumentation to say anything…

I was arguing with anyone…and I certainly didnt write anything towards an opponent…just read the question a gave an answer. didnt even read other answers not that I never read answers because I do…I like to know what other people think also

arachnid and captian- seem merely interested in agruing with others responses and maybe make people feel bad even if its not intentional

I had no idea about that website…like I said never been there…you dont have to make me come off as a liar..which is what your implying…thanks for that

maybe in the future you can be kind when your trying to let someone know something

I actually just got it from a blog I wrote on myspace…so that is why I did not site it …I mean I didnt know I had to.

No… you got it from an article called ‘’Is There A God?’’ by Marilyn Adamson …one of the co-creators of everystudent.com …which is most definitely NOT a blog you wrote on myspace.

http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html

shakes head

…kids.

im really not sure but I think religion is gd an bad its importan to keep an open mind bout it.

so therefore the world must have had a first cause and a beginning since it couldntve been here forever.

looks around

Uhhh… thanks for debating a random standpoint that nobody is discussing, disputing, or even concerned about.

There is no evidence of God because people who need evidence don’t see the evidence

sigh

You’re confusing REAL PROOF, with evidence. The bible doesn’t prove God exists, its just evidence that you use to support your beliefs.

Oh, so you just happened to write a blog, that is EXACTLY the same, word for word, as an article written by another (reputable) person? That’s just a strange coincidence, huh? Riiight…

captainassassin- you shouldnt be quick to judge…because I did get it from my blog and I’ve actually never been to that page you posted until just now..when I copied your link. its a cool page tho :)

and im not a kid..thanks

The bible says that the evidence is all around us, and that the only reason we cannot see it, is that we are blinded to the truth.

These blinders can come off, if we truly seek God, with all our hearts.

God is not fooled, as man is. He sees and knows the intents of the heart.

When those intents are pure, he will reveal himself, his will , his word, and his way.

arachnid and captian- seem merely interested in agruing with others responses and maybe make people feel bad even if its not intentional

I guess you haven’t noticed, a LARGE percent of ALL these ‘religion’ threads are regurgitated versions of older threads, posted with the INTENT on starting an argument.

you dont have to make me come off as a liar..which is what your implying…thanks for that

You’re doing that ALL by yourself, as you continue to avoid acknowledging exactly WHERE that information came from.

Is all of religion a scam? Not really, most people want to believe in God, a just universe, and an afterlife. Even if all existing religions could be eliminated people would quickly think up new ones. At its lowest level religion fills a psychological need for mankind. It can make us happier, give us purpose, and allow us to deal with life’s difficulties better. It is just very easily subverted for other purposes.

…and who wrote it?

seriously…my blog…like months ago

when I read the question I just remembered my blog and went to myspace annd got it.

There’s no REAL evidence because it’s based on faith.

I wouldn’t really say a “scam”. It is a method used to control other people, an incentive to do good things, a coping and comforting mechanism and it is based on faith and tradition.

no , well, -imma christian and there is REAL PROOF ! the Bible . it’s God’s word . so I believe it . it’s not a scam .

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

2. Does God exist? The human brain’s complexity shows a higher intelligence behind it.

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. A brain that deals with more than a million pieces of information every second, while evaluating its importance and allowing you to act on the most pertinent information… did it come about just by chance? Was it merely biological causes, perfectly forming the right tissue, blood flow, neurons, structure? 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.

How does one explain the human brain?

3. Does God exist? “Chance” or “natural causes” are insufficient explanations.

The alternative to God existing is that all that exists around us came about by natural cause and random chance. If someone is rolling dice, the odds of rolling a pair of sixes is one thing. But the odds of spots appearing on blank dice is something else. What Pasteur attempted to prove centuries ago, science confirms, that life cannot arise from non-life.

Where did human, animal, plant life come from?

Also, natural causes are an inadequate explanation for the amount of precise information contained in human DNA. A person who discounts God is left with the conclusion that all of this came about without cause, without design, and is merely good fortune. It is intellectually wanting to observe intricate design and attribute it to luck.

4. Does God exist? To state with certainty that there is no God, a person has to ignore the passion of an enormously vast number of people who are convinced that there is a God.

This is not to say that if enough people believe something it is therefore true. Scientists, for example, have discovered new truths about the universe which overruled previous conclusions. But as science has progressed, no scientific discovery has countered the numerical likelihood of an intelligent mind being behind it all. In fact, the more science discovers about human life and the universe, the more complex and precisely designed we realize these to be. Rather than pointing away from God, evidence mounts further toward an intelligent source. But objective evidence is not all.

There is a much larger issue. Throughout history, billions of people in the world have attested to their firm, core convictions about God’s existence – arrived at from their subjective, personal relationship with God. Millions today could give detailed account of their experience with God. They would point to answered prayer and specific, amazing ways God has met their needs, and guided them through important personal decisions. They would offer, not only a description of their beliefs, but detailed reports of God’s actions in their lives. Many are sure that a loving God exists and has shown himself to be faithful to them.

If you are a skeptic, can you say with certainty: “I am absolutely right and they all are wrong about God”?

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 pursuing 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.”8 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.

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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.

10

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.”11 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.

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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].”13 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.

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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.

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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.

I personally think that;

a) god is a name for the person or thing that represents their religion…

B) I do believe in something, but not the hell and brimstone theory…

C) that the entire point or faith or belief is just that, you shouldn’t need something to ‘make’ you believe, you just should..when you have definable proof or evidence, it is no longer faith or belief, it then becomes fact, and totally changes the whole point of it…

D) and there are MANY religions, and so far as I can see, very few keep the world in order, in fact most are attributed to a lot of the problems in this world. peoples lack of understanding or respect for other peoples religion causes massive devides in the world - how can anything that divides be good?

I believe in spiritualism, I believe tat what we do to others, comes back on us in some form or another. I believe that we reap what we sow…we don’t have to make another person believe what we believe, we just accept that that’s their choice, they won’t be punsihed for it…it just gives them different path to mine..

spiritualism is a very passive belief, it doesn’t sominate and put fear into people, it just gives people hope that on the ‘other side’ are the ones we love, and as long as what we do in life means we can look them in the eye, then thats the important thing..

relgion, in my opinion, and in most cases seems judgementaland ‘superior’…espcially catholic… I don’t understand the hypocracy of it, but I do understand that a person is it entitled to believe what they wish, that is more than can say for most cathlolics who critises those in situations or moral problems…

I have got a bit distracted, but I don’t believe a religion should keep people in order for fear of retribution, and I don’t believe you need ‘proof’ I think just finding something that is similar to your moral beliefs is the important thing :)