[Rich30056]

Why is it that deists have to invent / invoke gods every time they come across something in nature that they can't intellectually comprehend?

User Detail :  

Name : Rich30056, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 35, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 

[Rick29939]

"...or that some evolutionary phenomena happened?" There's a lot more evidence supporting evolution than there is that God made Adam out of clay.

"How can you look at the moon and the stars and the sun and think they just happened 'just because'?" How can you observe such phenomena and think that ancient Judeo-Christian folklore provides the most reasonable explanation for their existence? Ultimately, science may never know what provoked the creation of the universe as we know it. That's no reason to resort to superstition any more than having a disease that modern medicine can't cure is a reason to resort to witchcraft.

"How can you wake up every day and not know it was by the grace of God?" Easy. Complexity is not evidence of an intelligent creator. Surely, an omniscient, omnipotent being could design a better mechanism than humans, with our poor backs, painful childbirth and the linkage of our sex organs with our excretory system. Clearly we're the result of evolution. Of course, I can't prove there's no God (you can't prove a negative), but it's a more rational conclusion than the nonsense religions have come up with.

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Name : Rick29939, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : Springfield, State : OH Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Erin]

How can anyone not believe in God? Even if you don't believe in Him as our Lord and Savior, how can you not believe He is the creator? At least believe that. You can honestly look at yourself, knowing how complex you body is, and think you were just there from the beginning, or that some evolutionary phenomena happened? How can you look at the moon and the stars and the sun and think they just happened "just because"? How can you wake up every day and not know it was by the grace of God?

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Name : Erin, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 20, City : Fort Lauderdale, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jessica]

I am an empiricist, which means I believe in anything that can be proven scientifically by experience with the five senses. The existence of a god has not been proven to me. Therefore, while I do not believe there is NOT a god, neither do I believe that there IS one. I have not received adequate evidence to either effect. I don't understand how anyone who has taken a college-level history class can believe that only their particular religion is correct - and that therefore, everyone with different beliefs or faiths throughout history is doomed for eternity. I respect you for refraining from such judgment in your query.

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Name : Jessica, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 23, City : Huntsville, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jason]

I know there is a higher power, but I cannot give it a name. I can't tell you why things are the way they are, and I can't expect others who were not around during the creation of the universe to be able to come up with the explanation, either. I believe in using one's spirituality to become more in tune with the divine. I know my spirituality may not make sense to the masses, but it is what makes sense for me in my life.

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Name : Jason, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 19, City : State College, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Steve27669]

Do you have any idea how long 3 billion years is (length of time life has been proven to been present on Earth) and what can happen on its own during that length of time? I entered the workforce in 1977. I worked in one of the most advanced laboratories in the world. At the time, no one dreamed of owning or using a personal computer. Today, 25 years later, even my toothbrush has a computer chip in it. Take the advancement in human thought in just 25 years and multiply it by 40,000 to get to the million years humans have been around in current form, and it is easy to see how we evolved from grunting, club-wielding apes to now. Multiply the last 25 years by 120 million to get the 3 billion years and it is easy to see there has been time to evolve from single cells to us. The problem with people who believe in God is that they have no perception of time. Given all those years, why believe there had to be God? There has been plenty of time for this to all happen on its own.

The second issue is your assumption that we are all that complex. We, as humans, have virtually no systems, organs, or body parts that aren't tried and true designs used in other animals. Do you realize that less than 1 percent of our DNA is different from chimps? We have eyeballs that are eerily similar to those of an octopus. Several other animals have frontal lobe brains capable of advanced thought. Every one of our organs exists in cats. Ninety percent of all pharmaceuticals have the same effect on rats as on humans. Face it, we aren't that special. We are mostly made of retread parts.

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Name : Steve27669, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 46, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Corporate Cubicle Dweller, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[Jay31098]

How can YOU believe in something that has never been seen or proven - ever? How can you mold your life on the supposed words of a never-verified 'entity' that was written by various people thousands of years ago? Why do you need threats of punishment from a higher being not to steal, lie, kill, etc.? Why does the immense complexity of the earth require a manufacturer? Why would you worship an 'entity' that would relegate an honest, kind non-believer to 'hell' and yet spare a murderer/child molester, solely on the grounds of them believing in God and being 'sorry'? Do you really think there is some supernatural being 'out there' watching over you and worrying about your welfare? If so, how about the welfare of the millions slaughtered, raped, mutilated or starved to death every day? Does 'he' choose not to interfere in human affairs even though he is able to do so, or is he unable to intervene? So the question should be - How could anyone believe in God?

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Name : Jay31098, Gender : F, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[James D.]

I appreciate where you're coming from, and as an atheist I can honestly answer the question 'Where did we come from?' with 'I don't know.' I just don't. It doesn't bother me - there are a lot of things I don't know. When you answer that question with 'God,' it just raises more questions in my mind, and it doesn't seem to get me any closer to a 'truth.' 'God' seems like a way to wave your hands and say, 'There, now I know the answer,' but in fact you haven't explained or proved anything. I'm glad you find comfort in believing that God created everything, but to me the issue of how it all was created is just not important in my life. Interesting, sure, but not important. You accept God and your religion; I just accept the world I live in.

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Name : James D., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 47, City : Summit, State : NJ Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Tubbs]

I consider myself more agnostic than atheist, but earlier in my life I was an atheist, and I still agree with many atheist perspectives on the question of whether God exists. To answer your initial statement: I've questioned the existence of God because I saw no hard evidence. The only historical pieces of evidence presented to me were religious books such as the Bible, which could have been made-up fairytales as far as I know. The fact that our bodies are complex or that the stars or moon exist does not prove God exists to me; one doesn't really have anything to do with the other. Computers are also complex, and that doesn't mean that God created them or that God exists. As for God's grace, I think people who suffer a great deal during their lives might not necessarily feel that their existence is such a gift from above. I don't know if God is the creator because I'm not sure God ever existed.

The only thing that has made me think that God exists (as I think you perceive of 'Him') are the Bible, Koran or Torah. Again, I see no reason to rely on those books as factual or literal. So I guess I have not believed in God because I thought about it for awhile and drew my own conclusions.

Ironically, today I consider myself a deeply spiritual person (not religious). My beliefs are based on my feelings and on what I have observed of the world, the universe and existence. I feel there are likely higher powers than man, but I don't think that human beings could truly comprehend them/it/her/he in the way many religions proclaim. To me, worshipping a higher power doesn't make much sense, in the same way that I don't think it makes sense for an electron to worship me.

Finally, I recoginize that people have different beliefs than me, and I try to respect their beliefs. I try not to make other people feel bad for believing something different than me. I wish everyone would try to do the same.

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Name : Tubbs, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 28, City : Silver Spring, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : between jobs, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Craig31879]

In the 6th century people believed that angels spent their time moving planets around, and opening the the windows of Heaven to let the rain fall (as described in Genesis with the flood of Noah.) Should I then say to you, 'How can you not believe in God? Do you think those planets move by themselves? Do you think the rain falls to the Earth by some psuedoscience called evaporation?' Explaining it is 'angels' doing all the work is an easy explanation, but hardly acurate. But how can you not believe in angels? It's raining outside! The moon is rotating around the Earth! That's what it feels like to me when someone asks this question. Just because I don't have the answer doesn't mean I want to make one up that has no supportable proof.

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Name : Craig31879, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 38, City : Morris, State : MN Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 

[Andrea H.]

I can understand that people don't belive in God. Some people need physical proof. However, I feel a need to point out an error in your thinking process. I am not a religious person, but I am a spritual person. The error is that God and the Savior are, in fact, two different entities. God created the Savior. Many religions believe in God, but their prophets, saviors, etc. are different. That type of confusion of facts would lead many people to believe that if the religions can't get the facts straight, there probably is no God.

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Name : Andrea H., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Native American/White, Religion : No religious affiliation, Age : 41, City : Tucson, State : AZ Country : United States, Occupation : Unemployed, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, 

[Mark Bentley]

The hardest thing for a devout Christian to do is to understand that not everybody believes just like they do. You can't conceive of not having God in your life, so you apply that to other's lives. That's the problem. You will never convince anybody to believe in God because you say it's foolish not to - you must convince them by your actions. Evangelism as a Lifestyle. Do good, don't judge, don't be intolerant and you might have others see God's light shining from you. People rarely hear God through another's voice!

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Name : Mark Bentley, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : UFMCC - Cathedral of Hope, Age : 39, City : Dallas, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Financial analyst, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Kevin]

Read 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' by Douglas Adams. There's a rather ingenious segment that involves a fish (the Babel Fish) that, when stuck in someone's ear, translates any language. God said, 'I refuse to prove my existence, for proof denies faith and without faith, I am nothing.' Due to the fact that there's no way evolution could have created such a mind-bogglingly impossible creature (thus, it was proof of God) Man realized it was a dead give away of the non-existence of God. God realizes this and disappears in a puff of logic. :)

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Name : Kevin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 22, City : Morristown, State : NJ Country : United States, 

[Pat19878]

I would say that people can just as easily believe or not believe in something. I find that the concept of God is a belief, and people may choose whether or not to hold that belief. While a higher power might help people understand the world around them, there are those of us that seek a more concrete view of the world. I don't think things 'just happened' - there's a reasonable explanation for them, whether it is currently known or not. I find it much harder to believe that anything was just 'created' out of the blue (no offense to those who believe otherwise). For example, I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable scientific explaination of how the moon and the stars came to exist, though I'm no astronomer so I couldn't give you a straight answer. I don't know, really. And I'm okay with not knowing things like that. But I could certainly try to find out, however complicated it might be. I guess any disbelief in a higher power is based on a willingness to challenge one's beliefs, a concept that may not appeal to everyone. And religious beliefs are easily challenged by those that wish to do so.

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Name : Pat19878, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 23, City : San Francisco, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[T27568]

Faced with mortality, most people seem to need the emotional crutch of some metaphysical perspective. It's either that, or take responsibility for your own limitations. As 'created' beings, humans can relegate such responsibility to a 'higher' instance and find emotional solace in the light of their individual frustration, physical pain, mental agony, futility and helplessness. It's easier, by all means. Just how much of an emotional need that is, can, I think, be seen from the way we all try to live as if we could take tomorrow for granted.

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Name : T27568, Gender : F, Religion : Atheist, Age : 33, City : Munich, State : NA Country : Germany, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

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