I don't believe in God because.....

Originally posted by whodey
What if you were one of the ancient Israelites and you saw the Red Sea open before you and then close down on the Egyptians? What if you also saw manna fall from heaven?

Could these things be splained away as well?

If not, then what evidence do you require?

Originally posted by RJHinds
Even the the ancient Israelites wanted a god they could see and touch. So they
made a golden calf that they were very happy to dance around. This is what
googlefudge wants, a god he can see and touch. Parting of the seas he can
"splain away" as due to his "god of science" created by men.

Originally posted by whodey
What if you were one of the ancient Israelites and you saw the Red Sea open before you and then close down on the Egyptians? What if you also saw manna fall from heaven?

Could these things be splained away as well?

If not, then what evidence do you require?

Originally posted by RJHinds
Even the the ancient Israelites wanted a god they could see and touch. So they
made a golden calf that they were very happy to dance around. This is what
googlefudge wants, a god he can see and touch. Parting of the seas he can
"splain away" as due to his "god of science" created by men.

Originally posted by whodey
I make no apology for being biased in my worldview. What drives me nuts, however, are people who try and convince me that they are perfectly open minded by saying they are agnostic.

In short, everyone has a bias and a worldview that seems reasonable to them, from which they build a belief system.

I don't believe in a god or gods because I have no need to. That's it for me.

Originally posted by googlefudge
Again you are talking nonsense and trying to tell me what I believe....

You theists really like to do that don't you.


I don't 'want' a god of any kind.
I don't need a god of any kind.

I simply believe in the existence of things that are demonstrated by evidence and don't
believe in anything else.


If there was evidence for a god or gods I would believe in their existence.

As there isn't, I don't.

Originally posted by Kewpie
I don't believe in a god or gods because I have no need to. That's it for me.

Originally posted by googlefudge
Wrong...

And I thought I drove you nuts...

Originally posted by googlefudge
Oh good grief no that's not even close...

Let me save you the trouble.

No miracle ever claimed in the bible (or any other holy book I know) comes even remotely
close to being evidence for the being described as god in your holy book.

Originally posted by whodey
Again, what would be ample evidence for you?

Originally posted by googlefudge
I can't actually think of anything that would be conclusive proof of, or even evidence for,
your hypothesised god.

Although I can think of evidence that would demonstrate the existence of beings of immense
power and intellect it is hard/impossible to think of something that would demonstrate infinite
power and intellect.


However I would agr ...[text shortened]... Why don't you pray to your god and find out what would convince me and then get back to me...

Originally posted by whodey
I make no apology for being biased in my worldview. What drives me nuts, however, are people who try and convince me that they are perfectly open minded by saying they are agnostic.

In short, everyone has a bias and a worldview that seems reasonable to them, from which they build a belief system.

Originally posted by whodey
Convince you that the God you hate exists? For what purpose, to torment you?

I have posted this reference on many occasion, and each time it seems to serve its own warranted need, in order to have a different fresh perspective which is frequently forgotten but has sense and logic.

I post these words in response to the OP, and to those my may find it of some relevance to their own view point.

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Do Buddhists believe in god?

No, we do not. There are several reasons for this. The Buddha, like modern sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas, and especially the god idea, have their origin in fear.

The Buddha says:
"Gripped by fear men go to the sacred mountains,
sacred groves, sacred trees and shrines".

Primitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world. The fear of wild animals; of not being able to find enough food; of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of gods in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong.

To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, and you will hear them say that the belief in a god or gods gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in a particular god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. The Buddha taught us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. He replaced fear not with irrational belief, but with rational understanding.


The second reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is because there does not seem to be any evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature and that their god exists, and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine; some that she is feminine; and others that it is neuter. They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god, but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions, spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their gods, that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. Buddhists suspend judgment until such evidence is forthcoming.


The third reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin of the universe, but Buddhists believe this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being, without having to introduce the god-idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are millions of atheists and free-thinkers, not to mention many Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite.

One often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps; enormous odds and difficulties, through their own inner resources; through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. but this argument only holds good if you accept the theological concept of salvation and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Based on his own experience, the Buddha saw that each human being had the capacity to purify the mind, develop infinite love and compassion and perfect understanding.
He shifted attention from the heavens to the heart, and he encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding.

-m. 😉