Why do some people believe in God and some don't?

[valentino]

1.Man sees His sinfulness.So he accepts Jesus.2.He is raised Christian at home.Are their any other reasons?Why some don’t.1)not taught about Jesus 2)To involved in their lives to see the need for Jesus.Can there be anymore?3)oh yes.he hears to many contradictory stories about Jesus.

 

[passus]

Well, then there are the individuals who by study and contemplaton of either of the possibilities of God’s existence, have come to their own conclusion as to whether or not they are convinced of God’s existence…

 

[AJ_Simon]

Additional reason for:

1). Man wants to believe in the concept of an everlasting life that exists beyond death.

Additional reason against:

1). Man sees no compelling reason to believe in a premise for which no tangible evidence exists.

 

[Inquiringperson]

For both sides, it’s emotions. Some people feel there is a God, and some people don’t. Also, some people believe in God because they want to be safe (Paschal’s Wager) and some don’t want to believe because they’re lazy and want a good life.

 

[Wesley7]

Re: Why do some people believe in God and some don’t?

For some, faith in God is naturally taught since childhood - for others it is a soul-searching seeker issue.

Some are probably not satisfied with what was revealed to them.

 

[Jesus_123]

+Believing faith is a holy gift of God imparted . . . in God’s perfect timing . . . to receptive souls for their salvation . . . :bible1: For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man may glory. - Ephesians 2:8-9

. . . :coffeeread: . . .

The Holy :bible1: Bible
John 3:1-12

[1] And there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. [2] This man came to Jesus by night, and said to him: Rabbi, we know that thou art come a teacher from God; for no man can do these signs which thou dost, unless God be with him. [3] Jesus answered, and said to him: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. [4] Nicodemus saith to him: How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born again? [5] Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. [6] That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit.

[7] Wonder not, that I said to thee, you must be born again. [8] The Spirit breatheth where he will; and thou hearest his voice, but thou knowest not whence he cometh, and whither he goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

[9] Nicodemus answered, and said to him: How can these things be done? [10] Jesus answered, and said to him: Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things? [11] Amen, amen I say to thee, that we speak what we know, and we testify what we have seen, and you receive not our testimony. [12] If I have spoken to you earthly things, and you believe not; how will you believe, if I shall speak to you** heavenly **things?​

. . . all for Jesus+
. . . the Blessed Christ of God+
. . . thank You Gracious Heavenly Father+
. . . thank You Dear Lord Jesus+
. . . thank You Sweet Spirit of our Holy God+
. . . thank you Holy Mother Church+​

 

[OrdinaryMelkite]

It’s a combination of chilhood environment, personality,inclusion/lack of “religious” education, positive/negative life experience regarding religion, and just plain interest/uninterest.

 

[JM3]

The nearer Christ comes to a Heart, the more it becomes Conscious of its Guilt;
it will then either ask for His Mercy and find Peace, or else it will turn against Him because it is not yet ready to give up its Sinfulness.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

 

[OscarsMama]

1.Man sees His sinfulness.So he accepts Jesus.2.He is raised Christian at home.Are their any other reasons?Why some don’t.1)not taught about Jesus 2)To involved in their lives to see the need for Jesus.Can there be anymore?3)oh yes.he hears to many contradictory stories about Jesus.

I think that some people don’t believe in God because they try to make God logical in their human terms. We can’t understand God fully at this time. And some people cannot accept that. They try asking questions like “why do bad things happen if God is good?”, “if God is all-powerful and all-knowing then why does he care if you worship him?”, etc. We have heard all those arguements. And it is nearly impossible to explain the answers. We can site the Bible. We can speak about Saints. We can quote Jesus himself. But really, we can’t fully explain.

Part of believing in God is understanding that YOU are not God. And, yes, God was human for 33 years 2,000 years ago. But God is not human. God is God. We are human. We understand things through “human eyes.”

See my signature quote. God’s ways are above ours. And we have to accept that and have FAITH that he is there doing what is “right.”

People even asked

 

[valentino]

Well, then there are the individuals who by study and contemplaton of either of the possibilities of God’s existence, have come to their own conclusion as to whether or not they are convinced of God’s existence…

when there is so much science going on today on every aspect of man and the common thought of educators is that everything can be known of man through his DNA how has God got a chance?

 

[valentino]

Additional reason for:

1). Man wants to believe in the concept of an everlasting life that exists beyond death.

Additional reason against:

1). Man sees no compelling reason to believe in a premise for which no tangible evidence exists.

I agree that there is no tangible evidence unless you believe in reported miracles but there isnT tangible evidence that God doesn’t exist either.Do you believe if there wasn’t so much scientific literature out today that wants to contradict what people believe about Jesus(or God)that people would believe more?

 

[valentino]

+Believing faith is a holy gift of God imparted . . . in God’s perfect timing . . . to receptive souls for their salvation . . . :bible1: For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man may glory. - Ephesians 2:8-9

. . . :coffeeread: . . .

The Holy :bible1: Bible
John 3:1-12

[1] And there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. [2] This man came to Jesus by night, and said to him: Rabbi, we know that thou art come a teacher from God; for no man can do these signs which thou dost, unless God be with him. [3] Jesus answered, and said to him: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. [4] Nicodemus saith to him: How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born again? [5] Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. [6] That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit.

[7] Wonder not, that I said to thee, you must be born again. [8] The Spirit breatheth where he will; and thou hearest his voice, but thou knowest not whence he cometh, and whither he goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

[9] Nicodemus answered, and said to him: How can these things be done? [10] Jesus answered, and said to him: Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things? [11] Amen, amen I say to thee, that we speak what we know, and we testify what we have seen, and you receive not our testimony. [12] If I have spoken to you earthly things, and you believe not; how will you believe, if I shall speak to you** heavenly **things?​

. . . all for Jesus+
. . . the Blessed Christ of God+
. . . thank You Gracious Heavenly Father+
. . . thank You Dear Lord Jesus+
. . . thank You Sweet Spirit of our Holy God+
. . . thank you Holy Mother Church+​

this is all very good but it sounds a lot like the gift of faith is given to particular people at God’s choosing.Also i understand it to mean that only a small no.of people are given this gift.it says one must be born of the spirit.How can an unbaptized person make it to heaven under any circumstances since he’s flesh and not spirit?Is the nnext verse saying one doesn’t know where the spirit comes from or where it might lead one?What earthly things did Jesus speak to Nicodemus?

 

[valentino]

It’s a combination of chilhood environment, personality,inclusion/lack of “religious” education, positive/negative life experience regarding religion, and just plain interest/uninterest.

With all those different variables is it possible for all men to have an equal chance at believing?

 

[valentino]

The nearer Christ comes to a Heart, the more it becomes Conscious of its Guilt;
it will then either ask for His Mercy and find Peace, or else it will turn against Him because it is not yet ready to give up its Sinfulness.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

I understand you to mean that Christ comes close to every heart at some time and a person makes a choice.Does He does He come close again later or is He always farther away?

 

[valentino]

I think that some people don’t believe in God because they try to make God logical in their human terms. We can’t understand God fully at this time. And some people cannot accept that. They try asking questions like “why do bad things happen if God is good?”, “if God is all-powerful and all-knowing then why does he care if you worship him?”, etc. We have heard all those arguements. And it is nearly impossible to explain the answers. We can site the Bible. We can speak about Saints. We can quote Jesus himself. But really, we can’t fully explain.

Part of believing in God is understanding that YOU are not God. And, yes, God was human for 33 years 2,000 years ago. But God is not human. God is God. We are human. We understand things through “human eyes.”

See my signature quote. God’s ways are above ours. And we have to accept that and have FAITH that he is there doing what is “right.”

People even asked

that’s very good.IMO that’s where the athiest problem come in.they just have to have more proof .

 

[passus]

when there is so much science going on today on every aspect of man and the common thought of educators is that everything can be known of man through his DNA how has God got a chance?

With as many as 2.2 million Christians alone (that would be excluding Jews, Muslims, and any otherwise unaffiliated theists) on earth, I think it’s clear that God definitely has more than a chance, despite everything we know about man through his DNA. (Does something about man’s DNA in particular suggest that God doesn’t exist?)

 

[AJ_Simon]

I agree that there is no tangible evidence unless you believe in reported miracles but there isnT tangible evidence that God doesn’t exist either.Do you believe if there wasn’t so much scientific literature out today that wants to contradict what people believe about Jesus(or God)that people would believe more?

Certainly. In America at least, you can trace the fading influence of Christianity (and other religions) over the last few centuries all but directly to scientific advances in our understanding of the world. Without those advances, I have no doubt we would have a much more faith-based culture than we already do.

There can’t be tangible evidence for an intangible being’s non-existence. You can prove a tangible being’s non-existence easily enough. But the moment you stipulate that a being is invisible, beyond our understanding, and can’t possibly be detected by our puny human instrumentation, you’ve taken any hope of disproving his existence off the table.

 

[ThinkingSapien]

Simply put some people(like myself) don’t believe because we have not encountered anything that sustains a belief that any of the concepts of god (or gods) are descriptive of reality. I used the term “sustains a belief” because there was a time when I did believe. I think were my reasons were that as a child I (like many children) was inclined to believe what my parents taught me. The loss of the belief in a god paralleled the loss of a belief in Santa Claus and other childhood icons.

There’s inconsistencies in how people describe or define their concepts of a god. There’s been lots of other discussions within this forum in which there’s not agreement on the meaning of a word. Disagreement on word meanings and semantics is fertile ground for disagreements on a concept. Views on a deity are no exception to this (ever heard of ignosticism).

An overwhelming number of people that I have asked have stated their belief is based on some personal experience. It is usually an experience involving a personal struggle or something that caused a lot of stress in their life (from money problems to something life threatening). When the situation was resolved they attribute it to their concept of god or their gods (which seems to vary based on upbringing, social influences, so on. Some of the people I know are polytheist).

Others hold onto some concept of god that is independent of any religion at all. One of those people sees god as an agent that is necessarily dependent on and subject to the thoughts and whims of humans. She believes that she can employ this agent through meditating on a desired outcome long and hard enough. She once held onto one of the Christian concepts of a god but she left it because of personal experiences. During a time she was in need the assistance that the members of her church offered were limited to prayer. The people that did help her were on-believers. She was aware of the documentary hypothesis and I’m sure that played a role in her deconversion.

 

[valentino]

Simply put some people(like myself) don’t believe because we have not encountered anything that sustains a belief that any of the concepts of god (or gods) are descriptive of reality. I used the term “sustains a belief” because there was a time when I did believe. I think were my reasons were that as a child I (like many children) was inclined to believe what my parents taught me. The loss of the belief in a god paralleled the loss of a belief in Santa Claus and other childhood icons.

There’s inconsistencies in how people describe or define their concepts of a god. There’s been lots of other discussions within this forum in which there’s not agreement on the meaning of a word. Disagreement on word meanings and semantics is fertile ground for disagreements on a concept. Views on a deity are no exception to this (ever heard of ignosticism).

An overwhelming number of people that I have asked have stated their belief is based on some personal experience. It is usually an experience involving a personal struggle or something that caused a lot of stress in their life (from money problems to something life threatening). When the situation was resolved they attribute it to their concept of god or their gods (which seems to vary based on upbringing, social influences, so on. Some of the people I know are polytheist).

Others hold onto some concept of god that is independent of any religion at all. One of those people sees god as an agent that is necessarily dependent on and subject to the thoughts and whims of humans. She believes that she can employ this agent through meditating on a desired outcome long and hard enough. She once held onto one of the Christian concepts of a god but she left it because of personal experiences. During a time she was in need the assistance that the members of her church offered were limited to prayer. The people that did help her were on-believers. She was aware of the documentary hypothesis and I’m sure that played a role in her deconversion.

Its true that there must be something that causes a person to at least look into the idea of God.now Jesus wasn’t something(God)one could believe in without being taught.Jesus taught that God was personal.But Jesus isn’t really a convincing God.He even said you have to except Him on faith.So no matter what a person’s situation in life may be,rich,poor,disabled,physicallly sound,all can except but all must come the same way.

 

[ThinkingSapien]

But Jesus isn’t really a convincing God.He even said you have to except Him on faith.So no matter what a person’s situation in life may be,rich,poor,disabled,physicallly sound,all can except but all must come the same way.

Just as there’s variance in how one interprets the word “god” there’s variance in what one believes constitutes “acceptance.” Some of these variances seem to fall within denomination lines, but not all of them do.

Much of what I’ve encountered seems do be derived from John 3:16 and that believing that Jesus existed is sufficient for guaranteeing one’s entry into heaven. I’ve been in a few holiness churches and in one acceptance included also being obligated to enforce the “laws” or the old testament. My first time in one was an alien experience; I was confused as to why people were nodding their heads in agreement as the preacher gave his misogynistic message and complained how the laws of the USA prohibited them from fully implementing God’s word. There are also some that view Jesus as an example of a good human that may or may not have existed and a model to follow. I don’t know what acceptance means for people holding this belief as I’ve never been so inclined to ask. And then there are some that believe you must first be one of the “elect of God” to be able to truly accept. If you are not one of the elect then you don’t have that option and people that don’t believe can’t believe because they are not of the elect. That view is worth a discussion of it’s own.