Why should I believe in a god?

[Tannhauser_1509]

little g in this case, any god will do. Is there a reasonable answer this question?

Of the three transcendental virtues which may belong to any group, idea, faith, etc.—namely, Beauty, Goodness, and/or Truth—there is but one that foremost matters and actualizes the other two, and that is Truth. The only reason anyone should believe in something is because it is true. I think it was the first responder to your OP who said it doesn’t matter what anyone believes, only that we’re nice to each other. Notice that treating others kindly is derived from the belief that one ought to. And if it turns out to be true that we ought not to do so, then we must cease immediately doing it. That’s the only question that should matter as you consider the question of God, or the question of anything at all: Is it true? Is it true? Is it true? ad nauseam.

That’s why I do—and why everyone else should—believe in God, as revealed to us through Jesus Christ and the ministry of his Church, i.e., because it is truth, whether you agree with me or not.

 

[Thom18]

One argument that can be made for theism is that while atheists often view human life as “coincidence”, everybody refers to things like robots as being intelligently designed. We know that they didn’t just appear there and that someone had to create it.

 

[SecretCatholic]

little g in this case, any god will do. Is there a reasonable answer this question?

Could you further explain what you are asking? “Little g” gods are merely powerful beings in the world which have been thought to exist. At most, they are beings able to make order from a primordial chaos, according to legend. But our investigations of the natural world have never revealed any such beings in any of the places that they were thought to have lived. Furthermore, the activities attributed to them (such as storms and fertility) have been found to be natural phenomenon rather than the actions of a personal being. So, when you talk of “little g” Gods, I don’t think there are any good reasons to believe that they are or ever were real.

But the “Big G God”… now this is the prime mover- not a creature like you or I, but the one who is being itself. The universe has not given him existence, but rather he has given the universe existence. Why should you believe in him? I, or any of the theists here, can point you to many, many good arguments for his existence, from philosophy and science. There are also a number of good good books dealing with this topic on Catholic Answers and elsewhere. I suggest Trent Horn’s “Answering Atheism” myself.

 

[Tannhauser_1509]

My simple answer to that is, why shouldn’t you?

Remind me of an exchanges in one movie, by a Roman captain and one of his soldiers. They found themselves in a dire situation. He was a Christian but this troop ridiculed him for it.

He said something like this, the exact words I forgot, “You and I are the same, we are what we can show, do and speak for ourselves, and not more than that. That is what we are. So who you are without God? Nothing. With God you are still nothing but at least you have something in your belief that can make you more than what you are.”

In other word, I have nothing to lose by believing in God but if I do, I would be more than just who and what I am and could be, and it could do tremendous thing for me, sometimes much more than I think and expect.

I know that answer can be quite lame to you, it is not to me, the reason that I am able to say it. By allowing myself to say it, it is already seen in me as making a difference.

Well, first of all…that’s a movie.
Then…why would someone be nothing–or “not more than what they are”–without a God?
If one person thinks that about someone else, it’s just their personal opinion–and not a fair or kind one at that.
And…I can think of several things to lose by believing in a God.

One would, in fact, very well be nothing (literally) without God, as a matter of metaphysical necessity. Belief in God for some people has very little to do with how they perceive the purpose of their existence. That doesn’t mean they actually know what their objective purpose is, or the underlying fabric of their possibility to exist in the first place. God must be that underlying fabric, as he is the subsistent act of to-be itself. He must be, therefore, the ultimate aim of all things, whether one thinks so or not.

 

[drac16]

Because you were created to aspire to something greater than a material existence. Our choices matter. Those who seek God find Him and those who choose, by their own volition, to be lost are given the just punishment of Hellfire. The evildoers will be punished and the righteous will be rewarded. Deep down, we have a desire for both justice and reward. Have you wondered why there’s a huge outcry when something like school shooting happens? It’s because we know that a sacred law has been broken. We crave an adherence to a common law that transcends space and time. We know that there are moral absolutes and I would argue that that necessitates an unchanging, Holy God.

 

[hasantas]

I find it unlikely that everything came into existence and such absolute perfection by a series of random accidents. Random accidents don’t result in perfection. Look at the perfection of the universe, of the human body.

Look at your computer. What would you say if I said it had evolved all by itself? You would know something as complex as a computer couldn’t haved made itself. It’s also too perfect to have come about by a string of chances.

So, when we look at the universe, we see the probability of it just happening is nil. The existence of God as a creator is more probable.

Well.

 

[Viki63]

little g in this case, any god will do. Is there a reasonable answer this question?

To start with, because without God, the universe is a cold, terrifying, empty place in which we are wandering alone, whirling through space to an unknown destination.
With Him, it is peopled with glory, compassion, full of multitudes of angels, saints and the souls of the happy dead who have gone before us.
If you search for Him, He will find you.

.

 

[hasantas]

Thousands of prophets informed us about God. Prophets performed many miracles to prove their cases. Prophets were most high people as moraly. They did not lie in any case. They were most candid in religion and case. Isn’t there any possibility that prophets should be right?

 

[adamhovey1988]

You shouldn’t believe in** a god**, you should believe in the God, which is quite different.

 

[JMM1957]

Well, first of all…that’s a movie.
Then…why would someone be nothing–or “not more than what they are”–without a God?
If one person thinks that about someone else, it’s just their personal opinion–and not a fair or kind one at that.
And…I can think of several things to lose by believing in a God.

.

Some examples?

 

[J3nna]

I would love to reply to each and every comment made, this will take time please bear with me.

 

[Mi3hael]

little g in this case, any god will do. Is there a reasonable answer this question?

If you’re looking for a few points to read and then you believe in a God then that us not the case.

Faith is a bit more complicated than that, you are in the right place though. Why dont you do a little reading, or watch some youtube videos. Ask any questions and start your journey to knowledge which might even mean you can answer your own question in time

 

[J3nna]

Doesn’t matter what you believe, what matters is how you treat other people. Be kind and love thy neighbor.

What you believe empowers people who believe the same thing so I would make the argument that it matters very much.

My concern with dogma and religious belief in general is that it takes critically important concepts like love and morality and assigns them divine stature and then fights tooth and nail inquiry into these fields. It has reached epic proportions where many people can not comprehend morality divorced from divine dictates.

 

[J3nna]

Sure, here are some I can think of:

Almost every culture throughout history has believed.

Agreeing with a bunch of people who are wrong just makes you wrong.

The best wisdom and guidance comes from people who believe in God. This will give you a lasting peace.

Would you care to share some of this wisdom?

A preponderance of evidence shows you have a soul that will live on after your death. You should care about why that is.

Evidence that becomes ethereal upon further examination.

Thank you for attempting the Gish Gallop, please from now on make an assertion and follow with logical reasoning as to why this is true.

 

[J3nna]

I’m not quite sure what you are asking. The obvious answer a theist will give you is, “Because there is a god.” Or they could say the arguments for a god are much more convincing than arguments against a god. Of course, you might be asking if the arguments for god are any good at all.

I am not naive enough to think that I have heard all of the arguments for the existence of a god, those I have heard so far have not been any good at all. Which is why I do not think such a being exists

 

[J3nna]

My simple answer to that is, why shouldn’t you?

Remind me of an exchanges in one movie, by a Roman captain and one of his soldiers. They found themselves in a dire situation. He was a Christian but this troop ridiculed him for it.

He said something like this, the exact words I forgot, “You and I are the same, we are what we can show, do and speak for ourselves, and not more than that. That is what we are. So who you are without God? Nothing. With God you are still nothing but at least you have something in your belief that can make you more than what you are.”

In other word, I have nothing to lose by believing in God but if I do, I would be more than just who and what I am and could be, and it could do tremendous thing for me, sometimes much more than I think and expect.

I know that answer can be quite lame to you, it is not to me, the reason that I am able to say it. By allowing myself to say it, it is already seen in me as making a difference.

I am familiar with Pascals wager and find it a blatant use of threat disguised as rationality, I am glad you loose nothing in your belief. There are others who loose everything, in an attempt to please a being that may or may not exists, that they only know through what they can imagine, what other people have taught them and millennia old letters heavily edited though history.

 

[J3nna]

Why? Because God offers you eternal life.

Because God created the universe, and you.

Because God loves us more than we love ourselves, unimaginably more than we love ourselves.

Of course just saying these things doesn’t prove them. But let’s say you did your research, and come to believe in God. These are some of the reasons to continue to believe in God.

Thank you for your assertions of faith, I hope it helps you feel good about yourself over the coming few days.

 

[wmscott]

So this will be very difficult to explain why you should believe in God as I think it is very complicated to try and articulate it in a short post. I can tell you that I believe in God and in Jesus Christ and that I have faith and I believe in that faith as being a real and tangible thing.

In my case and one aspect of my faith is the real and tangible things that I have experienced that has involved the supernatural experiences that God has allowed me to experience His presence on a few occasions that has left a lasting impression on me in a deep way.

Once you have experienced actually being in the physical presence of Christ, the Holy Spirit, and His angles it is humbling, awe inspiring, and uplifting/comforting to know that God exists. That He loves us and wants us to love Him.

How many times has God spoke to us or stood in our midst and it is dismissed as something other than He. We tend to explain it away as something natural occurring using our limited and finite intellect.

So this is my poor attempt to explain why I believe in God. I hope He touches you and that the experience will open your heart to faith.

 

[Reuben_J]

I am familiar with Pascals wager and find it a blatant use of threat disguised as rationality, I am glad you loose nothing in your belief. There are others who loose everything, in an attempt to please a being that may or may not exists, that they only know through what they can imagine, what other people have taught them and millennia old letters heavily edited though history.

Hi. I was merely responding to your question and it’s a personal opinion.

I want to change that now. In fact in order to believe in God (of Christianity), one will lose everything. How about that?

You will lose your job, your money, your property, your fun (if they are obtained or done wrongly) and even your marriage partner (there is certain marriage that is not allowed). Generally it is called sin.

On the other hand, if a person does not do/have those in the first place due to his/her belief, then he/she has nothing to lose but much to gain. Again, a matter of personal experience, rather than just a theoretical statement but of course it can be subjective, depending on who does the talking.

And why do you ask the question, if I may ask? Just curious. Do you want to gain an insight from those who believe in God or would it make you feel better at the end of it all that they cannot convince you otherwise and that you are right about your own conviction?

I am not sure whether thread such as this is allowed now in CAF, and even if allowed, whether it can really last. The chasm in our differences is so deep, sometimes one may wonder if it not a futile exercise after all. But if the objective is about gathering knowledge then maybe the direction of the discussion is clearer.

 

[superwimp]

little g in this case, any god will do. Is there a reasonable answer this question?

Hello jenna,

Thinking is good for you.  The development of critical thinking skills is very important so that you don't just hop on whatever band wagon comes your way.  If you don't

believe in God or you settle for some predefined God then all of the thinking has already been done for you. You have a right to think. Exercise that right by believing in God and then observing in nature what that God is.