I've been thinking recently that the beleif of the existance of a "god" is completely stupid. I am a logical sort of a person. I tend not to beleive anything unless I see some proper evidence. Even then I'm pretty skeptical.

People justify the existance of a "god" in a whole myriad of ways. Some people reckon they've seen a sign, other feel a presense etc. Does anyone remember that thing about the picket fence that looked like "mary" from a certain angle? That $*must*$ imply the existance of something special... Some people think they saw a statue crying.



Well, I think just about every justification is a load of crap. The only one that the religious nuts have going for them are near death experiences. People report back saying they saw a light and whatnot. This is the only thing that had me convinced there was something extra.

Well, it seems that all of those symptoms (the light, flashbacks etc) are a result of the brain shutting down. I don't remember the details, but you can create this sensation with a really powerful electromagnet. It was at this point that I realised "god" was nothing more than a santa for adults - a load of crap that gives people something to look forward to, regardless of how pointless their life is.

Also, I saw some genius posting a rebuttal to the electromagnetic brain interaction on the totse site. He goes on about unexplained "vibrations"... What in the name of jesus christ was that douchebag on about? What vibrations?$?$?$ I've seen various nutcases talk about "vibrations". Enjoy life more by aligning with the good emotion vibrations. What the hell does this mean? It's never made sense to me, and I'm calling bullshit. The only "unexplained vibrations" in an electromagnet could be the result of the magnet interacting with nearby metal objects, which would vibrate if an AC current were passed through the coil.

And then there's scientology. Oh man, what a load of CRAP. Has anyone read about this? They made up something that measures the resistance between someone's palms and thereby calculates how spiritual they are, or something stupid like that. I also use a multimeter to check out what rating my spare resistors are. Check it out on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology

What bs.

I think "god" was invented to give meaning to people's utterly pointless lives, to give them hope when they really have no reason to be happy or hopeful. I can't beleive how far people take their beleifs though. Look at the damn terrorists. It's bloody pathetic. I don't care if someone wants to live with the delusion of some better place, but you can damn well keep your thoughts and bullets to yourself. I don't give a shit.

Along with all this god talk, things like "karma" are rubbish. Life is chaotic in nature. I can put a few things down in my life to "god" or a result of "karma". Anyone can link two things together and say they are the result of each other, but where is the goddamn proof?$?$ As far as I am concerned, there isn't any.

Anyway, I'd like to see an argument in "god's" favour.

An argument in "gods" favor, I wish I could humor you. The answers I've heard first hand were something like...."God exists because it says so in the Bible." or "God exists because we didn't just come from monkeys, thats CRAZY!!!" or "Jesus is real because God said he was" or "That's what my daddy told me and George W. believes it, so it's good enough for me goddamnit" I've heard them all.

I have heard about some books called "The Case For Christ", and "The Case for A Creator", both by the same author. He was supposedly an athiest journalist who decided to do some research on the subject of Jesus and was so convinced by what he learned that he converted and later wrote a book researching the concept of an intelligent designer. As if the two are in any way related, just because there could be a creator doesn't mean he's petty and shallow enough to run the universe like a FOX reality show, but that's just my two cents. So, if you really are interested in hearing some arguments and information regarding the existense of a God, or a more specific approach (Jesus), then maybe you'd be interested in those books.

Is the reason for why God was invented so important? I understand it can be used by people as a means of giving their lives meaning, but as a tool for meaning I believe that it’s obsolete, for there are better tools (such as Logotherapy).

There’s no evidence whatsoever for the existence of a god, and the majority of gods people believe in are irrational. Not believing in something because there is no evidence and its irrational is rational; believing in something in spite of lack of evidence and the irrationality of the belief is irrational and, I think, dangerous.

Actually, here's an interesting quote by Viktor Frankl that's gotten me thinking:

“I have come to define religion as an expression, a manifestation, of not only man’s will to meaning, but of man’s longing for ultimate meaning, that is to say a meaning that is so comprehensive that it is no longer comprehensible…But it becomes a matter of believing rather than thinking, of faith rather than intellect. The positing of a super-meaning that evades mere rational grasp is one of the main tenets of logotherapy, after all. And a religious person may identify Supermeaning as something paralleling a Superbeing, and this Superbeing we would call God.”

I really don’t believe that there is a God, although I’m aware of the possibility, but yes, I think it can be dangerous due to this need of man for a meaning. I'm merely pondering now, sorry if I'm getting off topic, lol.

I like your post about meaning.

What is the meaning of "meaning"?

The thing is, there is no meaning.

I make meaning. Nothing means anything

till I decide it means that.

Know what I mean?

It doesn't matter though people will continue to follow relgion because of its massive appeal. Even though lots of it makes no logical sense, it offers you an Afterlife of happiness, therefore taking away the sting and mystery of death.

The thought that you only have these years and then u cease to exist is a pretty scarey one. I mean in the grand scheme of things a lifetime in nothing at all.

People blindly follow relgious beliefs and then don't even question them. This makes people have the good a relgion promises without even having a shadow of doubt at the ill logic. This would be what people consider the ends justify the means. Relgion isnt that bad though it keeps alot of people in line, then again u can arguee the terrorist. The fact of the matter is relgion isn't going anywhere

well, its quite easy to try to bash religion... but most religion are self sealing and very comprehensive. and although the religion itself might seem illogical, individual's reasons for placing their faith into a religion isnt as illogical as it seems.