Last post of the term!
March 18th
(The purpose of this journal entry is NOT to promote any school of thought or to make you feel uncomfortable. If you are concerned about the content of this journal entry either journal about that or speak to me. Thanks.)
Choose the statement which best applies for yourself:
* As a believer, I argue that God exists using the following type of arguments....
* As an atheist, I argue that God doesn’t exist using the following type of arguments...
* As an agnostic, I argue that God could exist, but that we don’t have conclusive evidence using the following type of arguments...
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19 comments:
As a none of the above, I don't care if god exist for the reason that it is pointless to worry about something that can not be changed.
I am an agnostic. I believe we cannot prove or disprove God's existence primarily because of Soren Kierkegaard's argument that belief in God is a leap of faith. I would like to believe in a higher power because I would be comforted by this belief, but it is hard for me to believe something with no evidence and no real gut feeling. I think that doubt is an integral part of faith and attempting to prove God's existence is futile. Pascal's wager is my least favorite argument for belief in God; I don't think it is possible to decide what you believe, especially if you are only believing something because you have an ulterior motive.
**As an atheist, I argue that God doesn't exist using the following type of arguments...
I don't mean to be offensive, but there is no possible way a God could exist. Someone could argue with me, wondering how people came to exist, and I could honestly reply that I don't know. I'm not a scientist that can explain the complexities of evolution and how it all started. All I know is that, if a Godly figure were to have created everything in this world, why would he make imperfect beings? Humans can get sick, animals eat each other, and the world is in a constant state of change (for good and bad). I can understand that if I was a God and I created something, I wouldn't want these creations of mine to be super-powerful or God-like (like a copy of God), but why would a creator make so many problems for it's creations? Diseases constantly kill of people everyday, and the food chain is no pleasant story. All of this couldn't possibly be to keep a balance of things in our imperfect world.
There are many, many, complexities of our world, and even if they seem too deeply intertwined to be naturally occurring, I just don't believe there was a creator who decided to just make our planet earth.
I consider myself to be an agnostic, as I don't think there is any good evidence for or against the existence of gods. Spirituality is not based in the physical world of facts; faith is something that is believed rather than accepted. In this way, I agree with Kierkegaard, who said that belief in a god was a "leap of faith." Maybe I will believe in a god or gods in the future, and I don't want to limit myself by jumping to conclusions. Instead I just say "I don't know" and I'm perfectly fine with it and try not to get hung up over it. There are so many religions, each with very different ideas of higher powers and all equally legitimate in my mind, which makes me wary of religion and unable to "choose" one. Perhaps there is a uniting truth among them all, but I can't help but think that they are mostly imagined by man. While I may someday believe in a god, I can't really see myself joining a religion when there are so many, each convinced that they are true.
As a believer i argue that God exists by faith. I can't prove to you anything but what i know to be true, however, you may not take what i say to be truth. i have had personal experiences that back up my beliefs, but if i tried to use that as a strong base to my argument, you could argue against it and not believe it. i believe that God exists, and i can do my best to try to persuade someone but if they are not willing to believe, then they won't. My argument is that i don't have one. There is no one universal way to prove that God exists to everyone, it is a belief system.
As a believer, I argue that God exists because I am proof because something greater than me had to create my existence. I refuse to believe that I am here for no eternal purpose and I refuse to believe that humans descending from ape's because the Bible didn't tell me that.
As a believer,I argue that God exists because everything comes from something.So to me I feel like there is a higher power.Something made humans and earth.I don't think that Evolution is what started life because for everything to evolve there must have been a certain something that brought it here.Also I feel like because different civilizations that lived far from each other and had no contact with each other grew some religious faith just shows that something exists even though they believed in different religious point of views there is a higher power,just because we have the knowledge to even think of having a God shows that if we can imagine it that it's real.I still believe that we don't have evidence just because all of the events described in certain books like the Bible are out to date and happened a long time ago.
As an agnostic, I argue that God could exist, but that we don’t have conclusive evidence to prove that he really does exist. I don't really care if he does exist or not, but right now i don't like the arguments for it. The only evidence that people can give right now is that the world is to complex to not be made by a higher power, or that you should just believe in case there is a God, you won't burn in hell. These arguments are just not really evidence to prove about God, but more like you should because you have too. It's kind of like the Sophists, where you could just persuade the people instead of trying to find the truth like Socrates. You don't really know what to do until you die, but maybe that's how it is meant to be. If life is just a test of faith to see whether you believe in God or not; then I see no reason to believe until you die.
As a Taoist, I do not believe in a GOD so much as the idea that the universe, the Earth, and everything on it are all together a sort of god in itself. I don't believe in one single being that watches and monitors these things, but that these things are one thing. I don't believe that there has to be an initial starter of everything, as in the cosmological argument, but I sort of feel like there should be, even if that thing happens to be a simple need for something for lack of anything. I don't know if that makes much sense, but it's sort of like the leap of faith and not questioning because I'm just happy that things are the way that they are. I can't use logic, because I have none in this situation. I just know that it feels right to me,so that's what I believe.
I consider myself an atheist, but am somewhat of a mixture between atheist and agnostic. I think that there is not enough proof or evidence to prove the presence of a god. I think that there may be some sort of crazy power that governs the universe that SOME might consider a god, but I do not think that that crazy power would be outside of science, or supernatural. In that way I don't think that there can be a god. I argue that a god outside of the rules of nature and science could not exist because everything that we know are governed by those rules, and that we define science and nature to include everything we know, so if something like a god existed, it would fall under those rules. I also think that it is logical to conclude that everything has a reason, or some sort of explaining factor, and that no god could exist without an explaining factor, and therefor any god-like power could eventually be explained through science. I do not see many things in our world that are so unexplainable that there must be a god (like miracles or something), and I think that the things that we currently do not understand will eventually be explained by science. Even if science has infinite unknowns forever, I still choose to believe in it over a god. These arguments are probably not enough to disprove the existence of god to somebody who is not atheist, but they are logical to me.
I think God could exist but because we will never be able to prove she/he/it exists. Even though I think God exists but there is any evidence I don't think that everything in the Bible is true. For example I don't think that adam and eve existed. Instead I believe that the big bang happened and that we evolved like Darwin said. However we still don't have proof that God exists and it is highly unlikely that we will. It is hard to prove it because we don't know if "prophets" were telling the truth. Plus more evidence points towards evolution and the big bang then it does that there was/is a God. It is quite possible that, if there was a God, she/he/it could be right here with us. She/he/it could be in this very room for all we know, which isn't a lot.
As a believer, I argue that God exists because there are simply things in this world that I see or experience that lead me to believe there is no possible way that this world just came about on its own. Also, without God, our lives would be pointless, and that's a very pessimistic way of looking at life. If our lives were truly pointless, why would anyone try?
I don't feel like any of the three starting statements applies to me.
Yes, I believe in a higher power, but I don't think of this power as a god or specific being. My view of my higher power is very similar to the Taoist idea of the Universe and the Buddhist idea of karma--an interconnected force that is benevolent, and that gives you nudges in one or more right directions while trying to keep you away from the wrong paths.
I believe in this higher power because of events in my own life; there are some things that are too coincidental or fit much to well to be chance. Which, I suppose, is argument by design.
3rd Option:
I am an agnostic because of what I have experienced in my life. The evidence that christianity provides is too inconclusive to be true. The bible is a just a story, a fictional piece of literature that has been altered too many times to be the original. People take it so seriously, they devote their lives to it. It's also so undecipherable at times that it could be interpreted in any way, which means the true meaning gets lost in translation. I used to believe in god, but it was mostly because my friends were into it and I wanted to have something that I could really believe in. Now, I can't fathom why anyone would really believe there is someone up there judging who gets a life of pure bliss and who gets eternal damnation. It is not just, nor is it positive. They use fear as a motivation to believe, and that is called extortion. Many of the churches are corrupt, stealing money and even molesting children. I could go on, but I'll finish it. I do not believe in any god, or superior being because there is no order to this world. I only believe in what I see/feel/hear because that is the only thing that can be proven to me. I do not want to live a life with restrictions just because some thousand year old book tells me that after I die I either get infinite goodness, or eternal badness.
As an agnostic, I argue that God could exist, but since that we don't have conclusive evidence I find it hard to convince others and even question my own faith. I believe I have to convince myself first, before I can even think about convincing or persuading others. I can say I'd be the kind of person to make a leap of faith, but it depends on what I'm believing in. I can't say I'd take a leap of faith in the name of God and Christianity at this time in my life, because there are too many different religions to believe in just one religion alone, if any. How can I say some one else is wrong, that the religion they believe in isn't the right one, when I don't even know if my religion is the right one. You may call me a skeptic but, I like to consider myself cautious. I'm not going to spend my whole life believing in something because, some one else says if I don't I'll be punished and burned in hell for eternity. Call me a skeptic.
Personally I care not about the existence of god. Or of gods for that matter. In reality I cannot believe in a benign creator that is all powerful and endlessly kind yet still dictates that unless you believe in him you will not be saved. However, Without said existence what is the purpose, meaning, or reason for life. Would life after death exist? What happens if such a thing does not exist?
As such There must be some logic to a land after death, however there are also theories against that. One of the biggest questions I am concerned with is, Why am I here as in, why am I here and now? I don't remember a time before existence, and I don't know when I will fade from existence, if I lived a previous life then why am I remembering the here and now rather than the there? These questions lead me to believe that I am indeed a current creation, and as such, must have some purpose. Whether or not there is a god behind this I know not, nor do I care. I simply am and therefore I will deal with my death when the time comes.
As such I am a particular branch of agnostic, I follow the teachings of a "God" but do not adhere to calling myself one of his worshipers. None of the arguments for or against a god as explained by other philosophers pertains to my reasons for belief or disbelief. Even Pascal and his belief in Rational Decision is a load of bull. He does not pertain to me as I take his idea further and expound upon a singular entity of Why. If it doesn't exist it doesn't exist and if it does it does, regardless I want to know WHY it does such. Hence my argument is not Pascal's but another argument entirely.
There is always however the existance of a higher power. From the old stars in the sky to the singular entity of an almighty "Lord God" and his "Son." Regardless of whether or not they exist they hold no real power over us at this point. Everything can be explained scientifically or logically. However there is also a slight chance that these things exist. If so however they are not in the same form. For example, this "god" that those cristians believe in cannot be endlessly kind or he would simply take everyone who was kind and pure into his castle in the sky. Of course I suppose if that is true then even more people would join said religion and thus begin to believe in this god eliminating the need for the condition I set down previously. I suppose the point is that there is no way to know so for this moment I care not at all. In the end as I reach the end of my life I suppose I might rethink this, however it doesn't seem like this will come around anytime soon.
As an agnostic, I argue that God could exist, but that we don't have conclusive evidence. I believe that evolution is true and that it is easily proven through facts found by many scientists. But I believe we don't have enough evidence to know if God truly exists. There is no way for us to prove this because the only way to find out is to die and obviously this creates problems. Also there is no evidence or scientific facts that can be used to prove this because it is a supernatural phenomena. I believe God is a psychological creation by humans to create a sense of hope and good in man.
As an agnostic, I argue that God could exist, but that we don't have conclusive evidence. I believe that evolution is true and that it is easily proven through facts found by many scientists. But I believe we don't have enough evidence to know if God truly exists. There is no way for us to prove this because the only way to find out is to die and obviously this creates problems. Also there is no evidence or scientific facts that can be used to prove this because it is a supernatural phenomena. I believe God is a psychological creation by humans to create a sense of hope and good in man.
I think I'd fit into the agnostic category best. I think that there's no way to tell someone there is or isn't because there's a lot of "evidence" for and against as we read in those two articles. I think religion is a lot of almost truth, but it has been so man-made that I don't care to follow. People pick and choose what they believe and call it the truth. I think instead of being religious, people should look to see what they themselves believe and stick to that.
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