POLL: Is belief in God due to a failed search for meaning in life and fear of death?

[dsq]

What other "unknowns" do you not believe "against?" Tooth fairies? Gremlins? Flying unicorns? After all, they are unknowns. What to do with them?

ditto.

This whole beleiving the unknowns is no less legit than beleiving against the unknowns is really the mark of a person engaged in delusions and idiocy.When you have no legit argument you can always come up with some stupid wannabe existential psychobabble crap like this.

Conform your beleifs to your reality NOT conform your reality to your beleifs.

 

[Option Trader]

Failing to find meaning in life without God is one way people come to believe in God
.
Fear of death only helps someone who is already a believer, as it will cause him now to reckon with his heaven-sent mission in this world. However, for a non=believer, fear of death can lead him more astray, and lead him to splurge in worldy pleasures while he still can.

Ultimately, to explain the limitless wonders of this world requires a leap of faith. Those who believe in God do so because they feel it requires s a much smaller leap of faith than for an atheist.

 

[WaveStrider]

Quote from Thunderdog:

But how do you explain the belief in an afterlife of one kind or another, which is a feature of all of the major religions?

This goes into the question of the actual existence of an "alternate-life". "After-Life" is kind of a loaded phrase, because - if there IS one - who is to say that this current life isn't a Life after a previous one you've had, making THIS life an "After-Life" too?

Some say it's the effect on our brains as we lose oxygen and hallucinate, but there are stories (anecdotal, of course - maybe Elizabeth Kubler-Ross has them written down) of people describing things they could not have known from their vantage point at "near-death" but accurately describing after being revived.

The near-death experiences of young children are the most interesting, because they are not yet indoctrinated into what they "should" be experiencing (God/Jesus/fill-in-the-blank). Unfortunately, they are also unable to fully articulate the experience, so it is a double-edged sword.

Physics is pointing to the possibility of dimensions that are beyond our limited 4 - so that leaves the possibility open that there are many things as yet to be discovered. Maybe what we "4th dimensionally" call "death" will be called something else in time - who knows...?

 

[trefoil]

It's tradition. Which is why, if you're born Christian, you're likely to die as one, and so on.
Humans have very few instincts, so culture has to come in to fill the void. While theoretically you could choose everything, as a practical matter this is impossible: you didn't choose what language you are a native speaker of, and you don't choose which culture you are brought up in. Religion is an integral part of that culture.
So, it's tradition.

 

[volente_00]

FIXED

Quote from NeoRio1:

Believing against the possibility of an unknown becoming known is just as illogical as believing for the unknown.

I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

 

[Vista]

Quote from WaveStrider:

This goes into the question of the actual existence of an "alternate-life". "After-Life" is kind of a loaded phrase, because - if there IS one - who is to say that this current life isn't a Life after a previous one you've had, making THIS life an "After-Life" too?

And if there is an after life, or another dimension, do other species get to go? What about dogs or roaches?

Are we better than them? Sure we can make computers and space shuttles, but my dog has sense of smell 10,000 x's greater than mine and the roach has been around 200 million years longer than us humans. Better or just different?

We're all just made up of mostly the same stuff......carbon atoms, which is mostly just empty space.

 

[WaveStrider]

Quote from Vista:

And if there is an after life, or another dimension, do other species get to go? What about dogs or roaches?

Are we better than them? Sure we can make computers and space shuttles, but my dog has sense of smell 10,000 x's greater than mine and the roach has been around 200 million years longer than us humans. Better or just different?

We're all just made up of mostly the same stuff......carbon atoms, which is mostly just empty space.

I wish I knew and could point to a repeatable experiment. I can't - but if there IS a consciousness after this lifetime, I guess we'll all find out. Either that, or it won't matter anyway.

I don't think being "around" longer - like roaches - has much to do with the question of an alternate/after-life. Time is relative, as Einstein said. Our idea of time likely doesn't mean the same thing outside our 4-dimensions.

Physically we ARE all made of the same basic stuff, but thoughts about an alt/after-life are not about the physical part.

 

[NeoRio1]

Quote from killthesunshine:

Why would you believe in something unknown??

Do YOU believe in EVERYTHING unknown?

Do you believe in reading comprehension?

 

[NeoRio1]

Quote from dsq:

ditto.

This whole beleiving the unknowns is no less legit than beleiving against the unknowns is really the mark of a person engaged in delusions and idiocy.When you have no legit argument you can always come up with some stupid wannabe existential psychobabble crap like this.

Conform your beleifs to your reality NOT conform your reality to your beleifs.

The reality is that the nonexistence of god is not a fact. The reality is that the existence of god is not a fact.

That is why I am agnostic.

Look it up genius.

Also could you provide me with a couple of your superficial, totally off the mark insults. I want to look more educated like yourself.

 

[OPTIONAL777]

What are ideas and concepts made of?

What about advanced abstract concepts in math? What physical components is math composed of?

Quote from Vista:

And if there is an after life, or another dimension, do other species get to go? What about dogs or roaches?

Are we better than them? Sure we can make computers and space shuttles, but my dog has sense of smell 10,000 x's greater than mine and the roach has been around 200 million years longer than us humans. Better or just different?

We're all just made up of mostly the same stuff......carbon atoms, which is mostly just empty space.