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Why Do So Many People Need a God?

WCH said:
I don't attend church any longer but, the sermons I remember were positive and not damning.

You must of went to the bad church. 8)
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Never went to church, but that is the dogma of most Christian and Muslim religions. Doesn't matter if they broadcast it. That is what they claim God does.
 
calamity said:
Whether it's to explain the origins of life, the emergence of the Universe or the reason why the pimple sprouting on their ass went away, billions of people suffer the delusion that God is behind it. Why do so many people insist on giving credit to an invisible being that no one can see, hear, touch or otherwise prove exists.

If life cannot spontaneously emerge out of the primordial soup, then neither can God. If the Universe cannot pop up out of a sudden burst of energy, then neither can God. If the boil on your ass cannot burst on it's own, why would God pop it for you? Pretty much everything we attribute to God could happen without Him. In fact, it's a simpler explanation to leave God out of the loop when explaining how things came to be because now at least you no longer have to explain where God came from.

In short, a question needs to be asked. What the hell is wrong with people that they need God?
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There's nothing wrong with them. Just like there's nothing wrong with those who don't need it.

It's a natural human thing to wonder where we come from, what the purpose of it all is, what happens after death, do we really simply disapear completely? To most people, the answers are found in the religion they grew up with and stuck with, or whichever one they feel more comfortable with once they're free to shop around for a new one. For a minority who can't reconcile religious ideas with their rational minds it's more complicated. It doesn't mean we don't wonder about the same eternal questions, it just means that for us religion provides no valid answers. Most turn to science and hard facts, others like me allow for a godless form of spirituality.

Whatever helps people cope with life and its mysteries, as long as they don't forcefully shove their ideologies down society's throat, theists, atheists, agnostics and everything in between, it's all good. :)
 
Freedom is hard. It's scary. It's overwhelming. Some people want an infallible ruler to take responsibility so they don't have to. They're not on the hook to solve the problems of this world. All they have to do is wait around for Jesus to do it. There's no need to truly have justice in this world because god will sort it all out when we die and he never makes mistakes. Even when we don't feel like our lives have meaning, some all knowing parent is taking care of it.

It's very appealing and comforting to have something like that watching out for you. But it's not true, and it's a cop out. There won't be a magical savior to make this world into paradise. We have to do it ourselves. There won't be justice after death. We have to have justice now. We aren't imbued with meaning from an outside source. We have to make meaning ourselves. That's a heavy burden to bear. It doesn't surprise me at all that a lot of people aren't up to bearing it. But the world would be a much much better place if we bore it together, rather than pretending it wasn't there.
 
Ray410 said:
Seemingly inversely correlated to the OP is the fact that there's a number of people who desperately need for there to NOT be a God. This is a very unusual proposition, but we see it on here virtually every day, the rage, the anger, the ridicule of those who do have faith, a God, a supreme being that they love and believe in.

These people seem almost desperate in their hysterical demands that you not have a God, that you have nothing to believe in, just as they have nothing beyond themselves. They even spend their money to go to court to take away your God.

It seems like a psychiatric condition, a sickness. Why do they even care? Certainly those with faith would be glad to help them find God, to make them happier, but beyond that, they're not even thought about.
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I too am amazed at the sudden surge of professional Atheism. Seems at first blush that you don't need a support system to NOT believe in something. So, I've been paying a little extra attention and I have a THEORY©:

There is no business like God business. An invisible and intangible product that people voluntarily donate HUNDREDS of BILLIONS to. What a sweet gig. So, if you can market Atheism like Religion, you can also get rich.

In short, it's business - as usual.
 
Ray410 said:
Seemingly inversely correlated to the OP is the fact that there's a number of people who desperately need for there to NOT be a God. This is a very unusual proposition, but we see it on here virtually every day, the rage, the anger, the ridicule of those who do have faith, a God, a supreme being that they love and believe in.

These people seem almost desperate in their hysterical demands that you not have a God, that you have nothing to believe in, just as they have nothing beyond themselves. They even spend their money to go to court to take away your God.

It seems like a psychiatric condition, a sickness. Why do they even care? Certainly those with faith would be glad to help them find God, to make them happier, but beyond that, they're not even thought about.
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I can speak to that. I remember the anger well. I cannot speak for anyone else but me in this, but in the end for me, it was because of all the evil I saw in the world. The idea that there could be something perfect in the midst of that or perhaps even the cause of it was more angering than I know how to explain.

Truth is, the world is pretty messed up. This kind of reaction really does make sense and is probably a healthy way of processing it too. There is no reason to put people down for a reaction that really makes perfect sense.
 
specklebang said:
I too am amazed at the sudden surge of professional Atheism. Seems at first blush that you don't need a support system to NOT believe in something. So, I've been paying a little extra attention and I have a THEORY©:

There is no business like God business. An invisible and intangible product that people voluntarily donate HUNDREDS of BILLIONS to. What a sweet gig. So, if you can market Atheism like Religion, you can also get rich.

In short, it's business - as usual.
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All due to the internet.
There was no place to seek out similar minded people without the risk of censure from friends and family.
There was no support available. We did not have 'atheist bars' or 'atheist parades'.
Going up against generations of religious devotion is scary.

We now have a multitude of places to ask questions.
We have youtube videos. Podcasts. Blogs.
We are no longer feel alone and isolated.

Now I no longer care what people think.
I will no longer be as gullible as I was before, not even if you are a Nigerian prince.

:2wave:
I am free!
 
RogueWarrior said:
All due to the internet.
There was no place to seek out similar minded people without the risk of censure from friends and family.
There was no support available. We did not have 'atheist bars' or 'atheist parades'.
Going up against generations of religious devotion is scary.

We now have a multitude of places to ask questions.
We have youtube videos. Podcasts. Blogs.
We are no longer feel alone and isolated.

Now I no longer care what people think.
I will no longer be as gullible as I was before, not even if you are a Nigerian prince.

:2wave:
I am free!
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So you won't give me $300 to claim your 5.8 million dollar inheritance waiting in the Bank Of Lesotho? Your loss, my gain:)

Well, I'm no believer and I have friends that are even more adamant about that but I still contend these Atheist Churches (or whatever you cal them) ar sheer scammy moneymakers, jus like the million phony Church Of The Super Cool Fabulous Holy-Moly Redeemers that pop up every day (tax free of course) and that they serve no purpose beyond enriching their owners by getting suckers toi donate money to formally not believe in god.

Sorry, but to me this is absurd. I can not-believe in whatever for free. Or I can believe in the Holy Feline for free.

Instead, I do my good deeds and I've covered both sides of the fence. I use my money to actually help others, not to finance temples to money-hungry gods or money-hungry not-gods.
 
americanwoman said:
Perhaps a lot of people need some kind of direction or purpose for their life and a God who tells them the "right" way to live can provide that.
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specklebang said:
To "avoid" permanent death. No god = no soul. No soul = death is forever. God = eternal life and presence of some sort (heaven).
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ttwtt78640 said:
To eliminate the need to seek an alternative reason for whatever is attributed to a higher power/outside force.
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I think it's probably much simpler than that.

I would argue that most people have religion because they were raised into it.

For as long as they can remember they've been inculcated with whatever particular belief system it is they hold.

People need religion because it's all they've ever known and believing it is as natural to them as breathing air.
 
calamity said:
Whether it's to explain the origins of life, the emergence of the Universe or the reason why the pimple sprouting on their ass went away, billions of people suffer the delusion that God is behind it. Why do so many people insist on giving credit to an invisible being that no one can see, hear, touch or otherwise prove exists.

If life cannot spontaneously emerge out of the primordial soup, then neither can God. If the Universe cannot pop up out of a sudden burst of energy, then neither can God. If the boil on your ass cannot burst on it's own, why would God pop it for you? Pretty much everything we attribute to God could happen without Him. In fact, it's a simpler explanation to leave God out of the loop when explaining how things came to be because now at least you no longer have to explain where God came from.

In short, a question needs to be asked. What the hell is wrong with people that they need God?[/QUOTE]

Question is what the hell is wrong with you. Why do you feel the need to judge people so harshly that believe in a God?
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soot said:
I think it's probably much simpler than that.

I would argue that most people have religion because they were raised into it.

For as long as they can remember they've been inculcated with whatever particular belief system it is they hold.

People need religion because it's all they've ever known and believing it is as natural to them as breathing air.
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Good point. I was raised heavily into it. Even now not believing I sometimes feel almost guilty like I am betraying something I don't even believe in.

Now I have family trying to teach my daughter about it. I tell her it's ok to listen to them, give her my point of view, and let her know it's her decision what to believe.
 
calamity said:
In short, a question needs to be asked. What the hell is wrong with people that they need God?
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I'm a little surprised you can't figure that out.

Part of it is the human condition. We are self-aware, and we can think, but also have a strong emotional make-up. We ask questions. We want answers. We empathize, and we fear death. We want to know the how and the why, not just that things "are". The existence of God may not satisfy your needs, but it most certainly does help many many individiduals in their journey called life. I don't propose to know the big answers, but I do firmly believe that there is more to us than flesh and bone. Maybe I'm wrong, but if I am, I will never know, once I'm dead and gone. As long as a person isn't harming others with his belief, why not let them be, and not try to degrade them, merely because of their humanity?
 
americanwoman said:
Good point. I was raised heavily into it. Even now not believing I sometimes feel almost guilty like I am betraying something I don't even believe in.

Now I have family trying to teach my daughter about it. I tell her it's ok to listen to them, give her my point of view, and let her know it's her decision what to believe.
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LOL.

I'm in the same boat.

Raised Catholic, went to Catholic schools, all that.

But I never really got bit by the bug and could always take it or leave it. Eventually I joined the Army and when I didn't have my dad waking me up every Sunday morning I just fell away from it and never went back.

When we had our first kid I was in the boat that I was gonna take my kid to church because "religion is such a large part of so many peoples' lives that I don't want to deprive my child of an introduction to something that may become such a fundamental part of who he is".

I made it through about 2 months of church before I was like, "Screw you guys, I'm goin' home".

Now my mother-in-law poisons my kids' heads with all her Jesus voodoo.

My kid occasionally insists on saying grace at the table, and I'm not going to tell him no, but when he does I get the same kind of guilt.

I don't honestly know whether there's a God or not. I won't say that there isn't, but I can't say that there is either. I live my life as though there isn't, or at least as though if there is he isn't too interested in me. Because even if there is a God, I doubt very much it's going to hurt his heart that I masturbate, or that he wants me to go out and blow up infidels, or he's going to throw me in hell for not keeping a kosher diet. Maybe there is a God and maybe he is the Creator, but religion is 110% man-made malarkey, I'm as sure of that as I am of anything.
 
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specklebang said:
I too am amazed at the sudden surge of professional Atheism. Seems at first blush that you don't need a support system to NOT believe in something. So, I've been paying a little extra attention and I have a THEORY©:

There is no business like God business. An invisible and intangible product that people voluntarily donate HUNDREDS of BILLIONS to. What a sweet gig. So, if you can market Atheism like Religion, you can also get rich.

In short, it's business - as usual.
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That's why Hubbard invented Scientology.
 
Ikari said:
That's why Hubbard invented Scientology.
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Hubbard is a well known modern case but its just one of many, many religions started for money. Many of them are too lazy to cook up a whole religion so the just jump on the Jesus wagon and add a few embellishments. At least Scientology built more from the ground up.

But none of them are real. God hasn't called these people up. Some may have had "visions" like Bony-Marony but generally it was a way to get fee money (and free nookie in some cases). So this new variant of the Non-God business is even more ridiculous.
 
calamity said:
Whether it's to explain the origins of life, the emergence of the Universe or the reason why the pimple sprouting on their ass went away, billions of people suffer the delusion that God is behind it. Why do so many people insist on giving credit to an invisible being that no one can see, hear, touch or otherwise prove exists.

If life cannot spontaneously emerge out of the primordial soup, then neither can God. If the Universe cannot pop up out of a sudden burst of energy, then neither can God. If the boil on your ass cannot burst on it's own, why would God pop it for you? Pretty much everything we attribute to God could happen without Him. In fact, it's a simpler explanation to leave God out of the loop when explaining how things came to be because now at least you no longer have to explain where God came from.

In short, a question needs to be asked. What the hell is wrong with people that they need God?
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Gods may have developed out of various charismatic shamen or holy men who a significant number of people relied on to meet certain needs, such as leadership and spiritual direction and instruction or a system of laws. The critical thing seems to be the organization of that person's teachings and deeds into a body of memories perpetuated by the group that then institutionalizes it and imbues it with authority. After the leader's death his teachings live on and the conceit is that he still lives somewhere and can still direct his followers. Sometimes this means he is regarded as a god, meaning that he still has the power to act in the world, sometimes he is a great man whose teachings can be relied on, such as the Buddha. But it is the teachings that are transformative, not the dead teacher. Interestingly, different sects of Buddhism regard him as a great teacher or a kind of god depending on the sect.

The Buddha is a good example of this idea. He was a charasmatic teacher and leader who taught people a new way of attaining the holy apart from the traditional Indian religions. Along with that he taught a new way of living one's life and finding meaning, arguably a much better way than the traditional beliefs taught. And this body of teachings, which now fills many many volumes of holy text, is promulgated and perserved by Buddhist believers. Over the years, as is the case with most religions, contributions have been made to the religion's tradition by various wise followers so that it tends to change over time.

In any case, it is not so much the god or gods but the body of teachings and stories that comes with them that provides meaning and direction for believers, including such imponderables as the origin of life and our fate after death.

Consider that a large majority of people rely on a theistic religion, and that has been the case since the dawn of history. So, by definition, they are the normal ones.

Also, seperating religion out from the worldly or secular is a Western conceit that doesn't really apply elsewhere. Outside of the West it isn't what's religious on the one hand and what's secular on the other, it's what is true.
 
roughdraft274 said:
Never went to church, but that is the dogma of most Christian and Muslim religions. Doesn't matter if they broadcast it. That is what they claim God does.
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Well then you're listening to 'dogma' that is foreign to me. I wouldn't sit through any sort of sermon like that.

You need to realize and focus on the good religion provides people not, this crap you're spewing.
 
Probably the same reason i was reading on another forum a plea from an atheist who claimed to break down in tears when thinking of death. I suspect that many (not all) theists simply can't cope without an afterlife to look forward to.
 
My grandmother - the most coldly rational person I have ever met - kept a tiny pewter icon of Holy Family at her bedside. She made fun, mercilessly, of my youthful infatuation with all things Catholic, so I had to ask....

"Of course I don't believe in gods, ghosts and unicorns" - she said - "but it is in human nature to hope, against hope, that there's an Objective Witness out there, watching and making record. To hope that somebody, somewhere, somehow knows what really happened. 99% probability, nobody is watching, and nobody cares. But pewter is cheap, and the remaining 1% is precious".

(To put things into perspective: She had lost two husbands, both parents and all siblings to the Red Terror, and spent 15 years of her life in the Gulag. The conversation took place in Moscow, in 1983 or so).
 
calamity said:
Whether it's to explain the origins of life, the emergence of the Universe or the reason why the pimple sprouting on their ass went away, billions of people suffer the delusion that God is behind it. Why do so many people insist on giving credit to an invisible being that no one can see, hear, touch or otherwise prove exists.

If life cannot spontaneously emerge out of the primordial soup, then neither can God. If the Universe cannot pop up out of a sudden burst of energy, then neither can God. If the boil on your ass cannot burst on it's own, why would God pop it for you? Pretty much everything we attribute to God could happen without Him. In fact, it's a simpler explanation to leave God out of the loop when explaining how things came to be because now at least you no longer have to explain where God came from.

In short, a question needs to be asked. What the hell is wrong with people that they need God?
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l need god because l believe in him .
 
RogueWarrior said:
You were probably a christian from birth. You didn't chose to be a christian you were indoctrinated by your parents.
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Au Contraire, I spent time as an agnostic, an agnostic haughtily claiming (stupidly) the impossibility of knowing, and even a year and some change thinking I was Jewish. It was the inability to deny the direct and personal experience of interaction with God that brought me into what I am. As for my parents indoctrinating me - I wish I had learned more growing up, to be honest. I had to go to school for much of what I've learned, and continue to read afterwards.

Tacomancer on the other hand claimed to be an atheist and became a believer. A believer of what? The Flying Spaghetti Monster? And how did he chose his religion?
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Likely he didn't - he chose Christ (or, if you like, Christ chose him). Religion? Religion is the structure that is there to help you with walking the Faith. It's not the end in and of itself, it's a means.

With so many to chose from and the perils and punishments one receives for choosing the wrong religion (awful things like eternal burning or 72 same sex virgins (although nothing wrong with that)) how did he chose his current religion?
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:) If you will read what we are telling you instead of projecting onto us some kind of experience-less random (or parentally pre-determined) choice, you will see that we are discussing something pretty direct.
 
roughdraft274 said:
Never went to church, but that is the dogma of most Christian and Muslim religions. Doesn't matter if they broadcast it. That is what they claim God does.
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....So you have no particular experience, no way of knowing whatsoever, but you don't let that stop you from telling other people what they believe?


:roll:
 
calamity said:
Whether it's to explain the origins of life, the emergence of the Universe or the reason why the pimple sprouting on their ass went away, billions of people suffer the delusion that God is behind it. Why do so many people insist on giving credit to an invisible being that no one can see, hear, touch or otherwise prove exists.

If life cannot spontaneously emerge out of the primordial soup, then neither can God. If the Universe cannot pop up out of a sudden burst of energy, then neither can God. If the boil on your ass cannot burst on it's own, why would God pop it for you? Pretty much everything we attribute to God could happen without Him. In fact, it's a simpler explanation to leave God out of the loop when explaining how things came to be because now at least you no longer have to explain where God came from.

In short, a question needs to be asked. What the hell is wrong with people that they need God?
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Specklebang nailed it. Have you ever pondered death without afterlife? It's terrifying, and impossible to appreciate.
 
Medusa said:
l need god because l believe in him .
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Why do you believe in Him? And, how much do you credit Him for day to day events?

For instance, if two cars collide, how much of that was God's influence. How about earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters? If an asteroid strikes the earth and wipes out 90% of us, is it God's doing?

Does god make some sick children better while allowing others to die? Or, is God operating on a more detatched plane, letting chips fall where they may, like some cosmic observer keeping score?
 
sbrettt said:
Specklebang nailed it. Have you ever pondered death without afterlife? It's terrifying, and impossible to appreciate.
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Actually...death with an eternal afterlife is even scarier if you give it an honest look. I sure as hell would not want to be around forever. Death is actually a nice relief, but yes. I can see where people wish to be reunited with loved ones in some mythical heaven.

But, seriously, who here would really want to spend eternity with those people?
 
calamity said:
Whether it's to explain the origins of life, the emergence of the Universe or the reason why the pimple sprouting on their ass went away, billions of people suffer the delusion that God is behind it. Why do so many people insist on giving credit to an invisible being that no one can see, hear, touch or otherwise prove exists.

If life cannot spontaneously emerge out of the primordial soup, then neither can God. If the Universe cannot pop up out of a sudden burst of energy, then neither can God. If the boil on your ass cannot burst on it's own, why would God pop it for you? Pretty much everything we attribute to God could happen without Him. In fact, it's a simpler explanation to leave God out of the loop when explaining how things came to be because now at least you no longer have to explain where God came from.

In short, a question needs to be asked. What the hell is wrong with people that they need God?
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it's comforting. It allows them to step back from the abyss.
 
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