toldailytopic: What is the main reason(s) you accept, or reject, God that exists?

[Nathon Detroit]

The TheologyOnline.com TOPIC OF THE DAY for December 7th, 2009 10:22 AM

toldailytopic: What is the main reason(s) you accept, or reject, God that exists?

Take the topic above and run with it! Slice it, dice it, give us your general thoughts about it. Everyday there will be a new TOL Topic of the Day.
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[DocJohnson]

I accept His existence, but trying to explain why is like trying to describe how chocolate tastes to someone who's never experienced it.

 

[Aimiel]

God exists, isn't it obvious? He's declared His Son. His Son has declared His Word to be true. What more could anyone ask for?

 

[Jackson]

Order does not come from disorder. Pretty simple actually. :guitar:

 

[Nathon Detroit]

Order does not come from disorder. Pretty simple actually. :guitar:

That's a good one.

I think the one that I can't escape is....

There is a very real standard of right and wrong that is absolute. While we may disagree on the details and the fringes.... there is clearly something written on all of our hearts that guides our morals.

 

[kmoney]

Probably a combination of what Jackson said/the fact that there is something and not nothing, what Knight said, and lastly, my experience.

 

[Psalmist]

That's a good one.

I think the one that I can't escape is....

There is a very real standard of right and wrong that is absolute. While we may disagree on the details and the fringes.... there is clearly something written on all of our hearts that guides our morals.

:thumb:

And with that absolute truth.​

 

[Aimiel]

I think the one that I can't escape is....

There is a very real standard of right and wrong that is absolute. While we may disagree on the details and the fringes.... there is clearly something written on all of our hearts that guides our morals.

Good word, Knight... that will preach again. :thumb:

 

[chrysostom]

God is the only reasonable explanation for what we experience

 

[Ps82]

I know that God is real, alive, and knows all about my personal life.

As a child I believed, because my parents brought me up going to church.

As an adult, I believed because God intervened in my life in a personal way and proved to me that HE is REAL, ALIVE, and KNOWS EVERYTHING about my life - past, present, future!

My intellect may want to lead me into doubting at times ... but reality keeps my faith firm.

Praise God, my Lord, for caring enough for me to make himself known.

Amen.

 

[Son of Jack]

Kmo mentioned the one that is most important to me. There is something rather than nothing. That requires an explanation. Additionally, the best explanation of the Jesus event is that God exists, which, in turn, tells us quite a bit about God's moral character. Finally, the misery of humanity is a strong argument in favor of God's existence. If this is, in fact, our natural environment, the way things actually are supposed to be, then why would humans, on the whole, be so unhappy, especially in environments where all our most basic needs are being met and our lives are relatively easy. Pascal called this the disinherited prince syndrome. We are by nature meant to be sons and daughters of the King, but we lost our inheritance; therefore, we are miserable. Nothing satisfies us here because this isn't the world we were meant for.

 

[firon]

The TheologyOnline.com TOPIC OF THE DAY for December 7th, 2009 10:22 AM

toldailytopic: What is the main reason(s) you accept, or reject, God that exists.

Take the topic above and run with it! Slice it, dice it, give us your general thoughts about it. Everyday there will be a new TOL Topic of the Day.
If you want to make suggestions for the Topic of the Day send a Tweet to @toldailytopic or @theologyonline or send it to us via Facebook.

The truths of God's existence and Christianity have this foundation: the resurrection of Christ. God's existence is seen in this, that all men are under the penalty of death because of Adam's sin. YET, death had no power over Christ. Therefore Christ was not born of a man.. He could only be the Son of God, coequal with the Father. The resurrection is also proof of Christianity. Jesus did not deliver the great commission to the disciples till after His resurrection, and the disciples had no sense of God's intent to evangelize the world. The fact that the commission followed His resurrection proves the mission He sent the disciples on was foundation for the Christian faith and the authority to declare it abroad to all nations.

 

[Nathon Detroit]

The truths of God's existence and Christianity have this foundation: the resurrection of Christ. God's existence is seen in this, that all men are under the penalty of death because of Adam's sin. YET, death had no power over Christ. Therefore Christ was not born of a man.. He could only be the Son of God, coequal with the Father. The resurrection is also proof of Christianity. Jesus did not deliver the great commission to the disciples till after His resurrection, and the disciples had no sense of God's intent to evangelize the world. The fact that the commission followed His resurrection proves the mission He sent the disciples on was foundation for the Christian faith and the authority to declare it abroad to all nations.

That's a nice summary of an interesting portion of the Bible but doesn't address the Topic of the Day.

Why do YOU believe what you believe? What is the main reason(s) you are compelled to believe that God exists?

 

[kmoney]

Additionally, the best explanation of the Jesus event is that God exists, which, in turn, tells us quite a bit about God's moral character.

What do you think the Jesus event tells us about God's moral character?

Finally, the misery of humanity is a strong argument in favor of God's existence. If this is, in fact, our natural environment, the way things actually are supposed to be, then why would humans, on the whole, be so unhappy, especially in environments where all our most basic needs are being met and our lives are relatively easy. Pascal called this the disinherited prince syndrome. We are by nature meant to be sons and daughters of the King, but we lost our inheritance; therefore, we are miserable. Nothing satisfies us here because this isn't the world we were meant for.

That sort of sounds like the one argument about human desires. There exists what we desire. We hunger. There is food. We thirst. There is water. And human history has shown that many people come to desire something beyond themselves and this world. There is a god or afterlife, etc.

I'm not sure how I feel about these particular arguments though.

 

[Granite]

The TheologyOnline.com TOPIC OF THE DAY for December 7th, 2009 10:22 AM

toldailytopic: What is the main reason(s) you accept, or reject, God that exists?

Take the topic above and run with it! Slice it, dice it, give us your general thoughts about it. Everyday there will be a new TOL Topic of the Day.
If you want to make suggestions for the Topic of the Day send a Tweet to @toldailytopic or @theologyonline or send it to us via Facebook.

I do not see any persuasive evidence at all that a deity of any kind exists.

 

[Son of Jack]

What do you think the Jesus event tells us about God's moral character?

That He is personal and loving...I can elaborate on that if you wish.

That sort of sounds like the one argument about human desires. There exists what we desire. We hunger. There is food. We thirst. There is water. And human history has shown that many people come to desire something beyond themselves and this world. There is a god or afterlife, etc.

I'm not sure how I feel about these particular arguments though.

It is known as the argument from desire. While it is not logically airtight, it is existentially powerful. It is essential in the argument to make a distinction between natural desires (desires that are universal to human experience...the things mentioned above) and unnatural ones (desires held by portions of humanity...I want a Ferrari).

 

[Nathon Detroit]

I do not see any persuasive evidence at all that a deity of any kind exists.

So the main reason you believe in (whatever you believe) is because you don't see evidence for a deity?

Don't you have any compelling evidence for your own belief?

 

[One Eyed Jack]

I'm known Him all my life. Or at least, as far back as I can remember.

 

[MacGyver]

So the main reason you believe in (whatever you believe) is because you don't see evidence for a deity?

Don't you have any compelling evidence for your own belief?

It's more likely that he lacks a belief. If so, then he and I would probably have the same stance toward the OP.

The lack of evidence (of any kind) is why I, personally, lack the belief in a deity. It's not an opposing belief, it's the lack of a belief. The lack of evidence is the "evidence" for my nonbelief, not that a lack of a belief needs evidence or even a name to describe it. "Atheism" is a pretty useless word, and it wouldn't exist if theism wasn't so big. For example, you don't have a-leprechaunism, or a-yetiism.

Having said all of that, I personally don't think it would be possible to prove OR disprove the existence of a deity, especially a specific deity from a particular religion. Here's my reason: let's say a deity was feeling extremely magnanimous and decided to show him/her/itself to us all. How would we know it was actually a deity? No matter what this entity claimed to be, or did to prove its identity, there's still other possible explanations. One would be aliens from an extremely advanced civilization. Another might be that we're all hooked up to a matrix, meaning the people/things running this simulation can do anything they want by changing the code.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Aimiel]

You think that's air you're breathing right now?