Who Has More Faith? Believers Or Atheists?

Discussion in 'Faith & Religion' started by Lara Moss, Oct 25, 2015.

  1. Sheldon Scott

    Sheldon Scott Supreme Member
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    Some( I guess most) people feel a need to worship something. There have many gods invented over the history of human existence, usually invented to give reason to things that can't be explained. As human knowledge grows, more things can be explained so less gods are needed.
    It amazes me that so many people today still attribute everything they see to the god of their choice. So much bitterness, death and destruction because my god is better than your god.
    The only reason today to believe in any god is the natural fear of death. The promise that if you believe in this or that god you will live forever is the greatest scam ever invented. The sad part is that so many people are so intent on the next life they don't really live this one. This is all there is folks, make the best of it.
     
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  2. Lara Moss

    Lara Moss Supreme Member
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    Believers don't fear death, quite the contrary. As you saw one of our newest members express in her thread, she is looking forward to and ready for that moment when she will be with God for eternity. So am I. But while we're here on earth we are most certainly making the best of this life on earth. God still has a plan for us here and our calling is to fulfill this life while it remains and enjoy our God given blessings.

    Our only "need to worship God" (not plural, only need one) comes from a love, joy, and gratitude deep within our souls. "Human knowledge grows" as God reveals things to us all…but does not replace God. It's from God. Any bitterness, death, and destruction is the result of man's sin nature and it's natural consequences.
     
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  3. Sheldon Scott

    Sheldon Scott Supreme Member
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    But Lara, you don't fear death because you have been led to believe you won't stay dead. That is the reason your religion has survived.
    When god was invented people had no idea about the universe so they came up with the idea a god made it. People used gods to explain things they had no other explanation for.
    They thought the earth and stars were constant and would be here forever. We now know that isn't true, one day the earth will no longer exist.
     
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  4. Lara Moss

    Lara Moss Supreme Member
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    Sheldon...
    You are correct. I don't fear death because I believe I "won't stay dead" aka eternal life of peace, love, and joy. I don't see any problem with that :)
    You are correct. The promise of an eternal life of love and peace is "why my faith has survived"…no problem there
    You are correct. "a god" and "gods" were invented by some men BUT not in my religion…there is only one God as it states in the Bible and validated by Jesus Christ
    You are half correct. Earlier man knew less than men of today about the universe, correct. That doesn't change anything. The Bible says God created the earth and the stars. That's all. He never said they wouldn't come and go. As for the future of the earth…that's a whole other thread but briefly, the Bible says, after Armageddon, God will return to earth with his saints (believers) and rule. If God wants to defy science he can….the earth will remain as long as he so chooses.
     
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  5. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    What I don't understand is what I hear from different religions and most have a different belief in how you get to heaven. Raised Catholic my way was to obey all the rules of the church.

    Then I hear some people argue that the only way is if you are "saved". Muslims believe that it's okay to kill an infidel and they will go to heaven.

    Who's religion is right? Who is going to heaven? All of these people believe theirs is the true religion and one true God.

    Wether I believe in God or an afterlife doesn't change my view on dying. I'm not afraid to die...peacefully. I am afraid of a tortured or painful death but after that it's like going to sleep, you just don't wake up. If there is some sort of afterlife of the spirit or soul or energy than that would be great but if there isn't I won't know it. As for Heaven and Hell, that I don't believe at all.

    I won't say there is nothing because I don't know that.

    And my belief is if there is an all knowing God, then he knows I've been a good person and had love in my heart.
     
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  6. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    @Lara Moss, if God is control, then why do we even bother "saving" the planet?

    Also, as a catholic and obeying all the rules I would go to heaven. Then I married a divorced man and was excommunicated....now what? Also, eating meat on Friday was a sin while I was growing up, it's okay now. The rules keep changing.
     
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  7. Lara Moss

    Lara Moss Supreme Member
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    That's a very good question, Chrissy. The only way you can know which faith is truth is to pray and study their beliefs and then see if there are any errors in their beliefs. That's a timely and daunting task as there are so many. I started with the Bible first and then studied the other religions as I had time. I found problems with the others but absolutely no errors and no contradictions in the Bible when kept in context. Many will take certain scriptures out of context and that won't yield the truth. Many don't understand what God is telling us in the Bible. I was confused at first and realized that I had to pray first, with a cleansed heart before reading, and ask God to reveal his truth to me as I read. It was incredible. That's why some scientists convert to Christianity. It's why the Bible has been on the best seller list since it's first printing (around 1500 years).
     
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  8. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    Do you belong to any formal religion, Lara? I was raised Catholic and we were taught to believe that is the one true religion.

    I just want to say that I am not anti religion, I really don't care what anyone believes as long as they lead a good life.

    My 2 oldest grandsons are raised Catholic and have gone thru all the sacraments they are supposed to for their age. I'm not against it at all, when the 12 yr old asks me a question I try to answer in a way that won't discourage any beliefs he might have. I believe as they grow older they will choose whatever path they feel right for them.
     
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  9. Lara Moss

    Lara Moss Supreme Member
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    In the beginning, when God created man, He said he created us to have dominion over all of God's creation and to care for it. God didn't create us as robots to completely control us. He wanted a relationship with man. So He gave us an ability to make choices, to choose to obey him or disobey. If we choose not to "save the planet" then we are in disobedience to God.

    I'm not an authority on the catholic religion and therefore can't comment. But I do know what it says in the Bible. It says obeying the rules is not what gets you to heaven. What gets you to heaven is believing that you're forgiven when you disobey God's commandments because you believe Jesus died to pay your punishment for the wrongdoing (called sin in the Bible). Someone who repeats the same offense over and over for his lifetime then is of course not forgiven because that indicates that the person is not truly a believer and only says he is. But God does say you can mess up many times and as long as you are truly repentant you will be forgiven…he knows our hearts.
     
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  10. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    Like I said, he knows our hearts. I'm good! :)
     
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  11. Lara Moss

    Lara Moss Supreme Member
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    I believe no denomination and no church is perfect. Only the Bible is perfect. In my past I've attended several denominations but I don't belong to a "formal" religion. I'm a Christian. It's not a religion but is a relationship with God and Jesus Christ because I believe the Bible is God's true Word and I believe it's flawless. Anyone who thinks they have found a flaw in the Bible is welcome to post the scripture and I can put it in context and show you the truth. "Context" is the key word.
     
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  12. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    I am somewhat lost here and the topic question, "Who has more faith" is the root of it. The question is like asking "which is colder, tap water or rain"? It's an overview question that cannot be answered without certain parameters put into place. Such as: where? when? And for the original question another question arises as to who and when?

    Now, as to the direction that the topic has gone thus far, allow me to propose another question. Who believes we as humans have "thoughts". It's somewhat philosophical but on the other hand look at the science. Thought cannot be measured, seen, heard nor touched by man or any instrument known to man. Yet, we all agree that thought is a real process rather than random calculations based on present, past, and ancestral memory held in entangled DNA.
    Are we merely just carbon based protein processing millisecond calculations throughout our lives or is there something more? Do we really exist as free thinking human beings? One should certainly hope so but the object of appreciation still exists that we belive something we cannot even fathom, namely thought.

    All have faith that we actually have free individual thoughts but cannot prove it and are faith filled that we do. Some have faith that there is a God, but live by faith that there truly is one no matter the reference point of religious bias as to Who God is.

    I have a tremendous amount of faith that my God is real and am sure that many have more faith than I the same as I have a tremendous amount of faith that I have free thoughts but beyond using a grouping of mathematical sets and subsets I cannot prove that either exists. I live by faith, and do not even think of Heaven or hell nor do I use my faith as a crutch of any kind yet I am not afraid of death.

    Now, do I have more faith than an atheist? Dunno. Which atheist?
     
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  13. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    Which Bible is perfect?
     
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  14. Lara Moss

    Lara Moss Supreme Member
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    Bobby, It's not a question of "which atheist". The title uses the plural form so we are talking about faith as groups of those who believe that either there is a God or groups that believe there isn't .

    The point of my thread was to make atheists aware that they also have "faith" and need a lot more faith than believers in God to believe that scientific theory is truth.
     
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  15. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    @Bobby Cole , for some reason I couldn't insert quote but you said you aren't afraid to die.

    Neither am I and although Im not an athesist, maybe an agnostic, maybe still searching, nevertheless fear of hell or joy of heaven does not guide my life. My morals and my heart guide me...and if there is nothing when I die, so be it.

    I also believe that if there is a God, I am not going to hell anyway. What kind of God would banish a good person like me to hell?
     
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