Why do we refuse to believe in God?

[Lethkhar]

Because we've all asked the converse of that question. That is, all of us here have at some point asked,"Why believe in God?"

And we haven't found an answer.  

[LimeIzMyFaveColor]

People believe in God because it makes sense to them. They believe that God was able to create something out of nothing. They believe what created them must have loved them. They believe because their book and their pastor told them to believe in them.

My religious friend know that I love reading about different views and stuff so she let me borrow "The Case For Christ" by Lee Strobel.

[he is a former atheist and now Christian]

The book doesn't focus on God, but Mr. Strobel has a book that does: "The Case For Creator"

I suggest that we should actually read different religious materials. I don't know if I should, but I should recommend some books for my friend to read too. Then again, I haven't read any "atheist" books. I think if we read more, then we can strengten our beliefs.  

[Lee Retalis]

I can recall the defining moments that lead to the realization that I could not go on pretending to believe.

From the beginning I don't think I ever truly belived. I can only logically assume that something I cannot see, hear, taste, touch, smell, feel, or percieve in any way shape or form does not exist. But I went along with it because I was a child raised to be that way and didn't (like most children) have much of a capacity for independent thought at that point. I went through the motions of all the silly rituals. Slowly, it began to dawn on me that I didn't have to do this crap, and I didn't really believe. But it is against my nature to deny things like this without giving it a fair chance.

It began when I was five. I lost my grandfather, who was the person closest to me in my life at the time. So I praised god and prayed for god to bring him back. A lofty request I suppose some would say, but I was five years old and I had lost the most important person in my world. Besides, he had brought Jesus back, right? And this is an all-powerful being!

No response.

Okay, so bringing back the dead is too much to ask of him apparently. Later, when I was like 12, my friend's dog dissapeared. She was a devout Christian, and prayed every night to begin with. She prayed every night for more than a year asking god to find that dog. And I prayed with her. I didn't even pray for the dog back specifically, but at least let us know if she's dead or alive. Surely an all-powerful god can find one dog for a devoted follower.

No such luck.
Even then, I decided to give it one last shot so nobody would be able to say I didn't try. So my grandfather and the dog were too much, but god could not deny me this request: I prayed for god to help me believe in him. I prayed for a sign. Surely this was not too much to ask of an all-powerful being? Surely a god has every reason to answer someone who asks for help to believe? Surely a being that sends people to an eternal life of suffering for disbelief would gladly help me avoid that suffering?

Of course, I got no response. And thus I concluded that god simply doesn't exist, though every opportunity was given to him to prove the contrary.  

[[neon.zombie]]

This has probably been said before, but it's not that I refuse to believe; if I refused to believe in something, then it would imply that there was sufficient evidence to make it ridiculous to not believe, if you get me. Refusing to believe (despite evidence) is as much a belief stance as believing despite evidence.  

[I Am A Mountie]

Because he doesn't exist.  

[dl1371]

Why does she refuse to believe what other people believe?
Because she doesn't feel it.

Quote:

As I said before, you don't choose a religion

I found that in ED long ago, but it makes sense.
If a religion is right, you should be able to feel it.

Why do I not believe in God?
'Cause I can't feel him in the sky.  

[AiRilakkuma]

This may sound stupid but, as a child, the hard ships of finding out that Santa, The Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny were fake, and just a way for parents to per-sway their children into doing what they say, and giving them the fear that a fat old man can see them doing ANYTHING, brushing their teeth for bribes of money and a lower dentist bill, and in the no way related to the whole "Jesus died and rose 3 days" later transformed into a bunny...i turned into a conspiracy theorist. My whole thought of "god" turned into "My parents are just telling me this bullshit so I'll be good to people and they won't have to put up with me, then when i get old like them and have children of my own they'll tell me that it was all just a thing to make the kids obey them". I never told anyone this but i always had that feeling of doubt that a "OH GREAT GOD" was out their doing amazing miracles, when people around me were being abused, killed, stolen from their homes and family's, gruesomely dismembered and spread through forests (dads friend), starving to death, fights, rape, cancer, ect,. Why wasn't he helping those people! But people were always bragging on TV about how hey had a head ache for 3 years and god magically helped them because they prayed, i mean, no thanks to the doctors who found the tumor, with the technological advancements in health science.
For the next 6 years i still attended CCD, and continued to ask the teacher question upon question that they couldn't answer, or if they did, they struggled for a answer, and eventually told me to go pray, and god would tell me....well he didn't. Or they would do the famous "answer your question with another question" which just pissed me off and led me to even tougher questions for them.
Eventually in about 7th grade i started considering myself an agnostic, then learned a bit about evolution, genes, earth, ect, and finally gave up the whole theory of god, and considered myself a full on Atheist in 8th grade ( i was kinda forced and bribed to make my confirmation with a lobster dinner and the WE PAY $200 A YEAR FOR YOU TO GO YO CCD YOU'RE MAKING IT NAO! scream )
Well that's about it, sorry it's kinda long, no like anyone's going to read it anyway. rolleyes heart  

[Undecillion]

Such a question would imply that it is blatantly obvious that (a) god(s) is/are out there, which is obviously incorrect and quite idiotic.

A good response would be "why do you refuse to question the existence of a god?"  

[Radical Hypocrisy]

I'm not a believer in God for one big reason: it was shoved down my throat. All my life (Well, all my childhood) I was raised as a Mormon. That is one of the craziest damned religions out there.

"God is real person, of flesh and bone, that lives on the planet Kolab."

"These cotton full body garments will protect against Fire, Bullets, Knives, and Satan."

"When you die, you get to own a planet."

These are the tenants of Mormonism.

Also in the running for reasons I despise Mormonism, is this one simple fact:

Baptism of the Dead.

Now, for those of you who don't know, when you get baptized (Shoved into a pool of water) you can get baptized for several other people who are now dead.

Fun-fact, here: Hitler, as in Adolf, was given a Baptism of the Dead.

Yeah. Nutjobs.

Other than that, I gave up faith when I took up Quantum Mechanics. I'm sure if the Wave Function on God was going to collapse, it would have by now.  

[Captain_Shinzo]

Some guy I met, when we were smoking his weed, asked me
" Why don't you believe in a God? I mean, I know you can't believe in the incorrect idea of the Big Bang since nothing comes from nothing. "

I wish I could have explained how it isn't just some "nothing" but...
the answer was simple to say besides something like a scientific inquiry.

" One fallacy doesn't make another fallacy correct. "  

[=X-Sparker + AquaKiller=]

Why does she refuse to believe in Santa Claus? (Oh wait, does she still believe in him?)

Well let's see, I have two options:
1) Don't believe in God, and I get to keep all my BL manga, read as much yaoi as I like, wake up at 11AM on Sunday, play Halo, God of War, and all kinds of bloody games God "forbids", listen to heavy rock music full of swear words and curses that God will never forgive, be bisexual, have gay friends, etc etc etc.

2) Believe in God, an all-powerful stalker who is watching me 24/7 even when I sleep, when I eat, when I go to the bathroom, when I shower, and I have to wake up at 7AM on Sunday mornings to go to church just to smell that disgusting incense which will give me seeds of lung cancer and shorten my life by a few years, cannot play games that will "pollute" my soul, or music that are "Satanic", much less own any BL or have gay friends or be bisexual...

I think victory is very clear.

 

[Iconoclast Enthusiast]

I have so far refused to believe in God because I refuse to believe in anything that is in no way grounded in reality.

There are those that claim they have had spiritual experiences (personal, cannot be demonstrated to another person and so cannot be verified even for oneself) and there are those who say that God is beyond the scope of the physical world (and thus beyond science, and thus no way to prove it). Either way, the belief is illogical, and that way madness lies.  

[Daffodil the Destroyer]

I wouldn't say I "refuse" to believe in God; I don't see a belief as a choice, but rather as more of an inevitable conclusion after examining the available information. I was a very devout Christian for years, but my faith began to slip in college due to a number of factors (part of it being that I got away from the particular group that had basically brainwashed me). When I realised I was losing my faith, I was terrified. I was also afraid of clinging to my belief without a solid reason; I felt like a question of "God" was important enough that I shouldn't try to believe just because I was told to, or because I was afraid not to. So I set about finding the reasons why I believed. I didn't find any good ones.

I prayed over and over for God to show me a sign... an unmistakeable sign that he was there and that he wanted me to believe. Something I couldn't pass off as a coincidence (living in the Bible Belt, it really ******** with my head sometimes to see Jesus propaganda everywhere). Four years later and I still have yet to get this sign. I don't refuse to believe; I simply lack convincing evidence.

I do, however, refuse to let myself be duped into trying to accept a position that is at odds with what my heart and mind say is right, so in that sense I guess you could say I'm refusing to take on a belief based on what someone else tells me.

 

[my warpaint is sharpie]

i refuse to beleive in something so hypocritical.
(jesus loves all his children..Oh but not the gays scream , or the jews,or that one dude who isnt quite sure i exist... but hitlers cool though 3nodding )

its just so hatefull even though everyone says its peaceful. and heart i, like jesus, refuse to hate people wihout real reason. heart

oh and i like the does-not-compute-must-self-destruct look people get on their faces when i say things like ( i, like jesus,....) blaugh

and if hes all powerful and whatnot why does he give us the ability to question him i mean really now j.c,??  

[Artto]

Daffodil the Destroyer

I don't see a belief as a choice, but rather as more of an inevitable conclusion after examining the available information.

This! I never understood the term "choose to believe". I could never choose / refuse to believe anything.