How do you know your god is the real one?

[Zhavric]

Quote by: The_Genius There is only one God. He is The God of Muslims, Christians and Jews. God is the same... However, man has distorted his characteristics. An example would be Christians and Muslims arguing over whether its One God or the Trinity.

There is only one Superman. He is the Superman of the JLA, Superman comics, and the Superman films. Superman is the same... However, fanbois have distorted his characteristics. An example would be Wildstorm's Mr. Majestic and Marvel's Hyperion.

Sorry, TG, but both god and Superman are fictional.

[Praxius]

Quote by: Boetie It wasn't until the Jews came along and spoiled the whole fun by creating a single unknown god that is serious all the time not to mention jealous all the time too. They even borrowed the ritual of circumcision just so the male can't have fun masturbating because circumcision takes away the sensitivity.

As mentioned in another thread, I notice no problems with my sexual life with my snip.

Since then religion stopped being fun. We are now stuck with Serious Jehovah, Serious Jesus and Serious Allah. But where is the clown?

Right here..... I'm a God living among humans.... just to stir shit up with the other God's plans. I'm trying to get them away from the video games and start doing their job.... if they don't then I could take over and turn everything upsidedown.

So far..... they're still playing Ghost Recon..... so I got some time to mess around

[Zanzoken]

Quote by: sdbest How do people who do believe in gods know that the particular god they worship is the true god and that the gods of others are false? If the Christian's God is real and Allah or Narayana are not (or vice versa), how do believers know that? Regards S.

They know by two reasons.

First reason: Faith.

Second reason: Because ( insert sacred book here ) says so.

It's that simple.

[ItsDarts]

Quote by: Zanzoken They know by two reasons. First reason: Faith. Second reason: Because ( insert sacred book here ) says so. It's that simple.

It's unclear if this is your position or are you simply stating this is the position of theists?

If the former, it is irrational, if the later, I agree.

Welcome to Volconvo

Quote by: The_Genius There is only one God. He is The God of Muslims, Christians and Jews. God is the same... However, man has distorted his characteristics. An example would be Christians and Muslims arguing over whether its One God or the Trinity.

If there is one God, and the variations we see in religions are merely artifacts of people "[distorting] his characteristics" that would seem to mean that rules specified by various religions about how to worship God, or claims about what God wants of us may be distorted as well. Is that logically and validly entailed from your premise?

What is your view of Hindu gods?

Regards
S.

[Gods_Mercenary]

The hindus, I believe, say that their many gods are all facets of the one truth of existance.

[The_Genius]

Quote by: Zhavric There is only one Superman. He is the Superman of the JLA, Superman comics, and the Superman films. Superman is the same... However, fanbois have distorted his characteristics. An example would be Wildstorm's Mr. Majestic and Marvel's Hyperion. Sorry, TG, but both god and Superman are fictional.

I wan't talking about cartoons.

I was referring to the almighty Creator. :)

[The_Genius]

Mercenary, well... You want my personal view on Hindu gods?

They seem non-sensical to me. Why would you create mythical statues of gods and then destroy them in river Ganges once the festival ends?

Their religion, it's their right to do whatever they want to. Not my business.

[Zhavric]

Quote by: The_Genius I wan't talking about cartoons.

Yes. We know. Cartoons make you murder people. You've made that abundantly clear.

I was referring to the almighty Creator.

The almighty creator doesn't exist. There is as much supporting him as there is Superman.

[Captain Chaos]

Quote by: sdbest Despite the fact that I've yet to see any evidence that to me supports the notion of the existence of gods or other supernatural beings, I am legitimately curious about one thing. How do people who do believe in gods know that the particular god they worship is the true god and that the gods of others are false? If the Christian's God is real and Allah or Narayana are not (or vice versa), how do believers know that? Regards S.

I can answer this from a deist perspective.

I believe certain arguments, such as my infinite emergence argument, make the existence of super-powerful beings very likely. Would they be gods? That depends on which definition of god you use.

However, such beings are not going around making themselves apparent to us. Apparent fine-tuning of our universe may or may not be evidence of their existence - it could also be evidence of a process of universe natural selection. We have no method for establishing which interpretation is correct.

Thus...

If gods, as deists think of them, do exist, we know next to nothing about their characteristics. This is a good thing. Uncertainty about creators, and about any absolute system of morality that would go with such beings, means that we are forced to think these things through on our own. As a species, we can never grow up if we are constantly lettings gods (real or imagined) do our thinking for us.

[nerd]

Quote by: sdbest Despite the fact that I've yet to see any evidence that to me supports the notion of the existence of gods or other supernatural beings, I am legitimately curious about one thing. How do people who do believe in gods know that the particular god they worship is the true god and that the gods of others are false? If the Christian's God is real and Allah or Narayana are not (or vice versa), how do believers know that? Regards S.

Unquestioned faith.

Religion is a masterpiece theme. What it teaches installs a sense of morality, virtue, and a sense of togetherness. These seem great at first, and they are, but people take it to extremes and it starts getting out of hand. People start feeling superior to others, wanting to force their ways on others, whether it be socially or politically. They feel they deserve what anything they desire, because everyone outside of their belief system is a heretic or infadel. They have the majority voice in an entire country, yet they continue to tell the population that they are discriminated or threatened by foreign forces.

Then the fuse is set. Now you have militant terrorists(Of whatever color there is)who demand their rights and wants. Now they'll take it to a new high and start threatening people or establishments. And if they're really out there in LaLa Land, it won't be a bluff. Now you've got reason to go to war or inact new laws(The both of them pissing me off), laws that deal with religion; I thought it was supposed to be a personal belief, one you didn't have to preach to the world or oppose on people.

But these people, these nutjobs, are in the few. Whether you're a Muslim or a Christian, these people probably make you grimace in pain and anguish. I know believers who wonder why people go to these extremes; these people realize nothing good comes out of it for anyone. My dad is one of these people, and while his views are a little off he detests the whole lot of them.

And that's where we are now with religion. Many sum it up to extremism when it comes to atheists or theists. Some will call you a right-winged fundamentalist(And deservingly so in some cases)or a radical atheist(Again, deservingly so in some cases). But you're not. You're moderate. You try and be polite and try to state your views in a well presented manner. What better way to get through to someone than actually addressing them on a higher standard? You might learn a thing or two. You try your best to be a good example of what a great atheist or Christian can be, and still come off as respectful to everyone around you.

And this leads me to why people believe when they don't have any more evidence to prove their sky king, spiritual entity, or animal deity exists. You have pride in your beliefs or theories, even when their are blatant holes or mistakes. For a theist, there are many things that can't be explained, but that's okay; Isherwood said it best: faith. Faith doesn't have to be proven, and you'll never understand that feeling unless you're surrounded by Bible humpers and loads of churches when you're a kid. It's cool, just know a theist has you at a stall when they play the 'faith card'. Nothing will change them fromt that point on. And atheists have their facts. This is what some theists need to get over. Evolution has been proven to a certain point, just not entirely. They have fossils and artifacts that are far older than ten thousand years. Facts are facts, give us that much.

When you talk to people intelligently, you can get through to them. I've seen and heard stories from both sides about converting; from Christian to atheist, atheist to Christian. Speck in a few stories about Muslims. This is why people change, and the debate goes on.

Pride, intelligence, faith, enviroment, social life, and a cause - I believe these all play a part in why someone believes their god is real and your god is a fraud.

I'm an atheist, so I think all of your gods are frauds, but I'd like to actually get to know you and come to my own conclusion why you believe. Most of the time I get more reassurement to my atheist beliefs, other times I'm just left wondering. I believe in science because it provides the most answers for me; it's different for others.

I'm sorry for ranting, not trying to stray off topic. My name is Christian, I'm twenty, of the male origins, and I'm an atheist. I'm a smartass and joker to some degree, but I'm truly interested in some people's beliefs. I'm a self professed nerd; my local hang out is a card store. Anything concerning nerdism applies to me. Did a quick search but didn't find a thread for introductions(Probably missed it), so that's it.

[Zanzoken]

Quote by: ItsDarts It's unclear if this is your position or are you simply stating this is the position of theists? If the former, it is irrational, if the later, I agree. Welcome to Volconvo

The answer is the latter.

[The_Genius]

Quote by: Zhavric Yes. We know. Cartoons make you murder people. You've made that abundantly clear.

That's an impractical assumption. Violent TV programmes or video games probably turn some lonely little kids into murderers. But cartoons? I find them to be harmless.

The almighty creator doesn't exist. There is as much supporting him as there is Superman.

It is your choice if you intend to lie to yourself.

[Zhavric]

Quote by: The_Genius That's an impractical assumption. Violent TV programmes or video games probably turn some lonely little kids into murderers. But cartoons? I find them to be harmless.

Way to keep up with current events.

It is your choice if you intend to lie to yourself.

Neither one of us is lying to themselves. You've simply decided to accept unsupported hogwash as gospel.

[nilan3000]

Quote by: The_Genius Mercenary, well... You want my personal view on Hindu gods? They seem non-sensical to me. Why would you create mythical statues of gods and then destroy them in river Ganges once the festival ends? Their religion, it's their right to do whatever they want to. Not my business.

Is it any more non-sensical than asking the world to beleive in a God who cannot be proven? Is it any more non-sensical than religions saying that non-beleivers will not be allowed to enter heaven/paradise?

This is religion man, it relies on faith not logic. Being a theist yourself, I find it 'non-sensical' that you comment on the flaws of another religion (to your credit, you were civilised about it) when your own religion seems not to make sense to many others.

This is not meant to be criticism, just an observation.

[ItsDarts]

This is not meant to be criticism, just an observation.

It should be criticism, he's being hypocritical. He's not applying the same standards to his own religion. His involves an invisable "spirit" revealing himself to one particular person who he's suppose to beleive with his last dying breath.

[nilan3000]

Yes, but he put forward what he thought in a civilised way, which is why I didnt want to criticise him for that. I just wanted to point out that his viewpoints have the same flaws that others do.

[The_Genius]

[quote=Zhavric;350024]Way to keep up with current events.[/QOUTE]

It seems you don't know the difference between 'freedom of speech' and 'freedom of discrimination'. However, that is not a cartoon but a ploy to disrespect the peaceful religion of Islam and Prophet Mohammed (saw).

Neither one of us is lying to themselves. You've simply decided to accept unsupported hogwash as gospel.

Oh well, you have the choice to deny the truth as much as you want to...

[The_Genius]

Quote by: nilan3000 Is it any more non-sensical than asking the world to beleive in a God who cannot be proven? Is it any more non-sensical than religions saying that non-beleivers will not be allowed to enter heaven/paradise? This is religion man, it relies on faith not logic. Being a theist yourself, I find it 'non-sensical' that you comment on the flaws of another religion (to your credit, you were civilised about it) when your own religion seems not to make sense to many others. This is not meant to be criticism, just an observation.

I have many hindu friends who don't follow religions at all. When I askeed why, that's the reason they gave me...

[Zhavric]

Quote by: The_Genius It seems you don't know the difference between 'freedom of speech' and 'freedom of discrimination'. However, that is not a cartoon but a ploy to disrespect the peaceful religion of Islam and Prophet Mohammed (saw).

And you're "peaceful" response was global rioting, rape and murder. Your religion is not peaceful. It's violent. Don't try to pretend it's not.

Oh well, you have the choice to deny the truth as much as you want to...

Of course I do, but since I'm neither a Muslim nor a theist I prefer the truth.