Does whether or not God EXIST depend upon whether or not YOU believe he exists?

[CanadaCraig]

Hi Everyone!!

I hope you're having a dandy day.

This may SOUND like a simple question. But it's not.

It is - in fact - a GIGANTIC question. One that says a LOT about how powerful you think you are.

Please respond to the poll.

Does whether or not God EXIST depend upon whether or not YOU believe he exists?

In other words

God is REAL because YOU believe he's real.

OR

God is NOT REAL because YOU believe he is NOT real.

GREAT BIG HUG
Craig!!

[Rosana]

Belief doesn't determine existence. This works both ways: just because one believes in God doesn't mean he exists, just beause one believes God does not exist does not mean he doesn't exist.

However. Most atheists don't "believe" in God the way the most people "believe" in gravity. I see it as a logical decision.

Just because I believe God doesn't exist doesn't mean he doesn't... but it doesn't mean he does either.

[Kate*]

My brain hurts now, thanks Craig I believe in God because I believe He exists, but if I were an athiest I would probably be open to the idea that I could be wrong. So I think my answer is no, I think He either exists or not independent of my (or anyone's) belief in Him.

[Toz]

You're equivocating existence with belief. It doesn't exactly work that way. Belief is an entirely mental construct. The mind does not cause something to exist. It allows you to conceptualize things. I can imagine a toaster in my head- the color, the size, the little ding it will make when it's done. But that does not cause the toaster to come into existence. The same can really be said for anything. Let's take your original question, and substitute a few words.

"Does whether or not Santa Claus EXIST depend upon whether or not YOU believe he exists?

"Does whether or not the Yeti EXIST depend upon whether or not YOU believe he exists?"

[Revolution]

In actuality, no, I don't think God exists whether or not I believe in it. However, in our minds, sort of. To some of my friends, God exists, and in their minds, God will always exist. They feel him physically there. To them, it's that powerful. So I don't know. I voted no because I don't think it automatically makes a physical existence, but in a mindset, sure, I think so.

[rizz]

i voted no and that's because there are people who don't believe in god and to them he doesn't exist and people who do believe he does but i also have to think to my religion where i believe in many gods and goddesses and many who believe in 1 god don't believe in a lot of mine who i do believe is real...so in my mind it depends on what you believe in.

but who knows...i might be wrong ..lol

rizz

[Digilodger]

I voted No, but there are two sides to this:


Side #1: Universal Existence (Existence to the Whole World)

The answer here is obviously no, nope, and not. Just because we believe in the existence of a divine being or super-natural being does not automatically make that being exist.

If anyone think he/she is capable of bringing any being into existence just by believing, then it's the same as he/she thinking of himself/herself as having the power of creation, at even a higher level than divinity, higher than God and Buddha. Human does not have the power of creation simply by believing.

(If that kind of person exists, then he/she probably needs to get his/her mental health check . . . fast! )


And of course, the reverse is true as well. Denying a being's existence does not automatically force that being to extinction. What are we? Some huge meteor from space? Some kind of super destroyer? Demon God?

Side #2: Absolute Existence (Existence for One's Self Only)

An undeniable existence to us and ourselves only, not necessarily to the rest of the world, the answer here is "Yes, whether a divine being or super-natural being exists to one's self is entirely depend on his/her belief."

We believe in what we want to believe. If our belief is strong, then our mind would "naturally" make sense of that existence or non-existence. An atheist would most likely not see the existence of divinity in his/her mind, no matter what evidence or explanation we throw at him/her; a theist would most likely keep seeing the existence of divinity in his/her mind, no matter what evidence or explanation we throw at him/her.

It's hard to change a person's personal "view." In terms of religion, we see what we believe. Hence, Buddhists will find evidences of the existence of Buddha; Christians will find evidences of the existence of God. The same goes to other smaller religions.


And hence, I don't usually enter religious debates . . . because it has no end. A non-believer most likely would not change his/her mind because of a believer's argument; a believer most likely would not change his/her mind because of a non-believer's argument. Heck, even among believers, we have a bunch of different religions in existence; that's a whole bunch of divine beings reign our world. It's a waste of effort and waste of time; it brings back nothing but conflict. Why even bother?

P.S. Thanks, CanadaCraig, for giving me the opportunity to type this out. I've been wanting to post something in this forum for a while but never find the opportunity (because I've never been much of a deep thinker like so many in this forum are),

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

I voted no because your question assumes believing in something automatically implies that something exists in this world. These are separate ideas that your question attempts to solidify into one idea. Supposing for a second that god (of whatever religion) exists, it will not matter what I believe, what you believe or what my neighbour believes; if god does exist, then he will exist regardless of anyone's belief of him. It may make it quite difficult for people to accept his existence but that's a different question.

[Megan1]

No. Something/someone can't both exist and not exist. Truth is truth even if no one beleives it, and a lie is a lie even if everyone beleives it.

[Loving Linux Penguin]

He's not real TO ME, but that doesn't mean He is or is not real.

[Iris. ♥]

No, he does not. I believe in God, but that doesn't mean He exists. Although I think I'm right, I could be wrong. Existence and belief don't go hand in hand. Something can exist without us believing it's there. On the other hands, we might believe in something that doesn't actually exist. It just depends on the way you choose to look at things.

[I'm-moving-on]

I voted no. Whether or not I believe in a train or not doesn't change if it exists. Not believing in God wouldn't change His existence either.

[Chadwiick]

After voting yes, I thought about the question a little more in depth and would like to change my answer to yes/no or both. (even though it isn't an answer)

[MadPoet]

No. God exists no matter who believes in him. Belief can't create something, or put an end to anything.

[~Mr. Self Destruct~]

Originally Posted by MadPoet

No. God exists no matter who believes in him. Belief can't create something, or put an end to anything.

Uh, is this post not a contradiction?
Because you cannot possibly know he exists. And if you can't know, then you have to believe he exists.
Like I said, contradiction.

[Kitty.]

No, the existence/nonexistence of God does not depend on belief.

[TakeTheLeap]

...If a tree falls in a forest but you're not there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Seems like the same kind of logic for questioning. It's there whether you hear it or not. God is there, in my opinion, whether or not you believe it. Seeing isn't always believing, just like believing isn't always seeing.

[Eldora]

Hmm, well.

I'm probably the only one who believes in this way, but I believe that anything or any deity that anyone has any faith in exists, but only to them. So basically, any god or gods that you believe in only exist to you.

If I believed in God -- which I do -- then he exists, but only to me. Thus, his laws and the Bible only applies to me -- not to those who do not believe in him. That's the way I believe, anyway.

[Fanatic]

No. I believe in God and if I didn't, God would still exist. God is always there no matter what.

[~Mr. Self Destruct~]

Originally Posted by Fanatic

No. I believe in God and if I didn't, God would still exist. God is always there no matter what.

And yet another one...

[BECCALICIOUS!]

Originally Posted by Megan1

No. Something/someone can't both exist and not exist. Truth is truth even if no one beleives it, and a lie is a lie even if everyone beleives it.

Schrodinger's cat.

This isn't really an answer but it reminds me a lot of quantum physics and I absolutely love it. I'm getting the MIT boys on this one!

[thebigmole]

I voted yes. But I'm going more off the concept of God than the actual being. Since I believe that God was a concept made up by people a long time ago in order to institute morals and answers to questions they didn't have answers to, God only exists because those people believed in Him. If when people started to talk about God and say, hey here's the Bible it contains the word of God, who is God, He created the universe and everything in it, and no one believed what was said then we wouldn't have God now. If people hadn't believed and passed on that belief "God" wouldn't exists, after all none of us make a decision on the belief of God until we are told about God.

[Rainbow Dash]

The Truman Show - "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented"

[Magic.]

Personally I believe that something exists, but I have no idea what it is and I don't plan on working it out until I die and go to heavan or otherwise. As far as I'm concerned I have faith in something whether it's there or not. My belief in it does not make it real, it merely supports my faith in it.

[George^^]

I highly doubt my beliefs in God would change if there was, or is, a God. If there is a God, I doubt he'd stop being God because some depressive 14 year old decided not to worship him.

My views of God are different, being raised to believe in him, and being close friends with a non-believer, I believe their could be a God, but there isn't much of anything between the both of us. God is some distant creator that doesn't give a damn about the blow hole in which Earth exists.

My best way to explain my beliefs is "I believe in a God, it's just we're not talking at the moment." Other than a few curse words, of course, like being locked out in the freezing cold or people being assholes.

[theuphonic]

It seems to me that god is a way of interpreting the world, and if you believe that this higher power exists, than that is part of our personal truth and real for you. If you don't believe in a higher power, than that is part of your personal truth and true for you. It depends on what your concept of god is.

[Skeleton]

I voted yes.

I'm not a believer so I don't believe he exists and just because others believe in him and believe he exists, doesn't mean that I'm going to believe he does despite my not believing in it. I feel if no-one ever mentioned it, no-one would ever believe in him and he wouldn't exist at all so in my eyes, his existence is based off peoples beliefs rather than his actual existence.

[KenworthsCoughdrop94]

Look around.
Who created this if God wasn't real?
There are so many religions, but Christian is the most common throughout the world.
In the Bible, it says some worshiped false Gods, and I do believe this today.

Believing in God, or not believing in God, isn't going to make him disapear, or appear. He is real, it's your choice to believe in him and follow him.
It's your opinion in the matter as of what you said.
"Does he exist on your decision."
He exist even if you say no there isn't a God.

I have been pretty much an Athiest for about, 4 years.
My life wrecked out of control, I've done A LOT of things I am not proud of.
But ever since I went to church and accepted him, I've felt free.
I feel like all the weight on my shoulders is gone.

That's all I know.
<3

[~Mr. Self Destruct~]

Originally Posted by KenworthsCoughdrop94

Look around.

Originally Posted by KenworthsCoughdrop94

Who created this if God wasn't real?
There are so many religions, but Christian is the most common throughout the world.
In the Bible, it says some worshiped false Gods, and I do believe this today.

Believing in God, or not believing in God, isn't going to make him disapear, or appear. He is real, it's your choice to believe in him and follow him.
It's your opinion in the matter as of what you said.
"Does he exist on your decision."
He exist even if you say no there isn't a God.

I have been pretty much an Athiest for about, 4 years.
My life wrecked out of control, I've done A LOT of things I am not proud of.
But ever since I went to church and accepted him, I've felt free.
I feel like all the weight on my shoulders is gone.

That's all I know.
<3

It's not a matter of "WHO" created anything, but "WHAT".
And if you're happy, good for you, but ideaology and superstition before evidence is a horrible disposition. And the belief that someone is going to clean up your mess for you is awfully convenient isn't it? A true laziness exhibited by very few this day.

[chickenonsteroids]

Originally Posted by KenworthsCoughdrop94

Look around.
Who created this if God wasn't real?
There are so many religions, but Christian is the most common throughout the world.
In the Bible, it says some worshiped false Gods, and I do believe this today.

Believing in God, or not believing in God, isn't going to make him disapear, or appear. He is real, it's your choice to believe in him and follow him.
It's your opinion in the matter as of what you said.
"Does he exist on your decision."
He exist even if you say no there isn't a God.

I have been pretty much an Athiest for about, 4 years.
My life wrecked out of control, I've done A LOT of things I am not proud of.
But ever since I went to church and accepted him, I've felt free.
I feel like all the weight on my shoulders is gone.

That's all I know.
<3

Woo Vicarious redemption, don't you just love it?

lol I joke, just because you feel free doesn't mean he exists. It's quite easy to get caught up in the beauty of the world and then ignore how poorly created it actually is.

At least you feel happy but remember that will never be proof

[Viky]

I think this is an excellent question! I do not believe that just because I believe something is so it is the only possible thing. Similarly do I believe that because I do not believe in a single god, does not mean that there is in fact multiple gods. Hope that made sense to everyone who reads this xD

[MacGuffin]

I believe the answer is both yes and no.

For example, I do believe in God. I believe he/she is always present. I believe that he/she is there whether or not a person believes in him/her. I like to imagine it as a force more than some estranged deity, a force that is always present and acting even if we do not recognize it.

However, I also believe that, in a sense, God's existence depends entirely on the individual. When it comes to abstract concepts one often has to believe in something to experience its effects. In the case of a higher power I believe that if one believes God is real, they are going to be much more attuned to God's presence in their lives. Things are going to be attributed to God's doing or blessing in their lives. For someone who doesn't serve any kind of deity(ies), one isn't going to experience that kind of influence in their day to day lives. They will attribute events in their lives to other things entirely.

I don't think it's about how powerful one sees themselves as, though. Sure, there are religious individuals who mindlessly follow what they're told without thinking, and that's a very sad life to lead, in my opinion. But that's not everyone. There are many ordinary and empowered people that hold religious or spiritual beliefs of some sort. There are many people without such beliefs that don't feel very powerful at all. Therefore, I don't think religion or spirituality is a matter congruent to people's personal power.

[Dervisher]

If you want explanations for occurrences that make absolutely no sense perhaps you should look up some theories on parallel universes.

I guarantee any scientific theory may, and will likely eventually explain a 'phenomenon' that happened at any time on this earth. What you consider 'god' is really a jarbled collection of things that haven't been proven and you're too unintelligent to understand that it's really just 'the unknown' not 'god'.

I can understand if this was way back in the mythical times when people thought the world was flat, but we're coming into times now where the whole 'god' thing is running thin. Eventually you'll run out of things to believe in because everything will be proven to be true, every time. There will be nothing for you to think that only 'god' can do, and I wish we all lived eternally so I could be there for the day I can say: "I told you so"
Instead i'm writing this thread which might get.... 10 views. It's good enough for how little I care this whole thing.
You can be your type of ignorant (flailing faith around in the air) and i'll be ignorant with my science. It's a mutual agreement to disagree.

[JKmadu619]

I feel that God is real to you if you choose to believe in him. If you believe in God, then it's obvious that when something good happens you were rewarded for something good you have done earlier, or that some greater force is looking out for you.

If you don't believe in God, the good thing happening to you was simply statistical probability, and was simply random.

If you believe in God, you'll see his actions. If you don't believe in him, you don't see it the same way as a believer.

I personally find the athesiest view on good things happening pessimistic, and I find religion reassuring. I will not force it on anyone else, nor will I close my eyes to plain facts. However that doesn't mean I will place all any theory or hypothesis above religion because the guy who thought of it had a PHd. Taking all knowledge and applying it as you believe it's plausible is an important part of learning. Simply refusing to acknowledge any one source for no reason is arrogant (be it religion, or scientific discovery that you choose to block out.)

- Justin

[chickenonsteroids]

Originally Posted by JKmadu619

I personally find the athesiest view on good things happening pessimistic, and I find religion reassuring.

- Justin

I'll let you know, since I don't believe in god, I live my life in happiness. More than when I was religious in all honesty. It feels good knowing that I or anyone else won't go to hell for not believing in something.

Also that wasn't an attack to your position, I just thought you might want the other perspective. If you didn't then i've successfully wasted seconds of your life (I joke lol)

[JKmadu619]

chickensteroids: No offesne at all. If anything I was worried that my post may have offended someone. It is a personal opinion, and I don't feel I could keep positive without some kind of reassurance that I will be vindicated.

- Justin