Is it possible to ever change the mind of someone who absolutely believes in god/gods? Is it possible to cause them to question? I have come to believe that it is absolutely true. It happened to me. It was a process of getting older – coming to understand the world a little better. I began to see things a little bit clearer. I fought the loss of faith. I ran from it. After I stopped running, things became clear. My thinking has evolved to the understanding that faith is a crutch, and it is hard to let go of. Faith relies on the individual. How much is this person willing to close their mind to truth? Faith stands in the way of reality. My purpose in this blog is to examine exactly what faith is.Definition of Faith
confidence or trust in a person or thing
belief that is not based on proof
belief in god/gods or in the doctrines or teachings of religion
I will sum it up as believing in god/gods without definite proof.
Why faith?
The end result of a debate with a religious individual will always lead an answer declaring the importance of faith. Faith is an absolute REQUIREMENT to believe in god/gods. It is because of this that I declare war on the idea of god/gods.
Why war?
I declare war because the hardest and most rewarding things in life come from the hardest fights. The war can be internal or external. In the Bible Belt, atheism is both.
Faith is Unacceptable
Your eternal faith depends on whether you worship god/gods or not. This is completely unacceptable. I have read and heard arguments for the existence of god/gods, but all of them use inductive reasoning – using effect in order to prove the cause (i.e. the universe shows a design, so there must be a designer). It is impossible to use deductive reasoning in regards to faith. If a person says, “god/gods did it,” they provide no proof.
Everyone on earth who does not suffer from a disability stopping a sense has five senses – sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. Everything on earth can be detected with at least one of these senses. Not one of these senses can detect god/gods. You cannot see, smell, taste, touch, or hear him. This is the NUMBER ONE REASON why religion requires faith. No one can sense god/gods with the senses they have. Deductive reasoning – we know through our senses. These senses cannot sense god/gods. God/gods are unknowable.
The religious world still tries to search for reasons why god/gods exist. They look at the constants that we know about the Earth. This is a fallacy. The only thing constants prove is that there are certain conditions that must exist to sustain not only human life, but all life on Earth. This is NOT a reason for god/gods. It is just the reason we are here. As Richard Carrier so eloquently put it, “If the Earth and mankind is the center of god/gods’ tension and focus, why wouldn’t the Sun revolve around the earth?” He also described how the brain is a nutrient hog, as well as an extremely sensitive organ. This organ is easily damaged permanently, yet is completely responsible for our senses, actions, reactions, and thoughts. This is not the creation of a perfect being. It is an imperfect creation. Most religions claim that the person has a soul which is eternally responsible for all actions by the body. Why does the body need a brain at all?
Faith is Essential
My conclusion is that faith is not only the most important reason for believing in god/gods, but is the only reason for a person to believe in god/gods. This makes faith incredibly dangerous. It makes religion incredibly dangerous. People believe in god/gods who let their ETERNAL FATE rest on whether they guess right or not. He provides no proof of his existence. He says you should love, worship, and obey him, but you don’t even know if he exists or not. This is what faith really is – basing your entire life on a possibility (an extremely small possibility).
People always ask what the purpose of everything is if there is no god/gods. This question is easy to answer – The betterment of myself and humanity without the fear of punishment from an invisible, all-powerful being.
Filed under: Life, Religion, atheism | Tagged: atheism, atheist, christianity, faith, god/gods, reality, Religion
Faith – “belief that is not based on proof”
Not true. The Bible defines faith as “substance of things hoped for” and “evidence things not seen.” To much skepticism is founded upon a wrong definition of faith. From what I can see this entire post is based on that false pressumption.
Faith is in fact the result of seeing and understanding evidential substance. Blind faith is not faith at all. Can you absolutely prove that God does not exist? Of course not, but then do you believe blindly? Again, of course not. You believe what you believe because of what you think to be credible evidence. Don’t be naive enough to think that Christians – or any “believer” for that matter – believe blindly. Some might, but that’s their fault.
From what I can see this entire post is based on that pressumption.
Hebrews 11:1. One of the most famous bible verses. I know it well, because I used to study this same garbage. This verse says the same thing I said, just better. You have to have faith because their is no proof.I cannot absolutely prove that god does not exist. I cannot absoutely prove that their isn’t a teapot circling the sun, but I don’t worship that. The fact is, a lack of evidence is enough to make a decent conclusion that there is no god. Sorry…no false pressumption here.
How can you say you do not believe blindly. You are blind to the reality of this world. A world and a universe that give us NO reason to believe in god. You can come back all day with the classic christian arguments, but they have been overdone and defeated. Sorry…there is no god.
“This verse says the same thing I said, just better.”
But I thought you said there was no evidence. Hebrews 1:1 not only says there is evidence, it makes it clear that the evidence is what belief is founded upon. How could you be saying that same thing?
Is your belief in the nonexistence of God founded upon evidence, or a lack of evidence? By what you said, it is base on a lack of evidence. Therefore, you are making a definite statement about something that, according to what you have said, cannot be definitely proven.
I’ll admit that I make a definite statement about something that cannot be absolutely proven (God exists) but I do so based on evidence that I see. You make your statement (there is no God) based on a lack of evidence for the contrary. See the contrast?
How can you say that I believe blindly? You’re the one that believes based on a lack of evidence.
Of what reality are you speaking?
Is it the reality of this world in which there is a race of beings that transcends every other being in every area despite supposed physical impediment?
Is it the reality in which many try to explain away presence of mind that humans have in the midst of countless beings who do not share that same privilege?
Is it the reality of this world in which there is a belief system that has outlived not only competition from other beliefs, but also extreme persecution?
Is it the reality of that religion being founded upon the ministry of a Man that has yet to be proven to be anything but God?
Is it the reality of a Book that has been burned more times than all others combined, and yet has remained more established than any other book in history?
Is it the reality of social, cultural, and ethical prosperity following that religion throughout history?
It’s easy for you for you to dismiss these questions as “classic Christian arguments,” and I understand that there is step of faith involved with it all.
But that step of faith is not a blind leap as so many would have it seem.
Take a look at history, my friend, the burden of proof lies with you.
I’m afraid Travis that none of the examples you’ve sigted as evidence are actually evidence.
The first two seem to suggest “because Humans are the most intelligent creature on Earth there must be a creator”, in which case I don’t follow your reasoning.
The third suggests because Christianity has outlived other religions, there must be a (Christian) god. How exactly is this evidence?
The fourth point you make suggests there is a God because Jesus has been proven to be God, a statement which isn’t true. Jesus could be God but it hasn’t been proven.
Your fifth and sixth points suggest the success of the Bible and Christianity prove God exists.
All of these things may show why you believe God exists, but none of them are evidence. Truth is not a democracy, it isn’t dependent on what the majority believes.
Have faithin your God if it makes you happy, but don’t forget what faith is: belief based on something without proof.
Have a lovely day,
Lucy