# 25 things which make it hard for me to believe in God **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 28, 2009, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785 "2009-02-28T12:45:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/181 "2013-11-11T12:58:11Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > As a non-believer I agree with the philosophical and practical rejection of organized religion. > > But, I would ask you, what will society replace it with? Nothing. Religion has nothing good to offer that isn’t already done better by other things than religion. And most of what it does offer is bad, not good. And that applies to both organized and unorganized religion. > [@Stringbean](#): > > Certainly, we as weak feeble humans must worship _something_. Garbage. Personally I find worship a disgusting, self-hating concept. Humans don’t need it and don’t benefit from it. > [@Stringbean](#): > > There are worse idols than a 2,000-year-old pacifist from the Middle East who may or may not have existed. Judging from the effects he had on history, not really. It would have been far better for humanity if he\* had never existed. \*Or at least his myth, if he wasn’t real. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/182 "2013-11-11T12:58:44Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > The evidence is all around you! Look with your eyes! It’s also in your heart! GOD loves you and your miserable, wretched soul. Don’t take my word for it, it’s in the BIBLE. HE wants you to believe! You just have to open your mind up to HIM and HE will answer all your questions. Besides, GOD is so wonderful!! > > Is any of this unimpeachable logic getting through to you, yet, sinner? Or are you just being stereotypically atheist and closed-minded, refusing to see the light? 😉 It is a proven fact, that the Bible was written by humans and called God’s Word by humans, So in reality if one believes the Bible they are not believing in God but the human that, wrote, said, or taught abut God. No one can say in truth they know anything about God or a God, It is handed down from other humans. Muslims believe that an angel dictated a book to Muhammad there is just as much reason to believe that, as any writer or writers of the OT or NT. O ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/183 "2013-11-11T13:04:16Z")
> [@Mike92](#): > > Greetings Weston. > > It’s good you are searching for God. I myself have doubted God for every reason you listed. I still doubt God and I’m a Christian so your doubt is normal. I’ll try to answer each point individually. > > 1. Sin is such an insult to such a perfect, righteous God that there had to be a sufficient ‘payment’ for our debt (our sins) to be paid off. > > 2. If God made the universe smaller, what would be on the outside of this limit of the universe. It would be more existence. It doesn’t really matter whether its made up of stars, or planets or titbits, its still existence. > > 3. Dawkins belief about the origin of people is very different from the Christian belief. (most) Christians don’t believe humans are 250 000 years old. We believe that humans are closer to 6000-10 000 years old. God intervened in mans life and made himself known on the first day of mans existence. (Adam and Eve) > > 4. Yes, the trinity is a very tough concept to understand. I still don’t quite understand it and i’ve studied it quite a lot. When we think about how great and infinite God is it kind of makes sense that there are things we won’t understand about Him. Also, God created our concept of ‘logic’ and ‘reason’, so since He created these methods, he exists beyond the boundaries of our very finite human intelligence and comprehension. > > 5. This is indeed a very sad and unfortunate reality of our existence. The only reason disease and misery exist in the world is because of what happened in the Garden of Eden: Eve and Adam disobeyed God and brought sin into the perfect world God had made. because of this we have disease, mutations and other horrible things. Also, many of these chronic diseases are caused by humans (radiation causes cancer, junk food causes diabetes and heart problems) which can be passed down by the parents. All children who dies are, to my best knowledge, with God in heaven. > > 6. You are right: God and the Son of God (Jesus) performed many miracles. Even back then after seeing these miracles first hand, many people did not believe in God and still rejected Him. The Israelites saw miracles and still many rejected God. Even if people saw a miracle, they might believe for a short time because God is literally holding them by the hand and forcing them to believe. Peoples faith would never mature and get stronger if they were handed everything to them. In order to develop ones faith they have to take the ‘training wheels’ off first. The fact that people entire life and heart can be changed by God’s Grace is a miracle in itself and it happens everyday. > > 7. Those in Heaven will be with God and will truly see Him beyond what we can on earth. Everything will be clear, we will truly know Gods plan and we will see how righteous and fair He really is. > > 8. God is eternal. Sin is so disgusting and awful to God, it is the complete opposite of who He is. Therefore if we sin against Him that sin is held against us forever. Its like on earth: you do the crime, you pay the time. This is where Jesus the saviour comes in. Instead of us paying the debt, Jesus basically said “Don’t worry i’ll go to jail for you, just sign here”. All we have to do is accept his payment on the cross and our debt is paid. we don’y have to pray ten times a day, or eat weird foods or give all our money to charity. We just have to love Jesus as He loves us. > > 9. The greatest sin is to deny Gods love and reject Him. It’s not stealing or lying that puts you in hell, if it was then i’m in trouble =O. What puts us in hell is our choice to reject and live apart from God. If we wish to be apart from God in this life, why wouldn’t we also be apart from Him in the next. If we are sinners (which we all are) then God can’t let us into heaven as it wouldn’t be heaven anymore if there was sin there. We have to be cleaned by Jesus Christ first. > > 10. My cat is also under the firm belief he is a god himself. Cats, being animals, don’t have the ability to worship anything. As sons and daughters we should honour/respect our parents. God is the Father of all of us so we should honour Him appropriately. He had done infinitely more and loves us infinitely more then any human, even our parents, could ever possibly do. So our honour of Him should match the love and honour he gives us. > > 11. Heaven is far beyond our human comprehension. Yes, it seems like it would get boring but when your in Gods presence and your face-to-face with Him it surely won’t be. > > 12. Many supposed contradictions can be explained with proper analysis and study of the time period the verse was written , the context and who the verse was to/from. > > 13. In Genesis is believe, it says that there are currents within/beneath the oceans and that a mans seed is in his sperm and that the earth is round and suspended in space. How would these primitive people know without the equipment we have today. Not to mention all the prophecies which were foretold and came true hundred of years later. > > 14. These ‘experiments’ can be misleading because people can’t measure what God does to peoples hearts. He may not answer prayers immediately. He may set events in motion which we will only see years down the road. Also, there is lots of room for interpretation in these studies. Bias is also very prevalent depending on the person(s) doing the study. > > 15. God oversaw the writings of the Gospels. Since they were so important, as they contained the events of Jesus Christ the Saviour, God would want them to be reported accurately. > > 16. Creation has not been debunked. Many scientific ‘theories’ that claim to disprove creation are just that: theories. Darwinian Evolution has never been even close to proven, as it can’t be observed using the scientific method. Carbon dating is based on many assumptions which leave room for a lot of error. Many dinosaur fossils aren’t actually fully fossilized or ‘hardened’ yet which supports the belief that dinosaurs didn’t die off 65 million or so years ago. > > 17. He knows about the feelings, He knows what they feel like but, being God, He can choose to experience them or not. This goes back to how God is beyond our human comprehension of logic, reason and feelings/emotions. > > 18. God does have free will. Humans have free will, in that we can choose to do option A or option B. God knows what option we will choose but we still have that choice. Imagine for s second: If a dad put a candy bar on the table in front his kid and then left the room, what do you think will happen? The dad know the kid will eat the candy bar because he know how his kid and kids in general think. But, it is still the kids choice whether or not to eat the candy bar. > > 19. A huge difference is the fact that when Jesus died on the cross, that day changed human history. Hundreds of religions, cults, organizations and churches/mosques/synagogues all base a lot of their doctrine on who Jesus was (and is). No event has impacted humans the way that (awesome yet sad) day did. This is indeed an interesting question, so thanks for bringing it up. > > 20. They may not have heard about Him yet, but that doesn’t me an they never will. God has a plan for everyone and that might mean them getting Saved at age 13 or 14 or not till their late 40’s. God put everyone on this earth for a purpose, whether we are saved or not. God does want everyone to be saved and be with Him in heaven. That choice comes down to the individual, God can’t force you to believe. That would take away our ability to choose to love Him, which is the greatest choice we can make. > > 21. Our universe is made for our planet. Obviously the sun keeps our planet from freezing, yet were not too close so we don’t all get incinerated. The orbit of the other planets assist earths orbit so we don’t get ‘off track’ and jupiter’s (the BIG one) immense gravity pulls in comets and meteors which would otherwise hit earth and do serious damage. If we go back to Adam and Eve, the reason our planet has natural disasters is because the earth was polluted or infected by the sin of man. Also, some natural disasters fulfill a purpose for the earth to function (tropical storms distribute heat, hurricanes support costal life). > > 22. See Q#5 > > 23. God gave us free will so we could choose to love Him and one another. Without free will we would just be like robots. When you pre-record your phone to say “I love you” it doesn’t quite feel the same as your wife/girlfriend/parent/whoever say it. True love is a choice. > > 24. See Q#5. Also, look up Nick Vujicic Life without limbs. > > 25. See Q#5. > I hope this helped you. Some good sites to visit which can answer your questions better then I can are: [gotquestions.org](http://gotquestions.org), [carm.org](http://carm.org), [godandscience.org](http://godandscience.org). I would love to talk to you or anyone about this further. I will pray for you. God wants you to have a relationship with Him, so if you sincerely look for Him you will find Him and He will accept you with open arms. > > You find what you seek. If I was looking for rocks i wouldn’t go to a ballon factory. So if you’re looking for God, seek Him. God is Love (John 4:8). Are you seeking love? Those sound like nice ideas, but can you prove they were not written, taught, or thought by just other humans? ---
**Author:** ![Mike92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mike92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike92)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/184 "2013-11-11T17:57:27Z")
The prophecies and scientific facts that are stated in the Old Testament, which science has proven, is very very improbable to have just been ‘thought of’ by peasants thousands of years ago. How could they possibly predict the prophecies if they didn’t come true until hundreds of years later? I recommend visiting the websites I listed. They can explain these issues much better then I can. If you truly want to find God then you should earnestly try to talk to Him. Even if you are not a hundred percent sure He exists, if You direct your prayer towards Him or who you think He is, He will show Himself to you. This does not mean He will send an angel or bolt of lightning down but He will speak to you many different ways. In my prayers. Mike92 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/185 "2013-11-11T18:09:18Z")
> [@Mike92](#): > > The prophecies and scientific facts that are stated in the Old Testament, which science has proven, is very very improbable to have just been ‘thought of’ by peasants thousands of years ago. How could they possibly predict the prophecies if they didn’t come true until hundreds of years later? I recommend visiting the websites I listed. They can explain these issues much better then I can. > > If you truly want to find God then you should earnestly try to talk to Him. Even if you are not a hundred percent sure He exists, if You direct your prayer towards Him or who you think He is, He will show Himself to you. This does not mean He will send an angel or bolt of lightning down but He will speak to you many different ways. > > In my prayers. > > Mike92 First, next time you pray pray for powers of observation. Second, you misspelled disproven. The “science” in the Bible is all garbage. Many Christians say that the Bible is not a science book, and they seem to not believe in people like you. As for prophecies, how did the witches predict Macbeth’s future? Magic must be real! Or maybe Shakespeare wrote it that way. It is easy to make predictions when you write after the fact. And we have fulfilled predictions, like the virgin birth, which actually weren’t even predicted. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/186 "2013-11-11T19:03:12Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > As a non-believer I agree with the philosophical and practical rejection of organized religion. > > But, I would ask you, what will society replace it with? > > Certainly, we as weak feeble humans must worship _something_. … I worship Victoria’s Secret models. I keep hoping more of their, um, secrets, will be revealed. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/187 "2013-11-11T19:09:05Z")
I don’t understand why theists tell atheists to pray and that god will reveal himself. It’s literally the easiest experiment ever and it never works. ---
**Author:** ![Mike92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mike92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike92)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/188 "2013-11-11T19:51:43Z")
Voyager, it has been proven that the Old Testament was written many years before the New Testament. True, the Bible isn’t meant to be a science text book. It does however contain many scientific facts. Can you pleas elaborate on what science is ‘garbage’? The virgin birth was predicted: "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (Matthew 1:22-23). Note that the name ‘Immanuel’ means ‘God with us’. The Hebrew word for ‘virgin’ has been thought to mean ‘young women’ but many biblical scholars have rejected this theory as the original word Hebrew word (_almah_) has always referred to a virgin in old texts. May I ask why you appear to be on the offensive concerning my response? Snarky\_Kong, if an atheist prayed and was never ‘shown’ God I would say it’s one of two things: They were not sincere in their hearts to try and talk to God, or they expect God to show Himself instantly at their command. If one is indeed a true atheist and not an agnostic then they would not, in their hearts, be truly praying. In my prayers. Mike92 ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/189 "2013-11-11T19:57:55Z")
> [@Mike92](#): > > The prophecies and scientific facts that are stated in the Old Testament, which science has proven, is very very improbable to have just been ‘thought of’ by peasants thousands of years ago. “Facts”. You mean like how the best way to cure leprosy involves dove blood? By all means, I welcome you to name one or two prophecies which came true, or a few scientific facts in the bible, but I’ve heard many such arguments. They’re _utterly unconvincing_, and rely on massive reinterpretation of the argument at best and a complete misunderstanding of the facts at worst. And again, I have to ask - do you accept that the current evidence overwhelming points to an old earth and the big bang? > [@](#): > > I recommend visiting the websites I listed. They can explain these issues much better then I can. I’m not about to trawl through that shit looking for the nugget of Lindt chocolate. Those websites are _terrible_. > [@](#): > > If you truly want to find God then you should earnestly try to talk to Him. Even if you are not a hundred percent sure He exists, if You direct your prayer towards Him or who you think He is, He will show Himself to you. This does not mean He will send an angel or bolt of lightning down but He will speak to you many different ways. I did this for several years. I gave up when I realized that I had no reason to believe even for a second that I was doing anything more than talking to myself and feeling silly. Many atheists were christians their entire lives. Matt Dillahunty was on his way to seminary before he took a critical look at his beliefs. This idea that just trying to talk to god helps is false. It’s a sign of delusion, not rationality. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/190 "2013-11-11T19:58:49Z")
> [@Mike92](#): > > The virgin birth was predicted: "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (Matthew 1:22-23). 1. It’s not a prediction if it is made _after_ the event it supposedly predicts. 2. He wasn’t named Immanuel. Do you have any _pre_dictions to support your point of view? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/191 "2013-11-11T20:00:53Z")
> [@Mike92](#): > > True, the Bible isn’t meant to be a science text book. It does however contain many scientific facts. No, it doesn’t. Why don’t you actually bring up some of these supposed “facts”? > [@Mike92](#): > > Snarky\_Kong, if an atheist prayed and was never ‘shown’ God I would say it’s one of two things: They were not sincere in their hearts to try and talk to God, or they expect God to show Himself instantly at their command. If one is indeed a true atheist and not an agnostic then they would not, in their hearts, be truly praying First, neither atheists _nor anyone else_ has ever been “shown God”; there is no god to show up. Not yours or anyone else’s. And second, your “if you don’t see my god, it’s because you weren’t trying hard enough” is just standard nonsense used to handwave away why only people who only already believe in something are the only ones who “see” it, and it’s used to explain away the refusal to show up of everything from gods to psychic powers. It’s not an argument that’ll persuade anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/192 "2013-11-11T20:08:32Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > 1. It’s not a prediction if it is made _after_ the event it supposedly predicts. > 2. He wasn’t named Immanuel. > > Do you have any _pre_dictions to support your point of view? Well, to be fair, Matthew is quoting Isaiah 7:14 which was written before the birth of Christ. But Matthew was also a Jew, writing for a Jewish audience and trying to convince them that Jesus is the messiah they’ve been waiting for. So he goes to great and sometimes ridiculous lengths to pull scriptures from the Old Testament and force them into being prophecies about Jesus - even some that were obviously never intended to be. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/193 "2013-11-11T20:35:37Z")
> [@Mike92](#): > > If you truly want to find God then you should earnestly try to talk to Him. Even if you are not a hundred percent sure He exists, if You direct your prayer towards Him or who you think He is, He will show Himself to you. This does not mean He will send an angel or bolt of lightning down but He will speak to you many different ways. What’s the point in “earnestly trying to talk to Him” if he doesn’t answer in plain English or whatever language the petitioner speaks? How do I interpret a thunderclap or pictures falling off the wall? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/194 "2013-11-11T20:36:22Z")
> [@Mike92](#): > > Voyager, it has been proven that the Old Testament was written many years before the New Testament. Indeed. And the Messianic prophecies are as yet unfulfilled. > [@](#): > > True, the Bible isn’t meant to be a science text book. It does however contain many scientific facts. Can you pleas elaborate on what science is ‘garbage’? That the Earth was created in six days. That it was created bit that many years ago. The order of creation. That there was a worldwide flood. That there were only three pairs of humans ancestors to us all (Noah’s sons and their wives.) Should I go on? If you wander down to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY you will instances of Chinese ceramics with clear connections between them going back to well before the Flood supposedly happened. How odd that the descendants of Noah who repopulated China took up where the drowned original inhabitants left. > [@](#): > > The virgin birth was predicted: "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (Matthew 1:22-23). Note that the name ‘Immanuel’ means ‘God with us’. The Hebrew word for ‘virgin’ has been thought to mean ‘young women’ but many biblical scholars have rejected this theory as the original word Hebrew word (_almah_) has always referred to a virgin in old texts. [From Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_birth_of_Jesus) > [@](#): > > The text of Isaiah in Hebrew, as given in both the Masoretic text and the Great Isaiah Scroll found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, uses the word עַלְמָה (almah), meaning an unmarried young woman of the age of puberty. David Strauss in The Life of Jesus, suggests that Isaiah was referring to events of his own time, and that the young woman in question may have been “perhaps the prophet’s own wife”.[45] The Encyclopedia Judaica calls the interpretation as referring to a virgin “a two-millennium misunderstanding of Isaiah 7:14”, which “indicates nothing concerning the chastity of the woman in question”.[46] > > Matthew 1:22 (“Behold the virgin shall be with child”) uses the Greek term παρθένος (parthenos), meaning a virgin, as in the Septuagint translation of Isaiah,[47] which “alters or refines” the meaning of the Hebrew word,[48] perhaps understanding, as Raymond Brown suggests, the Hebrew word עַלְמָה to mean “virgin” in this context.[47] So Matthew was using a mistranslation. Of course Christian scholars who care more for the prophecy than for the truth think it must mean something different “in context.” My teachers, all of who actually read Hebrew and quite well, disagreed. If nothing else you’d think Isaiah would make more of this miracle. Born of a young woman hardly merits additional comment, though. > [@](#): > > May I ask why you appear to be on the offensive concerning my response? Reviving zombie threads is seen as bad form around here. Plus, real science is vital to our survival. I don’t want my kids and their kids to suffer because some political clowns who think the Bible gives the answers stand in the way of mitigating global climate change. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/195 "2013-11-11T21:54:07Z")
> [@Mike92](#): > > Voyager, it has been proven that the Old Testament was written many years before the New Testament. Bah. Superstitious nonsense! ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/196 "2013-11-11T22:38:38Z")
> [@Mike92](#): > > The virgin birth was predicted: "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (Matthew 1:22-23). Note that the name ‘Immanuel’ means ‘God with us’. The Hebrew word for ‘virgin’ has been thought to mean ‘young women’ but many biblical scholars have rejected this theory as the original word Hebrew word (_almah_) has always referred to a virgin in old texts. Dude the only evidence for the virgin birth is the same book that contains the badly understood translation of the prophecy about the virgin birth Tell me you dont actually believe all those prophecies in Battlestar Galactica that came true by the end of the series actually happened in real life do you? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/197 "2013-11-12T00:25:04Z")
> [@Mike92](#): > > . . . If you truly want to find God then you should earnestly try to talk to Him. Even if you are not a hundred percent sure He exists, if You direct your prayer towards Him or who you think He is, He will show Himself to you. . . . > [@Mike92](#): > > . . . if an atheist prayed and was never ‘shown’ God I would say it’s one of two things: They were not sincere in their hearts to try and talk to God, or they expect God to show Himself instantly at their command. . . . Contradictory. You said “He will show Himself to you.” Well, he didn’t. You said “Even if you are not a hundred percent sure He exists…” I’m not. I tried. He didn’t show himself. Funny kind of God you got there. He only keeps his promises when he wants to. Kind of like a kid crossing his fingers behind his back. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/198 "2013-11-12T00:34:24Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Bah. Superstitious nonsense! The OT is older than the NT. But Star Wars is older than either. So Jesus was clearly copying from Anakin. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/199 "2013-11-12T01:08:48Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The OT is older than the NT. But Star Wars is older than either. So Jesus was clearly copying from Anakin. nm - confused luke with annakin, ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785/200 "2013-11-12T05:15:07Z")
I for one wait with baited breath scientific facts first revealed in the bible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-things-which-make-it-hard-for-me-to-believe-in-god/487785.md?page=11)