# If you're unsure - God exists is the safe answer **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 21, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-unsure-god-exists-is-the-safe-answer/280980 "2004-12-21T15:34:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-unsure-god-exists-is-the-safe-answer/280980/61 "2004-12-28T02:54:09Z")
> [@prisoner6655321](#): > > I feel quite safe in choosing Him as my god. And had you chosen a different god, you’d have a different set of equally valid reasons that would allow you to feel safe and comfortable with that other choice of gods, no doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-unsure-god-exists-is-the-safe-answer/280980/62 "2004-12-29T04:32:50Z")
> [@prisoner6655321](#): > > I feel quite safe in choosing Him as my god. “I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” – Stephen Roberts In addition to what other posters have said above, this quote basically sums up my position. ---
**Author:** ![supply\_when](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@supply\_when](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supply_when)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-unsure-god-exists-is-the-safe-answer/280980/63 "2004-12-30T11:16:37Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally Posted By prisoner6655321_ > Because God wants faithful people. If God _poof_ appeared before the whole world. OF COURSE everybody would believe in him. But that wouldn’t be faith. He wants to know you trust him. You have to put your faith in him FIRST, before you can feel his presence. I know it’s circular logic. But he doesn’t reward people that don’t believe in him with his presence. You’re making god sound really whiny and passive-aggressive. Is this just your perception of him, or is the dude really such a punk that he doesn’t feel loved unless people prove themselves? > [@](#): > > Boy! For one, only the most famous Bible verse of them all: John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life.” This is really confusing. God loved the world, so he gave his son (who was actually God). And you say that people would “perish” if he didn’t do this. Yet, isn’t that a rule created _by God_? And since Jesus came back to life, could you really say that God “gave” him? So, to sum up, you’re telling me that God sacrificed Jesus (God) so that God could break a rule that God created? But he didn’t really sacrifice him, because Jesus (God) came back to life after a couple of days. It sounds like you ain’t worshipping a deity. You’re worshipping a nutcase with multiple personality disorder. > [@](#): > > I believe in God because I can feel his presence. You know, us non-believers feel that presence too. But to us, it’s our own feelings. You know, stuff like love, compassion, beauty and conscience. Why the need to externalize it, when it’s perfectly reasonable to see that stuff as having arisen from within? How about you have some faith in yourself, rather than attributing everything to something else? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-unsure-god-exists-is-the-safe-answer/280980/64 "2004-12-30T13:11:38Z")
> [@prisoner6655321](#): > > Considering that over 50% of Humanity today believes in God as the one true god, [link](http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html), and the belief and worship of my God is the oldest\* and longest lasting religion being practiced today\*\*, I feel quite safe in choosing Him as my god. The fact remains, that my God is the most highly worshiped god in history. Your source actually says that Christianity is about 33% of humanity. > [@prisoner6655321](#): > > \*I know other religions are said to have come before him. I think there might be one based on the Old Testament. It’s certainly practised in Israel. :rolleyes: Are you still ‘quite safe’ in your beliefs? > [@prisoner6655321](#): > > \*\*with the fewest significant changes. AFAIK paganism and other naturalistic religions like Wicca have changed drastically from their roots. Perhaps you could document the changes in Judaism. To help you along, do bear in mind that Christianity has split into two major branches (Catholic / Protestant) and then into numerous sects. Which is the true branch of the religion? ---
**Author:** ![Wrath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ee7513/32.png) [@Wrath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrath)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-unsure-god-exists-is-the-safe-answer/280980/65 "2004-12-30T13:46:56Z")
It turns out that… Mormonism, yes, Mormonism was the correct answer. Thank you all for playing. Vague South Park reference. ---
**Author:** ![Wrath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ee7513/32.png) [@Wrath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrath)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-unsure-god-exists-is-the-safe-answer/280980/66 "2004-12-30T13:52:25Z")
> [@supply when](#): > > You know, us non-believers feel that presence too. But to us, it’s our own feelings. You know, stuff like love, compassion, beauty and conscience. Why the need to externalize it, when it’s perfectly reasonable to see that stuff as having arisen from within? How about you have some faith in yourself, rather than attributing everything to something else? That’s the humanist viewpoint, and it’s a type of faith. I actually do not see this at odds with a belief in diety. Believers feel that the Creator granted us the power and will to have that faith, and whether you actually attribute that to God or not isn’t the point. The point is that you feel it and use it’s strength. Believers do not necessarily “need” to externalize it, they just see it that way… just as non-believers feel that internalizing it without diety is “correct.”. ---
**Author:** ![prisoner6655321](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f8ce5/32.png) [@prisoner6655321](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prisoner6655321)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-unsure-god-exists-is-the-safe-answer/280980/67 "2004-12-30T20:52:51Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Your source actually says that Christianity is about 33% of humanity. And that 22% are islamic, whose God is my God. 33%+22%=55% > [@](#): > > I think there might be one based on the Old Testament. It’s certainly practised in Israel. :rolleyes: > Are you still ‘quite safe’ in your beliefs? Yep. I believe that Christ is the son of the living God. > [@](#): > > To help you along, do bear in mind that Christianity has split into two major branches (Catholic / Protestant) and then into numerous sects. Which is the true branch of the religion? I think that catholicism was the first split. I think that it left the true christian religion to become more legalistic and authoritarian and protestentism is an attempt to return the church to the way that Christ intended. ---
**Author:** ![supply\_when](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@supply\_when](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supply_when)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-unsure-god-exists-is-the-safe-answer/280980/68 "2004-12-30T22:37:20Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally Posted By Wrath_ > That’s the humanist viewpoint, and it’s a type of faith. I actually do not see this at odds with a belief in diety. Believers feel that the Creator granted us the power and will to have that faith, and whether you actually attribute that to God or not isn’t the point. The point is that you feel it and use it’s strength. > > Believers do not necessarily “need” to externalize it, they just see it that way… just as non-believers feel that internalizing it without diety is “correct.”. I am not sure whether you understood me correctly. Experiencing emotion isn’t “a type of faith”. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-unsure-god-exists-is-the-safe-answer/280980/69 "2004-12-30T22:48:06Z")
> [@prisoner6655321](#): > > And that 22% are islamic, whose God is my God. > 33%+22%=55%Yep. I believe that Christ is the son of the living God.I think that catholicism was the first split. I think that it left the true christian religion to become more legalistic and authoritarian and protestentism is an attempt to return the church to the way that Christ intended. Could you please put a lid on the arrogant (and frankly uneducated) pronouncements about what is or is not “true Christianity?” ---
**Author:** ![Wrath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ee7513/32.png) [@Wrath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrath)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-unsure-god-exists-is-the-safe-answer/280980/70 "2004-12-31T01:58:01Z")
> [@supply when](#): > > I am not sure whether you understood me correctly. Experiencing emotion isn’t “a type of faith”. I was responding to this statement: > [@supply when](#): > > How about you have some faith in yourself Humanists have faith in the power of the human spirit, but don’t believe that it originates with God. Humanists feel that inner strength and all the emotions with which it’s associated, and believe it comes from within. Isn’t that what you’re talking about? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-unsure-god-exists-is-the-safe-answer/280980.md?page=3)