# Why don't people believe in God? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 21, 2013, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766 "2013-08-21T00:49:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Timo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Timo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/21 "2013-08-21T01:12:18Z")
That’s true. But in the end. There can only be one true belief. It’s my God, but it can also be yours. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/22 "2013-08-21T01:13:07Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > But do you have any proof to disprove God? you’re new at this “Logic” thing, aren’t you? Where did you learn to argue like this? ---
**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:** [August 21, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/23 "2013-08-21T01:14:21Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > That’s true. But in the end. There can only be one true belief. It’s my God, but it can also be yours. And why should I believe you, and not the follower of some other religion? What evidence do you have that points specifically to your god and no other deity? ---
**Author:** ![NeutronJack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neutronjack/32/4134_2.png) [@NeutronJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeutronJack)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/24 "2013-08-21T01:24:56Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Just out of curiosity, why don’t people believe in God? > … > The reason I’m asking is because why wouldn’t people want to have a relationship with a loving God. I’d have no objection to that. It kind of skips over the question of establishing that he exists, though. We should settle that issue before we leap to picking out china patterns together. All you’ve offered is, “Gosh, look at the world. Isn’t it amazing? Therefore, God.” Sorry, that’s not good enough. ---
**Author:** ![Timo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Timo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/25 "2013-08-21T01:28:31Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You’re putting the cart before the horse. It only makes sense to want to have a relationship with God if you believe He exists in the first place. Believing in Him is a reason to want a relationship; wanting a relationship is not a reason to believe. I agree. It’s kind of counterintuitive. I don’t know the answer that can suffice, but here’s a thought. I don’t believe God will ever show his power in a like…Matthew 16:4 - Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah." Then Jesus left them and went away. Hopefully not taken out of context…haha But I’d like to think that if Jesus wasn’t willing to give them a miraculous sign, he wouldn’t give one to us in this generation. So therefore, you’ll never be able to confirm that God exists, so, going by your logic (which is logical to me) you’ll never have a relationship with him if that’s your reason to want to have a relationship with him. Just a quickie out there, I don’t know much, so if there are other Christians out there, correct me if I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/26 "2013-08-21T01:28:39Z")
Let’s make this very simple. The system does not require there to be a God and works quite the same without one. Belief in the God of Abraham is quite new in Human terms and has undergone a rather fascinating number of revisions over time. Therefore it is easy to determine that this entity does not exist as envisioned, or the revisions would not have happened. If you could show me that this ‘God’ has been consistently defined by multiple cultures since pre-history, it might be more plausible that this entity exists as described. Instead, we get ‘holy rules’ and mythoses that vary wildly from culture to culture and over time. Which also vary significantly according to the mores and mentality of the person writing them down. ---
**Author:** ![Timo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Timo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/27 "2013-08-21T01:31:41Z")
Haha, yeah. Like I said to Chronos I can’t physically prove to you that there is God. I can’t just point towards the sky and tell you that he’s right there looking down at you. But if you take a leap of faith and ask to have a relationship with God, what harm can it do?, then later, you’ll be able to decide yourself ---
**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:** [August 21, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/28 "2013-08-21T01:35:47Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Haha, yeah. Like I said to Chronos > I can’t physically prove to you that there is God. I can’t just point towards the sky and tell you that he’s right there looking down at you. > But if you take a leap of faith and ask to have a relationship with God, what harm can it do?, then later, you’ll be able to decide yourself 1. You have to stop confusing the word “evidence” with the word “proof”. Do you have any _evidence_? 2. I already explained what harm it can do to believe in your deity if doing so will anger another deity. 3. How can you have a relationship with an imaginary entity? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/29 "2013-08-21T01:36:47Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Well, for me there’s only one- God/Jesus Christ/Holy Spirit - The Trinity. Speaking as a Jew, I of course think you were doing fine right up through that bit about how _“there’s only one- God”_, at which point you for some reason started in on a bizarre and unjustifiable left turn into polytheism with that bit about _“Jesus Christ”_. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/30 "2013-08-21T01:37:25Z")
I believe that the modern Christian interpretation of God – omnipotent and omniscient – is logically self-contradictory. Infinite attributes cannot exist. As for some big guy with a ton-load of power, and maybe even a heart big as all outdoors? Maybe. When he identifies himself to me, we’ll talk. Until then, why do you not believe in Zeus and Athena? ---
**Author:** ![Timo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Timo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/31 "2013-08-21T01:41:17Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Let’s make this very simple. > > The system does not require there to be a God and works quite the same without one. Copied and pasted the last verse so it might look in disarray. > > Belief in the God of Abraham is quite new in Human terms and has undergone a rather fascinating number of revisions over time. Therefore it is easy to determine that this entity does not exist as envisioned, or the revisions would not have happened. If you could show me that this ‘God’ has been consistently defined by multiple cultures since pre-history, it might be more plausible that this entity exists as described. Instead, we get ‘holy rules’ and mythoses that vary wildly from culture to culture and over time. Which also vary significantly according to the mores and mentality of the person writing them down. I hope this helps/hope this was what you mean Romans 14:1-23 “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” Luke 20:46-47 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” Mark 7: 1-23 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” 6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “\*\*‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” \*\* 9 And he continued, “\*\*You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! \*\*10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” 14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” [16] 17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) 20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/32 "2013-08-21T01:42:36Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Because why should they. > > I’m a deist, so while I believe in something I call God, it probably isn’t even recognizable to you as such a thing (I’m also a Unitarian Universalist - in both the go to church sense and in the general meaning of those terms - all things we call god are aspects of the same spiritual force (unitarianism) and if people do get saved, everyone will (universalism). So for me, there really isn’t a reason to believe in a Christian God. > > I’m married to an atheist. He wasn’t raised to believe in god, doesn’t see a reason to believe in god, and finds it sort of a quaint superstition. I go to a UU church sometimes and the minister told me if there is one thing UUs agree on it’s this: if there is a heaven, everybody goes. as it should be. ETA: oh, good, I was hoping someone would post a long series of bible verses ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/33 "2013-08-21T01:44:20Z")
Why don’t I believe in a god? I have no need of that hypothesis. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/34 "2013-08-21T01:45:18Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > I hope this helps/hope this was what you mean > > Romans 14:1-23 > “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” > > Luke 20:46-47 > “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” > > Mark 7: 1-23 > > The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” > > 6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: > > “\*\*‘These people honor me with their lips, > but their hearts are far from me. > 7 They worship me in vain; > their teachings are merely human rules.’ > 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” > \*\* > 9 And he continued, “\*\*You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! \*\*10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” > > 14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” [16] > > 17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) > > 20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” What would it take for me to get you to abandon your belief in your particular god? All you have to do is pretend that he doesn’t exist and that the universe runs just fine without him, and eventually you’ll come to the realization that gods are just silly beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/35 "2013-08-21T01:46:42Z")
I don’t think “because it would be nice” is reason enough to believe in god. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/36 "2013-08-21T01:52:44Z")
it’s not inexplicable to me that people believe in gods. what i don’t understand is the religious zeal for books written by men. it’s all a giant fan club isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Timo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Timo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/37 "2013-08-21T01:56:31Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I believe that the modern Christian interpretation of God – omnipotent and omniscient – is logically self-contradictory. Infinite attributes cannot exist. > > As for some big guy with a ton-load of power, and maybe even a heart big as all outdoors? Maybe. When he identifies himself to me, we’ll talk. Until then, why do you not believe in Zeus and Athena? Good point. I can see how not seeing a God may be the same as not seeing Zeus and Athena. However, I already love God, and it’s with his mercy that I can still love Him . In a way, I think He has already made some way in you, as you’re open to believe that such a God can exist. What you mean by identify? like physically? If physically, I think you’d have to wait till the Antichrist appears, or maybe when you stand before God during judgement. But by then, it might be too late, or you’re going to have to endure many hardships during the Anti-christ era. In addition, we don’t know when the Antichrist will come, so who knows if you’ll, or we’ll, live to see that day. Matthew 24:36 “of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Romans 14:11 For it is written, “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.” 12So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Regardless, He’s already made a way for you to come to him. You just have to take that first step. haha, which probably has nothing to do with your question, I just felt like adding it. ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/38 "2013-08-21T02:02:23Z")
If god exists, I wish to believe god exists. If god doesn’t exist, I wish to believe that god doesn’t exist. So, why should I believe in god? What evidence is there for its existence? Faith is a terrible way to have beliefs that correspond to reality. It’s like sitting in a room with the curtains closed and drawing a map of your city, hoping it will happen to match your cities actual streets. The only way to draw an accurate map is to actually go out and look at the territory you’re mapping. There are lots people who have faith in a god or gods that aren’t yours. Why is your blind guess more likely to be true than theirs? ---
**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:** [August 21, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/39 "2013-08-21T02:04:33Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Good point. I can see how not seeing a God may be the same as not seeing Zeus and Athena. However, I already love God, and it’s with his mercy that I can still love Him . In a way, I think He has already made some way in you, as you’re open to believe that such a God can exist. What you mean by identify? like physically? If physically, I think you’d have to wait till the Antichrist appears, or maybe when you stand before God during judgement. But by then, it might be too late, or you’re going to have to endure many hardships during the Anti-christ era. In addition, we don’t know when the Antichrist will come, so who knows if you’ll, or we’ll, live to see that day. > > Matthew 24:36 “of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” > Romans 14:11 For it is written, “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.” 12So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. > > Regardless, He’s already made a way for you to come to him. You just have to take that first step. haha, which probably has nothing to do with your question, I just felt like adding it. But why pick _your_ god over any other? They all rely on faith, none of them have evidence, and they all have true believers, most with pretty much the same messages you give us here. How many different religions, different gods, different paths have you tried? How many different gods have you possibly angered and/or disappointed? ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/40 "2013-08-21T02:06:25Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Czarcasm > > I’d ask if you are truly willing to take that risk? What’s the downfall of having a relationship with a loving God who wants to have a relationship with you? Consider the following; There is a god, who is NOT the God the Christians worship. He allows everyone into heaven, except for Christians, whom he despises and whose souls he utterly destroys. There’s exactly as much evidence for this hypothetical god as there is for the Christian God. What if my god exists and yours doesn’t, and you’re going to be cast into a lake of fire because you picked the wrong one to worship? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766.md?page=3)