# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/101 "2013-08-21T04:17:19Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Don’t talk to other posters this way unless you’re in the Pit. Fair enough. [Done](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=700039). But perhaps a thread in ATMB would be appropriate to explore why this garbage is allowed? ---
**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, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/102 "2013-08-21T04:20:51Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > No, sorry, that isn’t the way logic works. You don’t get to postulate any wackadoodle notion–say, that the Universe was created by some omnipotent being with a flowing beard and a bad case of narcissistic personality disorder–and then demand that everyone else disprove your claim, especially when said claim lacks any hint of observable objective evidence. This is a lesson which is generally learned by children around the age of five. > > Stranger Oh yeah…I see what you mean…whoops… Well… at the end of the day, I just can’t physically prove to you that God exists. It’s all based off of faith. What I think, once you take that first step to try to know God, he’ll send you the Holy Spirit, which will then prove to you, or at least lets you acknowledge that a God can exist. Correct me if I’m wrong. Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 4:4 In their case the god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Isaiah 43:8 Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears! Romans 8:7-8 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. John 14:26 26"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/103 "2013-08-21T04:21:08Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > But perhaps a thread in ATMB would be appropriate to explore why this garbage is allowed? It’s right there in the masthead; “It’s taking longer than we thought” ---
**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, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/104 "2013-08-21T04:23:03Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Which god? Can you disprove Zeus? Can you disprove my dog is god? Then STFU. Sorry, I see what you mean. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/105 "2013-08-21T04:26:59Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Well… at the end of the day, I just can’t physically prove to you that God exists. It’s all based off of faith. What I think, once you take that first step to try to know God, he’ll send you the Holy Spirit, which will then prove to you, or at least lets you acknowledge that a God can exist. How is that different from worshiping a golden calf? ---
**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:** [August 21, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/106 "2013-08-21T04:28:50Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Last one before I sleep. > > Well I’m just saying, if you’re going to ask me to prove God, then you’re going to have to do your part and disprove him. > > Because if you disprove him somehow, then I wouldn’t have to prove that God exists. > That was my reasoning. > > It works one way. Disprove one, and the other is true. Prove one, and the other is false. If you can’t prove that God doesn’t exist, that means there’s a possibility that he does exist. Therefore, you would be answering the problem. You’ve just demonstrated the harm in belief - it appears to make you illogical. I’m Jewish, so I went to Hebrew School, and never believed in Jesus. Christianity, to one who isn’t indoctrinated in it, is about as believable as a cargo cult (except that the planes really did come in the recent past.) And don’t think you didn’t get indoctrinated - churches are very, very good at that. Jesus said he was returning before men then alive tasted death. He lied. Matthew mistranslated the Bible and invented the virgin birth. And you believe that? Jesus did not fulfill the actual messianic prophecies, no matter how much you cast around for unrelated passages that you claim are actually prophecies. The Messiah was not supposed to get arrested and offed five minutes after he arrives in the big city. I can understand why God, for free will, allows people to murder each other. I don’t understand why he allows tens of thousands of children to be killed in natural disasters. Are you sure you are not worshiping Satan? Sounds more like his work. Now, a logic lesson, with some science thrown in. There are thousands of possible gods - which one should we assume by default? The one I grew up with? The one you did? The one Ahmed did? The one Krishna learned as a child? All are equivalent. The way it works is that the null or default hypothesis is that there are no gods. Then you get to provide some evidence for the god you hypothesize. For instance, if a supposedly inspired work written thousands of years ago matches what has been discovered by science, that would be excellent evidence that something interesting happened. (Maybe aliens, maybe God.) If Genesis talked about the Big Bang, you have something. But Genesis only describes myths that anyone at the time could come up with. Thus, that isn’t evidence. Or God could show up. Don’t discount miracles. Jesus did some tricks, right? God did miracles galore during the Exodus. Interesting that God only shows up when no one was writing anything down and a long time ago, and now seems limited to putting the face of Jesus on pieces of toast. I hope you are a bit more skeptical in other parts of your life, otherwise you have or will have a lovely portfolio of swamp land and bridges. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2013, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/107 "2013-08-21T04:29:58Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Oh yeah…I see what you mean…whoops… > > Well… at the end of the day, I just can’t physically prove to you that God exists. It’s all based off of faith. What I think, once you take that first step to try to know God, he’ll send you the Holy Spirit, which will then prove to you, or at least lets you acknowledge that a God can exist. Correct me if I’m wrong. If all you need is faith, why do you rely so heavily on the ‘Bible’ to prove it to others? ---
**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, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/108 "2013-08-21T04:34:41Z")
> [@simster](#): > > If all you need is faith, why do you rely so heavily on the ‘Bible’ to prove it to others? Because the bible is what gives us faith. It’s God’s word. It allows us to grow and develop a relationship with Him. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/109 "2013-08-21T04:37:24Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Because the bible is what gives us faith. It’s God’s word. It allows us to grow and develop a relationship with Him. Then why do we need you? ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/110 "2013-08-21T04:39:19Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Because the bible is what gives us faith. It’s God’s word. It allows us to grow and develop a relationship with Him. Which Bible translation? ---
**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:** [August 21, 2013, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/111 "2013-08-21T04:40:22Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Because the bible is what gives us faith. It’s God’s word. It allows us to grow and develop a relationship with Him. How do you know its ‘God’s Word’ ? ---
**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:** [August 21, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/112 "2013-08-21T04:41:37Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Because the bible is what gives us faith. It’s God’s word. It’s a book of mythology written by primitives, full of contradictions and factual errors. And it comes in quite a few different versions; which one is “God’s word”? And why the Bible and not some other “holy” book? Why should anyone who isn’t Christian take the Bible seriously and not any of the other religious writings out there? ---
**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, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/113 "2013-08-21T04:44:41Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > How is that different from worshiping a golden calf? Maybe if you become baptized, pray to God, and accept Him, you’ll find out. 🙂 Just kidding, haha, but that’ll be cool. But seriously, if you get baptized, it’s symbolizes that you are no longer part of this world. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. John 3:3-5 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]” Romans 6:3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? * * * 4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. I could throw all these verses at you guys, but I’ve just come to realize that it’s really at the mercy of God if any of this impacts or plants a little seed in you guys. Like the verse above of Satan preventing those from understanding. Annnd, something that I found interesting Matthew 6:1-34 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. … ---
**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, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/114 "2013-08-21T04:46:30Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Then why do we need you? Because are you going to just open a Bible and read it? There’s so many distractions in the world. People helped me come to God and understand. Technically, you don’t need me. I’m just a human like you. What you need is the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and God. I’m a nobody. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/115 "2013-08-21T04:50:31Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Because are you going to just open a Bible and read it? I have. ---
**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, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/116 "2013-08-21T04:51:45Z")
> [@simster](#): > > How do you know its ‘God’s Word’ ? Haha maybe I jumped the boat. Sorry, because of what I believe in I just believed that the Bible is God’s words without realizing that I needed to prove it. 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, Which I realize doesn’t really help, because I’m trying to prove that the Bible is God’s words through the Bible…haha… But because I believe in God, and I don’t believe he would mislead his people on something that is suppose to help find him. He is powerful enough to protect his word, after all, He’s powerful enough to create the whole world and everything in it. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/117 "2013-08-21T04:52:01Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > There is no reported revelation by such a deity (while there have been supposed revelations of deities who will put Christians in Hell such as the Koran, the deity in question would also put atheists, agnostics, Jews etc. in Hell also) and it seems logical to me that a deity must have a revelation of some sort by this point. … The revelation of Mosier the Guest is lacking what exactly? CMC fnord! ---
**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:** [August 21, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/118 "2013-08-21T04:53:49Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Maybe if you become baptized, pray to God, and accept Him, you’ll find out. 🙂 > > Just kidding, haha, but that’ll be cool. > But seriously, if you get baptized, it’s symbolizes that you are no longer part of this world. No, you’re just damp. Someone is just as much a part of this world if they let some superstition salesman douse them than if they don’t. > [@Timo](#): > > Because are you going to just open a Bible and read it? As others have already pointed out, they do and don’t find it convincing. It’s a collection of garbage. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/119 "2013-08-21T04:53:52Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Because are you going to just open a Bible and read it? > > There’s so many distractions in the world. People helped me come to God and understand. Technically, you don’t need me. I’m just a human like you. What you need is the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and God. I’m a nobody. And yet you feel that _you_ can lead people to God when millions before you have failed. This country is overwhelmingly Christian. Even those raised Jewish, atheist, Moslem are aware of God, Christ, Easter, the whole shmear. How can you think you’re bringing new knowledge to anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766/120 "2013-08-21T04:55:58Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > But because I believe in God, and I don’t believe he would mislead his people on something that is suppose to help find him. He is powerful enough to protect his word, after all, He’s powerful enough to create the whole world and everything in it. Which is fine, if you say it is all faith in the absence of proof. It shouldn’t matter whether god exists or not, if you believe in it. But when you try to insist that he real does exist, you are going run into all kinds of buzz saws where the faith collides with fact. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-believe-in-god/666766.md?page=7)