My family and friends want me to believe.

Ok... I don't believe in 'God' and all that stuff. And lately everyone has been calling me and 'atheist.' And so it may be true.
Well, my friends and family want me to believe in this so called, 'God' and 'Devil'.
They have made me read the bible, they have baptised me (which wasn't right), they have done all the things you can possibly think of. We have had a chat about 'God' for practically a whole day straight, non-stop.

They just can't accept the fact that I don't believe in 'God.'

'God' is not real, there is no way there is a 'god'... And if you say he is real, do you beleive in unicorns? Because they are in the bible, am I right? ... people have said they are.
The bible is just a joke. A story they want everyone to believe so they wont be afriad to die, or whatever.

And I was reading an article and someone put, 'god is a belief nothing more. Religion is a mental virus, and it targets the weak mind' ... that is totally true.

God is real it might be hard to believe but think about it if he isnt real who made the earth I believe there is a God and he loves you believe me if you just believe you will go to heaven it will be worth it all

o and p.s. I hope I see you in heaven

I think none has rights to force you to believe something you don't want to believe.We all believe in different things,we are different..Being to much religious isn't too good..My mothers brother was very religious,he believed Jesus,god,but after some time he just became stupid like mental,because he was too much religious,he thought he was god,every night he used to sing [God] opera songs...it was awful...people who are too much religious,they just go crazy..I think that,have seen that...

A person either 'accepts' or 'rejects' Jesus Christ - you've made clear your choice - know both choices come with consequencies and no-one is guaranteed the next 5 minutes...I hope you'll have a Damascus road experience before it's too late...you're in my thoughts and prayers.

Thats what I have told everyeone, that they cant FORCE me into believeing, but they just arent listening to me.

You have reason, logic, evidence, and rationality on your side. Don't let them get you down.

Here are a couple of questions to ask them:

1) If the universe is so complex and vast that it MUST have a creator, then by the same logic the creator must also have a creator (being even more complex and vast than the universe).

2) If god does not require a creator (note the complete lack of evidence provided when they make this claim), then surely something less complex does not need a creator either (such as our universe).

3) Let's assume there WAS a creator - how could you tell an infinite, uncreated universe from one that was created? Devise an experiment to prove your case and present the evidence.

4) If they actually manage to prove a creator (they can't), then ask which deity this creator actually is. It is equally probable that Zeus, Vishnu, Allah, Yahweh, Baal, or Xenu (along with all other possible deities) were responsible. Please provide evidence that the god you believe in is actually responsible.

5) If god is try to save us from Satan, then why doesn't he just blink Satan out of existence? In fact, why did god create Satan in the first place?

6) Why is our free will to choose so important that god will keep it intact at the expense of billions of souls that will suffer in the eternal flames?

7) Why are there so many versions of the unchanging, inerrant, word or god bible? For that matter, why did god provide so many holy texts which are deeply incompatible with each other?

8) Please explain the tremendous lack of evidence for many of the stories in the bible. We have no evidence for creation (see above), global floods, people wandering the desert for 40 years, part of the seas, etc

9) Please explain the creatures mentioned in the bible such a unicorns, leviathans, and talking donkeys (just like Shrek - see Numbers 22)

10) Where is the physical evidence for the existence of Jesus. Why do we know exactly what happened before and during his supposed birth (3 wise men, virgin birth, stables, etc), yet we can not place where the son of god was crucified, buried, or ascended into heaven.

11) Why is the date of Easter determined by the lunar cycle? Surely if we know about Jesus's birth in such great detail someone might have noted the day all mankind was saved?

12) Why is there a huge gap in the records of Jesus the Messiah's life? We have no real idea what he did growing up.

Twelve should do it

I'll be sure to ask them all of that. Thank you askegg.
I hope it will work. xD

look if you dont want to beleive than fine but remember and dont say that I did not tell you but youll be sorry if you dont

Yeah, how dare they CARE !!

how will I be 'sorry' if I dont believe in 'god'?

Kayleelovesjoejonas,

Your scare tactics won't work here.

Believing to avid punishment can never to true belief. Would you all knowing god see through your deception and cast you into the eternal flames for breaking one of the 10 commandments?

Besides, what kind of all loving god would punish people for the simple crime of not believing?

in addition, you assume that there is only one god to choose from, but why shouldn't I have faith in any one of the other deities to choose from. Many of them also tell us their god will torture us forever if we do not believe in them. I don't know about you, but I find it very difficult to try believe in all god simultaneously.

Pascal's wager is is 300 years old - get a new argument.

well you can believe in your false god and I will believe in my real one o and the only reason that god would do that to them is because he made them 4 1 perpose 2 believe and love him like he does you and me

oh please. >.>

Actually, I don;t believe in any god - let alone a false one.

If god created as all with one purpose in mind (to love him), then he failed utterly as there are millions who do not believe in him.

Furthermore, what kind of vanity is required for an all loving god to create something for the express purpose of worshipping him? That seems extraordinarily ego-centric to me.

o please yourselfe

There are plenty of reasons there is no god.
1) Lack of Evidence.
2) Contradictions of Scripture.
3) The concept of God is Incoherent.
4) Belief in God is Irrational.
5) The problem of Evil.
6) Religion is a shield from Reality.
7) God may not care about the World.
8) The arguement of Incompetence.
9) The mind is easy to trick.

im Catholic and well I bliev in god I mean it answers somke of my ? to why there are the things that they are o and I also bliev in Jesus, and the virgin Mary!!!

There’s no evidence for God whatsoever. Sensible theists admit that their belief is founded on nothing but faith, but there are always those who claim to have evidence of irreducible complexity, healings, out-of-body experiences or other such stupid notions and treat them as evidence for the existence of their particular God. Don’t believe them. The truth is, if someone managed to prove God, it would be instant news on all news channels, through all media, everywhere. It would be an unprecedented landmark in human history. Of course, there is absolutely no evidence at all that there is a god.

chey, you sound pretty together and you also seem to have given this some thought.
more power to you.
faith because of fear is nothing.
think what you want.
don't let anyone try to 'scare' or bully you into anything.
if your family wants you to believe, that is their right.
just as it is your right not to believe.

look your friends and family are not trying to hurt you they care about you and chey I Will pray for you cause I care

Of course her friends and family care, it's just they have not really thought about their beliefs and continue in their delusions. I applaud Chey for actually asking questions regarding her faith and being intellectually honest with the answers.

Comment like 'o please yourselfe' (sic) show everyone that you have no answers to the questions being posed. You believe because you believe. As faith is supposed to be a virtue, you must be very virtuous indeed, for there is no evidence backing your faith.

I do believe in God, however, if there was one right religion why do we have so many, with so many different beliefs on what happened. Do we just hope our beliefs are the correct ones?
If you do not believe that is your priority, everyone believes something different as it is.

faith is not a virtue patience is and what your telling me is we came from who I am confused

'faith is not a virtue patience is and what your telling me is we came from who I am confused'

Learn to punctuate and form coherent questions - I have no idea what you are asking here.

Faith can be a virture.

look mr. english if god isnt real who did we come from

o and the only reason noone is aswering is because im right

I'm sorry your family is presuring you. I do believe in Jesus, but I do not believe that Christians should force others, even their own children to share their faith. Faith is a personal relationship with God, not a vicarious relationship through the belief of a family member.

I do feel that there are only two choices, belief and non-belief. I'm sorry if others have tried to force feed you faith. I do hope one day that you will decide for Him, though and will keep you in my prayers.

'look mr. english if god isnt real then who did we come from'

Some people believe we came from evolution.

A thing that has really been bugging me lately is how people say 'God' made the universe and all living life forms.
In my opinion, no - we dont need 'god' to explain the universe.
'God' didn't make the universe.
The most believable opinion to where we came from is evolution.
Even if there is a 'God', He sure doesn’t seem to care much about the world, or He’s to incompetent to do anything about it.
Some people, e.g. deists, believe that 'God' created the world and then walked away from it, or at least watches it passively. Such a 'God' is difficult to refute, because not only does it reside outside of space and time, but all the effects it has had that we could study and test for also reside outside of space and time, if they exist at all. Why believe in a 'God' like this?

If you believe in a 'God' like this, it doesn’t have any implications on your life notwithstanding the simple fact that you can now claim to believe in God. Whether you believe or not, this 'God' doesn’t care. This 'God' is so passive that even if it has wishes for human behaviour, it has failed to communicate them, so there’s no guidance to be drawn from this belief. In any case, 'God' isn’t likely to do anything. You can never prove it. There’s no way a deist 'God' can have any impact on your life.

Looking at the world, it’s not difficult to see that any 'God' must be extremely incompetent or extremely absent-minded to have left the world in the state it’s in.

Chey,

Welcome to the reality-based community. It's usually tough but it's well worth the effort. As I'm sure you can already tell, people are going to say all kinds of nonsense - some because they care, others because they are ignorant, and still others because they are arrogant jerks. Regardless, I think it is our (and your) responsibility to show the world that we atheists are just as capable of being moral, productive members of society as any theist (and maybe more so at times!). Keep your chin up and remember that we are all still learning.

Chey, God did make the world and all that is in it. It is inconceivable that everything that is 'Just Happened'. A super intelligent power behind it, makes complete sense.

Think about everything and how it all fits together, like a puzzle, how it has the ability to recreate itself. How the seasons come and go, the stars stay fixed, the moon for our light at night, the sun by day.

Everything is in harmony.

To believe that just happened... by itself... wowo... that is a stretch.

The bible says that all the evidence that we need, is right around us, even when we look in the mirror. Think about how complex your body is, and how you think it just kinda happened one day, all by itself...nada... zilch...

Think about the power of mankind, and how he came to have the knowledge that he does.

Also, think about us being in a huge Cosmic battle, of epic proportions, with two equally powerful forces viying for our allegiance.

Think about who gave you a conscience, and why?

Think about a baby and how it develops in the womb...

and all the other marvelous things that God gave us for our pleasure...

He did turn things over to us, for a period of time.

He is coming back.

He did leave instructions.

It will matter a great deal, what we did with those instructions.

He does draw us by his spirit.

When that happens we have to make a choice, whether or not to surrender.

I am sorry that your family is pushing you.

They care very much, and do not want to be eternally seperated from you.

I understand your rebellion, however, I urge you to consider this issue, very carefully.

Today is the day of salvation.

Yesterday is gone.

We are not promised a tommorrow.

Your family are trying to give you the best gift they ever could.

They can't make you believe, nor can anyone else.

That is completely up to you.

And all their efforts cannot cause you to go to Heaven.

This is an individual choice that we all have to make.

Going thru the motions, is only religious ritual.

It will get you nowhere.

You must be born again.

From above.

Thru the Spirit.

You have to come to a place of repentance.

There is no other way.

God will not drag you into heaven,kicking and screaming...

Won't happen.

Ever.

Heaven is for the ones that want to be there.

And are willing to bow the knee on this earth.

To accept what God offers so freely.

One day, the offer will be recinded.

It will all be over.

No more tears.

No more pain.

No more sin.

No more heartache.

I personally long for this day.

And hope that somewhere along the way, you find the truth.

God Bless...

lmfao, so called 'god' did not create anything.
the reason why our earth has seasons is because our planet spins on a tilted axis! not because of some imaginary power of your imagination.
I dont believe 'god' is or ever was real either.
dont pay attention to what other people say. stick up for yourself and stay true to your beliefs.

chey, we can give you some ideas, but the ultimate approach to take is up to you.

Some options:

1. Openly rebel. You're 15 (?). There really isn't much they can do to stop you, except to quit giving you luxuries.

2. Get hold of a Black Bible, and tell them you're now a Satanist. After a few weeks, drop the charade and tell them you think that's silly after all and you don't believe in gods and devils. They'll be so glad you're not a Satanist they'll cut you slack on religion.

3. Lie. Pretend to be a Christian to the minimal extent necessary to end the persecution until you move out.

4. Obstinance. Just never again discuss religious matters with them, no matter what. You have to stick to your guns if you take this approach.

5. Try to deconvert them. Inform yourself about philosophy and the history of Christianity, and use it as a weapon. They'll back off into a detente position if they start to feel like you are a threat to their own faith. This is my personal favorite, since it's a position of knowledge, and it's the approach I've taken. But it requires more work.

...whatever you decide to do, I second eleni's sentiment. Welcome to the reality based community.

'look mr. english if god isnt real who did we come from'

We have covered this. Where did your god come from?

'Think about everything and how it all fits together, like a puzzle, how it has the ability to recreate itself. How the seasons come and go, the stars stay fixed, the moon for our light at night, the sun by day.'

The seasons happen because the Earth is titled relative to it's orbit around the sun. The stars are not fixed, they are flying through space at an incredible rate, just as our own sun is. The moon does not always light the sky by night - sometimes it's on the other side of the planet. What a great design that is!

'To believe that just happened... by itself... wowo... that is a stretch.'

To believe that everything just happened because some invisible being in the sky did it - wow - that's even MORE of a stretch.

'The bible says that all the evidence that we need...'

There are many other holy books. What makes the bible so special?

'Also, think about us being in a huge Cosmic battle, of epic proportions, with two equally powerful forces viying for our allegiance.'

Are you suggesting your all powerful god cannot destroy evil? There are two gods competing for our souls?

'He is coming back.'

..to destroy everything and hand those sinner over to Satan for all eternity.

'He did leave instructions.'

Not very good ones. This explains the vast number of religions and denominations to choose from. It seems believers can't even agree on how to worship.

'It will matter a great deal, what we did with those instructions.'

God should have made them clearer.

'God will not drag you into heaven,kicking and screaming...'

No - free will is FAR more important than our eternal souls. Now THAT is real love!

'And hope that somewhere along the way, you find the truth.'

Same to you.

'God Bless...'

Which god?

there is only on fact at this point that you must know, in the bible JESUS said 'no one can believe in me unless god gives them over to me' this is the truth, no one can make you believe in god...only god himself can open your mind to except him...for some reason he hasn't opened your mind...it doesn't have anything to do with being good or bad...it's just not your time for elumination...god at times eluminates a persons mind through an experience...he loves you, and when it is you time, it will be your time...

'there is only on fact at this point that you must know,'

I wasn't the one that raised the idea of two gods battling for our souls, but seeing as though you raised the question - do you have any evidence that there is only one god, or is that just what you believe because no other 'facts' fit you belief system? Can you actually provide any proof that there is a god, and more specifically just one god?

'... in the bible...'

What makes the bible true over any other 'holy' text? Evidence please.

' JESUS said 'no one can believe in me unless god gives them over to me' '

Muhammad said : 'Say: If ye do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you sins.' [Qur’aan 3:31]

'...this is the truth...'

No - it;'s religious dogma.

', no one can make you believe in god'

Any god.

'...only god himself can open your mind to except him.'

So why do you try?

'..for some reason he hasn't opened your mind'

So it's none of your business then - leave it to god.

'...it doesn't have anything to do with being good or bad'

Certainly doesn't. You can be a child molesting mass murderer and get into heaven if you accept Jesus as your personal saviour. Yet a non believer will go to hell for all eternity no matter how much good they do in the world. It's a pity your all loving god will punish the two richest people in the world after they gave billions to the most needy in this world, but what else would you expect from an all loving god?

'...he loves you, '

Unless you don't believe - then your going to hell for eternity.

gazlove...

lmfao, so called 'god' did not create anything.
the reason why our earth has seasons is because our planet spins on a tilted axis! not because of some imaginary power of your imagination.

Silverwings: So, it is easier to believe that somehow...this tilted axis...
Just happened to be. Wowo... sure takes a lot of faith to believe that.

No, Silverwings, it doesn't take any faith to believe that. It took a lot of science and hard work to figure it out. And the Bible made no contributions to that hard work whatsoever. Sorry.

chey I am sorry I was being rood but its your disision I am sooo sorry my God has delt with me about what I wrote sorry

silverwings -
you believe that god created everything.

meaning that god created all humans.

meaning that god created johannes kepler.

who was the first to correctly explain planetary motion, becoming the founder of celestial mechanics and the first 'natural laws' in the modern sense; being universal, verifiable, precise.

who attended the university of tübingen to study for the lutheran ministry.

and who incorporated religious arguments and reasoning into his work, motivated by the religious conviction that God had created the world according to an intelligible plan that is accessible through the natural light of reason.

yet you, in your infinite wisdom, discount all of that.
unable to grasp the idea of a tilted axis, planetary rotation, etc.

and YOU deny the research, study and conclusions from kepler, a godly man.

do you ever wonder why so many discount YOUR conclusions?

Silverwings,

The Earth formed after millions of years, and it was a lot different now then it was 4.5 billion years ago.

It dosn't take faith to believe Earth formed the way it did when there are at least 10 trillion planetary systems in the Universe. Does it also strike you as odd that the majority of planets spin on some type of axis?

There's no need to add a supernaturel entity to the equation when it is not necessary to explain such events.

'Think about everything and how it all fits together, like a puzzle, how it has the ability to recreate itself.'

What?!?, are you talking about sex!!!

'Think about how complex your body is, and how you think it just kinda happened one day'

Evolution explains the complexity, and no one believes it just happen one day, are you that ignorant?, it happened over millions and billions of years.

'To believe that just happened... by itself... wowo... that is a stretch.'

To believe it didn't happen by it self is a stretch.

'Think about the power of mankind, and how he came to have the knowledge that he does.'

Survival of the fittest, and the way humans evolved. The larger the brain is relative to the body, the more brain mass might be available for more complex cognitive tasks. Humans have a higher ratio than any animals.

'Think about who gave you a conscience, and why?'

Our ancestors we evolved from. See above.

'Think about a baby and how it develops in the womb... '

And you still deny evolution?

You might like the new movie coming out April 18 called ''EXPELLED' no intelligence allowed' with Ben Stein... If you'd be willing to consider ALL evidence, you might find that people who believe in God have an interesting case.

Also, you can check out carm.org for intellectual arguments concerning God's existence.

It hilarious how PZ Myers was expelled from seeing the movie to spite the fact he is IN IT and CREDITED. Even funnier that they left the guy standing next to him (Richard Dawkins!) through without a word - another man IN the movie and CREDITED.

I have not seen the movie yet (as it is not out here), but it looks like a real hoot. I have not seen a good comedy for a while.

I agree with you Chey. People are way too pushy on the matter .

Chev, I gave my life to Christ 18 years ago. I was raised in church until I was about 13 I got out in the world and by 16 I was into the drug scene and all that. I lived my life not caring what anyone thought or cared. This went on until I was 29 years old. I was in the military I had made rank and was making pretty good money. I had done many many things and experienced many things others only wonder about. With all that under my belt I began to feel empty inside, I felt a void that I could not understand. No one was talking with me about God or anything like that, but I could remember some of the things I had heard when I was younger. As this void became stronger in my life I began serching. I began maybe I need to attend church, but I didn't. One of the fastest growing religions in the world tried to get me and as I began to let them tell me of their views I began remembering verses that I had heard as a child and the things they were telling me didn't line up with the things I remembered. Then one day I was introduced to a man who had come out of that religion that was fast growing and he began answering questions I had. After about an hour he began to ask me questions Questions like did I know where I would spend eternity. I knew that I would go right to hell because of my past living. He simply shared to me God's love not his punishment. The truth is Christ died for our sins (Romans 5:8) says this :but God commendeth (proved) His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.. We have to realize that we are sinners Romans 3:23 :for all have sinnde and come short of the glory of God, and because of sin there is a punishment and that is an eternal seperation from a loving God 'for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life Romans 6:23 who gave His only begetton son for you and I ( Second Corinthins 5:21) 'For he hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him'

I used to think how could a loving God send someone to hell. The bible says that hell was created for the devil and his angles, it wasn't created for man, but because man is found wanting because of sin he can wind up in that place. God never sends anyone there He gives us an opprotunity to either believe in him or not to believe, The choice is ours as to where we spend eternity. You must understand that Satan in his created state was the most beautiful creature that God ever created Ezekiel 28: 14-19. Verse 17 says 'Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou has corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Satan rebeled against God that's why he became the known as the devil.

I can't give you any tangible evidence for God but I can tell you this I have had many prayers answered over the last 18 years of my life that I can't explain. Some thing I learned early in my walk was this: If I was going to believe that God could answer my prayers the only way I could prove that to myself was to only reveal to Him what I was asking. When I need something or have something I need God to do for me I never tell anyone what I need, only Him, that means when I pray that I pray silently for that need. I have seen God answer prayers for money that I needed provided the same day or the same week. I have prayed for $2000.00 on 2 different occasions and watched him provide it. One time the very same day. No one knew what I was praying about but Him. This is the only evidence I can give you, I've had many other types of prayers answered also. The bible says that Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God, Romans 10:17. It's when we act upon faith that God begins to prove Himself to us. As long as you listen to these so called atheist and unbelievers you will never begin to experience the truth of God in your life.

I finish with this, whether you choose to believe or not the day is comming that you will believe. Phillipians 2:9-10 'Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth and things under earth; an that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Silverwings said 'Think about how complex your body is, and how you think it just kinda happened one day, all by itself...nada... zilch...'

That's the best bit - 'it just kinda happened one day' is exactly what creationists claim. Evolution, on the other hand, explains how it happened gradually, starting with simple forms and gradually increasing in complexity.

Maybe the reason they want you to believe so bad is becuase they know its true and they know what they are saying is right. How do you know Gods fake if you never opened up your heart and gave him a chance to have a relationship with you.?

'How do you know Gods fake if you never opened up your heart and gave him a chance to have a relationship with you.?'

Meaning: Stop thinking about it and start attributing every good feeling you have as the presence of an invisible magic sky god.

this may help ...
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html
its a quiz.. good luck figuring out everything!