As an athiest, why do you think that religious people believe in god?

1. 59

   nightwork4posted 13 years ago

   As an athiest, why do you think that religious people believe in god?
   
   to me it is about fear. fear of dying and knowing it's over, fear of being responsible for your wrongs without having satan to blame for an influence. basically fear. why do you think they believe?

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2. 75

   Wesman Todd Shawposted 13 years ago

   As a Theist, I think that it is natural to believe in a God.  My personal opinion is that atheism is merely a result of rebellion against the follies of societies filled with inconsistencies of supposed faith having persons in power, etc.  I also think that atheism is glamorized subtly within the mass media, and is disguised as the worship of science, which is humanism.

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3. 60

   TheBlondieposted 13 years ago

   I think they believe because it is tradition. Religion has been around so long, believing in a god is as natural as breathing air. It is also motivation to be a good person. However, I feel a little sorry for them, because having a god is the ultimate imaginary friend. Many people convert when they feel like they have no one.

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4. 78

   Mr. Happyposted 13 years ago

   Fear is used by religious institutions, it is used by politicians ... fear is what keeps people in their corner. Those who hold the reigns of a society want the population to be in fear so they do what they are told. It is all quite simple: religion rules through fear (fear of hell, fear of purgatory, etc.). At one point when they could, they burned people alive: fear ...
   Sucks for them when they get to people like me who fear nothing.

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5. 48

   mrspatrickstumpposted 13 years ago

   i think theve gust have heard this lie of god so many times that it is forced inside there head so they belive it cuz they want someone takeing care of them but they dont realize they have to take care of themselfs

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6. 0

   Valoric Fireposted 13 years ago

   Tradition plays an important role.  Most people invariably choose the religion of their parents.  It's also part of the group oriented social control mechanism of organized societies. Hammurabi law to the Koran all dictate and instruct specifics of living one's life based on group dynamics codified in dogma, religious rites and colorful rhetoric open to so much interpretation.
   
   For control it serves it's purpose to teach obedience, unquestioning loyalty and the most dangerous aspect lies in the ability to stem rational, logical and critical thinking as discourse for determining the truth.  If you are taught to never ask or question authority or what someone else interprets as the "word" or the "way" then that truth is only a reflection of another will upon your own.  This is why religion is often useful as Seneca stated:
   
   Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.
   ~Seneca
   (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)

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7. 82

   M. T. Dremerposted 13 years ago

   Fear is a big part of it. If you believe death is the end and all that follows is nothingness, then yeah, it's terrifying (I hate thinking about death). So religion is a way to cushion the blow, both for the person dying, and the people watching them die. Religion is also an easy explanation. Science doesn't have all the answers because all of the data we would need is not readily available. It might never explain everything because we simply don't have enough time before we're engulfed by the sun. So religion offers a handy answer and gives people an excuse not to think about science. Some big dude in the sky knows everything so I don't have to. It's a very appealing view point, and probably why it's so popular. I don't think less of people who believe in god, but I do think religion is the worlds largest scapegoat.

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8. 0

   tjf4x4inposted 13 years ago

   I think rather than fear, it is a comfort thing. Which I guess is somewhat the same. They enjoy the comfort of believeing someone is watching over them.

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9. 60

   sam3mposted 13 years ago

   i think that belief in a god reinforces people's observations of a world they cannot understand.  the complexities of most things point them toward an entity having planned and produced them rather than occurring naturally.

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10. 59

    Kikilariposted 12 years ago

    Why don't you believe?  Who made people?  Who made animals?  Who made land?  Who made water?  Who made miracles?  What do you believe in?  God was the first born and the first one to die too.  He rose to Heaven.  He made Adam, first.  Then he made Eve.  He made Eve out of Adam's rib.  The demon destroyed their Godly relationship by telling Eve to eat the wrong fruit.  That is why we have sin in this world.  Jesus healed people, that touched him.  He died on the cross for our sins.  There was two murders beside Jesus on the cross, the one murder believed in God and went to Heaven because he repented and the other murder got his eyes plucked out because he refused God.  God made everything, except what men create from God's creation.  God answers prayers and that is why miracles happen.  I told you what I believed in right there.

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