Hell

[Edwardo Piet]

I do believe in God[...]

Why do you believe in God?

When ever I try to emagine how it would be like to be doomed to eternity of the unberable suffering I end up feeling bad and look for explanations of God and the scriptures that can be interpreted as death as a punishment rather than eternal torment.

Why do you bother with all that?

[...]have you ever as a kid atleast undergone any mental sufering because of the belief that could have been imposed on you?

No.

[Ervin]

There are a few reasons I supose as to why I believe in God. When ever as a kid I heard of God I believed it, so I supose that I was a believer while young.

I have gone through a stage were I was a believer in budhism(it explained the question of evil). I have also gone through a stage of non belief but then I went back to belief.

Some people say given time anything is possible.

Now I can't conceive begining of time or I can't think outside time yet I can say its possible. Now who is to prove that there hasn't always been some inteligent being out there.

I believe in a Satan like being because of the nightmares I had in the past. They were just so bad that I ended up thinking that there is an outside influence.

However, the Quran, the Bible, Budhist scriptures have been disproven to me. Thats with monotheism and polytheism.

The deists wouldn't have me because I believe in a Satan like being. I also believe that meditation is good for you(I am geting of the subject a litle bit, hope you don't mind).

So, I supose that I am a Monotheistic universalist. I believe that all these religions have got some things wright and some things wrong.

I wouldn't call my self agnostic when it comes to belief in God but when it comes to wich God, I am ready to admit that I can't have knowledge of why evil, this or that. I can only guess.

Love that you can feel for strangers, especialy compassion. All this implies TO ME that there is someone divine behind all this.

Look, I cant give you empirical proof, I can't show you Gods face but when I look at life around me, other people, the sun I feel there is someone behind it.

Thanks

[Edwardo Piet]

I believe in a Satan like being because of the nightmares I had in the past. They were just so bad that I ended up thinking that there is an outside influence.

Why can't extremely bad nightmares simply be extremely bad nightmares?

[Ervin]

I believe that there are always going to be a scientific explanations for things like nightmares, however to me thats not a reason to not believe that Satan(lets call him Satan) is somehow not interfiering.

I mean this was intense evil aimed at me in these dreams to the point that I ended up believing like I said thats source is from the outside. i was tormented.

There is some explanation for it. This was the second time that I have been taking antidepressants. I was taking them because of the anxiety disorder brought on by schizophrenia. I am on antipsychotics as well. When ever I try coming of antidepressants I end up with then same experience.

However, you see when I am on medication like right now I am fully sane. So I am not delusional and its been a while since I had these dreams. i have managed to dich antidepressants.

I have read somewere I think that you are on antidepresants. Try not to get to unhappy. I just have low expectations in life and it works well for me.

Thanks

[OnlyNatural]

Now who is to prove that there hasn't always been some inteligent being out there.

Well it can't be disproved, of course. But neither can fairies. As an atheist, I'll wait until there's evidence before believing in something.

I believe in a Satan like being because of the nightmares I had in the past. They were just so bad that I ended up thinking that there is an outside influence.

Childhood indoctrination of traumatic ideas like Satan and Hell will do that to you. It's a tragedy, really.

Religious people would like you to keep thinking that your fear is evidence for Satan's existence, but DoubtVsFaith is right, sometimes a nightmare is just a dream, and eventually you can wake up from it.

This was the second time that I have been taking antidepressants. I was taking them because of the anxiety disorder brought on by schizophrenia. However, you see when I am on medication like right now I am fully sane. So I am not delusional and its been a while since I had these dreams.

That might be another explanation for intensely evil dreams about Satan. The meds appear to be working.

I've been on antidepressants and antipsychotics too. Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in that.

I also believe that meditation is good for you.

Meditation and mindfulness definitely have their benefits. However, it's highly unlikely to be a supernatural realm or great Being that you're tapping into when you meditate; you're tapping into your own mind, it's an altered state of conscious awareness, a phenomenon that can be induced through focused attention.

Love that you can feel for strangers, especialy compassion. All this implies TO ME that there is someone divine behind all this. Look, I cant give you empirical proof, I can't show you Gods face but when I look at life around me, other people, the sun I feel there is someone behind it.

Well, this is the kind of evidence atheists always hear in defense of God. I understand your point of view, because I've been there, but I eventually realized that none of this carried much weight. It feels right, it feels meaningful, it makes intuitive sense to you, the complexity and beauty of the world overwhelms you, emotions surprise you... But maybe the leap of faith to the divine is not necessary.

Would it be a scary thought to imagine that there's nothing behind it all? No God, but no Satan either

[Edwardo Piet]

I believe that there are always going to be a scientific explanations for things like nightmares, however to me thats not a reason to not believe that Satan(lets call him Satan) is somehow not interfiering.

Why believe in this "Satan"?

I mean this was intense evil aimed at me in these dreams to the point that I ended up believing like I said thats source is from the outside. i was tormented.

And as I said, why can't these extremely bad nightmares just be extremely bad nightmares?

There is some explanation for it. This was the second time that I have been taking antidepressants. I was taking them because of the anxiety disorder brought on by schizophrenia. I am on antipsychotics as well. When ever I try coming of antidepressants I end up with then same experience.

In the past I've believed I was God, Jesus, Satan, An Alien, the Anti-Christ, and much much more - I'd lost my mind. I've been on anti-psychotics, a mood stabilizer and a sleeping pill. I'm now on the same mood stabilizer, Lithium, after having it reduced and now put back up again to 800mgs. I'm no longer on a sleeping pill but I am on a different anti-psychotic with a handy side-effect of also being a sleeping pill because mania comes on if I lack sleep.

I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder (manic depression) back in January 2007 when I was 18. I'm now 22.

There's a very simple explanation for the delusions I had: They were just delusions.

And even if such an obvious explanation wasn't available, that's no reason to believe my delusions were true and so not delusional.

As I have said, why do you need to believe in this 'Satan'. If you find a rational explanation insufficient to explain something why does that then mean that a highly irrational explanation is preferable? It doesn't.

However, you see when I am on medication like right now I am fully sane. So I am not delusional and its been a while since I had these dreams. i have managed to dich antidepressants.

I have read somewere I think that you are on antidepresants. Try not to get to unhappy. I just have low expectations in life and it works well for me.

Actually I can't take anti-depressants to treat my highly obsessive thinking because they can bring on my mania. Which sucks. This is perhaps one reason why bipolar, manic depression, is a bigger killer than than unipolar depression: It's harder to treat.

[Ervin]

Ultimately the answer to why believe in this or that is: Because I have faith.

Thanks

[Edwardo Piet]

Why do you have faith?

[Ervin]

Don't mean to be lazy but if you go about 7 posts back I believe that there is your answer as to why I have faith.

By the way I have gone through a stage were I was a kafir(ha ha). But then I healed(joking).

I don't mean to state my beliefs as facts. I am just joking.

Thanks

[Matthew]

Let me help you then.. If there is a god and he did send a book written 2000 years ago, by fallible man as I recall, and that book has lots of funny verses, stories like fairytales and lots of contradictions, and there is no evidence to prove god in the bible exists, no more than Zeus.

That is the conclusion that your thinking has led you to, but I see no reason to take your thinking as normative based on the understanding of interpretation you have thus far demonstrated. You disagree with my interpretation of the verses which you claimed could only imply conscious eternal torment, so exhibit some critical thinking by showing that your interpretation is the correct one.

---

Because critical thinking entails questioning the assumptions you hold and evaluating the evidence for your beliefs. There is no evidence for God or the afterlife, and yet the faithful believe. Normally, a hypothesis that is not supported by evidence is modified or discarded. What makes religious claims exempt?

Let's question the assumptions you make here then. You assume that:

• there is no evidence for God or the afterlife
  
• hypotheses not supported by evidence should be modified or discarded
  

Why should I grant these assumptions? (It would be helpful if you could explain exactly what you mean by 'evidence' according to your epistemology for the sake of clarity.)

That is the first of the Ten Commandments, yes. What follows?

What follows is irrelevant, the Bible is no more sacred or valid a source of knowledge than any other compilation of ancient mythical writings.

You misunderstand my question - want I wanted to know is why your comment was in any way relevant to my quoting Jesus on what he said was the commandment of first importance.