Don't believe in God? Why not?

[sdtPikachu]

"I'm not sure exactly where you're coming up with that, but I still choose how to live my life."

What I was saying that, if you take many religions literally (as IMO too many people do), strict aherence to one usually totally prohibits knowledge of any others, contact with them, etc etc. It also means that if I do things that my religion specifically prohibits (examples include masturbation, pre-marital sex, eating beef, swallowing a fly, talking in public, reading the paper) I am hellbound. That is how religion controls lives, and by disrgarding this "threat" totally I am free to do whatever the f**k I want. And, it has to be said, I enjoy it immensely.
If you have similar joy adhering to the beliefs you adhere to, then that's fine by me. But bear in mind that the bible has alot to say about how to treat "other" people. If you've transcended these pretty horrible rules, well done.

"Look how perfectly the earth works and tell me that there was no thought or effort put into it and it happened by chance."

Look how perfectly the world works? Hello, am I missing something? Only last time I looked, it was on the verge of a total mental, physical, chemical, biological, economical, environmental etc etc collapse. From everything I've seen of it, it appears far from having any thought put into it at all. It is a system with deep, almost innumerable flaws.

"I'm trying to see from your point of view but I can't get my head that far up my ass."

This should either be directed at no-one at all or at everyone altogether. Otherwise, you're singling out a single person/group of people and criticising for them for their beliefs.

"There was a case a while ago of a recently dead snail being dated at over five million years old."

Oooh well lookie here, an error in a single radiometric dating result?! Surely, then that's conclusive proof that every single radiometric dating method is all totally wrong? Do you even know how many radiometric tests have been made? Cos I doubt if I can count that high in a day without getting terminally bored of counting.

"I do know how carbon dating is done... What's to prevent more of one of the isotopes then the other?"

Then you obviously don't know how carbon dating works.
See my posts above on how it doesn't even apply to fossils. You may also see me refer to carbon dating as being one of the more inaccurate methods as it relies on some assumptions which we are only 70% or so sure of. These don't apply to other methods due to the nature of the isotopes in question.

" i meant like lutherans, catholics, mormons, baptists, etc. like which of those is right."

So buddhism, paganism and all the rest are wrong?

"now to answer the question which religion(all religions) is right, well, i dunno"

Ah, an improvement at least. As for your research as to which one is "right" I wish you luck... you may need several billion dollars to spend on weaponry as well, because once you "prove" one to be right or wrong, there are going to be plenty of people who disagree with you, and have alot of very sharp sticks to emphasise their point.
Hence why I think you should just accept that every belief system has it's own merits, and if someone chooses to believe in one over another, thenthat is their choice and they should be left to it.

"how does one prove the scientific method scientifically?"

The scientific method isn't based on science, it's based on logic. Science is merely the application of observation, experimentation applied logically to the universe around us.
As an example... science sees something which looks like a petrol engine. It smells like a petrol engine. It makes a noise like a petrol engine. When you take it to bits, it looks like a petrol engine inside. When you put petrol and oil in it, it makes a shaft spin around. Hence science calls it a petrol engine and feeds it petrol in order to keep it running.
Religion however is perfectly happy calling it a sausage and saying it draws its power from the cosmic rays. Although when it suits them, it's a petrol engine.

Onto Joeiss...

Afterlife I suppose is one of those unknowns. If, like me, you believe there to be no spiritual afterlife, then you either accept no afterlife or you choose to make up your own in life. I imagine everyone has nique thoughts on this. But this is a theological/psychological discussion, so not really applicable here.

"I think that there should be a religion that just promotes peace and unity."

Well, if you want a religion like that, Buddhism is a good one. Or Universal Unitarianism. Or Secular Humanism. They, after all, both preach and practice it.

"and they will be great people if they join this "help everybody" religion."

For me, it's a belief, not a religon. A very important distinction.

" I think about this alot, and I still am confused, very, very much confused at that."

And it's something that only you can decide as well. Accept only what you see as truthful and good and helpful to all others. Yes, it is confusing when you come to doubt some or all parts of your faith. It is just something that each and every one of us has to figure out themselves.

As far as god vs. big bang (or any of the other scientific theories based on the creation of out universe), you're right, nobody knows which is true. But only science is actually seeking to explain them with evidence. Given time, I would say an answer one way or another is inevitable.

"Love all. Strive to be equal to all. Respect all nations, religions, and nature. Follow the plans that Marting Luther King jr. did. And most of all, do not think that just because somebody is not up to your standards, or do not follow the same views as you, do not think less of them. Because everybody is unique, and precious."

Yep.

"god always was"

[Insert]I believe...

"science... can't speak on issues of ultimate origin, meaning, or morality"

Philosophy, psychology.

"science is dependent on the values and personal beliefs of those who use it"

Which can be rationalised scientifically... but the actual execution of the scientific method requires the absence of any persoanl beliefs or values (which are known as "bias" amogst the scientific community).

"science can be used for both good and bad"

And surely this depends on the nature of the people using it's products? Again, not part of the topic.

"it can be used to argue for God or against Him"

There are very few ways of using science to argue for a god...

"science by itself offers no moral guidance or values to govern our lives. all science can do is show us how natural law works, but it tells us nothing about its origins."

No. Science can already explain how it is possible for us to have evolved from a bunch of inert matter... this accounts for our origins, I believe. As for moral and value systems, again, these can be explained by science (namely sociology, anthropology and psychology). Is it beneficial for society to allow those within it to kill each other? No, because it lowers genetic diversity, although it can be essential in the competition for resources to ensure the survial of the best adapted genetic lineage. Can we have sex with our own parents? No, becuuse this leads to genetic monoculture which leads to the proliferation of latent mutations and disease susceptibility. Believe it or not, even something as subjective as "human nature" can be explained scientifically.

"Can you prove there is a god? If so, please prove it to me. You can't. So if I can't prove it wrong, and you can't prove it to be true, then I'll go by logic. And logic says that there isn't an all-powerful being who can control everyone in the world."

And there was me thinking that I'd never be seen agreeing with nwoChris...

"Staying on the topic about odds, what do you think the odds that your religion is right over every other religion?"

That's easy Chris. My god says I'm right, and they all worship false gods and are mad infidels. Too easy. [/sarcasm]

"It's impossible to make somthing from nothing"

Well... theoretical quantum mechanics have proved this not to be the case I believe.


Have people yet comprehended why I don't believe in god? I am not trying to convince anyone that their beliefs are wrong. I am just trying to show you why I believe mine.