Why I Must Believe In A Higher Being

[JohnFreeman]

Religion is for people with a fear of dying.

[Swaggin916]

Well we know life arises out of chemical reactions... things interacting with each other to do some crazy stuff. Why the universe is set up like that though I don't think we will ever know.

[-p.tiddy-]

Religion is for people with a fear of dying.

naw, majority of religious peeps were born into it...they didn't seek it out

[ArbitraryWater]

Well I believe in a God too, for slightly different reasons though.

[dude77]

I've always heard that most successful people are spiritual or religious .. does make you wonder .. but if you just don't believe in a god, you just don't .. kinda hard to fake that shit

[DoodleDa]

You're seriously overthinking things.

I have no problems with any branch of religion, but I disagree with having faith simply for the fact of justifying something that you're afraid of. Go out and experience how truly beautiful life is. Regardless if there's someone watching over you or not. Live your own life and stop worrying about things you can't control.

[ForeverHeat]

A lot of people have made valid points in this thread, but what Budadiiii said about religious people having way lower suicide rates and less depression is on the spot.

Whether you believe in God or not, its easy to understand that if a person feels as though there is a higher power looking out for them then psychologically it gives them more power, instead of if they believed that they were alone. That is undeniable, there have been many experiments done on it and it is pretty much common sense. Also people who say prayers in times of illness are more likely to get better as a sort of placebo effect than someone who doesnt. But that can only work if your mind truly believes it, you cant really fake that.

[russwest0]

We are all one. I'm god, you're god, and all of that good shit.

The universe started as nothing. Just an all knowing god living in an empty, infinite environment. The homie got bored and shit so he collapsed into all of this, he spread himself apart amongst all of us and shit, slowly destroying the memory of himself. Where's the fun if you can think of something, imagine it, and instantly have those thoughts come to fruition? No fun whatsoever.

So no, god isn't some higher power ruling us all, god is us. We are the beings that make shit happen.

You can open and close your hand without hesitation, but you don't quite know exactly HOW you do it. You do the same shit with all of the functions in the universe just like your counterparts on this world do. Just as you open and close your hand, you shine the sun. How? Because you're god homie. And it's time you start ****ing living like it.

[K Xerxes]

A lot of people have made valid points in this thread, but what Budadiiii said about religious people having way lower suicide rates and less depression is on the spot.

Whether you believe in God or not, its easy to understand that if a person feels as though there is a higher power looking out for them then psychologically it gives them more power, instead of if they believed that they were alone. That is undeniable, there have been many experiments done on it and it is pretty much common sense. Also people who say prayers in times of illness are more likely to get better as a sort of placebo effect than someone who doesnt. But that can only work if your mind truly believes it, you cant really fake that.

Studies linking suicide and atheism are a LOT more complex than what you're making it out to be. I read a study a few years back by the Journal of Psychiatry, which actually turned out to be very dubious when a few of my friends and I examined it. Looked online and there's a recent rebuttal to it highlighting the flaws of its design, could be worth a read:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/carrier/archives/5181

There are numerous studies suggesting that atheism leads to a happer life, less deppression and is generally just more beneficial for society. The thing with any of these studies is that it's near impossible to isolate just (non)belief and happiness/depression, and then establish a causation between them.

There are so many factors at play here that it's frankly laughable that anyone could say it's 'undeniable' or 'common sense' that believing a higher power looks out for them gives them more power psychologically. This is dependent on the individual. I won't deny that self delusion can help some people get through life, but for others, the notion of an overarching being watching every thought, move and then judging your life (to take the Judeo-Christian belief) is pretty frightening.

Have you also considered that atheists may be ostracised and isolated from family and the community in some places, especially for converts? The support system is pretty broken in some parts of the world, which could contribute in part to the depression some atheists feel. I know for sure that I felt extremely isolated when I converted and found it very difficult come to my (strict) family. That is not atheism's fault.

[-p.tiddy-]

Studies linking suicide and atheism are a LOT more complex than what you're making it out to be. I read a study a few years back by the Journal of Psychiatry, which actually turned out to be very dubious when a few of my friends and I examined it. Looked online and there's a recent rebuttal to it highlighting the flaws of its design, could be worth a read:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/carrier/archives/5181

There are numerous studies suggesting that atheism leads to a happer life, less deppression and is generally just more beneficial for society. The thing with any of these studies is that it's near impossible to isolate just (non)belief and happiness/depression, and then establish a causation between them.

There are so many factors at play here that it's frankly laughable that anyone could say it's 'undeniable' or 'common sense' that believing a higher power looks out for them gives them more power psychologically. This is dependent on the individual. I won't deny that self delusion can help some people get through life, but for others, the notion of an overarching being watching every thought, move and then judging your life (to take the Judeo-Christian belief) is pretty frightening.

Have you also considered that atheists may be ostracised and isolated from family and the community in some places, especially for converts? The support system is pretty broken in some parts of the world, which could contribute in part to the depression some atheists feel. I know for sure that I felt extremely isolated when I converted and found it very difficult come to my (strict) family. That is not atheism's fault.

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/arti...-mental-health



I also know that spirituality has been shown to fight alcoholism and addiction issues better than anything else there is. Many psychologists won't even bother trying to treat an alcoholic or addict, they will just tell them to go to AA or NA which is based around finding your higher power. They do this because it works better than anything else.

[chosen_one6]

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/arti...-mental-health



I also know that spirituality has been shown to fight alcoholism and addiction issues better than anything else there is. Many psychologists won't even bother trying to treat an alcoholic or addict, they will just tell them to go to AA or NA which is based around finding your higher power. They do this because it works better than anything else.

There are a lot of people that have gone through tragedies that end up no longer believing in a higher power because they cannot believe how their god could let something happen like that.

Just as an example, ESPN was running a story on Pat Tillman and the way he died. The one person that survived being shot at by his own troops said he gave up religion and resorted to drinking a ton to get over seeing his squad mate bleed out in front of him while trying to help his own against the opposition. Examples like these could be a reason why people that don't believe in religion have mental problems.