[Learned]

I searched the forum and couldn't find any threads about God, so I thought I would start one. Before I go any further, I would like to make it abundantly clear that this thread is not meant as an insult to anyones personal beleifs or to any religion or faith for that matter, and it is not a thread intented to debate the differences between different religions (please don't turn this into a Christian-Muslim debate thread, because that is entirely besides the point here), or to delve into the specific aspects of any organized religion. If some of these issues are touched upon, do not take it personally, and I hope the mods can moderate the discussion in the spirit of open-mindedness, inquiry, and freedom of expression. The thread is certianly not meant as a platform for sectarianism, so those who have sectarian agendas and/or tendencies are kindly requested to refrain from making comments that would detract from the value of the topic.

And please, don't bring politics into this thread.


Human kind has reached a point in their extistance where the advancement of philosophical thought, mathematics, and science has allowed us to gain unprecidented insights into the realities of the universe around us, from the micro scale to the macro scale. And yet, at the root of all unquiry, there have been a number of central questions that thinkers, philosophers, ideologans, theologans, and scientists have struggled with for as long back as we can trace the existance of human civilization.

Even with the advancement of science and its contributions to our understanding of the workings of the universe, many of those central questions have remained unanswered, and with every new truth that we uncover, and answer that we gain, a whole new set of questions arise. There have been many who have attempted to prove or disprove the existance of God through reational means, and the debate about God's existance has only become more involved and complicated. Some have argued that science and emirical methods are not suited to prove or disprove God's existance, and have employed other means such as ontological arguments to make the case for God's existance. Still others have argued that regardless of the nature of the debate, one can never come to a final conclusion through rational means, and that each individual is left with a gamble: either not believe in God and risk suffering His wrath if you are wrong, or to believe in God even if you are not sure, just to be on the safe side. Some cannot bring themselves to believe in God without first understanding the reasons behind existance, creation, and this life, and still others have a problem accepting the notion that this life is merely a test that each human being either passes or fails by virtue of their conduct, judged in God's eyes.

There are many whose inquiries to these questions have left them without faith or belief in God, let alone any type of organised religion. There are others who may believe that some kind of Supreme Being exists, and yet they do not ascribe to any form of organized religion. And there are, ofcourse, the many followers of the religions of the world, who believe in thier scriptures, prophets, as saints and signs of God's existance and guidance.

On a personal level, do you believe in God, and more importantly, why? And what does your belief, or lack thereof, tell you about the nature of existance, life, creation, the universe, etc?