What Will Be The Difference In Our Lives If We Dont Believe In God?

[DigitalAnalog]

If you really are in search for the truth, you should always challenge what you know and what you believe in. That means you should also question your religious faith. But unfortunately, to question the Bible or any religious text for that matter is heresy/blasphemy/apostasy (alin ba tama?) kung religious faith ang pag-uusapan.

I assume that you're referring to a deity here, so para maging general ang usapin... It cannot be proven or disproved.

To be honest, I'm a serious searcher for truth, read lots about the Bible (since I'm a Christian) and related topics few years back. So far sa halip na maging solid ang aking pinaniniwalaan, mas lalo pang dumami ang tanong. There are a lot of things that I like about the Bible and in my opinion can make us a morally better person if followed correctly. Pero some things just do not add up.

So I decided to have the good things of both world.

Kung moral issue pag-uusapan, I would search the Bible kasunod ay Science. Pero kung tungkol sa katotohanan ng mundong aking ginagalawan, sa Science ako kasunod na ang Bible - pag may contradiction, ibahin ko version ko ng Bible ko. Although may steps na rin ang Science that addresses moral issues, I believe it's still in its infancy. Halos majority ng pinag-aaralan ng sciencya ay tungkol sa physical world.

Name one ethical action a believer can do that a non-believer cannot do. It’s a very difficult question to answer.

Now, name just one evil action that only a devout believer can do? I’m sure you’ve already thought of one. Inquisition. Witch-hunts. Suicide bombing. The list goes on and on.

What does this prove? Objective moral values exist outside of religion, as a matter of fact morality may have very well preceded religion. You don’t need religion to tell you that unjustified killing is wrong, because if you do, you’re really just sick in the head.

You said that you pick out the parts of the Bible that make sense and then you discard the rest that don’t make sense. This means you’re able to independently assess the value proposition in certain actions without having to rely on the Bible (otherwise, everything in the Bible should make sense.)

Religion is a bad reason for doing good things. They tell you to do good so that you’ll go to heaven. Reasonable people like you and me know better. We do good things simply because it’s good, not because we expect a reward in the afterlife. They tell you to avoid doing bad things because you’ll go to hell. Again, you and I know better. We avoid doing bad things like murder and rape because it harms fellow human beings and simply because it’s bad, not because we might go to hell.

Imaging there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
– John Lennon

[ess]

Religion is a bad reason for doing good things. They tell you to do good so that you’ll go to heaven. Reasonable people like you and me know better. We do good things simply because it’s good, not because we expect a reward in the afterlife. They tell you to avoid doing bad things because you’ll go to hell. Again, you and I know better. We avoid doing bad things like murder and rape because it harms fellow human beings and simply because it’s bad, not because we might go to hell.

+1000 for that.

[DigitalAnalog]

and nobody here in this thread or forum is an atheist. they know how to put border between religion and science. they rely on both science and religion for their existence and sanity.

I’m quite curious as to how you arrived at the conclusion that there are no atheists in this forum.

[mahalay]

Religion is a bad reason for doing good things. They tell you to do good so that you’ll go to heaven.

Fortunately, as far as my religious denomination is concerned, Religion is not our reason for doing good things. What we are taught is:

"Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy" - Lev. 19:2

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect - Matt 5:48

I agree that most preachers would tell you to "do good in order to go to heaven". Even (new) preacher's from my own religious denomination makes a mistake of saying it - ito ay parang "beginner level" lang i.e., parang mas madaling maintindihan.

[DigitalAnalog]

Fortunately, as far as my religious denomination is concerned, Religion is not our reason for doing good things.

I’m confused. You’re saying that religion is not your reason for acting the way you do? But you just quoted your religious books as ‘commanding’ you to be holy and be perfect. If that’s not religion guiding you, I don’t know what it is.

If it’s not religion, then surely, it’s ok for you to go against the teachings of your denomination when they don’t agree with your personal ideas of what is right and wrong, yes?

If you can arrive at your own conclusions as to what is moral and what is right, why not just cut out the middleman (religion) and be good for the sake of being good?

[marg]

Simmple question lang sa mga anti gods, alam ba nag mga GF niyo o misis niyo yung prinsipyo niyo? nanay niyo man lang or tatay?

Of course, nagugulat mga religious GF ko na I know more about their religion than they do.

Then I make them realize that religion has messed up the lives of men more than it had helped. How religious people abused their power throughout history, from Copernicus to Joan d'Arc to the Inquisition to Jose Rizal to the present-day RH Bill.

I showed them how Vicious, Violent and Crazy the so-called Holy Books can be.

Then they take a more pragmatic stance on their faith after my "enlightening" them.

The bottom line is, you can be a Good person without being religious.

I have seen it in Europe where people almost never go to mass and never quote the Bible, but follow the rules and respect each other. Contrast that to the religious yet God-forsaken Philippines.

As for my parents? They are proud that the money they spent on Tuition Fees was worth it.

[mahalay]

I’m confused. You’re saying that religion is not your reason for acting the way you do?

Gulo ano? Hehehe.

If that’s not religion guiding you, I don’t know what it is.

Faith (with reason) maybe?

Yes, madaming kokontra sa akin sa denomination where I'm in pag nalaman nila ang pinaniniwalaan ko sa mga bagay bagay. But, I understand that it's a better thing to just get along with them. Ang totoo nyan may mga teachings na di ako sang-ayon sa sekta na kinabibilangan ko. Pwede ako matiwalag (disfellowshipped) - although I don't really care.

why not just cut out the middleman (religion) and be good for the sake of being good?

If you would do that, how would you win those people? Hahayaan mo na lang ba sila sa kanilang pinaniniwalaan tapos ikaw ito may alam na katotohanan? Don't you think it's your obligation (part of your being good?) to let them know the truth as well? May mga kaibigan din naman ako dun.

You know what? Nakakatawa man, may reservation pa rin ako na some sort of deity exists. In fact during my "religious days, I pray na maka-usap ko cya." Hehehe, so far wala pa e, Science still prevails in providing truth and answering those questions I have in mind.

[uls]

Name one ethical action a believer can do that a non-believer cannot do.

Objective moral values exist outside of religion, as a matter of fact morality may have very well preceded religion. You don’t need religion to tell you that unjustified killing is wrong, because if you do, you’re really just sick in the head.

If you can arrive at your own conclusions as to what is moral and what is right, why not just cut out the middleman (religion) and be good for the sake of being good?

The bottom line is, you can be a Good person without being religious.

exactly dudes

--

unfortunately many people just can't behave properly pag walang reward at pag walang punishment

people need an incentive to be good

kaya heaven had to be invented

and people have to be threatened para di maging bad

kaya hell had to be invented

[uls]

let's see...

God saved her with a liver transplant and killed her with dengue?

Pediatric liver transplant patient dies | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online

Pediatric liver transplant patient dies

September 19, 2011, 8:04pm
MANILA, Philippines — The country’s first successful pediatric liver transplant died of dengue fever last Sunday, doctors from the Medical City confirmed Monday.

In a statement, the hospital officials said four-year-old Erica Buenaventura was rushed to the Medical City Wednesday last week due to flu-like symptoms that was later diagnosed to be dengue fever.

“Her condition rapidly progressed to Dengue Shock Syndrome. Her heart was affected by the dengue virus, a condition called Dengue Myocarditis. Despite intensive care, she succumbed to severe heart failure,” the Medical city media statement read.

Erica was diagnosed last year with end-stage liver disease complicated by portal hypertension which causes life-threatening bleeding from the gut. She also suffered from malnutrition and rickets as a complication of her chronic liver disease,” it added.

Erica was the first successful case of pediatric liver transplant performed by the Center for Liver Disease Management and Transplantation of the Medical City last January 7, 2011.

i'm sure there was much thanking and praising God after the transplant

then months later the child dies of dengue

hey believer, how do you explain that?

i know. it's God's will.

you can't blame God right?

gotta thank Him when something good happens. but can't blame Him when something bad happens

it's just God's will

it's not for man to understand

God's ways are not man's ways

may plano si God

maybe God is testing the faith of the parents

--

God had nothing to do with it

man developed medical procedures that made organ transplants possible

man extended the child's life

if left to natural selection that child would have died much earlier

man intervened

then a random dengue-carrying mosquito killed the child

it wasn't planned by God

God didnt go "We allowed the child to live a few more months... now it is time to take the child's life"

it's random

things just happen

no reason, no plan, no goal

[badsekktor]

May point ka. Yan ang ‘Diyos’ nila Carl Sagan at Albert Einstein at possibly pati ni Stephen Hawking. The difference between the ‘Deist’ God and the Gods of Theistic religions is that this “God” is not given any characterizations. Hindi siya all-good, all-powerful o all-knowing.

Siya lang ang nag-flick ng switch at the beginning of the Universe (if there is one, ongoing pa rin kasi ang scientific debates on whether the Universe did have a beginning.) Wala siyang pakialam sa mga nangyayari. Wala siyang pakialam kung gumagamit ka ng artificial contraceptives o hindi. Wala siyang pakialam kung nagsimba ka kahapon o hindi.

Wala lang siyang pakialam, period. Hindi siya bumuntis ng isang virgin para ipanganak ang kanyang anak na magtatanggal ng Original Sin na siya din naman ang naglagay sa tao. Hindi rin siya nagsasalita sa pamamagitan ng isang Burning Bush. Hindi rin siya naguutos na patayin ang mga infidels tulad ng nangyari sa Inquisitions at sa ginagawa ngayon ng mga Islamic fundamentalists. Di ka rin niya susunugin for eternity dahil di ka naniwala sa mga propeta niya, lalo na sa mga modern prophets niya na nanggagahasa ng mga menor de edad.

Wala siyang pakialam kung sambahin mo siya, o paniwalaan mo siya o kung anu pa naman. Mas may sense, di ba? But ultimately that’s not what modern religions want you to believe.

+1

If there would be a GOD or a supreme being, I would say that it could be ENERGY...

The different GODs referred by different myths around the world might be an Alien race that shaped those parts of the region....

well that is just me.....