Religious Beliefs

[Dreadful Scathe]

Would be interesting to have an insight into the heathen minds of forum users. Everyone will fall into one of the four catagories - make your choice and feel free to start a discussion

Of course this isnt really a religious question as you could for example be a buddhist who is very religious but doesnt believe in any gods . Religion is a seperate issue to theism.

[Gordon J Pownall]

I'm a insomniac dyslexic philosopher - I lie awake all night wondering if there really is a dog.....

[Dreadful Scathe]

shurley shir that makes more sense if you're an insomniac dyslexic agnostic ? as philosophers wonder about practically everything and it would be a big assumption on our part to assume dog=god if your post with not in this thread and therefore not in a 'godly' context. Not that I'm being a pedant or anything .

I used to be a pedantic procrastinating apathetic transvestite but i couldnt be bothered putting off looking for the perfect nail varnish to match my outfit anymore.

er..sorry obscurity hit me! someone get it!!

[jivecat]

Could any gnostic theist out there let me know what the evidence is for "knowing for sure that god exists"?

[ChrisA]

Could any gnostic theist out there let me know what the evidence is for "knowing for sure that god exists"?

Being sure is nothing to do with being able to prove it to a third party.

I love the words to Billy Joel's song, "Shades of grey"...

"Some things were perfectly clear, seen with the vision of youth... no doubts and nothing to fear, I claimed the corner on truth...

These days it's harder to say, 'I know what I'm fighting for'... my faith is falling away; I'm not that sure any more...

... shades of grey, shades of grey, wherever I go; the more I find out the less that I know. Black and white is how it should be; but shades of grey are the colours I see."


Inspired IMHO (metaphorically, of course )

Chris

[Barry Shnikov]

Could any gnostic theist out there let me know what the evidence is for "knowing for sure that god exists"?

gnosticism - the early christian sect that believed in the divine being and the demiurge, and the demiurge created man and the world. See also William Blake, poet.

You can just imagine the jibes of the other early christians - "You bloody gnostics - think you know everything, doncha?"

>grin<

[Gus]

Could any gnostic theist out there let me know what the evidence is for "knowing for sure that god exists"?

This sounds dangerously like one of those subjects that should never be discussed (like politics ) ... but ...

...having been educated (brutalised? ) by the Christian Brothers religious order ... the fundamental RC point was something along the lines of "thou shall know him by his works" ... e.g. evidence of the world, miracles, the tales from the Bible, Saints etc etc. How this would differentiate the Catholic faith from any other faith I know not. Actualy I think one of the repeated justifications I heard was along the line of "well, SOMETHING creating the wprld didnt it.." slightly lacking in defined logic ... but it seemed convincing at the time.

Now ... well I just believe ... but dont worry if anyone else does ... religion is a very personal thing ... as long as people repsect one another ... thats what matters

[DavidY]

Everyone will fall into one of the four catagories

Sorry but I can't resist asking ....
If someone believes in multiple gods (but doesn't claim to know for sure that they exist) which category would apply?

[jivecat]

This sounds dangerously like one of those subjects that should never be discussed :

It all seems very civilised so far, Gus. A bit like one of those 1970s Sunday evening discussion shows with Joan Bakewell, very earnest & worthy.

[Dreadful Scathe]

Sorry but I can't resist asking ....
If someone believes in multiple gods (but doesn't claim to know for sure that they exist) which category would apply?

Agnostic theist of course - it says so above....should have put god(s) though but who are we to fight over a single letter

[Boomer]

Smurfey, you forgot 1 catagory, "Of course I believe in god, its me!' I don't know, you mortals, make me laugh you do. I'm off to smite some unworthies.

[Sparkles]

Smurfey, you forgot 1 catagory, "Of course I believe in god, its me!' I don't know, you mortals, make me laugh you do. I'm off to smite some unworthies.

OK, really sad I know, but has anyone played the game 'Black & White'. I have it on PC and in it you actually are a God!
The only problem is that, without meaning to, I keep ending up being a bad God If anyone knows a way of being a good God please help me out!
S. x

[Boomer]

OK, really sad I know, but has anyone played the game 'Black & White'. I have it on PC and in it you actually are a God!
The only problem is that, without meaning to, I keep ending up being a bad God If anyone knows a way of being a good God please help me out!
S. x

Ummm, try here (see if I can get this new fangled Forum to work...I may be god but Frank is 'The Boss' )

Use the fluffy leash and get the patches!

[Sheepman]

Being sure is nothing to do with being able to prove it to a third party.

I wouldn't say asking for evidence is the same as asking for proof. There's nothing that says a sceptic has to have a closed mind, but it's fair enough to ask what convinces people that have faith.

Personally my scepticism increased 10 fold while living for nearly 8 years amongst a supposedly religious society. A society that was the most hypocritical and corrupt that I have spent time with.

Greg

[Sparkles]

Ummm, try here (see if I can get this new fangled Forum to work...I may be god but Frank is 'The Boss' )

Use the fluffy leash and get the patches!

Cheers - but the most useful piece of information I can find here is "do more good things". I've tried that already
Oh well, maybe I'm just destined to be a bad God

[Forte]

It all seems very civilised so far, Gus. A bit like one of those 1970s Sunday evening discussion shows with Joan Bakewell, very earnest & worthy.

...earnest and worthy is good...sense of humour is good, too... : the problem with religion begins when people are abusive, disrespectful and then escalate it into a full scale war...

[Dreadful Scathe]

I wouldn't say asking for evidence is the same as asking for proof. There's nothing that says a sceptic has to have a closed mind, but it's fair enough to ask what convinces people that have faith.

Personally my scepticism increased 10 fold while living for nearly 8 years amongst a supposedly religious society. A society that was the most hypocritical and corrupt that I have spent time with.

Greg

according to the www.dictionary.com ...

evidenced/evidences (verb)= to indicate clearly, exemplify or prove

proof = the evidence or argument that compels the mind to accept an assertation as true

so i would say that evidence can be used as proof - just not everyone will come to the same conclusion with the same evidence. So what ChrisA said is perfectly valid - you can be sure of something with out providing proof or any evidence and in that context it wouldnt have mattered which word he used . If you see what i mean

If someone is sure in their knowledge that something is true its not up to them to prove or provide evidence for anything - you may still be sure of what you believe even if you are also sure that you have no convincing argument for this belief that you could explain to anyone else.

...back to work...

[Will]

Could any gnostic theist out there let me know what the evidence is for "knowing for sure that god exists"?

What you need to remember is that for anyone votes "gnostic theist" (as I did) OR "gnostic atheist", they are making a statement of faith in that there is nothing that they can do to prove to someone else that God does or doesn't exist.

Only the 2 agnostic points of view could claim to not be statements of faith. I guess agnostics could argue they work on the balance of probabilities i.e...

"Agnostic Atheist" might argue that whilst they can't prove or be sure that God doesn't exist, it seems unlikely that if God existed that there would be so much suffering in the world.

"Agnostic Theist" might argue that whilst they can't prove or be sure that God does exist, it seems that saying the world / universe came to being simply because of a random cosmic "big-bang" is about as likely as an explosion at a printing press bringing into existance the Oxford English Dictionary.

Will

P.S. Could I just add that the above justifications for agnostic theism or atheism are in no way meant to be exhaustive, merely examples, before the theists burn me at the stake or the atheists throw me to the lions.

[Gadget]

Why can't I pick three options?
I am my own god. I know I exist. I'm not sure about you though.

[Gus]

Personally my scepticism increased 10 fold while living for nearly 8 years amongst a supposedly religious society. A society that was the most hypocritical and corrupt that I have spent time with.

Greg

Arrgghh, dont confuse religious society with religion. The RC church has at its base such saints as Mother Teressa ... and at the top one of the most corrupt and dispicable organisation ever to sully this planet, i.e. the Vatican (no ... I wasn't talking about the Eurovision Song Contest Judges ).