4 ms·

I cannot make myself believe in God, particularly, in God who notices and interferes, and dedicate myself to him; and I think it is the problem for many of us.

I cannot make myself believe in God, particularly, in God who notices and interferes, and dedicate myself to him; and I think it is the problem for many of us. Philosophically, Western society moved beyond good and evil, desecrated Christianity, questioned the words of God, and Nietzsche nailed it. Recently, I read the biography of Rockefeller by Chernow. It was stunning how his strong faith drove and motivated him. He thought he was blessed by God to build his business, he must fulfill this mission, and it justified some questionable actions he did.

yters 7y ago
I'm not talking about some particular conception of God, but there seem to be decent philosophical and scientific reasons to believe that there is a creative agency responsible for our universe. Furthermore, this agency seems to have taken particular care for our wellbeing. We've got to separate the question of existence from the question of nature. That God exists seems very evident from all we know. What God's nature is is more of a question mark, and we should not let this question mark about nature obviate what we know about existence. And belief in God is not a panacea, people do horrible things in the name of God, and perhaps even more horrible things in the absence. However, people have done very great things, perhaps the greatest things, in the name of God. So there is that, too. Also, in regards to your specific purpose you mention in the other thread of eliminating physical suffering, it seems Christianity in particular has done the most throughout history of eliminating physical suffering. Thus, insofar as your goal is to eliminate suffering, Christianity seems to be the most effective platform to do so. UPDATE to reply to this post, b/c I'm rate limited: It's one of those struggles you mention :) At least this one is about resolving ultimate meaning instead of ignoring it.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
svieira 7y ago
You cannot make yourself believe in God any more than you can make yourself believe in the grocery store clerk. Either they are and you interact with them, or they are not. Prayer is nothing more than talking with God, who is there. > Nietzsche nailed it. If God is not, Nietzsche is correct. If God is, then He is stronger than the universe, and the sight of His _back_ is enough to make you as radiant as the sun [1]. How gentle then, if He loves us, must He be with us, creatures of dust and ash as we are? > Third, a friend of mine asked me what evidence, if any, would be sufficient to convince me that the supernatural existed. This question stumped me. My philosophy at the time excluded the contemplation of the supernatural axiomatically: by definition (my definition) even the word "super-natural" was a contradiction in terms. Logic then said that, if my conclusions were definitional, they were circular. I was assuming the conclusion of the subject matter in dispute ... This meant that, logically, even if God existed, and manifested Himself to me, my philosophy would force me to reject the evidence of my senses, and dismiss any manifestations as a coincidence, hallucination, or dream. Under this hypothetical, my philosophy would force me to an exactly wrong conclusion due to structural errors of assumption. [2] [1]: Exodus 33-34 [2]: https://strangenotions.com/wright-conversion/

yters 7y ago

I'm not talking about some particular conception of God, but there seem to be decent philosophical and scientific reasons to believe that there is a creative agency responsible for our universe. Furthermore, this agency seems to have taken particular care for our wellbeing. We've got to separate the question of existence from the question of nature. That God exists seems very evident from all we know. What God's nature is is more of a question mark, and we should not let this question mark about nature obviate what we know about existence. And belief in God is not a panacea, people do horrible things in the name of God, and perhaps even more horrible things in the absence. However, people have done very great things, perhaps the greatest things, in the name of God. So there is that, too. Also, in regards to your specific purpose you mention in the other thread of eliminating physical suffering, it seems Christianity in particular has done the most throughout history of eliminating physical suffering. Thus, insofar as your goal is to eliminate suffering, Christianity seems to be the most effective platform to do so. UPDATE to reply to this post, b/c I'm rate limited: It's one of those struggles you mention :) At least this one is about resolving ultimate meaning instead of ignoring it.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

svieira 7y ago

You cannot make yourself believe in God any more than you can make yourself believe in the grocery store clerk. Either they are and you interact with them, or they are not. Prayer is nothing more than talking with God, who is there. > Nietzsche nailed it. If God is not, Nietzsche is correct. If God is, then He is stronger than the universe, and the sight of His _back_ is enough to make you as radiant as the sun [1]. How gentle then, if He loves us, must He be with us, creatures of dust and ash as we are? > Third, a friend of mine asked me what evidence, if any, would be sufficient to convince me that the supernatural existed. This question stumped me. My philosophy at the time excluded the contemplation of the supernatural axiomatically: by definition (my definition) even the word "super-natural" was a contradiction in terms. Logic then said that, if my conclusions were definitional, they were circular. I was assuming the conclusion of the subject matter in dispute ... This meant that, logically, even if God existed, and manifested Himself to me, my philosophy would force me to reject the evidence of my senses, and dismiss any manifestations as a coincidence, hallucination, or dream. Under this hypothetical, my philosophy would force me to an exactly wrong conclusion due to structural errors of assumption. [2] [1]: Exodus 33-34 [2]: https://strangenotions.com/wright-conversion/