How many of you believe or do not believe in God?

[Konstantin]

atheism the word was coined from theism but the negative 'a' to assign a cognitive anti stance to religion. This is completely way off the mark. Because atheism, which should really be termed 'humanist realism' should be seen as not as anti religion but pre-religion.

Interesting. Further, some of us may believe in God but be strongly against religion. Its very simplistic to equate believing in God with being religious, as some people do.

[Big Good Wolf]

If there really was a god, there wouldn't be any need for religion.

[emm7]

Atheist and agreed with those above who are fighting against the notion that atheism offers no comfort. Believing in god, or being 'spiritual' has nothing to do with seeing beauty and being in awe of the world around you. I don't see a godless universe as cold or soul-less. In fact it is all the more fascinating as something that simply exists and evolves based of a set of laws (some of which we understand, some of which we don't yet) into something amazingly complex.

It seems to me that atheists have replaced "faith in a higher power" as a comfort and help to them in enduring torment, with "faith in their fellow human beings" so other people would be seen as that comfort.
This is all very well if you have people around you that you feel comfortable with trusting and relying on.
Not everyone is in that situation.
If isolation is an issue in someone's life then surely it is better for them to obtain comfort and support from a higher power than to renounce that if there is no comfort available from their fellow humans.
Not everyone has the necessary social skills , 100% mental health level, confidence, etc. to be able to sustain friendships and relationships that might be sources of comfort.
Also even if there are supportive people around to help there is always a danger of burning them out.
Surely better to lean on higher power / god than to risk being too needy with your fellow humans and hence run the risk of alienating them altogether.

[erske]

It seems to me that atheists have replaced "faith in a higher power" as a comfort and help to them in enduring torment, with "faith in their fellow human beings" so other people would be seen as that comfort.

I think we can find comfort in many things, though I'm not sure if that alone is a good reason for beliving in something.. But for what it's worth I don't have very much faith in my fellow humans and can be rather asocial at times, but I can still feel a great comfort in the absence of higher powers, that for no aparent reason I'm here, from the start of life through milions of years of evolution and reproduction, I'm here, no plan, no meaning of life, just me free to do as I like..

[athenafro]

I'm muslim. AM I THE ONLY ONE HERE?

[flightlessbirds]

It seems to me that atheists have replaced "faith in a higher power" as a comfort and help to them in enduring torment, with "faith in their fellow human beings" so other people would be seen as that comfort.

Not really sure why you quoted me before saying this as I didn't say anything about finding comfort in other human beings. I rely on myself to appreciate the things around me that are awesome and exciting and beautiful.

http://xkcd.com/167/

edit: and thanks for making me think of that xkcd strip again! I really love it. It fills me with warm, squishy happiness and a sense of adventure.

[baldy]

I'm muslim. AM I THE ONLY ONE HERE?

Probably not.

[fredrikw]

I rely on myself to appreciate the things around me that are awesome and exciting and beautiful.

+1

To me, relying solely on external factors to find comfort and stability is not a very good idea, and makes you extremely vulnerable when these fail.

[Fallen_Horse]

Eh? I can't say that's an argument.

[Johnboy74]

I'm muslim. AM I THE ONLY ONE HERE?

It's a pity there is a lack of ethnic diversity on this forum

[Gelert]

I'm muslim. AM I THE ONLY ONE HERE?

It's a pity there is a lack of ethnic diversity on this forum

There's an apparent lack of ethnic diversity at least.

[The Duke]

I'm muslim. AM I THE ONLY ONE HERE?

It's a pity there is a lack of ethnic diversity on this forum

There's an apparent lack of ethnic diversity at least.

There have been a couple of Indians, but we drove them off.

[Linnéa76]

I would call myself agnostic. I think trying to convince religious people that there is no God, using logical reasoning, is completely missing the point. What non-belivers tend to forget or not like to think about is that a lot of people have mystical/transcendental experiences. I imagine that if a person feels they've met God, they don't need proof in the scientific sense of his/her existence...

[EceGled]

I'm muslim. AM I THE ONLY ONE HERE?

It's a pity there is a lack of ethnic diversity on this forum

Appears to be a lack of ethnic diversity among Western vegans in general. I have met a handful of vegans at my university, and all of them are white (one ex-vegan appears to be Indian or Middle Eastern). I also interned with a vegan non-profit and everyone who worked there plus all the volunteers I saw save one were white - and the city of location is 50% African American.

[xzebrasx]

I would call myself agnostic. I think trying to convince religious people that there is no God, using logical reasoning, is completely missing the point. What non-belivers tend to forget or not like to think about is that a lot of people have mystical/transcendental experiences. I imagine that if a person feels they've met God, they don't need proof in the scientific sense of his/her existence...

True. As Gelert had already pointed out - there's physics and then there's metaphysics. You can't employ the former to prove/disprove something that pertains to the latter.