Tell us what you think. Is there a higher power? Is there an afterlife? After a few posts I'll tell you what I believe.

I believe there is a Higher Power. How else can we explain how the universe (with all its incredible and intricate diversity: planets, galaxies, comets, meteors, mountains, trees, birds, yellow labradors, heartbeats, red and white bloodcells, dreams, thoughts, consciousness) got here -- just say blythely "it all just happened?" or worse "I don't know and could care less"??! No, there has to be higher power to explain where all this magnificent stuff called existence came from. Also, God has personally visited and revealed God's self to men and women down through the ages -- persons like Moses, Elijah, Abraham, Jesus, Peter and Paul. Such remarkable indivuals as these personally encountered God and left their eyewitness accounts with the rest of mankind to inform us and make us wise. I believe because I trust their testimony. Now for the really relevant question: What does God think about Sleepycomics.com? Hate to say this, but I'm not really sure. It certainly is not mentioned in the Holy Writings anywhere that I know of. Hopefully God thinks "It's not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of him". Ergo, Sleepycomics is OK.

Thanks for your response. And I'm almost 100% sure God visits Sleepycomics.com.

no

First of all, what do you mean by "God"? You must give a coherent definition of the word "God" before you can expect to receive a coherent response.

Assuming you are referring to some supernatural deity which created the universe, then no, that almost certainly does not exist.

I am an Ignostic (not Agnostic), which means I believe most theological language is incoherent, hence my first statement. I am also a naturalist, meaning I believe that all things in reality have a natural (scientific) cause, and anything which science doesn't explain or encompass is also natural but simply not yet understood.

I am also Antireligion, meaning I believe that religion is detrimental to the human species.

Paulpicks, your response is typical and misinformed. We have a very complete natural understanding of all of the phenomena you listed. Science does NOT imply that all of these phenomena "just happened" out of the blue. If you think this, then you are ignorant. Please take some time to educate yourself before making erroneous statements such as this.

Some helpful videos:

Evolution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vss1VKN2rf8

Open-mindedness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69TOuqaqXI

The fallacies of religion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDHJ4ztnldQ

I don't believe all the tales in the Bible, but I do take comfort in hoping that theres a heaven where my dead loved ones have gone. Like eating of two plates. If God exist? How should I know. I'll never know and I don't need to know, but I like to believe that there is a God. I will however never let it affect my judgement or actions because I have to little of proof to depend on it.

Religion however should in my opinion be something that is kept personal. I am always irritated by people who try to make others believe something. A couple of months ago, in Holland, there was a huge discussion about Darwin with evolution and creationism. People were actually delivering flyers (unwanted!) in people's mailboxes telling them to believe one of the theories... Very annoying.

To your first point: if you want to take comfort in your dead loved ones, focus on the facts of their lives. I think it is fine to honor the dead. But if you believe fairy tales about afterlife in heaven, you are only hurting yourself because there is sufficient evidence mounting against that belief. It's just not necessary. I, personally, am happiest when I know the truth. I don't want to believe something that makes me feel good - I want to know the truth. In ancient philosophy, truth and happiness were directly tied.

To your second point: I wholeheartedly disagree. I think religious people should be confronted about their absurd beliefs, because their beliefs are harmful to society and the human species. Why? Because these people are delusional. Believing in ghosts and demons is delusional, and talking to a ghost in the sky is delusional. Even if you are a "moderate christian" or a "casual christian," it doesn't matter - you are still perpetuating a belief which has massively negative effects on the world. Have you thought about these negative effects before? I can think of two main ones. First, religious belief limits the progress of science, which is the true source of all human achievement. Second, many violent acts have been committed throughout history in the name of religion. These two facts alone make religion a detriment to the world and humanity.

To be honest, I dont really care what anyone else thinks of what I do with religion and God. The last thing I want is someone telling me to stop believing something and start believing something else. It's not even a question about if it's good or bad (of course it's bad. Just look at Iran right now for example) for the world but just the discussion is sooooooooo exhausting. Because neither side will ever back down and they just keep on coming up with these arguments which have been used for a thousand times, but still keep on bringing it back.

So basically, I have given up listening to this discussion. If anyone wants to believe in God or if they don't, I really don't care as long as it doesn't affect me. In return I'll wont let other people be affected with what I do. I understand your view on this subject, although I think you are a bit over exaggerating on some points.

EDIT: But one thing, on a side note, evidence that there is no heaven, isnt that just as impossible as saying that there is evidence for a heaven? I dont really get it, but maybe that's just me.

Interesting discussion, there seems to be some strong opinions here.

I used to be an atheist, but as I got older I started to dislike that group as well. Atheists have become just as vocal as Christians and both sides seem to want to impose their beliefs on everyone else.

But I no longer deny the existence of a God. And the reason why is because I believe there is truly something extraordinary about human consciousness that cannot be explained by science. How is it that we are able to think? How is it that we are aware of our own existence? We are the only creatures capable of this, and it I find it so incredible that human consciousness was able to arise out of the chaos of the universe.

It is for this reason that I think something special is going on in the universe that we really can't explain.