Belief in God

[canpakes]

.
KevinSim, with regard to my earlier question

Well, Canpakes, I'm a Latter-day Saint, so the only qualifications I make about the concept of one god in general (who is in control of everything, and therefore I use the capital 'G'), are that said God is good, loves us, and is willing to answer questions we ask Her/Him about Herself/Himself. What are the reasons for not believing in such a deity?

That sounds like you could end up believing in a number of Gods (capital G).

What are the questions that you’ve asked Her/Him about Herself/Himself, as part of this criteria?

… and this reply to Jersey Girl:

Do you doubt the existence of God?

Yes, but again not seriously. I find that I doubt almost anything anymore. But I have made a conscious decision to believe God exists. I don't see any other belief I can have that is as productive.

Doesn’t the second comment above invalidate the first? If you’ve “made a conscious decision to believe God exists”, then this suggests that you’ve done so in the absence of evidence that can be direct confirmation of God.

Then, neither you nor I can know if ‘God is good, loves us, and is willing to answer questions we ask Her/Him about Herself/Himself’, let alone if the LDS version is ‘the one’.

My thinking here might be a bit black and white; feel free to correct me if you see it that way.

[Jersey Girl]

I'm not entirely sure where you are coming from. I've read your question here and in Terrestrial regarding alternatives to the LDS Church. Do you want to leave the church?

No.

Are you thinking about it?

Sometimes. Not seriously.

Do you doubt the existence of God?

Yes, but again not seriously. I find that I doubt almost anything anymore. But I have made a conscious decision to believe God exists. I don't see any other belief I can have that is as productive.

Please know I am not trying to pry or judge you. I'm trying to get a read on where you are coming from.

Like I said, I can't think of a more productive belief than a belief in God, and I'm testing that hypothesis by asking people for reasons why I shouldn't believe in God.

Your thread topics and your answers are failing to land on me. I don't see anything at the moment with which to engage but I'll try something.

You say, "Like I said, I can't think of a more productive belief than a belief in God"

Productive in what way? What does a belief in God produce in you or for you, or produce in your life or perhaps even in the world? What is God's product in your life?

[Chap]

What evidence do you have that someone is preserving forever any good things that will last forever (assuming there are any good things that will last forever)?

None. I have no such evidence. And therefore what? Is there something wrong with believing something like that without direct evidence?

A definition from a non-existent dictionary:

PEDANT (n.) - A person who prefers his statements to be true.

I'm a pedant, I suppose. And I also have this weird idea that it may be more prudent not to believe that things are the case when I have no evidence that they are the case. I'm just funny that way.

Oh, and would you like to buy a bridge? I am giving it away for a low price because I like you, but the tolls will soon make you a billionaire! Go on, you can believe it if you try ... think how happy you will be!

[KevinSim]

… Is there something wrong with believing something like that without direct evidence?

Nope. Lots of people enjoy larping and daydreaming, too.

"Well maybe it started that way. As a dream. But doesn't everything?" Thus said James Trotter in Roald Dahl's book James and the Giant Peach. There are lots of things in the real world that have as their origins daydreams.

[Chap]

"Well maybe it started that way. As a dream. But doesn't everything?"

Many, if not most dreams are likely to remain unfulfilled.

Imagining that there really is a Santa Claus when you are past the age when parents secretly buy you presents can only end in disappointment. A life based on that 'dream' will inevitably lead to disillusion.

Telling yourself that some ideal deity exists is about as risky as that, if not worse.

[msnobody]

I'm not entirely sure where you are coming from. I've read your question here and in Terrestrial regarding alternatives to the LDS Church. Do you want to leave the church?

No.

Are you thinking about it?

Sometimes. Not seriously.

Do you doubt the existence of God?

Yes, but again not seriously. I find that I doubt almost anything anymore. But I have made a conscious decision to believe God exists. I don't see any other belief I can have that is as productive.

Please know I am not trying to pry or judge you. I'm trying to get a read on where you are coming from.

Like I said, I can't think of a more productive belief than a belief in God, and I'm testing that hypothesis by asking people for reasons why I shouldn't believe in God.

Cry out to God and surrender your life to Him. Ask Him to bring you to the point to where He enables you to surrender your all to him.
Then, it is like in the third verse of O Little Town of Bethlehem:

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given;
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His Heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

No.

Sometimes. Not seriously.

Yes, but again not seriously. I find that I doubt almost anything anymore. But I have made a conscious decision to believe God exists. I don't see any other belief I can have that is as productive.

Like I said, I can't think of a more productive belief than a belief in God, and I'm testing that hypothesis by asking people for reasons why I shouldn't believe in God.

Cry out to God and surrender your life to Him. Ask Him to bring you to the point to where He enables you to surrender your all to him.
Then, it is like in the third verse of O Little Town of Bethlehem:

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given;
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His Heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

https://screamintothevoid.com/

[msnobody]

Cry out to God and surrender your life to Him. Ask Him to bring you to the point to where He enables you to surrender your all to him.
Then, it is like in the third verse of O Little Town of Bethlehem:

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given;
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His Heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

https://screamintothevoid.com/

So, it isn’t for you. That’s okay.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

https://screamintothevoid.com/

So, it isn’t for you. That’s okay.

I mean. Incantations can be therapeutic.

- Doc

[msnobody]

So, it isn’t for you. That’s okay.

I mean. Incantations can be therapeutic.

- Doc

I respect you for where you’re at right now, I really do.