Which is better, believing in a god or not?

Without reading any previous arguments, I would have to say this topic is irrelevant taking that as fact belief is a choice and with all choices there are no right and wrong only the outcome of ones choices and how you choose to perceive those outcomes as to whether they are "right" or "wrong" ^_^ oh and I'm agnostic lol

I don't really believe in a God, or at least the all mighty and powerful being that everyone thinks a God is.

The reasons why I don't like the typical religions is because of the ways they were used in the past. As I did research, I saw that religion was used more of a weapon than anything else. It was used to instoke fear into peoples hearts, the fear of a higher being damning you to Hell for your sins. Hardly anybody dared to go against the church, which was the main powers during the older times, due to the fact that they would face repricusions. Those who did were saw as heathens, and were punished, some worse than others. Those who got death were lucky.

another thing that I think is that it was also used as a ralley. The men in power used this to either divert the attention of the masses or to draw in others. Some examples were the witch hunts. We all know that all that was f***ed up BS back then, but during those times, those women, often tortured to get "confesions" out of them, were burned alive in the name of God. I'm not saying that this is what God stood for, but I'm saying that people used God to make this happen.

To the present, I think that religion is somewhat like a crutch, giving support to people who need the help, which in todays society, a lot of people need. People feel comforted that they have a higher being to look after them, to aid them through. Others just need the belief that what they do day by day has some sort of meaning.

I feel uncomfortable with this concept. I don't like the thought of false hope, that I was born so I could see through a specific meaning in life. I like to know that what I did each day was by my own strength, that I gave my life it's own meaning.

It's all a very tough subject all together. You just have to, in short, take a shot in the dark and go for what FEELS right to YOU. Something we humans often forget is to stop listening to your head in these matters, and let your heart lead you through, cuz it knows.

It is not necessary to understand; it is enough to adore.
The god may be of clay: adore him; he becomes GOD.
We ignore what created us; we adore what we create.
Let us create nothing but GOD!
That which causes us to create is our true father and
mother; we create in our own image, which is theirs.
Let us create therefore without fear; for we can
create nothing that is not GOD.

-A.C.

I think it truly really depends on yourself. You should learn about the religions you're interested in and see if you feel as if you want to believe in God or Allah or whoever. Religion is a choice.

I agree with most of the people here. It's your choice, but don't let others influence you. Whether or not you want to believe in a god, it's all up to your decision. You could choose to be a believer of the unseen, or a skeptic of the unknown. Weigh the pros and cons in your own light, and decide.

I'm not going to go further on it since I'd most likely be saying pretty much the same things other people have mentioned here ^_^ Good luck in life

In my case, I came from a Catholic school, and raised by a faithful family (imagine all the Facebook notifs I get from family members, most of which are lines from the bible).

Yet I'm atheist.

EDIT: And no my username didn't come from the biblical term. It came from a character in the Sandman Chronicles...

I used to be a heavy mormon. I got tired of the contradictions and double standards. I realised I believed in God before I joined a church. Now, I am agnostic per say, I believe in God, but the original one. The one who has a plan and has real unconditional love, not this church building God who creates pathetic rules...

I was raised a Catholic, but became agnostic when I finally managed to tell my parents (who are both believers) that for me religion was neither a support nor an answer, it was just stuff crammed down my throat. Nevertheless, I respect those who believe (of course, Satanist, fundamentalists, cultists and other crap like that are excluded for obvious reasons), since believing is a choice that everyone has the right to make.

I am a protestant(more like non-denominational) Christian and I can say that a lot people stray away from God because they stray away from religion. They stray away from religion because whatever church they went to or whomever taught them was a poor example of what God truly desires. If there is one person in the world that can portray what I believe Christianity should be, it would be Matt Chandler. He even points out the flaws in a lot of churches and their methods. Look him up on youtube, he is the most intelligent christian I have ever met. Even the most hardcore atheists can appreciate his smarts.

Me I don't believe anything but whats weird is I'm happy all the time. Do what you want as long as it makes you happy. Sorry I lied,Happy 90% of time.

Believing in god is a natural human response to the world. Although, being agnostic, like I admit to being, can be in some ways going against human nature.

God is much more than just a belief, it's in the way that someone lives. Things like religion and philosophy are ways of the human understanding the world around him using symbols and logic, respectively.

What people fail to understand is that the symbols aren't meant to be taken as the "final say" or the "ultimate end" to things. Symbols are made to be interpreted constantly, not to be assumed as truth.

Also, when it comes to religion, I prefer Spock's quote from one of the Star Trek movies (I forget which one) in which he states, "Why doe's God need a spaceship?" in the context that Religious extremists believing that they are using their ship for 'God's will'.

It's really up to that person, but I believe it helps gives a moral conscience to people. I'm not religious by the way,but also not an athiest.

Life is subjective it truly depends on you.

Personally I believe that religion imposes an arbitrary set of rules and practices which can inhibit your own personal growth and self-discovery. There are however people for whom religion as given them a true sense of joy and purpose.

I should really tell you this. there are many people in this world that have lost all of their hopes. but the only hope that remains is the hope on God. I cannot answer you on your question. but what I could tell you is that if you were able to show the world that God does not exist then you would be the cause of a large amount of suicides. I do believe in God and my religion have taught me something rather helpful. it is to never think of Gods existence with a logical base. because if you do so the only result you would reach is "God does not exist". but you could think of the things that ha have forbidden us with a logical base. I hope that I was able to inform you with something helpful.

Edit:

This user has received -1 reputation for this post.

In that case I shall not display my honest opinion any more!

Haven't read the thread. Just popping in to chime my two cents. I believe in god, yet at the same time accept that he might not be real. I don't get offended if people give me their opinion as to why he isn't. After all, god is unique to everyone. The god in which I believe in sends unfaithful cheaters, killers, rapists, thieves straight to hell. Others would believe that god wouldn't send cheaters or those that lie to hell as that would be too extreme and he is all forgiving. I want to believe in god. I bestow unto god a face, body, ideals, voice and personality. God is real because I give him life as he gives me hope. My depiction would clash with what others think so it's best to just keep your own mind.

I'm just upset at how many use the idea of religion or god to further their agenda. I think Catholicism should be abolished along with other religions that put one man or woman closer to god than the people. No one alive should be closer to god cause the god I believe in wouldn't accept such a thing. That is what leads to corruption.

I was raised Roman Catholic until I was 15 years old. I became an atheist during my high school years and until now. Well, for me because I do not see any Scientific evidence for the existence of a God. I am the only member of my family that does not believe in the existence of God, since the majority of the population of my country are Catholics (which is the Philippines).
And here is my favorite quote: "No amount of belief makes something a fact." - James Randi

Well, here is my two cents about this topic. I think religion is a basic for Humanity in order to strive on life and move forward using religion as a logical explanation for the happenings at the time they were created. Religion is a belief that overtakes a persons mind in order to escape some type of fear in order to stray away from reality and keep a person's mind in check. During the crusades and black plauge, the entity of humanity affected by it started to use religion, in this case, Christianity, as salvation from it. This could have lead to the unification of minds in order to create a real god if one had not already existed before. Then again, If we go to the source of the universe, what is it? If you think about it, Nothing, so everything equates to nothing. Religion in a sense is just another form of salvation for the human mind in order to escape thoughts like the former. So what I think in the end, is that, Religion is the salvation of fear. Uh, I don't think that made any sense at all, but yeah.

Eh. Believing in a god has it's benefits (Not being an outcast). Until there's an Athesit city, I'll continue pretending that I worship the imaginary friend

Well the question is not "whether or not God exists" but "how do you perceive the world". Anyone who truly questions their own beliefs should check out Joseph Campbell's Mythos series. Joseph Campbell really cleared up a lot of questions I had about faith and the existence and origins of faith and belief.