What is your reason and logic behind believing in God?

Question

Personally, I don't believe I have experienced strong enough evidence for me to believe in God but I am sure there are others that do.
Therefore I would like to understand your personal reason and logic as to why you believe in God.
Please don't use cop-outs like: "the bible says so", "My preacher said" and "you have to have faith" and so on.
I would like to see genuine self-generated rational and logical thought stemming from your personal experiences.
Thank you for your time.

Answer 1

I'm going to use Platonism/Neo-plaltonism to level this out. I do not choose to tie myself to any one religion and I'm not even entirely certain that this answer is the correct one. Every bit of philosophy has a logical opposite or variation.



Plato's idea was that each thing we see here on earth has a form. If I say "table" you have an idea of what a table looks like. If I say "beauty," you may not be looking at something beautiful, but you know what I mean. These things exist in a realm of thought. Plato called those the Forms. The forms are things like courage, beauty, temperance, whatever you might consider a virtue. And what we see in the world comes from those things. However, in order to truly know them one must participate. You have to want to know them and seek them out. Plato called this participation 'love'. So the reflections that we see in everyday objects or actions came from the forms. The best form for Plato was the Good. The Good is in every thing that we call good and it is imposed on the world and through seeing this we see Good and know that Good exists. Anything that we consider Evil is simply an absence of the Good. The Good is equivalent to God. This is what many Christians, especially educated theologians believed during the first few centuries of the church and well into the middle ages. They had logic on their side, but most people don't know what the logic was.

Answer 2

I believe in God, but like you said there is no physical evidence or logical explanation. You are not going to see "If you think about this, God will become clear to you". Here is what I personally believe. I believe that the Universe is so unique and perfectly created that some sort of intelligent-designer must be behind it. Scientists/Atheists have answered some questions about the mysteries of the Universe, yet the majority have not been answered (and most likely won't be in the near future). In short there is no answer to this question because if there was one, there would be no Atheists, however if you choose to believe in God (whether it be Allah, God, etc) and keep searching for your answer you might find what you are looking for.

Good Luck

Answer 3

The requirement for a rational belief is only that it has not been proved false or impossible. It is not the same as an opinion where you weigh evidence and try to come to some conclusion.



A belief always has to do with reaching some hoped-for goal. People have goals in life which are doubtful they will achieve, but not impossible. We humans often reach for lofty goals.



Beliefs contain the promise of some sort of reward, i.e. the goal. For example, when the lottery prize grew huge, the lines of people buying lottery tickets were around the block. The goal drove them to take a chance.



Beliefs are those "assumptions of truth" that are necessary to enable us to try and reach our goals.



Everyone of us is looking for our own happiness. Happiness is our goal. How we achieve that goal is the question. One path is to just try to find little bits of happiness every day that will help us to get through life until we're safely dead. That's a fairly low risk goal but certainly not a lofty goal.



Christians reason that we may be created and if so, then our Creator must be the source of our ultimately happiness. And so we seek Him. In order to seek Him, we first have to "assume as true" that He exists otherwise our search wouldn't be an honest search.



That all seems logical to me.

Answer 4

I have learned a lot about God through studying about prophets, the account of Jesus while he was on the earth, etc. And through all the knowledge that I've gained, I've also applied the techniques offered by God himself to develop a testimony.



I read the bible and then prayed and asked if it was true. I didn't just ask randomly. I honestly wanted to know, believing that if I prayed, I would receive an answer. I felt a warm feeling when I prayed and considered that to be an answer. But that was just the very beginning. Over time, as a progression (i'm 23 now, i was like 12), I have prayed more and when I've asked for things, he has answered my prayers by things happening that I know for sure weren't coincidences. And the more I learn (through reading scriptures), I get a good feeling, which tells me that it's good. In contrast, I can feel the difference when I'm influenced by Satan only because I know the difference between the two.

Answer 5

I'll try to keep this short.



When ever I really need to believe in god, I just think of the entire universe. And I think of how it all started, before the big bang, before that.. and even before that. What was there? What created something, to create something, to create a "big bang" to make the universe?



The answer to that question could very well be, God. When we look at something, for example a Coffee cup, we don't think that Coffee cup has always been there.. Once we look at the Coffee cup, we automatically know someone designed it, then crafted it, then painted it, then someone bought it and set it down on your table.



Now look at the human life, who created it? Look at the entire unexplored vast universe.. Who could have the power to create something like the universe? In my eyes, who ever could do that.. Is the god that we all prey to.



But the bottom line is, none of us know if there is a God or not.. But there's no point in having faith that there is no God, when you can easily put that faith in the idea that God could exist.

Answer 6

I believe there is a god, as otherwise the idea of the big bang coming from nothing just doesn't sit right with anything I hold true about science (Conservation of energy). I'm not saying that suddenly makes me a christian, far from it! I have no idea as to god still existing, and the thought of him being consumed in the creation of the universe seems very plausible.



But I am still an atheist because I believe there is no god, as he's probably dead. :p



Edit: Seeing the first comment, I actually know what you mean. Churches do seem to have a very strange atmosphere. Maybe those heavy emotions of weddings and funerals rub off over the years, onto the building itself.

Answer 7

Short answer:



I have considerable reason and logic behind my belief in God........but that is not how my belief first began. Indeed, after various events lead to my belief in God, I realized that my scientific epiphanies (I was completing a doctorate at Oxford at the time) accompanied my changes from my former atheism (of the first 30 years of my life) and yet they were not necessarily the determinative force behind my transformation. I was changed by confronting God himself and what the Bible says about that topic is probably the best description of what I experienced. It is truly the proverbial "long story". But some of my strongest reasons at present for considering the existence of God obvious as I look at the universe include:



* the interrelationships of Pi, Napier's constant, i (the imaginary constant), 0, and 1 [Two patents I hold for data compression hardware and encryption involved elegant solutions dependent upon these relationships.]



* Information theory and the fact that the complex code of DNA literally screams of the existence of an ENCODER. (And even though I fully embrace the basic principles of evolution, I also see that evolutions limitations tend to be ignored by many, perhaps because their lack of mathematical knowledge doesn't lead them to realize that some of the demands made upon evolution would require TRILLIONS of years and not mere billions to carry out the changes required. Again, long story requiring a full length book, see below.)







LONG ANSWER:



I am seriously considering writing a book on these topics topics. My previous publishers would not be interested in a book of this sort so I'm exploring various options. But I may simply create a website linked to my main website and offer the book as a PDF download. Not sure yet.



By the way, I met Frances Collins at a conference last year and found that we have remarkably similar views on these matters. He's already published his ideas and you can probably find his books at most any Barnes & Noble bookstore, Amazon.com, etc.

Answer 8

I believe in God. And the reasons for it are not the ones you stated above. God usually answers my prayers. Like for example. One time late at night while home alone I was trying to sleep. And suddenly I heard a loud banging in my basement. It sounded like it was on one of the walls. And it persisted for about a minute then I prayed for it to stop and immediately after it did. I also had a really weird dream which seemed like it was from God just because of its content and how some of the things weirdly went together when I was researching its content online. This is just one of many ways God has answered my prayers. So these are some of the reasons why I believe that God is real.

Answer 9

The Bible itself is the principal evidence that Jesus Christ is a historical person. The record in the Gospels is not a vague narrative of events at some unspecified time and in an unnamed location. It clearly states time and place in great detail. For an example, see Luke 3:1, 2, 21-23.

The first-century Jewish historian Josephus referred to the stoning of “James, the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ.” (The Jewish Antiquities, Josephus, Book XX, sec. 200) A direct and very favorable reference to Jesus, found in Book XVIII, sections 63, 64, has been challenged by some who claim that it must have been either added later or embellished by Christians; but it is acknowledged that the vocabulary and the style are basically those of Josephus, and the passage is found in all available manuscripts.

Tacitus, a Roman historian who lived during the latter part of the first century C.E., wrote: “Christus [Latin for “Christ”], from whom the name [Christian] had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.”—The Complete Works of Tacitus (New York, 1942), “The Annals,” Book 15, par. 44.

With reference to early non-Christian historical references to Jesus, The New Encyclopædia Britannica states: “These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed for the first time and on inadequate grounds by several authors at the end of the 18th, during the 19th, and at the beginning of the 20th centuries.”—(1976), Macropædia, Vol. 10, p. 145.

Answer 10

Reason and logic have nothing to do with it. Faith in God is a gift...see Ephesians 2 : 8 & 9. Read and understand. The ways you want for PROOF do not work! God does not rely on our feeble self-generated logic for Him to BE! (Thank goodness!)

Answer 11

by His grace, He truly revealed Himself to me and I immediately knew that He was the strongest power in the universe. the back of my head was literally held up by His Hands and I decided that i couldnt deny that Jesus Christ is the savior. I decided to repent and to truly start fighting the sin inside me. It was very tough at first, but then I had big breakthroughs in about 2 months time and I got even closer to Him. RIght now the spiritual battle has gotten really intense and a time of heavy tribulation is starting and I'm struggling a little, but I should get through it.

Answer 12

I am not the biggest believer but most people believe so that they can say there is someone who is behind everything that is happen and to be honest they live a happier life than others and they do not think a lot about this topics.



personally, my believe become from that couple of things that happened to me that was kind of bad but eventually if they things did not happen things much worse would have, so at the end i believe in good in different way.

Answer 13

I believe in God because I believe that this world did not just pop out of nowhere. And I believe that everything both good and bad in this world is influenced by him and all happens for a reason.

Answer 14

Its impossible for me to feel alone because i know he is there, i can feel it.

I also watch alot of documentaries and i have seen alot of evidence of God, such as http://www.drdino.com/media-categories.php?c=seminars&v=10



The world is so detailed, it just had to have been created



I saw a lady who was clearly possessed and someone i know prayed over them and demanded the demon leave in Jesus name and the demon left her.



i could go on with much more, u should check out those videos thought :)

Answer 15

i blive in God because i blive he is the creator of evrything including the universe.come to think abt it....if it was just nature that took its cost for us to be here and seeing man improving in technology evryday,why cant we force nature to take place in other planets like pluto or mars as well? we hv seen it wen they create dams,lakes etc but y cant they create another earth?

only God has the power and i bliv so.

cant really xplain my logic 4u to understand i just dont know how,guess its just an inner feeling no one can really interpret,am just at peace with it.

Answer 16

For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. A supernatural being cannot be proved using human logic.

Answer 17

Religion and logic don't go together.

Mainly due to the fact that religion is completely illogical.

Answer 18

There is no logic, and whether you like the answer or not it's all about faith.

Answer 19

One can know FOR SURE that God exists by praying the rosary regularly. See the following promises.



The rosary is explained here:

http://www.medjugorje.org/rosary.htm



The fifteen promises of Mary to Christians who recite the rosary:

1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.

2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.

3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against Hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

4. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.

6. Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God and become worthy of eternal life.

7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death, they shall participate in the merits of the saints in Paradise.

9. I shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.

11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.

12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.

14. All who recite the Rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only Son, Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.



God bless!

Dave

Answer 20

I can feel God when I pray to him, you can feel him in spirit filled churches. Im not Christian because of this, its vice verca, but umm yeh things have happened aswell, and "coincidences"

If you take that leap of faith, you will understand :)

Answer 21

His presence in my life and His word (the bible) proven true in my life.

Answer 22

i just have this feeling that there is more , a lot more , so many things are amazing to me , there is more.

Answer 23

My own existence.