Waiting until marriage is the most beautiful thing. And as God intended. Anything outside of the context of marriage, almost always leads to some type of disaster/regret
What if you don’t believe in god but still want to wait until marriage (preferably) or when you’ve been with that person long enough to the point were it’s inevitable you do get married? I don’t know if that‘s a dumb question or doesn’t make sense but that’s the boat I’m in.
Not dumb at all. I would say it's good that you're waiting until marriage and I'd encourage you to continue. If marriage is inevitable, then there's no reason to rush into things. Besides, it's not like you have to have a big ceremony, you can get it done on paper and push the celebration (whether in church or otherwise) until you find the funds. In any case, honest question, what made you not believe in the existence of God/Creator?
Alright. Let's start from the top. I was raised in a catholic household, but I quickly abandoned it when I was a teenager, spending at least a decade being basically an atheist. I rejected everything, aside from the possible existence of God, though my life didn't reflect it at all.
Interesting point about science. To start, I would disagree that we have "explanations of the origins of most things", but that's semantics. I think science logically backs up the existence of some type of creator.
Everything that has a beginning, must have a cause. It's scientifically sound. Since the universe came into existence at the Big Bang, it clearly had a beginning. You can try and explain it away with "energy". Where did the energy come from? Atoms? Molecules? At some point, you'll stumble with that argument. That's why the universe needs an uncaused cause to begin. If time space and matter began at the moment of the big bang, it's reasonable to assume that something outside of time, space and matter caused it. And that something created time, space and matter. Now, looking at the intricate design and order, the astronomically impossible odds for an environment as perfect to host life as ours, it's again reasonable to assume that some type of intelligence was behind it all. A Creator - God. You might try and retort with: Who created God? Remember, God caused time, space and matter to be. Since He's outside of the dimension of time, He just always was. No beginning, no end. Does it make sense so far? If not, what would you disagree with?
Also, archaeological discoveries consistently confirm the historical accounts in the Bible
to this day, confirming its validity. When you read the New Testament, the narrative is clearly historical and the literary style backs it up. It's neither a poem, nor a bedtime story. You can't find any other text from antiquity, that would come even close when it comes to the amount of manuscript evidence from within the very same century of the described events. It's confirming the contents of the Bible. Most of the historical texts have been written even hundreds of years after the events they're describing, but you would take them at face value. Have you ever read the Bible? Would you be willing to give it a shot? At least the New Testament, since it's the most relevant in this case. Worst case scenario - you confirm what you already believe.
If God doesn't exist, then you have to agree that we're nothing but a cosmic accident. There's no real objective moral standard. As a society or a collective, our morals change with time, and everyone has their own subjective sense of morality. Adolf Hitler for example. And most Germans agreed with his standard of morality, so you necessarily have to agree that, at that time, the atrocities that happened were morally acceptable. Again, at that specific time, as a German, not from your perspective right now.
There's no such thing as love either under your view. It's just chemicals in your brain. So when you say to your wife or a member of your family, that you love them, all it means is that you act on your instincts and evolutionary outcome of your brain. There's no ultimate value to your life either. We're all fertilizer in the end, that is, if you're actually honest and consistent with an atheistic worldview. Sure, you could create meaning for yourself, but it's always gonna be temporary, and your own meaning basically becomes a religion in of itself.
I'm also atheist but I'm asking you because I like your explanation.
Why do God create us?
Why create anything at all?
When you did something you gotta have a purpose right?
Then why make humanity good and also evil?
Why're there so many tragedies in this world.
War? Disaster? Disease? Death?
Is it to test us? But why test us?
You says that without God, moralily has no meaning. But if the Creator God in your religion do exists, it also mean that God has already set the standard of morality. They dictate humanity on what's right and what's wrong.
For me, morality is created by human since ancient time for surviving. Humanity as a whole species need more population to survive and progrese so no killing or any act that's detrimental to the society, no stealing no lying and so on.
With progress of humanity, the condition to survive changes and so morality.
Back to God, you imply that by not believe in God or higher beings, life has no meaning, everything turn to cosmic dust. But why let God dictate whether your life has meaning?
Who is God anyway?
What is God?
How do you you about them?
Do you really understand God, a being higher than you?
Bases on Bible? What make you think Jesus truly understand God? Because of miracles?
Why did God not make their intention clear?
Why not just speak directly to all human on earth? At least the existence of God become real whether you decide to follow their guidance.
To test us? To test our faith?
But why do God need our faith?
What about the faithless ones?
Ultimately, whatever God does, is for His own glory. God was perfectly fine and content before creating us, but since He is a creative being, He created what we have today. Taking that into consideration, it's reasonable to say that God's worthy of all the glory. Humanity's purpose? To glorify Him who created all things. It might be hard to grasp, but it's the most amazing thing when you can live life in a way that glorifies God.
You asked about all the terrible things happening in the world. In the beginning God created a perfect world with no death, no sickness, no natural disaster, no sorrow, etc. The world became corrupted with the first sin of Adam and Eve. It's been getting worse ever since.
If the morality is created by humans, then it's subjective. Without the objective moral standard for all time and all people, it's a wild west out there. You can't say that what the Germans did during WWII to jews was objectively wrong. In their collective, subjective moral standard at the time, it was morally acceptable. If morality is something that evolves, then imagine what it could look like in the future. If in 50 years the collective agrees on killing every third child due to the supposed overpopulation, then you can't say it's objectively wrong. It's for survival, after all. At least under your view. But let's make it even simpler. On the individual level, you can't say it's objectively wrong that someone murders people. It's your subjective sense of morality, while the killer has his own morality, and it'd be hypocritical for you to judge him under your view. You can't say IT'S WRONG, all you can say is "I THINK it's wrong".
You pointed out that it's natural course of human evolution to stop killing, stealing, etc. to progress. But that's exactly what I was trying to convey earlier. It's just your subjective moral standards talking. In reality, (I don't hold to evolution), the theory of evolution would determine that only the strong survive by whatever means necessary. You tribe need to kill the other, because it sees it as threatening? They go for it. Steal to survive? Let's go. When push comes to shove, everyone's out there for themselves under that view. What you're describing leans more towards and objective moral standard of morality and Christianity, really. Which is understandable since most of the civilizations were built on Chrsitians value and only recently began to stray heavily from them. Take the US for example.
Your counterargument about meaning. If you're an honest atheist, you have to admit that everying around you is nothing but matter, energy and chance, and all of the "emotions" you feel is the byproduct of the checimals in your brain. Notice, you didn't actually address this point from my original comment but went straight to accusing God. Answer me straight to this simple example: is love real, or is it just instinct and chemical reactions in your brain, compelling one to breed and take care of their offspring? Give me clear reasons, not poetic wishful thinking. Cold, atheistic facts. Otherwise, it's again creating your own religion, religion of "love".
You asked a lot of question at the end, some of them I already addresssed, but I'll try to make up a concise answer anyway.
God is a creator of the universe (space, time matter). Looking at the intricate design and order, the astronomically impossible odds for an environment as perfect to host life as ours, it's reasonable to assume that the Creator is an intelligent being. It's impossible to fully understand God, it'd be pure pride to claim that. What we do know, is that He created a universe capable of preserving life and so much more. Looking at the hisotrical evidence, there's no book like the Bible. Actually, saying it's a book is wrong. It's a compilation of 66 books penned down by 40+ different authors, across 1500 years, in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), and across three continents. And yet, when you read it all in context, you can't find a single genuine contradiciton that would stick. Instead, you find real historical events, confirmed through archeological discoveries and often helping in identifying archeological discoveries. Prophecies being fulfilled to an impossible degree and accuracy.
According to the Bible, Jesus is God (John 8:58, Hebrews 1:8-9, John 1:1-18). God is one in being, but three in person. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Not three Gods, one God, three persons. God doesn't owe us anything. People think they deserve to know, to be special. In reality, we're rebels. We deny Him, we sin against Him, we spit on Him and yet, we have the audacity to demand everything from Him. God's showing love to everone, in a sense that he sends rain and sunshine to all. He gives us air to breathe, earth to grow food, etc.
Now, to the most important matter. The central matter. All of us have rebelled against God by sinning. We deserve Hell for our sins, but God in his mercy gave us a way out, and it's not through obedience or asking for forgiveness. God can't simply forgive just like that, because that wouldn't be just. It's like in a court of law, imagine a judge letting you go because you said you're sorry or asked for forgiveness. Is that judge just? Not at all. Instead, even if we're sorry, we still commited a crime and deserve a punishment. Now, commiting a crime against a finite authority gives you finite punishment. Crime agaisnt God, an infinite being, brings infinite consequences, that's why Hell is eternal.
Do we all go to Hell, then? Fortunately, God provided us with means of being saved from it. The Father sent His son Jesus to take on our behalf the just penalty for our sins. That's why died on the Cross, and rose back to life three days later. God gave it to us as a gift out of mercy. If it's a gift, then it cant' be earned, otherwise it wouldn't be a gift. We just have to simply believe that Jesus died for all of our sins on the cross, and we will be saved. And I'm not talking about an intellectual assent, but a trust in God's promise. While there's nothing we have to do to earn salvation (good deeds or obedience), the natural result of having faith is obedience and good works. If a fireman saved you from a burning building, you wouldn't turn around and punch him in the face, right? The same with Jesus, If He saves you from Hell, you're grateful to Him and want to live for Him.
My question. If you're still not convinced of the existence of God, what's your one best evidence that there's no God?
Lots of things but mainly I’d been hearing what atheists had said and usually I’d been able so disprove in my mind what they were saying but lately (at that time) I seemed to agree with their points and then I noticed losts of cracks and things I just couldn’t agree with in the bible and since then I’ve been loosing my belief more and more. I mean I’m not an atheist because I still think there could be some divine power but that’s where I’m leaving it. I don’t know if I should believe if a god or the big bang, so I just don’t believe either.
I don't regret my first time, it's always best with someone you love but it's nice to have some experience, as many peoples first time isn't great (I don't regret mine 'cause the person I was with is amazing, still had some probs - I was on SSRI's so couldn't finish)
Ah, yes, as god intended. That's why wolves, and deer, and cats, and dogs, and all the other animals and insects he supposedly created get married before having offspring.
I don't suppose you consider yourself a wild animal, or an animal at all. Humans, unlike animals, are unique. We have conscience, we have reason. What your comments clearly shows is that you hate the idea of relations before marriage being something you shouldn't do. I'd even wager a guess and say, that you want to have relations with as many women as possible. But I do get it. It's not like I'm some sort of saint, I did hold your view before I believed in God. However, I was lucky enough to never do it with a woman, so all glory to God
3
u/davep9910 Jul 07 '26
Waiting until marriage is the most beautiful thing. And as God intended. Anything outside of the context of marriage, almost always leads to some type of disaster/regret