To have no answer is weak. Something had to start everything. That's God. See...you do believe. You just call it something else. You might not believe in the religious stories that are passed on, but you DO believe. You just call it something else. Aliens, big bang...whatever. It's God.
208501
But saying it's God doesn't explain it does it?\n\nQ: My car's broke down, how do I fix it?\nA: God\n\nSame logic as yours but isn't really a useful answer.
43216
As an atheist, I have tried to grasp how believers in a god can actually believe. Many religious people have deemed this annoying and respond with hostility because their faith comes under question. And contrary to what people above me have said, we DO have beliefs. Just different (which to some people means none at all). I believe in science and proven fact. I have discussed my beliefs, and come under attack, because if people of faith can understand where I stand, they can further help me understand where THEY stand.
18944
This is a question that neither science or religion can ever "prove."  In our human capacity, it is unlikely anyone will ever know the answer to this.  How can you even take a scientific approach to this?  You can speculate how the universe appears to be created based off measurements in the space, but you can always ask the question "but what about before that?"  \n\nUltimately it comes down to faith, and I don't necessarily mean in a God.  You have faith that the universe was started somehow.  Either God or some unexplainable cosmic phenomenon that we will never understand.  Or both!
114323
Knowing and believing are two different things.  You would like God to reveal himself to you so you could know he exists.  I agree. That would make more sense than giving you a brain and then expecting you to believe what you can't see.
658702
I have to agree with you. I have argued with my mother in law on countless occasions about this. Everyone believes in something. I do believe there is a superior existence , I do not, however follow any specific religion. In any religion there is always some kind higher existence. There is no TRUE fact proven (in any religion) on what and or who is right. I find people tend to quote things from the bible but don't actually know what they're talking about. And to those who believe that everyone should have a faith, I do. I believe there is something, or someone who will show us our true religion, everyone, as a whole. I apologize if I have offended anyone. That was not my intention.
660899
I like your question\n\nI think that we have questions that we are unable to answer.  Usually, if a question cannot be answered by what we find to be natural, it gets answered by the supernatural.\n\nIt seems nearly every question has some sort of answer, and if we do not know the answer, "God did it" is the easiest choice.  Its not only the easiest, but as of now, we cannot find a better one.
5858
The problem with most people is that they have to see the facts right in front of their face before they will believe anything. Skeptics of course will tell you that no, there is no God. A lot of Religious groups will tell you that you are going to Hell if you don't believe in God. I don't agree with either. I don't waste my time defending what I believe to Skeptics. Let them think what they want. There is no Hell and so many gung ho religious groups want you to believe. The only Hell people will have to go through is their own concsious. I believe that there is a God, but we were sent here to find our own path and then make our way back home. God absolutely does exist, but can be called Light, The Divine, etc. It is up to every individual to find God for themselves.
80489
I totally know what you mean. I used to think about that all the time, but I would just exhaust myself. I think the only sure thing we know is that we know nothing. I am a bit of an agnostic, but certainly don't think that everything just happened by chance. Was there ever nothing? If so how did we ever get something? If scientist say there is an end to the universe, what is it like a wall? Plexi Glass that you just bounce of of? Or is it like Pacman where you just pop out on the other side? There is so much that is just unexplainable in t his world. I am just glad to be a part of it. I have pretty much given up on trying to figure it all out. While I am in no hurry to die, I am somewhat excited at the possibilty of everything being answered once I go. Good luck in your search for answers. We need the Teacher's Edition of the bible, one with all the answers in the margins( I wonder how much that would go for on eBay?)
675301
I wrote an article on this. Paste below is a small excerpt:\n\nConsider these next few statements of rational logic. First, there has to be a cause for every effect. The universe had to come from something. There is no natural explanation for how the sun, moon, and stars could come from nothing! Therefore, for every effect, there has to be a cause! This Cause has to come from outside the universe; outside of nature. In other words;...supernatural. When I state "supernatural" I mean; a limitless being outside of time and space. Think about it! The only religion that ever stated otherwise was the biblical concept of Genesis! God always existed, but the universe did not!\n\nSecond, the Cause must be independent of it's effect. It can not be required to depend it's existence upon the universe. For nothing can change from a state of nothingness.\n\nThird, the Cause must be infinitely powerful! If it were limited, it would have to be confined by some other thing. It can not be limited by nothing and if it were limited, it would not be independent any longer. The effect can not be greater than the cause. The Cause has to be greater than the effect! It has to be greater than all the forces of the universe combined!\n\nFourth, the first Cause must be eternal. The creator must exist outside of time. The God of the Bible stated this in Exodus 3:14 and John 8:58. All the other religions honored harvest gods, war gods, moon gods, sun gods, animal-headed gods, fertility gods and goddesses. In fact, most of these gods were restricted to time as well as location. (1)\n\nFifth, the first Cause must be spiritual. Only an entity outside the universe could have created it. It must be beyond the physical elements. John 4:24 states that God is Spirit.\n\nSixth, the first Cause must be all-knowing. The creator created the universe. Albert Einstein wrote, "The harmony of natural law... reveals and intelligence of such superiority that compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an insignificant reflection." (2)\n\nLast, the first Cause must be a Person. There is design in the universe. For it is balanced by the four fundamental nuclear forces. If altered by the slightest one millionth of a degree, all the stars would cease to exist. The Person would have to be a creator with desires, because the creator did not need the creation in order to exist. Rather, the universe was created out of pleasure! It is not unreasonable to suggest that the Bible is the best explanation.
320590
I find problems with such assumptions like the starting point or the first mover. Is it really required? Ain't it an inconsistence? If everything needed a push to start a movement, it'd lead us to an infinite solution.\n\nIf we assume that a first mover is required, then god wouldn't be the first cause, he'd need a pusher too, if we pick otherwise we would be violating our own argument leading us to an invalid solution (a fallacy).\n\nNow, if we make the assumption that there has to be a starting point, even if we have no proof this assumption should be accepted as a fact. Why can’t the "big bang" be the starting point? Why does it has to be an intelligent being? The starting point could be anywhere, the big bang, a being before the big bang, a being who created the being who caused the big bang and so on, the starting point seems to be so arbitrary that I wonder, why do we have to choose a "god" just before the big bang? Ain’t that plain arbitrary? At least if we choose the big bang we don't have to deal with the "undesigned designer" inconsistence, which lead to the same, either an infinite solution or an arbitrary one.\n\nFor me it's clear that making assumptions as valid arguments only lead to more assumptions (sometimes taken as solutions) and using arbitrary "starting" points only lead to a no more arbitrary solution.\n\nIn other words, the logical proposals for “god” as the first move either needs unverified assumptions or arbitrary solutions and none of those can really give a satisfactory answer.\n\nSo far I just have no reasons to believe that such thing as the judeo-christian exists, the first mover and the designer proposals, from a logical point of view, sound flawed to me. If you have others verifiable arguments I'm missing, please share, I'd give it a try.
501045
I agree that such an explanation is one possibility.  In fact, my failure to fully comprehend the Big Bang in a purely scientific manner is the only reason why I am an agnostic, and not an athiest.  I feel that I need to allow for the possibility.
189526
I believe religion is fiction.  Emotion shouldn't play a part in it.  There has never been any real evidence that there is a god, the whole point of faith makes that clear.
300820
Why propose a question you do not believe in?  Secondly, scientist have proven that the univers is expanding from a central point?  Why do you think this is...Do you think God push things outward to make more room?\n\nBesides if god created us, then who created god?
561443
I understand that the thing that people have called "God" doesn't exist and it is really a small portion of something so great that it is all encompassing. Knowing that it is all encompassing I know that I cannot comprehend it and no word can describe it.  Therefore, any text about it is incorrect and makes it less than what it actually is.  What it is is just meant to be observed and appreciated but never spoken about.
128203
this answer is for non believers : People believe in god because humans are weak spiritually, we are unable to accept things and are constantly hoping for the impossible. But how to achieve it and will they be able to accept it if they do get their goals? therefore, in order to give themselves mental support or to feel better and explain things on a more "fiction based" way so that they can accept it, They created God. God to you may be nothing. But to these people, they feel that it is real, they believe it is real and to them it is truly real. You who do not believe will never get to experience it be it true or false for the brain is a marvelous thing.
3459
I think this particular problem concerning religion stems from the fact that religion asks us to have faith in something that we cannot prove exists while at the same time promising that this thing we cannot prove exists answers all of the questions of existence.  Therefore, we want to believe in it because we want the answers to all of existence (including the meanings of our own lives) but because we cannot prove it by any scientific test yet devised, we have to wonder (maybe secretly) whether or not we have chosen the "right" religion.  When someone comes along who challenges the foundations of our religious beliefs, one of our first reactions is fear (understandably), because if they're "right" it means that we've been "wrong" all of this time and everything on which we have built our universe frame of reference (our sense of identity and where we fit into the Grand Scheme of Things) will have to be rebuilt on a new foundation.  It's fear of being wrong about something so personal that causes us to get cranky about religion.\n\nI've found that the most helpful way to approach religion is to recognize that every single person on this planet has their own unique point of view about the universe, and so no two people will ever agree fully on what it means to be here.  The best we can do is to agree that we are here now, whether by the hand of God or through mere chance, and we can only ease our existence by recognizing the truth in other points of view.
466141
We are ALL born atheist, that is "without belief in gods".  That's called "implicit atheism".  Even if we're programmed to "search" for something to worship (which I highly doubt, by the way), we BEGIN without any actual knowledge of deities.  We are, by default, without belief and therefore atheistic.