If you don't believe in God, can you tell me your reasons why you don't?

I've read too much (including the Bible).

i was raised as a catholic and i belive in god, but i also have my other spiritual belives which is my psychic abilties but my catholic faith doesnt stop me on that.. i have also studdied buddha in the past

hes killed too many of my friends n family members

Boy that’s a tough question.

I would say, yes, I’m non-religious. But many people will argue with that. A fellow in another thread just told me that I’m a theist whether I like it or not.

The second part of your question about whether or not I believe in God is extremely difficult to answer because I’m not sure what you mean by “God”.

Intuitively I would say yes, I believe in god. (please notice the lowercase letters). There is a reason I write god using lowercase letters, and the reason is simply because I don’t think of her as having gender. I think of her as being entirely spirit.

I also refer to god as a ‘her’ simply because it sounds better than referring to god as an “it”. I also use the feminine term because I think of god in terms of Mother Earth and Mother nature, and even Mother Universe is you’ll allow me to coin a new phrase. I also avoid referring to god as a ‘him’, because I don’t want people to think I’m talking about a particular man, or popular male God (notice the uppercase here because this God has an ego or self, it is person-like).

So, yes, I’m not religious (meaning that I don’t follow any religious doctrines, rituals, or traditions)
And, yes, I believe in god, but maybe not by your definition of “god” I dunno.

Welcome to the forums Manami!

There's a long story behind it so I'm just gonna be blunt. I just don't like they idea of being somebodies pupet. I want to control my own paths and my destiny. It's kind of hard to be Agnostic when you come from a whole of preachers, evangalist, ect. I personally have had waaaaaaaaaaaay to many bad experiances whith the church and thier members. So why even bother? I mean in all I'm not really sure if this is real or not. Don't get me wrong I fully respect any religion whatever it might be aslong as they don't try to force thier belifes on me. Besides I'm not gonna pretend to be something I'm not. Thier is no way I'm gonna put up a smoke screen just to make anyone happy.

Thank you for your opinions.
It makes me think a lot deeper :)

Oops!

I wrote:
}There is a reason I write god using lowercase letters, and the reason is simply because I don’t think of her as having gender. I think of her as being entirely spirit."

I meant, I don't think of her as having an ego (or being person-like)

I also don't think of 'her' as having gender as I explained above. I call my truck 'her' too so I think you understand how I am using the term. God is spirit and has no gender. But it still exists as an entity, that has no individual self either. It's a complex idea especially if you are used to thinking of a person-like 'God' (i.e. The Biblical picture)

There were a lot of religions before Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism of today, that claimed they have the answers to the mystery of life and offering an opportunity to worship the one true god (or gods).

There will be many more religions after modernity which will claim the same.

If you think that your religion is the true correct one, and all others that came before it or that exist now are wrong, there is a word I would like to use - but I will remain civil.

Think about this - if you were born in Indonesia, chances are you would be moslem (or christian), if you were born in India, you could be hindu, moslem or christian or jainist or any other of 5000 religions currently present in India.

But you were born in America, and you were raised a christian, so of course everybody else is wrong...

I've read the Bible cover-to-cover seven times, and I've read hundreds of other books on the subject of religion and all things related.

And I came to the conclusion that it's basically all just cleverly-managed superstition, which allows some to manipulate the minds (actions, wallets, etc.) of others.

The only difference between superstition and religion, in my opinion, is that religion has better organizational and financing structures.

One of the best lines I ever heard was on a radio show discussing the topic of various religions. The speaker said, "In the end, it all comes down to a bunch of people arguing over which one has the most powerful invisible friend."

My lifelong best friend is a devout Christian, and we talk about religion quite often. Because I am so familiar with the Bible, I am frequently able to help him find specific passages he's looking for. And we razz each other about our respective positions all the time, but it's all done from love.

And I'm absolutely willing to be wrong. I think, on a subject like this, where no one can know anything for sure, one has to be open to new information and experiences. But I will never be one who accepts circular statements like "The Bible is true because it says it's true," without something a little more definitive.

My Christian friend thinks like this : The reason why there are so many religions today is because prophets told people differently, and they misunderstood that its name is "Father of Jesus" or "Allah" or whatever. but there is really one God.

Im not sure if you understand what I said...(I'm japanese.)

I believe in God just not religion.

i dont believe in god but i think there probably was a man once called jesus who did good things for people. i'm open minded to what others think though.

to me the various religious books resemble the teachings of morality. in them there are lots of lessons learned and mistakes made and lots of cry wolf and that's also the point of nursery rhymes. moral teachings for young children.

the religious books were written by men, not gods. i have never been sure why people see the bible (for example) as the word of god.

i have been to church many times and in my experience most of the people who attend regularly are the most unchristian like people i have ever met. i have more christian morals and i dont practice the faith at all. they just seem to bicker about the meaning of various things and try to get one up on each other when it comes to being the most knowledgable. i didnt see any love and acceptance going around.

sorry if that sounded like a rant, it wasnt meant to hahaha. i always say each to their own and id never think worse of somebody for their beliefs, or lack of belief.

My version of God is probably different than others. To me he is a higher power. I like the paraphrased verses, "God is love" and "God is a spirit". They work well with my Cherokee heritage of the great spirit and with my spiritual program that paraphrases as, "A loving God as he may express himself in our group conscience."

What is religious?

What is non religious?

To have faith in something, would that make me religious?

To worship something?

To believe in something, would that define me as religious?

Does it have to be a recognised, acknowledged, popular belief religion, to be religious?

If it's obscure, and not really defined, does that make it a religion?

If it has no label, no strict doctrines, no doctrines at all really, no prophets, no threats, no guilt, no single entity, does that make it a non religion?

I am so confused....

I'm just me...and I have faith in that.

Jessie is my God
I know you think that’s odd
but every times she comes around
she causes lightning in my rod

She brightens up my day
she makes my troubles go away
and when we kiss
it’s heaven’s bliss
then she straightens my toupee

She’s the goddess of my dreams
with her dusty bunny themes
a special muse
who’s views refuse
to be normal or extreme

perhaps the best definition of it is are you spiritual, or are you religious. a person can be either, or both, and need not feel ashamed about their feelings

hahahah

there is one thing religion is good for.

its great to start people fighting or arguing with each other.

im non religeous. "raises hand high"
at least not in the way people think ... religiosity
i believe what the bible says and try to follow the teachings., learn from its wisdom.

Blessed Be Or Blessed Are

Blessed be or blessed are
May you follow your star.