I'm not saying that you should believe in god, but for me, it helps me a lot in certain situations where I need to be strong. A lot of challenges in life can be handled with the right mindset and a belief in god is an example of a mindset which can be of benefit.

I wondered if other theists here (where are you?) could relate to that.

fastonez wrote:I'm not saying that you should believe in god, but for me, it helps me a lot in certain situations where I need to be strong. A lot of challenges in life can be handled with the right mindset and a belief in god is an example of a mindset which can be of benefit.

I wondered if other theists here (where are you?) could relate to that.

You've been asked a few times since you arrived here to clarify which god you believe in. It would be polite for you to respond to this request.

Not sure what you mean. I just believe in god. Are you a theist?

fastonez wrote:Not sure what you mean. I just believe in god.

Yes, but which god... there's tonnes of them to choose from. Which one(s) do you believe in?

fastonez wrote:I'm not saying that you should believe in god, but for me, it helps me a lot in certain situations where I need to be strong. A lot of challenges in life can be handled with the right mindset and a belief in god is an example of a mindset which can be of benefit.

I wondered if other theists here (where are you?) could relate to that.

Welcome Fastonez

If this is the sum total of your reasoning behind why you believe in a god, and you choose not to offer it as a reason why I or anyone else should hold your belief I'm absolutely fine with it. I'm just wondering why you've decided that because it feels good constitutes the sort of thing you would want to start a thread about?

I could quite easily start a thread under the physics topic about how I believe that I can travel to extrasolar planets using the power of thought because its a nice thing to believe, and the idea of not being constrained by the speed of light makes me feel powerful. But the post would be essentially void of content and a bit of a waste of everyone's time.

Does finding a notion pleasurable or reassuring constitute a reason to determine a notion as true for you?

I have never thought of it as choosing one from a list, CookieJon, so I couldn't tell you. Are you a theist? I was hoping to have this discussion with the theists here if you don't mind

fastonez wrote:I have never thought of it as choosing one from a list, CookieJon, so I couldn't tell you. Are you a theist? I was hoping to have this discussion with the theists here if you don't mind

Hello. You've picked a strange forum to make that request, as theists are rather thin on the ground here. I'm a sort of hot and cold Christian. I think you said it helps you be strong; I was just thinking that my faith helps me be weak! I mean, helps me be vulnerable really. Surrendering to life, etc.

But I also lean towards Buddhism at times - hey, if you want consistency, consider Miracle Whip.

Oldskeptic wrote:

fastonez wrote:I'm not saying that you should believe in god, but for me, it helps me a lot in certain situations where I need to be strong. A lot of challenges in life can be handled with the right mindset and a belief in god is an example of a mindset which can be of benefit.

I wondered if other theists here (where are you?) could relate to that.

You've been asked a few times since you arrived here to clarify which god you believe in. It would be polite for you to respond to this request.

Not every theist believes in a particular religion. When I was a believer, I believed there was some sort of vague higher power that is unknown and possibly unknowable to all of us.
I'm guessing this is what the OP believes.

fastonez wrote:I have never thought of it as choosing one from a list, CookieJon, so I couldn't tell you.

You don't know which god you believe in?! How strange.

Are you a theist? I was hoping to have this discussion with the theists here if you don't mind

Yes - I am a Pastafarian.

Mac_Guffin wrote:Not every theist believes in a particular religion. When I was a believer, I believed there was some sort of vague higher power that is unknown and possibly unknowable to all of us.

Fair enough I suppose. Does believing in some sort of vague higher power help in certain situations where one needs to be strong? I guess if the OP says so...

[double post]

fastonez wrote:I have never thought of it as choosing one from a list, CookieJon, so I couldn't tell you. Are you a theist? I was hoping to have this discussion with the theists here if you don't mind

That's not how it works here.

A lot of challenges in life can be handled with the right mindset and a belief in god is an example of a mindset which can be of benefit.

You have made a positive statement about benefits concerning a belief in god. We, or at least I am interest in which god/s gives the most comfort, and is/are the best mindset.

You have announced that you are a believer and in this thread you contend that there is a benefit to being a believer. Stop being coy and tell what it is that you believe.

CookieJon wrote:

fastonez wrote:I have never thought of it as choosing one from a list, CookieJon, so I couldn't tell you.

You don't know which god you believe in?! How strange.

What's strange is how puzzled you are by this.

When someone asks the common question do you believe God, the person does not have to specify which one. The question is merely asking a person if he believes in a higher power, regardless if this higher power is of the nature of the Christian god or not.

You may find this strange, but I find people like you stranger.

CookieJon wrote:

Mac_Guffin wrote:Not every theist believes in a particular religion. When I was a believer, I believed there was some sort of vague higher power that is unknown and possibly unknowable to all of us.

Fair enough I suppose. Does believing in some sort of vague higher power help in certain situations where one needs to be strong? I guess if the OP says so...

It gave me the illusion of strength. I thought that if there as a God that I had purpose and that we were here for a reason unknown to us and it made me feel better until my reasoning for my beliefs fell apart.
It was only after I went through personal hell and accepted that there was probably no God that I realized that my strength was similar to the "strength" people get from opiates.

the mouse wrote:

CookieJon wrote:

fastonez wrote:I have never thought of it as choosing one from a list, CookieJon, so I couldn't tell you.

You don't know which god you believe in?! How strange.

What's strange is how puzzled you are by this.

When someone asks the common question do you believe God, the person does not have to specify which one. The question is merely asking a person if he believes in a higher power, regardless if this higher power is of the nature of the Christian god or not.

You may find this strange, but I find people like you stranger.

And here we run into the problem of non-rigorous thought. The folk around here tend to be of a particular mindset, one which likes having shit defined reasonably well. If "Do you believe in god?" actually means "do you believe in some nebulous undefined higher power?", then that is the question that should be asked. Otherwise the question is the equivalent of "Do you believe in x, where x could be any garbled fucking nonsense that quite probably doesn't mean the same to you as it does to me?"

When someone asks me a question, it is only polite that they are specific.

the mouse wrote:When someone asks the common question do you believe God, the person does not have to specify which one. The question is merely asking a person if he believes in a higher power.

Not really, for then the question would be "do you believe in a higher power?", not "do you believe in captial-G God?"

Do you see?

( EDIT: Wot Goldenmane said. )

I find people like you stranger.

People like what, exactly? Do you mean people with dark hair? What do you find strange about that?!

CookieJon wrote:
Not really, for then the question would be "do you believe in a higher power?", not "do you believe in captial-G God?"

Do you see?

No, the terms are interchangeable. Anyone who believes in a higher power, believes in God, or in other words God = higher power.

fastonez wrote:I have never thought of it as choosing one from a list, CookieJon, so I couldn't tell you. Are you a theist? I was hoping to have this discussion with the theists here if you don't mind :P

This is an open forum you can’t pick your targets. Anyone, anyone at all is free to participate, engage and/or answer or whatever.

Incidentally, you have a thread here that you started and (may have) vacated. Should we put a ‘Lot for Sale’ sign up?

http://www.rationalskepticism.org/viewtopic.php?p=675013#p675013

CookieJon wrote:

fastonez wrote:Not sure what you mean. I just believe in god.

Yes, but which god... there's tonnes of them to choose from. Which one(s) do you believe in?

There is such a thing as agnostic theism. You don't have to choose a god to believe that there is one. It would appear that fastonez is an agnostic theist. Demanding that he choose one i think is an attempt to derail his original intent for the thread.

To the original poster, I am not a theist but I can understand the belief in god as a source of strength, courage, etc. Belief can be powerful and beneficial to the believer as long as it isn't at the expense of rationality and critical thinking. Even as an atheist I can entertain the thought once in a while but I know logically that there probably isn't a god and that strength and courage can be obtained through more logical and substantial ways.

Mac_Guffin wrote: I thought that if there as a God that I had purpose and that we were here for a reason unknown to us and it made me feel better until my reasoning for my beliefs fell apart.

Yes, but even that's more specific than just "some higher power"... You had decided what attributes it had; namely, that it put us here for a purpose, for starters.

Perhaps the OP could at least describe some attributes his vague, nebulous higher power has, without actually naming him or her?

Surely the OP must know something of this wishy-washy god thing he believes in, otherwise he wouldn't be able to draw strength from it!