h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ford_Prefect Correct me if im wrong...(everyone always does!)hi! I think you are giving our primitve ancestors far too little credit! By Neolithic times they almost certainly understood agriculture, and the requirement for good soils, etc. The Sumerians for instance, had very sophisticated astronomical knowledge,they could (and did) predict eclipses, which I often see mentioned as one of the factors in the "invention of God".

Ford_prefect, I am sorry, but I don't really understand what you're driving at here...

is anyone here called daniel?

what IM driving at is that gods are made up to comfort people when they dont understand something!

people make up reasons for why god doesn't exist because they dont understand god. it appears it is above human nature to be able to think that there is something more powerful than humans, that your life is totally your own choice, people say god doesn't exist because they need comforting from there being a pre-destined fate, that they aren't able to control everything around them.

but you also have to believe in fate! fate is aslo a comforting therory!

People believe what they want to believe, if people want to believe that God exists, for whatever reason, then that's fine, and if people dont want to believe in God then thats also fine.

Some people need to believe God exists to have purpose in life, others like to think that God exists but dont necessarily need God, and others just take God's existant as fact, and see no other way. (If i have missed something, then dont be offended, this thinking is just from what i have come across.)

Then of course there are people who do not believe in God, which may be for a variety of reasons, ranging from never have believing in God, used to believe but now doesn't, maybe because they dont need to believe, or maybe just never really thought much about it.

I used to believe in God, but gradually over time realised that i dont need God, and i came to the stage where i couldn't actually believe he exists.

I am happy with that, and i have no problem with people believing or not believing in God for any reason.

The only thing i find annoying is when people try to make me believe in God, and try to make me feel i am wrong, when there is no right or wrong answer.

People should be able to believe what they want, after all, it is their life, and they should be happy with what they believe.

my thoughts exactly!!! why is it that people can read my mind?
cheers
ford

although it is douhtful that there is a god, is it not best just to believe in god just in case there is a god even if its a really same likelyhood of there acually being a god just to be on the safe side.

so which god are you going to believe in?
what if the punishments for believing in the wrong one are worse than the punishments for not believing at all?
if you doubt there is a god how do you believe in god, its not just something you can choose to do is it?
won't you be punished for just paying lip service rather than having true faith then?

i dont care if im 'punished' because i dont believe in a god... wait, how can something... or someone, punish you if they dont exist in your own 'world'/?
cheers
fprd

well if you exist in *their* world you could have problems

ya... what if i just donnt exist at all! that makes life alot easyer!
cheers
ford

then you'd be a Buddist and getting to the point where you don't exist is really difficult, makes Christianity or Islam look a doddle

you mean its not? *puts doodles away*
cheers
ford

agnostism, particularly of the don't know, don't care is defnitely the easiest option at least until the afterlife (if there is 1)

ha! thats a good outlook on things! "donno! dont care!"
cheers
ford

Ah, but what if you find yourself (to your great surprise) in an afterlife?

donno dont care!
cheers
ford

well. I'd just hpoe there was a kind and forgiving god (and hope I remembered the words of Sir Richard Burton about wanting to meet god on my feet, not my knees)