What makes you doubt the existence of God?
Any person of faith who is honest with herself is going to acknowledge that she is also a person of doubt. For some it's suffering: their own, somebody else's, or just in general; for others, it's the lack of any physical evidence of the supernatural; and for others, it's the inconsistencies, real or imagined, in the holy texts. Reasons are going to vary from person to person.
In 100 words or so, share yours. What makes you disinclined to believe in God, even if -- especially if -- you generally count yourself as a believer, then tag other religious folks. Being honest about our doubts makes us more honest about our faith.
==================================================So here it goes with no hope of limiting my response to 100 words or less -
Problems with Christianity separated by levels:
Moral -
- Punishment (eternal suffering for a finite error)
- Inhumanity (crucifiction - period)
- Sacrifice (you can't take away my sins! they are mine)
- Cruelty (Old Testament (OT) deity is insufferable)
- Impersonal (New Testament (NT) deity is indefinable)
- Humility (worshipped, abused and manipulated)
- Common (Kindness/morality/ideals/caring not unique to any one group, person, or even species)
Individual -
- Sin (My sins are my experiences to learn from, not some shame to be wiped clean)
- Forgiveness (there is nothing to forgive! We do the best we can.)
- Arrogance (My personal choices are meaningful to a being who has seen every tyrant, every saint, every single atom everywhere)
- Atheism (everyone disbelieves in most deities)
- Faith (self deception as a virtue)
- Grace (does not from god - it is the human psyche)
Church -
- Limitation (believe the right name use right words in the right way or else)
- Mythology (compare it to any other religon started 3000+ years ago)
- Self-absorbed (Our way is the only way - and we charge)
- Saints (a hoax - many repealed by the church)
- Sex Obsessed (Keep out of my pants - period)
- The word (the bible is a compilation of hundreds of writings, judged by men of a previous age based on their ideals and goals)
- Cruelty (every age of the church is marked by scandal & cruelty)
- Prestige (how many base their superiority on their position in the church)
- Doubt (accepted and expected and ignored)
- Hubris (Don't live by their word/ideals/teachings but expect others to)
- Fraudulant
- Indulgences
- Corrupt
- Genocidal
Societal -
- Commonality (egyptian mythos, et al.)
- Sexist (speaks for itself)
- Racist (OT)
- Xenophobic (OT)
- Free Will (god created us with free will & then expects us to use it as he defines acceptable)
World -
- Exclusivity (how few knew)
- Timeliness (A savior comes 98,000+ years (minimum) after man does)
- Accuracy (many scientific facts are incorrect)
- Humanocentric (god created all beings to serve us!)
- Inaccuracy (OT events cannot be proven and could not have happened (e.g. Noah's Ark))
- Science (Eveything we discover further obscures a creator deity)
- Endless other religions
Comsic -
- Evolution (how can a perfect being's message evolve?)
- Perfection (there is no perfection - if there was we wouldn't be here)
- Wastefulness (we are infintessimal compared to all of creation - a star is born and dies every second - it was created for us?)
- Mystery (obscurantism/obfuscation)
Jesus -
- Miracles (Not that miraculous)
- Charlatan (deeds are rumors & common tricks - feed 5000 with x loaves of bread and fish)
- Messiah (poorly defined - varies by religion)
- Common (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_messiah_claimants)
- Existence (Even this is questionable)
God
- Love (god is not loving - it is whimful, vengeful and cruel)
- Omnipotence (right)
- Omniscience (see Omnipotence)
- Triunal nature
- Prying (CAN SEE EVERYTHING, uses no discretion)
- Judgmental (sends those he loves to hell for minor infractions)
- Definition (God is redefined and interpreted constantly)
==================================================
Here is all I believe:
Learning -
I learn from perceiving my successes and mistakes
Emotion -
I grow by observing and recognizing my feelings
Needs -
I become complete by recognizing my needs and inviting others to help me work to meet those needs
Interdependence -
I see that others are as vital to me as I am to them, and seek to help them however I am able and allowed
Future -
Whatever is coming I cannot avoid or hide from, I can only do my best and accept that I am incredibly fortunate to have survived long enough to perceive the world in the way that I do, look forward to the ways in which my understanding will progress, and give back to those that have made this life possible.
