I understand your philosophical approach, i used plenty of that in this hub. It is not getting better, nor will it get better. In fact, God should be interpreted through feelings because they are more reliable than actual reality. I just have to say that this hub made me laugh out loud. Our united values were symbolized by Christianity- praying, pledge of allegiance in school. Actually if we were all created to be happy and healthy, there would be no such thing as Buddhists because there whole journey would be undiscovered if we were all the best we could be and no one suffered. without these references it becomes the interpretation of the listener as to what it means. out comes a universe with intricately designed life forms made of energy and matter...created by....nothing? Nice hub, btw... (Atheists have the most questions, but simultaneously claim to know the most.). They deny existence of any "God". Being a bit literal approaching my statement on belief comes before God. It's really more like this: There are three shelves in a man's mind, one full of that which he believes, one with that on which he is unsure, and one full of things he has no belief in whatsoever. J Dizzle~ Yes you are right about controlled experiments with similar variables not turning out the same as in being and healthy and getting sunburned. So the equivalence is not between love and god, it is between love and belief in god. Please cite me something reliable. A very open-minded and informative hub. I’m an atheist. Just because we don’t understand something does not mean it is the work of God. Being true to yourself is what we are both doing, just don't have the exact same beliefs...and thats ok. atheistchick from Hangin' in my room on April 15, 2012: Good hub, I am an Atheist (obviously) who was born into a Mormon Family, and was raised to be a Mormon. But anyway, thank you again for your input. Explaining that God could very well be a feeling or object or both. They’ve both been baptised as Catholics and, while the rest of the family isn’t super-religious, there is a reasonable amount of god-bothering going on. Did feelings give you your psychology degree? First point I need to make — I’m an atheist. On a smaller scale, we pay for what our parents pass down to us. I just can't ever buy the Big Bang theory. Feelings, creativity, love and hope are all extremely important. The same is my mother, as I understood it when I grew up. If He intervenes, then there is no free will. Considering the sun was created by God in your mind then he created the radiation that causes cancer didn't he? Our bodies are not perfect- that much is true throughout history. I prefer a more expansive system with not as much limitations. The God I idenify with lies in the similarities between several religions. This is one of those hubs that took on a life of it's own. You can't appreciate good without bad. I'm also not arguing semantics...the meaning of faith, etc. You know, you gave me a good laugh too. Buddha was a HUMAN, not any "celestial being". I just think of it as the soul and spirit...can't see either but they are a big unfathomable present energy. Children, especially toddlers, do it all the time. Your remark is out of the point. That's an amazing story, izettl. Yes I am happy without religion too and I once thought I had to give up God in order to escape church but I learned that I could keep God and my spirituality and not have to constrain myself to any particular religion. Yes, there must be at least one religion created by god, which tells of only one god or one creator. But those texts will inevitably, and conveniently, label all the bad bits of the world we live in on the Devil. Never the less, I am a Believer who does not need a synagogue (church, mosque, etc) because I have my God inside. Though, as a scientist, I don't believe in God, think that the existence of a God is possible, and see no reason for him to exist. WOW a lot of thoughtful comments here so I'll address them as brief as possible, which is so hard with this subject. If you conclude, she must have done SOMETHING wrong, then we're back to free will; she did something that effected her baby. just as you can "see" love. Which is why the mind cannot grasp and understand why "God" exists. There have been reported miracles, but no report of evolution in any form other than some reports in historical text. A single mom who's working two jobs, and still finds time to take her son to soccer practice, that's a miracle. I guess our argument/discussion is more based on where/what is proof. sometimes I think my mom (Christian) chased me away from believing in God for quite some time. Christians claim they have found evidence to support God and creationism. secularist~ yep you assumed right- wrong heading whoops! I'm telling you, you're lack of God doesn't mean there is no God. And here’s where the “should I perpetuate the lie” conundrum hits home. Science is the best "objective" way of finding truth we got. The take home point: God is personal. Can feelings tell us if something exists? Because it has happened countless times over the centuries, with many other diseases. Thank you. The heliocentric view also has greater heuristic value; it raises more scientifically interesting questions. You discuss with another person apparently. izettl--I assume this last comment was to me, not Opinion Duck. Other people believe this mentality as well through Karma or similar. Well said by everyone, but I am a Christian and I am a better person for it. When I experience love, I experience a feeling, and that feeling is love itself. God forbid I read it again after writing it many months ago. Ok, you can talk very generally about "a universal spirit" or "life force" which can mean many things. I remember reading a Time Magazine article a few years back by Richard Dawkins, who is arguably the poster child for how to be the kind of atheist that’s every bit as annoyingly strident as a megachurch pastor. Artoflegendindia~ thanks for the comment! I happen to believe this dicussion is fairly unique because we are not arguing Bible versus or God Himself, at least I wasn't trying to, but it turned out somewhat that way.