Is it possible to believe in religion and question the existance of God?

[Bumrush99]

I was having a discussion with my father in law this weekend, who happens to be very religious and believes that religion must be followed unconditionally, with the complete and total acceptance of God. Every word of the bible is literal and must treated that way.

I on the hand don't know whether god exists and am skeptical towards religion and the rituals that are followed. On the other hand, I like the closeness that holidays bring and would like my future kids to enjoy that and to have the opportunity to believe.

At the end of our discussion he was adamant that either you unconditionally believe or you don't.. Does everyone else here see it that way?

 

[Zanix]

Originally posted by: Bumrush99
I was having a discussion with my father in law this weekend, who happens to be very religious and believes that religion must be followed unconditionally, with the complete and total acceptance of God. Every word of the bible is literal and must treated that way.

I on the hand don't know whether god exists and am skeptical towards religion and the rituals that are followed. On the other hand, I like the closeness that holidays bring and would like my future kids to enjoy that and to have the opportunity to believe.

At the end of our discussion he was adamant that either you unconditionally believe or you don't.. Does everyone else here see it that way?

It's waaaay too early for this man....

 

[HardcoreRobot]

tradition is great and has value, but that doesn't mean its factual

 

[ThePresence]

All religion is about belief in God. There are just different ways to go about it. You cannot be religious without believing in God IMO. You can enjoy holidays but that hardly makes you religious.

 

[meltdown75]

it is kinda early on a Monday, but i'll throw in 0.02

for me, belief in the existence of God is fine - it's just the "religion" part that i sometimes have trouble with. and that goes for all religions. the sooner we all get on the same page as far as "one God" is concerned, the better. yeah, that'll happen.

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
it is kinda early on a Monday, but i'll throw in 0.02

for me, belief in the existence of God is fine - it's just the "religion" part that i sometimes have trouble with. and that goes for all religions. the sooner we all get on the same page as far as "one God" is concerned, the better. yeah, that'll happen.

I think he was asking the other way around. Can you be part of a religion and not believe in Gos. Many people believe in God without being part of a religion.

 

[Tiamat]

No, you can know of religion and question the existance of that religion's "god".

If you believe in a religion, then you already believe in the existance of that religion's "god".

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: Bumrush99
Every word of the bible is literal and must treated that way.

I'd have stopped listening to your father-in-law as soon as this came out of his mouth...

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Bumrush99
I was having a discussion with my father in law this weekend, who happens to be very religious and believes that religion must be followed unconditionally, with the complete and total acceptance of God. Every word of the bible is literal and must treated that way.

I on the hand don't know whether god exists and am skeptical towards religion and the rituals that are followed. On the other hand, I like the closeness that holidays bring and would like my future kids to enjoy that and to have the opportunity to believe.

At the end of our discussion he was adamant that either you unconditionally believe or you don't.. Does everyone else here see it that way?

Only a Sith deals in absolutes. (Sorry, just watched Episode III again yesterday )
But I think that's a silly approach, and is the sort of thing that leads to unnecessary wars. You're just fine, and he's an extremist.

 

[Ipno]

I believe in religion, I mean, I believe its a great tool for some people to cope with what they have to deal with, that or sometimes its a tool used by corrupt men in power to influence the masses. Either way, its there, true or not, and can't be ignored.

 

[AMDZen]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
No, you can know of religion and question the existance of that religion's "god".

If you believe in a religion, then you already believe in the existance of that religion's "god".

I think your missing the point. You can make a religion part of your life for someone else. Like my dad believes in god and considered himself Christian when we were growing up, my mom however, didn't so much. She questions if there is a god, but went to church and took us to bring us up in a crhistian atmosphere with those kinds of morals.

That is what he is asking. And yes you can. I would plan on doing the same for my kids if my wife was Christian, I don't mind. I would want to raise my kids and let them decide for themselves once their old enough, they'll still get the values and morals which is the most important thing to get out of "religion". The faith is always unfounded if you ask me, but thats just because I don't understand it.

 

[Siva]

The Judeo-Christian front places faith above virtue and pretty much everything else in the religion. Unconditional belief is seen as the foundation of true worship. I think it's just because they don't want people questioning the most fundamental tenanets of the religion.

Of course this is true more in theory than in practice. A well educated Christian sees faith and worship as the most important part of his/her religion. A more ignorant Christian sometimes believes its better to stop abortion and preach about damnation first, pray and worship second Still, the way it is laid out in the Bible is pretty much faith > *

Cliffs: Faith and religion are pretty much synonymous, so I guess your father in law is right. In practice this is quite often untrue.

Peronsally, I think faith or no faith its healthy to question things. The truth is limited to everything that we have found out so far, and there's a whole lot of truth in the universe that is still unexplored. Whether questioning g(G)od interfers with have a religion is pretty much moot, an inquisitive mind is something everyone should have, regardless of faith. Maybe its even possible to have faith and still question things, a contradiction here and there might just be ok, and its definately familiar territory within religion.

 

[Bumrush99]

Originally posted by: AMDZen

Originally posted by: Tiamat
No, you can know of religion and question the existance of that religion's "god".

If you believe in a religion, then you already believe in the existance of that religion's "god".

I think your missing the point. You can make a religion part of your life for someone else. Like my dad believes in god and considered himself Christian when we were growing up, my mom however, didn't so much. She questions if there is a god, but went to church and took us to bring us up in a crhistian atmosphere with those kinds of morals.

That is what he is asking. And yes you can. I would plan on doing the same for my kids if my wife was Christian, I don't mind. I would want to raise my kids and let them decide for themselves once their old enough, they'll still get the values and morals which is the most important thing to get out of "religion". The faith is always unfounded if you ask me, but thats just because I don't understand it.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up for me.. I don't know if incorporating certain rituals and customs may affirm a belief in God, but I have no problem doing so for my wife and children (when I have them)

 

[Mucho]

You cannot be religious without believing in god but you can be spiritual, which is a path I've chosen.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: Bumrush99
I was having a discussion with my father in law this weekend, who happens to be very religious and believes that religion must be followed unconditionally, with the complete and total acceptance of God. Every word of the bible is literal and must treated that way.

I on the hand don't know whether god exists and am skeptical towards religion and the rituals that are followed. On the other hand, I like the closeness that holidays bring and would like my future kids to enjoy that and to have the opportunity to believe.

At the end of our discussion he was adamant that either you unconditionally believe or you don't.. Does everyone else here see it that way?

Unquestioning belief is worthless.

 

[EatSpam]

No. Belief in religion requires blind faith. If you blindly have faith in something, you don't question it.

 

[Biggerhammer]

Believe in God, not in the pointy building or the party line. Many 'religious' people tend to like the letter of the law without actually seeing the spirit of them. If you ever want to needle your FIL, ask him to define Pharisee and see how close he comes to defining himself.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Does your father believe in Santa Claus unconditionally? If not, why should he expect other people to believe in God unconditionally?