How do you respond to the question "Do you believe in God?" asked by a stranger?
I've a couple thoughts on this question. First the assumption that comes from the answer is going to be different whether the question is being asked by someone in your community vs say someone in Calcutta, India. You know what I mean? God is a very broadly defined term yet to many it is a very narrowly defined term.
For me I lean towards the answer of "Yes, but not the one you believe in". Kind of says yes I have beliefs but I keep them to myself and they are personal to me and me alone. What say you?
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32 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.For me, it’s not a matter of belief.
God’s existence is self-evident.
No proof needed.
My dictionary defines God as the supreme being.
It defines supreme as the largest, ultimate, or most powerful.
It defines being as something that exists.
So already, God exists by definition.
What is the largest, ultimate thing that exists?
Some call it the universe, nature, or reality.
So does the entirety of reality exist?
Self-evidently, it does… by definition.
If you say, “Well thats not what most people mean when they say God.” Well that’s true, but now you’re discussing God’s nature - not God’s existence. And most religions themselves caution against thinking you know God’s nature.
Neither I nor any religious person, nor any scientist knows fully the nature of the universe, but I’ve never met the person who denies its existence.
skado
Level 9
Oct 24, 2022
3
I promise you most people would have zero interest in having that long and in depth a discussion with you, but suit yourself....
@TomMcGiverin
If a stranger asks me such a question, he doesn’t get to choose what kind of answer I give. If he doesn’t have patience to listen, all the better.
@skado Few would have the patience to listen to all that, so If I were you, I wouldn't even bother to begin an answer, but suit yourself....
I deny its existence.
@Garban Personally, I do not have a big serious problem with people saying that god is equivalent to the laws of physics. It is just my opinion that, if god is equal to the laws of physics, then it would be better to call "It" the laws of physics, just to avoid confusion. While if people want to say that the laws of physics are worthy of worship, then I would say, that it is better not to worship anything, but if you must, then the laws of physics (Biology chemistry etc.) are probably better than anything else I know of.
But you have also to consider, that attemps to sow confusion may sometimes be deliberate, since confusion makes a good smoke screen for a hidden agenda, or an empty vault.
@Garban
I don't really approach it from a physics perspective. I approach it from the angle of human experience. It is human nature to anthropomorphize things, and to assign agency to things that are just random occurrences. It appears to me that that is what early (and current) humans have done with the collective existence and movement of the universe. But just because they attribute agency and human characteristics to something that, in reality, doesn't have any, doesn't mean that something doesn't exist. It just means its nature is different from what they assumed.
@Garban I'm not so different. I don't tend to anthropomorphize things either, myself. Just trying to understand how 80% of my species came to be the way they are, and find a non-inflammatory way to regard and interact with them that doesn't compromise my sense of objective reality. If it allows me to find some common ground with my fellow humans, I'm willing to learn a new language. It doesn't prevent me from speaking my native tongue also. I don't tolerate literal interpretations of symbolic language in my personal worldview. Symbols are just a linguistic expedient.
I just answer no, if they ask why, I'll answer my why. Sometimes it causes a good conversation, Sometimes the person doesn't talk to me anymore and avoids me, I'm good with either.
MichelleGar1
Level 9
Oct 24, 2022
11
No, but then I am not asked as much as you yanks. Funny thing is that I only know one devout Christian. She is 25 and a friend of my daughter. A rather naive and impressionable young woman who is saving herself for marriage. At a party recently she brought up the subject of belief. She tends to do this when we talk but I try not to give her a hard time as she lost her mom last year. It was then she blurted out to everyone that she also believes in vampires. (she had had a drink or two) Of course, I quietly sniggered to myself and dismissed it. Only later did I re-think her statement. It may be okay for us not to be afraid of vampires but we are not 25-year-old female virgins!
273kelvin
Level 8
Oct 24, 2022
11
I stopped believing in god when he failed to bring me a pony one year.
DenoPenno
Level 9
Oct 24, 2022
11
Just like Santa.
@K9Kohle789 Yes. Santa is god and that's why I refuse to tolerate the Santa nonsense, as well.
If it's a total stranger, like some idiot trying to evangelize on the street, I just keep walking and give no answer. In a social situation, like a party or a dinner, I'll be more polite but direct. Sometimes I have told them that I was raised in a cult that practiced a mock human sacrifice every year around the time of the Spring Equinox. We symbolicly sacrificed an innocent then drank his blood and ate his body to commune with his spirit. Most of the time they don't realize that I'm describing their church and the practice of taking communion.
Rockitflash
Level 4
Oct 24, 2022
8
I admire your patience and smartassery, sir...I'm afraid I wouldn't care enough to bother with wasting all this wit on them...
Depending on the context in which the question is asked,...
They pay me to teach you biology, not my personal beliefs.
Belief is irrelevant.
Who wants to know?
Why do you ask?
Which one?
I see no evidence that I should.
Hahaha!
No.
Flyingsaucesir
Level 8
Oct 24, 2022
7
I just say "No, and why do you ask?" Depending on their answer and interest, I may continue the exchange, but usually I can tell it will lead nowhere worthwhile, so I just end the conversation.
TomMcGiverin
Level 8
Oct 24, 2022
8
I just say, “No, I don’t. My personal delusions I keep to myself.”
Davekp
Level 8
Oct 24, 2022
7
If only more of us would keep our delusions to just ourselves, our pets, and our therapists...
My exact answer would depend on the social context, but it would be something along the lines of "I am not sufficiently mentally defective to have beliefs.".
The idea of having an evidence-based world view is anathema to such mental midgets.
anglophone
Level 9
Oct 24, 2022
6
I fall back to Linus Pauling who said this. " I believe that all complicated phenomena can be explained using simpler scientific principles. "
I try to soften it with something like, "I don't really believe in anything without good reason."
ChestRockfield
Level 8
Oct 24, 2022
6
I’m always going to say no,…….that I think it’s all nonsense.
CuddyCruiser
Level 8
Oct 24, 2022
6
I always answer which one are you referring too!!!
of-the-mountain
Level 9
Oct 24, 2022
5
I come from the UK, so I would probably say. "Wow fun, you are the first one ever." Then. "No of course not, do I look weird ?"
Fernapple
Level 9
Oct 25, 2022
3
Best answer so far! 
I reply, "I believe in GOOD!" and just leave it at that, unless they want to discuss further.
Julie808
Level 8
Oct 25, 2022
4
I should add that because I'm a "humanist minister" so that I can perform weddings, I do get asked that question a lot. So, when someone actually does want an earnest conversation, I might say something that makes them think and find some common ground. I might reply, as some have said, that "God" means different things to different people.
I might say that "I don't believe in Supernatural Deities, but I do love learning about Natural Phenomena," to head off any arguement such as "well then how do you explain a rainbow or a sunset, only God can create such beauty..." For that argument, I'd reply, then only your God can create such horrors and destruction as we also see in the world. As a humanist, I try to see how we can address the problems we see in the world with knowledge, wisdom, reason and compassion, not stories in a book that was written without knowledge even that the earth was round.
I use to try and maybe have a chat about it. NO it's a complete sentence and I leave it at that.
silverotter11
Level 9
Oct 25, 2022
3
I do not find the subject interesting.....how about those Patriots?
AnneWimsey
Level 9
Oct 25, 2022
3
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