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Why do you believe or not believe in god?

Tsuyoiko

DON'T PANIC!
11 Mar 2005
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This thread is specifically for you to explain why you believe in god or not. I don't mean just to state whether or not you believe, or to argue for or against the existence of god. I'd like to hear people's personal reasons for believing or not.

I've been asked a few times what it would take to convince me that god exists. The answer? Nothing could ever convince me of it. Even if someone were to prove conclusively (and I'm not sure how they could) that some entity created the Universe and put us here by design, even if they could show that this entity has all the qualities usually attributed to god, even if it performed countless 'miracles' right before my eyes, I would still refuse to worship it.

If I refuse to worship it even were its existence proved, then how can it be god?
 
Man alive this is a can of worms ;-)

As far as the Christo-Judeo-Islam God goes, my random polemic would run as follows:

Why would an all loving, omnipotent God create man as a flawed creature and then punish him for being flawed with an eternity of damnation for a finite number of sins?

If an all loving, all powerful God is running the show he's really making quite a shockingly bad job of it. Famine, flesh-eating maggots, earthquakes and HIV are a case in point.

Now, one could make the assertion that God needs these things so we can have a contrast to Good so that we may value it. I say that is erroneous if we have established that God is all powerful and can do the impossible. If he is all-powerful then he can do anything, even things which logically don't make sense, like giving us a sense of Good and Evil without exposing us to evil.

In short, if God really loves us all and can do anything he pleases; he must either be on vacation or a bloody ***** since he allows small children to die of horrible afflictions every day.

What would it take to convince me of 'His' existence?

He could start by either taking an interest in his supposedly beloved children or he can appear and explain in plain english (rather than a cryptic set of ancient manuscripts) why things are the way they are and thusly eliminate all the religious wars being wages in his name.

Bearing in mind he is omnipotent, so explaining this to everyone on earth instantaneously should be absolutely no bother for him. Also, because of his omnipotence, he should be able to make it such that this does not affect the 'free will' deal he seems to have going on with evil, though quite why God would cage his powers like that to begin with I don't know.
 
One major reason I don't believe in god is because everytime i've taken part in a religion, it's felt like I was joining a cult. I've tried three major religions in the past 4 or 5 years, the only one that made me feel any happier was Islam, but I doubt that god had anything to do with it, it was just the principles that did that.

I have asked god to reveal himself several times, give me a sign, just a hint. I never get anything. The word faith is linked with the word gullibility in my mind.

So God apparently created the universe millions of years ago. And since then he has done what? Apart from the tsunami, the famine in africa like the above poster said, racism, facism, murder, suicide, increases in the price of ice cream and climate change. God is powerless over most of these things which are just a direct result of human interaction. There also seems to be a scientific explanation for everything.

Seeing as god does not make people's decisions, I fail to see what he does at all.

Edit:
Not really related to god, but one Christian once told me..
"if you are Christian, then you can spend eternity in heaven among family and friends"
to which i replied...
"but my mum died an atheist and none of my friends are christian either.."
"oh..."

So if I praise God, I'll be stuck up in heaven with a bunch of strangers. In heaven there is no disappointment, so, I ask god, "could you save my family from hell? I'm so lonely in this heaven place". If he cannot save my loved ones from hell, he is not truly a god, and if he can, this brings one to question the legitimacy of such a concept.

I think I just re-affirmed my atheism.
 
Indoctrination I guess ?

Growing up, my family and friends all talked of and believed in God. My parents sent me to Sunday school and Youth fellowship as a youth where I was taught about God and religion. Today as I approach death through getting older, it is nice to believe in an afterlife. The thought of eternal nothingness after this life is not too pleasant to think about. When you are in a tough spot in life, it's kind of nice to have someone to pray/talk to about it. It would be real easy for me to not believe in God, but I feel better thinking there is one.

Uncle Frank

 
I don't know that I believe in God as I was taught by my Catholic upbringing. I do sense that there is a higher power out there, but maybe that comes from within myself as I become more secure in my own being and where I fit into the world around me...
 
Hevenly beings

Our father who art in heaven, hollowed be thy name, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory for ever, AMEN!

I'm sorry if this prayer offends anyone, but it is dear to me. I believe whole heartedly in God. I love him or her dearly. I speak to the the angels frequently and I pray in thanks whenever the sun shines and I see the beautiful birds. I see sparkles of light at times when I speak to God. I also have a small power of prophecy through dreams. Let me have the power to tread on scorpions and serpent, that my days may be bright.

Actually if anyone has read up to this point with joy in their heart, perhaps they have also see the albino people. In Toronto I only ever saw one... maybe three times. In Tokyo I saw two not to long after arriving. Currently, I have a few followers that are not too helpful... but they are nudged aside by my life long companion(s?).

If anyone has read to this point and thinks I'm schitsophrenic, that's ok, we live in a schitzoid world anyways, hehe... we are allowed to be crazy in this day and age, and if crazy is how you see me, than crazy I am!

I have been a spiritual person almost my whole life, probably starting when I accidentally killed a canary when I was 3 years old, thinking it was a squeeky toy. My respect for life and it's mysteries began there. After that, I cried whenever I saw something dead, even my pet flies. I almost cry to this day, when I have to kill a cockroach. I actually morn it's death... but I'm crazy remember.

😊
 
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I think that most of us believe in a hereafter, it is too hard to believe that one day we are no more. Too hard to believe that the end is only the death. There must be something?
And maybe there is, a looking back after death as if we are dreaming?

There is a good and something less good in all of us. Most of us don't feel too happy when we have done something wrong, we all have a conscience, except the mentaly ill ones of course. We all try to hide our lesser nice actions in life or deny them.
Maybe we all have a small god or small devil inside of us?

And then there is that famous sixth sense! Most of us have lost it long ago. But there often is that whispering in your head that says: I should not be doing this or that.
Most of the time we don't listen. But very often the soft whispering from our sixth sense was so right.
And then there is that famous "fate". Unbelievable sometimes.

God is ?: The universe, cosmos, space? Or our Earth in all its beauty? The smile of a baby
or the smile of a wise old man? Music? Or the absolute beautiful deep silence inside of us?
 
I don't feel a thing. Really, nothing. So I did not decide for myself whether God (the guy above, not the thousand other meanings of this word) exists. When I try to believe in God... it feels pointless, when I try to deny Gods existence... the same feeling that its pointless. Something is WRONG.
 
I do and i don't believe in god...Its really hard to explain as i am not totally sure about there being or not being a god.

When it comes to Christianity, i do not believe in the god that Christianity teaches us that exists- i could go into all the science VS religion debates which do make the mistakes the Bible has made rather embarrassing, but i will raise these questions for now;

a. Why do women feel excruciating pain during childbirth? What have they done to deserve it?
In the bible it tells us that the main reason why women feel pain in childbirth is because it was a punishment primarily bestowed upon Eve which extended to all women kind i.e. Eve was made to experience pan during childbirth for breaking the rules that god gave her and Adam to not eat the fruit from the sacred tree of life.
But i find it ironic in the bible that it also teaches us that we can repent our sins and that god will forgive us if we truly repent- but with Eve, this is certainly not an option, god gives painful childbirth (amongst other things) as a punishment the Eve and the rest of womankind with experience for the rest of eternity regardless of what they do. How is this possibly fair??! Are these the ways of a "forgiving" and "fair" god, the one Jesus told us about? ... ... ...

b. In the Bible it tells us that women and men are equal, but when you look at the story of Adam and Eve there is certainly not that much equality. For a start, man creates women (even though this is certainly never the case in nature/real life) and not the other way around- this is immediately giving men a superiority over women, man creates woman so woman is is not as powerful as man and woman is in mans debt for her existence etc.

In the story of The Garden of Eden, it is Eve who is stupid and betrays not only god but makes Adam betray god as well- this paints a picture of women being the weaker and less moral of the sexes.
Not only does she betray god and get Adam into a whole load of sh#t, but Adam also has to pay the consequences of Eve's actions, he's expelled out of paradise because he trusted Eve and he is forced to live a life of hardship and pain for the rest of his life. This paints a picture of women being distrustful people, it basically tells us that its womens fault that we aren't all living in paradise, there the ones to blame etc.


If the Christian god really is one who views men and women as equal, then why is the story of Adam and Eve so anti-women? Throughout the entire story everything is Eve/women's fault, she's basically the reason why life is so hard for everyone. Its almost like saying that women have to continuously grovel under men and be blamed for all hardships because of what a fictional character in a story did- its men justifying their superiority over women etc.

So IMHO, god is either hypocritical in his teachings, or that he really does believe that women are less worthy than men- and if that is the case, then why does that have to be the case? It is not fair at all.




So i leave it there for now with the Christian stuff, hopefully some steadfast Christians can explain these things to me, because i for one would love to see a good explanation for them :eek: .



And my belief of god in general...I don't know. I think there may be a higher power, or powers for that matter, certainly the whole existence of life and this planet is truly awe inspiring, but it life and this planet could also on the other hand be a freak occurance in the big wide universe.


I'm more of Buddhist though than anything else, both philosophically and religiously.
I'm more interested in the idea of the system of reincarnation than the Christian idea of a hell/heaven system of afterlife. Reincarnation explains why the way things are in this world a great deal better and also in a more rational and fair way- buddhism explains why there is suffering in this world and the purpose of suffering, it also truly and honestly encourages better behavior and actions between people and people and people and animals etc.

I'm interested a lot in the paranormal, not only because i have had ghostly experiences myself, but i also believe that if scientists were able to prove the existance of certain paranormal happenings, then that might lead us further to answers concerning questions of what happens after death to us and perhaps even the existence of higher powers like god/s etc 👍 .
 
I am a strong atheist. I have never seen anything to confirm that a higher diety exists and is responsible for the creation of the universe. The Gods of religions are even worse. Not only do their followers claim credit for their particular God creating life, the universe, and everything , they also add on other pieces of doctrine to try and convince those of other beliefs that theirs is the true one and others are wrong, somethimes at the point of a gun. The most guilty ones of this practice are Christianity and Islam, and to a slightly lesser degree, Judasim.
Christians invent the doctrine of hell to scare people into worshipping God, later to be taken on by Islam, who seem to use hell even more in the Qu'ran. They invent the ideas of ID because modern science is showing that the literal creation of the earth and the universe where not done by a magic man in the clouds, but by natural processes that can be observed. Young Earth creationists go one step further and invent a total pack of hopeless pseudo-science to show that the flood happened, the universe is only 6000 years old, Moses did leave Egypt and the plagues of the Exodus happened. At no point do any of them actual do some real research to find out where these myths that they hold to be true really came from. You might gather not only do I not believe in any gods, I do not really like religion, any religion.
 
I have been to the edges of life and seen the beauty and grace of existence. I have breathed in the glory of a mountain top bathed in the first light of dawn and I have heard the first breaths of air of my own children. I have gazed at the brilliant tapestry of stars that make up the desert night.

I have experienced personal tragedy, trial and tribulation. The darkest nights and the darkest side of human nature....I have seen disaster and calamity... and through it seen the unbelievable triumph of the Spirit... the enduring power of life.

I absolutely believe in God. What I see from the time I wake up in the morning to when I sleep at night confirms the existence of a God, who is not only a life creating force, but also personal... that He (as used by convention) posses the elements of a person and not just some force. The daily providence, the coincidences and hapenstances of life... grace and beauty in the face of difficulty and tragedy... all speak to me of God.

I have seen His hand move across the lives of people. I have witnessed love where nothing else makes sense. I have experienced first hand forgiveness and direction and life... and through this I have learned to move in people's lives, to love and forgive, and to serve. Of course I believe in God.
 
I believe in God, though not as "He's" portrayed in most religions. Through my own experiences and reading I've developed my own theory that takes something from probably a few religions.

I believe that our life on earth is a test of our characters, which is why God doesn't intervene to make things right when there's cruelty or killing going on (Christianity). I also think that we live multiple physical lives and that the theory of karma works here - we get illnesses or have tragedies to pay off a karmic debt that we might have accrued in a previous life. (Buddhism)

I also think that if we all pay attention to our "inner voices", then we'll stay on our right path and be in the "flow" of the energy of the universe (or whatever that might be called) (Buddhism-Taoism), therefore not creating further bad karma that has to be paid off later.

I think God is an energy that can't really be defined in physical terms - nor can non-physical life be defined in a way that we understand it while we're in our earth-bound bodies.

I think God is available to all of us and that people have gotten it right and wrong in the various religions. But instead of looking outward, I believe it's looking inward that we find most of these answers.
 
Sarapva;551465I think God is an energy that can't really be defined in physical terms - nor can non-physical life be defined in a way that we understand it while we're in our earth-bound bodies. [/QUOTE said:
You have a point there;
I mean the (most) humans are even not capable see the things in another way...
We're blinded by our own senses, how can we know if there isn't a parallel univerese? Time is just a terminology, created by the human.
Yeah - I really like the saying: Man creates god^^
I meaning it in the way, like the whole religions... God is just a term for trying to explain unexplainable things, right? Think of it.

Oh - and the question was: why do I (not) believe in god?
Well, I don't really care, if there is "some old bearded man in heaven, counting my sins here on earth" ( I like that cliché so much^^), but (as I allready told) I believe the reason we live, is the life itself. Just live it - don't waste time with this whole searching and taking it then seriously too-_-

Maybe the humans should just accept, thet there are some questins/issues, which they are incapable to explain, and make ther best of their lifes...
 
my answer is simple..karlyboo san i think i would answer your questions..at least in the Islamic version...

this life is a test..a short period of time...that will pass as a glimpse..real life awaits after judgment day..
what we are ordered to do in this short life is make earth a better place and be obey the code and morals the Lord put for us.
as Humans are sinful creatures ...it is a part of the test..to make it harder for us..
those who defy their nature, and overcome their bad instinct, they will be able to be in eternal heaven because at that point they will be deserving that heaven..those who fail in that test will of course will not go to heaven as they are not worthy..
why is there poverty and famine hate and killing..
it is all part of the test some are tested by so much welfare and money so the lord will see whether they will be willing to do right with their money..will they share it with less fortunate people? will they participate in charities to make life brighter for those weaker than them?? or will they use that money for their own desires and prove that they have failed that test..

some are tested through poverty , violence, death of loved ones through natures wrath, that is a test to see whether they would be patient and prop0het Muhammed said " the patient people and i are close in judgment day and in the heavens"
if people fail in being patient then they have failed the test..

why do i keep a smiling face though all the misfortune that i live through in my country?
it is because i await a brighter life after this one , where i will be in heaven after i deserve it for the patience i show..

prophet Muhammed said " the Muslim's position is always positive, because if he see welfare he will thank the lord and that is great good for him...and if he see misfortune he will be patient and that is and that is good for him as well"

this whole world is unworthy of our sadness and care....it is just a test making way for greater eternity...

and to answer the main question on why would i believe in God then you already have my answer...
i would rather believe in a brighter after life than to believe that i will only live this ugly life full of killing and hate....
this believe makes my day brighter...it makes me stronger and more willing to face the dangers of life..
knowing that a greater power is watching over me is relieving...it eases my pain..
knowing that a greater power is up there guarding me..that i will only die when that supreme being chooses to makes me not fear death or any danger...
knowing that all this pain i am going through is temporary gives me hope..
knowing that the lord sides with his faithful servants makes me confident that i can over come what ever...
believing in God makes the burden easier to be carried...instead of thinking that all the burden is only on your shoulders that all the danger i would have to face alone..that all the misfortune has no one to resolve for me...
it is easier to have a thought about a lord up there who will protect me, guide me, love me, forgive me, accept me..and take me to the eternal happiness once my test here on earth is over.
 
my answer is simple..karlyboo san i think i would answer your questions..at least in the Islamic version...

this life is a test..a short period of time...that will pass as a glimpse..real life awaits after judgment day..
what we are ordered to do in this short life is make earth a better place and be obey the code and morals the Lord put for us.
as Humans are sinful creatures ...it is a part of the test..to make it harder for us..
those who defy their nature, and overcome their bad instinct, they will be able to be in eternal heaven because at that point they will be deserving that heaven..those who fail in that test will of course will not go to heaven as they are not worthy..
why is there poverty and famine hate and killing..
it is all part of the test some are tested by so much welfare and money so the lord will see whether they will be willing to do right with their money..will they share it with less fortunate people? will they participate in charities to make life brighter for those weaker than them?? or will they use that money for their own desires and prove that they have failed that test..

some are tested through poverty , violence, death of loved ones through natures wrath, that is a test to see whether they would be patient and prop0het Muhammed said " the patient people and i are close in judgment day and in the heavens"
if people fail in being patient then they have failed the test..

why do i keep a smiling face though all the misfortune that i live through in my country?
it is because i await a brighter life after this one , where i will be in heaven after i deserve it for the patience i show..

prophet Muhammed said " the Muslim's position is always positive, because if he see welfare he will thank the lord and that is great good for him...and if he see misfortune he will be patient and that is and that is good for him as well"

this whole world is unworthy of our sadness and care....it is just a test making way for greater eternity...

and to answer the main question on why would i believe in God then you already have my answer...
i would rather believe in a brighter after life than to believe that i will only live this ugly life full of killing and hate....
this believe makes my day brighter...it makes me stronger and more willing to face the dangers of life..
knowing that a greater power is watching over me is relieving...it eases my pain..
knowing that a greater power is up there guarding me..that i will only die when that supreme being chooses to makes me not fear death or any danger...
knowing that all this pain i am going through is temporary gives me hope..
knowing that the lord sides with his faithful servants makes me confident that i can over come what ever...
believing in God makes the burden easier to be carried...instead of thinking that all the burden is only on your shoulders that all the danger i would have to face alone..that all the misfortune has no one to resolve for me...
it is easier to have a thought about a lord up there who will protect me, guide me, love me, forgive me, accept me..and take me to the eternal happiness once my test here on earth is over.

The topic explicitly states this is not for trying to convince people of anything. It's for talking about why you believe what you do. I've respected that, as has everybody else in the thread. If you want to argue over whether your imaginary friend is better than mine then start a new topic.
 
Huh? Awaiting something nice? You never know, it might come someday. But, hey, if it doesn't? You bet it all on one card and lose... play with the thought. Im not saying that this is exactly how it must be, but hell, who knows?
And another thing, I don't want no bloody consolation for me pain, what I want is compensation, I want my will to "go through", to be able to do what I want, and not to wait for the promised day until I forget what I want and float in the euphoria of heaven. Nothing but pure happiness is quite a crappy and sad state, I don't want it either. Ban it!
I want power here on earth, power and freedom, I want to be bloody immortal, and not some holy ghost holding hands with similar jerks. No! If this is a trial, what qualities does it test? Just how is a person any better by blindly believing in God, or blindly denying its existence? What do you know? Im asking both camps, just how do you know?
 
i am not trying to convert you or any thing karlyboo san :p
why should you be bitter?
i was just stating a philosophy that led me to my believe...
a philosophy that answers some questions you asked..
do you tend to be aggressive with every one here karlyboo san or do you have something against me?

Huh? Awaiting something nice? You never know, it might come someday. But, hey, if it doesn't? You bet it all on one card and lose... play with the thought. Im not saying that this is exactly how it must be, but hell, who knows?
And another thing, I don't want no bloody consolation for me pain, what I want is compensation, I want my will to "go through", to be able to do what I want, and not to wait for the promised day until I forget what I want and float in the euphoria of heaven. Nothing but pure happiness is quite a crappy and sad state, I don't want it either. Ban it!
I want power here on earth, power and freedom, I want to be bloody immortal, and not some holy ghost holding hands with similar jerks. No! If this is a trial, what qualities does it test? Just how is a person any better by blindly believing in God, or blindly denying its existence? What do you know? Im asking both camps, just how do you know?

this is not a trail of who is right or who is wrong derfel san ..i am just stating the reasons that lead me to believe in God and how i understand the life around me...
read what i wrote again you would find that i have a great way to make this world feel simpler to me.
 
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Well if karlyboo stated what he stated he obviously isn't a buyer for that hypothesis, so it won't really soothe him, now will it?

Now as for your reply to me.
If we look around, we really don't have any proof or reason to deny Gods existence, we don't have any way to prove it either. Honestly, aren't we just guessing and guessing? Bring all the prophets you want, from islam through judaism to christianity and all the rest. They probably had very little to do with God (yet again im only talking about the prophets and not questioning God's existence), whether it exists or not. People back in those days believed every kinda sick joke and deception. Not that its bad, it was for the best of society at that time, and let me stress the words "AT THAT TIME".
 
Well if karlyboo stated what he stated he obviously isn't a buyer for that hypothesis, so it won't really soothe him, now will it?
Now as for your reply to me.
If we look around, we really don't have any proof or reason to deny Gods existence, we don't have any way to prove it either. Honestly, aren't we just guessing and guessing? Bring all the prophets you want, from islam through judaism to christianity and all the rest. They probably had very little to do with God (yet again im only talking about the prophets and not questioning God's existence), whether it exists or not. People back in those days believed every kinda sick joke and deception. Not that its bad, it was for the best of society at that time, and let me stress the words "AT THAT TIME".

i am not asking any one to buy what i have to say or not...
if i did care whether you buy what i said or not, i would give more effort in converting you which i am obviously not doing!!!!

plus what you said is true..that is why it is called faith not fact.....faith is something you believe in with out needing a direct proof.....
it is a philosophy and people can choose to embrace that philosophy or not....those who do embrace that philosophy like my self i believe they do so because it gives their life a greater value..

yes you are right it is a guess....or shall i say a gamble....if what my faith turned out to be true then i would be in heaven when the world ends....if my faith was as you said superstition then what a sad life it is..to know that all this life has to offer is this cheap, ugly, worthless, world...

i choose to play that gamble...if i bumped into you in judgment day we can see who won that gamble.
 
i am not trying to convert you or any thing karlyboo san :p
why should you be bitter?
i was just stating a philosophy that led me to my believe...
a philosophy that answers some questions you asked..
do you tend to be aggressive with every one here karlyboo san or do you have something against me?

This thread is specifically for you to explain why you believe in god or not... I'd like to hear people's personal reasons for believing or not.

Spin your post how you fancy, what I said stands.
 
Spin your post how you fancy, what I said stands.

why do i have to be on the defensive every time i say something you don't like?

you are free to believe what ever you like ... as i still say i am not here to convert any one..
you are free to believe me or not..
but as for your attitude you should do something about it!
 
Humans are sinful creatures ...it is a part of the test..to make it harder for us..
those who defy their nature, and overcome their bad instinct, they will be able to be in eternal heaven because at that point they will be deserving that heaven..those who fail in that test will of course will not go to heaven as they are not worthy..
why is there poverty and famine hate and killing..
it is all part of the test some are tested by so much welfare and money so the lord will see whether they will be willing to do right with their money..will they share it with less fortunate people? will they participate in charities to make life brighter for those weaker than them?? or will they use that money for their own desires and prove that they have failed that test..
This is one of my main beefs with any religion, especially the Judeo-Christian ones. It is the belief that humans are not worthy and only by following religion A, B or C do we make ourselves worthy. I find it sad that people think their lives are ones for misery and only by following and obeying a God and its human mouthpieces are we happy.
I am happy without a god. It makes my life miserable just thinking that what I do is being judged by some self-rightous deity because I don't match up to its exacting standards. Well tough. I am human, not some object to be fought over after I die. Stuff God and stuff Satan. I don't need them and I believe that the world could be a better place without them. All I know, and all anybody knows for certain is that you are alive now. Live your life to the full and don't let some beliefs in what is essentially an advanced fairy story control your life to the point where you are constantly trying to second guess an unknowable and unprovable deity whether what you are doing is right or wrong.
 
Kinda disappointed that it degenerated a bit. Let's keep it just for stating what you believe...please 👍

The thought of eternal nothingness after this life is not too pleasant to think about.
I think that most of us believe in a hereafter, it is too hard to believe that one day we are no more. Too hard to believe that the end is only the death. There must be something?
I actually find it really comforting to be convinced that when we're dead we're dead. Life is just so hectic, always treading on eggshells, so much to remember and cope with, so many people to handle with kid gloves. I live this life as well as I can, but I don't have to be concerned with what will happen after. It doesn't matter if I make the occasional mistake, there's no-one out there watching, waiting for me to trip up so they can punish me in the afterlife.

Again I stress: even if that being that some of you guys believe in was conclusively shown to exist I would still refuse to worship it. Why?

-I try to be respectful to everyone equally, not to look up to some people disproportionately just because they're more powerful than me;

-If this being was shown to have created the Universe I would want to understand how that could be rather than be in awe of it. In a sense, my parents created me, but I don't worship them.

Maybe I'll add more later, I'm going to watch Prison Break now :p
 
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