Is one "weak" for wanting to believe in a higher spiritual power?

Not at all. We are programmed that way.

A University of Oxford study, the Cognition, Religion and Theology Project, found that humans have natural tendencies to believe in gods and an afterlife. http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2011/110513...

Catholics have long believed the desire for God is written in the human heart, because each person is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw each person to himself.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 27: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect1.shtml...

+ Science and Proof of God +

Modern Astrophysics has proven the existence of God beyond a reasonable doubt.

Newton's Third Law of Motion states "For every action there is equal and opposite reaction." Every action in the universe was caused by a prior equal and opposite reaction.

If we logically follow each and every action and reaction back to the beginning then logically there has to be a first action without a prior equal and opposite reaction. Modern astrophysicists call this event the Big Bang.

This first action was completely independent of outside forces. This action was God, the un-caused cause, creating the universe. This proof also fulfills the principle of Occam's Razor.

By the way, it was Georges Lemaître (1894–1966), a Belgian Catholic priest and professor of physics and astronomy, who proposed what became known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the Universe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lema%C3%AEtre

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Another proof:

A universe in which life has a chance to exist can only happen in where a couple of dozen universal constants coincide, including:

+ Minimum interval of space

+ Minimum unit of time

+ Planck's Constant

+ Maximum velocity

+ Gravitational Attraction Constant

+ Weak Force Coupling Constant

+ Strong Nuclear Force Coupling Constant

+ Rest Mass of a Proton

+ Rest Mass of an Electron

+ Electron or Proton Unit Charge

+ Minimum Mass of the Universe

+ Total Visible Rest Mass

+ Boltzmann's Constant

+ Hubble Constant

+ Cosmological Constant

+ Cosmic Proton/Photon Ratio

+ Permittivity of Free Space

+ Electromagnetic Fine-Structure Constant

+ Weak Fine-Structure Constant

+ Gravitational Fine-Structure Constant

A couple of percent difference in any one of these constants would make the universe completely uninhabitable. Roger Penrose, a peer of Hawking, calculated that the chance of a universe capable of supporting life as we know it as one part in 10 raised to the power of 10 raised to the power of 123.

This fine tuning of the universe, while not an absolute proof of God, can be used to help prove the existence of God beyond a reasonable doubt (which is my claim).

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I also suggest you read Robert Spitzer's new book "New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy"

Magis God Wiki: "Why Believe in God?" http://magisgodwiki.org/index.php/Why_Believe_in_G...

With love in Christ.

I am different then you, in that I do believe in God, and for reasons other then just "delusional" as some say. Life is an energy, it cannot be destroyed, only changed....life leaves a body and in some cases, remains with the spirit. In other cases, it becomes another form of energy.

Pro science is still not a pure science, in that it cannot define what the laws of physics are, they only can use them. What caused these laws to be as they are, in the first place? It is because of these laws, that science can define many things. But..again, where did these laws come from?

Living things cannot just become what they are, over many millions of years. A man could not become a man from an ape, because of the many many changes requried. Skull, brain, jaw, teeth, legs, arms, skeleton, muscles, and guess what...sweat glands. Animals do not have sweat glands.

These things cannot come about on their own, for instance, the brain needs the larger skull....and the legs and arms change lengths, and the way they work, and they need the brain in order to do that. The muscles that work the arms and legs, need the brain to be able to do that. So, if they changed gradually, nothing would be working right, and the man would die.

What did the man eat while his jaw was being changed, and his teeth changing.? How did his digestion system put up with the changes, during this time?

You see, these things had to happen all at once. And then, evolution would take over and change things gradually. Ask, why didn't other apes, in that area, also change? Why only one ape? Didn't the environment cause hardships on all the apes, not just one?

As for separation of church and state...if not church with state, then it has to be Atheism with state...and which would be worse of the two? Religion would soon be ruled out, made unlawfull, and Christians and others would then find themselves being killed and sent to camps.

There has to be a balance of Non believer and believers, in State. Not one, nor the other, but both.

It is not fair for one side to say.."NO God anywhere in public."...but allow themselves the privilege of having no gods...why allow them privileges but not the religious.? You see?

I do believe in a God, or in God, I have read the Bible, it intrest me alot, lately I have been trying to find the connections with Revalations and whats going on in the Middle East right now, you know, Babylon is right smack in Baghdad, God cursed that land, ever since,its had problems, the Harlot as the Bible speaks of , gets drunk off the blood of the innocent ones, who could that harlot be? The US? or Iraq? The seven heads and crowns of the dragon, are those the super powers? These times, I do believe , are the signs of the end. I would like to believe the part about how God said he would not allow the earth to be destroyed again as he alowed when he flooded the earth, so maybe it will do away with a big astroid hitting us. ANd then sometimes, u know, since this universe is so vast, why are we the only ones here? If God made all these plntsin universe because he loved us so much, how on earth are we going to be able to see them? Or is there another race already doing that, hence UFO's and such. Or maybe there isnt a God, maybe its these space beings that have orchestrated a book of standards for the human race to follow as an experiment, now we are being checked on and monitored more than ever. But never the less even then, imho, inside, there is implanted something, that makes us aware that we are created, that we need to percieve as greater than mankind, that we need to worship. I kinda think , u know, since Jesus was around how important it is to do Gods will, he warns us of our impending doom if we dont, I think, man, thousands of years have passed and there is still people carrying out what Jesus did, if there is a hell, rather than a personal hell, is it really that bad that we have to heed a warning that has been passsed along for thousands years?

No, it doesn't make you weak at all. You have obviously thought things through for yourself and arrived at your own ideas of what makes sense. Spirituality doesn't have to mean organised religion, or even belief in any specific deity. You could look into Pantheism, for example.

I'm an atheist, but I don't agree that people who believe in God/gods should be made to feel silly.

edit: Whatever spiritual path you choose, those who say they have "The Truth", and warn you away from others who follow the same God, but in a different way, are probably not the best guides.

I'm like you - I don't believe in any religion.

I don't see why we should be called "weak" in wanting to believe in a higher being and some meaning and purpose in life.

These militant atheists could also be called "weak" in turning to food, alcohol, and other addictions in order to cope with life. They use this "random life" theory in trying to make sense of life - that can also be seen as a weakness.

And its a very close minded position - science does not know even 1% of all that there is to know - then how can they be 100% sure that no god exists. Just because we can't perceive god with our meagre five senses?

It is not the believing which makes one weak, but the fact that you don't stand up for those beliefs because believing is "silly" or not politically correct. I also think that hating a specific religious group because the papers claim they think a certain way (not necessarily the truth by the way) shows disrespect and lack of knowledge about the truth. Instead of hating a doctrine which may not be what they believe in at all, learn what they do believe in and don't pass judgment.

Here some advice. Don't go to a church or associate yourself with a religion. Try reading the KJV Bible and find out what God's word really means. Remember not to lean on your own understanding (which is finite and limited to Earthly things), but to lean on His understanding (which is infinite) Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV. The best way to find the truth a seeking Him and His righteousness Matthew 6:33. I am not saying you have to follow a religion, but if you really want to find God then ask in your heart and look for yourself.

In an Albert Camus book, which deals with existentialism he basically states that when a person discovers that life is meaningless and that the universe is apathetic, they are filled with either dread or happiness. The dread comes from wanting there to be meaning (in your case god) the happiness comes from a feeling of freedom and causes urgency, sparks an attitude of "This is the only life I get I will do what makes me happy and live it passionately."

I don't know if you're "weak." That has to do with perspective. But personally logic rules my domain, there is no god or higher being nor do I want one. This is enough for me. We all have to cope with this ourselves.

I am a firm Christian. I'm not going to discriminate against you, but I do thing you should take part in a religion. ( preferably Christianity).

Taking part in a religion doesn't mean you heave to accept every aspect. In my faith I accept a lot, but I truly accept that Jesus died for my sins, and has a kingdom in heaven.

But whichever religion you. Goose, you do not need to believe every aspect.

No one is "weak" for believing a higher power. It's faith.

Hope this helps you!

I just finished a book called, "How to Know God Exists: Scientific Proof of God" by Ray Comfort. I STRONGLY recommend that you read it.

Just a note of advice, never look to the Catholic church for any answers. Don't let them cloud your view of God and what He really teaches.

If you have any questions for me, feel free to message me :)