How can you possibly belive in god?! ?

It wasn't an illusion that Christ walked on water. It was GOD who held him up as he walked across the river. The teaching in that "miracle" was that if you trust GOD enough, that everything can be possible.

GOD never caused anything so heinous as you accuse HIM of. If you had understanding you would understand that GOD is from love, and never could treat people as HE has been accused.

The more problem here is not with GOD, but with your doubt. You are quick to believe men who teach lies, than you are to believe that GOD is from LOVE. This is not GOD'S fault, it's your own insecurity, and untrusting nature that causes you to be the way you are.

You can't blame GOD for the Peadophilia, premature deaths or slavery, It's not HIS fault these things are happening. GOD gave us ALL "free will", just as HE gave satan free will. We choose our own decisions, our own way of life, unless you walk with GOD, then every day you get up and consciously decide to choose the way of LIFE HE has chosen for you.

GOD has warned people, Jeremiah 8:8 that the Scribes were dishonest. No one questions it, [because they don't know how] and [most are afraid to go against the Catholic Church.]

If you notice that when Christ healed it was based on the faith the person had. Example is when Christ healed a blind man and Christ asked him what do you see. The blind man says he can see people, but they look like trees. Christ placed his hands over the man's eyes again, and with more intent his sight was clear. Mark 8:23-24 [I paraphrased the Scriptures, you can read them for yourself]

GOD Bless

There is Hope coming... Soon GOD will rise and let the world know HE is alive, and clean out the evil within the church, and bring it back to purity. Be patient....

People have different beliefs. If you are an atheist then you believe that everything comes about due to a logical and explainable cause. If you are Christian, you believe that everything is the product of intelligent design.

The 'Why doesn't God stop suffering' argument is flawed.

Much of the suffering in the world today is a direct consequence of personal human choices. The person who injures himself in a car accident because he was over the legal limit has to suffer the consequences of his own choices. So does the person who chooses to fiddle the books in their business and then gets caught. God has not made us immune from the consequences of our own choices.

Evil and suffering made their appearance when the first humans, Adam and Eve, chose to disobey God. In a garden of every imaginable delight, they ate the one and only piece of fruit that God had told them not to. That was the first human sin. Since that time, the world has seen a lot of pain and suffering, but it was never God's preferred option. Natural disasters are all part of the suffering caused by sin.

Sure, God could have removed the option of choosing to disobey him, but he wanted people who chose to love him. Love is never forced. And so, God put in place a plan to rescue humans from their own self-destructive ways.

You ask for 'why does God allow suffering' so God does have to exist for a logical conclusion to be found. And the best evidence including God has to be when Adam and Eve ate from the tree.

I am Christian, but I dislike God-botherers. They can have an opinion, but it should not be that they force an opinion onto another. Same with some Atheists. They can have an opinion, but they shouldn't disregard another person's (a Christian's) opinion because they do not agree. People should be allowed to believe what they want.

Yes, there are many religions, but religion is only man's attempt to know God, usually trying to please him through good deeds. But to really know the real God, you must have a relationship with Him, in which by faith you choose to love Him and accept His forgiveness for all your sins. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, sin became a curse on the whole human race. The result of that sin was all the sickness and death and suffering we know on the earth. What we endure here on earth does not compare with the beautiful eternity He has prepared for those who love Him. The choice is yours.

As for Jesus not walking on the water....I've been to the Sea of Galilee. There are no 'high' spots. It is a very deep lake, not a river. Although the Bible has been translated from the original languages many times, we still have the original in Hebrew and Greek. That is what ministers study in seminary. Jesus was God and proved it in many ways, the most important being that He was resurrected from the dead. He is ALIVE! That is very important because all other religions have dead gods. He is the great creator...and therefore is not the creation...such as a sun god or moon god etc. God still does miracles for those who believe. I have been healed and I have felt His touch in my life. I should have died last year from cancer, but I beat the odds because of prayer. It takes faith to believe in God, not facts. It is worth taking the time to get to know God and realize He does care about you and even the smallest things in your life. If you want to know more, call this free help line....1-888-NEED HIM

I know the sun will rise and set, and I know God exists, because God is in me and part of me like the breath in my lungs and the blood in my veins. There is no belief for me, there is knowing; like knowing my own name is not something I need to merely believe in.

The minority of people in the world do not possess the capacity to sense God within them; like a colourblind man doesn't have the capacity to sense colours - it does not mean that colours don't exist.

Most people with the capacity to sense God haven't been able yet to open themselves inwardly to allow God to connect with them. This is why they are misguided by manmade religions. Most people try very hard to connect with God, but not everyone manages it.

While I assume this question is less of an actual question and more of an expression of frustration, I'll still answer.

People believe in God because it is easy, and it is how they were raised. It is extremely easy to be given all of the answers as a child rather than searching for them as an adult, and religion does exactly that for a lot of people. Most Christians are not looking for facts or proof, they're looking for an explanation that is both socially acceptable and good enough for comfortable living. They get that through God.

IMO humans have continued to believe in a god or gods for these main reasons...

1. Man does not know everything about the universe. So what does he do? He invents an answer. If we don't know why something happens, it's because God did it.

ALSO

2. If someone is brought up as a theist, it's difficult for them to (for lack of better words) "comprehend" atheism. It's a vicious cycle. Because everyone else believes, you can't imagine not believing. Here's an example...pretend your parents and most everyone in your close-knit community believes in leprechauns. As a young child, you are very impressionable and simply go on believing what everyone else believes. If one day you meet opposition, you don't understand why they don't believe the same thing as you. Sorry if this doesn't make any sense. The second concept is much more difficult for me to explain.

*edit* Anon manages to sum this up way better than I did.

There is only ONE God... and I really DON'T CARE that you don't believe, it's your loss.

It's people who refuse to accept God that are doomed, not people who've never heard of Him.

By the way, your spelling is crap.

belive.. believe

surley...surely

dont... don't

is...us

ect...etc

childeren...children

acually ...actually

likey... likely

exagurated... exaggerated

miss-understanding... misunderstanding

thigs.. things

immagine... imagine

though...thought

peadophilia... paedophilia.

What was that about there being a link between religion/non-religion and intelligence???

You are right, there are many different beliefs and they all claim something different.

I have a passing knowledge of many religions, but only one struck a chord with me, and that is biblical Christianity. I just believe what Jesus said.

I've studied the bible for about 16 years so it isn't just a blind faith either. It's a reasoned, studied faith.

By the way, to answer one of your questions, before Jesus came believers went to Abraham's bosom, a holding place for those who believed in the one true God. As now, all those who die not knowing God go to hell. Forever.

I love the way you know exactly where Jesus walked on water, and the topography. But wasn't it a lake not a river??????

What you think you know, is perhaps not worth a dime.

All that happens with or without God.

I look at all the beauty around me and the good folks that inhabit this world and I remember the answered prayer that saved my brother and my two son's from death and I think to myself, what a wonderful world God has given us.