What are your opinions on this?

[Dizzy_Dreams]

Do you guys think God or an afterlife exists?

When I was in a mental hospital and prayed to God asking him for a sign he was real and that I had a purpose I asked him to give me a sign with animals and the very next day I found a book I had read some years prior about a man that saves animals from an evil circus.

then recently I asked him for a sign that he was real and I was forgiven for my sins I asked him for a sign with mangos I asked him to please give me this sign before the week was up I ended up keeping up a book I had bought but never read I take the slip off and sure enough two Mangos on the cover..

Are theses signs or just coincidences?

I'm still feeling very suicidal

 

[Sensei]

I think these are questions only you can answer.

 

[GenesAndEnvironment]

Animals and fruit? Try asking for something more rare and see if it holds up.

 

[Tortured_empath]

I am not sure. I think it's hard to ever be sure. But I have used God a lot. I also have some shame and guilt to god. That I am not a better fighter for him and that I fall into mindless vices as a cope. Some people here are very atheist, some are very convinced there is an afterlife. I am not sure, but I must understand the finality of death and what it brings. I don't think it's a free ticket to peace or paradise. True peace you have to work for in this realm. As rough as it sounds. When I cry I think about god. To feel his fatherly embrace. Maybe I actually just want to feel a hug from my father. If there is a god I hope he sees us all, and I hope he understands everything. However entangled and shameful it might be.

 

[Life_and_Death]

it could be a coincidence, it could be god. it all depends on who you talk to and what theyre beliefs are.

it seems to me that you are trying to figure out if you believe. everyone has their own opinions on life. have you tried looking within and answering these questions yourself?

 

[WornOutLife]

I think that's a just a coincidence but I cannot confirm it at a 100%.
Similar things have happened to me but just looking at the world around me made me realize that there is probably no "God" at all. Even innocent children die! What kind of God, if any, is out there?

Still, I believe that we might be living in a simulation and once we die, we wake up in the real world and understand the meaning of life, death, etc.

Anyway, this is just my opinion. I really admire people who have faith in a God. I wish I could believe in him/her/it too.

 

[Fehler]

I don't believe, but I do believe in chance. If you prayed to him and that made you feel good and you think there is something else, continue with it.

 

[ashedout]

You might not get an answer you like here. Faith and that journey for you will be an incredibly personal one - only you can decide what those events mean to you. I'd be happy to chat about it via PM if you need a friend right now though

 

[Captive of Mind]

So there is an all powerful, all knowing god that wants to prove to you that it exists, and it decides to direct you toward two books that fit the vague description of ordinary things you asked to be shown to you. If it wants you to know it exists, then why wouldn't it do something that would remove any doubt as to whether it exists or not, like it did for people in Ancient times. And the only way to give everyone an equal chance at salvation is to give divine revelation to everyone who sincerely asks for it. Some people beg for decades and never receive anything.

You could say that if it removes all doubt from people's minds as to whether it exists, then that would interfere with our free will to worship it, but this is not true. Once everyone knows it exists and are able to prove it as much as the Laws of the Universe, we could still choose not to worship it. Satan and the fallen angels had no doubt that god existed but still chose not to worship it.

Instead, all religion is based on "faith", which essentially means believing something without good evidence. Because if you have good evidence, there is no need for faith. Isn't it a little strange to you that the fate of our eternal afterlife depends on whether we accept a particular god without knowing for sure if they exist or not? If you choose the wrong god, it's too bad for you..

 

[262653]

If you choose the wrong god, it's too bad for you..

I'd rather not put much into stock gods and make one myself instead.

 

[Captive of Mind]

I'd rather not put much into stock gods and make one myself instead.

This will have far less problems than you'd face by following a Holy Book, but it still has some drawbacks.

Honestly though, if you have the ability to convince yourself of a benevolent god's presence in your life without religion, and you believe it will help you and grant you an afterlife, then this will provide huge benefits for you. Especially when it comes to finding meaning or purpose to things and always having that invisible, all powerful friend with you. It's easier to want to stay alive when you have this.

 

[Mentalmick]

I thought I met god once in the hospital, turns out it was a seagull.

 

[FreeAngel]

I believe that when I get to the other side I will see my best friend again who died in 2019 as a result of her suicide attempt

 

[262653]

This will have far less problems than you'd face by following a Holy Book, but it still has some drawbacks.

Honestly though, if you have the ability to convince yourself of a benevolent god's presence in your life without religion, and you believe it will help you and grant you an afterlife, then this will provide huge benefits for you. Especially when it comes to finding meaning or purpose to things and always having that invisible, all powerful friend with you. It's easier to want to stay alive when you have this.

I used to believe that in the Christian hell there was the place in a cauldron reserved just for me. I'd say that I consider myself an agnostic but it doesn't really contradicts with having faith since one can believe in extramundane entities without knowing if they actually exist (or existed, or will exist). I can say with certainty that Christian hell is worse than my current convictions about gods, which in turn have plenty of rooms for improvement (optimization towards the quality of life).

It's probably easier to off myself too, knowing that my journey will carry on.

I do find issues with believing something that doesn't appear to be plausible or consistent with my current worldview, even if I'm sure it's going to make me feel better off. Which is strange, because aren't good feelings more important than truth?

It sounds intuitively right to me that believing in what seems to be true is standard and normal. And the next level for sentient beings is to be able to discard the convictions that compromise one's own survival and/or well-being. Or so I'd like to think...

 

[CatabolicSeed]

I'm Jewish and agnostic (more culturally Jewish than religiously Jewish). Not sure about God, but definitely don't believe in an afterlife (Judaism leaves it vague on if there is an afterlife or not, so my lack of belief in an afterlife is completely compatible with my religion)

 

[Captive of Mind]

I used to believe that in the Christian hell there was the place in a cauldron reserved just for me. I'd say that I consider myself an agnostic but it doesn't really contradicts with having faith since one can believe in extramundane entities without knowing if they actually exist (or existed, or will exist). I can say with certainty that Christian hell is worse than my current convictions about gods, which in turn have plenty of rooms for improvement (optimization towards the quality of life).

At this point, every person on earth is by definition agnostic. Agnosticism deals with if you know there is a god or not and atheism deals with if you believe there is a god or not. Theists have faith that there is a god, that is different from knowing. The only honest thing for both theists and atheists to do is say we don't know. It's an unfalsifiable proposition. It's like saying, no one can prove to me that I don't have an immaterial being in my room that is controlling each neural synapse in my brain, but that doesn't mean it's true.

I do find issues with believing something that doesn't appear to be plausible or consistent with my current worldview, even if I'm sure it's going to make me feel better off. Which is strange, because aren't good feelings more important than truth?

It sounds intuitively right to me that believing in what seems to be true is standard and normal. And the next level for sentient beings is to be able to discard the convictions that compromise one's own survival and/or well-being. Or so I'd like to think...

I value truth more than anything, but you're right that it might be more difficult to accept some truths than believe a lie.

Belief isn't a choice. Either you are convinced of something and thus begin to believe it or you aren't. If I believe that the earth is flat and then I go into space and see that it is a globe, I would have no choice but to stop believing the earth is flat. You can't chose when you are convinced of something. If you are presented sufficient evidence, a rational brain will be forced to believe the most logical outcome. Given that god is unfalsifiable, there is no equivalent to the analogy of going into space to find out the earth is a globe.