Do you believe; and why?

[Lucidus]

(05-08-2019, 03:09 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: My main reasoning behind my belief is the Law of Conservation of Mass. If mass cannot be created or destroyed, then where did the universe come from? Logic would tell me that the world must have been created by a being or phenomenon not of this universe.

Now, I don't put a whole lot of stake in my faith, as I personally have major issues with the establishment of Religion (as in, the people who run Religious organizations), as I feel they are often corrupt or abusive in their use of faith and the control it has over a large portion of people. So I don't know if I could have a full debate on the subject of my faith beyond that one law of physics.

And, as for what religion I associate myself with, it is 99% what I was raised believing in. Again, I don't put too much stake in my association with Christianity outside of my accepted belief that it is a based on a book of stories that may or may not have happened that are meant to teach moral lessons to a species that, without guidance and a social structure with certain expectations, are prone to self preservation and survival of the fittest over any kind of healthy societal environment.

Thank you for the response. 

When we ask the question, "where did the universe come from" -- could it not be the case that the most reasonable answer, at least at this point tin time, be that we don't know. We have some very good naturalistic models -- with the Big Bang being the most prominent -- but in truth, none of us knows for sure. Perhaps our universe has always been. Perhaps it's a result of another universe or multi-verse. There are many ideas, explanations and theories, but in truth, the most honest seems to still be "we simply do not know." 

As to the bold, it would seem to me that we are still extremely prone to that, even with religious guidance. I think it could be fairly argued that religious doctrine has even contributed and escalated it in far too many situations.