WHY?? (extra "?" to make the title long enough for the forum software)

It's a simple question: if you believe in God, WHY?

The way I was brought up, and I suspect this is true of most people, there were a bunch of things no one questioned. The country's legends (passed off as history) and the religious legends (whichever religion you happen to be raised into) were the most prominent.

Even so, in the case of religion, I kept finding things which bothered me. Wasn't God cruel for drowning everyone on Earth in the flood? Of course that's just a story, but still. And other things, like a bloodthirsty Jehovah killing untold Egyptian boys. As I grew up, I began to question other aspects, like the commandment not to have other gods. What other gods? There weren't supposed to be any others.

I knew of the Greek and Roman gods, naturally. But these were dismissed as "mythology." It was fine to have them in movies, the same way you could have the Force in Star Wars or Warp Drive in Star Trek. All in good fun, but never taken seriously.

That's fine, but what makes the common god so many people believe in any different? The Bible and the Koran? There are many books with gods in them, from many different civilizations. The claims of miracles? Again, as many claims of as many miracles from as many peoples. Evidence? There's no evidence for any of them. The number of believers? The truth is not a popularity contest, and at one time all the other gods boasted the belief of as big a share of the population as Jehovah does today.

If there is no logical reason (and there isn't), then there must be an emotional one, or if you prefer a psychological one. I just can't see what it could be. I hear people speak of comfort in their belief. I don't see how. I've heard people derive comfort from superstition, too. Or more like a feeling they have a hand in random events, or a way to influence them at least. But there is no such influence.

I'm not looking to be convinced, nor to find a reason to "believe." I'm perfectly fine as I am. But I am curious how such a patently false idea can draw in so many people. All the more so since they have no trouble dismissing similarly false ideas without a second thought (the Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Aztec, Maya, etc. deities). Not that religion is the only such idea, of course.

Sometimes you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
Jerry Garcia was God :-)
A guitar god.

Quote: Nareed

It's a simple question: if you believe in God, WHY?

Simple. People are notoriously spiritually
lazy. It takes no effort to believe what
your told about your religion, all the heavy
lifting has been done for you. So you go
along with it as it's the easiest path to
follow. 25% of Christians say they believe
in reincarnation, which totally goes against
their religion. Most of them don't know
that, and wouldn't care if they did know.
Spiritual laziness.

we all have to believe in something: I believe I'll have another beer.
Is simple on a tee shirt.
real life is only a little more complex. some people like something a bit more than the empty glass though.

Ah, now this makes some sense:

http://www.livescience.com/52364-origins-supernatural-relgious-beliefs.html

I like the "agency" theory. It explains much, or it fist much at any rate (the dice are "due"! not the least). And I've noticed this type of "cognitive faculty" in me, and in others. The thing is to recognize it for what it is, and know that it's no longer useful.