Is there a god?

I have often wondered about faith and religion in great detail. Is there really a god? I know that religion calls for faith, but there are some issues that I have always dealt with. I am an educated person and have a hard time believing something just because someone says that it is so.

I should start out by stating that I am more of an agnostic. As I am not sure if there is a god or not, as there is not enough proof for me. I respect a persons right to believe in whatever they like. As a child I attended many different churches of many different religions and did not like what I saw. There were scare tactics and bribery to manipulate the children. It was not for me.

If there is a god, who created this god? And if someone created this god who created that creator and so on? If god just happened to be, then why couldn't we as people and animals of just happened to be.

I have always wondered if perhaps in the infinite randomness that is supposed to be space, maybe there becomes order and things like humans become possible.

What about evolution? I have never gotten why so many religions are against the theory of evolution. To me it makes sense. Perhaps if there is a god he planned for evolution.

If there is a god why are there so many different religions? Mathmatically some of these religions must be wrong in their beliefs. As an outsider it appears to me that religion is a good thing and a bad thing.

I feel that the purpose of religion was originally meant to help create a sense of moral standards and give individuals something to live for. Basically a rule book on how to live per say. It also appears that a lot of religions at one time or another have been used to control large masses of people almost to the point of brainwashing. To me this is when it starts becoming a bad thing. Especially when religions are pitted against eachother as some are today. A lot of our world issues that we are having stem from different religions which is silly.

Another things that bothers me about some religions is the bigotry that exists. I don't believe we are here to judge one another in that way. As an agnostic I try to take the middle road and use bits and pieces of a lot of the worlds religions as a guide book. I believe in being a good person. I don't lie, steal, etc. I try to live as some christians do in many ways. I do not feel that going to church or any organized religious gathering is necessary and can be a tool of manipulation. Where I live the preachers in churches have so much money from members it is not even funny. I feel that a lot of this money could be spent on better things instead of a corvette for a preacher or upgrading his house. It just seems like organized religion has become big business and has become something it was not intended to be. If I were to ever "see the light" I would probably go for a simpler religion.

If people are given religious rights then why do they treat all religions differently? For example I went to a public school and there was a christian club that would meet for lunch in a classroom in highschool. They were even allowed to hold prayer at the flag pole sometimes. Do you really think that they would let an athiest club or devil worshipper club get together in a public school? I believe they should all be given equal rights if you are going to let one, let them all.

I hate to say it, but it seems that there is a large handful of religions have a closed minded, holier than though attitude that really turns me off. It really bothers me that some religious people go around judging everyone and pushing their beliefs on everyone.

It is not my intention to point any fingers at any particular religion, as these comments relate to them as a whole. I have thrown these thoughts out to possibly stimulate some conversation.

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