Ask HN: When and why did you start believing in God? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: When and why did you start believing in God?

#61

Post by qsera » Thu, May 28, 2026, 6:51 AM UTC

perilunar wrote: post #37

alonsovm44 wrote: post #7

For me it was that the implications of atheistic materialism contradicted basic empiric knowledge. Atheistic materialism is an onthologic monism, the ultimate implication of it is that nothing can be defined since everything is a continuum. yet we can discriminate concrete objects and things. No essence can be defined in Mat-Ath, When I was an atheist I argued that the essence of things can be defined in their compos…

> atheists have no explaination for ... So? Better to not be able to explain something, than a glib "god did it". > atheists have no answer other than "thats just how the universe works, period" I've never heard an atheist say anything like this. Or a physicist. They're more likely to say "that's how it appears to be. We don't know why. It's a bit of a mystery."

> Better to not be able to explain something, than a glib "god did it".

There is some theory that true randomness can be explained by some hidden behavior not yet known to man. Some local hidden variables not existing or something...

So in that case, yes, god did it. Or that is what God is, and by definition can be supernatural...

Re: Ask HN: When and why did you start believing in God?

#62

Post by p0d » Thu, May 28, 2026, 7:41 AM UTC

Lecturer in Cybersecurity. I started to believe in God in my late teens, 40 years ago. I was at a party and a friend told me he had become a Christian. As I slept on a sofa in the party house I prayed, “Jesus, if you are out there, will you come into my life”.

Christian belief tends to follow by being told about God through colleagues, friends and family. Becoming a follower follows study of the Scriptures and disciplines such as prayer.

Some HNers may see belief as less intelligent. At 54 I can guarantee there are men and woman out there more intelligent than yourself who believe in God. My most intelligent, unbelieving Professor friend, would agree with me on this point.

Re: Ask HN: When and why did you start believing in God?

#63

Post by mrkeen » Thu, May 28, 2026, 9:04 AM UTC

murm wrote: post #52

I ate mushrooms 10 years ago and it made me realize how little humans really know about existence, despite how confidently some people assert that there's no god. I didn't directly communicate with god or anything, but in some way the experience broadened my mind to be less dismissive about the idea of a higher power.

The fact that the brain can trip should be taken as evidence that, when the supernatural happens, a better explanation is someone's brain is tripping, and the supernatural isn't actually happening.

Re: Ask HN: When and why did you start believing in God?

#64

Post by mrkeen » Thu, May 28, 2026, 9:24 AM UTC

keiferski wrote: post #49

Don't know if I believe in God in the typical sense of the word (specifically the traditional idea of omnipotence), but I do think it's quite logical to assume there is some form of higher power. The idea that human beings are the end-all to reality, the highest form of consciousness and most powerful being, just seems hopelessly self-centered to me. When did this happen? Probably in college when I studied philosophy…

Arrogance, self-centeredness, "militancy" (laughable when applied to elderly armchair thinkers who call for no-one's death) are all criticisms of humans and have nothing to do with objective reality.

But while we're looking at it,

> The idea that human beings are the end-all to reality, the highest form of consciousness and most powerful being, just seems hopelessly self-centered to me

It is hopelessly self-centered to claim that they were made in God's image.

It is hopelessly self-centered to claim that He made the world just for us, and put us above all animals.

It is hopelessly self-centered to literally centre the Earth, and have the Sun rotate around us.

The atheist position is that there's nothing special about us. We're a growth on a wet rock that's nowhere in particular in space. We lucked out with opposable thumbs and language and have been burning through our resources ever since. No intervening supernatural third party is coming to rescue us.

Re: Ask HN: When and why did you start believing in God?

#65

Post by mrkeen » Thu, May 28, 2026, 9:32 AM UTC

b0rtb0rt wrote: post #41

beams_of_light wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don’t know, but religions created to reign in the masses probably don’t explain it. There were many religions before the Abrahamic ones.

how does religion being wrong disprove the existence of god?

Will concede that, if you can get from "there is no proof of not-god" to supporting any claim about the nature of reality according to faith or scripture.

Re: Ask HN: When and why did you start believing in God?

#66

Post by grugdev42 » Thu, May 28, 2026, 9:32 AM UTC

qsera wrote: post #57

grugdev42 wrote: post #42

I don't subscribe to God. Humans have been inventing gods since the beginning of time as a way to control/exploit the masses or soothe the over active mind. There are thousands of dead religions, but this round of current popular religions has hit the nail on the head... right? A truly powerful and kind super being would not allow child abuse, cancer, famine, or rape to happen. Even if there is a god, I don't want to…

> super being would not allow.. The god does not need to have a concept of human suffering. Just like gravity does not know how it feels to be crushed under a big rock that just fell on you.

> The god does not need to have a concept of human suffering

It does if it wants me to devote my life to worshipping it.

Re: Ask HN: When and why did you start believing in God?

#67

Post by dcminter » Thu, May 28, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC

Nicholas_C wrote: post #55

grugdev42 wrote: post #42

I don't subscribe to God. Humans have been inventing gods since the beginning of time as a way to control/exploit the masses or soothe the over active mind. There are thousands of dead religions, but this round of current popular religions has hit the nail on the head... right? A truly powerful and kind super being would not allow child abuse, cancer, famine, or rape to happen. Even if there is a god, I don't want to…

Q: How can you tell if someone is an atheist? A: Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.

I do see, mostly from Americans, self introductions of the form "I'm so and so... and I love Jesus" in contexts that have nothing to do with religion. I've never had anyone bring up their atheism or agnosticism in that way in a non-religious context.

Re: Ask HN: When and why did you start believing in God?

#68

Post by dcminter » Thu, May 28, 2026, 10:39 AM UTC

b0rtb0rt wrote: post #36

adamredwoods wrote: post #22

There is absolutely no god(s). It is a false fabrication of the human mind.

what created the universe?

Why is "God did it" a better answer than "it just happened" ? If you prefer the "God did it" you then have to account for where God came from and end up with a set of answers that could just as easily be applied to the universe itself. Believe what you want, but this isn't some kind of gotcha.

Re: Ask HN: When and why did you start believing in God?

#69

Post by aristofun » Thu, May 28, 2026, 10:42 AM UTC

mrkeen wrote: post #64

keiferski wrote: post #49

Don't know if I believe in God in the typical sense of the word (specifically the traditional idea of omnipotence), but I do think it's quite logical to assume there is some form of higher power. The idea that human beings are the end-all to reality, the highest form of consciousness and most powerful being, just seems hopelessly self-centered to me. When did this happen? Probably in college when I studied philosophy…

Arrogance, self-centeredness, "militancy" (laughable when applied to elderly armchair thinkers who call for no-one's death) are all criticisms of humans and have nothing to do with objective reality. But while we're looking at it, > The idea that human beings are the end-all to reality, the highest form of consciousness and most powerful being, just seems hopelessly self-centered to me It is hopelessly self-centered…

> It is hopelessly self-centered to claim that they were made in God's image.

Much less self centered than assume we’re developed from a mud on our own, without any external intervention.

> It is hopelessly self-centered to claim that He made the world just for us, and put us above all animals.

Not a bit more than think that we’re ultimate authority to judge and decide who is above who

> It is hopelessly self-centered to literally centre the Earth, and have the Sun rotate around us.

Geometrically it is an arbitrary choice of the coordinates system. Cosmologically and historically it was only an intermediate view held by many nations regardless of their religious views. Generally, the Earth is a truly unique planey unless found otherwise.

Re: Ask HN: When and why did you start believing in God?

#70

Post by keiferski » Thu, May 28, 2026, 11:50 AM UTC

mrkeen wrote: post #64

keiferski wrote: post #49

Don't know if I believe in God in the typical sense of the word (specifically the traditional idea of omnipotence), but I do think it's quite logical to assume there is some form of higher power. The idea that human beings are the end-all to reality, the highest form of consciousness and most powerful being, just seems hopelessly self-centered to me. When did this happen? Probably in college when I studied philosophy…

Arrogance, self-centeredness, "militancy" (laughable when applied to elderly armchair thinkers who call for no-one's death) are all criticisms of humans and have nothing to do with objective reality. But while we're looking at it, > The idea that human beings are the end-all to reality, the highest form of consciousness and most powerful being, just seems hopelessly self-centered to me It is hopelessly self-centered…

I really don't get the point of comments like this. You didn't engage with anything I wrote in a meaningful way and instead just used the opportunity to blather on about your own opinion. Just like the top voted commenter in this topic, who clearly didn't read the initial question.

Reminder to self: never discuss religion on HN, you won't get any intelligent answers.