Update: I’ve studied a couple religions and systems of beliefs since I wrote this post and my view now is that a “God” or higher being isn’t really important because we can’t prove or disprove it. No matter what anyone can claim someone will dispute it, so it isn’t something worth spending investigating. What I can spend time doing is being the best person I can be right now. I don’t really care what religion people practises, I care what type of person you are. If your faith has made you into a kind person and someone who is helpful to anyone, that is what is important. The process is important, but the process is such an individual thing we all need to discover.
I never really thought Christianity made sense. I just didn’t really get it and it never caught on with me. I don’t have anything against people who practice it, or think of them differently because you’re entitled to you’re own opinion. But I want to learn why you worship God? What motivates you?
When I was seven, our family didn’t really have the time to go to Church and we just stopped going for the next few years. I didn’t think of it at the time, but my life didn’t dramatically change at all when I stopped praying to God and I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. Maybe God was testing me, but I just didn’t feel the need to pray or go to Church anymore. If God is there and feels I should worship him, don’t you think he would make me feel the desire to do so? That’s basically why I don’t go to Church.
Why I don’t think the bible makes sense is a long topic of discussion. It be could the saying that “God created the world in 6 days.” And counter it with, the Earth wasn’t spinning until it was created, so how would he know it was 6 days? Time also wasn’t even invented… Time is a human creation. So I’m not going to point out anymore of these because you probably have your own take on them (which I’d love to hear in the comments!)
My last question for you as a Christian is, why do you pray/worship to God? What value does it add to your day-to-day life? Be raw and uncut about if you want, I want to hear your perspective.
I apologize in advance if I offended anyone, but I’m just curious to learn more about religion.
Nicholas Montgomery is a 17 year-old technology blogger and entrepreneur in Toronto, Canada. He has been featured on CP24, CTV News, CityTV, and is the "Technology Expert for The Marilyn Denis Show on CTV 
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
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The thing that bothers me is that there's no explanation of how God came to exist. If you ask that question, they'll change the subject since nothing in the bible (or any other religious manuscripts) will explain that.
I like explanations that don't involve magic or faith.
The answer is that God has always existed. That is hard for us to comprehend because everything in our lives has a beginning and an end. Einstein spoke of the time/space continuum and how it can be altered with speed and gravity. Because God created time, he is outside time. Psalm 102:27 says God has no end. God says he is the beginning and the end in Revelation 22:13. This means that he himself is the beginning.
For me this sounds hard to imagine, probably just like anyone because we can't imagine anything with no beginning.
We can imagine something lasting for infinitely, like numbers, which will go on forever. But not always existing. And for me, I don't feel I should believe in something unless I fully understand it.
Another part of religion that bothers me is that most of what people believe is from a single book, the Bible.
And correct if I'm wrong: But wasn't the bible written by humans? Not God or Jesus. And it seems several different variations of stories are told in bible, which confuses me even more.
Why isn't there any writing about dinosaurs or animals existing before humans?
By the way – the commenting system is a 3rd party plugin called IntenseDebate (not the default Wordpress system) and should work in all browsers and systems… I'll try in a few different browsers and write them an email if it doesn't work. Thanks for pointing that out.
It looks like you've come up with a lively topic.
Christians believe that although the Bible was written by men, it was inspired by God. This means that everything written in it is as if it came from God. Some pick and choose what they feel is accurate, but if you do that, why believe anything it says? The accuracy of the current Bible was illustrated when the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered. In it was the book of Isaiah and when compared to the current Bible, it was identical. Nothing had changed through the centuries. This is remarkable being that it has been passed down by humans verbally as well as written on everything from papyrus to ceramics.
You are correct that many of the same stories are recorded in the Bible from different viewpoints- especially in the New Testament. But isn't that normal? What would happen if you and I were given a tour of Google for instance (Just wishful thinking) and we wrote about it? You would write things that you noticed and I would do the same. Each of us would leave something out. You might say, "The president of Google welcomed me in his office and handed me a Starbucks. He then told me to sit down and relax." If I was reporting the same story, I might say, "Nicholas met the president of Google in his office. When he came in, he handed him a cold coffee Frapaccino with whipped cream on top. He then insisted that Nicholas have a seat." Both stories are true and yet they are different.
Basically you have four people in the gospels who give similar accounts of the same stories. You have Luke, who was a doctor, John who was a fisherman, Matthew who was a tax collector, and we don't know what Mark was. In addition, each of them was writing to a different set of people. Because of this, their writing will be quite different as from their point of view.
Dinosaurs
Actually there are a few verses that speak of dinosaurs in the Bible. Keep in mind that the word, dinosaur, is a fairly recent name and would not appear. However, descriptions of dinosaurs would be there. In Job, one dinosaur is called a behemoth. Here is the verse:
"Behold the behemoth, which I made with you; he eats grass as an ox. See now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moves his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron…"
What animal has a tail like a cedar? Certainly not an elephant or a Rhino or Hippo. There is another dinosaur mentioned in the Bible. It's name is Leviathan. Here is the text from Job:
"Can you draw out leviathan with an hook? Who can open the doors of his face? His teeth are terrible round about. His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal. They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered. Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goes smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. His breath kindles coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth. In his neck remains strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him. The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved. His heart is as firm as a stone; yes, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone. When he raises up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves."
Of course they had a word for this animal in early written history- a dragon. What if all those stories of humans slaying dragons were more than fables? What if the name for dinosaurs in early history was dragons? What if there were dinosaurs still living as recently as the 1600's? Most of them perished in the great flood (which is why we see so many fossils of them) but some were brought on board the ark. Did humans hunt them to extinction?
You asked questions that demand much longer answers, but I tried to keep it as brief as possible.
Here is my personal opinion in response to your post.
As to why I pray: This is how I look at it – if someone is a true friend, then you would want to talk to them on a regular basis – to tell them about your day, ask how to handle a situation, or just say thanks for something they did for you. So prayer is my way to stay close to my best friend – God.
Some people only pray in their time of need. But say you needed $50 – who would be more likely to give it to you – someone you never talk to and barely know or someone you talk to on a regular basis and is your best friend?
God does not force you to believe – that's a choice each of us has to make. I do think God speaks to each of us – and wants us to believe. The question is do we chose to listen or not.
My take on mike3k's comment: Just because I do not know the answer yet does not mean God does not exist. Keep in mind that there is also no proven explanation on how everything came to be if God did not create it either – only speculation and theories with a lot of unanswered questions as well. And you can ask the same question about those theories too – where did the first atom/cell/matter or whatever come from?
As for me, when I look at how complex everything is – humans, animals, nature, earth, etc, how everything works together, and how much we still do not understand, I can't help but think that someone with far more knowledge than anyone on Earth created it – and that it all just didn't happen on its own.
To give you something to consider about the day question, because God created the Earth, would He not have known how long a day was going to be?
I'll be the first to admit that I don't know all the answers – and I too have some questions on things in the Bible that I don't understand right now. Could it be that something written that long ago may not be interpreted the same way today – or did it got lost in the translation over time? I don't know but that still does not stop me from believing.
Again, this has been my personal opinion and how I choose to live my life. You have to make your own decisions – and I also do not mean to offend you or anyone that does not believe as I do.
"if someone is a true friend, then you would want to talk to them on a regular basis – to tell them about your day, ask how to handle a situation, or just say thanks for something they did for you. So prayer is my way to stay close to my best friend – God. "
Makes total sense if your dealing with a friend. But God should respect you for who you are and what you've done. He should also be able to forgive for anything.
So if I go to Heaven he should respect me just as much as anyone else whose been praying for their entire life because he treats everyone equally.
Right? To me praying seems pointless because if I'm looking for moral support, I can get that from friends and family.
It doesn't say anywhere in the Bible that praying will get you to heaven. It doesn't say you earn any favors with God in heaven for praying more either. Because all of us have done wrong and are not perfect, God had to provide a way for us to be forgiven because anything not perfect can't be in heaven. He set it up through the ultimate sacrifice- Jesus. So yes, he is able and willing to forgive us for anything. The catch is we have to accept the sacrifice that was given for us to be forgiven.
I'm not quoting the bible, I'm basing my comment off Steve's comment where he explained that someone would be more willing to help you if you develop a relationship with them, rather than just meeting them.
Just wanted to point that out
My personal opinion in regards to god and religion is that if we look at basically every war to date, it has been over religion, god or others beliefs. That's messed up, isn't it?
I agree with you Nich that when I stopped going to church for a similar reason as yours, I didn't feel different nor did anything change.
I believe in one thing, Science. Oh and Apple of course.
- Brandon Anderson
If you think about it though.
I say:
If people love something so much that they will die to support it, it must be worthwhile, but I just don't find it useful in anyway at all.
I don't believe there is any god. However an agnostic (someone who doesn't know if they believe in god or not, undecided) told me that he hopes there is a god, because if there is, then thats awesome. I mean then you'll get another life.
Still, we shouldn't waste our life preparing for another life, if there is another life anyway. Just life it up yourself and if you need support or help, use your own moral support or get a friend/family member.
Actually most wars aren't over religion. The only ones that can be attributed to religion were the Muslim Conquests, the French Wars of Religion, the Crusades, and the Reconquista. The trouble with the Irish protestants and catholics is more related to the attachment of Northern Ireland to either Ireland or the United Kingdom. Certainly religion comes to play, but the Catholics favor unification with Ireland while the Protestants favor unification with the UK.
Let's just look at the wars involving our country. It began with the American Revolution. This war was over taxation and representation for the most part. The Texas Independence war was over land disputes with Mexico, The Civil War was from disagreements over politics, slavery, etc. World War I began after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. World War II was over the desire for world dominance by Hitler. The Korean War was over the desired conquest of South Korea by a communist dictatorship. The Vietnam War was similar in that North Vietnam wanted to conquer South Vietnam. The Persian Gulf War was over the conquest of Kuwait by Sadaam Hussein. The war in Afghanistan was over the protection of terrorists who had destroyed the World Trade Center. The Iraqi war was over George W.'s desire for world dominance (Sorry, I couldn't resist that dig). Not a single war that we've been involved in regarded religion.
If you point to Israel, most of those wars are over their right to exist. There is only one religion on earth that declares war over other religions and that's Islam.
Thank you for your several comments. Lots of conversation was exactly what I was going for when I wrote this post.
I guess I worded what I was trying to say incorrectly. I meant to say that in my opinion, religion kills.
Iraqi War. Suppoerts of al-Qaeda were led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and killed unveiled women, journalists and teachers. Not only that but they set off bombs in Christian churches in Iraq. Also, they shot or killed Christians who sold or made alcohol. Zargawi gave a few reasons in a letter to Osama bin Laden as to why they were caused evil and murderous acts towards fellow Muslims.
Shia death squads would/do wear police uniforms and killing/torturing random members of the Sunni Arab faith.
Another thing I can compare religion to is racism. Buddhists and Muslim Sri Lankans blamed the Christmas celebrations of 2004 for the immediately following the massive tsunami. Jews have lice in their beard and try to get the blood of Christian kids to add flavor to food they eat in passover? Catholics apparently have too many children?
I understand not every single person who is religious is involved in death squads killing people who have any resemblance to another faith, or diss people of other faiths or bomb churches. But it does exist and happen.
(Note: some of what I written is from various books I have read, from BOTH sides. Religious books and non Religious books )
The word 'day' in Hebrew is 'yom' which literally means 'duration of time', although in some instances (and according to the context) it could mean a 24-hour period or even a 365-day period. So the six 'days' in Genesis Chapter 1 is actually six durations of time. Therefore, the Earth could be millions or billions of years old according to how long God desired each 'day' to last.
Also, to 'pray' simply means to 'wish', so it would make sense that a person wouldn't feel any different not praying. The only major difference is that if one doesn't ask (or more rightly, if one doesn't ask in accordance to God's will as indicated in the scriptures), one simply won't receive. If we want to understand how to further the purposes of God, He'll help us understand and the Holy Spirit will guide us. And if we want to instead just live our lives for ourselves and forget about Him, that's a choice we can also make. If some of us just don't desire to have anything to do with Him or with His Son Jesus, that's natural. Some know Him, some will in time, and other won't. In the end, Jesus is the King and we can only hope that His children will do the best they can for Him while they're here on the Earth.
Going to church should be something you do once you have your belief system set up. if you do it the other way around, you end up feeling the way you do- you don't see the sense in it. My family was the same way. We went to church but it was purely for social reasons. My father was the town doctor and that's what a town doctor should do- go to church. We didn't have any belief system in place.
I will address your six days comment. You can read much more about it in detail on http://www.answersingenesis.org/get-answers
God created time when he put the rotation of the earth at 24 hours between the sun rising, setting, and rising again. It says in Genesis 1:5, "God named the light day, and the darkness he named night. There was evening, then morning-the first day." He called that period a day. Once he declared that period, time was set into motion. So in answer to your comment, he set the earth in rotation first and this caused there to be a period of day and night. He called this period a day. Those who say this six day period was longer have to contend with the fact it describes a day as "evening, then morning-the-first day." If it was to mean a longer period of time, wouldn't it have been described differently?
Your last question- why do I pray and worship God? -Because I know he is real and I have seen him answer prayer. He says we should worship him, so I do. I don't feel any different after praying either. If you asked your parents for something, you wouldn't feel different unless they gave you what you asked for- or denied it. The feeling for me comes when a prayer is answered or denied. Sometimes when I pray I don't even ask for anything.
No offense taken, Nicholas. This is what blogs are for, right?
My first thought is that apparently God (the Spirit) is tugging at your life, but I'm not one to push that. I don't pray just to get a yes answer from God. Knowing that He claims to have created the world, and has control over it today, doesn't mean that He's my genie in a bottle. Prayer is much more than getting a quick answer or instant help. Most people that run away from God don't give Him any time, or are unhappy when He doesn't give them the answer they wanted.
I've seen God answer more prayers than I can list, while some might still be unanswered or even confusing. You are respected for touching on this for sure. I admire people who aren't afraid to state where they are, even if they are unsure about their faith, where they came from, where they are going, etc.
It's a proven fact that dinosaurs and humans never coexisted. That's all I have to add.
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