Prove that God exists

[Kantor]

Dr.Grass said:
*insight and experience of Buddhism*

I can't disagree with you here. Buddhism and Hinduism make considerably more sense than every theistic religion I've ever come across, and I haven't even read into it as deeply as you have.

From what I know of Hinduism, the gods are not regarded in the same way as the Christian god at all. They are metaphors for natural forces, and any educated person would be able to tell you this, and would find the idea of a literal existence of God absolutely ludicrous. The thought that he (in his infinite benevolence and wisdom) would tell you how to live your life, condemn you to eternity in hell if you disobey him, and forgive you if you slap yourself across the face a few times and give $10 to the church is ridiculous to them, and as completely at odds with Hinduism as it is with common sense.

Meditation certainly has benefits, and I get very annoyed with fellow atheists who tell me not to meditate because atheists shouldn't believe in the supernatural. Firstly, one of the greatest benefits of being an atheist is that you don't have an enormous, corrupt, profit-driven institution breathing down your neck and telling you how to live. Secondly, it helps you to relax and consider your thoughts, to see things in a new light, and indeed, to some extent to achieve enlightenment.

That doesn't seem supernatural to me, any more than consciousness itself is supernatural, but then what does the word "supernatural" actually mean? Were electrons supernatural before we discovered them? Just because science has yet to discover something does not mean that it never will.

I see prayer as a form of meditation, which is why I am not opposed to personal religion. I am opposed to the idea that one man was right about everything (this applies to both Buddha and Jesus, and while we're at it, Abraham and Muhammad and all the rest of them). I am opposed to the fact that the Abrahamic religions have been twisted enormously out of proportion over 2000 years and their teachings don't even come close to resembling what is written in their holy books any more. I am opposed to the idea that there is any way to live so "wrong" that you will be tortured for an eternity, especially when your heinous crime is loving somebody of your own gender, or just not accepting that a man was the son of God without any evidence.

Really, the only reason that Buddhism and Hinduism make so much sense is that they are fundamentally atheistic. There is no real supreme authority. There is no eternal torture and pain. For some reason, those two religions have not been twisted in the way that Christianity and Islam have into their present monstrosities, seen in al-Qaeda and the writings of Anders Breivik. Do the majority of Christians and Muslims believe those things? No. Are their beliefs any closer to the teachings of the Bible? Not really, no.

Please let me know if I am completely off base here. I concede that you are far more knowledgeable about this than I am.