Why should I believe in god

God: The concept

It is perhaps one of the most difficult concepts to explain as there are so many religions and so many theologies out there which define the concept of god in ever so varying ways. However, taking into account the common factors in most major religions, spiritualties and theologies, god can be explained as the divine creator who is omnipotent in every way and plays a part in all that ever happens in the cosmos.

According to monotheistic religions like Christianity, Islam and Judaism, there is only one god and he is responsible for all creation as well as destruction. He is the immaterial, omnipresent, all-knowing, all-powerful, perfectly good, perfectly simple, immortal existence. Polytheistic religions like Hinduism, paganism or Roman polytheism however, define it in a different way.

Polytheism is the belief in and the worship of multiple deities or gods and goddesses with varying roles, powers, attributes, characters, personalities and responsibilities. There might be a hierarchy present among these religions that divide the deities in ranks according to their powers and roles. The gods and goddesses are explained in polytheistic theologies as being quite similar to human beings in most ways, but just with more divine and supernatural associations.

Why believe?

The concept of god is not a scientific concept and thus there is no actual, logical reasoning to back up such a belief. It can also be confusing to someone who knows the doctrine of more than just one religion as they can indeed at times contradict each other in their definitions of the divine. Nonetheless, belief in god is considered to be above the boundaries of science and appeals to the spiritual sides of our persona. Faith in god is not supposed to be explained, defined or properly understood by the believers but it is supposed to be believed in with faith alone.

It cannot be denied that the nature of such blind faith can at times be misled into bad actions, especially by those among us who are cunning enough to use that faith to their advantage. Theologies of strict religious dogmas can and have given birth to dangerous outcomes in more than just one incident around the world. It is for that reason, the consequent effects of believing in god relies heavily on the interpretation of the concept, rather than the theology itself.

There are however, positive points of believing in god as well; even if we forego the debate about existence of god. Belief in god gives people faith and faith gives people strength to go on. If people felt that there was no one high up to judge their hidden sins, then they might have a tendency to be less moral than they would otherwise be. During tough times, studies have shown that people with faith in god are more resistant to breakdowns and thus are more equipped psychologically to counter the adversities of life. At times, if you can really believe that there is someone up there looking out for you even in your darkest hour, then you just might have the strength to pull through that hour.