Agnostic

I believe that I am an agnostic because I don't know what to think about religion. When it comes to saying whether I believe in God or not, I feel that I have not yet come to a complete understanding of God's existence. This tends to be a vicious cycle which constantly runs through my head. Ever since I can remember, I was taught by my family and church that this Being does exist, but as I grew older I began to question whether this Almighty Being really does exist.

How can I believe that this Being exists when every day I watch the news and hear about all the tragedy that is happening in the world.

I have been taught by my family and church that God is the creator and supreme ruler of the universe. They also taught me that He has set up certain guidelines or rules which we must obey. These are commonly known as the Ten Commandments. We have been told that if we disobey these Commandments , we will ultimately go to hell. Furthermore, if we follow these Commandments, we will go to heaven and live in peace eternally. We all basically have the same perception of what Heaven and Hell are like. Heaven is commonly thought of as a utopia. A place which is soft, beautiful and peaceful; where there is total peace and harmony. Hell is known as being a prison for evil doers. Hell is supposed to be a dark, hot, and gloomy place with much misery; A person's worst nightmare.

As I have gotten older, I don't believe that God created Commandments or these places. I do believe that the Commandments are a good set of standards and values for everyone to live by. If we as individuals pray and hold God to be the Almighty, how can we explain all of the bloodshed, disease, evil and hatred that exist in this world? If God creates, why would he create murderers, thieves, and rapist? How do we accept the hardships that human beings endure who are dying from diseases such as cancer and aids? Can we really state that there is a God, when so many of the young have died in war?

I have seen far too much evil in this world to be totally sure that there is one almighty being watching over and protecting us. Many people pray to God to keep evil away from those we love, however, in reality, there is no insurance to keep us safe from evil. Isn't it ironic that the one that many people pray to for forgiveness has the power to bring pain into our lives. In my opinion, God is an image for all of us to admire. Everyone wants to be as perfect as the way we perceive God as being. Even if there is no God, this can only make our world better.

I still have not been convinced that everything around me has been created by God. But, if it brings all of us closer and makes the world a much better place, I don't see anything wrong with having it. I believe that each individual should get out of religion what they want, not what society wants them to get out of it.