I know HN hates religion, but after being an atheist all my life, and graduating with a STEM degree (the 'S' part) from a top tier institution, I've started in the last year or so to turn to the church (Roman Catholic) and theism, both to find answers to some of life's mysteries, such as the origin of the Universe, and for personal reasons (I plan to start my initiation, starting with a baptism, within the next year or so) I have no evidence that God is real, yet I have faith in him. The idea that God created the universe is more satisfying to me than any scientific theory, and it isn't incompatible with the simulation hypothesis, or the idea that the Universe was created by a higher-level construct.
Edit: To reply to a commenter below, since I'm "posting too fast" according to HN.
> However, I fail to see how you settled on Catholicism to give you the answers you're looking for. [...] And if not, why pick Catholicism over any other major religion?
Fair question. I come from a Roman Catholic cultural background, even though I wasn't raised in a religious household, so the church is where I feel most at home.
> Do you really believe all the stories in the bible actually happened?
No, I don't. I regard the Bible more as a work of literature and a source of spiritual and personal inspiration than a history of events.
> And if this God does exist and wants us to worship him, why doesn't he make that more obvious, and why does he allow children to be raped and worshippers to be gunned down in his own Church?
My view is that God does not want us to worship him. God loves all his children regardless.
Evil exists in the world. It shouldn't, and we should do our best to rid ourselves of it. I'll have more answers when I go through my initiation.
Edit: To reply to a commenter below, since I'm "posting too fast" according to HN.
> However, I fail to see how you settled on Catholicism to give you the answers you're looking for. [...] And if not, why pick Catholicism over any other major religion?
Fair question. I come from a Roman Catholic cultural background, even though I wasn't raised in a religious household, so the church is where I feel most at home.
> Do you really believe all the stories in the bible actually happened?
No, I don't. I regard the Bible more as a work of literature and a source of spiritual and personal inspiration than a history of events.
> And if this God does exist and wants us to worship him, why doesn't he make that more obvious, and why does he allow children to be raped and worshippers to be gunned down in his own Church?
My view is that God does not want us to worship him. God loves all his children regardless.
Evil exists in the world. It shouldn't, and we should do our best to rid ourselves of it. I'll have more answers when I go through my initiation.