If God existed and "designed us to love and have fellowship with him and all of mankind", would you wish to believe in him?

Well, you’ve summed up my belief in God for the most part.
So i guess the answer is yes.

Yep!

Sure, if he existed. But believing why he designed us is not enough of a reason to believe in his existence.

If God existed, I would believe in God. But describing why he created us doesn’t make him exist, so it doesn’t have much impact on my rational decision of whether to believe in God.

Why not? Isn’t love supposed to make that world go around? I’m sure I’ve heard that somewhere before.

Um, @Mamradpivo, wouldn’t an entity have to exist in order to design something? This isn’t an argument, exactly: I’m not campaigning for people to believe in God. Just a puzzled examination of logic.

@susanc: I’d so much rather learn how you make a perfect poached egg. Then I might be able to move on to the next step.

Isn’t that one of the tenets already? That hasn’t really worked out.

@susanc
I think that @Mamradpivo is saying that since your question asks “If God existed…”, etc., then in that hypothetical situation it would no longer be a matter of belief, but rather of deciding whether or not to go along with God’s vision of love. That decision would seem to be a no-brainer.

But since as things stand the whole matter of God’s existence is in doubt, that compelling vision of a loving God may just be a fiction. Then the question becomes one of faith: am I willing to base my life on a version of reality that I can’t verify intellectually?

There are certainly worse way to spend one’s life than in service to the ideal of universal love. I personally don’t believe that one necessarily has to posit a God to make that work, but hey, if that makes a difference for some folks, then I’ll not argue. The unfortunate truth , of course, is that few people share this purely benign vision of God.

@Harp – 5 to 7 million Baha’i s worldwide and growing : P
but i agree, very few proportionally

@gailcalled- You ask for too much. Not even God knows how to do that.

I know; all those frilly egg white tendrils; rather like a Dr. J in the saucepan.

@fireside I’d agree that a world full of Baha’i s would be an upgrade from the status quo.

If God existed and designed us to love and have fellowship with him and all of mankind, I would have to ask what kind of god with that kind of blueprint could have done so very poorly in the execution phase.

That’s the problem with making other people do work.
It’s never as good as if you had done it yourself.

@Jeruba: He gave us the ability to do that, but the freedom to choose not to.

(Probably needless to say, but my answer to the original question is yes.)

What you said about God is quite true. Its time people should test and see that God is good!

I’m still looking for that perfect hard boiled egg recipe, and the perfect hot sauce. Should I find them both at the same time, I am going to have a feast!

@gailcalled: the secret to perfect poached eggs is a gadget called an egg poacher.

I tried for years. The gadget makes it trivial.

I have the perfect hard boiled egg method for you EPZ, but no hot sauce.

If I were to believe in God, that’s the only kind of God it would be.

I am a god.

@jeruba Yes, things have gone horribly awry. Just as cwilbur said, my belief, as well as others i suppose, is that God gave us free choice because he loves us. He doesn’t want to be the “tyrant king” that rules everyone and makes them believe and follow him “or else”

All the horrible things that happen on Earth are a result of sin/original sin.

I think I have my personal answer.
Thus:
the kindly though freedom-respecting God described by TheDeadWake has provided us with a certainability to nourish and care for each other; here’s an example:

_Okay, gail. Here you go…
Use an 8” to 10” skillet filled nearly to the rim with water
Add 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar and 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil.
Crack each egg into a cup (to pour into the water).
Simultaneously lower lips of cups to the water and tip eggs into the boiling water.
Cover skillet and remove from heat.
Cook until medium firm (4 minutes). Add 1/2 minute for firmer finish or larger egg. Subtract 1 minute for softer or medium-sized egg.
Use a slotted spoon to lift and drain each egg. For extra drying, blot with paper towel.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Using a skillet allows the egg to hit bottom faster, giving it a better shape. The vinegar lowers the pH, which allows the water to boil and the egg to cook at a lower temperature. The salt is more or less a necessary ingredient for flavor. Removing from heat keeps the egg from feathering due to the action of the boil. Taken from Cook Illustrated Best Recipe Cookbook._

This is Kevbo under the “perfect poached egg” thread.

As further proof of God’s benevolence, I just broke 7000.

Why do we need God as an excuse to love one another? Seriously, can’t we eliminate the middle man and quit being dicks?

lol, we’re the middle men that keep screwing it up.
God is Love.