In contradiction to what some people have said in reply to this....

If there were no suffering, there would be nothing to overcome. Thus, struggle would be obsolete.
If a happy life is defined by the process of overcoming adversity, then a good life itself is made relevant by adversity itself, which seems contradictory to me.

If we had a choice, would we choose adversity with the option of overcoming it...
Or unadulterated non-conflict?

I guess that's where you begin separating human values.
I just don't think it takes a negative to equal a positive. That's all.

Exactly. Looking at what most people view as "God," re-enforce why what most people worship is not an all-powerful being, but a man-made icon. Why would God be in the basic sense, an all-powerful, judgemental male with powers to govern the universe? God could exist, or not, I really think it depends on the individual. People always ask the question "Does God exist?" Well, what is your definition of God? Is he a giant white male that gave you that salary raise? Or is God something that is defined by the individual. You could be God, I could be God, the universe could be God, the forces that govern the universe could be God. At a certain point, I just stopped caring. Watch, somebody is going to mathematically prove that in the exact cent of the universe in the 1002.32th purple eagle dimension, a large cube-like object exist that emits a high-pitched ringing sound and is every single color at the same time except white and spews out everything that has existed, is existing and will exist out of its space-pores. Then somebody is going to call this space-cube thing "God," and everybody is going to be worshiping the space cube.

Kinda' like makes you a prophet doesn't it? People will worship you! I guess i don't see cube worship going over too well.

Well, it would be better then the current human-like gods that have views on everything. I mean, imagine a cube worshipper.
"So you worship a space cube?"
"Yeah!"
"So, what does that mean?"
"Well, I take a few minutes each day to worship the space cube each morning, then I continue my life no differently then I normally would. I also thank the space cube every time something good happens to me."

The only time it would become a dangerous or harmful belief is if somebody decided that the space cube has views, opinions, desires, ect. Which would of course probably happen, somebody is going to speak for the space cube and make everybody think that eating makes the space cube shed acidic tears of sorrow which slowly begins to melt the universe.

Too much time alone in the sandbox?

You are taking my comment literally. I am basically saying why can't the idea of god be used and distorted in order to actually better our lives. I am not for seeing "spiritual truth" or any of that bull****. I am just saying if there is a practical reason to believe in God, how can we retain the benefit without giving up the freedom and such we have with the beliefs of atheism?

I would strongly recommend reading Kant, since he acknowledges that pure reason cannot prove the existence of God, but that through hope we can assume his existence and allow it to guide us in our quest for moral perfection. I'm one of those people who thinks Kant is half brilliant half asinine, and that Hegel brings his ideas to their true conclusion. Still, there are plenty of contemporary Kantians, and I think Kant's political ideas are pretty solid and ridiculously ahead of their time.

You're looking to distort something you created to make it better for you?

I'm not trying to be an ass, but what are you suggesting here?

I am not really suggesting anything. Just asking a question. I am asking whether believing in god has any positives. If they are truly positives that can better our existence and cannot be found anywhere else, then how can we implement those into a made-up religion in order to benefit us.

Any specific books? I have been meaning to read Critique of Pure Reason, but I would instantly push that aside if he has better.

Critique of Pure Reason is a pretty heavy undertaking, I might suggest Religion Within the Bounds of Bare Reason, Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics and Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals as good, short introductions, and then you can always delve into the critiques if you really feel the need to go deeper.

one that isn't made in our image.

I think thats Buddhism.

Like a goat maybe?

Buddhism believes in selflessness.

I'm smashing my head against the desk here.

Its also positives. Or are you saying we need a religion that tells us to plunder and take for ourselves, because the Church of Satan has taken those virtues.

You fall under the category of people who look at selfishness only in its extreme forms, which aren't even truly selfishness. Plundering villages won't make one happy. What would make one happy would be working in that village and eventually owning all the businesses there. See the difference. Work makes one happy. (Also, do not take the scenarios literally. I am not implying that being a rich business man is the only way to be happy.)

I am personally content with atheism. The thing is, people will tell me that believing in the divine will allow one to appreciate things more. When I am sitting out in the woods, I really question if believing in a creator god can make the woods any more beautiful.

Still, if there is a positive aspect of believing in the divine, how can be retain that in a type of theism without giving up the positives that being an atheist has.

EDIT: I thought the Church of Satan was more of an atheist movement.

No, the Church of Satan has a ridiculous almost anti-commandment thing going. They very much attempt to live up to the christian devil's charactaristics...dopes.

Honestly, it sounds like what you're after is good Civics. I'm way over the line, but I treat the 44 Presidents we've had as examples to follow, and treat thier words as a little more than just speeches by elected people.

Americanism, practiced in its purest sense, is not such a bad religion after all.

The answer to that is in looking past fundamentalism and the quest to reconcile science with a literal interpretation of religious truths and seeing the true nature and purpose of a relationship with that which we would call divine.
Of all the spiritual questions that are on my list of important things to consider the question of who or what created the universe ranks pretty low. Science and spirituality are not mutually exclusive, on the contrary, they compliment each other quite well. It's science and religious literalism that are at odds with each other, and religious literalism is born out of the fear that what one believes will be eradicated by empirical fact.
I am at once an atheist and a theist. I understand that objective science will never find God. I also understand that neither will creationists or any other narrow minded fundamentalists who seek to fortify their own agenda. God lies within, and it is their that every individual must look for God, but only if they choose to do so.