POLL: Is there a God ??
- Thread starter megablue
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If you're a Christian, there is only ONE plan. And it doesn't involve day to day happenstance, bad luck, being the victim of a heinous act etc.
Why I am a Christian
Why might a thinking, scientifically minded person believe that Christianity is true?
faculty.som.yale.edu
For anyone interested in reading. I personally don't find the arguments convincing, but I do find them thought provoking. Summarizing the first part of the article in my own words:
How did Christianity, and notably the story of the resurrection of Christ, survive this long as a consistent story if it were all a lie?
WildcatfaninOhio
All-American
Who amongst us doesn't enjoy the sight of medieval architecture?
If you crane your neck and look up while standing in front of St Lambert's Church in Münster, Germany, you can make out three iron cages hanging from the church's steeple, just above the clock face. The cages are empty, but five hundred years ago they held the mutilated, rotten corpses of three revolutionaries who led one of the most brutal Protestant revolutions in history.
That men toiled, simply to be free from a tyrannical and powerful religious cult seems almost inconceivable today. And they were tortured, killed and left on gruesome display for it. What would it take for people to escape the bonds of this tyranny today?
If you crane your neck and look up while standing in front of St Lambert's Church in Münster, Germany, you can make out three iron cages hanging from the church's steeple, just above the clock face. The cages are empty, but five hundred years ago they held the mutilated, rotten corpses of three revolutionaries who led one of the most brutal Protestant revolutions in history.
That men toiled, simply to be free from a tyrannical and powerful religious cult seems almost inconceivable today. And they were tortured, killed and left on gruesome display for it. What would it take for people to escape the bonds of this tyranny today?
I wonder if anyone has ever toiled under or been slaughtered by the millions by brutal and godless atheist regimes?
Can anyone check and see if godless atheist regimes have ever tortured anyone? Are there any godless, atheist regimes tyrannically enslaving people today?
Does anyone know? I‘m asking for an atheist friend of mine that is borderline retarded. TIA.
Can anyone check and see if godless atheist regimes have ever tortured anyone? Are there any godless, atheist regimes tyrannically enslaving people today?
Does anyone know? I‘m asking for an atheist friend of mine that is borderline retarded. TIA.
Of course there have been. The point is that Christianity isn't the loving, moral high ground religion it's made out to be.
Can say the same for the stories from Greek Mythology, Islam, etc. Christianity isn't unique in that way.Why I am a Christian
Why might a thinking, scientifically minded person believe that Christianity is true?
For anyone interested in reading. I personally don't find the arguments convincing, but I do find them thought provoking. Summarizing the first part of the article in my own words:
How did Christianity, and notably the story of the resurrection of Christ, survive this long as a consistent story if it were all a lie?
I very much wish Conservative Christians would read the same bible they love to thump so hard--or at least made some pretense to follow it. In the New Testament, Jesus was a very progressive teacher and thinker-at least compared to whatever passed for the morality of the day. Demanding his followers visit their fellow man in Prison? Clothing the naked and feeding the hungry? Selling all your possessions and giving the money to poor???? Healing people and even raising them from the dead??? What would capitalism charge for you raising a loved on from the dead?? Being struck dead because you tried to keep a. little money for yourself when you joined the Church commune??
But our conservative friends on the board can start with this verse. Matthew 5:22
You seem more judgmental than most others. If you have an ethic to which you subscribe, you may want to address that. And, your understanding of the Bible is immature.
For those with an open mind, this thread is about whether there is a God. Picking the hardest questions or the most difficult portions of the Bible as an entry point to that discussion may be a poor plan. It is better for many to simply ask, “can I believe God exists?” If a sincere dive into that bigger picture renders a “no,” trying to understand the most difficult philosophical questions about God and/or scripture won’t matter. If the answer is “yes,” the Bible is not snippets of bumper sticker philosophies. Even one proverb read outside of the context of all proverbs or the Bible may not be productive. The story is rich and, as you might suspect, complex.
If atheists who parse the Bible for snippets to generalize without the context of history or the whole written word created their god, he might look vastly different than the God of scripture. But, if there is a God, our perception of how He should or should not be is meaningless. That is kind of elementary.
If there is a God, He is what He is. Thankfully, scripture teaches us about a God who loves us even when we rebel and will take our rebellion upon Himself to ensure we have a path to live with Him as He designed us. He will wipe away every tear. He is a servant God. That is good news.
You yourself don't seem to understand the Bible very well. When you don't have a good response, that's all you parrot.
You still haven't responded to my question.
What does atheism “force” on you? I’m legitimately curious.
You don’t have to marry someone of the same sex if you don’t want to.
You don’t have to be gay or trans if you don’t want to.
You are free to worship your god, all gods or no gods as you see fit.
The only thing “forced” on you (general you, not you Caveman) is you can’t make me live by the rules of your religion aka the US is not, has not been and never will be a theocracy like SOME Christians want, and you can’t make certain groups cease to exist because your god of choice apparently doesn’t like them.
I'm not judgmental at all. It's not me calling others liars, hypocrites, fools, idiots, morons, etc in DIRECT opposition to the scripture they in which they profess to believe. It's not me getting banned for hateful and incendiary speech, and then whining that I'm being persecuted.
As far as my understanding of the Bible is concerned, it's mature enough to understand that love for each other, kindness, forgiveness, and charity seem to be at the core of Jesus' teaching, and I'm on board with those, ironically enough, while I see little to no evidence that those traits exist in many of your tribe. It's mature enough to recognize that Donald Trump is not a man of God, and that all these right wing preachers with their thousand dollar suites and million dollar mansions are about as close to holiness and divinity as I am to playing in the NBA.
Dude, take the political garbage over to the politics thread. Don't want to hear about that here...
Try reading these posts in context and let me know if you still have this triggered response.
So you can’t answer my question.
I know you were trying to add supposed “balance” earlier. I’m just curious as to what you think atheism has “forced” on believers.
You made the claim. I am just asking for your evidence.
If you read the context and you still think your post makes sense, I cannot help you. I posted my point in this thread. Read it.
you aren't big on answering questions...only at pontificating long and boring lectures and judements of others. I'd still love to know if you have the ability to condemn your own kids to eternal torture because they don't worship you?
You may not like my answer, but I did answer the question in the context of this discussion. If you don’t understand my answer, I am sorry about that. But, you won’t get any more “long and boring lectures from me in this thread.” Have a great life.
I agree that the less Caveman posts the better his positions are.
The older I get, the stranger religion seems
hope this helps
hope this helps
The great philosopher Charlie Brown once said "I have learned there are 3 things you should never discuss. Religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin."
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Shoot fire-we haven't even begun to talk about "free will" or the origins or the rise of apocalyptic preaching at the time of Christ..
Don’t see the point of these threads, especially when members of the believers and nonbelievers are not going to seriously consider another point of view. Seems like an exercise in futility. People sarcastically making fun of those with whom they disagree is not good-faith debate. Christians shouldn’t do that (says it in the Bible), and nonbelievers shouldn’t do it because it’s not right. Anyone have any questions, or would you rather continue to sling poo at one another?
WildcatfaninOhio
All-American
I disagree with your assertion that neither side would ever consider another viewpoint. How many times have we heard from Christian’s that no force on earth could disrupt their faith? Meanwhile, plenty of atheists have stated that, if confronted with verifiable evidence, they would consider the facts and perhaps start to believe.
And I think if you carefully read through this thread, atheists are poking fun at the belief, not the believers. Much like xians that proclaim that they hate the sin, not the sinner.
I've never liked the phrase "love the sinner hate the sin" We are all sinners. I heard it a lot growing up, from some people who did some bad things I would never dream of doing. Unfortunately it is attitudes like that turn people off from going to church and things like that. Of course I don't blame God for it, but there a lot of vocal people out there saying things like that.
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Never heard anyone say “love the sin, hate the sinner.” Your post is the very first time.
Why does God's plan for people sometimes include violent deaths, like car crashes, burning to death, etc? Why does it include slow, agonizing deaths like terminal illnesses, starvation, etc?
The man above sure loves watching his creation suffer immensely. Go figure. He's been a violent figure throughout the Bible.
"God is love"
Uh, no.
The man above sure loves watching his creation suffer immensely. Go figure. He's been a violent figure throughout the Bible.
"God is love"
Uh, no.
God is the founder of love. Jesus was the manifestation of that love.
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Thankfully, God promises a life beyond the pains of this one. Give thanks.
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Thankfully, God promises a life beyond the pains of this one. Give thanks.
WildcatfaninOhio
All-American
*god is love
*terms and conditions apply. Void when not reciprocated. Not valid with all religions. See buybull for details.
Sorry you don’t get to define love or God. Seems like demanding things of God is your thing.
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