denalidave

Why not just continue to believe and pray to the God that has already proven itself to the believer? I'm of the opinion that the "proof is in the pudding". IE - there are infinite examples of those who are doing "God's work" (the nut job in the mall, for instance), but if it harms others in the end, it was the wrong god. Or at the very least, the wrong interpretation of God. On the other hand, if the results of ones faith are "good" (of benefit to society and our world at large), then the "pudding" is good and nutritious. Mother Theresa would be a rare example.

Personally, I've never been "touched" by the tooth fairy so I'm not inclined to believe in him/her. Again, it is much easier to poke fun at someone who believes other than your own line of faith/belief. Probably to help you convince yourself of the unprovable faith you are so certain does not exist in the first place? I could, on the other hand, go on and on and on of how I was touched by the divine. Sure, it could all just be an incredible string of infinite coincidences but when one looks back at all the minutia of how/when/where/what, I'm certain it has been a divine blessing. I don't just sit on my ass and expect life to unfold the way I want it. Rather, I choose to appreciate the force of the universe that can help guide & nurture me along the way. Usually things turn out much better for me when I let go of whatever it is I'm holding on to so desperately. I'm sure you know it alls will deem this as a weakness on my part, but I'm OK with that. I don't need to prove anything to anyone but myself.

Amen! God is great and beer is PROOF God loves us.

Obviously, your just another nut job cause Rob told us that his faith was broken implying that proves no god exists. Don't even question are own almighty trashie, he will smite the down with useless drivel and self grandiosity. Ever sure to get the final word in, till he changes his story and forgets to cover his tracks. Being Sunday, and we are here in church, lets take a moment to thank spralmighty trashie for allowing us to convert to his way of thinking or risk eternal ridicule, damnation and attending male gay weddings for all of eternity. (Not that there is anything wrong with that)

Being science based, why wouldn't you just conjure up your own strong beer rather than rely on some force bigger than yourself?

I call Bullshite. How can one say it takes no "faith", yet have no scientific proof (can't proof a negative)? I'm sure in your case, your right. because your mind is not open beyond your own ego (based on your persona here). You have FAITH that you are right and everyone else that believes in God is a sucker (paraphrasing). Call a spade a spade. Atheism takes believing in something you can't proof (faith by definition). "faith" is the belief in god or teachings of a religion. Since atheism don't believe in god, there is no "faith". Faith is also believing in something without proof. Atheism is about needing proof to believe the existence in god. Since none exists (short afterlife experiences and feelings about the nature of the world are not proof), we have atheism and so atheism is not faith based. belief in god requires faith because there is no evidence belief in science requires no faith. Science believes in only things that can be proved. The day that a bigfoot is put in a cage or a skeleton found, science will believe in bigfoot. A simple visit from the almighty would be enough evidence too but are we not worthy enough a occasional sleep over from Daddy? You can parse words but you are still assuming something to be true when it can't be verified. Call it faith or non-faith but it still requires a belief, even if that believe is in nothing. It is the non-faith religion for the non religious.

God is great and beer is PROOF God loves us.

Hallatraskuala! I've finally seen the light. Or darkness, depending on your point of view. Thank you almighty trashie for delightening me beyond my own stupendessness.

OK, I'm converted, trastised in the blood of spray, repentent sprayer and will now adhere to atheism because Joe Simpson climbed a mountain, fell off and never asked for God's help. DONE. THERE IS NO GOD. PERIOD. Maybe God helps people even when they deny it? Maybe God was with Joe down deep in the cold, dark crevasse? Certainly his mind was gone bonkers and susceptible to hallucinations. Just because not everyone in fox holes does not believe in God, does not eliminate the possibility of a God existing.

I call Bullshite. How can one say it takes no "faith", yet have no scientific proof (can't proof a negative)? I'm sure in your case, your right. because your mind is not open beyond your own ego (based on your persona here). You have FAITH that you are right and everyone else that believes in God is a sucker (paraphrasing). Call a spade a spade. Atheism takes believing in something you can't proof (faith by definition).

How about the Grateful Dead. I'm sorry, I just don't get it. Even if I was dead, I'm not sure I'd be grateful about it. Just sayin. Damn hippies. I'd rather be ALIVE!

New topic. What about the power of prayer???

But since it has not happened to you, lightning strikes don't exist. Carry on. Nothing to see here, it's all smoke and mirrors.

I suppose it's like trying to explain what it is like to be hit by lightning... One can tell all the stories, show pictures, relay facts upon facts, but unless you get hit by lightning, you will never know what it is like. Perhaps?

I sure showed what god was all about on the dance floor tonight...

I had religion shoved down my throat growing up too (like most everyone in one shape or form, I suppose). But that has no bearing on the fact that GOD is alive in my life. Lets all bow to almighty trashie so he can convince the power of God to stop influencing me and my world. Anyone that really knows me well will have a hard time arguing against the reality that I certainly would not be alive if God did not intervened over and over again, and nauseam. Call me a pussy, call me someone who needs a crutch. Call me respectful of a power greater than my own hunamity. Good on Joe Simpson for his personal convictions in his own personal life. Just don't think for a moment that your denial of God's existence in my life will deter God's presence or my reliance to trust in whatever will be, will be. Sometimes much easier said than done, of course. Be careful, God might reach out and grab you when you least expect it. Then again, as human beings, we can always reject the supreme and rely on our mechanisms. Isn't that the beauty of it??? Meantime, I'm glad I can always fall back on Traskothisism when my prescription of fukitol runs out. Trank you almighty trashie, trank you berry much. (insert bowing in magnanimous homage)

I'd argue the opposite. It seems pretty arrogant to believe that humans are somehow special and the entire universe, eukaryotes, bacteria, archea, everything, was created for human beings. We live on a tiny rock hurtling through space around one star among billions of trillions of stars. We're special? I don't think so, we're just the first creatures to become self aware. We're a accident, an experiment without a scientist that by some stroke of luck managed to progress this far. Who knows what's gonna happen next, but I don't see anyone saving us besides ourselves. In the mean time I'm going to continue climbing rocks ( a incredibly pointless exercise, and yet I get so much from it) The organisms that witness the end of the earth will be as different from us as we are from those first lifeforms that managed to thrive in the primordial soup ~3 billion years ago. That is a mind trip and really fascinating to think about, at least to me. I never said it was all created for us, rather, it is far out of our grasp of comprehension to say that, in fact, there is no god. More power to you though. If you seek God out, God will be revealed, at least in my own personal experience. Which, BTW, has no shortage of pain and suffering along the way. Maybe not in the way or time you want or expect, but God is in every fabric of life. Well, yes, as far as humans know so far, we are incredibly special. I don't doubt there MAY be other forms of life in other galaxies, but so far, we are the masters of our domain. And what do "we" do with that, kill and hate each other over spoils and "my god is better than your god" crap. Again, it seems a pretty incredible accident that this ball hurling through space just happened to give us (and all other forms of life) the opportunity to be alive. Here on our own planet, who else is so self aware besides us humans? I do believe animals can, and possible do have souls, but do they have the same free will of becoming virtually anything they can imagine? I doubt it but am open to evidence to the contrary. On and anecdotal note, go look into the many documented cases of "after death experiences". In virtually every case I have heard or read about, they encounter "God" on some level or another, regardless of religious background. In my own personal experience as a child, a close friend of our family died on the operating table for several minutes and he personally told me of his experience going to "heaven" and then being sent back home. I enjoy watching the documentary series "I survived, death and beyond", or whatever the name is. Then again, if there is a God, master of the universe, we might have to reconsider all of our own actions and shortcomings. It is a lot easier to believe we are the supreme rulers of our own universe and will not have to worry about the hereafter and eternity. NO, I'm not saying anyone is going to hell, just saying that one must be pretty smart to know all that is out there and be so sure that no God exists. Atheism takes just as much "faith" (believing in the unknown/unprovable) as any other "religion", whether you are willing to admit that or not. (IMHO)

10k in a day sounds like a worthy objective. That's a lot of PBR though.

It seems pretty arrogant and naive to think that just because man split the atom, went to the moon/mars, and, more impressively, somehow cojoled Kevbone through a college edjumakation that God does not exist. I like the old adage of finding a swiss watch on a deserted island... Surely, whoever found said watch would realize it did not just happen "randomly" and that the pieces just fell together with no thought or design. How much more intricate and complicated is this world we live in and this strange thing we call life? Hell, even Einstien believed in God. Stephen Hawkings is just prolly still pissed of at God for being stuck in a wheelchair. Please remind me again how we proved God does not exists and why??? As far as the "How can a god allow cancer, death, suffering, yada yada", how can you have the yin w out the yang? Ther will always be opposing forces in nature. I guess that is how God designed it. Personally, I do believe in God. Afterall, we even have our own "supreme diety" right here on CC.com - trashie and his church of Trasktholisism to keep the spray world in "perfect" order. As far as who/what "God" is, I prolly won't know for sure till I take the big ride into the sky. In the meantime, I'm happy to trust my heart and sole to that power of the universe. God is available to anyone who seeks God out. Maybe not in the way you want and/or expect, but there none the less. However, I despise organized religion, don't even get me started on the Catholics or Mormons... Besides greed and lust, religion seems to be the cause of most of society's ills. God and science can coexists, just get rid of the damn religons and my god is the only god crap that is at the root of most of the fighting going on throughout history.(IMHO)

Hey man, it's OK, Jesus still loves you.

Why, oh why, did I ever post that? Put the genie back in the bottle, already.

"It's Moops"...

PLUS, it keeps my forearms really strong.

Being in the closet, especially in the PNW, is so 1970. Go ahead and come on out, buddy.

BECKY FOR PRES! FREE NAPKINS FOR THE POOR!!!