Finally. God Defined.

[Mal_Con]

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

 

 

[kevbone]

Two gods. One on the right and one on the left.

 

 

[godskid5]

not everyone who claims to be "christian" is following Christ. If they are not displaying the qualities of Christ, they are not his true followers.

The Bible says that others will know us by our love. If you meet someone who claims to be a christian, but treats others poorly, or puts people down because of their beliefs, etc.. then that person is not understanding what following Christ is all about.

 

A follower of Christ will live by this:

One of the Pharisees tested Jesus with a question, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" (Matthew 22:36 NIV). Jesus replied, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:37-40 NIV).

 

It is sad to me, but a majority of the people I have talked to who don't belive in God have been turned away from christianity because of something a "christian" had said or done. There are many people out there who claim to be christians who are doing more harm than good. People are getting turned away from God on a regular basis because of the hypocrisy in the church. I know many people who claim to be christians, but yet when you see them in their daily lives, you would never believe it!

 

If any of you have been hurt, put down, or treated poorly by a "christian" in any way, I am deeply sorry for that. Just remember, not all people who profess Christ are that way. Just as not all Atheists put down christians and bash us every chance they get. I know some very nice Atheists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and many others who I respect, and respect me. I want to return the favor.

 

 

We, as humans, are faluable and therefore I know that anyone as a Christian, being human, will be prone to human "weaknesses". So, to say there are good examples out there is very true but to really get an idea of Christ or God seems, as with most beliefs, to come down to faith in what Christ or God stands for. No one can say, including you, that you are free of "issues" or offense to someone. We all have done something that is a "sin" - correct??

 

Very true. I am not free of issues, or sin, and i never will be.

The bible say "for all have sinned..." and "none are righteous, no not one..." and I, for sure, am no different.

[tvashtarkatena]

No God discussion would be complete without....

 

[bradleym]

we believe that a God who can create this universe we live in is also capable of keeping the bible true to its meaning throughout history.

here is a christian review of said book i found interesting. i don't even bother reading these kinds of books anymore, ill just stick with the reviews. and yes, i do read the secular ones too.

http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=3452

you really should read at least the review then of the book jay mentions - he goes through a ton of examples of where differences crop up between various versions of the bible and shows exactly how they were intentionally changed by scribes intent on solving specific theologic arguments going on at the time of the translation - interestingly, the changes required in order to push forward the argument were extremly minimal, oftentimes only a single word.

 

try 'Book of J', a translation of portions of the pentateuch by Rosenberg with an excellent intro by Bloom. demonstrates well the disparate sources used to construct the various narratives, and delves into the differing motives of both writers and redactors.

[ivan]

we believe that a God who can create this universe we live in is also capable of keeping the bible true to its meaning throughout history.

here is a christian review of said book i found interesting. i don't even bother reading these kinds of books anymore, ill just stick with the reviews. and yes, i do read the secular ones too.

http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=3452

you really should read at least the review then of the book jay mentions - he goes through a ton of examples of where differences crop up between various versions of the bible and shows exactly how they were intentionally changed by scribes intent on solving specific theologic arguments going on at the time of the translation - interestingly, the changes required in order to push forward the argument were extremly minimal, oftentimes only a single word.

 

try 'Book of J', a translation of portions of the pentateuch by Rosenberg with an excellent intro by Bloom. demonstrates well the disparate sources used to construct the various narratives, and delves into the differing motives of both writers and redactors.

thanks for the tip - i'm not all that interested in bibilical stuff, truth be told, as , for me at least, it's akin to the genesis of the weekly world news - i'm a history teacher though, so i try to be broadly familiar w/ as much stuff as possible (well, that, and when i read that book i was trapped in hellacious virginia for a week w/ absolutely nothing else to read or do!)

[i_like_sun]

It seems to me that Atheism is just as much a religion as any other religion. Personally, I don't think it really matters whether or not god exists or not. Because in the end, the only thing I'm sure of is that I have the Here and Now. So fuck it. Why should I worry about whether or not I'll still be around after my body dies? I didn't worry about getting born did I?

 

I do find myself believing that there is something a little more complex about this universe than we think however. Its almost as if the idea of a black death, where all consciousness stops, is too easy of an idea. My experience tells me that life becomes more infinitely complex and mysterious the longer I live. So it seems logical that death too must be equally mysterious.

 

Good thread Trash.

[rob]

It seems to me that Atheism is just as much a religion as any other religion.

 

Atheism is a religion? I don't believe in the tooth fairy, either. Is that a religion, too?

[ivan]

It seems to me that Atheism is just as much a religion as any other religion. Personally, I don't think it really matters whether or not god exists or not. Because in the end, the only thing I'm sure of is that I have the Here and Now. So fuck it. Why should I worry about whether or not I'll still be around after my body dies? I didn't worry about getting born did I?

BXISm3JjYU0

[tvashtarkatena]

Atheism isn't a religion. It's not like a religion. One practices a religion; one does not 'practice' atheism, any more than one practices not being Sri Lankan (if you're not actually Sri Lankan, that is).

 

Atheism isn't a lack of beliefs. It's simply not believing in something specific, in this case, God. I suppose you could be an a-UFOist, too. It's not agnosticism, which is not being sure whether or not you believe in something. Atheism is not being sure that there is no God, which is the assumption of an objective truth; it's being sure that you don't believe there is a God. When believers ask an atheist to 'prove' there is no God, as they so often do, the answer is simple. It can't be done, and it doesn't need to be, because it's the wrong question. An atheist can prove, however, that they don't believe in God simply by saying so.

 

Death is a dismantling and recycling process; it can be complex in a physical sense (or simple, if you happen to step in front of a blast furnace at the wrong moment) but not complex otherwise. Take any system in the universe and start removing or breaking parts and eventually it stops working altogether. Makes sense to me. All these life after death schemes, from reincarnation to the Silver Cloud Casino in the Sky, seem desperate, fantastic, and overly complicated to me as compared to "Hey, this thing is dead. Let's get rid of it before it smells up the place." I prefer the Zen outlook; worry about life after death after you die.

 

Consiousness is mysterious and complex. The lack of it isn't. You're gone; what used to be you is just a lump of composting stuff.

 

Belief in God is an effort to make the universe simpler than it is, not a recognition of its mystery and complexity. "Oh, THAT's who made that weird thing." A true acceptance of the universe's mysteries means accepting that some things are not known and will never be. After all, our observable universe is only so large, and the percentage of the total universe we can observe is rapidly shrinking. As for other verses, fuggedaboutit. I'm really not sure I personally need anything more strange or mysterious than that, thanks.

 

 

Edited September 13, 2008 by tvashtarkatena

[ivan]

epicurean "death as annihilation" is like, the easiest chapter in a philosopy book n' shit

[rob]

[prole]

we believe that a God who can create this universe we live in is also capable of keeping the bible true to its meaning throughout history.

here is a christian review of said book i found interesting. i don't even bother reading these kinds of books anymore, ill just stick with the reviews. and yes, i do read the secular ones too.

http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=3452

you really should read at least the review then of the book jay mentions - he goes through a ton of examples of where differences crop up between various versions of the bible and shows exactly how they were intentionally changed by scribes intent on solving specific theologic arguments going on at the time of the translation - interestingly, the changes required in order to push forward the argument were extremly minimal, oftentimes only a single word.

 

try 'Book of J', a translation of portions of the pentateuch by Rosenberg with an excellent intro by Bloom. demonstrates well the disparate sources used to construct the various narratives, and delves into the differing motives of both writers and redactors.

 

These texts just reinforce my belief in God as it's so obvious that they were written by the Devil to test our faith.

[tvashtarkatena]

Chapter 1:1

 

"Doth thou believest in The Almighty?"

 

"Nope. You?"

 

"Nope. Fancy a beer?"

[joblo7]

TVK SAYS: Belief in God is an effort to make the universe simpler than it is, not a recognition of its mystery and complexity. "Oh, THAT's who made that weird thing." A true acceptance of the universe's mysteries means accepting that some things are not known and will never be. After all, our observable universe is only so large, and the percentage of the total universe we can observe is rapidly shrinking. As for other verses, fuggedaboutit. I'm really not sure I personally need anything more strange or mysterious than that, thanks.

 

 

IT SEEMS TO ME THAT:

 

BELIEF IN GOD BEGINS IN QUIETING THE MIND AND experiencing HIS EFFECT/LOVE/ONENESS IN THE DEEPEST RECESSES OF YOUR HEART..

 

IN OTHER WORDS STHU... OR BETTER STILL USE THE ONLY PART OF YOU THAT CAN ACTUALLY 'FEEL' AND ESTABLISH ITS ONENESS WITH THE BIG 'TEVER....YOUR SOUL.!

Edited September 14, 2008 by joblo7

[tvashtarkatena]

Resuming your thorazine might help you get that soul back in its cage.

[joblo7]

i believe in god less than he believes in me.

[STP]

All this talk about God... What about the Devil? You guys believe in the Devil, right? Demons? Imps? Succubi? Evil spirits? Hell? There is another side to all this creation, perfection, and love, correct?

 

rJyJIxiktPs

 

Why project it outwards as an external corrupting force when those traits already reside inside of us. Similar to what people do with money and power (idol). Some people enrich the world, while others impoverish it.

[TamaraSlade]

OWNED!!!!!!! hahaha nice marc

[G-spotter]

[rob]

When faced with the timeless and Great questions of life, I respect the man more who responds with "I don't know" rather than the one who invents complicated theories about an old man in the sky who created everything from nothing.

[G-spotter]

Of old was the age | when Ymir lived;

Sea nor cool waves | nor sand there were;

Earth had not been, | nor heaven above,

But a yawning gap, | and grass nowhere.

 

4. Then Bur's sons lifted | the level land,

Mithgarth the mighty | there they made;

The sun from the south | warmed the stones of earth,

And green was the ground | with growing leeks.

 

5. The sun, the sister | of the moon, from the south

Her right hand cast | over heaven's rim;

No knowledge she had | where her home should be,

The moon knew not | what might was his,

The stars knew not | where their stations were.

[Dechristo]

teacher says, "every time a bell jingles, an angel gets their wings."

 

[Bug]

Oh great.

The super ignorant will now blow their beleifs about Christianity out the blow hole.

 

There are so many reasons to beleive and not beleive in God.

Basing it on the actions/beleifs of humans you will never meet and know almost nothing about is pretty unscientific.

 

Just keep pretending everything can be explained by science and or logic and you are sadly limiting yourself.

 

It is not just Christianity but Buddism, Hinduism, blah, blah, blah,...

All have their own "Mythologies" writtten in different times in poetic grammatical structures to preserve a tradition of knowledge blended with wisdom.

 

That we have built a new foundation for knowledge through science does not ensure that wisdom will follow. Show me wisdom in science. Show me the wisdom in not reading one of the oldest collections of human stories anywhere. I do not think you can do either.

 

But that is not a proof that God exists nor a refutation of science. It is simply to point out that argueing over the value of the Bible or science is missing the point.

 

Why do we love?

Why do we feel?

Why do we talk about it?

How do we relate to the world around us as a society?

So forth and so on.

Science does not cover this.

Literature does.

 

How can we sustain more people on a small planet?

How can we stop the population explosion?

How can we stop AIDS? Cancer? etc.

That is the realm of science.

[bradleym]

Why do we love?

Why do we feel?

Why do we talk about it?

How do we relate to the world around us as a society?

So forth and so on.

Science does not cover this.

Literature does.

 

evolutionary psychology.