What are your thoughts on god?
POSTED BY: christhecynic
UPDATED: Wednesday, May 29, 2024 07:06
VIEWED: 44171
PAGE 10 of 19
Edited to avoid pointless controversy.
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Quote:
Originally posted by midnightshadow:
In discussing with my 15-year old daughter... her main fear re: dying seems to revolve around not wanting to lose her discrete sense of self. Interesting, as I had not run across that concern before.
My mother has that concern.
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Oh, and it's OK with me to be "just an animal;" human animals just being a different variety, no better or worse than any other.
"Lost in the woods" feels comfortable for me, like bathing in chaos.
I agree with both of those things.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Skydance:
Michael had words on the subject of Christ rising from the dead. To paraphrase: the people who pulled him down were in a hurry to do it before the holiday. Medical technology being somewhat limited at the time, they thought he was dead, when (in fact) he had entered a coma (from which he recovered, once the body was not stressed by being suspended vertically).
Something I just have to say, that isn't adequate for getting rid of the miracle.
The reason is that when he was stabbed out came water and blood. Unless he had a pouch of water surgically inserted in him that lance went in deep (only so many things in the human body that look like water), and no one could live through that.
It's one thing to say he stayed dead, it's another to say he didn't die. If he lived through what happened that's just as big of a miracle as resurrection, which I guess makes it just as valid of a viewpoint.
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Quote:
Originally posted by CaptBryan:
God is not the author of confusion.
I'm not trying to be mean, just asking for clarification.
Ok, so who is the author of confusion? God made Lucifer, right?
So if Lucifer made confusion that would mean God authored it with Lucifer as his pen.
Is there some other force in the universe in your view? Or is Lucifer not made by God? Or am I just missing the point.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Causal:
Edited to avoid pointless controversy.
Oh come on, if you have something to say say it. Unless it is hateful (which I doubt) there should be no problem, people have been saying vastly different things for the whole thread, and it's only made it better.
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So much to talk about every single time I look at it, I'm happy I made this thread.
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Quote:
Originally posted by RocketJock:
Atheist claims absolute knowledge of God's non-existence--which, to my eyes is an act of faith. Which, oddly enough, makes Atheism a religion, while Agnosticism is merely a philosophy.
I haven't read beyond the quoted post, so don't know if this has been brought up, but:
Atheism is not having belief in god(s). Strong atheism is knowing that god(s) do not exist. Strong atheists are atheists, but very few atheists are strong atheists.
Agnosticism views that certain truth values regarding the existence of god(s) are unknowable. Weak agnostics think that they are unknown but not necessarily unknowable - in the unlikely event of a god proving its existance it would be known (see God and dice).
Carl Sagan's "The dragon in my garage" http://spl.haxial.net/religion/misc/carl-sagan.html from his book The demon-haunted world: science as a candle in the dark says it better than I could: "Claims that cannot be tested, assertions immune to disproof are veridically worthless, whatever value they may have in inspiring us or in exciting our sense of wonder."
On this same theme, written by people more articulate (and maybe more naked) than me: "The fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality." - George Bernard Shaw, 1912, Androcles and the lion.
"Not to care whether a thing is true or not, so long as it makes you feel good, [is like] not to care how you got your money as long as you have got it." - Edmund Way Teale, Circle of seasons, 1950.
"Not only is there nothing to be gained by believing an untruth, but there is everything to lose when we sacrifice the indispensable tool of reason on the altar of superstition." - Freedom from religion foundation.
--
I am Jack's username
God is real, unless declared integer.
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Well, just wondering why I should take the word of the 1050 "souls" of Michael when I could read the Bible and the words of men who actually walked and talked and lived with him. (The natural rebuttal is, "They wanted power." I'll address that below).
That and Taoism started in the 7th century BCE, so Christ's teaching couldn't have "survived as Taoism" unless they went back in time to 7th century China.
Oh, and also, wondering what the "rituals and conditions" of Christianity are that are incompatible with the "real" Christianity.
Also wondering if there are any ancient documents that indicate that Jesus taught Taoism. Or am I just supposed to take the word of "Michael"? And in any event, who is to say that Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is any more reliable than Matthew, Mark, and Luke? Am I supposed to take on her word that "Messages from Michael" is any more factual than her other 67 works of fiction? The same charge of wanting influence and power might plausibly be leveled at her as at the writers of Biblical texts.
Just saying is all. This guy essentially says, "Christianity is bunk", and I'd like more than the word of a vampire fiction writer speaking on behalf of the 1050 "souls" of Michael.
The reason took this out of the above post is that it sounds (even to me, and I'm writing the damned thing) like an angry reaction to Skydance. I guess in a way it is; half his post was about his belief, but the other half was about how Christianity is all wrong, and I thought that the point of the thread was to discuss our own beliefs and not talk down the beliefs of others. Really, it's all in the eye of the beholder whether Skydance was doing that or not. I redacted my original post to avoid that controversy, but hey--Chris asked.
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Edited to add: I don't want to debate these points with Skydance, because I'm fair sure neither of us will change his mind. I'm just miffed that he took the time to say, "Here's my religion; oh, by the way, yours is a lie."
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I wish I had a magical wish-granting plank.
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Yes God did create Lucifer(or Satan or what ever name he goes by) and he had free will just as all Gods creations do that have the ability to tell right from wrong.
God has absolutes Lucifer chose not to abide in them.
Saying that God authored confusion by creating Lucifer is like saying my sniper rifle goes out all by itself and shoots people 2 miles away so I dont get into trouble.
Free will is just that...Your choice
My cook likes my artillery...I like where she lets me holster my gun
Ridin the Ocean's boring when there aint no waves
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Quote:
Originally posted by thatweirdgirl:
Which God of the Bible? There are two distinct God personalities in the Bible: the vengeful all-powerful and the loving father.
Same person, no contradictions. As a holy God, God cannot condone sin, hence the wrath. Fortunately, God is also love. His love provides grace for those who seek it through Him, thereby escaping His wrath.
Those who dwell on the holiness, while ignoring the love are not painting an accurate portrait of the God of scripture, as likewise, are those who emphasize the love while ignoring the holiness.
R.C. Sproul's "Holiness of God" is a good work on this subject.
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