Political Crossfire Forums

[lucidnightmare]

LDA wrote: Just a thought, here. As a background, I considered myself a Christian until two or three years back, when I really started thinking about it. I eventually came to conclusion that there is no God and that it was a construct created by man to determine what is right/wrong for all people.

However, I'm not here to argue about that particular thing, that's just the conclusion I made. If you, a religious person, were to come into contact with someone like me, who had become so firm in their belief that there is no God, would you attempt to say anything to me in order to sway me? If so, what would you say? That is sort of what I want to hear from this thread.

In my mind, the thought of a God existing has become quite absurd. I wonder how I ever believed in such a thing. However, I know many people who I know to be intelligent, and decent people, that DO believe in a God. I have lost no respect for these people, but it has proven to be a very confusing thing for me.

Thanks for your responses ahead of time.

I've gone through phases,most critically thinking people do,as I studied physics and biology I had my doubts for a time,i'm not religious now,I think men create religions.But I believe in a 'god'.

What is the source of you doubt?Is it human suffering,science?

As for science there is no reason to expect that a tool used to study matter and the properties thereof would lead one to god,we would only see the mechanisms of god that set up a universe that is self regulating to a large degree.

Human suffering is a larger issue ,but even that has answers.

Believe what you will,but this is a huge mysterious universe and we dimly understand it.


Quote: It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion; for while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them confederate, and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity Francis Bacon

[lucidnightmare]

Quote: One of the things I always thought of, while sitting in church. God allegedly gives us all a choice of heaven or hell. In order to go to heaven, you must accept him as your God, yada yada. Why would a God require you to make such an eternal gamble on that which you cannot see? God has no limits; he could show himself to the entire world in a way that wouldn't be obscure. But he doesn't, which causes me to believe that there is in fact no God

That sounds more like a question of the nature of god rather than his existence.

Maybe there is no hell,you know people can and do believe that using Christian scriptures.

Here is a whole web site with many articles on that concept.

http://www.what-the-hell-is-hell.com/

There are also verses in the NT which imply that a person is judged according to"what they know".

[forthegreatergood]

LDA wrote: Just a thought, here. As a background, I considered myself a Christian until two or three years back, when I really started thinking about it. I eventually came to conclusion that there is no God and that it was a construct created by man to determine what is right/wrong for all people.

However, I'm not here to argue about that particular thing, that's just the conclusion I made. If you, a religious person, were to come into contact with someone like me, who had become so firm in their belief that there is no God, would you attempt to say anything to me in order to sway me? If so, what would you say? That is sort of what I want to hear from this thread.

In my mind, the thought of a God existing has become quite absurd. I wonder how I ever believed in such a thing. However, I know many people who I know to be intelligent, and decent people, that DO believe in a God. I have lost no respect for these people, but it has proven to be a very confusing thing for me.

Thanks for your responses ahead of time.

Perhaps, if you have broken the covenant of Genesis, which says do not eat your fellow living creatures who live life, (Remember the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of GOOD and evil?) that the thousands of lives you have taken and their flesh that you have eaten has contributed to your mind, either by possible delusion or by punishment, that you have no concept of divinity. The paroketh(the veil) has covered you from truth.
True or not? These words flowed to me to write when I read your response. But also, are you discriminating? What about Goddess? Or a Macroprosopus? Or Gods or Goddesses?

[Narvik]

forthegreatergood wrote: are you discriminating? What about Goddess? Or a Macroprosopus? Or Gods or Goddesses?

According to the bible, god created man in his image.
God created Adam first, doesn't that imply on that God is a male?

[eynon]

Narvik wrote: forthegreatergood wrote: are you discriminating? What about Goddess? Or a Macroprosopus? Or Gods or Goddesses?

According to the bible, god created man in his image.
God created Adam first, doesn't that imply on that God is a male?

god has no sex.....neither did Adam, before eve :wink:

[curisz]

Former Catholic, former atheist, former agnostic, now, well, I guess I'll just say I believe in something.

There is absolutely no fathomable reason why there should be something rather than nothing, why there should have been anything for the big bang to bang, why the delicately balanced infinitely complex cosmic dance should have even begun, much less produced something as amazing as a living breathing loving thinking being.

Some aspect of the universe loves existance and creation in all of its incredible possibility. Some quantum manifold roiling behind the veil of matter and energy takes delight in existence rather than non existence, and revels in infinitely unfolding possibility.

The universe exists because somewhere down the line there was a choice.

In the same way, your internal universe is the result of choices, and those choices manifest themselves in the form of chemical reactions in your brain. If they were simply random, there would be no such thing as logic, or science, or even consistency. Brain chemicals didn't write Beethoven's ninth, Beethoven's creation of Beethoven's ninth simply required the creative use of brain chemicals, as all thought does. The chemicals are simply what allow us to hold on to our thoughts, give them structure and nuance and to remember what we used to think as we change those thoughts into something new.

[Iamstuck]

Eynon81 wrote: Narvik wrote: forthegreatergood wrote: are you discriminating? What about Goddess? Or a Macroprosopus? Or Gods or Goddesses?

According to the bible, god created man in his image.
God created Adam first, doesn't that imply on that God is a male?

god has no sex.....neither did Adam, before eve :wink:

Does The Bible say that or are those your personal thoughts?

[Jonah]

curisz wrote: Former Catholic, former atheist, former agnostic, now, well, I guess I'll just say I believe in something.

There is absolutely no fathomable reason why there should be something rather than nothing, why there should have been anything for the big bang to bang, why the delicately balanced infinitely complex cosmic dance should have even begun, much less produced something as amazing as a living breathing loving thinking being.

Some aspect of the universe loves existance and creation in all of its incredible possibility. Some quantum manifold roiling behind the veil of matter and energy takes delight in existence rather than non existence, and revels in infinitely unfolding possibility.

The universe exists because somewhere down the line there was a choice.

In the same way, your internal universe is the result of choices, and those choices manifest themselves in the form of chemical reactions in your brain. If they were simply random, there would be no such thing as logic, or science, or even consistency. Brain chemicals didn't write Beethoven's ninth, Beethoven's creation of Beethoven's ninth simply required the creative use of brain chemicals, as all thought does. The chemicals are simply what allow us to hold on to our thoughts, give them structure and nuance and to remember what we used to think as we change those thoughts into something new.

Good stuff, Curisz!

[eynon]

Iamstuck wrote: Eynon81 wrote: Narvik wrote: forthegreatergood wrote: are you discriminating? What about Goddess? Or a Macroprosopus? Or Gods or Goddesses?

According to the bible, god created man in his image.
God created Adam first, doesn't that imply on that God is a male?

god has no sex.....neither did Adam, before eve :wink:

Does The Bible say that or are those your personal thoughts?

the bible is....vauge..... :wink:

[connermt]

LDA wrote: Just a thought, here. As a background, I considered myself a Christian until two or three years back, when I really started thinking about it. I eventually came to conclusion that there is no God and that it was a construct created by man to determine what is right/wrong for all people.

However, I'm not here to argue about that particular thing, that's just the conclusion I made. If you, a religious person, were to come into contact with someone like me, who had become so firm in their belief that there is no God, would you attempt to say anything to me in order to sway me? If so, what would you say? That is sort of what I want to hear from this thread.

In my mind, the thought of a God existing has become quite absurd. I wonder how I ever believed in such a thing. However, I know many people who I know to be intelligent, and decent people, that DO believe in a God. I have lost no respect for these people, but it has proven to be a very confusing thing for me.

Thanks for your responses ahead of time.

Recently I have found myself in such a 'pickle'. I grew up thinking about God in one way, believing what was told to us, the Bible is the word of God 'just because', yadda yadda yadda. The more I think about it, the more I read & learn about human societies over the past 5-10K years, & the more I pray about it, the farther away God gets. While I still believe in God, I believe that the bible is a group of stories about God, not based on facts, but rather ideals (for the most part). And I believe that 99.9% of "christians" in the world are strongly mistaken about their 'truths' & beliefs of what God wants &/or expects.
I never try to convince people who believe different than me any longer. I simply try to learn about them & their beliefs & hopefully, they will reply to me in kind.