But when do religious people go help? they sit there in their churches and pray while the atheists are out there every day using their hands to better society, all Religion does is sit there and tell the hard working atheists how they are going to hell for not worshiping an egotistical deity
The fact is faith or no faith 2 hands will do the same amount of good working than they would praying, religion served its purpose of keeping the uncivilised and death fearing in line and now humanity has reached a point evolved enough to accept their deaths and don't need lies of a heaven to live a fulfilled and good life
I am slightly offended that you believe that all religious people do is sit around and condemn others to a worse fate. I, personally, would never wish anyone to hell. As for your comment about us not working for the betterment of others, are you serious? Truly?
I obviously don't mean all of you, I'm just talking from personal experience all I ever get told is I'm going to hell, And what I'm saying is you don't need a religion to help people, I have no promise of heaven nor hell yet I still help people as much as I can. Even though I know there is no reward for it after I die, and frankly if there was a perfect deity he would accept people into his heaven based on their lives not on how much they kneel before him every day
I love how you say think for yourself and then call it a sham. That statement may lead some to think that the statement itself is neither open minded and/or thinking for themselves. There by making the said statement a sham.
wow see these or the christains i hate they fucking hate you just because you think differently then them to what ever retards downrated go fuck yourself i made this post just to post these pics not start a huge war
I'm a catholic. My closest friends include mostly athiests and Muslims. in fact, one of the muslims is my best friend,,,and frankly the only person i trust. I dont hate them, nor do I hate you.
I think what religious people need to realise is this.... 95% of the time we athiests are taking on Religion itself... not it's followers..... Hitler was evil.... but were all the men and women he commanded evil? Sure they had a part in what he done but they were just doing what they were told by their leader..... It is no different with god and his followers, the churches tell the people to hate something and they go and hate it (Granted not all of the people are like that but the majority of what I see lately is)
i claim a certain christian belief as my own, i do believe in God, but i also have common sense... people take the Bible out of context, twist it into their own interpretations, and use that as an excuse every day... almost every person is given the ability to provide for themselves, make their own choices, and do the right thing... when they dont, or they don't get what they want, they blame God, or the universe... the Bible says that He will never test you with more than you can handle, not that when you screw it up He'll fix it for you, or He'll just make it happen without you having to do anything...
have have the urge to dress up like Pope Palpatine the Sith and then drive around in my boat flipping people (mostly small children and old people) the bird while playing the imperial march.
"I put no stock in religion, by the word religion I've seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will of God, I've seen to much religion in the eyes of to many murderers, holiness is in right action, and goodness, what god desires is in what you choose to do."
some words in a book dont matter i am Christian and i believe in God but people get to wrapped up in the ideology there is one law that should be held above all the others "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"
its got some nice teaching and stories but its a book that hasn't been changed much if at all in almost 2000 years the world has changed and you cant take it as a literal guide like many do. It's ideals and themes are great and if and when i have kids i certainly want to teach them those but i believe to many people follow it to strictly.
Some of these were pretty fucking funny.
I'll plus one you, but I had to say this. :P
I love existential debates, and sophistication without immaturity.
I'm down if the respect is flowing?
#10 was hysterical though. XD
Righto lovers, I am a Christian and I have to admit some of these are funny, others... not so much. Now I scanned and read some of these comments and such and I sense alot of hate. It seems to me most of you guys hate religion because of those that say they are <insert religious affiliation> and yet they act self-righteous and judgmental when they themselves have fallen sort of the glory of God, or whatever other god they worship. What I am about to say is directed towards Christians. Ask them if they know Matthew 7:1, and if they don't know or you don't it's "Do not judge, or you too will be judged". Please don't say this in a hateful way.
Secondly, I don't know about others, but if someone asks you if you believe in Jesus, don't assume they are trying to shove religion down your throats; some people genuinely want to help you. I am saying there is something wrong with you, and I want you to be better. That does not mean there is nothing wrong with me, because there is; but some people want to share the love of Jesus with you because they don't want you to suffer.
Lastly it is easy to judge religion and other things and say they are bad and Hippocrates when you only look at the bad things. Try searching for the good things that have come out of Christianity and other religions. Now I'm not going to list out a bunch of stuff for you, but here is one thing that has come out of Christianity that is good. http://www.vaporsports.org/ .
One more thing I just want to say the majority of things and people on Sharenator are good and I love you all. I believe God exists and Jesus saved me when he died on the cross because he loves me. He loves you too.
yeah a lot of people hate religion because of how the followers act, or people with faith hate those without it because how they act, there are extremes on both side and they need to stop.
This is reasonable. Though there is still much of the bible that i do not like. Its insanely intolerant for one thing. Not to mention many religious people believe that they can fallow only what they want and nothing else. I believe that to hate on someone because the bible says so, that you must be a saint and not some random person on the side of the street holding up a sign saying "God hates fags!". The prove of the bible is stretched the only reason I focus on this is because there is no other way to debate religion unless you look closely at everything. Also I've been told I'm better then most Christians, but if they see that I'm atheist and bisexual the instantly thing I'm a spawn of satin and need to burn forever. The only real reason I hate the bible, and religion is because of the hate it causes between humans even though we're the same. I live by the rule that if I've never talked to you than I have no reason to hate you.
The bible doesnt say to hate, it says to love. it says we arnt the once who judge, people who say god hates fags are idiots and need to shut up they arnt real christian same as the ones saying your going to burn in hell thats a big misunderstood thing those people who say all those things are not christian but thats how the media shows it because they are loud and want everyone to see and hear them their like 3yr olds
no thats not it at all all sins are counted the same yes it says homosexuality is wrong because man and woman were made for each other, but doing one wrong thing doesnt mean you go to hell i mean have you ever met a perfect christian who does everything right? nope and you cant find one
where at because there are parts that say one thing there but is finished or elaberated better in different parts, thats how some people take one part and use it to inforce the hate because they dont find the actual meaning, the jerks >_<
here shows nothing will make god not love us...Romans 8:38-39 -- For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Oh God, why did it have to be you the one that replied to this?! I wanted it to be one of those obnoxious "i'm more intelligent than you because i don't believe in God" type of atheists. I would've had so much fun :/ I actually like and respect you, oh well.
*Ignoring what may very well be intense sarcasm, risking personal peril to do so, pulling for an honest/excitingly compassionate and friendly internet interaction*: Lol : ). That's hilarious. And the Kermit gif is clutch.
i believe in religion, my religion, god(or something) stuck us here for some reason nobody knows. it gave us free will to do with as we please. and we set up our own right/wrong and most people force their idea of right/wrong on other people and attribute their own definitions of said words to an otherworldly being in order to give it some overall credibility beyond "hey, i just thought of this" because from what i can tell its the same with almost everyone, when bad stuff happens its easier to blame someone or something(traffic, women, god, etc.) and sometimes people blame god or ask god to make something better because that creates hope in those little grey things some people call brains(i call them "little squishy balls")and people in general need hope and i guess thats one of the easiest ways to get it.
Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ was the son of God, not just the belief in God. The world would be a better place if people just believed that Jesus Christ was a great MAN and tried to replicate his actions. Instead, most Christians are unforgiving and extremely judgmental.
If you want to win any argument with a Christian, ask them about the Great Crusades.
one... the crusades were brought to you by the catholic church... the fact of the matter of that the catholic church went out and killed many Christians because they disagreed with the roman catholic church. and to reiterate on the fact that was pointed out a real christian would not judge anyone for any thing that a person does... in fact that is not their place at all... by the way most of the time i follow a rule of I.D.G.A.F. on most things... I am christian but i don't care what people do. Live and let live...
The bible commands you to stone disobedient children. If you are a true, devout Christian, that is something you must do. "IDGAF" is not a Christian ideal, it is a secular one. And contrary to the Bible.
As a Christian, do you reject the Bible? (This is a serious question, I'm interested in your belief system. The first part was just an example to attempt to probe for a deeper answer, no offense meant).
no...no problem at all... well i follow by what i think is right to my own life (without getting in the way of others) and i look for answers... i can't really reject a book of significance as such the bible has had on history. On the I.D.G.A.F. thing i let others live the way they want to live... in the bible it says that it is not my place to judge others so i put most everyday thing (peoples choices on life like creed orientation of any side all i say is to each their own.) to well ... I mean i would not want anyone to tell me what to do because their beliefs are different from mine. now if someone is being hurt and i can do something about it (example if someone is in a fight or worse i will step into the situation and try to resolve it peacefully without any party of the situation getting hurt.) Well if you have any other questions i will oblige with an answer...
I see, thanks for answering : ). So, do you not put much stock in the Bible as actual divine command? If you don't, what is your conception of a "god?"
I don't know for sure if it is word from gods mouth only time can tell on that one... but in the stories of the bible people can gain guidelines on how to act around others that is mainly the one thing that i have gained from the bible simple rules and guidelines.. My conception of god is different from others (Well I think so) i think that there is a being that created the known universe but it would not put restrictions on a free will... plus on another note... I don't believe that god or the one whom created everything we know needs people to go to church... the way i see religion is that it isn't a "team sport"... you believe what you believe through your own interpretations of the world and what you see all around you... sorry that it took me so long to reply but my internet is Hughesnet satellite internet.
Interesting! And I thought your reply was pretty timely.
So, the Bible provides rules and guidelines. How about Jesus explicitly promoting and condoning slavery, and God committing Genocide? Once again, not trying to be offensive, just trying to probe deeper.
Don't worry about being offensive a question is always relevant to me... well I honestly have never heard about Jesus promoting slavery (or i might have not remembered that if you could give me a citation on that it would be appreciated.) Well the god committing genocide (question: do you mean the smiting thing on countries or do you mean the atrocities that people have done in the name of god?) that could be god trying to show himself to the world before Jesus... but i honestly wouldn't know what to tell someone on that... on the last question i am a mixture of things that sees that science cannot answer every question... and that god is not an imposing being upon everyone's lives... also i believe in spirits that live on earth with their own choice... but i think that their is heaven (personalized to those who have done their best in life) and hell (for those who have committed atrocities against humanity honestly i do not think god cares if you are of any orientation, creed... etc.) well if you have more questions go for it ....
Jesus promoting slavery (Colossions 3:22): "Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever your task, work heartily..."
I mean when God either directly orders a race to be wiped out or when he floods the Earth.
Finally, you believe science can't answer every question. Does that mean a God could?
Thank you for citation of your question first off... I honestly don't know how to answer the original question still... but i do not condone slavery in any way, shape or form... on the genocide topic i think that i could have been god before Christ showing itself to the world trying to say that god is there watching from a distance (but that is just a theory).... Science does answer most of life's questions but I believe in the field of the paranormal (example: Ghosts, spirits, demons) walk the earth to do one thing or another... science can't exactly explain that... well an example is one of my friends randomly walking through a kitchen and the cabinet door flinging open right in front of him without normal explainable forces acting upon set door... or stories of other people's accounts with spirits just doing oddities around their own houses... if you have anymore questions i am still here to answer...
Logos385; The bible commands you to stone disobedient children. If you are a true, devout Christian, that is something you must do.
Its easy to treat the bible like a buffet, only pointing out the parts that help your cause. Leaving out the parts that don't support you. On the other hand understanding it would take a life time of reading. You want to see the bible as hateful, go on. I bet it makes you feel better about yourself. On the other hand there are generations of people who would disagree with you.
And those generations of people would be wrong. Even if Jesus essentially "disagrees" with this statement, which is debatable, there is a period of time between when the Old Testament and New Testaments are given during which children are commanded to be stoned without any caveat. That's "hateful." So is genocide, enacted by God. So is the acceptance/promotion of slavery by both Jesus and God.
Your statements only show how ignorant you are of the Bible. Please go read it. Then go pic up another copy and read it. Then go find a third version and read it. I don't mean go look on the net, I mean go pick that paper thing up that your parents call a book. It won't bite and it might take you from being a fool, to just an idiot. I am willing to bet you have spent more time with star wars than you have reading the bible. Sad. Good news is, Jesus still loves you! Even when you act like a fool.
Haha. You don't know me, please stop assuming you do. I was very religious, for a time. I have read the bible a total of 10 times cover to cover. The first 8 as a devout believer. The 9th as skeptical inquiry. The 10th as, "wow this is not as good as I thought it was."
Can you truly tell me that Genocide, slavery, and subjugation of women are good/true moral guides?
Of course people see what they want. You see hate so you assume everyone must see the book as you do. What a shame. There is a lot more to religion than hate but opening your eyes to other possibilities might. Relegion is like a gun, a car, a jet. It may be looked at as a curse or a blessing. Tell me, how many millions of children were born while the parents were following their god/s commandments to be fruitfull and multiply. I can tell you more were born due to religion than have died due religion. I can tell you there are way more religious hospitals than there are atheist.
Now you get it kid. Just you use your selective bias for only the bad, 99.99% of the world prefer to look at the good. Then again I am a half glass full type of person, you on the other hand . . . well I just pitty you in so many ways. You see most of us can tell what a person wrote down, and what the message of God is.
The bible is hailed as the creation of a perfect and all-knowing being. When a perfect and all-knowing being lays out the ways he/she/it thinks its creations should act, we should have a pretty high standard for that book. Ignoring the bad for the good is selective bias. I take all of it in equally. To me, genocide outweighs feeding some people on a mountain.
Yet you forget the bible was written by man. Gods message is perfect. A perfect message of love even for piss ants like yourself. Man has made mistakes, god had not. You want to see religion as evil. But god still loves you my child even if others don't. You say religion causes death, I say it has caused many fold more of life. Life, the one thing you ignorantly forget when talking about religion.
You are correct you not my tool, you are everyone's tool. I believe within the bible there are morals to be learned. The rest is up to ou. You want to see hate and you will find it, you want love it's there too. It seems you find hate, others find love. Get off your high horse and stop trying to bring others down to your level since they don't see the world as you do.
Might as well ask wat the last digit of pie is? You want a definitive answer no one can give you. Ask yourself what does faith mean to you? The word of god is in the bible, it's also in the eyes of a new born child, or it's in the heart of an anonymous good semaritin who ask for for no thanks but only wants to help. You will find in it what you want.
Ah, I wasn't sure those were directed at me, they seemed rhetorical.
I do not believe in any god, so do not have faith. I don't view god as being half-full or half-empty, because I don't believe he/she exists.
As for the Bible, I do my best to treat it like any other philosophical work that claims to be a moral guide: as objectively as possible. That kind of analysis let's me see that someone like Kant seems to be more consistently passionate and sensible than the writers of the Bible.
Funny thing about being a combat veteran, faith is a pillar. You want nothing from God so that's what you find. Faith is not something you yet understand or have use for. So the bible is not something you can understand. It takes faith to understand it.
As an ex marine who has put in multiple combat tours I have never met a soilder who does not pray. How many tours have you done to base your statement off of? Also you last statement is wonderful. You asked god for something and he did not give it to you so there is no god. Makes me think you are confusing god with Santa. None the less if I ask you for something g and you don't give it to me, by your logic, you don't exist.
Just because you have not met those soldiers, trust me, they exist. My family and friends, as well as many national organizations, attest to this fact.
That last statement was in response to yours, not in any way my justification for believing there is no God. You said that one must ask God to be privy to God's love, or something to that effect, and I was saying that that was incorrect. That is all.
Si you spent no time in com at and want to speak for the troops. I have two combat tours and am one of the troops. As usual you and your statements are worthless. The more I talk with you, the dumber the world gets.
"Speak all you like but I am done with you. I am drivi g and have no more time to waist on a fool of your caliber.i gave you the benefit of the doubt once that you are not a fool, but you are."
Still butchering English. You also should not be typing on Sharenator while driving, that is astoundingly unsafe. Furthermore, The idea that I am a fool is unfounded and unproven. Why am I a fool? How am I wrong in this situation?
Calling me a fool is not an acceptable or suitable response to my former point.
Son you can only teach people who don't think they know it all and have an open mind. your mind is made up, and you are here, as usual, to argue. You are a fool, one of the biggest i have ever met. I am ashamed of myself for spending the time I have with you. Good luck with life and how close minded you are. As I said, i am out for I have no time for a fool.
No you are correct. God made the original. Man has corrupted it from there. So now that it has been corrupted by man, it's up to you to find gods message. For myself and most others we find gods love. It would seem for you, you find hate. So the question I ask myself is...is god a glass half full or glass haft empty god. I have faith he is half full. What dies your faith tell you. Love or hate. What is in your heart? Love or hate?
Alright, thanks for your answer : ). When reading that Bible, the one that is some of God's creation, and some of Man's creation, what is your criteria for determining what is from which source? Is it faith, as you said? Meaning whatever feels like it is from God, is? Or is there some other litmus test?
"Si you spent no time in com at and want to speak for the troops. I have two combat tours and am one of the troops. As usual you and your statements are worthless. The more I talk with you, the dumber the world gets."
It is not advisable to insult the intelligence of a conversational partner while failing to utilize the English language correctly. Failing in a dramatic fashion at that.
I do not presume to speak for "the troops," and I do not even believe "troops" are at all relevant to our discussion. I was simply responding to a point you brought up, which is at best tangentially related to the topic at hand. So, back to it:
"You have faith if you understand the Bible.
You understand the Bible if you have faith.
Circular argument, logically unsound."
You have yet to respond to this.
Speak all you like but I am done with you. I am drivi g and have no more time to waist on a fool of your caliber.i gave you the benefit of the doubt once that you are not a fool, but you are.
"Son you can only teach people who don't think they know it all and have an open mind."
I know I don't know it all, and I'm very happy about that. I also am open minded about essentially everything except my base feelings regarding morality and the epistemology I subscribe to: empiricism.
"your mind is made up, and you are here, as usual, to argue."
I'm here to discuss things, yes. You are also here to discuss things. You are the one who posted a contrarian post on a thread that explicitly asks religious people to avoid it.
"You are a fool, one of the biggest i have ever met. I am ashamed of myself for spending the time I have with you. Good luck with life and how close minded you are. As I said, i am out for I have no time for a fool."
Calling someone a fool, as I have already said, does not make them a fool. How am I a fool? If you are not a fool yourself, you should know that to explain and evidence your statements is to properly engage in discussions. So please proceed to do so.
There lies the catch 22. To teach you anything about faith is like trying to tell a blu d man what a color looks like. You truly have not given me any incentive to carry on. From politics to religion, you are a fool. Today you are blind to so much. I truly do hope one days yours eyes open to the world.
I am sorry blind man, but you can't see. Don't be angry that I can't tell you what red look like when you can't see. Still no reason from you as to why I should waist more time talking to a blind man. Though I do love how some one who never spent time in the military let alone a combat zone wants to tell me what the military thinks. Its almost like you are blind to the word.
Wowzers, you are really bad at holding discussions. You still haven't stated why I am a fool, provided evidence for the assertion, or done anything but back up your assertion by repeatedly stating that assertion. It is laughable.
We already addressed the military discussion, it is irrelevant at this point. I do not pretend to speak for the military or its members, but know for a fact that there are atheists in foxholes.
Finally, like I said, I was religious in the past. I had faith. I "saw." Then I took a step back and realized that it was ridiculous. And dropped belief without evidence as an epistemology.
There is one tenant of atheism. The lack of belief in a deity.
Anything else is personal choice/unrelated to atheism itself. : ).
If you're asking why atheists themselves tend to enjoy debating religion/often find time to comment on others' religious views, it is because religion pervades society. Beliefs without evidence are contrary to the rationalist worldview, which happens to be a worldview I subscribe to. Thus, if a belief without evidence pervades society, society is not as perfect as it could be, so something must be done about it. Hence, discussion and evidence-based argumentation.
Its funny to me that atheists and religious people both argue all the time about which is right and which is better, but then atheists say religion causes fights even though they start them also. The problem isnt religion or lack of religion, the problem is people so you all suck just as bad as each other.
There have been wars started by people for other reasons then religion and started by people who dont believe in god/gods. Stop preaching and generalizing groups of people thats what causes problems. Have ur beliefs and keep them to ur self.
I'm not saying religion is better than atheism or the other way around im saying you shouldnt start fights and arguments for no reason. Thats why you all suck.
Saying we all "suck" is not civil and is unnecessary. Downrating posts in honest discussion is also unnecessary, and screws up the order of the posts, confusing the conversation.
Besides that, it seems to me like one of the most important questions human beings can answer is whether or not God exists. It informs life, possible after-life, actions, opinions, and more. It seems to me that one of the most important questions that our brains have access to deserves some discussion. Maybe even some "fights." Why do you disagree?
Now your sneakily changing the subject. No one said there aren't wars for other reasons. We're saying that religion has started some (a lot of, actually) wars, and atheism has not.
I know people fight over "something," it just do happens that that thing is often religion. That's all. It doesn't make the idea of god's existence any more or less likely, just makes the institution itself less appealing.
I don't understand what is funny about that. People fight because they have reasons to. Religion is one of those reasons. One of the most popular reasons. Eliminate that reason, those fights don't happen. It is pretty simple...
So how do you propose we get ride of all want and need in the world to make sure that war never happens again? Religion is a reason, but far far far from being the only reason. So lets say we get of all the reasons for war. How do you rid the planet of hunger, greed, ambition, thirst, miscommunication, oil, water, land, money, air, love, lust, just plain old crazy people (North Korea I am looking at you) and too many others to mention.
We fight because that is who we are. Some fights are more civil that others but make no mistake we fight because that is who we are. Religion is just an excuse. Nothing more.
Religion is not just an excuse, it is a cause. We obviously can't get rid of all want and need in the world. However, I don't believe, not being religious, that religious wars are anything but completely unfounded, unnecessary bloodshed. If we can take away a very popular reason to fight and remove those fights from the world, why wouldn't we do so? And even if religion is an "excuse" for wars, Atheism has never been.
In the case of charity, "Atheism" isn't an institution. It can't give money. You can't give money in the name of Atheism. However, it was explicitly given as a secular donation, which, inherently, is atheistic.
The main arguments here, both of which Logos385 is winning, seem to be:
• Beliefs starting wars
• Beliefs being beneficial to other people
Firstly: The number of conflicts in history caused by religion is massive. The number caused by atheism is 0. Sure, wars have been started by atheists, but not for the sake OF atheism. Do you understand that? If we included all the wars started BY religious people, the number of conflicts would be around 99% of all conflicts in history.
Secondly: Benefiting other people with your beliefs. If we somehow put aside the millions of people who've died because one person didn't like another person's invisible man in the sky, and look only at how religion has benefited people, there is NOTHING in comparison to the benefit that the past two hundred years of scientific development has provided. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, which definitely would not have happened had religion, in particular Christianity, been allowed to prevail, the scientific, economical and medical advances the human race has made have decreased mortality rates in most places of the world by giant amounts. There is absolutely no way religion can be said to have provided anywhere near as much of a benefit to the human race as scientific development has done. To emphasise the point further: getting angry about 9/11, then forgetting about the millions of people religion has killed before then is sort of like punching someone repeatedly in the face, then getting angry when they tap you on the shoulder. I mean no disrespect to the victims, I am just trying to put the death toll in perspective to the rest of religious conflicts in history. From Norse pillaging to the Crusades, there have been acts of violence in the name of religion that put 9/11 to shame.
Furthermore, unless you're Bill Gates, or some other SINGLE PERSON, i.e. NOT AN ENTIRE RELIGION OF PEOPLE, monetary donations, while a nice gesture, are a minuscule form of charity compared to the potential of your average human. What I'm saying is that it doesn't matter if there's more money donated in the name of religion that there is in the name of atheism - in fact that sort of just proves the worthlessness of religion. If every religious person spent all the money that would have been donations on improving their own lives, forgetting about systems with flawed logic (religion), and committing their lives to helping people by going to university and studying science, and contributing to the development of our species, they would eventually be contributing are FAR greater amount to society than whatever they would've donated as a Christian. This again can be demonstrated by the past 200 years.
TL;DR: You're wrong and your logic is flawed. See above explanation for details.
It doesn't matter. I'd argue that donating to charity for the sake of it shows greater character than doing so in the name of your religion/cause anyway.
So much fail. Your excuses are top notch. So if a person starts a war, in say the name of Logos, its not the person's fault but Logos fault. I guess you also think guns and not people kill people. Or that donuts cause fat people, and not the lack of self control of said fat people. Or better yet, I bet you think keyboards and pencils cause misspelled words. Its never the person's fault is it?
I never said religious wars were the fault of religion itself, which is the comparison you are attempting to draw. Check above. All I am saying is that, from my (nonreligious) point of view, since religion is the "excuse" or "cause" of so much war, as proclaimed by the people who engage in them, it makes the institution less appealing to me. Still not saying that those wars are ACTUALLY caused by religion itself, just that a single person's religious beliefs might move a country toward war or violence. Big difference there.
Even if it's not the reason, it makes good motivation. You convince an army that they go to heaven when they die, they're more likely to risk their lives than a non-believer regardless of the cause.
I love how you ignore a legitimate point when it doesn't match your ideas.
But seriously, am I wrong? Is someone who thinks they're going to a better place after death not more likely to risk their life than someone who doesn't?
No there has not been a war you fool. The atheist just cause genocide and kill all their own people. During the civil war, a war that had nothing to do with religion, around 600,000 died. Now compare that to the 20,000,000 + (many think it could go as high as 100,000,000) that the atheist Stalin killed.
The difference is that there has never been a war in the name of atheism. Stalin and Hitler both had mustaches, thus, mustaches are responsible for more death and destruction than any other single attribute. See how fallacious it is to attribute a war fought, not in the name of a principle, to that principle?
With religious wars, people fight in the name of that religion. Meaning that it is because of that religion that they fight. It was not because of Stalin's atheism that he waged war and caused death. That was completely unrelated. Come now, you know that.
How in the world do you consider the civil war an atheistic agenda?!
How did I know you have a sad excuse. At least with a war the other side has a chance to fight, not so much with your side. You miss so many points its sad.
That made no sense. An argument is not an excuse. I'm saying there is a distinct difference fighting for something and someone fighting that happens to have an attribute, hence the mustache example. Do you disagree that there is a difference there?
My spin doctor friend, you are crazy. So crazy you have no idea that you are crazy (that is part of being crazy is you don't know it). War and genocide may be waged by anyone in power regardless of religion or lack there of. Once again due to your ignorance I am having to put an end to my part of the "conversation." You are one of those people who think their shit don't stink. Sorry pal, it does. People fight. Its in our nature. God has never commanded any army to attack anything. Man has. None the less in your screwed up head you will make an excuse to make your self feel better about being an atheist.
Sigh. So you are saying that there is never a true motivation for anything ever? Is that really your argument? That because people will always do bad things, we can't connect those bad things to stated reasons for bad things? Really?
Furthermore, if God exists and it is in our nature to fight, God screwed up. Why would he create us with a volatile nature?
Finally, I feel great about being an atheist. Absolutely fantastic. Science, logic, and morality are on my side, and that's quite the wonderful feeling : ).
If you truly believe what you said in your last post your ignorance is so overwhelming. You are very much a child when it comes to the ways of the world.
Care to explain why? Care to evidence your statements? Care to do anything but insult others without basis, and refuse to hold any form of actual discussion?
No, I have learned you can't teach or talk to a fool like yourself. Only time and education can. Good luck in life, I hope one day you are no longer what you are now.
There are examples of you being wrong. The good Doc disagrees with you. Science is not on Any
side, you may be on the side of science. That statement alone shows your mental grasp and machurity of the subject at hand. a question that has stumped many a certufied genius. You are not a genius just another exampl of your ignorance. The list is much longer but you tiny brain is not ready to comprehend it yet, you dumbass.
Your first argument is, literally, "I see the postman. Therefore God is real." Please choose a better one.
Next, I never said science and religion can't coexist, I said that science is not on the side of faith. Science is empirical, faith is not. Neither of your links, nor your words, refute that in any way.
"There are examples of you being wrong." Hahahaha. They are out there, but you won't show me them? Seriously?
When you are using the word "maturity" to be derogatory towards someone on an even moderately intellectual subject, don't spell it "machurity." Also, certified**.
Ah, I'm a dumbass now. You must be really, really correct to call me that.
Science will always be on the side of evidence and empirical thought. Always. Good luck finding a clip of the great Michio Kaku or Neil Degrasse Tyson (both of which are amazing science writers: I encourage you to read them) saying that science is not on the side of evidence and empiricism.
I am not a troll, I am making a statement that you disagreed with before. "Science is grounded in empiricism, and doesn't support unevidenced claims." Why do you disagree with this?
Furthermore, if anyone has the right to be posting here, it is me. "An atheist post don't open this and start a big war if you have religion -_-"
Well, I'm done with this conversation until you make even a moderately substantive post. Where we are now, just like with every other discussion we have:
I have made a point that you have failed to respond to in favor of discussing my character and calling me a fool. Ball is in your court on, once again, the idea that you reject that "Science is grounded in empiricism, and doesn't support unevidenced claims."
Be gone worthless troll. I send you back to what ever hypocritical land you hail from. The land of reason and logic is too much for you so be gone until you may act like a person not a troll.
Well, surprisingly, that was somewhat substantive, and warrants a reply. You are now claiming, while still ignoring all of my points, that I am illogical and unreasonable. You, the one who believes overarching truths of the universe without evidence, thinks that I, who grounds his beliefs in empiricism, is illogical and unreasonable. How? In what way? Support your claim.
Once again, as soon as you post something devoid of substance, I will be done here.
How can I argue with some one who thinks god, Santa, and the postman are only real when they bring you what you want. The diffrence between yourself and me is your train of thought. You are a vain athiest troll who thinks science is on your side. You see I never knew science chose sides. None the less I am on the side of science. My vanity and stupidity do not let me think science, as some sort of sentient being that chooses "sides", is on my side. Rather like many great scientist I prefer to have faith, something you don't yet understand, that science and god are one and the same in many ways and by proxy I am on the side of science. If you want a discussion, stop throwing stupid ass shit out and expecting me to believe you or think the fools words you can speak at time deserve a response by any one other than to laugh at you, and your vanity. My god man, science is on your side? Really? Was science drafted to your team, did you trade science and recruit it? Did you go eat dinner with science parents and tell them what good things you had planned for science if only it would sign with team logos, who mascot must be a flaming flying piece of bull shit?
I don't think they are real, whether or not they bring me things. Which they don't. Because they aren't real.
Science is objectively on the side of the person who holds beliefs based on evidence and the scientific method. If you have "Faith," or, "Belief without evidence," science is not on your side, pure and simple.
Swearing does not help a lousy argument be any less terrible. If my points are so much "bull shit" that they are laughed at, tell me how a single one I have made is wrong? Oh wait, you have already said you refuse to engage in any kind of actual discussion, evidence your statements, or explain yourself.
I love how the atheist never bring up that Joseph Stalin was an atheist. More importantly he is responsible for more death than any other person to walk on this earth.
They're two completely separate things. Agnosticism means not knowing whether or not there is a god. Atheism means not believing there is one. Most atheists are also agnostic. None of us are claiming to have disproved the possibility of god.
Gnostic Theist- Someone who believes in God and knows that there is one. (Common)
Agnostic Theist- Believes in God but does not know that there is one. (Uncommon)
Gnostic Atheist- Does not believe in any specific God-claim, knows there is no God. (Uncommon)
Agnostic Atheist- Does not believe in any specific God-claim, does not know whether a God exists. (Common)
The classic "Agnostic" is really an Agnostic Atheist. Atheist just means that you believe in no specific God-claim.
I believe that there is a God. Reason being that none of the theories out there appeal much to me. I'm not saying that they couldn't be right, but that I don't really feel like they are. As for the agnostic part, I don't think we will ever know the truth. I think that with every new answer we arrive to, 100 more questions will pop up. So I believe that there is a God of some sort, but one that we really don't know much about. Only claim to.
Yeah. The idea of there being nothing, and that nothing heating and expanding to explode into the universe as we know it just seems iffy. Guess it's just a personal opinion. I don't really have any facts or science to throw out at you.
That all makes a lot of sense. However, your idea of the Big Bang Theory may have suffered from its portrayal in popular media. The Big Bang Theory never posits a true "nothing," just a state where there is no space and no matter. Energy and fluctuating virtual particles both are posited to predate the Big Bang. Really, the Big Bang was just energy coalescing into mass (e=mc^2) and that mass needing space to exist.
Furthermore, this is a scientific theory, not a colloquial theory. This means that it has reached the highest level of acceptance any explanation in science can achieve. The Theory of Gravity and Germ Theory are good examples. A scientific theory is something with mountains of evidence. Maybe that helps inform at least!
The idea, loosely, is that it always existed. The principle of massenergy conservation states that massenergy is never created or destroyed.
This is accounted for in the Big Bang Theory because mass and energy are, in actuality, the same thing. Mass is just a different expression/form of energy.
Essentially, a bunch of energy was in existence (energy does not require space in which to exist). There are random fluctuations in said energy, which spontaneously produced mass particles, which became our Universe. Ish.
I am an atheist: an agnostic atheist, specifically. I am a subset of atheist known as "Scientific Pantheist," which essentially means that I believe in no personal God but that the Universe itself is majestic and worthy of reverence, and that science is the way to acknowledge that beauty.
where did the big bang theory come from .. and where did that energy come from ? and where did that come? from at some point someone had to create it there has to be a creator.. just like a piece of clock it works by itself yes.. but someone had to create it to do so...
Massenergy always existed. It does not need an origin source. Furthermore, even if it did, that origin source would not need to a be sentient, a God, or anything other than something natural.
lol lol lol so your telling me something somewhere gets made out of nothing?? buddy ill tell you exactly why you don't believe in a god right now the real reason that you keep lying to yourself.. you don't want to believe that after this life your going to have to explain for your doings that just doesn't fit your lifestyle deny it or not you know im right... secondly i always thought to myself if i was an atheist and if i believed that i died and went nowhere what if the Christians were right all that time? why take the risk? think of it as life insurance..
"Who am I? Well, if you believe in evolution, you are nothing important. You are just a bit of protoplasm that washed upon the beach a couple of million years ago. Where did I come from? If you are an evolutionist, you came from a cosmic burp about 20 million years ago. Where am I going when this life is over? Don't worry about it. You will just go back to star dust."
The moon goes around the earth. As the moon goes around the earth, the moon is getting further and further away. We are slowly losing the moon a couple of inches a year; no big deal; it's nothing to worry about. This is going to be complicated; so, read very carefully. If the moon is getting further and further away from the earth, that means that it used to be closer. Scientists will agree with that. Now, wait a minute! A couple of thousand years ago that wouldn't make a big difference. If you want to tell me that the earth is millions or billions of years old, you had better get your calculator because it makes for a serious problem. If you bring the moon back in closer, it would cause trouble because the moon causes the tides. If you bring the moon back in a couple of million years ago, the tides would have been so high that it would have drowned everything on earth twice a day. Everybody knows that you can only drown comfortably once a day. If you want to tell me that the dinosaurs lived 70 million years ago, then I know what happened to them. They got sick of drowning twice a day! Man, they quit! They gave up! They said, "This evolving is too hard; I'm not going to do this anymore!" The simple fact is: the earth cannot be billions of years old. lol love that 1
Oh wow, a triple post. This will be fun.
First: two things. 1. Please respond by clicking "reply" to my post, so I see a notification when you reply. 2. Try and condense your replies into briefer posts, that way we can actually have a sensible conversation.
The definition of something, like massenergy, always existing, is that it was not created. "Nothing," that is, true nothing, never existed.
Pascal's wager fails because a God can see your true intentions.
As for "who we are," I can spout sweet nothings too. If you believe in evolution, you are the unlikely coalescence of all things universal into the epitome of the Universe's self expression. We are a way for the universe to know itself, and the beauty of nature channeled into movement. See? Sounds good. Means nothing. Just like the "beauty" of God.
Finally, I hope you realize you are attempting to butcher Astrophysics to an Astrophysics researcher : ). That means, I get paid to analayze astronomical data, make astrophysical conclusions, and assess claims about the universe on large scales. I promise, your terrible interpretation of pseudo-science wasn't too "complicated" for me : ). The moon is receding from the Earth due to the principal of Conservation of Angular Momentum. Essentially, tidal friction causes a loss in angular momentum of the Earth, which is then transferred to the moon, ipso facto causing its recession. However, tidal friction and its effects change depending on continental arrangement. Back when the Earth was arranged as "Pangea," tidal friction was MUCH less, meaning that the rate of recession was much less as well. You really just don't know how that works.
Aside from that, if you really think you have a groundbreaking scientific discovery... How do you calculate differential tidal force? What's the relationship between orbital spin, lunar recession, and tidal locking? If you can't answer these questions, you have no right to even think about challenging scientific thought on this subject.
im not gonna start a war here but personally i believe that a god exists i am of course talking about a scientific god that started the big bang theory in our empty univedrse as you see people believe that the big bang started the universe this is simply not true the universe existed before the big bang so who caused that spark, there must of been An intelligent force behind it, however religion is bullshit and made up even the bible is faked
The big bang was the origin of the universe. Of this universe. There may have been another universe before this one, or there may be a multiverse, but the big bang was the origin of this specific universe.
How does the creation of a universe, despite that massenergy likely always existed, require intelligence?
it doiesnt but i mean it kind of makes sense and atleast im not going on ur going to hell cos u dont believe in god and the big bang was once thought to be the origin of the universe but there already was space there other wise the big bang would not be able to exist anyway so before our universe blinked into existence there had to of been some matter in the universe that caused it.
The Big Bang is still thought to be the origin of the universe in the Physics community. Space, as we know it, did not exist before this massive spacetime expansion. There was no matter in our Universe, or no Universe for that matter to exist in, prior to the Big Bang. It is still as accepted as the Theory of Gravity and Germ Theory.
Although I do appreciate you not yelling at me about hell : ).
it just does it seems that certain things in this universe are too perfect to be random chance thats why i believe there has to be some inteligences behind everything, also its believed the big bang wasnt the start of space time they think time could of been there before we just werent there to conceive it giving the likeness of the universe being born from nothingness, things need to have an observer to truely exist, hence why time wouldn't, "exist" without us observing it and the big bang theory really only goes so far to say thatit was the start of the universe we know but what was there before? we will never know because we cant.
The Big Bang was the origin of our own specific spacetime, but there could have been a different spacetime before it, yes. What is too perfect to be "random chance?" And why do you think "random chance" is the only alternative explanation to a God Hypothesis?
Finally, things, scientifically, can absolutely exist without us observing them.
I am a christian and I myself am ashamed at what some of the "followers in Christ" do in a daily basis. They hate people when God tells us to love everyone. We are taught to hate the sins, not the people. One of the best quotes I have ever seen says, "I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians." -Ghandi
Merry Christmas to all. I hope you are all warm wand full of the spirit today. Just remember why we give gifts, a reminder of the gift God and Jesus gave us all.
We give gifts on Christmas because gift-giving was an intrinsic part of Saturnalia, the Pagan celebration of the passage of Saturn across the sky bringing in the Winter Solstice. Not anything to do with God or Jesus. At Christmas we celebrate birth, winter, snow, essentially worship trees, enjoy music, the night sky, and be with family. This holiday is not of Christian design, it is of human design, and I invite everyone, regardless of belief, to enjoy it together! : D.
So you don't know why we celebrate Christmas. We celebrate the birth of Jesus. You may not know it but Jesus was the son of god. Why we celebrate Christmas has nothing to do with what you said, how we celebrate was influenced by that and much more. None the less why we celebrate is the birth of a man who died for your sins. You may not know this but you can not have CHRISTmas without CHRIST. There is nothing wrong with what you describe, but that's not Christmas. Only a liberal fool would ever think otherwise. I can't wait to hear your crazy conspiracy theories about Hanukkah . . . Let me guess its was a holiday created by big oil?
"Christmas" is a description of an idea. A winter celebration of many things. To understand what "we" celebrate on Christmas, you must look much further than the name. The origin of the Christmas holiday is a fantastically interesting tale of woven culture and borrowed tradition. All of this makes it much, much more profound than your simplistic interpretation ever could.
Epic fail. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Wow are you truly that stupid? I mean really, you are either dumber than a bag of bricks or trolling your ass off. Its sad that I bet you received gifts but have no idea why. Its comments like these that make me ask a question you won't answer. Are you mentally handicapped? Or taking strong medication? If you act like a fool, you will be treated like a fool. Stop being a retard, or are you just trolling again?
In order to have this discussion, we must establish a baseline: is it possible, in your estimation, for things to be more than what they seem to be at first glance? Simple yes or no answer here.
I have already answered that question: no, I am in no way mentally handicapped. I am also not trolling.
Johne- I would very much like to have an honest discussion with you. I hope you are willing to do the same, especially in an area where you believe you are so correct there isn't even a discussion to be had: Christmas. Who knows? You could get me, an atheist, to stop celebrating "Christmas" if you can show me the truth behind your viewpoint. Isn't that worth shelving insults for a moment, and simply discussing ideas?
The flaw in your argument is you think I care or want to have the conversation. You say something smart and well debate. What you said about Christmas makes me think you need mental help. It's like you want to argue that 1 + 1 = 2. It's the truth and bit worthy of my time to argue.
I'm confused. What I'm saying is the truth? But because I say it I need mental help? I'm being completely honest when I say I cannot at all understand your meaning.
"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right, and I will be proved right. We are more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first -- rock'n'roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me." -John Lennon
I really hope you're right, John. It'll be nice when religion is gone.
My point is society under your point of view is no guarantee of being an improvement, not that all are.
For us to have an argument, we must be on the same page. it would appear you are not.
And actually, wait a minute, what am I saying? Stalin's government wasn't secular at all. It was religiously atheist. No, of course we shouldn't ban religion, but it can't be a part of the government. America is a great example of a secular government that works.
The largest single killer of human life was an atheist government, and that what you want? Funny how the biggest killer in modern history is in your camp. Then again, atheist seem to love the smell of their own farts. No one loves an atheist like an atheist loves them self.
im a special athiest i belive in hell but my hell is hard to get into lust isnt something to get you into hell but killing rapeing or being a total douche bag well cause you to got there and my heaven is another life
whatever the hell i am i love it. i like being who i am its fun you dont have to hide behind people and exprase your self to the world. i have nothing to hide i will admet everything on the spot if some asks me
very well said sir. also mr goronix, it is possible for a person to make their own religion, many people do. the mainstream religions of today are not the only choices. if he wants to believe in one thing but not another, so be it. also threatening a non-christian with hell is like robing a bank with a squirt gun
we all know that it's a shitty analogy though you didn't have to point it out. As long as the point was put across and received it doesn't matter how shitty the analogy is.
I made a promise to an LDS missionary to spread the word of the lord in anyway I could, he handed me a book of Mormon and went about his business, little did he know I was going shooting in the dessert later that day.
And as I ran out of targets I remembered the promise I made earlier that morning. So I took the book of Mormon out of my glove compartment, placed it against the wind and with a smile knowing that I was about to spread the word of the lord I shot it into tiny pieces, that were carried with the wind, with my shotgun.
I love how you posted an "atheist post dont open this and start a big war if you have religion" and you're letting people start a war by being ok that that picture and certain comments are on....
"If you have religion." its sort of dumb to go into an atheist post as a christian and to make a big deal out of being offended. He could clearly tell that this would probably offend someone with religion but he decided to open the post anyway. Then contuned by saying he was offended so I believe that people may post what they want about his comment.
Being athiest is a religion religion is a persons personal beliefs, i didnt say anything on here about me being offended i see that stuff a lot if your ok with that religion posting things then you should have named this post "an atheist post dont open this and start a big war if you have a religious belief other than mine"
no im christian and respect everyones own beliefs, thats what they are what we believe, you dont want someone saying your wrong and saying your going to hell same as people dont want you saying they are wrong and god isnt real, believe what you want just dont intrude on others believes like that please
oh and please hurry up and type out you comment dont wait two hours again, i know how hard it is scrounging the internet looking for information on wiki that was written by people who think they know about something, finding the error pieces, and taking only the parts that help you in your arguement not the whole, then typing ignorant comments about things you dont know of like my religion or apparently yours, :p dont be mad bro some people arnt made for big conversations like ths c:
:) its alright i understand my big words must have confused you and your points made were so far off you almost wrote a great fiction book like what you see as the bible :D good job as for copy and paste yes i did take your answers and break down how incorrect they were :) love the religion crack btw. maybe one day when your open minded enough to take information thats shown on my posts and the FULL info on the things you pasted we can have a actual conversation on religion or politics. either way enjoy the 8th grade you may be there longer than expected \(^o^)/ ill root for you though
Religion defined, a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. Or a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects. Atheism isn't a religion because it doesn't have ritualistic practices, a specific moral code governing the affairs of the people who claim atheism, and isn't faithful or devotional to a higher power.
you missed these.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects
3.the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices
and 2 others that go with yours.
it says beliefs doesnt it? i see it atheists have beliefs dont you know that? its a religion by either the individual or a group of atheists
Religion defined, a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe. do atheists not have any thoughts on how the universe was made?
and your comment also said USUALLY involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. Or a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects,
That comment said usually not always so you dont have to have those to have religion.. not trying to be a jerk but read what you post before posting...
Really, that's the best you can do? 1. I put 2 definitions up one of which you said I didn't put. 2. the definition of ritual- A religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order. Rituals practiced by Christianity baptism, confirmation, communion, sunday services, prayer, bible study, evangelism, missions, ordination, healing, mass, confession, penance, last rites, canonization and veneration of saints, devotion to Mary, praying the rosary, pilgrimages, stations of the cross , ordination to religious orders, monastic life, holy water, and exorcism. 3. A set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe,(omitting parts of the that are disadvantageous to your argument is weak)cont. "especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies". 4. a religion without devotion or ritual practice of any kind cannot stand. 5. Unlike the majority of religions atheism has no clearly defined set of rules, eschatology, or a philosophy by which to live. 6. Thoughts on the creation the universe vary greatly among atheists. 7. common characteristics of a religion as defined by the encyclopedia of philosophy, belief in supernatural beings (gods), a distinction between sacred and profane objects, ritual acts focused on sacred objects, a moral code believed to be sanctioned by the gods, characteristically religious feelings (awe, sense of mystery, sense of guilt, adoration), which tend to be aroused in the presence of sacred objects and during the practice of ritual, and which are connected in idea with the gods, prayer and other forms of communication with gods, a world view, or a general picture of the world as a whole and the place of the individual therein, this picture contains some specification of an over-all purpose or point of the world and an indication of how the individual fits into it, a more or less total organization of one's life based on the world view, a social group bound together by the above. Game set match.
1. I dont doubt youre copy and paste skills at all you copied that definition and put it here all i did was put the others that were there next to yours saying there was more than one way to take religion you dont believe it? its right there dont be so arogant that you can take something one way and its the only way
2. ok yeah one CAN do that IF they choose too, same as a athiest can go to a building and discuss their own believes, dont believe that everyone does something because you hear it on tv please... and sorry to say it but you just made yourself sound completely ignorant saying thats what BAPTISTS do. you pulled one section that goes to church then posted everything youve ever heard about a "follower" of christ you dont HAVE to do any of those and most you pointed out arnt even in that religious group so learn a religion before commenting about it you come off as stupid sorry.
3. i didnt over look " especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies". that is talking about one group who DOES believe in a higher power yes but it says especially which means it is important to them it doesnt say only if believing in a higher power does it? please again read before posting youre making yourself sound bad
4. devotion or practice cant stand yes , christian practice in everyday life by striving to follow jesus and talking about it atheist of course talk about religion dont they? thats not practice? talking and discussing is a practice so yes atheist do.
5. a lot of religious dont follow laws set by a higher power budism doesnt have a god right? how is that a religion they strive by laws they made to end it all.
6.thoughts amount creation varie vastly amount different groups of christians
7.christians dont worship items lol and you went again by one definition you posted earlier a different definition of it and it said belief system.
im sorry but game set match no more like you need to learn more about anothers religion before you tell someone what they believe. please in yor next post, post actual information that backs you up not that can come back on you
5. redo i read that wrong.. atheist make there own rules to follow and live by. religions do that all the time not by a higher power, religions have man made morals they made and go by whats the difference between a athiest that goes by what they made?
I made my points, you tried to counter with a rebuttal of you're wrong, that's not true, you copy and pasted all your evidence. You never actually brought tangible evidence that proved anything otherwise. And it would take an act of god for any of that to change.
If you were a furry as well you would enjoy it. Also i cant control ether of those things. And can you explain to me how porn is childish, Last time i checked not even kids my age should be viewing it.
all i meant was on his post it said dont start a war if you have religion and you are doing that by posting that picture of yours dont hold your beliefs over someone elses please be open minded or respectful of others please, or youll be just like one of those "christians" forcing god all over you
ok im glad you have you own believes i have my own too, i was just saying dont start a war on religion on here just like the post says in the title, which you are doing.
+3 good sir
The fact is faith or no faith 2 hands will do the same amount of good working than they would praying, religion served its purpose of keeping the uncivilised and death fearing in line and now humanity has reached a point evolved enough to accept their deaths and don't need lies of a heaven to live a fulfilled and good life
My theory being that if God gave us free will, surely he meant us to use it rather than rely on him the whole time.
We are not all bad :D
some words in a book dont matter i am Christian and i believe in God but people get to wrapped up in the ideology there is one law that should be held above all the others "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"
I'll plus one you, but I had to say this. :P
I love existential debates, and sophistication without immaturity.
I'm down if the respect is flowing?
#10 was hysterical though. XD
8 is the perfect example.
Secondly, I don't know about others, but if someone asks you if you believe in Jesus, don't assume they are trying to shove religion down your throats; some people genuinely want to help you. I am saying there is something wrong with you, and I want you to be better. That does not mean there is nothing wrong with me, because there is; but some people want to share the love of Jesus with you because they don't want you to suffer.
Lastly it is easy to judge religion and other things and say they are bad and Hippocrates when you only look at the bad things. Try searching for the good things that have come out of Christianity and other religions. Now I'm not going to list out a bunch of stuff for you, but here is one thing that has come out of Christianity that is good. http://www.vaporsports.org/ .
One more thing I just want to say the majority of things and people on Sharenator are good and I love you all. I believe God exists and Jesus saved me when he died on the cross because he loves me. He loves you too.
buts thats just my $0.13
???????????????
He has obviously changed it to be 13 cents.
and why did i get downrated for this?
Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ was the son of God, not just the belief in God. The world would be a better place if people just believed that Jesus Christ was a great MAN and tried to replicate his actions. Instead, most Christians are unforgiving and extremely judgmental.
If you want to win any argument with a Christian, ask them about the Great Crusades.
As a Christian, do you reject the Bible? (This is a serious question, I'm interested in your belief system. The first part was just an example to attempt to probe for a deeper answer, no offense meant).
So, the Bible provides rules and guidelines. How about Jesus explicitly promoting and condoning slavery, and God committing Genocide? Once again, not trying to be offensive, just trying to probe deeper.
Would you describe yourself as a "Deist" then?
I mean when God either directly orders a race to be wiped out or when he floods the Earth.
Finally, you believe science can't answer every question. Does that mean a God could?
Its easy to treat the bible like a buffet, only pointing out the parts that help your cause. Leaving out the parts that don't support you. On the other hand understanding it would take a life time of reading. You want to see the bible as hateful, go on. I bet it makes you feel better about yourself. On the other hand there are generations of people who would disagree with you.
Can you truly tell me that Genocide, slavery, and subjugation of women are good/true moral guides?
I do not believe in any god, so do not have faith. I don't view god as being half-full or half-empty, because I don't believe he/she exists.
As for the Bible, I do my best to treat it like any other philosophical work that claims to be a moral guide: as objectively as possible. That kind of analysis let's me see that someone like Kant seems to be more consistently passionate and sensible than the writers of the Bible.
You understand the Bible if you have faith.
Circular argument, logically unsound.
Furthermore, there are many atheists in foxholes, and I wanted plenty from God. I just didn't receive it. Because of God's non-existence.
That last statement was in response to yours, not in any way my justification for believing there is no God. You said that one must ask God to be privy to God's love, or something to that effect, and I was saying that that was incorrect. That is all.
Still butchering English. You also should not be typing on Sharenator while driving, that is astoundingly unsafe. Furthermore, The idea that I am a fool is unfounded and unproven. Why am I a fool? How am I wrong in this situation?
Calling me a fool is not an acceptable or suitable response to my former point.
Essentially, I am asking if you believe God had a hand in creating the Bible, or if it is man's creation alone.
It is not advisable to insult the intelligence of a conversational partner while failing to utilize the English language correctly. Failing in a dramatic fashion at that.
I do not presume to speak for "the troops," and I do not even believe "troops" are at all relevant to our discussion. I was simply responding to a point you brought up, which is at best tangentially related to the topic at hand. So, back to it:
"You have faith if you understand the Bible.
You understand the Bible if you have faith.
Circular argument, logically unsound."
You have yet to respond to this.
I know I don't know it all, and I'm very happy about that. I also am open minded about essentially everything except my base feelings regarding morality and the epistemology I subscribe to: empiricism.
"your mind is made up, and you are here, as usual, to argue."
I'm here to discuss things, yes. You are also here to discuss things. You are the one who posted a contrarian post on a thread that explicitly asks religious people to avoid it.
"You are a fool, one of the biggest i have ever met. I am ashamed of myself for spending the time I have with you. Good luck with life and how close minded you are. As I said, i am out for I have no time for a fool."
Calling someone a fool, as I have already said, does not make them a fool. How am I a fool? If you are not a fool yourself, you should know that to explain and evidence your statements is to properly engage in discussions. So please proceed to do so.
We already addressed the military discussion, it is irrelevant at this point. I do not pretend to speak for the military or its members, but know for a fact that there are atheists in foxholes.
Finally, like I said, I was religious in the past. I had faith. I "saw." Then I took a step back and realized that it was ridiculous. And dropped belief without evidence as an epistemology.
Narnia....
Hell....
Anything else is personal choice/unrelated to atheism itself. : ).
If you're asking why atheists themselves tend to enjoy debating religion/often find time to comment on others' religious views, it is because religion pervades society. Beliefs without evidence are contrary to the rationalist worldview, which happens to be a worldview I subscribe to. Thus, if a belief without evidence pervades society, society is not as perfect as it could be, so something must be done about it. Hence, discussion and evidence-based argumentation.
Besides that, it seems to me like one of the most important questions human beings can answer is whether or not God exists. It informs life, possible after-life, actions, opinions, and more. It seems to me that one of the most important questions that our brains have access to deserves some discussion. Maybe even some "fights." Why do you disagree?
We fight because that is who we are. Some fights are more civil that others but make no mistake we fight because that is who we are. Religion is just an excuse. Nothing more.
You are willing to spend much more time on this discussion than I am, apparently : ). I appreciate your points, well said.
• Beliefs starting wars
• Beliefs being beneficial to other people
Firstly: The number of conflicts in history caused by religion is massive. The number caused by atheism is 0. Sure, wars have been started by atheists, but not for the sake OF atheism. Do you understand that? If we included all the wars started BY religious people, the number of conflicts would be around 99% of all conflicts in history.
Secondly: Benefiting other people with your beliefs. If we somehow put aside the millions of people who've died because one person didn't like another person's invisible man in the sky, and look only at how religion has benefited people, there is NOTHING in comparison to the benefit that the past two hundred years of scientific development has provided. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, which definitely would not have happened had religion, in particular Christianity, been allowed to prevail, the scientific, economical and medical advances the human race has made have decreased mortality rates in most places of the world by giant amounts. There is absolutely no way religion can be said to have provided anywhere near as much of a benefit to the human race as scientific development has done. To emphasise the point further: getting angry about 9/11, then forgetting about the millions of people religion has killed before then is sort of like punching someone repeatedly in the face, then getting angry when they tap you on the shoulder. I mean no disrespect to the victims, I am just trying to put the death toll in perspective to the rest of religious conflicts in history. From Norse pillaging to the Crusades, there have been acts of violence in the name of religion that put 9/11 to shame.
Furthermore, unless you're Bill Gates, or some other SINGLE PERSON, i.e. NOT AN ENTIRE RELIGION OF PEOPLE, monetary donations, while a nice gesture, are a minuscule form of charity compared to the potential of your average human. What I'm saying is that it doesn't matter if there's more money donated in the name of religion that there is in the name of atheism - in fact that sort of just proves the worthlessness of religion. If every religious person spent all the money that would have been donations on improving their own lives, forgetting about systems with flawed logic (religion), and committing their lives to helping people by going to university and studying science, and contributing to the development of our species, they would eventually be contributing are FAR greater amount to society than whatever they would've donated as a Christian. This again can be demonstrated by the past 200 years.
TL;DR: You're wrong and your logic is flawed. See above explanation for details.
But seriously, am I wrong? Is someone who thinks they're going to a better place after death not more likely to risk their life than someone who doesn't?
With religious wars, people fight in the name of that religion. Meaning that it is because of that religion that they fight. It was not because of Stalin's atheism that he waged war and caused death. That was completely unrelated. Come now, you know that.
How in the world do you consider the civil war an atheistic agenda?!
Furthermore, if God exists and it is in our nature to fight, God screwed up. Why would he create us with a volatile nature?
Finally, I feel great about being an atheist. Absolutely fantastic. Science, logic, and morality are on my side, and that's quite the wonderful feeling : ).
That is downright despicable, and you are not worth anyone's time.
It's a shame, because I find conversation with those that have opposing viewpoints is often fruitful.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=SBB2qHgZvLY
There are examples of you being wrong. The good Doc disagrees with you. Science is not on Any
side, you may be on the side of science. That statement alone shows your mental grasp and machurity of the subject at hand. a question that has stumped many a certufied genius. You are not a genius just another exampl of your ignorance. The list is much longer but you tiny brain is not ready to comprehend it yet, you dumbass.
Next, I never said science and religion can't coexist, I said that science is not on the side of faith. Science is empirical, faith is not. Neither of your links, nor your words, refute that in any way.
"There are examples of you being wrong." Hahahaha. They are out there, but you won't show me them? Seriously?
When you are using the word "maturity" to be derogatory towards someone on an even moderately intellectual subject, don't spell it "machurity." Also, certified**.
Ah, I'm a dumbass now. You must be really, really correct to call me that.
Science will always be on the side of evidence and empirical thought. Always. Good luck finding a clip of the great Michio Kaku or Neil Degrasse Tyson (both of which are amazing science writers: I encourage you to read them) saying that science is not on the side of evidence and empiricism.
Science is grounded in empiricism, and doesn't support unevidenced claims.
Furthermore, if anyone has the right to be posting here, it is me. "An atheist post don't open this and start a big war if you have religion -_-"
; ).
I have made a point that you have failed to respond to in favor of discussing my character and calling me a fool. Ball is in your court on, once again, the idea that you reject that "Science is grounded in empiricism, and doesn't support unevidenced claims."
Once again, as soon as you post something devoid of substance, I will be done here.
Science is objectively on the side of the person who holds beliefs based on evidence and the scientific method. If you have "Faith," or, "Belief without evidence," science is not on your side, pure and simple.
Swearing does not help a lousy argument be any less terrible. If my points are so much "bull shit" that they are laughed at, tell me how a single one I have made is wrong? Oh wait, you have already said you refuse to engage in any kind of actual discussion, evidence your statements, or explain yourself.
-.-
^Your logic
Gnostic Theist- Someone who believes in God and knows that there is one. (Common)
Agnostic Theist- Believes in God but does not know that there is one. (Uncommon)
Gnostic Atheist- Does not believe in any specific God-claim, knows there is no God. (Uncommon)
Agnostic Atheist- Does not believe in any specific God-claim, does not know whether a God exists. (Common)
The classic "Agnostic" is really an Agnostic Atheist. Atheist just means that you believe in no specific God-claim.
And are you just saying that God is your answer to anything unexplained? Or is god an actual, describable being?
Furthermore, this is a scientific theory, not a colloquial theory. This means that it has reached the highest level of acceptance any explanation in science can achieve. The Theory of Gravity and Germ Theory are good examples. A scientific theory is something with mountains of evidence. Maybe that helps inform at least!
This is accounted for in the Big Bang Theory because mass and energy are, in actuality, the same thing. Mass is just a different expression/form of energy.
Essentially, a bunch of energy was in existence (energy does not require space in which to exist). There are random fluctuations in said energy, which spontaneously produced mass particles, which became our Universe. Ish.
First: two things. 1. Please respond by clicking "reply" to my post, so I see a notification when you reply. 2. Try and condense your replies into briefer posts, that way we can actually have a sensible conversation.
The definition of something, like massenergy, always existing, is that it was not created. "Nothing," that is, true nothing, never existed.
Pascal's wager fails because a God can see your true intentions.
As for "who we are," I can spout sweet nothings too. If you believe in evolution, you are the unlikely coalescence of all things universal into the epitome of the Universe's self expression. We are a way for the universe to know itself, and the beauty of nature channeled into movement. See? Sounds good. Means nothing. Just like the "beauty" of God.
Finally, I hope you realize you are attempting to butcher Astrophysics to an Astrophysics researcher : ). That means, I get paid to analayze astronomical data, make astrophysical conclusions, and assess claims about the universe on large scales. I promise, your terrible interpretation of pseudo-science wasn't too "complicated" for me : ). The moon is receding from the Earth due to the principal of Conservation of Angular Momentum. Essentially, tidal friction causes a loss in angular momentum of the Earth, which is then transferred to the moon, ipso facto causing its recession. However, tidal friction and its effects change depending on continental arrangement. Back when the Earth was arranged as "Pangea," tidal friction was MUCH less, meaning that the rate of recession was much less as well. You really just don't know how that works.
Aside from that, if you really think you have a groundbreaking scientific discovery... How do you calculate differential tidal force? What's the relationship between orbital spin, lunar recession, and tidal locking? If you can't answer these questions, you have no right to even think about challenging scientific thought on this subject.
How does the creation of a universe, despite that massenergy likely always existed, require intelligence?
Although I do appreciate you not yelling at me about hell : ).
Why does intelligence make sense in that case?
Finally, things, scientifically, can absolutely exist without us observing them.
Johne- Albert Einstein did not believe in a personal god.
I have already answered that question: no, I am in no way mentally handicapped. I am also not trolling.
Johne- I would very much like to have an honest discussion with you. I hope you are willing to do the same, especially in an area where you believe you are so correct there isn't even a discussion to be had: Christmas. Who knows? You could get me, an atheist, to stop celebrating "Christmas" if you can show me the truth behind your viewpoint. Isn't that worth shelving insults for a moment, and simply discussing ideas?
I really hope you're right, John. It'll be nice when religion is gone.
Please try to use arguments that aren't so easily destroyed.
For us to have an argument, we must be on the same page. it would appear you are not.
So yeah, no.
And as I ran out of targets I remembered the promise I made earlier that morning. So I took the book of Mormon out of my glove compartment, placed it against the wind and with a smile knowing that I was about to spread the word of the lord I shot it into tiny pieces, that were carried with the wind, with my shotgun.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects
3.the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices
and 2 others that go with yours.
it says beliefs doesnt it? i see it atheists have beliefs dont you know that? its a religion by either the individual or a group of atheists
That comment said usually not always so you dont have to have those to have religion.. not trying to be a jerk but read what you post before posting...
2. ok yeah one CAN do that IF they choose too, same as a athiest can go to a building and discuss their own believes, dont believe that everyone does something because you hear it on tv please... and sorry to say it but you just made yourself sound completely ignorant saying thats what BAPTISTS do. you pulled one section that goes to church then posted everything youve ever heard about a "follower" of christ you dont HAVE to do any of those and most you pointed out arnt even in that religious group so learn a religion before commenting about it you come off as stupid sorry.
3. i didnt over look " especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies". that is talking about one group who DOES believe in a higher power yes but it says especially which means it is important to them it doesnt say only if believing in a higher power does it? please again read before posting youre making yourself sound bad
4. devotion or practice cant stand yes , christian practice in everyday life by striving to follow jesus and talking about it atheist of course talk about religion dont they? thats not practice? talking and discussing is a practice so yes atheist do.
5. a lot of religious dont follow laws set by a higher power budism doesnt have a god right? how is that a religion they strive by laws they made to end it all.
6.thoughts amount creation varie vastly amount different groups of christians
7.christians dont worship items lol and you went again by one definition you posted earlier a different definition of it and it said belief system.
im sorry but game set match no more like you need to learn more about anothers religion before you tell someone what they believe. please in yor next post, post actual information that backs you up not that can come back on you
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yeah read it it was different that what you said backed me up but read the thing as a WHOLE not copy ant paaste sections that help you
, plus again budhist dont have a god so its not a religion? believes on afterlife? atheist have a belief on that right they believe there isnt one right? there are many religions whos believes also hold no afterlife
I respect you as a person, but I don't have to respect your silly beliefs any more than I'd have to respect a belief in Santa.