Does God exist? (17 Viewers)

[katie_tully]

bahaha.
Thank you ... Time for a new reign of terror.

 

[blue_chameleon]

Katie_Tully, you did Ancient History right?

 

[katie_tully]

I did Ancient History.

Not that it has any bearing on what I'm saying, because I did Greece, Egypt and the Minoans. Didn't touch Rome or christianity with a large stick.

 

[pkc]

"The great religious ages were notable for their indifference to human rights . . . not only for acquiescence in poverty, inequality, exploitation and oppression, but also for enthusiastic justifications for slavery, persecution, abandonment of small children, torture, and genocide. . . . Moreover, religion enshrined hierarchy, authority, and inequality. . . . It was the age of equality that brought about the disappearance of such religious activities and burning at the stake."

[Arthur Schlesinger Jr.]

 

[Captain Gh3y]

What exactly were you trying to argue Katie? You seemed to have no coherant point throughout that long post and agreed with what I was saying half the time.

 

[katie_tully]

If you cannot comprehend what I said, I am surely not going to waste my time attempting to explain it to you.

 

[Captain Gh3y]

But you didn't really have any point apart from a long rant about the Catholic church, and no one here ever said anything in support of them.

 

[blue_chameleon]

...if religion and God was real, they wouldn't need to spend the money to prove that it does exist...

You speak with absolute certainty that "God doesnt exist", which im somewhat perplexed by. Nobody needs to prove God, simple fact is, its not up to us to prove anything. He proves himself. Whether you refute his proof is up to you, but its certainly not hard to find if you look for it.

 

[Sofstar]

You speak with absolute certainty that "God doesnt exist", which im somewhat perplexed by. Nobody needs to prove God, simple fact is, its not up to us to prove anything. He proves himself. Whether you refute his proof is up to you, but its certainly not hard to find if you look for it.

I'm not saying that God doesn't exist at all or if God does. I'm just pointing out that if the Church was so sure that he does exist they wouldn't go and spend the money. If they are spending money then it shows that they are unsure themselves and trying to beat off all the suspicion.

Believing in God is ultimately up to the individual.

 

[blue_chameleon]

...If they are spending money then it shows that they are unsure themselves and trying to beat off all the suspicion...

I can see your point, but I think your missing the mark. I dont think its a case of the Roman Catholic Church going into "damage control" so to speak, rather I would say that it is somewhat to be expected. We dont even know the details of what this money is going into anyway.
I dont think it has anything to do with the Church itself, or the "suspicions" that its trying to beat off. Rather I think it has everything to do with the people outside of the church. It wouldnt be defending its beliefs for its own self gratification.

 

[davin]

You speak with absolute certainty that "God doesnt exist", which im somewhat perplexed by. Nobody needs to prove God, simple fact is, its not up to us to prove anything. He proves himself. Whether you refute his proof is up to you, but its certainly not hard to find if you look for it.

if he proves himself, he's done a very weak job of it

 

[Not-That-Bright]

Nobody needs to prove God, simple fact is, its not up to us to prove anything.

You speak with absolute certainty that "allah, zeus, ra, huitzipocoli" do not exist, which I'm somewhat perplexed by. Nobody needs to prove allah, zeus, ra, huitzipocoli, the lochness monster, the boogey man, flying saucers - simple fact is, its not up to us to prove anything. They prove themselves. Whether you refute this proof is up to you, but its certainly not hard to find if you look for it.


Have I refuted the proof now?

 

[pkc]

"The church says the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church."

[Ferdinand Magellan]

 

[davin]

can you source that one? since i've read a fair bit that the 'flat earth' idea really just came from someone that was anti-religious in the 1800s and that the church didn't believe that, considering the curve of the earth was known back to the greeks

 

[Not-That-Bright]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5479410612081345878&q=kirk+cameron&pl=true\

gets me off.

 

[ur_inner_child]

"The church says the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church."

[Ferdinand Magellan]

havent you been warned enough?

 

[robo-andie]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5479410612081345878&q=kirk+cameron&pl=true\

gets me off.

I got up to the point where he compared the design and creation of a car to the human body, then I had to stop. I had a feeling that the video was going to closely resemble this entire thread.
I didn't really get what that guy was trying to say with the drink can.....


edit: changed humankind to the human body.

 

[robo-andie]

There are numerous Religions throughout the world. Each believe in something different. This belief is either based upon a different understanding or perspective of particular information (including but not limited to: The Bible), or the belief in more than one God.

Thousands of years ago, people from all over the world began to experience new and exciting things. They felt the wind on their skin, the heat of the sun; they saw the magnificent mountain ranges and listened to the sounds of wilderness. The more aware minds began to think about these things. They weren't content with just experiencing and appreciating these things, they wanted to know more about them; they wanted to know why it all happened. They searched for answers and couldn't find them; they couldn't see where the wind came from, they couldn't understand why the sun was hot and how did the mountains get so high? Maybe it was a giant man who stacked stones? maybe this same powerful man placed the light in the sky which allows us to see more clearly. I suppose this man also blew very hard and created the wind. That reasoning made sense to them because they knew nothing else.

Similar primitive beliefs can be seen in that of the Native Australians. The giant rainbow snake being the creator of the rivers etc.
From this, was born religion. The combination of commonly accepted beliefs concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions, and rituals associated with such belief. These people began to worship the things they felt were responsible for granting them such pleasures. Often, as stated before, they did not worship a single entity, they worshipped many as they felt it impossible that one single being could control and co-ordinate the perceived complexity of each aspect of life and creation. It wasn't a case of a God presenting themself to the people and saying 'I am responsible", it was the people who decided that if they weren't in charge of how the world worked, then someone else must be, we can't see him(her)/them let's call them God(s).

God

1. A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions.

Slowly man began to develop, consequently, so did their religion. They began to explore new lands and they found new cultures. These cultures had also developed their own religion; there own understanding of how the world worked.

It is quite possible that more than one God exists. These Gods wouldn’t necessarily agree with each other, and perhaps they do wish others slaughtered in their name. It is more likely though, that man appointed an unseen, all powerful being as the ruler and creator of the universe. From this thought, you could compare a President or Prime Minister to a God. They were appointed by the people to serve the people because it was a comfort to know they were being watched over. That someone else was taking care of the things they had no control over.

It's difficult to explain, but this is not similar to the arguement that "Well China exists, even if you don't believe in it." He exists only because we want him to. Humans said he existed, and so he did. We created God. This doesn't work with how some people see the world, and so for them God does not exist. His existence is based on your own personal belief which may be dictated by a Church or constructed through your own exploration of the world. Because he is not tangible that is why he can simply not exist for those who don't believe.

The only possible solution then would be to simply accept the fact that another person does not see things the way you do and treat religion as something that does not make you as a person, but is apart of you as a person. It becomes then, a private, personal and individual experience which can be shared with others. It should be seen as more a hobbie. Think of your religion similar to your love for boats, or nature, or reading books. You don't think everyone should share your love for these things, because these are things which are apart of you being an individual, apart of how you view the world and how you wish to live in it. It's fairly simple.

End note: I'm thinking a lot of people are probably going to take parts of this post and argue against them. My intention wasn't to take a side (sorry if it appears that way) but to provide a slightly different approach to the subject. I did proof read the entire thing, I most probably do have some errors, feel free to address them, I will make the changes. My brain is really tired now.

Andie

 

[davin]

robo-andie, that's one of the best posts ive read in here. reasoned, not condescending, admitting faults, not being hostile, not trying to judge people directly.... very impressive

 

[ur_inner_child]

robo-andie, that's one of the best posts ive read in here. reasoned, not condescending, admitting faults, not being hostile, not trying to judge people directly.... very impressive

I so agree.

I was estatic when he posted in much the same manner in another thread regarding homosexuality. It was his first ever post. Absolutely impressed.

Keep it up!