Is there a GOD?

[wayneL]

Cheap insurance it is NOT! I can't start with the pain and suffering religion and specifically Christainity has caused to people over the centuries.

... and they put the bite on you for 10%.

Jolly expensive!

See Pascal's wager

 

[wayneL]

What if the Muslims are right?
What if the Buddhists are right?
What if the Hindus are right?
What if the Jews are right?
What if none of them are?

What if God doesn't give a toss anyway?

 

[Sean K]

What if God doesn't give a toss anyway?

He certainly hasn't seemed to give a toss over recorded time. What's with the earthquakes and stuff?

 

[wayneL]

He certainly hasn't seemed to give a toss over recorded time. What's with the earthquakes and stuff?

That'd come under yin and yang I 'spose.

It just IS.

 

[Mofra]

I think you need to do some more research on Mithras from source scholars rather than internet soapboxes. Start with David Ulansey.

Actually the answer I was offering was the latter interpretations of the legend of Horus, but there are similarities between legends such as Mithras, Dionysis, Jesus etc.

David Ulansey sound interest (for further research), I know a few have been decribing the efforts Acharya S as a little misguided so cheers for new angle.

 

[Rafa]

He certainly hasn't seemed to give a toss over recorded time. What's with the earthquakes and stuff?

i don't see why he shoud give a toss about us anyway...
its not like we've done him any favours

half don't beleive in him and do what they want, and the other half use his name to do what they want

 

[jonojpsg]

He certainly hasn't seemed to give a toss over recorded time. What's with the earthquakes and stuff?

Let's see - God creates the universe. Given his infinite creative and intelligent resources, he creates it with specific and extremely fine tuned physical laws that help keep it all together.

This means, if you stand on the top of a tall building and jump off, you will fall to the ground and die. It doesn't make God nasty, vindictive, evil, bad, whatever you want to call it, it just means that you need to be careful when standing on top of tall buildings.

Obviously earthquakes are a bit different as you have no control over them, but hey you don't have any control over what the guy in the car in front of you is doing either, and if he hits the brakes hard at 100km/h you're toast. That's life.

God gives enough of a toss to send Jesus - which you can't argue with as there is ample proof that he existed and was who he said he was.

 

[Sean K]

Let's see - God creates the universe. Given his infinite creative and intelligent resources, he creates it with specific and extremely fine tuned physical laws that help keep it all together.

This means, if you stand on the top of a tall building and jump off, you will fall to the ground and die. It doesn't make God nasty, vindictive, evil, bad, whatever you want to call it, it just means that you need to be careful when standing on top of tall buildings.

Obviously earthquakes are a bit different as you have no control over them, but hey you don't have any control over what the guy in the car in front of you is doing either, and if he hits the brakes hard at 100km/h you're toast. That's life.

God gives enough of a toss to send Jesus - which you can't argue with as there is ample proof that he existed and was who he said he was.

Jesus was probably a man, nothing more. Probably a very good one, but nonetheless, a man. I have no proof. Yours are manusrcipts written by men 100s of years after Jesus died and was resurrected...proof...old fiction fairytales to explain away the unexplainable and to create a set of laws for people to live in harmony of the day. God sent him? Why not just appear himself? As far as earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, etc go, isn't he omnipotent and omnipresent? Why create an inferior planet, with inferior people, that he has to manipulate all the time with His devinity? The Earth is NOT the centre of the universe as Galilelo proved, and imprisoned for, and just how does God control the entire multiverses? Multi! How? Golly, don't get me started.....

 

[Pat]

God gives enough of a toss to send Jesus - which you can't argue with as there is ample proof that he existed and was who he said he was.

There is ample proof jesus existed, but no proof to indicate that god had sent jesus...

 

[stockGURU]

George Carlin on Religion
*Warning - Some Offensive Language*

 

[Bluesky]

My opinion - I think that religion was man made, why?
To divide us into groups. So we can think we are more superior than others. What does that lead to - arguments, fighting, war and so on.
I believe jesus did exist but only as a human like u and i with nothing extraordinary about him. If god created us then where did god come from?

I have plenty more to say on his subject.
But gotta read and make some money coz i dont see god or jesus making me money to live on.

 

[Julia]

Jesus was probably a man, nothing more. Probably a very good one, but nonetheless, a man. I have no proof. Yours are manusrcipts written by men 100s of years after Jesus died and was resurrected...proof...old fiction fairytales to explain away the unexplainable and to create a set of laws for people to live in harmony of the day. God sent him? Why not just appear himself? As far as earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, etc go, isn't he omnipotent and omnipresent? Why create an inferior planet, with inferior people, that he has to manipulate all the time with His devinity? The Earth is NOT the centre of the universe as Galilelo proved, and imprisoned for, and just how does God control the entire multiverses? Multi! How? Golly, don't get me started.....

With you completely, Kennas. The believers, however, will tell you that it is our sin which has caused God's wrath and the punishment of dire events, e.g. earthquakes. And when you ask how a loving God can allow little children to be violently abused, they will say that God gave man free will and God has no control over how said paedophiles have used that will.

 

[Joe Blow]

Thought I would re-open this poll so those who haven't already voted can do so if they would like.

 

[Enoch]

Julia,

God did a lot of good things so that evil people can be brought to justice.

Job 37v7

"God sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work"

I believe this would be each and everybody's individual fingerprint.

Interesting this was supposedly one of the first books of the bible ever written many years BC. How was it that the writer new of the "individual fingerprint" back then and how it could be used to show the evil works of a man.

Believe me no body wants the chance to ask God more than me the questions you raised and to simply ask God why bad things happen?

However I believe God is a merciful God and God wants people to seek him out which is a simple act of faith. If bad things didn't happen then no one would need to seek him out and yes God did give man free will to choose.

"Its the honour of kings to search out a matter."

All the best.

Take care
Enoch
One day I will get my chance.

 

[Wysiwyg]

One of the major drawbacks of people "quoting" the bible is their interpretation of the "quotes".No one sees the words written , instead they are replaced with `connections` to other happenings.

How many ways can a quote be interpreted.As many minds that read it I suppose.

To question the validity and relevance is to be a non-believer.Reality steps aside.
Can any words be spoken and accepted as truth?

 

[Woodchips]

Julia,

God did a lot of good things so that evil people can be brought to justice.

Job 37v7

"God sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work"

I believe this would be each and everybody's individual fingerprint.

Interesting this was supposedly one of the first books of the bible ever written many years BC. How was it that the writer new of the "individual fingerprint" back then and how it could be used to show the evil works of a man.

Oh yes suddenly everything is clear! What the?!

Never seen so much crap squeezed into one post. How you got DNA fingerprinting technology out of that quote ill never know. What about the other hundred thousand criminals that got away with murder before DNA fingerprinting technology was invented, why were they allowed off the hook? What possible reason could God have for waiting until the 20th century to introduce DNA fingerprinting technology?

For an all powerful merciful God, he sure has a round about way of doing things.

WC :

 

[Enoch]

Woodchips,

True what you said why did God leave it so long before these things were revealed and to be honest I don't know.

Again I have a lot of questions to ask God.

My point was simply to make people think about the possibility the bible is true.

If its not talking about how everybodies hands/finger prints are different what is it talking about?

Another favourite of mine is Isaiah 40 v 22.
"It is God who sitteth on the circle of the earth"

Apparently they didn't realise the earth was a sphere (round shape) for thousands of years after this passage was written.



Take Care
Enoch

 

[Sean K]

Another favourite of mine is Isaiah 40 v 22.
"It is God who sitteth on the circle of the earth"

Apparently they didn't realise the earth was a sphere (round shape) for thousands of years after this passage was written.

Take Care
Enoch

No, ancient people believed the Earth was disc shaped, like the moon and the sun, but NOT a solid sphere. Again, drawing a neat conclusion from what is an innocuous quote saying very little of importance, or relevence, to anyone, or anything, in the world today.

 

[Sean K]

With you completely, Kennas. The believers, however, will tell you that it is our sin which has caused God's wrath and the punishment of dire events, e.g. earthquakes. And when you ask how a loving God can allow little children to be violently abused, they will say that God gave man free will and God has no control over how said paedophiles have used that will.

Yes, Julia, the believers will say this, and it provides an easy answer to the difficult questions of life, and life's calamites, but we know better in the 21st century.

It is now universally accepted, even by Christains, that the universe was most probably not created in 7 days by the hand of God, and even less probable that he created man from mud, nor woman from Adam's rib. Human's evolved like all other animals through natural selection. There was never any granting of 'free will', we are just another animal trying to survive on the planet. We just happen to have evolved into this unique creature that can sympathise along with other wonderful things. Like love and be evil. Every human has the potential to do good and evil, because of our unique psychological makeup and the hormones driving us, which can be significantly out of balance in some. Evil people are just out of balance in some way.

As far as the creation on the universe goes, no one knows exactly how it happened, but the Big Bang and the expansion of the Universe over time is the pretty standard theory. Maybe God caused the Big Bang, but he probably did not carefully mould an infinate number of stars and planets and delicately place them into space spinning them about so that they circled one another, and decide to make them have slight flaws, that would lead to disastrous results. The planet is an ever evolving structure and organism that is fragile, and in a constant state of flux. Eathquakes, lightening, cyclones, are not created by God to punish us, they are a natural phenomonon caused by the Earths constant disequalibrium. The planet has changed dramatically over time, and still is changing. For example, the Earth's tectonic plates are still moving and an earthquake is caused by a sudden release of stored energy in the crust, causing the tectonic plates to shift and slide against each other, causing all sorts of damage. This event is not masterfully done by a vengful God, to punish nasty humans. It's nature.

Let's get into the 21st century, instead of clinging on to myths and legends to explain away the unknown and life's calamities.

 

[ghotib]

My point was simply to make people think about the possibility the bible is true.

If its not talking about how everybodies hands/finger prints are different what is it talking about?

Maybe the hand seal ("mudra") of Indian Hindu and Buddhist tradition?

According to my 3 minutes Web research, they are specific gestures that have some relationship to the Chinese zodiac and to ninja (i.e. Japanese?) skills. Which means that 3 minutes and one search has turned up some thousands of years and well over half the world's population who use the idea of sealing and the hand with no reference to the bible.

Which might mean nothing at all, but does suggest we could think about the possibility that the Hindu and/or Buddhist texts are true.

Actually that's not what I'd suggest at all. I think it's much more useful to try and prove that what you believe is NOT true. If you succeed, then you'll have new and valuable information: that you need to keep looking for the truth. If you fail, then you have information that might be persuasive to other people. Depending on your standard of proof, of course.

Belief is a state of mind; as proof of what the mind believes it's irrelevant.

Ghoti