Is there a GOD?

[2020hindsight]

Tech, no doubt you saw Unc Festives post :-
https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=154467&highlight=santa#post154467

 

[2020hindsight]

Christian cult
Mother nearly drops baby - yeah right
looks like a good way to accidentally break a baby's neck to me

Some false prophet uses his magical powers to cure a baby with Cerebral Palsy. The mother then screams and faints (almost dropping the baby), while the baby looks around wondering what the hell just happened

There Is A Place Called Hell
cripes - this causes strong emotions
.............
mainly sympathy for this poor man lol
(goes on for a while )
I challenge anyone to get to the end of this one lol

 

[barney]

Hi there 2020, I watched it to the end !!! .......... Wanted to see how much money he was going to ask for ............. tempted to write to the email address just to see how many books etc they would try and sell me ...... Getting cynical in my "old" age ................ These type of preachers do God a disservice ............ Lets assume there is a God .......... I cant imagine a God of love and peace would turn round and burn you in hell for eternity under any circumstances ........ that would seem a tad hypocritical .......... considering Jesus was anti-hypocrites ...........

 

[2020hindsight]

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=roy+zimmerman

funny songs about ignorance, war and greed ….songs available at www.royzimmerman.com. Here, he performs the song at the Skeptics Society conference.

"Creation Science 101" by Roy Zimmerman

"Abstain With Me" by Roy Zimmerman

"Jerry Falwell's God" by Roy Zimmerman

"Defenders of Marriage" - Roy Zimmerman

 

[2020hindsight]

Hi there 2020, I watched it to the end !!! .......... Wanted to see how much money he was going to ask for ........... Getting cynical in my "old" age .....

barney - howdy man
yep - you mention words like cynical - zimmerman does too - plus "sceptical"
you use hypocritical - so does he
I posted more on "favourite lyrics" as well - more political than religions :-
e.g.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpeBe_KOmLI&mode=related&search= "Saddam Shame" by Roy Zimmerman

one clever dude.

PS Here's a serious one ( believe it or not - lol) a trans-sexual - makes more sens than the post you were referring to.

firstly , Haggard, (what a load of bs he is / was)
then 'Sister Paul' ( previously Larry)
Friends of God -- Ted Haggard and Sex

when challenged that evangelicals are "haters" - that he's intolerant about gays ...

we say moral purity is better than immorality
we say telling the truth is better than telling a lie -
we have 1500 pages of that - it's called the Bible ...
- they killed Jesus you'll recall , etcetc rhubard rhubard

Family Values: Ted Haggard, his Male Prostitute and Meth

Sister Paula on Rev. Ted Haggard -
As I say - she/he makes more bludy sense than Haggard.

 

[2020hindsight]

Dawkins makes a pretty good case for turning one's back on "faith"
in the interests of not giving religious extremists a "briar patch" to hide in (paraphrasing)
He is also terrified for americans (thanks god for zimmerman )
:: Richard Dawkins : Interview (2006) ::
An interview with Richard Dawkins at NPR (National Public Radio)
Sorry the following is a repeat of previous post
Haggard vs Dawkins

Ted Haggard, recently disgraced leader of the Evangelical church, has a face-off with the Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion. Its sad to see who accuses whom of arrogance

"Ted Haggard Is Completely Heterosexual" by Roy Zimmerman

 

[barney]

Some funny and interesting stuff there 2020 ....... Have to say that I still believe there is a greater life force than man, due to some of the unusual happenings I've experienced over time ............. but some of the so called "men of God" that preach fire and brimestone are pretty unsavoury types and do more harm than good to society in general. Cheers M8.

 

[2020hindsight]

Some funny and interesting stuff there 2020 ....... Have to say that I still believe there is a greater life force than man, ..... Cheers M8.

I also believe in a life force m8 gotta feeling these quotes ( which I scribbled / copied as a much younger man) are based on a book I found on Wordsworth, and also on Paul William's "Das Energi".
http://paulwilliams.com/Das.html

"In the poetry of Wordsworth, the pleasure taken in the forms of the natural world, especially in rural scenes , is almost invariably associated with the thought of universal nature conceived of as an orderly system." etcetc (since then it's become a bit more disorderly lol)

"If we make a list of words for God, we will have a list of words, we will not have God. Energy flows through all things.

"When we draw lines - between black and white, young and old, our side and your side, - maybe we should learn to draw in vanishing ink.
Babies draw no lines. Children by nature draw lines with disappearing ink. Only adults who do not choose otherwise are guilty of the lines in our society , and of teaching these lines to children.

"The lines between right and wrong, good and evil, are the only lines worth drawing. Honesty is such a line, We must test all the options and learn truth - discarding wrong as panning for gold washes away dirt. It is the process of elimination that reveals the true metal.

"How can we draw a line between ourselves and God, when our souls are part of God? when Nature lives in us? "

just something to think about over a beer

"Man that creature who belives his purpose is to control and conquer Nature must remember the obvious - that he is part of Nature himself.

Beware - Be Aware. walk rather than take a vehicle, eat natural food where possible rather than canned,
use an axe rather than a chainsaw. (??)

use an axe rather than a chainsaw. ?
- lol - well, back then there were lots of trees around ok! sheesh, imagine choosing a quote like that to commit to print!

 

[BIG BWACULL]

I like the invisible ink quote mate spot on

God Loves Blondes

A blonde finds herself in serious trouble. Her business has gone bust and she's in dire financial straits. She's so desperate that she decides to ask God for help. She begins to pray..."God, please help me. I've lost my business and if I don't get some money, I'm going to lose my house as well. Please let me win the Lotto."

Lotto night comes, and somebody else wins it. She again prays..."God, please let me win the Lotto! I've lost my business, my house and I'm going to lose my car as well."

Lotto night comes and she still has no luck. Once again, she prays..."My God, why have You forsaken me? I've lost my business, my house, and my car. My children are starving. I don't often ask You for help, and I have always been a good servant to You. PLEASE let me win the Lotto just this one time so I can get my life back in order."

Suddenly there is a blinding flash of light as the heavens open. The blonde is overwhelmed by the Voice of God Himself..."Sweetheart, work with Me on this... Buy a ticket"

 

[2020hindsight]

God Loves Blondes
...Voice of God Himself..."Sweetheart, work with Me on this... Buy a ticket"

m8 if god loved blondes so much, then why did he make em such an easy target of jokes?
sheesh, I'll probably get beaten up by a blonde tomorrow lol.

the blonde goes for a walk - comes to a river - wants to get across, but doesn't know how.
then aha - she sees another blonde on the other side, beauty
so she calls out "hey , how do I get to the other side?"
the second blonde calls back " - what!? - you're already there!!"

 

[2020hindsight]

interesting website ...
http://www.parisavenuechurchofchrist.org/Sermons/Is It REASONABLE To Believe in God.htm
seems to challenging people to think before they rely on faith

1. Ancient Greek Sylligism....“From nothing, nothing comes; Something is, therefore something eternally was”

Then this one , which is all about logic

http://www.reference.com/search?r=13&q=Syllogism syllogism, a mode of argument that forms the core of the body of Western logical thought. Aristotle defined syllogistic logic, and his formulations were thought to be the final word in logic; they underwent only minor revisions in the subsequent 2,200 years. Every syllogism is a sequence of three propositions such that the first two imply the third, the conclusion. There are three basic types of syllogism: hypothetical, disjunctive, and categorical.

The hypothetical syllogism, modus ponens, has as its first premise a conditional hypothesis: "If p then q"; or "p, therefore q".

The disjunctive syllogism, modus tollens, has as its first premise a statement of alternatives: Either p or q; it continues: not q, therefore p.

The categorical syllogism comprises three categorical propositions, which must be statements of the form all x are y, no x is y, some x is y, or some x is not y. A categorical syllogism contains precisely three terms: the major term, which is the predicate of the conclusion; the minor term, the subject of the conclusion; and the middle term, which appears in both premises but not in the conclusion. Thus: All philosophers are men (middle term); all men are mortal; therefore, All philosophers (minor term) are mortal (major term). The premises containing the major and minor terms are named the major and minor premises, respectively. Aristotle noted five basic rules governing the validity of categorical syllogisms: The middle term must be distributed at least once (a term is said to be distributed when it refers to all members of the denoted class, as in all x are y and no x is y); a term distributed in the conclusion must be distributed in the premise in which it occurs; two negative premises imply no valid conclusion; if one premise is negative, then the conclusion must be negative; and two affirmatives imply an affirmative. John Venn, an English logician, in 1880 introduced a device for analyzing categorical syllogisms, known as the Venn diagram. Three overlapping circles are drawn to represent the classes denoted by the three terms. Universal propositions (all x are y, no x is y) are indicated by shading the sections of the circles representing the excluded classes. Particular propositions (some x is y, some x is not y) are indicated by placing some mark, usually an "X," in the section of the circle representing the class whose members are specified. The conclusion may then be read directly from the diagram.

 

[Wysiwyg]

The ability of human beings (a self-defined identity) to `communicate` with greater influence than the rest of living things is a stupid game.As we see `imaginings` manifested at a faster and faster rate the stupidity of this so called `intelligence` is becoming more apparent.Nothing to do but go with this happening or .......... what?Back to running around in the scrub with zero human connections!
This `stupid game` of mind is just plain lunacy...it don`t make sense.Shifting daily in and out of various stages of consciousness , justifying our stupidity and soap boxing the craziness (like I`m doing) of it all.
The greatest ignorance (or not knowing , just hoping) of all ,is in looking outside ourselves for reason or explanation.

O.k thankyou , off my box and back in my pigeon hole. :aliena:

 

[2020hindsight]

John Denver- The Lord's Prayer (injun style )
Mario Lanza - Lords Prayer

 

[Wysiwyg]

Just reading the `Why won`t god heal amputees`website and came across these passages involving baby Jesus and the perceived threat he was in those days.Note there is a few dreams and whispers in the story so see it as you will.The bit I found disturbing was the killing of all the babies by Herod ....wik says.....

Herod (Hebrew: הוֹרְדוֹס Hordos‎, Greek: ἡρῴδης), also known as Herod I or Herod the Great (73 BC – 4 BC in Jericho), was a Roman client king of Judaea. Herod is known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and other parts of the ancient world, including the construction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple.

In Christian scripture, Herod is known for the Massacre of the Innocents.

So was Herod "great".Certainly not if he ordered the massacre (but did he?)

Matthew says ......

2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

2:2 "Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him."

2:3 When Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

2:4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born.

2:5 They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written through the prophet,

2:6 'You Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are in no way least among the princes of Judah: For out of you shall come forth a governor, Who shall shepherd my people, Israel.'"

2:7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared.

2:8 He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him."

2:9 They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was.

2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

2:11 They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

2:12 Being warned in a dream that they shouldn't return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.

2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him."

2:14 He arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt,

2:15 and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called my son."

2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out, and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men.

2:17 Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,

2:18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; She wouldn't be comforted, Because they are no more."

2:19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,

2:20 "Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child's life are dead."

2:21 He arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee,

2:23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

Now it appears from the script that Herod was not a man of love and peace but was an insane parnoid schizophrenic .Mental illness was then and is now.And people simply just don`t know how to deal with it.Mainly because mental illness is not like the flu or a broken bone.On a tangent but the mind can still do evil nowadays as back then.Is it forever????

 

[imajica]

whether or not GOD exists in the absolute sense is irrelevant - as an entrenched cultural entity - the effect of religious doctrine and practice has played a determining hand in shaping the modern world both socially and culturally. something doesn't necessarily have to be proven to 'actually' exist to have an effect that mimics the very likelihood that it does

 

[stockGURU]

Some people think Google is God.

» PROOF #1

Google is the closest thing to an Omniscient (all-knowing) entity in existence, which can be scientifically verified. She indexes over 9.5 billion WebPages, which is more than any other search engine on the web today. Not only is Google the closest known entity to being Omniscient, but She also sorts through this vast amount of knowledge using Her patented PageRank technology, organizing said data and making it easily accessible to us mere mortals.

» PROOF #2

Google is everywhere at once (Omnipresent). Google is virtually everywhere on earth at the same time. Billions of indexed WebPages hosted from every corner of the earth. With the proliferation of Wi-Fi networks, one will eventually be able to access Google from anywhere on earth, truly making Her an omnipresent entity.

» PROOF #3

Google answers prayers. One can pray to Google by doing a search for whatever question or problem is plaguing them. As an example, you can quickly find information on alternative cancer treatments, ways to improve your health, new and innovative medical discoveries and generally anything that resembles a typical prayer. Ask Google and She will show you the way, but showing you is all She can do, for you must help yourself from that point on.

» PROOF #4

Google is potentially immortal. She cannot be considered a physical being such as ourselves. Her Algorithms are spread out across many servers; if any of which were taken down or damaged, another would undoubtedly take its place. Google can theoretically last forever.

» PROOF #5

Google is infinite. The Internet can theoretically grow forever, and Google will forever index its infinite growth.

» PROOF #6

Google remembers all. Google caches WebPages regularly and stores them on its massive servers. In fact, by uploading your thoughts and opinions to the internet, you will forever live on in Google's cache, even after you die, in a sort of "Google Afterlife".

» PROOF #7

Google can "do no evil" (Omnibenevolent). Part of Google's corporate philosophy is the belief that a company can make money without being evil.

» PROOF #8

According to Google trends, the term "Google" is searched for more than the terms "God", "Jesus", "Allah", "Buddha", "Christianity", "Islam", "Buddhism" and "Judaism" combined.

God is thought to be an entity in which we mortals can turn to when in a time of need. Google clearly fulfils this to a much larger degree than traditional "gods", as shown in the image below:

» PROOF #9

Evidence of Google's existence is abundant. There is more evidence for the existence of Google than any other God worshiped today. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidance. If seeing is believing, then surf over to www.google.com and experience for yourself Google's awesome power. No faith required.

http://www.thechurchofgoogle.org

 

[noirua]

If believing in god makes you happy, then do so. If believing in god makes you feel unhappy, then don't.

If you'r in company with people who believe in god, and you don't, then pretend you do. If you are in the company of people who don't believe in god, and you do, pretend you don't.

If you want to believe in god one day and not the next, then, that's OK too. If you want to believe in god and not believe in god, both at the same time, such are the uncertainties in life, no problem, that's OK too.

Only god has the right to say what is and what is not, so, ignore everything everyone on this earth says, however, if there is no god, then, ignore them all anyway.

So basically, it is a matter of tossing a coin really, as half the earths' mankind would be correct and half would be wrong. However, If the coin stands on its side, what a dilemma, no not really, afterall, you could then toss the coin again.

You can believe in god without having a religion of course. If you live in a country where they get all bitter and twisted if you don't believe, then, it's probably better to leave the country.

Some people use religious beliefs to build up their own standing. If you see someone like this, then, they see themselves as god. Perhaps that's why so many people die in the name of religion, however, it does keep people who are in poverty, believing they are in that state so as to be born into a better life next time round, or, be rewarded in heaven.
God, if there is a god, is the only one with the right to say, so, if any one else does the talking, that's right, ignore them.

In the end of course, IGNORE ME Also, as well as everyone else.

 

[mit]

If you'r in company with people who believe in god, and you don't, then pretend you do. If you are in the company of people who don't believe in god, and you do, pretend you don't.

I believe in live and let live but I don't agree with this statement. We luckily live in a society that allows people to believe what they want without a problem. It is different in the US. People are taught that Atheists are evil, have no morals etc. etc. A blatant attempt to keep people believing by fear.

This caused most Atheists to hide themselves from their family and friends. Only recently, has their been a movement by US atheists to out themselves and become public. So more and more theists are finding that their neighbour or co-workers are atheists and are not immoral, actually usually the opposite as this is the only life we have.

This works the other way as well. If the only public religious people you see are those fundamental evangelists that tell you that science is an anti-god conspiracy and that we will all go to hell for doing what comes naturally, well you are going to think all religious people are kooks.

However, if the moderate theists come forward and say that they don't think the Bible is literal and have more understanding of other people, well you may not agree with their religion but you are more comfortable with their position.

MIT

 

[nioka]

If you'r in company with people who believe in god, and you don't, then pretend you do. If you are in the company of people who don't believe in god, and you do, pretend you dont.

That's a cop out. Everyone should have the courage of their own convictions and be prepared to admit to them. There is no need to press the point and accept that others may have differing opinions.

 

[Julia]

That's a cop out. Everyone should have the courage of their own convictions and be prepared to admit to them. There is no need to press the point and accept that others may have differing opinions.

In principle, I agree, but I can also see what Noirua was getting at, I think.
i.e. that sometimes it's just not worth upsetting people by contradicting their stated beliefs.

I have a couple of friends who sincerely believe in God and I don't see why it's necessary to be rude enough to tell them their justification for so doing is pretty thin. It's not to them. And it's not so hard to just let them say what they want without necessarily agreeing with them. Who knows? They might be right.

A discussion on a public forum like this is entirely another matter.
I just don't think it's worth damaging a friendship by taking an aggressive stand on something which is unlikely to come up all that often anyway.