The GOD Thread~

[prplchknz]

That was exactly my point, Prpl. I don't think she's a troll either, she believes all this. Poe's Law has one noted application that one can mistake a sincere person for a troll if the behavior is extreme enough.

I just find it annoying that the thread is called "The 'GOD' thread" but it's really not about "god" in general, since the name "God" is used by various religions to descrivbe a variance of divine personas; it should really just be "The [particular sect] Christian Thread."

Yeah I'd never heard the term Poe's Law, and so I looked it up, must've misread it.

 

[gromit]

I believe God is intimately related to Dark Energy. Might even be dark energy. Even scientists think this as they call it "the God particle."

This may not even be what you are talking about but it has always been one of my favorites...

Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Just gives me chills... WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN...

answer: everything is going to happen

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

I just love how all you girls refer to me as if I'm not here.


Jennifer. I would almost consider us friends at this point, after the things you have shared with me, if I didn't think it would offend you to call you my friend. Why so cold?


Yes, Gromit, I love Genesis so much. If you follow the creation story through, it completely lines up with the big bang theory. I blogged about that. I would like to do an exegesis of Genesis, but first I need to finish reading the Bible.

 

[prplchknz]

if you think about it atheist are usually extremist then they find god and because they have the personality trait to be extreme it actually makes a lot of sense as to why they go hardcore. I've also found that 9 out of 10 times non extreme atheists are usually agnostic leaning more towards the atheist side. I think agnosticism is on a contium and you can be closer to atheism or you can be closer to a belief in a creator.

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

if you think about it atheist are usually extremist then they find god and because they have the personality trait to be extreme it actually makes a lot of sense as to why they go hardcore. I've also found that 9 out of 10 times non extreme atheists are usually agnostic leaning more towards the atheist side. I think agnosticism is on a contium and you can be closer to atheism or you can be closer to a belief in a creator.

I know what you mean. But I became an atheist at 19, after I was in college, probably sometimes during Philosophy 101. I think that is pretty typical of youth-to be an atheist, especially science-minded types, as I was. It is less extremism that I called myself 'atheist', and more that I was conscious of, and in tune with, my beliefs. I've found many people don't really think about their beliefs, and are typically the ones who call themselves, when pressed, 'agnostic'.



I don't think there is such a thing as being too extreme about God. Though, of course, those who do not know God, would call believers 'extreme'.

 

[Totenkindly]

Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Just gives me chills... WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN...

I think the writing there is pretty cool.

 

[Society]

heaven is a world in which people would at the very least attempt to comply with the principle of a coherence by testing whether the reasoning and logical structure that supports the arguments in favor of their conclusion and/or beliefs can also be used to support contradicting arguments (a.k.a. conclusions that can not co-exist with their own). but god just keeps taking it away

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

I am not really sure what you're saying.

 

[Nicodemus]

I know all about thinking God and Jesus lovers are crazy though. I know both sides as I was an atheist for so long.

Why were you an atheist?

 

[Avalon]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is a story about a prophet who God had killed by lions for failing to obey a simple command that he should not eat or drink in a certain land, and turning or allowing a woman to be turned into a pillar of salt. Does God truly love his creations or, we are just guinea pigs to him.....

 

[Nicodemus]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is a story about a prophet who God had killed by lions for failing to obey a simple command that he should not eat or drink in a certain land, and turning or allowing a woman to be turned into a pillar of salt. Does God truly love his creations or, we are just guinea pigs to him.....

Here is the counter-argument: God moves in mysterious ways.

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

Why were you an atheist?

Because I was just so far removed from God, I couldn't see that He could be real. I grew up going to church, I was an acolyte, I knew the 10 Commandments, my mom taught Sunday school, but when the world confronted me on the question of God (I think it was probably in Phil 101 as I said), I had to acquiesce that since there was no proof, and because I didn't have a personal relationship with God or Jesus, God just wasn't true.

One truly does need to be born again to obtain the kingdom of heaven, as Jesus says to Nicodemus. When I became born again, I now had an intimate relationship with God, and there is no way I would believe He isn't true.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is a story about a prophet who God had killed by lions for failing to obey a simple command that he should not eat or drink in a certain land, and turning or allowing a woman to be turned into a pillar of salt. Does God truly love his creations or, we are just guinea pigs to him.....

The Prophet had ignored God's stern warning and listened to another Prophet instead. The point being, you must listen to God over everyone else. If you don't, something bad could happen.

Same idea with the woman. She was being disobedient to God's angels, which is a sin. Jewish commentary says a few different things about this, but the point is, you don't question God's authority or command.

I don't happen to believe that all the Bible stories are literal. I'm not a literalist. In fact, if you interpret the Bible literally, you are going to miss so much symbolism and metaphor, which are more meaningful that the literal story in many, if not most, cases. I believe there are pillars of salt in the desert which resemble human female form, and that it was a good way to express the foolishness of disobeying God, even for something seemingly innocuous like 'looking back' toward sin. Which I think is the main point: When God saves your life, and leads you out of sin, don't look back longingly at it!

Interesting to note too, that Lot went on right afterwards to father a new tribe of people when his daughters got him drunk and became incestuous with him in a cave. So, this makes Lot's wife's disobedience even more far-reaching, as it affected that whole clan and tribe, which fathered some of the enemies of the Israelites, the Moabites and Ammonites. These same tribes also eventually became followers of Islam.

Very nice avvy, btw.

 

[Nicodemus]

Because I was just so far removed from God, I couldn't see that He could be real. I grew up going to church, I was an acolyte, I knew the 10 Commandments, my mom taught Sunday school, but when the world confronted me on the question of God (I think it was probably in Phil 101 as I said), I had to acquiesce that since there was no proof, and because I didn't have a personal relationship with God or Jesus, God just wasn't true.

Then you have never been an atheist for any good reason. Consequently, your conversion means nothing.

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

Then you have never been an atheist for any good reason. Consequently, your conversion means nothing.

No one can prove God does not exist, so what would be a good reason to be an atheist? In light of no proof, all reasons are equal.

 

[Coriolis]

Your place is to serve God and to please Him. He made you for a purpose. How can you know that purpose if you are cut off from Him? God's Law is not the laws of the universe. Those are the natural laws that the world must obey. We, as God's children, must obey His special Law for us. Otherwise, we are no better, no more special than animals--we are not the higher beings He created us to be--because we are functioning as any other creature would function, in obeisance to natural laws. It's 'natural law' to want to procreate with many sexual partners, but it's not God's Law.

See, this is where we simply believe different things. First, you are wrong to assume I am cut off from God just because I do not see him the same way you do. I would moreover maintain that I can make a better case for the laws of the universe coming from God than you can about what you call this "special law". It doesn't matter, though, because neither can be proven. That is why this is faith and not science.

He spoke to Moses about it. And it became the first and second commandments . . .

And the hare raced the tortoise, and in his complacency managed to lose to the slower animal, illustrating the importance of steadiness and persistence.

But I've read carefully, and the God in the Bible speaks often to the fact that people worship other gods, and that no other gods should come before Him. This doesn't necessarily mean there are other gods, so much as that people believe there are other gods, and they worship them, and they shouldn't.

Or, it means that the people criticising the other form of worship want to paint its followers as "them" by denying the fact that they are just worshipping the same god in a different way.

Why do you think that, if it can stand the test of time, that makes it right? Just to be absolutely clear, are you saying that, if it didn't come from God, it wouldn't have stood the test of time? And what criteria are you using to judge whether the laws "serve man"?

Gravity came from god and has stood the test of time, and does not exist for the purpose of serving man.

I know what you mean. But I became an atheist at 19, after I was in college, probably sometimes during Philosophy 101. I think that is pretty typical of youth-to be an atheist, especially science-minded types, as I was.

Interesting. My scientific background is what caused me to hold onto my underlying belief in god, when I had pretty much discarded everything about my childhood religion. It was the only thing that kept me from losing faith entirely.

 

[prplchknz]

Interesting. My scientific background is what caused me to hold onto my underlying belief in god, when I had pretty much discarded everything about my childhood religion. It was the only thing that kept me from losing faith entirely.

science is the reason I believe in something greater than myself. Because with so many rules and things that make life and the universe work all the laws ect. It personally doesn't make sense to me that it was a random thing that just happened. it's too intricate for their not to be. I do believe in evolution and all that fun stuff. I also believe in aliens, so maybe I am crazy. but you know what I'm not harming anyone.

 

[Nicodemus]

No one can prove God does not exist, so what would be a good reason to be an atheist? In light of no proof, all reasons are equal.

No one can prove Other Gods do not exist, so what would be a good reason to be a monotheist?

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

No one can prove Other Gods do not exist, so what would be a good reason to be a monotheist?

Answer my question first, then maybe I'll answer yours.

 

[Nicodemus]

Answer my question first, then maybe I'll answer yours.

It is so sad when people cannot even see their own arguments crumble.

 

[Mole]

The word "lord" isn't just a medieval term. "Lord" can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon word hlaford, which referred to the chieftain of a tribe. Through the years, the word has gained multiple meanings, including being used to refer to members of the peerage in the UK. It can also be used to refer to a feudal ruler, a god, etc.

This is interesting but what I suspect is that Christianity started using Lord in the medieval period when the medieval Lord had the highest status, and so the Christians wanted to give their God the highest status, never mind that their God was landless and part of the Roman Empire and so was a non-person.

Who wants to worship a non-person? Far better to worship a Lord.