What is your belief in God? (No racism or flaming please)

[Air tree]

Actually I am free thinking. I KNOW what im doing. Its not as you make it out to be; mindless person who follows what he is told to

So I suggest you keep your mouth shut

After this post i'm throwing in my vote this thread should be locked like the others. It's turning into everyother thread on this subject.

[Vitalius]

Ok, seeing as everyone else has voiced there op..id like to aswell. Im not going to bash and preach, this doesn't do either parties any good. It hardens people hearing it and it causes a lack of understanding in the one giving the message. So what Im about to write is basically for myself, if you wish to read..thats up to you.

 

When we look at the universe on a vast level, we tend to see it simplistically. Big planets, millions of stars etc. If we were to break it down into numbers and figures, that's when the human mind begins to say its a little too much to understand. For instance there's estimated to be a minimum of 100 billion galaxies in the universe, with there own solar systems, inside those solar systems are millions of planets and surrounding those planets are trillions of stars combined. Consider what our solar system has, the milky way..we have 300,000,000,000 stars..that's billion for those wanting to know. The universe is so vast. No only that, but the fact that everything moves in a pattern, its been likened to a "well choreographed dance". Planets are not smashing into each other, there's no chaos as you would think given whats moving around together.

 

Down to our planet. Our earth is just the right distance from the sun, infact its preciously the right distance for life. Any closer and we would be a waste land, any further and we would freeze. It also has the correct tilt and rotational speed. All these factors work together to create the optimal conditions for life along with its seasons. When you begin to look at the animals on our planet..that's when the show for us begins. Who taught monkeys how to climb? or who gave the spider the ability to spin a web in such beautiful patterns. If you take the time to obverse in details the world around us, you cant help but see its designed. If something is designed, doesn't it lead to reason it has a designer? Say your walking along the beach and you find a little metal box washed up on the shore. Do you conclude that it must have been formed over thousands of years from different minerals and formed this shape? No you wouldn't, you'd assume that a person made this thing however long ago.

 

Things are just to vast, to complicated both physically and numbers wise to simply be a evolutionary transition. If something has a design, it has to have a designer..its really that simple. The bible isn't a scientific book in the traditional sense, but it does hold alot of information about our planet and its forming. Isaiah 40:22 There is One who dwells above the circle* of the earth, " Consider this was written before there was knowledge of the earth even being round. Job 26:7 adds "He stretches out the northern sky* over empty space,*+

Suspending the earth upon nothing;" Finally Romans 1:20 "For his invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made,+ even his eternal power+ and Godship,+ so that they are inexcusable. "

This.

Those verses are particularly what I'm talking about. Job is one of, if not the oldest book of the Bible. That's about 3,000 BC for those curious. 

Yet we knew the Earth was round and floating in space somehow. Lol

 

Completely agree with you argument there. Its a valid point which im sure everyone would ask once in there life. Not to mention whys our planet in a mess, why hasnt he stopped wars etc if he has the power to.

And that's where Faith comes in for me. I know what God has done in my life, and so I trust Him that there is purpose in what is in this existence. Whether that be pain and war, or hope and peace. I trust Him because all He's ever shown me is His goodness. Why should I believe He is not there, or He is not absolutely good, if all I've ever seen of Him is good?

After this post i'm throwing in my vote this thread should be locked like the others. It's turning into everyother thread on this subject.

Well... those posts are the minority still. And if that is flame-bait (the post you are talking about), no one is biting. Good Job LTT forum.

[FranBunnyFFXII]

Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. 

Steven Weinberg

This is an excellent quote.

 

Im not christian

 

Also, no thanks. This world is temporary and is a test. I prefer to live my life so that I don't end up in Hell.

"Hell" is a christian idea. Actually it originated in Egyptian mythology, but christian mythology is pretty much a rip off of a lot of egyptian mythos anyways.

Belidgerance is no way to argue your case. Perhapse if you had more than a completely idiotic, poorly written, horribly inconsistant, inaccurate, misogynisitic, racist, and violent book... We'd have some reason to beleive anything you say.

Fact: Religion and god are creations of man originally for ancient methods business and to explain the things of the world around we didn't yet understand. The more we study the world around us the less and less that "God" has anything to do with it.

There are zero reasons to believe in god. None.

[Air tree]

Well... those posts are the minority still. And if that is flame-bait (the post you are talking about), no one is biting. Good Job LTT forum.

Maybe i'm just getting annoyed with the minority banter.

I really am tired of this subject. It's be talked and talked about over and over again but yet people still decide to bring it up.

[Vitalius]

This is an excellent quote.

And I would say it takes religion for evil people to do good things. That's kind of the whole point of religion, to an extent, to change people. Preferably for the better.

 

Maybe i'm just getting annoyed with the minority banter.

I really am tired of this subject. It's be talked and talked about over and over again but yet people still decide to bring it up.

Then I suggest unfollowing the thread or ignoring it if you are tired of it. Just because you've been around this tree before doesn't mean others have, or are tired of it.

That's just my opinion. Do as you wish. Unless you wish to troll, don't do that.

 

"Hell" is a christian idea. Actually it originated in Egyptian mythology, but christian mythology is pretty much a rip off of a lot of egyptian mythos anyways.

Belidgerance is no way to argue your case. Perhapse if you had more than a completely idiotic, poorly written, horribly inconsistant, inaccurate, misogynisitic, racist, and violent book... We'd have some reason to beleive anything you say.

Fact: Religion and god are creations of man originally for ancient methods business and to explain the things of the world around we didn't yet understand. The more we study the world around us the less and less that "God" has anything to do with it.

There are zero reasons to believe in god. None. For me.

FTFY at the end there.

Being absolutist only makes me want to listen to you less. Just how I feel about it, but I think you might want to consider it.

[Air tree]

And I would say it takes religion for evil people to do good things. That's kind of the whole point of religion, to an extent, to change people. Preferably for the better.

Then I suggest unfollowing the thread or ignoring it if you are tired of it. Just because you've been around this tree before doesn't mean others have, or are tired of it.

That's just my opinion. Do as you wish. Unless you wish to troll, don't do that.

Just stating my opinion. I will be out of this thread after this reply.

 

Not trying to troll just somewhat annoyed with these threads.

[eshbop]

snip

Everything you described has shown to occur without the need for a designer. Invoking a designer adds a layer of unnecessary, unobservable complexity.

 

Cosmology, astronomy and astrophysics near-fully understand your first point. Of course our planet is exactly suited for life, if it wasn't you wouldn't be here describing so. We are a consequence that suitability, not the other way around. And as you have pointed out, given the vastness of the universe, that suitability was bound to happen. The accumulation and proliferation of small, incremental beneficial mutations selected for by natural pressures placed on organisms lead to your monkeys ability to climb and spiders ability to weave webs. The watchmaker (metalbox) analogy is fundamentally flawed, for watches can't reproduce.

[Crabtr]

It'd be more correct to say I'm Agnostic-Atheist however I identify simply as Atheist. I was raised to be religious but I never truly believed what I was being told to believe and subsequently said I believed, nor did I even feel comfortable saying I believed it no matter how hard I tried (at one point I aspired to become a theologist and pastor). In early high school I began challenging my faith and eventually came to this realization and ultimately unconverted (deconverted?). I'm a 6 on the Dawkins scale; "I don't know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there." In the event God is real though I don't think it's the one portrayed in any religious texts today, or at least I'd like to think they're not.

In regards to this thread though I'm actually quite impressed it's being handled so well and moderated. I think steering clear of discussion on a sensitive topic for some like religion doesn't encourage people to think pragmatically and ultimately come to a stronger conclusion, it just encourages people to bottle it up and/or hide how they truly feel which never ends well. 

[Vitalius]

And it was going so well too. 

It's fine to disagree. But getting to the point of flaming and insulting is unacceptable. Oh well. It was a good run.