Re: why does this forum care so much about religion
 

Lebowski: And I guess that hatred is reciprocal since every group of believers claims superiority over everyone else on the planet.

Christians are specifically told not to claim superiority in the New Testament, but to practice humility. Religious groups are claiming divinely revealed truth which is an entirely different thing from superiority. In their zeal to teach the truth some may come across as superior and due to human nature there are some bad apples that have an imperfect understanding of church teachings that think they are superior, but its not the nature of Christianity to teach superiority. Christ said he came to serve.

Humility is a precept Christianity teaches to prevent people from claiming superiority and to continue to maintain the Christian's ability to see truth and to help unbelievers in recognizing truth. But the nature of man is imperfect, subject to temptation and ambition which translates into imperfect and self serving actions. That's why we have the saying "to err is human, but to forgive is divine."

There's also the possibility that a cult can offshoot and give false teachings. Christ said false prophets would follow him.

Edit: my bad, The New Testament also specifically teaches Christians to love. For God IS love. Probably even more than humility this is the central doctrine.

Re: why does this forum care so much about religion
 

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The forum cares so much about religion because it is logical to believe that this universe and life on our planet cannot simply pop into existence without a cause.

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So you conjure up an entity that either *can* pop into existence without cause or simply has always existed "outside of space and time"...or whatever the line is.

This might seem logical, and it's a soothing explanation for lots of people, but in reality it asks many more questions than it answers. And this is all assuming we overlook the appeal to credulity you started with. Maybe life can come to exist through random natural processes that do not have "cause".

Either way, calling this entity you made up God is not fair since He inherits lots of bonus properties that a super-powerful universe-creating entity would not necessarily have.

Re: why does this forum care so much about religion
 

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Is our existence pointless and random without God? Yeah, I think it is.

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Without intention, it is per se, you don't have to 'think' that it is. If you fling a 6 deck shoe of cards out a 10 story window, and on the ground you see that 40 or 50 cards have, by outrageous chance, formed a little house of cards, does that house of cards have any purpose or a point?

The mystery to me is - where they hell did the cards come from? Will we ever know for certain?

I think most people have some kind of feeling, or 'sense' that existence is not pointless. What ever this 'feeling' is, it has manifested itself through the eons as 'faith' in something 'behind' existence, informing existence. Of course humans being what they are, imperfect, have used this faith, like fire, to varying degrees of both good and bad ends.

Re: why does this forum care so much about religion
 

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Is our existence pointless and random without God? Yeah, I think it is.

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Without intention, it is per se, you don't have to 'think' that it is. If you fling a 6 deck shoe of cards out a 10 story window, and on the ground you see that 40 or 50 cards have, by outrageous chance, formed a little house of cards, does that house of cards have any purpose or a point?

The mystery to me is - where they hell did the cards come from? Will we ever know for certain?

I think most people have some kind of feeling, or 'sense' that existence is not pointless. What ever this 'feeling' is, it has manifested itself through the eons as 'faith' in something 'behind' existence, informing existence. Of course humans being what they are, imperfect, have used this faith, like fire, to varying degrees of both good and bad ends.

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I think this is a great analogy.

Re: why does this forum care so much about religion
 

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Of course humans being what they are, imperfect, have used this faith, like fire, to varying degrees of both good and bad ends.


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"imperfect" whats?

Humans are humans, by definition they are perfect, as a group, and in a general sense individually. huh?

luckyme

Re: why does this forum care so much about religion
 

does anyone else find it illogical to assert either
1. there definetely is a god
2. there definetely isn't a god
both seem easily debunked with just a few simple questions.

One thing is for certain, whether we believe there is a god or there isn't, the world and universe continue to exist.

Re: why does this forum care so much about religion
 

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Humans are humans, by definition they are perfect, as a group, and in a general sense individually.

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If I'm perfect, the the hell can't I remember where I put my [censored] car keys!

Re: why does this forum care so much about religion
 

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does anyone else find it illogical to assert either
1. there definetely is a god
2. there definetely isn't a god
both seem easily debunked with just a few simple questions.

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You'd think so, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, very many people maintain that 1. is actually supported logically, and even empirically.

Re: why does this forum care so much about religion
 

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Atheist don't share an ideology or a basis for it with any specific or general atheistic wrongdoer.


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Saying it doesn't make it so. To not choose is a choice. To eschew a Christian society is to choose the chaos that lies in the direction of a secular society. It may not be chaotic today and Pol Pot may not self-generate, but the potential is greatly increased.

I'm trying to think of the most foul, doubtlessly Christian* world leader in the last century. Whoever gets the nod, he'll be small beer next to Stalin and Mao, or even Pol Pot.

* Hitler is unacceptable for this 'honor'. It's difficult to point to any substantial Christian philosophy guiding his action.

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I know this is simple and probably already mentioned, but your post above obviously implies the following irony:

"I'm trying to think of the most foul, doubtlessly ATHEIST* world leader in the last century. Whoever gets the nod, he'll be small beer next to etc etc.

* Pol Pot is unacceptable for this 'honor'. It's difficult to point to any substantial ATHEIST philosophy guiding his action. "

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Didn't you know atheism states you should murder as many people as possible? It's written clearly in the atheist manifesto:

Stalin 10:34 - "Blessed in your knowledge that you will not be punished for your sins in the afterlife, thou must put for thy greatest efforts unto maximizing them."

Re: why does this forum care so much about religion
 

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You'd think so, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, very many people maintain that 1. is actually supported logically, and even empirically.

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Man is stark mad. He cannot create a worm, yet he makes Gods by the dozens.

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~ Michael De Montaigne