Sklansky concedes religious debate o rly?

[Jasper109]

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nh sheets

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[gmcarroll33]

As far as proving a God goes all I can say is that you are placing a lot of faith in the idea that a big bang or what ever you believe in created such a complex scientific creation. I believe that universe is far to complex to have just miraculously happened. For us people of faith, whether it be Christians, Jews, or Muslims or whatever else we accept that the only answer for this is a God. By the way my point here is not to try and force my beliefs on anybody here, I'm not about doing anything like that, rather just try to respond to all the atheists on here who bash those of faith and claim we are less intelligent people because of our faith.

I can also say I saw the Johnny Cash interview on TV some years back and listened to him talk about the sadness he felt when being revived moments after he died, because heaven was so much better than earth. You have the right to believe that he was out of his mind after just dying, or just flat out lying if you want, but to those of us of faith it only confirms what we have always known/believed in our hearts and minds as long as we've been believers, that there is in fact a God and an eternal destination which we will end up in. I've also read several reports about people dying and being revived screaming about the hell that they were in. Look it up if you want. I'm too lazy to go searching on Google for it right now. That said, I can see how it would be hard for somebody who has not been a believer all their life or through other situations to reject the idea of a God. I admit,that it confuses me as to how everything else was created, but God was just always here and nothing created him. I want an answer for that too, but can ultimately only accept that God is supreme and all knowing and that he's the creator of everything. Some people come to accept this in life, and others don't. I've been a believer since I was 5 because my Grandfather tought me all about the Bible and where he was ultimately gonna end up one day, and there is nothing an atheist could do to convince me otherwise. I will allow atheists to their opinion, but will not stand for being told I'm less intelligent because I believe in something you can't see. That's half the point of believing and i feel sorry for those who don't, but respect their opinions on life. You don't have to be a believer to live a good life as a good person, just seems ultimately like an empty way to exist to me, knowing if I die that's it, I cease to ever exist again because there is no God and no eternity. If that's what an Atheist wants to believe though, they have the right.

As far as would I rather be reincarnated as opposed to spending eternity in heaven, not a chance I'd choose reincarnation. Don't get me wrong, I love life and want to be here as long as I possibly can, but after listening to Johnny Cash give his description of his brief moments in heaven, and my lifelong beliefs about heaven and the peace that is supposed to exist there, where no pain or sadness is ever felt, no way I'd rather just come back to earth all over again. Ultimately spending eternity in God's presence it what believers are trying to achieve through life here on earth. I'll live the hope of reincarnation to Hindus and Buddhist.

[DannyOcean_]

for those who appreciate subtlety in humor, this thread is getting awesome. It's like i'm drinking a fine wine, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm................ .

[jgallardo]

If I came across as putting you down or inferring you were less intelligent than an atheist, I apologize. The thing is, it PAINS me to hear people claim that they KNOW there is a God or Gods, and based on their experience(s) there's no way a supreme being couldn't exist. I think it's extremely dangerous to truly believe in something that has not been proven as fact. For example, a person of faith, believing he will go to heaven for eternity, if he commits a terrible act which kills thousands of people that don't believe in the same exact thing he does. Who are you to tell him that he won't go to heaven if he can find the specific passages in his text that justify his actions?? A text that was written by man, and much like all the other texts of the time, follows the same "pattern", if you will, of all the myths made up at the time. How can you tell him that he's wrong and that what he's reading and doing, is not what God intended...when you wholeheartedly believe in the text that precedes his?

I was brought up Roman Catholic, and I had a friend who was a born again Baptist. When we were young, he'd invite me to his Bible school during the summer, and we'd learn about how amazing heaven was and how it was necessary to be good and spread the word of God, everywhere, so that life would be good here on Earth.

Around the age of 15, I began to question everything I had learned in religion and from what I had learned in school. My questions were met with very vague answers of "Believe it, or not - and go to hell!" by those with "religious knowledge." Things began to make more sense to me, and the creationist theory began to fall apart. As I learned more in the sciences and math, I began to find the answers of how things actually worked, in high school, and also in college (I'm going into my senior year of college now). I've informed myself very much on contradictions in the Bible, and various other religious inconsistencies. Science doesn't explain "why" but it does explain "how." As technology advances more and more, more how's will be explained, and if more people were listening and learning, their brains would start to click. I'm not saying people of faith are stupid, but I am saying that the majority think they already have it figured out, and that everything that makes sense is found in one book. On top of that, the people that have all the power, are people of faith, and this hinders the productivity of scientists as faith-based people, and the majority of the country (which has the same view) believe that they are right on all things ethical.

"I want an answer for that too, but can ultimately only accept that God is supreme and all knowing and that he's the creator of everything."
-You don't have to just take what you've been spoonfed your whole life and believe it. Find your own answers, read everything, study, and learn more, and you will figure out the truth. If you already think you've found it, then your ignorance is helpless.

"I've been a believer since I was 5 because my Grandfather tought me all about the Bible and where he was ultimately gonna end up one day, and there is nothing an atheist could do to convince me otherwise."
-You are Christian, because you were born to Christian parents. You were BORN an atheist. Had you been born a few thousand years ago in Greece, you'd believe that Apollo got in his chariot and brought the sun up every morning... Believe it or not, you're also an atheist. The difference is only that I believe in one less God than you.

I'm going to finish this reply with a quote, which I find to be humorous. Thanks for reading everything I've written (if you did). It's only out of love that I wrote this, as an atheist. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] But don't worry, not in a gay way!

"The religion of one age, is the literary entertainment of the next."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

[David Sklansky]

The religious people who I claim are on average less intelligent (or to be more precise, less likely to be highly to be highly intelligent) are those who not only believe with certainty in very specific details about their God but also think that the OBJECTIVE evidence (not just personal evidence or faith) points to them being correct. Ninety percent of the people you are talking about don't fall in that category.

[DannyOcean_]

David,

you should challenge both OP and Jerry Yang to HU HU 4 rollz.

[Brad1970]

Discussing religion with the vast majority of the people at 2+2 is like trying to teach a pig to read. It's impossible for you & it irritates the pig.

[NickyC]

Arguments between people which believe in religion and those who choose not to are about as worthwhile as arguments between diehard liberals and conservatives. No matter how much you try to convince the other side of your views, it's utterly impossible because these sort of beliefs generally make up the fabric of a person.
About the only times I've heard of a hardcore atheist turning religous are after a near death experience. Numerous examples of this. Dood is basically a [censored] during his life, almost dies, sees the light, is given another chance, and his life does a 180 becoming a minister, treating people better etc. I've talked to several people who have had NDE's, and from their testimony it's unreal how these experiences have changed their lives.

Of course, like anything else, I think you'd have to experience a situation such as this to truly believe it.

Believe what you want, and don't force that belief upon others, nor claim somebody is stupid because they don't believe in your beliefs. Nobody knows for sure what the real answer is about religion, and tolerance should be shown by both sides.

[sheetsworld]

It was just brought to my attention by someone who follows such things that one of the posters in this forum "Imsolucky0", went on to win the FullTilt 500k guaranteed after taking the time to post in this thread.

It is, of course, convenient to dismiss this as a coincidence, but these coincidences add up over time, and for someone to deny that there is something more out there than ev is truly denying themselves the benefit of the real power of the mind.

I recall my best friend growing up, Jason Itzler, who while owning 900 number businesses and long distance companies, hired and kept on staff a resident psychic. I asked him if he actually believed in such things, and he responded: "NO, but it is worth 100k a year to me in case I am wrong".

Things did not work out to well for him as his website demonstrates, (www.jasonitzler.com) but that way of thinking still, to me ,is pure genius.


sheets

[vhawk01]

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It was just brought to my attention by someone who follows such things that one of the posters in this forum "Imsolucky0", went on to win the FullTilt 500k guaranteed after taking the time to post in this thread.

It is, of course, convenient to dismiss this as a coincidence, but these coincidences add up over time, and for someone to deny that there is something more out there than ev is truly denying themselves the benefit of the real power of the mind.

I recall my best friend growing up, Jason Itzler, who while owning 900 number businesses and long distance companies, hired and kept on staff a resident psychic. I asked him if he actually believed in such things, and he responded: "NO, but it is worth 100k a year to me in case I am wrong".

Things did not work out to well for him as his website demonstrates, (www.jasonitzler.com) but that way of thinking still, to me ,is pure genius.


sheets

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