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Just by the title alone, this thread might seem offensive to some of you (others might find it hilarious). My purpose for this thread is to have an intelligent conversation about how our beliefs are shaped by what we have been told.
When I was a Christian, the ONLY difference between God and Santa was that society eventually told me the truth about Santa. With that said, here are some questions I'd like to see answers to in this thread.
1) How many of us would still believe in Santa if society never told us the truth?
2) Could God be the "Santa" that people die believing in?
3) Is keeping the faith more important to you than being correct?
4) What other beliefs are tied to your faith in a god? (Example, seeing dead relatives again in heaven or going to hell for non belief)
5) (This is an extension to question #4) Are your extended beliefs the real reasons why faith is a more pleasant path for you?
Santa Claus was Saint Nicholas the Bishop of Myra who had some miracles of Christ , and died in 343 AD and has gone to heaven to be with Jesus Christ , so Jesus has got Santa where He is still alive ......
Let's stop there with what is historical fact. Would you agree that there are quite a few myths surrounding this actual figure of history (a figure that's 300 years younger than Jesus)?
Since the Jesus story had an extra 300 years to develop; is it possible that the real Jesus (assuming such a figure existed) was more "normal man" than "god"?
well, the toys are there. so when we start there we are forced to describe what happened. The same with this god thing. something is there, the question is what is it. There is no reason for me to assume its a christian, or similar god thingie. There is no data to suggest that we are the most complex thing in the universe. We are the most complex protein on earth, but we are not a stand alone thing.
but I get where both sides feel its better to call eachother names. Thats human for ya.
Just by the title alone, this thread might seem offensive to some of you (others might find it hilarious). My purpose for this thread is to have an intelligent conversation about how our beliefs are shaped by what we have been told.
When I was a Christian, the ONLY difference between God and Santa was that society eventually told me the truth about Santa. With that said, here are some questions I'd like to see answers to in this thread.
1) How many of us would still believe in Santa if society never told us the truth?
2) Could God be the "Santa" that people die believing in?
3) Is keeping the faith more important to you than being correct?
4) What other beliefs are tied to your faith in a god? (Example, seeing dead relatives again in heaven or going to hell for non belief)
5) (This is an extension to question #4) Are your extended beliefs the real reasons why faith is a more pleasant path for you?
Absolutely wrong mindset.
No, sir. This is NOT how it works. In pitch dark, you are banging your head against a rock wall in an attempt to open the door.
Here is how I look at it.
If I look at our universe and many things in it, I clearly feel that there is WAY TOO MUCH design it, for it all to have come together by itself. My brain tells me that there is an EXTREMELY HUGE possibility that a force is controlling all this.
To me, that [b]force[b] is God who is behind all this creation.
Now which God is it?
Is it the Hindu monkey God, Hanuman? Is it the God of Zoroastrians? Is it the greek or Roman Gods of our past? Is it the God of Gobleki Tepe? Is it the God of people of Stone Henge? Is it the Gods of ancient Egypt and Pharos? Is it the God of Bible, Quran or Torah? etc? Which one is it?
The answer is, we don’t really know.
But, we can and we should, use our intelligence, logic and research to try to recognize this God by his message and by his signs, to form our faith and live a life in accord till our death will make us meet the God.
Does Santa Clause or the giant spaghetti monster have a message towards humanity? If yes, let’s read and analyze it to see if it makes any sense to us? If not, we can’t consider them as Gods because we don’t have any other significant way to connect to God.
One should keep searching Gods by their messages in all faiths that claim to have a holy message towards humanity. You can and you should reject the ones that don’t speak to your heart - just like you did with the God presented in the Bible and by the modern day Christianity - BUT - you should be ready and be brave and honest enough to form the faith when a certain holy scripture talks to your heart.
There are 7 Billion people on earth, and we know that not only their facial features, finger prints and voice is unique but I have recently noticed that our body structures are unique as well. The way each one of us 7 BILLION walks, is also unique.
Did you notice that you can recognize a person from behind too? It seems like all 7 billion of us, have our own unique style of walking. We are able to recognize a family or friend who is walking ahead of us and has his back towards us. We don’t see their face or hear their voice but we know who is just by looking their back.
And you are telling me that all this uniqueness among 7 Billion people came together all by itself, and without controlling force?
Here is good starter for you by the great Einstein is his famous quote.
“Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the descernible laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion”
But...tho I have not seen Jesus or Krishna....I still believe they were real people.
So I guess what I always say goes out the window.
I trusted my parents about Santa...what a heart break the moment I looked at my sister and
my mom with this confused, betrayed, puzzled face 4-5 yrs old...that was when I found out people lie.
I can still feel the feeling in my chest if I think on it.
*Love the above Einstein quote...reminds me of Spinoza.
Well, the whole post is excellent!
Absolutely wrong mindset.
No, sir. This is NOT how it works. In pitch dark, you are banging your head against a rock wall in an attempt to open the door.
Here is how I look at it.
If I look at our universe and many things in it, I clearly feel that there is WAY TOO MUCH design it, for it all to have come together by itself. My brain tells me that there is an EXTREMELY HUGE possibility that a force is controlling all this.
To me, that [b]force[b] is God who is behind all this creation.
Now which God is it?
Is it the Hindu monkey God, Hanuman? Is it the God of Zoroastrians? Is it the greek or Roman Gods of our past? Is it the God of Gobleki Tepe? Is it the God of people of Stone Henge? Is it the Gods of ancient Egypt and Pharos? Is it the God of Bible, Quran or Torah? etc? Which one is it?
The answer is, we don’t really know.
But, we can and we should, use our intelligence, logic and research to try to recognize this God by his message and by his signs, to form our faith and live a life in accord till our death will make us meet the God.
Does Santa Clause or the giant spaghetti monster have a message towards humanity? If yes, let’s read and analyze it to see if it makes any sense to us? If not, we can’t consider them as Gods because we don’t have any other significant way to connect to God.
One should keep searching Gods by their messages in all faiths that claim to have a holy message towards humanity. You can and you should reject the ones that don’t speak to your heart - just like you did with the God presented in the Bible and by the modern day Christianity - BUT - you should be ready and be brave and honest enough to form the faith when a certain holy scripture talks to your heart.
There are 7 Billion people on earth, and we know that not only their facial features, finger prints and voice is unique but I have recently noticed that our body structures are unique as well. The way each one of us 7 BILLION walks, is also unique.
Did you notice that you can recognize a person from behind too? It seems like all 7 billion of us, have our own unique style of walking. We are able to recognize a family or friend who is walking ahead of us and has his back towards us. We don’t see their face or hear their voice but we know who is just by looking their back.
And you are telling me that all this uniqueness among 7 Billion people came together all by itself, and without controlling force?
Here is good starter for you by the great Einstein is his famous quote.
“Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the descernible laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion”
You've made a couple of missteps here. Firstly, your conclusion about there being a God is based on the fallacy of an argument from incongruity. For example, centuries ago, humans didn't understand what caused lightening, so the Norse inserted Thor as the solution. Simply because we don't understand something doesn't give us carte' blanche to insert any solution. Secondly, why would this God need any message?
Let's stop there with what is historical fact. Would you agree that there are quite a few myths surrounding this actual figure of history (a figure that's 300 years younger than Jesus)?
Since the Jesus story had an extra 300 years to develop; is it possible that the real Jesus (assuming such a figure existed) was more "normal man" than "god"?
Jesus was a human being.
He was fully God realised.
The difference was spiritual.
You've made a couple of missteps here. Firstly, your conclusion about there being a God is based on the fallacy of an argument from incongruity. For example, centuries ago, humans didn't understand what caused lightening, so the Norse inserted Thor as the solution. Simply because we don't understand something doesn't give us carte' blanche to insert any solution. Secondly, why would this God need any message?
Exactly. I believe this is known as "god of the gaps". I've always found this particular definition of god to be suspect. If absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence; then absence of an explanation can't be evidence of a god. I personally don't know how exactly our reality is governed. However, is it wise to say that "God dunnit" simply because we don't have an answer?
Which brings up another question. How come an honest "I don't know" isn't an acceptable answer? Some of the most thrilling events in life are the unknowns that surprise us. The unknown is what compels us to travel, learn a new skill, and take on the risk of falling in love. Not knowing is a very important aspect of our conscious experience. If all is already known, then you can't "experience" anything; it's as if you don't exist at all..... This simple philosophical truth is the strongest argument against the existence of an all-knowing intelligence in my opinion.
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