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No...I'm not saying that an atheist does not know good from evil. But how does he know? It certainly doesn't come from within. If someone stole something, even without a legal system saying it's wrong, you'd know it was wrong in your conscience. You didn't put that "sense" of justice there. God's moral law is written on every man's heart.
Romans 2: 14 Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. 15 They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.
Can you give an explanation WITHOUT relying on the bible? I can. Even great apes and chimpanzees defer to moral decision making and altruism. Weere they given that gift by the biblical god? or, alternatively did they become aware of good and evil when THEY ate their own apple after talking to a snake?
Scientific principles don't deny the existance of G-d; they merely provide no mechanism to validate the existance of G-d. If you can't falsify a theory, and then test the falsifacation, then science doesn't provide a solution. For example, to the best of my knowlege, one can't falsify the theory that they are loved by their spouse. All one can do is observe behavior--one cannot observe spousal love diectly--only the behavior resulting from that emotion.
Similarly, science does not provide the tools to assess the existance of G-d. Science does provide the tools to assess the existance of the biblical god. Science has repeatedly shown that there are too many biblical inconsistencies (and, No. I am not going to provide a list) and there are too many consistencies with mithra, ancient Egyptian and other mythologically based religions. Therefore it can be stated with a lot of confidence that the biblical concept does not depict G-d.
Can you give an explanation WITHOUT relying on the bible? I can. Even great apes and chimpanzees defer to moral decision making and altruism. Were they given that gift by the biblical god? or, alternatively did they become aware of good and evil when THEY ate their own apple after talking to a snake?
Everything points back to God. The problem is that man is always trying to find a way to circumvent Him. .....to leave Him out.
And it appears that you already have your mind made up. So do I .....so there's no need to keep this back and forth.
If someone stole something, even without a legal system saying it's wrong, you'd know it was wrong in your conscience. You didn't put that "sense" of justice there. God's moral law is written on every man's heart.
That is actually untrue.
Rape is sometimes quite common and considered completely natural, at certain times and in certain cultures. Killing innocent people could be considered natural and moral. Want to cut on the genitals off your children? Depending on when and where you are, it is either completely natural or it is an abomination.
Look at all the stuff done in the old testiment, that you believe your God ordered. The reality is, those people just didn't consider it wrong. It was quite all right to take over the village next to you, kill all the men, rape the women and girl children, and take the male kids as prisoner.
(Murder is a little circular, because it is defined as "a wrongful killing", but no one agrees what wrongful is.)
Go to Papau New Guinie some day, and you'll find that there are a whole lot of people who believe it is completely ok to do things you think are crazy. 1 out of 3 girls has been gang raped. Not just raped, but GANG RAPED. Because there, if you catch a girl from another village alone, it is considered (by some tribes) quite all right to line up and everyone gets a shot at her. There are some villages where it is consider natural to have a coming of age ceremony in which all the 12 year old boys give oral sex to the village elders.
The idea that all men have a common understanding of morality is inaccurate. There may be a few activities that are considered taboo based on evolutionary factors. But for the most part, people will do just about anything. In fact, someday people may look back in great wonderment that we do things like circumsize our children, or even eat meat from a cow. It just seems natural to us in this moment.
Scientific principles don't deny the existance of G-d; they merely provide no mechanism to validate the existance of G-d. If you can't falsify a theory, and then test the falsifacation, then science doesn't provide a solution. For example, to the best of my knowlege, one can't falsify the theory that they are loved by their spouse. All one can do is observe behavior--one cannot observe spousal love diectly--only the behavior resulting from that emotion.
Similarly, science does not provide the tools to assess the existance of G-d. Science does provide the tools to assess the existance of the biblical god. Science has repeatedly shown that there are too many biblical inconsistencies (and, No. I am not going to provide a list) and there are too many consistencies with mithra, ancient Egyptian and other mythologically based religions. Therefore it can be stated with a lot of confidence that the biblical concept does not depict G-d.
Sorry, but science does disprove the idea of a creator diety, biblical or otherwise.
We ahve explained enough of our Observable Universe to ascertain, without error, that there is no "intelligent designer" involved whatsoever.
I am sure this has been discussed infinitum, but I want your opinion.
Why does God allow the innocent to die? Kids suffer and die horrable deaths. Friends and relatives die for no obvious reason. Millions of innocent people have died in wars and natural catasthropies. Not only do they die, but they may suffer incrediable pain and suffering in the process...WHY?
Why does God allow this?
I have noticed that everything that goes wrong in the world God gets blamed. We have to remember that evil is in this world also. satan has a part in what happens here. Why do bad things happen because their is evil in the world?
You do know that satan is called the prince of the air here on earth, which means that he is the ruler here on earth.
1 Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Ephesians 6:11-12 [11] Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms
Earth was put in the control of Man. When Adam and Eve sinned, they voluntarily handed control of the Earth to Satan. Hence, he is the prince of the "air." God could have prevented Satan from taking charge, but He voluntarily let Satan take over so He could show men how merciful He is by offering salvation to each man.
So, why are people dieing and such evil, because of what Adam and Eve did. They handed over what God gave to them.
Jesus came and broke the bondage that satan had over people, but people can still choose to walk in darkness if they like.
Rape is sometimes quite common and considered completely natural, at certain times and in certain cultures. Killing innocent people could be considered natural and moral. Want to cut on the genitals off your children? Depending on when and where you are, it is either completely natural or it is an abomination.
Look at all the stuff done in the old testiment, that you believe your God ordered. The reality is, those people just didn't consider it wrong. It was quite all right to take over the village next to you, kill all the men, rape the women and girl children, and take the male kids as prisoner.
(Murder is a little circular, because it is defined as "a wrongful killing", but no one agrees what wrongful is.)
Go to Papau New Guinie some day, and you'll find that there are a whole lot of people who believe it is completely ok to do things you think are crazy. 1 out of 3 girls has been gang raped. Not just raped, but GANG RAPED. Because there, if you catch a girl from another village alone, it is considered (by some tribes) quite all right to line up and everyone gets a shot at her. There are some villages where it is consider natural to have a coming of age ceremony in which all the 12 year old boys give oral sex to the village elders.
The idea that all men have a common understanding of morality is inaccurate. There may be a few activities that are considered taboo based on evolutionary factors. But for the most part, people will do just about anything. In fact, someday people may look back in great wonderment that we do things like circumsize our children, or even eat meat from a cow. It just seems natural to us in this moment.
How would you know that unless you experienced those things or there to see it?
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