Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Again, it depends on what you mean by purpose. If you're talking Purpose as in something we're supposed to do because an invisible deity demands it of us, no.
Personally, I'm not here to die. I'm here to LIVE.
since there is no god, then there is no purpose, then that means theres nothing that differentiates what is right and what is wrong, therefore i can go kill 10 people? just because i wanted to.
You're suggesting atheists can't be moral people because they don't believe. I don't feel like getting into a debate about this because it's been done thousands of times and people will still hold to their preconceived thougts because they underestimate the ability of people to think and know the difference between right and wrong. All I can say is, I'm a good person and I don't need faith at all.
since there is no god, then there is no purpose, then that means theres nothing that differentiates what is right and what is wrong, therefore i can go kill 10 people? just because i wanted to.
You're trotting out this tired old cliche about atheists again? Please. I know I'm going to offend by saying what I'm going to say here, but here goes:
If you think the only reason to act appropriately is because "god" is watching over you and will punish you for your trangressions...
...then I am on such a higher moral ground than you. So much higher you cannot even imagine it. I do the right things for no other reason than that they're right. With no threat of punishment looming over me, that makes me a purer and more advanced human than the person who does right simply because they fear their god.
You're trotting out this tired old cliche about atheists again? Please. I know I'm going to offend by saying what I'm going to say here, but here goes:
If you think the only reason to act appropriately is because "god" is watching over you and will punish you for your trangressions...
...then I am on such a higher moral ground than you. So much higher you cannot even imagine it. I do the right things for no other reason than that they're right. With no threat of punishment looming over me, that makes me a purer more advanced human than the person does right simply because they fear their god.
Feeling nice today prevented me from saying what you just did. Thanks for that.
Feeling nice today prevented me from saying what you just did. Thanks for that.
Can't rep you, sorry.
For the record, I've met many religious people who would do the right thing no matter what. I'm only referring to the ones who tell me I have no reason to live if there is no god, and question the fact that I know right from wrong without depending on a deity to threaten me with punishment.
I've met many of the former type here, and thankfully far fewer of the latter type.
Location: The world, where will fate take me this time?
3,162 posts, read 11,436,860 times
Reputation: 1463
Quote:
Originally Posted by tverde
Before I believed anything, I had a laundry list of questions I would ask everytime I was confronted with the name Jesus or anything to do with the Bible. I would ask anything from: Why arent the dinosours in the bible? to How can a good God, send people to Hell?...
Imho this is because the infinite and eternal truths contained in the Bible (as well as other sacred scriptures) are written in metaphors and allegories so trying to take it literal can lead to misunderstandings of these truths.
Unfortunately, the practice of dissecting the bible and using our God given intuition to understand these truths is not very usual, this can't be generalized though because there are christians who have more progressive views than others.
Concerning God and dinosaurs, the problem is that Genesis is taken literally, instead of understanding God as the origin of all life and creation, all beings were created by the father or original cause, but he intended this creation to be dynamic so he also created the laws of evolution, the same with the universe being created in 7 days.
it this a God's day or a human day? what if a God's day is of thousands of millions of years?
imho it is because science (which should be a complement to religion and viceversa) made possible for us to have a rough estimate of the true age of the universe, so the only logical answer is that a day of God, must be something that spans millions of our days.
Also (imho) the message of Christ hasn't been entirely understood because of this, this misunderstanding is what leads to intolerance towards other's beliefs, specially because Christ never stated that he (as a man) was the only way to the father, when he said this, he was speaking of the true son of God, the Christ consciousness, which is also the 2nd coming of christ, when all human beings are able to manifest this conciousness, we'll be experiencing the second coming.
This has taken so long to change because it is on the best interest of churches to have as many devotees as possible, so the threat of going to hell for practicing another religion is used as an scary tactic, unfortunately this has the consequence of scaring a lot of people from religion or make science and religion look as something completely opposite, but if you read the new testament, and pay attention to Christ's deeds and words, you can see a reflect of the father in him and know that he wouldn't send you to hell for choosing a different way to emulate him.
If Christ and Buddha had met, Christ would have seen another Christ in him and Buddha another Buddha on Christ, the same with Krishna and Muhammad, etc
Quote:
Even though we can only answer so many questions before the individual has to take it upon themselves to build a relationship with the Lord. I feel that it would be good idea to start a thread that will try to answer some of those questions.
This thread is For those who are seeking the truth or that just would like to know what Christians have to say about this or that...
The best way to get answers are to ask questions...
I agree, and you need to know God based on your own experience and quest for him, so sharing experiences of the divine with your brothers (regardless of religion or lack off) can be of help to you, specially to inspire you and strengthen your resolution to find GOD and be freed!!!! i
Quote:
Originally Posted by blue62
I think one of the the biggest problem with Christianity (as a whole) is their intolerance of other beliefs even though they worship the same God and follow the same strict moral codes..
Another problem with christianity is within christianity itself..There are so many different doctrines and they argue over why their particular doctrine is the only one that guarantees a spot in heaven...
unfortunately not only christianity but many religions face this problem blue, the problem lies in depending too much on an institution instead of seeking the kingdom of God within you.
Of course that praying or meditating in group can strenghten your faith and resolution, but temples, churches and shrines should be places of God's worship rather than chit chat, because the relationship with our creator is something very personal (imho)
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigthirsty
As a Christian my biggest problem is the Old Testament.
Imho, the Old testament is written in such a way, because our understanding of God was very limited, compared to the new testament which was exemplified with Christ, showing God's true face
The Gospel predicted many historical events way before they happend. It outlines mans flaws, and points to the direct cause of all the heart ache in our world, but we choose to close the book and write it off because thats "not possible"
Astrlogy & Nostrodamus have also predicted historical events way before they happend...so what?
Personally I have no interest in reading a book that outlines mans flaws. Whatever we give our focus to, grows in our lives. Perhaps this is why Christians see every Non-Christian as a pitiful, hellbound non-believer. I'd rather place my focus upon the virtues, strengths, and goodness of man. Why focus on the negative?
For the record, I've met many religious people who would do the right thing no matter what. I'm only referring to the ones who tell me I have no reason to live if there is no god, and question the fact that I know right from wrong without depending on a deity to threaten me with punishment.
I've met many of the former type here, and thankfully far fewer of the latter type.
The latter is found more down south. That's fundie headquarters, lol. About 98% of my family lives down south. Thank the lucky stars I grew up in the Midwest. People don't really care about your religion here for the most part, although there are some exceptions.
By the way, how do you get those words under your title? Where yours says, "Atheism is not a religion"?
Christianity, or any theistic religion for that matter, just seems so illogical. An omnipotent creator could have designed all things to be in harmony, efficient, without conflict, all beautiful, and benevolent. And why so many? Was "god" so lonesome that billions of imperfect creatures were needed for companionship? When were creatures advanced enough to be considered human? Were neantherdals created with the benefit of souls and the opportunity to be resurrected? Christian theology just doesn't make any sense. Evolutionary biology and quantum mechanics appear to have more logical answers and approaches to the biq questions.
Feeling nice today prevented me from saying what you just did. Thanks for that.
Can't rep you, sorry.
As a Christian: I affirm that atheists can be, and are, moral, though, of course, some aren't (the same can be said, unfortunately, for some Christians); but I also find your quote revealing- you didn't want to act in a particular manner because you felt nice today (as opposed to knowing that , absolutely, it is appropriate to be nice). Seems to me that this is always going to be the issue relative to behavior with those who don't believe in absolutes. I understand why you criticize Christians for immoral behavior, when appropriate, because we have a standard by which we can be measured. (Scripture, incidentally, is full of criticism of Christians who exhibit sub-Christian morality). I am less certain why atheists behave in a consistently moral fashion. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for moral atheists, and I know they exist. However, ethics based on consesus, or feeling, no matter how "good" they are, will always be arbitrary. Still, thank you for being ethical, whatever your motivation.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
