What do believers mean when they say, "God gave us a choice to believe or not?" (Buddhist, souls)
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One does not need a degree to know history...I have studied the history and beliefs of the many first nations people here in BC, and some other areas of Canada so it is not "pontification as fact" Only an intellectual snob would say such a thing.
That there are different concepts of God is not what I meant as "pontification as fact." I was referring to the specific idea that God/god/gods are a man-made invention. This is your opinion, the differing belief of First Nations people is not a proof on the matter.
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Originally Posted by sanspeur
I disagree.....Their ideas and beliefs of gods and origins of man and the universe are man made.
Perhaps, but I was originally talking about God itself. That our ideas about God might be man-made does not show that God is an invention of man. This is what you get out of it, but it's not the inevitable or only conclusion.
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Originally Posted by sanspeur
Basically you are claiming here, as so many of the religious say, that some how the god you believe in is correct and all others are mistaken or misguided...I just don't buy it.
I think other conceptions of God are valid to some degree and it's not that important that anyone "buy" mine. I was stating my own opinion.
However on the idea that "God was invented by man" this is not something I feel you can assert is validated by history or anthropology. You may feel these things make it more likely than not that God is a man-made invention, but they don't really confirm anything. There is no "inventor of God" that you can state. The idea it's man-made is an educated guess you are making, not a statement of fact.
However on the idea that "God was invented by man" this is not something I feel you can assert is validated by history or anthropology. You may feel these things make it more likely than not that God is a man-made invention, but they don't really confirm anything. There is no "inventor of God" that you can state. The idea it's man-made is an educated guess you are making, not a statement of fact.
I agree that it is not proof of the non existence of god, but to me the fact that every isolated culture over time has had entirely different concepts of what god is, is a pretty good indication that there must be thousands of gods, or god exists only in the mind (imagination). I choose to believe the latter.
Location: where the moss is taking over the villages
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sanspeur
I agree that it is not proof of the non existence of god, but to me the fact that every isolated culture over time has had entirely different concepts of what god is, is a pretty good indication that there must be thousands of gods, or god exists only in the mind (imagination). I choose to believe the latter.
I concur with the exception of leaning toward the former, not the latter.
So, can we morally create the adversity in itself? Well the vary act would be immoral in itself. However, the past holds the clue for the future
To a religion God was with the devil except for possibly Zoroastrianism and for the negative of negative; in a way paradoxically Job (they didn't know Him with the devil understood) . As much as God gave us achoice to know, God also gave us a choice to believe in the degree of doubt (the element of the evil for It) to that knowing.?
Also the idea that because an idea is old it's wrong is fallacious. Primitive man had some senses of things, which turned out to be right or may still turn out to be right. For example there's increasingly compelling evidence male circumcision truly is hygienically useful. Its initial justification came mostly from religion or culture, not reason.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. I didn't say that old ideas are fallacious because they are old. Religion was an attempt by early humans to understand things in the world around them that they had no way of understanding rationally. I can't fault them for that. However, there are now much better ways.
You must believe in the three headed elephant, otherwise you will suffer the wrath of Dumbo...The point is noland is that nobody can force belief on anyone, therefore neither belief or non belief is a choice....It's a really simple concept and I can't believe that you don't get it.
You must believe in the three headed elephant, otherwise you will suffer the wrath of Dumbo...The point is noland is that nobody can force belief on anyone, therefore neither belief or non belief is a choice....It's a really simple concept and I can't believe that you don't get it.
I am not forcing my beliefs on anyone,please show me where I said this,all I am doing is answering the OP's question and you rudely attack my post. I will share the gospel but I will not force my beliefs on anyone.
Well I choose not to believe in three-headed elephants,but I do believe or chose to believe in a Triune God,see how easy that choice that was.
We are conducting an experiment here man! The claim is that we can choose our beliefs. I don't believe it can be done. You say it can, so go ahead and show me how you do it. Choose to believe in three-headed elephants and then tell me how you did it.
We are conducting an experiment here man! The claim is that we can choose our beliefs. I don't believe it can be done. You say it can, so go ahead and show me how you do it. Choose to believe in three-headed elephants and then tell me how you did it.
I think choosing to believe in something established that has a purpose and meaning is different than choosing to believe in some random thing a person clearly invented one day.
It might make more sense to ask if a Christian could choose to believe in say the Archangel Metatron or extraterrestrials.
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The choice is in the motivation at adversity.
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...The point is noland is that nobody can force belief on anyone, therefore neither belief or non belief is a choice....It's a really simple concept and I can't believe that you don't get it.
