Politics Do you believe in god?
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AliasHombre
Cadet
BristowBookworm
Cadet
I beleive in God. I'm a Christian and I know that God loves me. Its very comforting to have Him always there wathcing me and listening to my prayers wheneever I need Him. Yes, bad things happen in the world but God doesn't just make them happen. He loves everyone, and I can't see there being any reason for our existince if he had not created us. What would be our purpose for being here?
the_alliance
Cadet
i agree, but be forewarned that non-believers will answer the question you posed with "the purpose of life is whatever you make it". it's actually a very compelling argument from a scientific standpoint, but i'm holding my ground.
StAgEpRiNcEsS
Cadet
so you're saying our purpose for being here is that God wants us to be? What kind of purpose is that? That's not a purpose. That may be said as a REASON. But that's not a purpose.
I don't class myself as any religion, nor atheist. I am more agnostic. I believe that there is a God, but humans have no damn right to say what they do or what they control or anything. You DON'T KNOW, stop trying to pretend you do. As far as I'm concerned, it's me and God, and that's as far as i go with personal religion.
As a piece of fictional literature, the Bible is a good story. As a STORY. As a religious work, it is, to put it bluntly, bull. It is hypocritical, self-glorifying nonsense. For example, the only mention in the entire Bible of slaves is 'treat your slaves well'. If the Bible was truly the 'Word of God' and God wanted equality and peace and love as all you Christians and Catholics and Protestants and Whatevers say he does, then explain that.
Also, there was other religions before 'Jesus' came along and the Bible popped up. So were they all wrong? Is that what you're saying? A billion years after the world began, another few thousand and some schizophrenic guy starts running around saying he is the son of God and we should worship him?
I DON'T THiNK SO.
As for evolution, again YOU DON'T KNOW. STOP TRYING TO PRETEND YOU DO. YOU DON'T.
And also, this is just a personal thing, but being a feminist, i object to the use of 'he' when talking about God. This is another point about the Bible. If God wanted equality, 'he' wouldn't refer to 'himself' as 'he', would 'he'?
I also don't like the word 'God'. It implies that they are like an overlord, that they controls us. I don't like to believe that. To most people, 'God' is like an invisible friend. That's basically what he is to me. Something to believe in, something to hold on to, but because I don't know, I'm not going to say that they are any more than 'something'.
'God' is just 'Something'.
A
AliasALIAS
Guest
Please try to have some respect and not yell in all caps.
Everyone is simply stating their beliefs, not pretending to be all-knowing. So please don't call us wrong especially when you're assuming you're right.
I don't believe other religions are wrong, I admire many aspects of world religions (in fact, I hope to visit Jewish and Muslim temples to see how their ceremonies go since they are related to Christianity). But I believe Christianity is right for me.
And many Christians refer to Jesus as a brother. Again, please have some respect. No one here is calling your family members schizophrenic.
As for God being called 'He,' that's what Jesus called Him... or at least that's what the writers of the Bible called Him. So yes, it may have started through sexist beliefs. But I think now, it's moreso tradition. In Islam, God is referred to neither as he or she because God has no sex. Some of my Christian friends are starting to follow that same principle.
Everyone is simply stating their beliefs, not pretending to be all-knowing. So please don't call us wrong especially when you're assuming you're right.
I don't necessarily agree with this, but I do find it somewhat plausible--My religion teacher (I went to a Catholic high school) believes that God reveals Himself to different people through different religions. Like you said, no one knows the true nature of God. Maybe He reveals Himself as He would find people most accepting at the time.
I don't believe other religions are wrong, I admire many aspects of world religions (in fact, I hope to visit Jewish and Muslim temples to see how their ceremonies go since they are related to Christianity). But I believe Christianity is right for me.
And many Christians refer to Jesus as a brother. Again, please have some respect. No one here is calling your family members schizophrenic.
As for God being called 'He,' that's what Jesus called Him... or at least that's what the writers of the Bible called Him. So yes, it may have started through sexist beliefs. But I think now, it's moreso tradition. In Islam, God is referred to neither as he or she because God has no sex. Some of my Christian friends are starting to follow that same principle.
the_alliance
Cadet
i agree.
for the sex thing, the pastor at the parish near my university is very PC about it. instead of "blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord" it's turned into "blest is the one" and "he came down from heaven and became man" has changed to "he came down from heaven" and "thru him with him and in him" turned into "thru christ, with christ, and in christ". so the church does recognize that it's very sex biased.
kellslawells
Cadet
Ha!
When it comes to creationism vs evolution, i believe in evolution. What annoys me about christians who say "God created us all and evolution is wrong because he bible says God creatd us all and i wont believe in any of the evidence put forward by scientists because i have a book that says God did it" is that really, the bible is all the evidence. Thats it. A book. When christians point blank refuse to agknowledge that people have put years and years into the study of evolution, have come up with evidence to support their theory so it CAN be presented as legitimate, for people to just say "No! Your years of work and research will never be worth anything to me because i refuse to believe it because i have a book!" Well, to me, thats disrespect. Believe what you want to when you have actually looked at the evidence. If you still want to believe in God and creationism, fine. Thats your choice. But to go around saying that there is NO evidence whatsoever, when there CLEARLY is, which scientists in our past have worked so hard to put forward to the public, i see that a disrespect to their years of work, and, when compared to the zero evidence that creationsim has, i think that work deserves to be agknowledged.
StAgEpRiNcEsS
Cadet
I'm not assuming i'm 'right'. I don't think anything to do with religion is 'right' because we don't know. If you would read over my post properly, i never said any religion was 'wrong'. I would never say that, because I DON'T KNOW. None of us do. And i also never said that anyone was pretending to be all-knowing. They are just pretending they know exactly what happens. Everyone is free to BELIEVE something that they want to, that MAY have happened, but what i am saying is that they don't have a right to say other people's beliefs are wrong. And i didn't say that your beliefs are wrong. I said to stop trying to pretend that you know what happened, and brush other people off, because you don't know if you are right.
And capitals aren't used for yelling. They are used to emphasize a point.
I totally agree.
Respect is something that has to go both ways, not just for people of religion.
And capitals aren't used for yelling. They are used to emphasize a point.
I totally agree.
Respect is something that has to go both ways, not just for people of religion.
jessie tubb
Cadet
well i don't believe in god. i personally think that people made up god to make themselves feel less alone i the universe. i remember when i was little in primary school, they made us take lessons about religion. they told us that the worlds and universe was made in seven days...i cant see that happening. also that adam and eve were the only two people. then they had to sons and one murded the other and was killed as punishment, so apparently that is the end of the population of people right there.
i also so think there is a page missing from the fount of the book that says:
"the contents of this book is fiction"
but i guess i believe in more of the scientific way of life
and i am sorry if i upset anyone about my views on this subject
i also so think there is a page missing from the fount of the book that says:
"the contents of this book is fiction"
but i guess i believe in more of the scientific way of life
and i am sorry if i upset anyone about my views on this subject
the_alliance
Cadet
not to sound anal again, but for the record, the Bible is an anthology, not a book.
second, to discount evolution would mean to throw out almost all scientific discoveries in biology for the last century. most of biology in the 20th Century uses some aspect of evolution as its base. Darwinian evolution may only be a theory, but the concept of evolution is a fact. things do change over time. how they change is still speculation and Darwin has been the only person to come up with a plausible solution to the "how" question.
again, with evolution and Christians, it's a growing experience. as a Catholic, i hope that they do not make the same mistake the Catholic Church did with Galileo. as far as existence goes, if the Catholic Church is a 20 year-old, the oldest of the non-Catholic Christian denominations is only 5 years old. not saying that the Catholics are superior, but we've gone thru and are still going thru our growing experiences. evolution jsut happens to be the first major growing experience (or at least one of the first growing experiences) the non-Catholic Christians are going thru.
anyway, back to God's existence...
second, to discount evolution would mean to throw out almost all scientific discoveries in biology for the last century. most of biology in the 20th Century uses some aspect of evolution as its base. Darwinian evolution may only be a theory, but the concept of evolution is a fact. things do change over time. how they change is still speculation and Darwin has been the only person to come up with a plausible solution to the "how" question.
again, with evolution and Christians, it's a growing experience. as a Catholic, i hope that they do not make the same mistake the Catholic Church did with Galileo. as far as existence goes, if the Catholic Church is a 20 year-old, the oldest of the non-Catholic Christian denominations is only 5 years old. not saying that the Catholics are superior, but we've gone thru and are still going thru our growing experiences. evolution jsut happens to be the first major growing experience (or at least one of the first growing experiences) the non-Catholic Christians are going thru.
anyway, back to God's existence...
A
AliasALIAS
Guest
I know you're not trying to upset anyone, but it's very upsetting to call beliefs that people hold to their heart "absolute felgercarb". You made an argument with a basis there. But you made your statement weaker by calling personal beliefs absolute fictitious felgercarb.
Respect does goes both ways. I've warned those who I share similar opinions with. And now I'm warning those who happen to have a different opinion--show some respect. Calling my religious role models schizophrenic and that I believe in absolute felgercarb is not showing respect. Feel free to disagree, but there's a difference between disagreeing and attacking.
StAgEpRiNcEsS, all caps may not be intended for yelling, but that's what it's interpreted as in netiquette. The AllAlias.com Guidelines discouraging typing in all caps for this reason. Bold and italics can be used for emphasis.
I feel I need to make clear that Catholicism is open to different theories of evolution, because in my experience, many (not all) non-Christians label all Christians as anti-evolution. The Church defines only that whether life was created in one day or over thousands and millions of years, God guided the process.
In 1950, Pope Pius XII declared in Humani Generis, "The teaching authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with [science and religion], research. . . take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter."
Pope John Paul II said in 1996, "New findings lead us toward the recognition of evolution as more than a hypothesis. In fact it is remarkable that this theory has had progressively greater influence on the spirit of researchers, following a series of discoveries in different scholarly disciplines. The convergence in the results of these independent studies. . . constitutes in itself a significant argument in favor of the theory."
Evolution is taught in many private Catholic schools, including the ones I attended.
Sarahmañana
Cadet
Yes, without a doubt I do.
sarks_princess
Cadet
actually the bible is a book, "Holy Bible" means separate book.
jessie tubb
Cadet
okay, im really sorry i didn't mean to upset you.
i guess i should reword things better
please accept my appoligies
and sorry again to any one else i have affended i really didn't mean it
i guess i should reword things better
please accept my appoligies
and sorry again to any one else i have affended i really didn't mean it
Jamison
Cadet
Wouldn't it be an anthology, as the_alliance said? Since the Bible is a collection of different stories? That's all an anthology is.
the_alliance
Cadet
yes, depending on who you ask, it consists of 66 or 73 different books.
Jamison
Cadet
We're talking about evolution in biology now (finally...I was sick of photosynthesis), and I just can't see how someone won't believe any aspect of it. The evidence is clearly there, and not just from Darwin but from thousands of other scientists as well as fossils and experiments to back their claims up. I just don't understand how you can so easily discard all of that.
jessie tubb
Cadet
i agree, the evidence is all around us, if you look clearly
rlrcstrgrl
Cadet
Where does it say that Adam and Eve had only two children? Adam and Eve obviously had more children.
The concept of evolution is not fact nor is the concept of creation. Neither could be observed. None of us was present at the primordial soup stage when apparently very complex proteins were formed that somehow turned into a living being...
Catholic church was not around during the time of the beginning of the church in the Bible. Not sure if this is considered a part of the Bible that is true, though. And I am pretty sure, although I of course was not there, that the early church did not teach evolution.
Okay so you see the evidence of evolution all around us. I see the evidence of creation all around us. I do not understand how anyone who has studied any of biology can believe in evolution. Does no one see how utterly complex we are? And there are people out there saying that we evolved? That by some random chance we became what we are today? I honestly do not understand how this can be possible. Even from a scientific standpoint, I do not see how evolution can be even plausible. In my school, I have been taught both evolution and creation. I have seen a debate between a creationist and an evolutionist who both had doctorates. The evolutionist just babbled about how the earth was very old, while the creationist gave very clear and logical responses. I have had many, many lessons of simply studying evolution. I feel very fortunate that I have been allowed that chance. I have compared creation and evolution for assignments and on my own. Evolution just does not add up to me. It does not add up to some evolutionists either. These are some things from a book about evolution written by evolutionists.
"We do not know how life arose from the primordial soup. This remains the greatest gap in our knowledge of the development of life."
Wow! One rather large gap! If life never arose, it never evolved, right?
This is something that I love in this book. These are two statements from the text. One occurs at the beginning of the paragraph. The next occurs at the end of the same paragraph.
"The most dramatic evidence for evolution comes from fossils - the rockbound remains of past life"
"The fossils that remain, therefore, are at best a spotty historical record of earth's life."
Rather conflicting. And if fossils - which are spotty at best - are the best evidence for evolution, that is not very good evidence, is it?
Okay, after one very long post, I have one thing left. I know somewhere rather far back someone said something about there was no evidence for creation. I have procured a website that has some evidence for creation. I am in the process of finding more sites. Anyway here is the site: creation site
