God Talk

[TacticalPenguin]

I didn't have to. Thats what I did and I'm glad because of it. I just got confirmed today.


I do understand. Many things are made clear. Not all of it though. Like I said, it is impossible for any human to fully understand the bible. It is the word of God, and no one fully understands God.

It is indeed difficult to understand things which do not exist.

 

[Slasher]

It is indeed difficult to understand things which do not exist.

Now that's your opinion. Please be courteous enough to respect other people opinions and beliefs.

 

[matt]

It is indeed difficult to understand things which do not exist.

I assure you nothing can turn me away from my beliefs. And my belief in Christianity is that unless you turn to God, you're going to Hell when you die. If you don't believe that, then that's your choice. There is no need to be immature.

 

[Access_Denied]

I assure you nothing can turn me away from my beliefs. And my belief in Christianity is that unless you turn to God, you're going to Hell when you die. If you don't believe that, then that's your choice. There is no need to be immature.

So in your narrow minded point of view, anyone who isn't Christian is going to hell for all of eternity? No offense, but your God sounds like an asshole.

 

[ChurchedAtheist]

Now that's your opinion. Please be courteous enough to respect other people opinions and beliefs.

well said slash. it always bugs me when people jab at either side

 

[Chathurga]

I just can't understand the concept of god or religion in general. Religion teaches you to believe in the unprovable, like god which by it's very nature cannot be proven to exist. Also I feel that the burden falls upon the believer to prove god's existence and not the unbeliever to disprove it. I do not need to disprove flying elephant's as they have never been observed, the same with god.
Really I think god and the tooth fairy are parralel, both have no affect on our everyday living, they can't be seen, touched, seen, smelled, heard and have no observable affect in our world. How can anyone logically believe in something that cannot interfere in our lives? And if he does interfere then removed is the very thing that makes us special, free will. If god interferes then he destroys what is supposed to seperate us from most animals.
I think the idea of god stems from the fact that with evolution we were gifted with the ability to comprehend that which lays outside our instincts to survive. With this new found lack of intrinsic meaning we had to create something that would fill the void: Religion. People are scared to believe that when we die, that's it. Nothing. No pearly gates, no "thank you" for all the good you did in your life. It was all for nothing. Plants don't get thanked for spitting out oxygen and we don't get thanked for anything either. We'd like to think there's some final consequnce to everyone's actions but there simply isn't. There is no ultimate justice, the world is a cold and bitter place. The sooner everyone lives their lives to the boundries society has placed upon us without fearing an unknown force the better.

 

[madsoul]

It is the word of God, and no one fully understands God.

how do you so strongly know that it is the words of God?

 

[madsoul]

I assure you nothing can turn me away from my beliefs. And my belief in Christianity is that unless you turn to God, you're going to Hell when you die. If you don't believe that, then that's your choice. There is no need to be immature.

this is interesting. i love talking to very religious persons and really try to understand how they think. since its so far from my own reality.

how would you describe heaven and hell? like the traditional picture where heaven is up in the clouds and hell is bellow?

in my head god is on the same level as the easter bunny and santa claus.

 

[Greyone]

It is indeed difficult to understand things which do not exist.

How are you so sure God doesn't exist ?

 

[LocutusEstBorg]

I don't know if god exists or not. I feel I am not affected by the existence or non-existence of god.

I've certainly never made any decision in my life based on what god would think of it, and I wouldn't regret them later even if it was proved that there is god or that there isn't.

I don't cheat, steal, or do anything I think is immoral.

You might bash me by saying that everyone downloads stuff and piracy is stealing. Piracy is illegal, not immoral in my situation. I simply don't have the income to buy stuff. I don't believe I have stolen anything because I know for a fact I would never have bought it.

But morals are subjective. What is immoral is what makes me feel guilty. I don't even remember the last time I did something that made me feel guilty, unlike what can be said for most people in this world.

 

[Greyone]

I don't even remember the last time I did something that made me feel guilty, unlike what can be said for most people in this world.

hehe, i feel the same way.

my conscience is so strong, that knocking a hanger down at a store, and not picking it up would kill me.

 

[matt]

So in your narrow minded point of view, anyone who isn't Christian is going to hell for all of eternity? No offense, but your God sounds like an asshole.

If people are stooping so low as to be calling God an asshole, then I'm out of here. You're hopeless.

And just to answer your question, you don't necessarily have to proclaim yourself as Christian to go to heaven, just believe and abide by God and Jesus.

 

[Access_Denied]

If people are stooping so low as to be calling God an asshole, then I'm out of here. You're hopeless.

And just to answer your question, you don't necessarily have to proclaim yourself as Christian to go to heaven, just believe and abide by God and Jesus.

So, I don't have to be a Christian, but I have to accept the Christian views of God and Jesus. So, which part of that makes any sense.

Also, in the way you put it, yes, God is an asshole. Think about it. EVERY single person who isn't Christian is going to burn in hell for all eternity. That's pretty low. I mean, what if you're born to Muslim parents? Chances are, you're going to be Muslim. Does that mean God destined you to hell before you were even created? That kind of sucks for anybody who he doesn't choose to be Christian.

I think a more realistic idea would be that God chooses people to go to heaven based on morals, NOT on their religion. But then again, even that isn't a very good idea, as morals are very subjective and change from culture to culture.

You want to leave, fine. You just can't handle the fact that Christianity is so contradictory, and pretty much places everybody but themselves in hell for eternal damnation.

Also, I feel this must be repeated. The funniest part is that it's truthful. (An oversimplification, yes. But still funny.)

EDIT: IF YOU WANT TO ACT THE EEJIT YOU CAN LEAVE NOW, KEEP IT SMART, NO SPACE FOR STUPID AND OFFENSIVE IMAGES HERE.

 

[Slasher]

Now I'm not a Christian advocate or anything, nor do I know enough to disprove your claims, but quite honestly you're coming across as a gigantic flaming prick.

"I think a more realistic idea would be that God chooses people to go to heaven based on morals, NOT on their religion."
This is sort of my views on things. Morals may vary from place to place, but for the most part by following the ten commandments I see those as acceptable morals that additionally have a much more deeper meaning (as I explained earlier).

That picture was totally uncalled for and rude.

~

Kind of off topic, but I would just like to bring up the topic of paranormal experiences. This is something entirely disproved, yet there are many many instances of this phenomena occurring. For me at least, just based on my own experiences and hearing the experiences of others this topic alone leads me to believe that there is much more than we can possibly comprehend both in life and in death. Seeing my grandfather in a mirror years after his death just last Christmas (coincidentally was his favourite time of the year) has renewed my beliefs in something much more than just life as it is.

What do atheists believe when it comes to this? Do ghosts/paranormal phenomena just not exist because it cannot be scientifically proven?

 

[EvilSeph]

Before I get involved, I thought I would mention something. Given that this is the "Smart Talk" area, I would have thought I could get away with not mentioning this - but I guess not.

Since everyone's views on religion and God or gods existing is different, it is common and expected courtesy to NOT TAKE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY AS PERSONAL but please do listen to and respect others' opinions.

Based on the points you have brought up, they may come to conclusions that you do not agree with. This is fine and is not what I, at least, would consider against our rules. It is simply their opinion or their view of things based on the points you have supplied.

Given two things, I believe my annoyance and disappointment is completely justified.

One, this community's name is called M for Mature. You would expect it's members to be more mature than most of you have already shown.

Two, this is the one area on these forums where we ask that everyone be intelligible, have tact and manners - everywhere else you can post some joke that people might laugh at, but in here, it is expected that we are a group of grown men and women intelligently and civilly debating upon controversial topics.

If a petty topic such as religion, which comes up every day, is hard for you guys to handle, then this section could very well be doomed.

Please, everyone, show us that you can meet the small amount of expectation we have for this area. We really don't ask for much.

It should go without saying: if you have anything worthwhile to add, add it - but you need to back up your point too.

Saying "God does not exist" without justification is spam and spamming will get you banned. Saying "God is an asshole", like one of the people previously as quoted, will be classified as spam - however, since the poster later clarified and justified their statement, we'll allow it. Provided the justification is decently intelligent and not just bullcrap.

Now before you continue on with this discussion - or any discussion within Smart Talk, I hope you take what I have said to heart - because we will no longer tolerate immaturity, spamming, stupidity and disrespect in this area.

This is my favourite area of the community - let's keep it clean and smart.

 

[Access_Denied]

Now I'm not a Christian advocate or anything, nor do I know enough to disprove your claims, but quite honestly you're coming across as a gigantic flaming prick.

"I think a more realistic idea would be that God chooses people to go to heaven based on morals, NOT on their religion."
This is sort of my views on things. Morals may vary from place to place, but for the most part by following the ten commandments I see those as acceptable morals that additionally have a much more deeper meaning (as I explained earlier).

That picture was totally uncalled for and rude.

Sorry for coming across as a prick, but it's the truth. Based on his beliefs, any non-Christian is going to hell. I don't know about you, but I'd be skeptical to believe in a God who wants to send about 2/3 of the Earth to hell, just because they have different beliefs.

Now, I'm not a Christian, but my interpretation of the Bible was always that all religions can lead to the same fate, as long as you lived a good life. Again, I don't really like that, because the definition of 'good' is subjective, but it's still a more plausible idea that sending every non-Christian to hell.

Also, c'mon, the picture wasn't that bad. It's just a little joke, lighten up. It wasn't meant to be an insult. Even Christians could see the humor in it. (Although most don't like the oversimplification of it, they can still see the humor.)

 

[madsoul]

And just to answer your question, you don't necessarily have to proclaim yourself as Christian to go to heaven, just believe and abide by God and Jesus.

so atheists will go straight to hell even if they have been very good persons in real life?

 

[Slasher]

Is my question being evaded or what?

It's pretty much undeniable, and scientifically not proven at the same time.

 

[madsoul]

What do atheists believe when it comes to this? Do ghosts/paranormal phenomena just not exist because it cannot be scientifically proven?

this is my view on anything paranormal:

our brain is incredible complex. our brain is as unknown to us as the universe. it can function and do things without "you", as a person, knowing it or being involved. we have the ability to see things we want to see. therefor i believe ghosts exists. brain ghosts, inside your head. we fool ourselfs without knowing it.

personally i have never experienced any ghost encounters, but some other strange things have happened in my life that i just cant put my finger on. but im sure they all have natural explanations.

i dont belive in life after death and souls, so therefor i dont belive in ghosts. i do belive in our amazing human brain.

 

[Slasher]

What if the said paranormal event is observed by several individuals at the same time? Surely our brains aren't interconnected, so how could this possibly happen? If they were in fact connected than wouldn't this be in favour of religious aspects including us all being children of god and having Jesus a part of us?

In addition to this, what about actual physical objects being moved or even thrown right before your eyes? This is without a doubt physical and undeniable. Your brain can't perceive you (and several different people at the same time) to 'imagine' a physical object being moved.

I think it's much more than just our imagination. It isn't strictly bound to our brain "fooling" us.
I once again stand by my point of the world being much more than we could ever possibly comprehend. Leading me to believe in God to at the very least a certain extent.