251. Why there is no God

Comment #5862 by Anonymous on November 11, 2006 at 12:39 pm

"and we just end up accepting that we were right to ditch religion."

I guess I was lucky, I never had it rammed down my throat, I never had a choice to make, I just KNEW there was no god. I remember praying when I was little and things weren't going the way I wanted them to but as I grew up I knew we were on our own and I for one am big enough to accept that.

Jason

252. The rise of the 'New Atheists'

Comment #5837 by Anonymous on November 11, 2006 at 10:39 am

"By the mid-21st century, the peak of secular European politics will be long past," writes Kaufman.

That's a bit optimistic, not unless the radioactive cockroaches form political parties and become religious.
(i forgot - the creationists will probably survive - the only thing they believe that's actually true)

253. Losing Our Religion

Comment #5833 by Anonymous on November 11, 2006 at 10:20 am

Religion should have the same standards as other products marketed to the public. Please prove that eternal life is the after death experience.

Dawkins may live forever as Einstein and Galileo hopefully will too existing as significant intellects within the context of the history of this species.

254. Home-schooling special: Preach your children well

Comment #5829 by Anonymous on November 11, 2006 at 10:13 am

"By 2004, PHC students held seven out of 100 internships in the White House, a number even more striking when one considers that only 240 students were enrolled in the entire college. Last year, two PHC graduates worked in the White House, six worked for members of Congress and eight for federal agencies, including two for the FBI"

If that trend grows we're all doomed (i'm not even american, but i'll be doomed too).

255. The Dawkins Delusion (Different Article, Same Stupid Title)

Comment #5824 by Anonymous on November 11, 2006 at 9:48 am

Has this guy ever heard of a country called Sweden?

256. The terrorist virus is no lightweight matter. We must contain its spread

Comment #5804 by Anonymous on November 11, 2006 at 6:45 am

We are all bullied and threatened by superstition.
The South Park episode "Cartoon Wars – the Family Guy"
aired last night. This is the show that addressed the Danish Cartoon issue. The outrage stems from the writers being forbidden by FOX & Comedy Central to present silly illustrations of Mohammed. Apparently the broadcasters involved were threatened with violence and hence the ban directed at the artists. How much longer are people to be bullied by theocratic terrorists that lack a sense of humour?

Just as Dawkins had deconstructed Bronze Age myths from Judeo Christian narratives Islam deserves the same scrutiny. Do any people conditioned into Islamic superstition other than Salman Rushdie ever state publicly that Mohammed was a military leader with a penchant for 8 year old girls? The silence is deafening. Would he if alive today be an Internet pedophile. Literally every priest or pervert that preys on children uses the excuse that they are helping them in some way.

257. God vs. science: Can religion stand up to the test?

Comment #5779 by Anonymous on November 11, 2006 at 3:34 am

Again, I ask, how were we created? Ahhh, yes the answer -->

The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 written 1400 b.c.

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return. Genesis 3:19 written 1400 b.c.

"Where is the evidence for a god?"
.. where is the evidence for NO God?
.. can you prove he does not exist?

"The Bible is true? Why, because it says it is true?"
.. the logic behind the Bible pretty much provides the essence of it's truthfulness.
.. Can you prove it is not true?

"Genesis is a fairy tale"
.. Wow! .. that's very interesting given that all of the Old testament prophecy has been fulfilled.

"Jesus had some good ideas, but is as dead as the wood he was nailed to"
.. Dead, I think not. Can you prove that he is dead? I would say that he is greatly alive and will even return at a hour we least expect him.
.. then, you shall see the truth.

"How can I be sure that the bible is really the word of God?"
.. the fulfilled prophecies!

"The Old Testament I find just plain horrible and immoral."
.. That's because you live thousands of years after it's occurance. Our mind's can't really relate to that time period. Imagine telling Abraham about the internet?

"There are some gems in the New Testament but also a lot of rubbish"
.. Wondering what you think is rubbish?

"There was a time that I was open to spiritual experiences. In fact, I still am. But I never had one. God never spoke to me. Doesn't he like me? Am I doomed?"
.. 1st - God does love you. He waits for your return - "God demonstrates his own love for you in this, while you were still a sinner, Christ died for you" Romans 5:6-8
.. I struggle with this also. Recently, my loved one passed away from cancer. I also ask God why many times? Generally, the answer is revealed as Faith. The fact is that this world is a fallen one .. "Every person has sinned and fallen short of the glorious perfection of God but all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24"

258. Why there is no God

Comment #5758 by Anonymous on November 10, 2006 at 8:36 pm

William. on November 10, 2006 at 8:17 pm

If you look at statistics Asana, you'd see that many marrige break ups occur between religious couples.

Belief in God doesn't necessarily prevent an awful marriage break up. If it did, fine, but I'm afraid it doesn't.

Bodhitharta: I wasn't really talking about marriage break ups. I was simply addressing the comments made by Jason Kenny that he has no inner struggles or urges that would be counter productive (evil) He said that he didn't ever think or do anything evil and that he had no evil to overcome at all. So I asked him does he ever look at other woman with lust or is he always the most patient person and then I pointed out the time when his marriage almost broke up and asked him what would he call that situation. If he has ever apologized he has said I'm sorry for being wrong(evil)

259. Why there is no God

Comment #5749 by Anonymous on November 10, 2006 at 7:47 pm

Hello Jason Kenny,

As I said before you are following the path of Dishonesty and Obsession.

Jason Kenny: No, not within me. My life is my wife and daughter and my parents and sibling and I love them very much, so there is no room for evil in my heart!

Bodhitharta: Have you ever even thought about making love to another woman other than your wife?

Does your wife mind it if you look at other women with lust?

Do you and your wife ever have arguments where you fill like either you or herself could exercise more patience with one another?

And what about that time that you and your wife almost broke up? How did that happen(was that situation evil free?)

260. Why there is no God

Comment #5675 by Anonymous on November 10, 2006 at 12:57 pm

#456
Frankl's account of his time in a concentration camp during the holocaust provides clues that some people choose to do good while many others choose evil irrespective of god or religion. Evil is a human choice as is good.

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." - Man's Search for Meaning

261. Why there is no God

Comment #5672 by Anonymous on November 10, 2006 at 12:50 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXxzVuE_D1k&mode=related&search=

262. The rise of the 'New Atheists'

Comment #5641 by Anonymous on November 10, 2006 at 8:08 am

If atheism is a religion, then bald is a hair colour and not collecting stamps is a hobbby.

263. The rise of the 'New Atheists'

Comment #5631 by Anonymous on November 10, 2006 at 7:00 am

"I submit that you are a Christian solely because you were brought up as a Christian or were converted to Christianity at a vulnerable period in your life. If you examine other religions with a free spirit of inquiry, you will find that their followers are equally convinced of their validity, and they may be helped by their beliefs as much as you are by Christianity. You will also find that there are major irreconsileable differences between different religions so that they can't all be correct. This might lead to you thinking outside the box and to a realization that your religion is no more correct than any of the others. This can be frightening, but the beauty of atheism lies its freedom - freedom to search for truth based on reality, not on ideas for which there is no evidence."

What a beautiful way to put it. I take my hat off to you, sir.

264. The rise of the 'New Atheists'

Comment #5621 by Anonymous on November 10, 2006 at 6:19 am

Dear Charlene;

You have asked for reasonable explanation of why atheism is not religion. Cambridge dictionary defines religion as "the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or any such system of belief and worship". Surely atheism is rejection thereof, I hope you see that clearly.

Your argument is that atheism is a religion because there is faith involved. But what kind of faith? It is not faith despite reason, it's a faith because of reason. I have faith that walking across the street at the red lights might cost me life. I have faith that if I put my hand into a fire, I will suffer. I have faith that if I throw an apple up in the air, it will fall down, just like the legendary one did on Newton's head.

This kind of faith is based on reason, experience, and material evidence. Thus, we call this type of faith - knowledge. And knowledge can be made science if we submit it to clear and logical methodology, generalize it and give other scientists opportunity to disprove our "knowledge" using well established procedures.

This type of faith is very different one from religious faith. Religious faith is based on no evidence. Ahh I forgot... You did provide us with your evidence:

"Ben, I know God exists. My life has completely changed because of Him and the personal relationship I have with Him. That is the evidence. For one, I used to be an extremely angry person, and now I am not. Jesus supernaturally saved me from a bitter angry existence.
Some of you would know that you don't just grow out of anger or bitterness. Neither can you really save yourself from it."

Do you remember when you were a little girl? Most of little kids have imaginary friends, which to toddlers appear as real as anything else (Richard Dawkins mentions it in his book, I recommend it to you). Even some grown-ups have imaginary friends. The New Age practicioners visualize their friends, let them talk in their heads and call them spiritual guides. Sometimes they even claim these "guides" come from other planets.

You can see that the argument from "personal experience" doesn't really count. First, a lot of stuff happens in our head, and its rarely really objective. Second, it's impossible to generalize or test what is going on in your head. The argument from personal experience is really circular - I believe it because it's true, it's true because I believe it. Thirdly, this type of argument leads to contradiction. What will you do if you meet a muslim, a hindu or a sikh who will tell you that their faith changed their life, so it must be true?

Now, what is this thing with atheists? Why do they speak up against believing in God? Atheists, I can tell you are people usually very sensitive to the truth. They don't want to believe in lies. Many of them very carefully examined the great religions and found them false - that is contradicting with what our knowledge and science (as described earlier) tell us. The Bible is not literally true. The world is not 10,000 years old. Our genes are much older than Adam and Eve. Also, from the moral point of view the Bible is not acceptable since it promotes unspeakable violence. Have you ever read Deuteronomy? Do you believe that it's right thing what "God" did - telling the Jews to slaughter Kanaanites only to give them the "promised land"? Would you stone your daughter to death for following "other gods" as Deuteronomy 13:7-11 tells you?

We think it's deeply immoral to believe that this comes from God, especially that there is no single hard evidence that such god exists.

265. The rise of the 'New Atheists'

Comment #5606 by Anonymous on November 10, 2006 at 4:32 am

Keith, Mark, Heathen, Chunky and Hal9000, I will carefully read through your comments over the weekend and get back to you hopefully by Monday.

Thank you for responding.

266. Why there is no God

Comment #5550 by Anonymous on November 9, 2006 at 11:32 pm

Joad on November 9, 2006 at 10:48 pm

Asana,

Allow me to help you:

The 4 is not 'THE 4'. 'THE 4' is seperate form the 2+2 version of 4. This 4 is not that 4. That 4 is a different 4. All 4's exist seperate from all other 4's. Yet 4 is one entity except for 'THE 4', which is a seperate entity.


Bodhitharta: Even more so is, The 4 is only really an expression of The 1 there is no four without one. 4 is simply the manifestation of 1111.

I believe a person can understand God the more they really understand technology, nature and their surroundings. Consider digital off/on technology God is 1 and not God is 0


110010100100011110100100010
010010110010010010011101010
101111010011101001001001101
110110011110110100100100101

What if we all got super scientific for a day, I mean no holding back! Bring it all to the table.

267. The rise of the 'New Atheists'

Comment #5523 by Anonymous on November 9, 2006 at 8:30 pm

"Kaufman argues that the world's religious population is increasing after a century of gradual decline as younger generations in the developing world reject secularization. He also points out that religious people enjoy an unassailable demographic advantage over non-believers by having more children.

Even Western Europe, which contains some of the most secular societies on earth, will be affected by a growing tide of religiosity due to immigration from the Muslim world, predicts Kaufman.

"By the mid-21st century, the peak of secular European politics will be long past," writes Kaufman. "As in America, politicians will need to stay on the right side of religious sentiment to ensure they are not outflanked by their opponents."

Ultimately then, the all-out assault waged by Dawkins and his fellow travelers against the forces of superstition and irrationalism may be thwarted as much by birth rates as beliefs."

This, to me, is the article's most interesting part. Are we going to vanquish Christianity only to be in turn subjugated by Islam?

268. Why there is no God

Comment #5519 by Anonymous on November 9, 2006 at 8:21 pm

In response to #5506
You didn't sound rude at all! These are great questions!

a) You believe in the Bible? A text that is full of contradictions? I'm sure you'll find older texts that glorify other Gods. will you believe in them?
I do believe in the Bible as an God-inspired work of men. I do not believe it is an historical document regarding every single fact and statement. There are contradictions, but many are not as severe as they are made out to be, and when taken in the proper historical/cultural context, the Bible is meaningful to me. It is not a science text. This book had to stand for thousands of years, apply to vastly different cultures and peoples, and so, yes there are ambiguities and contradictions. But the important messages are there. This the book I believe in, but it is not the reason I believe. Older books with other gods are irrelevent, since they do not deal with the God I know to exist. YES I KNOW THAT THIS IS "IRRATIONAL" but I suggest you look up the word "fideist" which I applied to myself in an earlier post.

b) You were told to believe in a God since you were a child. By who? What if that person told you to worship the Spagetti Monster? Would you do that?
I had no religious beliefs as a child. I came to them later in life, in college. The Spaghetti Monster is a nice conceit, and very clever, but it is not the same as a religious faith practiced for thousands of years by billions of people. Again, my faith is there, I already said that is all the "proof" I have.


c) You cannot find answers elsewhere?

I am not using God to fill in gaps in our scientific understanding of the world. I had no road to Damascus revelation. My faith came to me quietly and despite my best efforts to ignore it.

d) You've "experienced" God? How? Are you quite sure you may not have been mistaken? Near-death experiences do come with hallucinations and the like. Still, if this is the reason for your belief, it's far more rational than the others.

The only experiences I've had with God are during prayer and services. They are subjective and wholly unverifyable experiences, I grant that. I don't really want to get into a long discussion of the philosophy of mind, dualism, etc. but I believe that my experiences are not entirely caused by brain chemicals


e) Any other reason?

The spaghetti monster told me to believe.

269. The New Unbelievers

Comment #5516 by Anonymous on November 9, 2006 at 8:14 pm

" I was raised as a Christian, here in England. Not a day went by, without us discussing the concept of God. My parents were VERY religious in the 70's and 80's. Thus it was rammed down my throat. As a teenager, I tried clever ways of using science to back up the belief. "

I can't believe you're an atheist now. I would've thought that kind of bringing up would severely damage your rational thinking abilities. My parents were (loosely) Buddhist, but my father strongly encouraged questioning things before accepting them. I am eternally grateful for that kind of upbringing. Your story, however, kills off a highly religious upbringing as an excuse for the inability to rationalize... Which makes things even more depressing!

270. The Dawkins Delusion (Different Article, Same Stupid Title)

Comment #5515 by Anonymous on November 9, 2006 at 8:14 pm

271. Hatred (of Gays) Unites Jerusalem's Feuding Faiths

Comment #5508 by Anonymous on November 9, 2006 at 7:53 pm

Three religions. I think they are sometimes claimed to be under the name of the same God?...

... And the only time - the ONLY time - that they unite... is in hatred... A God of love. Three waring factions of belief uniting in hate. Over some people who need the freedom to do what they want ot do...

And people still say religion's not evil?

272. Why there is no God

Comment #5450 by Anonymous on November 9, 2006 at 1:52 pm

Billy - What bad has religion ever done to us?

Jason - Pretty much all wars have been because of religion.

273. The Dawkins Delusion

Comment #5361 by Anonymous on November 9, 2006 at 4:46 am

When I read my last post it sounded off tone which it wasnt meant to ...

This was not a pop at you but an example if your argument is to be taken literly.


Regards
Phil

274. Controversial Religious Summer Camp Closed

Comment #5335 by Anonymous on November 9, 2006 at 1:59 am

Wohoo! Anotherone for the good guys.

275. Why there is no God

Comment #5320 by Anonymous on November 8, 2006 at 11:50 pm

Bodhitharta - He is finally free to be dishonest and obsessive.

Yeah, because without the rule book of the bible we would all go out and be thieves and murderers. Or worse...scientists and those damn free thinkers...they are always in the news messing with kiddies, bombing train stations and preaching hatred!

276. Why there is no God

Comment #5305 by Anonymous on November 8, 2006 at 7:32 pm

Jason Kenny: The reason I am here to talk about it is because I wish to see the end of religion so that the whole planet can move on and find a completely new and better way to live. I doubt you will understand what I mean by that. I doubt you understand much.

Bodhitharta: If you want to negate something the worse thing to do is talk about it. If you don't believe un God then don't even talk about God. When you talk about God you just increase your own curiosity and the curiosity of others. So, to be an actual atheist totally stop all talk about God.

Jason Kenny: Athiests know what I mean, religion has directly hurt more people than it has helped, it is evil incarnate, from the old days of sacrifice to the modern day child abusing priests to the 'peaceful' war loving terrorists.

Bodhitharta: Here you have someone taking a small slice of a very huge demographic and making it appear to be the majority. This is dishonest atheism at its best.

Jason Kenny: We do not need religion and I say once more, we have evolved in our emotional strength, we have no use for 'God'. For those of us who have evolved ahead of the rest it is a difficult time, we are at the start of something but I know in another hundred years the world will be catching up which means there is hope for my grandchildren. Lets hope they live in a world free from faith.

Bodhitharta: Your grandchildren already live in a world free from faith if you are their grandparent.

Jason Kenny: This forum has become very unhealthy and I for one have better things to do.

Bodhitharta: I'm glad you took my advice. Go and be a true atheist.

Jason Kenny: To my fellow athiest, so long and thanks for all the fish and to the religious amongst the readers here...I hope you find what you are so desperately looking for. I have.

Bodhitharta: What was Jason Kenny looking for? A world without faith and now he can live without faith, without hope and without truth. He is finally free to be dishonest and obsessive. Congratulations!!!

277. Religions don't deserve special treatment

Comment #5256 by Anonymous on November 8, 2006 at 11:19 am

Someone, somewhere should compile a list of all the euphemisms used to convey the idea that you should send in money to a. be saved, b. be healed, c. assure world peace d. all of the above. I've heard some amazing phrases used on those same religious TV channels as William which most definitely are worth watching for exactly the same reasons ... here's an example:

"remember to bless us as well in the morning ..."

278. Religions don't deserve special treatment

Comment #5238 by Anonymous on November 8, 2006 at 8:36 am

Just to say that religious beliefs are not deserving of respect does not go far enough.

Because the fantasies of religionists intrude into the politics of the real world in which we all have to live, they should be subjected to unrelenting derision. As long as there remains any part of the world in which political power is wielded, or basic human rights are denied, in the name of religion, the mockery and belittling of religious beliefs should be regarded as an absolute moral good. If the BBC, say, were to give frequent airtime to the point of view that laughs at religion, and openly reviles the pushers of religion (not excluding, of course, the very founders of those religions), they would be doing for the public no less a service than the doctors who immunise us against certain diseases.

While we have no actual vaccine against religion, we can weaken its power to take hold of people's minds by fostering an atmosphere in which the point of view that holds religion to be utterly ridiculous and contemptible is continuously highly visible to all members of society, especially children.

279. Religions don't deserve special treatment

Comment #5208 by Anonymous on November 8, 2006 at 4:07 am

If I were superstitious i'd be accusing this guy of reading my mind.

280. Why there is no God

Comment #5199 by Anonymous on November 8, 2006 at 2:16 am

Bodhitharta: Not really because the act of observing the answer also alters the question. But in a cosmological sense everything that is discovered cosmologically has already been before it was known to be.

not always

281. Liberty University is looking for Biology Professors

Comment #5190 by Anonymous on November 8, 2006 at 12:41 am

That is fricken hilarious. It is actually quite sad when you think about it though. That is why we have Richard Dawkins, fighting for truth.

282. God vs. science: Can religion stand up to the test?

Comment #5185 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 10:19 pm

Look into the evidence of the bible and you will find truth ...

And my guess, granted I have no proof, is that if there was no God, the Earth, by now, would be toast. There would be no morality, it would be utter chaos, and we would have all killed each other by now. Yep … chaos! What a scary picture - actually we would not exist.

To me science itself demonstrates the existence of God. Science is so finely tuned, although expanding, that it could not have come from .... nothing. To me, the further science goes, the more intricate the intelligence of it all. Looping back to … yep, God. To think that our intelligence was developed by us alone is to be quite arrogant. A HUGE claim. Can you prove this?

The more I think, it appears that proof stands as a burden for your side as well. We will never come to a meeting of the minds.


I wonder, what would it take for you to believe in God? what proof do you need?

283. Why there is no God

Comment #5182 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 9:13 pm

Manfred: No one has denied the heritage of Jewish people. Every group of people has their own mythology and folk and stories which are all part of their cultural and literary heritage. Jews are not an exception in that.
That however, does not make those stories as facts. Greek gods are also a part of Greek heritage and culture, are they part of the truth? Denying the factuality of Zeus, is not the same as denying the Greek from their heritage. Everyone, especially the Jews, are welcome to cherish their heritage. It is the aspect of attaching divinity and sacredness to this mythology that I am arguing against.

Bodhitharta: Greek gods are not part of their heritage there is no greek ancestry connecting them to a journey as a group of people if there is please point that out. The story of the greek gods are no way historical stories.

284. Why there is no God

Comment #5129 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 1:36 pm

The Muslims claim the same heritage from Abraham are you saying that abraham did not exist?

Very probably he didnt. See the bible unearthed. Jews claim decent through issac. The muslims claim decent through Ishmael, who the dible decribes as an unwanted bastard concieved in adultery. Where did the egyptian, the greek and sumerian gods originate from? The fact a god has followers does not mean that god exists

285. Why there is no God

Comment #5126 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 1:30 pm

Bodhithata: How can you possibly know more about someones heritage than they do?

erm? proper history books? obvious really!

286. Why there is no God

Comment #5125 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 1:28 pm

THE EXODUS DIDN'T HAPPEN GET A COPY OF REWRITING THE BIBLE!

Do you mean one of the roles of Alex Saley in the Yougn Ones? I don't remember much about the Young Ones though, too long ago, and it wasn't my favourite series.

Yes, I wonder if neil (asana) will be chairing the next session of the friends of god show your bottom society - hey you could do a really dirty joke about bottoms - couldn't you

287. Why there is no God

Comment #5123 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 1:21 pm

Bodhitharta: The myriad of denominations are weak in themselves but strenghthen the whole

WHAT? BY KILLING EACH OTHER?

288. God vs. science: Can religion stand up to the test?

Comment #5115 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 1:03 pm

to Skeptisch
>>I am glad somebody finally found that blasted thing! <<
I did say I THOUGHT I saw it, please don't take me for a teapot disciple or the coffeetarians will begin calling me a blasphemer.

289. THANK GOODNESS!

Comment #5110 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 12:55 pm

A very moving, witty, eloquent and inspiring piece. So glad you're getting better and like many others have said I too am looking forward to your next article, essay or book. Cheers!

290. Why there is no God

Comment #5104 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 12:44 pm

sweetsunray on November 7, 2006 at 10:16 am

Do you believe Jezus to be divine, Asana?

Bodhitharta: The Holy Spirit within the righteous person having the Holy Spirit is Divine. Those who reject God have a corrupted spirit.

SSR: It seems to become apparent that you are one who rejects the trinity doctrine, and you reject it because of the Nicene dicisions. Do you reject all the Nicene dicisions or only that one?

Bodhitharta: I don't follow the creeds of men if it is not in the Holy Books.

SSR: What is your stance about "reincarnation"... is it within Christianity or not?

Bodhitharta: Most people do not really understand what true reincarnation is. But, no it does not occur the way it is believed unless it is thought of as Resurrection because that will be a reincarnation of sorts.



SSR: Do you believe in "reincarnation"? The Nicene stemming doctrine rejects it. Do you believe that the corpses will crawl out of the graves on the final days? Or not?

Bodhitharta: No one will "Crawl out of graves" They will be resurrected with a shout and they will be whole. Think about this when you watch television, you watch people some are living and some are already dead and yet you call up their light image using no effort at all, now matter is simply energy at different densities It should not be hard to believe that matter that has been formed can be reformed after all man was created out of a simple fluid of ejaculate.


SSR: This is the Nicene understanding? Are you consistent in the rejection of the Nicene interpretation?

Bodhitharta: Not familiar with it.

SSR: Hmmm, so far you've only proven to cherry pick your beliefs within the bible itself... You've shown how much the bible is inconsistent between the old and the new testament, but you've also tried to show that Jezus contradicts himself in the new testament.

Bodhitharta: No, you miss the point, I am not saying that the Bible is not inconsistent I am saying that Inconsistencies prove truth. Do you not think that learned men could not have edited the Bible to be completely cohesive? It is because the book is called Holy that it underwent such little tampering. Ironically it is the little tampering that creates inconsistencies and that proves it is true. When their is a court case most people are afraid to perjure themselves so when someone wants to change their story they have to do it in a minute way because there are other witnesses who are also going to testify. In court we look past the inconsistencies because they don't negate the overall picture and that is where judgement comes from, the overall picture.

SSR: I presume the reason you would give for that is because you are in contact with God himself. Sheesh, how many others do that too and come up with different interpretations? Of course there's the People's Front of Judea and then there's the Judean People's Front.

Bodhitharta: The myriad of denominations are weak in themselves but strenghthen the whole. Man is weak and so when one acquires power he will often start perverting what was sacred and once he goes astray someone else will pick up the banner in a pure way but that first man will not simply say he was wrong and give up the trappings of power so he may call the break off a heretic but the reality is more like the one calling the other the heretic is in-fact the heretic.

SSR: Whatever, it only means that you simply believe whatever you fancy. If you're cherry picking from a book and doctrines, you might as well admit to cherry picking from your own fantasies.

Bodhitharta: It is about Progressive Revelation.

Hope that helps our dialogue.

291. Why there is no God

Comment #5088 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 11:22 am

At the most I was being sarcastic.

Are you familiar with the teachings of Brian Dammage Ballofski on SAR-CA-SM?

292. Why there is no God

Comment #5085 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 11:16 am

then there's the Judean People's Front

Bastard splitters!

293. Why there is no God

Comment #5063 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 9:22 am

Bodhitharta: God made us to overcome evil tendencies that we might be proofed in the way someone does with pottery.
Thats not what the bible says. What about those other biblical challenges to your authority above?

294. Liberty University is looking for Biology Professors

Comment #4991 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 5:55 am

Teaching evolution is banned in Pakistan too. How curious that the US aligns with primitive cultures. Then again that is how and why the population en masse is just plain stupid. GW Bush well represents the uncurious.

295. Liberty University is looking for Biology Professors

Comment #4962 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 3:38 am

Must know everything about every science, as well as history of art, history of literature......
- in fact why beat about the bush -
Must know everything about all branches of knowledge in history (as well as having an equally good grasp of all known branches of knowledge which may or may not occur in the future).

296. Why there is no God

Comment #4943 by Anonymous on November 7, 2006 at 1:24 am

The language of the text is in partly in Sanskrit, but most of it is in ancient Sinhalese. and I DO beg your pardon - the exact date is approximately 2,490 years before this one.

Now DO tell how Lulu is not a Goddess...

Oh, and you're not very good at logic, are you Mr Asana? You got pwned by that other guy...

297. God vs. science: Can religion stand up to the test?

Comment #4931 by Anonymous on November 6, 2006 at 11:56 pm

For a good laugh fellow atheists, go here:
http://www.avantnews.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=290

Fossilized Feces of Jesus Wreaks Havoc

By Ion Zwitter, Avant News Editor
Holy See, August 29, 2020

The recent discovery of a fossilized lump of human feces believed to have once emerged from the body of Jesus Christ, Son of God, has swept a whirlpool of excitement and controversy throughout the altars of the religious world. The sacred stool was unearthed last month by a construction worker during a hotel excavation project in the vicinity of Nahariya, northern Israel, and shortly thereafter flown to the Holy See where a multi-denominational consortium of primarily Christian religious leaders rapidly convened to examine it and verify its authenticity....

If you touch the Sacred Stool, Thomas Taylor, a bishop of the United Methodist Church and one of the first to examine the relic, said, "you get a staph infection. But touch it again and the staph infection goes away. It's truly miraculous....

"His Holiness is prepared to offer both the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Ecumenical Patriarchate unlimited visiting rights to the Jesus Feces," Rev. Bonaventura said, "with a custody arrangement to be negotiated that would grant the two primary Orthodox Sees possession of the Stool one weekend per month on alternate months."

The offer was immediately rejected by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who, through an intermediary, said he "wasn't going to take any crap from Rome".

(Just wondered in religion could stand up to the humour test.)

298. The New Unbelievers

Comment #4927 by Anonymous on November 6, 2006 at 11:49 pm

Unfortunately, No More Hornets,the first strategy of every candidate in America is to sound up about how often they go to church and how religious they are. I don't care that you're the teacher of Sunday school and attend church four days a week. Let me amend that; I do care. I want you to be watching CNN, BBC, or another news source and reading about the issues that you presume to decide for me based on something besides what some religious writers 1st century CE thought. Jenna

299. God vs. science: Can religion stand up to the test?

Comment #4924 by Anonymous on November 6, 2006 at 11:41 pm

TruthSeeker: Then from where does a child obtain it's morality?

... Is that your proof that God exists? :S

300. Why there is no God

Comment #4921 by Anonymous on November 6, 2006 at 11:29 pm

YOU IDIOT!!!

Anon: But let me make this easier for you. Let's say

P = God created Man
Q = I exist

Asana: If P= God created Man and Q= I exist, then if I am a man then P must be true.

That's like saying "P = I'm in New York City, Q = I'm in the United States, then if I'm in the United States P must be true - that I MUST be in New York City." I could be in Washington, right? Do you really not see the logic? REALLY??