Do you believe in God and why

[Peter Denis]

2 minutes ago, teatime101 said:

Are you referring to Ayn Rand?

Quote

She is known for her two best-selling novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and for developing a philosophical system she named Objectivism.

She has been a significant influence among libertarians and American conservatives.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand

 

Yes, but didn't know that she was a woman, as well as a best-seller author and significant right-wing influencer.

That also doesn't matter.

And from that small excerpt Yodsak posted, I am not inclined or enthused to discover more of her thinking...

[fredwiggy]

27 minutes ago, teatime101 said:

This is the point I am challenging. Race is not a thing. It's a social construction for the purpose of asserting the power of a dominant group. That religious people would use the term at all is abhorrent, IMO.

 

Belief in God is fine. It's the moralising baggage and anti-science nonsense that comes with it that concerns me.

Race.is not for asserting power, but a distinction of different peoples. There is no dominant group..................A race is a grouping of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into categories generally viewed as distinct by society. The term was first used to refer to speakers of a common language and then to denote national affiliations. By the 17th century the term began to refer to physical traits. Wikipedia

[teatime101]

2 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Race.is not for asserting power, but a distinction of different peoples

It is just a word, and words have no power. Blackface is just paint. It's all about context and intention. And who has the power...

 

According to Smedley and Marks the European concept of "race", along with many of the ideas now associated with the term, arose at the time of the scientific revolution, which introduced and privileged the study of natural kinds, and the age of European imperialism and colonization which established political relations between Europeans and peoples with distinct cultural and political traditions. As Europeans encountered people from different parts of the world, they speculated about the physical, social, and cultural differences among various human groups. The rise of the Atlantic slave trade, which gradually displaced an earlier trade in slaves from throughout the world, created a further incentive to categorize human groups in order to justify the subordination of African slaves.

 

By the 1970s, it had become clear that (1) most human differences were cultural; (2) what was not cultural was principally polymorphic – that is to say, found in diverse groups of people at different frequencies; (3) what was not cultural or polymorphic was principally clinal – that is to say, gradually variable over geography; and (4) what was left – the component of human diversity that was not cultural, polymorphic, or clinal – was very small.

A consensus consequently developed among anthropologists and geneticists that race as the previous generation had known it – as largely discrete, geographically distinct, gene pools – did not exist.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_(human_categorization)

 

 

So... perhaps we shouldn't use the term 'race' at all. It has far too many negative connotations.

[Jane Dough]

No, because the whole idea is a complete absurdity.

 

Rooster

 

 

[Mike Teavee]

14 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Adam and Eve, although hard to understand that everyone came from just two people, or 8 when the big flood happened, cannot be proven fiction. If there is a God (As we believe), then any entity that can make a universe out of his mind, can surely put aside dna differences, inbreeding and such at that time, and make all races at the Tower of Babel, like we believe happened. And since I'm a believer in such a thing, you think I'm a racist? far from it. Everyone is equal in my eyes, with the exceptions of child molesters, human traffickers, filthy rich that rape the earth for profit, corrupt politicians and officials. These aren't humans anyway, and the only place for them is off the planet. Reading what you do from "scientific" resources means nothing. That's their opinions and they can be wrong, because they are humans.and capable of mistakes.I can't prove God exists, and you can't prove otherwise, which brings us back to the original post. Do you and why?

I'm agnostic (or a negative Atheist depending on who you asked) but if God does exist couldn't it be that He/She/It creating everything was actually them initiating the Big Bang which led to all of us evolving from single cell organisms...

 

It seems like the catholic church has similar views on it... https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2014/1028/Do-Catholics-have-to-believe-in-the-Big-Bang-now#:~:text=In fact%2C it was a,are not contrary%2C and St.

 

Pope Francis splashed in controversial waters Monday, saying the Big Bang theory supports evidence of a divine creator.

The Roman Catholic pope touched on the debate over the origins of human life while addressing the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which gathered at the Vatican to discuss "Evolving Concepts of Nature."

There the pope said literal interpretation of the creation story in the Book of Genesis can lead to imagining God as a magician with a wand able to do anything.

 

That's not so, he said, according to Religion News Service, which quotes the pope as saying, "He created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfillment."

The beginning of the world was not chaotic, he continued, but rooted in love. And beliefs in creation and evolution can co-exist.

 

"God is not a divine being or a magician, but the Creator who brought everything to life," the pope said.

 

"Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve."

 

To some Evangelicals, the pope's remarks may sound un-Christian, but they do not represent a major departure for the Catholic Church, which has a long history of supporting scientific theories that run contrary to literal interpretations of Scripture.

 

and interesting that one of the 1st people to suggest the Big Bang theory was a catholic priest...

In fact, it was a Catholic priest, Georges Lemaître, who in 1927 first proposed what became known as the Big Bang theory. Later, Pope Pius XII asserted evolution and Catholic doctrine are not contrary, and St. John Paul II backed him.

 

Edited July 12, 2020 by Mike Teavee

[Tagged]

35 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

 

 

To some Evangelicals, the pope's remarks may sound un-Christian, but they do not represent a major departure for the Catholic Church, which has a long history of supporting scientific theories that run contrary to literal interpretations of Scripture.

 

and interesting that one of the 1st people to suggest the Big Bang theory was a catholic priest...

In fact, it was a Catholic priest, Georges Lemaître, who in 1927 first proposed what became known as the Big Bang theory. Later, Pope Pius XII asserted evolution and Catholic doctrine are not contrary, and St. John Paul II backed him.

 

The vatican holds their own science academy Pontifical and one of the biggest library in the world, and once was. I kind of like the new pope and his approach to his role, and how he manage to do change the vatican a bit. Gives hope for the future. 

 

Pontifical science academy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_Academy_of_Sciences

[Mike Teavee]

12 minutes ago, Tagged said:

The vatican holds their own science academy Pontifical and one of the biggest library in the world, and once was. I kind of like the new pope and his approach to his role, and how he manage to do change the vatican a bit. Gives hope for the future. 

 

Pontifical science academy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_Academy_of_Sciences

Indeed, I believe that Georges Lemaître was working at the Pontifical when he came up with the idea... 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 7/12/2020 at 2:33 PM, Tagged said:

Im positive god whould have showed himself for the people and not a handful claiming they do, and leaving charlatans and others to lead us. However when you know how big the galaxy, univers, and multiverses are, you know we have only been here a short fraction of time, and maybe he will come by when he have time ???? who knows. In meantime, mother earth gives and takes. Without our sun, moon and the physical laws, None would have been here in the first place. It is pure math

 

So if we are want to please god, we should take better care of the people on it, and the nature surraunding us, then I think god would be happy. Simple as it is

 

edit note take better care of humans, animals and nature. 

God is in all the nature that I see everyday, God is in the trees and clouds and the sunset. God created it all, so it makes sense that God is in everything natural. God didn't build ugly houses and buildings, so perhaps God isn't in cities and towns.

However, one has to be open to God to see God. It's up to you if you want to see God.

[thaibeachlovers]

13 hours ago, Jane Dough said:

No, because the whole idea is a complete absurdity.

 

Rooster

 

 

As you didn't quote anything I have no idea what you are saying no to.

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, teatime101 said:

This is the point I am challenging. Race is not a thing. It's a social construction for the purpose of asserting the power of a dominant group. That religious people would use the term at all is abhorrent, IMO.

 

Belief in God is fine. It's the moralising baggage and anti-science nonsense that comes with it that concerns me.

If you think all people are the same despite their ethnicity I disagree with you. I've lived in several other countries for years at a time and there is more difference than culture can account for.

It's like saying that girls and boys are the same, when it's obvious to anyone that has observed small children in kindergarten that there are many genetic differences in what they like to do.

[Peter Denis]

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

If you think all people are the same despite their ethnicity I disagree with you. I've lived in several other countries for years at a time and there is more difference than culture can account for.

It's like saying that girls and boys are the same, when it's obvious to anyone that has observed small children in kindergarten that there are many genetic differences in what they like to do.

Fully agree.

And before anybody accuses me of 'racism', this has nothing to do with superiority or inferiority.

People from a different ethnicity are simply not the same, and it's not just a social construct that makes them different.  They are all human and they should all be treated equal as they are all equivalent, but they are not 'same'.

 

[Peter Denis]

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

God is in all the nature that I see everyday, God is in the trees and clouds and the sunset. God created it all, so it makes sense that God is in everything natural. God didn't build ugly houses and buildings, so perhaps God isn't in cities and towns.

However, one has to be open to God to see God. It's up to you if you want to see God.

I posted this before but worth posting again.

It's one of my favorite poems by the great Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, on how he experiences God.

 

I don't believe in God because I have never seen him.
If he wanted me to believe in him,
Then surely he'd come and speak to me.
He would enter by my door
Saying, "Here I am!"

(This may sound ridiculous to those who,
Because they aren't used to looking at things,
Can't understand a man who speaks of them
In the way that looking at things teaches.)

But if God is the flowers and trees
And hills and sun and moon,
Then I believe in him,
I believe in him at every moment,
And my life is all a prayer and a mass
And a communion by way of my eyes and ears.

But if God is the flowers and the trees
And hills and sun and moon,
Then why should I call him God?
I'll call him flowers and trees and hills and sun and moon.
Because if to my eyes he made himself
Sun and moon and flowers and trees and hills,
If he appears to me as trees and hills
And moon and sun and flowers,
Then he wants me to know him
As trees and hills and flowers and sun and moon.

And so I obey him.
(Do I know more about God than God knows about himself?)
I obey him by living spontaneously
As a man who opens his eyes and sees,
And I call him moon and sun and flowers and hills and trees,
And I love him without thinking of him,
And I think him by seeing and hearing,
And I am with him at every moment.

 

[Slain]

On 4/15/2019 at 5:15 AM, CharlieH said:

Dont know if its the same these days, but as a child through Teens religion was forced upon us by means of Sunday School (unofficial free childminding), morning assembly which included Lords prayer and hymns everyday and Religious Education on the timetable which couldnt be swapped out for other subjects.

Yes I was subjected to the free child minding as well so you can understand why I have been an unbeliever since the age of 6

[mauGR1]

On 7/12/2020 at 9:16 AM, Tagged said:

Another thing in Yodsak post, is there is no human races, we are all one race, not races. 

I don't know if it's now forbidden to talk about it, but in the past, respectable scientists and searchers have been accused of racism for simply mentioning the existence of various human races. Personally I find the study of the different races extremely interesting from every point of view.

[Tagged]

6 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

I don't know if it's now forbidden to talk about it, but in the past, respectable scientists and searchers have been accused of racism for simply mentioning the existence of various human races. Personally I find the study of the different races extremely interesting from every point of view.

Trowing out a bate ???????? Clever, good try thow

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

I don't know if it's now forbidden to talk about it, but in the past, respectable scientists and searchers have been accused of racism for simply mentioning the existence of various human races. Personally I find the study of the different races extremely interesting from every point of view.

In my life I've been around a lot of different sorts of people, but never encountered the sort you mention. I think they are bots on social media and not real people at all.

I keep hoping for someone to try that sort of <deleted> on me, but never happens.

[mauGR1]

23 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

In my life I've been around a lot of different sorts of people, but never encountered the sort you mention. I think they are bots on social media and not real people at all.

I keep hoping for someone to try that sort of <deleted> on me, but never happens.

Nope, nothing to do with social media at all. The last century, Rudolf Steiner, father of anthroposophy was accused of racism for simply explaining the history and evolution of races across the globe according to his theories. Probably the real racists were the ones accusing him.

[mauGR1]

2 hours ago, Tagged said:

Trowineg out a bate ???????? Clever, good try thow

I guess you mean bait.

So rather than discussing the subject, or simply admitting that you were wrong, you accuse me of throwing baits.

Ok, up to you, but it sure says something about yourself ????

[Leaver]

On 7/12/2020 at 7:47 AM, mauGR1 said:

The "small head thinking " is the perfect way the nature promotes the reproduction of human beings, and beauty is the living proof that God exists. By our collective, more or less conscious, appreciation of beauty which are in a way, mathematical principles, still extremely different in specific cases, one can see the intelligent design at work.

 

A "bigger head thinking" would have seen the humour in my post.  ????  

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, Leaver said:

A "bigger head thinking" would have seen the humour in my post.  ????  

I've always enjoyed humour, but can't find any in the post you refer to. IMO you were merely stating that you found angels on Soi 6, which many would agree with.

Perhaps you should put a smiley after posts you want to indicate are humorous.

[CMNightRider]

10 Scientific facts listed in the Bible proves the Bible is the word of God. 

 

1. The earth free-floats in space (Job 26:7), affected only by gravity. While other sources at that time (1500 B.C.) declared the earth sat on the back of an elephant or turtle, or was held up by Atlas, the Bible alone states what we now know to be true – “He hangs the earth on nothing.”

 

2. Creation is made of particles, indiscernible to our eyes (Hebrews 11:3). Not until the 19th century was it discovered that all visible matter consists of invisible elements. Scripture knew of this for 2,000 years!

 

3. The Bible specifies the perfect dimensions for a stable water vessel (Genesis 6:15). Ship builders today are well aware that the ideal dimension for ship stability is a length six times that of the width. Keep in mind, God told Noah the ideal dimensions for the ark 4,500 years ago.

 

4. Light can be divided (Job 38:24). Sir Isaac Newton studied light and discovered that white light is made of seven colors, which can be “parted” and then recombined. Science confirmed this four centuries ago – God declared this four millennia ago!

 

5. Circumcision on the eighth day is ideal (Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3; Luke 1:59). Medical science has discovered that the blood clotting chemical prothrombin peaks in a newborn on the eighth day. This is therefore the safest day to circumcise a baby. How did Moses know?!

 

6.There are mountains on the bottom of the ocean floor (Jonah 2:5-6). Only in the last century have we discovered that there are towering mountains and deep trenches in the depths of the sea.

 

7. Blood is the source of life and health (Leviticus 17:11; 14). Up until 120 years ago, sick people were “bled” and many died as a result (e.g. George Washington). Today we know that healthy blood is necessary to bring life-giving nutrients to every cell in the body. God declared that “the life of the flesh is in the blood” long before science understood its function.

 

8. Our bodies are made from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7; 3:19). Scientists have discovered that the human body is comprised of some 28 base and trace elements – all of which are found in the earth.

 

9. The  earth is a sphere (Isaiah 40:22). At a time when many thought the earth was flat, the Bible told us that the earth is spherical. Isaiah was written between 740 and 680 B.C. and at least 300 years before Aristotle's book On the Heavens. Secular man discovered this 2,400 years later. At a time when science believed that the earth was flat, is was the Scriptures that inspired Christopher Columbus to sail around world

 

10. The Pleiades and Orion star clusters described (Job 38:31). The Pleiades star cluster is gravitationally bound, while the Orion star cluster is loose and disintegrating because the gravity of the cluster is not enough to bind the group together. 4,000 years ago God asked Job, "Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion?" Yet, it is only recently that we realized that the Pleiades is gravitationally bound, but Orion's stars are flying apart.

 

[ivor bigun]

I never cease tobe amazed how this topic twists and turns ,so interesting .

[jvs]

3 hours ago, CMNightRider said:

10 Scientific facts listed in the Bible proves the Bible is the word of God. 

 

1. The earth free-floats in space (Job 26:7), affected only by gravity. While other sources at that time (1500 B.C.) declared the earth sat on the back of an elephant or turtle, or was held up by Atlas, the Bible alone states what we now know to be true – “He hangs the earth on nothing.”

 

2. Creation is made of particles, indiscernible to our eyes (Hebrews 11:3). Not until the 19th century was it discovered that all visible matter consists of invisible elements. Scripture knew of this for 2,000 years!

 

3. The Bible specifies the perfect dimensions for a stable water vessel (Genesis 6:15). Ship builders today are well aware that the ideal dimension for ship stability is a length six times that of the width. Keep in mind, God told Noah the ideal dimensions for the ark 4,500 years ago.

 

4. Light can be divided (Job 38:24). Sir Isaac Newton studied light and discovered that white light is made of seven colors, which can be “parted” and then recombined. Science confirmed this four centuries ago – God declared this four millennia ago!

 

5. Circumcision on the eighth day is ideal (Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3; Luke 1:59). Medical science has discovered that the blood clotting chemical prothrombin peaks in a newborn on the eighth day. This is therefore the safest day to circumcise a baby. How did Moses know?!

 

6.There are mountains on the bottom of the ocean floor (Jonah 2:5-6). Only in the last century have we discovered that there are towering mountains and deep trenches in the depths of the sea.

 

7. Blood is the source of life and health (Leviticus 17:11; 14). Up until 120 years ago, sick people were “bled” and many died as a result (e.g. George Washington). Today we know that healthy blood is necessary to bring life-giving nutrients to every cell in the body. God declared that “the life of the flesh is in the blood” long before science understood its function.

 

8. Our bodies are made from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7; 3:19). Scientists have discovered that the human body is comprised of some 28 base and trace elements – all of which are found in the earth.

 

9. The  earth is a sphere (Isaiah 40:22). At a time when many thought the earth was flat, the Bible told us that the earth is spherical. Isaiah was written between 740 and 680 B.C. and at least 300 years before Aristotle's book On the Heavens. Secular man discovered this 2,400 years later. At a time when science believed that the earth was flat, is was the Scriptures that inspired Christopher Columbus to sail around world

 

10. The Pleiades and Orion star clusters described (Job 38:31). The Pleiades star cluster is gravitationally bound, while the Orion star cluster is loose and disintegrating because the gravity of the cluster is not enough to bind the group together. 4,000 years ago God asked Job, "Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion?" Yet, it is only recently that we realized that the Pleiades is gravitationally bound, but Orion's stars are flying apart.

 

So how old is the world?

[CMNightRider]

37 minutes ago, jvs said:

So how old is the world?

Since I wasn't around when God created the earth, I'm not certain of how old it is.  According to events and dates mentioned in the Bible it seems to be around 6,000 years old.

[yodsak]

3 hours ago, CMNightRider said:

9. The  earth is a sphere (Isaiah 40:22). At a time when many thought the earth was flat, the Bible told us that the earth is spherical. Isaiah was written between 740 and 680 B.C.

[CMNightRider]

2 minutes ago, yodsak said:

Where in the Bible does it say the earth is flat?

[yodsak]

https://www.flatearthdoctrine.com/flat-earth-scriptures/

[Surelynot]

For all you who have been mocking the Bible, here is ten reasons the Bible is the word of God.

 

1. The earth free-floats in space (Job 26:7), affected only by gravity(DON'T SEE ANY REFERENCE TO GRAVITY). While other sources at that time (1500 B.C.) declared the earth sat on the back of an elephant or turtle, or was held up by Atlas, the Bible alone states what we now know to be true – “He hangs the earth on nothing.”

 

2. Creation is made of particles (THERE ARE NO PARTICLES, ONLY WAVES) , indiscernible to our eyes (Hebrews 11:3). Not until the 19th century was it discovered that all visible matter consists of invisible elements. Scripture knew of this for 2,000 years!

 

3. The Bible specifies the perfect dimensions for a stable water vessel (Genesis 6:15). Ship builders today are well aware that the ideal dimension for ship stability is a length six times that of the width. Keep in mind, God told Noah the ideal dimensions for the ark 4,500 years ago (THERE ARE NO PERFECT DIMENSIONS, THEY VARY DEPENDING ON APPLICATION)

 

4. Light can be divided (Job 38:24). Sir Isaac Newton studied light and discovered that white light is made of seven colors, which can be “parted” and then recombined. Science confirmed this four centuries ago – God declared this four millennia ago! (LIGHT CAN BE DIVIDED COULD BE INTERPRETED IN ANY NUMBER OF WAYS, REFLECTION, REFRACTION, DIFFRACTION)

 

5. Circumcision on the eighth day is ideal (Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3; Luke 1:59). Medical science has discovered that the blood clotting chemical prothrombin peaks in a newborn on the eighth day. This is therefore the safest day to circumcise a baby. How did Moses know?! (THERE IS VERY LITTLE DIFFERENCE IN LEVELS BETWEEN DAY 1 AND DAY 8.....PROBABLY DISCOVERED THROUGH THE UNNECESSARY DEATHS OF THOUSANDS OF INFANTS.

 

6.There are mountains on the bottom of the ocean floor (Jonah 2:5-6). Only in the last century have we discovered that there are towering mountains and deep trenches in the depths of the sea. (THE REFERENCE TO MOUNTAINS ARE MOUNTAINS THAT WERE BEING FLOODED, NOT MOUNTAINS UNDER THE SEA)

 

7. Blood is the source of life and health (Leviticus 17:11; 14). Up until 120 years ago, sick people were “bled” and many died as a result (e.g. George Washington). Today we know that healthy blood is necessary to bring life-giving nutrients to every cell in the body. God declared that “the life of the flesh is in the blood” long before science understood its function. (HARDLY A CLINCHER....CONSIDERING , SEPSIS AND A MULTITUDE OF OTHER BLOOD DISORDERS...NO MENTION OF HAEMOGLOBIN?)  

 

8. Our bodies are made from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7; 3:19). Scientists have discovered that the human body is comprised of some 28 base and trace elements – all of which are found in the earth. (SO NOT THE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN IN THE AIR OR THE WATER IN THE SEA....JUST THE DUST?)

 

9. The  earth is a sphere (Isaiah 40:22). At a time when many thought the earth was flat, the Bible told us that the earth is spherical. Isaiah was written between 740 and 680 B.C. and at least 300 years before Aristotle's book On the Heavens. Secular man discovered this 2,400 years later. At a time when science believed that the earth was flat, is was the Scriptures that inspired Christopher Columbus to sail around world (NO...THE REFERENCE IS TO THE CIRCLE OF THE EARTH....TWO DIMENSIONAL)

 

10. The Pleiades and Orion star clusters described (Job 38:31). The Pleiades star cluster is gravitationally bound, while the Orion star cluster is loose and disintegrating because the gravity of the cluster is not enough to bind the group together. 4,000 years ago God asked Job, "Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion?" Yet, it is only recently that we realized that the Pleiades is gravitationally bound, but Orion's stars are flying apart. (SO GOD DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THE STARS THAT MAKE UP ORION'S BELT ARE NOT EVEN 'NEAR' EACH OTHER IN ASTRONOMICAL TERMS....THEY JUST HAPPEN TO FORM A PATTERN IN THE SKY WHEN VIEWED FROM EARTH? VERY IMPRESSIVE.

[CMNightRider]

27 minutes ago, yodsak said:

https://www.flatearthdoctrine.com/flat-earth-scriptures/

Evidently you don't own a Bible where you could actually look up these scriptures yourself.  You are just being silly now.  There is no place in the Bible that says the earth is flat.  

 

If I didn't know any better, I would think you non-believers and same sex lovers are having a stupid contest.  It's one thing to be gender confused but when you add low cognitive ability with a disbelief in God and Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, you have some serious problems.    

[jvs]

16 minutes ago, CMNightRider said:

 It's one thing to be gender confused

Are you saying being gay is a choice?

Can gay people go to heaven?