Do you believe in God and why

[Cereal]

No, I don't believe in God for the same reasons I don't believe in The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny and Santa Claus: I'm not 4 years old and I'm not gullible.

[Enki]

1 hour ago, yodsak said:

The '' very nasty big teddy bear ghost'' would attack my grandson and bite him ?  really?

Yes, really.

The perception is always the truth in the eye of the perceptee.

Glad that the parent "did something about it". Regardless how stupid you consider it.

[farcanell]

56 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

I don't disagree in general with your post, but are you sure that there is only 1 truth, and that you (or science) know it ?

No.... but I do believe that science has a better chance of explaining the currently unexplainable, than (blind) adherence to any religious philosophy.

 

And.... i suppose that if there is a god, an ever growing number of us will be in for a big surprise come “judgement day”... but then again, if one leads a good life, regardless of faith, or lack thereof, one should still be worthy of “eternal paradise”, especially so if it’s true that a repentant serial killer can find forgiveness in confession, and be granted admittance, as after all, religious adherence is supposed to ensure we lead a good life, consistent with the teachings of that religion... unless the egotistical demands of the god/s that it/ they be worshipped is all important, which kind of detracts from the supposed benevolence of a god.... and makes the other requirements of leading a good life redundant.

Edited April 21, 2019 by farcanell

[sweatalot]

We are all God. We are creating our world. The religious create the god whom they deserve. The atheists create their godless world. The fearful create a dangerous world. The science believers create a logical and obsessive world.  The fearless, happy and honest people (a mind like children) create heaven on earth for themselves. The churches created hell.

But who the hell created Thai Visa? 

Edited April 21, 2019 by sweatalot

[steve73]

I see a few posts here have strayed onto the subject of death...

 

But what exactly is death? The heart stopping or the brain losing consciousness? Either can occur and be reversed and life can continue largely unaffected.

 

A heart attack often proves fatal when the blood (or more accurately, the oxygen supply) is cut off to the brain, which then loses consciousness. CPR can keep the blood circulating and the brain supplied with oxygen for quite some time, and if the heart can be restarted, then life can be extended.

 

Strangulation kills either by preventing breathing when death can take a few minutes, or by trapping the carotid artery, depriving the brain of blood and consciousness is lost within a few seconds, and if continued death follows soon after, perhaps even with the heart still pumping for a while....

 

But what about those unfortunate to be killed by the guillotine? Would they remain "conscious" for a few seconds as the head rolls into the basket? Or would the shock render them unconscious immediately?

 

Just when you think it's safe to die we read about recent research on pig brains that show "signs of activity" many hours after they've been removed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47960874

 

 

[CMNightRider]

How anyone looking at their surroundings and nature could ever deny God the Creator is beyond me.  All you need to know about life and death is clearly stated in the Bible (KJV).  

 

There are one of two things that will happen upon death.  You will be condemned to eternity in Hell or spend eternity in Heaven.  To spend eternity in Heaven, all you have to do is ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins, accept God as your creator, and repent from your sins.

 

Rather than posting ridicules comments about God, you would be better served to read the Bible (KJV) yourself.  Why on earth anyone would choose eternity in Hell is beyond me.   

[mauGR1]

1 hour ago, farcanell said:

No.... but I do believe that science has a better chance of explaining the currently unexplainable, than (blind) adherence to any religious philosophy.

 

And.... i suppose that if there is a god, an ever growing number of us will be in for a big surprise come “judgement day”... but then again, if one leads a good life, regardless of faith, or lack thereof, one should still be worthy of “eternal paradise”, especially so if it’s true that a repentant serial killer can find forgiveness in confession, and be granted admittance, as after all, religious adherence is supposed to ensure we lead a good life, consistent with the teachings of that religion... unless the egotistical demands of the god/s that it/ they be worshipped is all important, which kind of detracts from the supposed benevolence of a god.... and makes the other requirements of leading a good life redundant.

If there is a god, and a divine justice, i am not sure human logic applies to it.

But i admit the possibility of the existence of "karma" , or action resulting in reaction.

[notmyself]

5 hours ago, dick dasterdly said:

I'm not, as not understanding the genuinely important things, annoys the hell out of me!

 

Which is why I hope that our spirit/soul is separate from our bodies, and that this spirit/soul will be released to understand after we die.

 

We (humans) often don't like not having an answer because it makes us uncomfortable so we invent one. It's called wish fulfillment.

 

 

[farcanell]

23 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

If there is a god, and a divine justice, i am not sure human logic applies to it.

I love this bit. ????

[mauGR1]

24 minutes ago, notmyself said:

 

We (humans) often don't like not having an answer because it makes us uncomfortable so we invent one. It's called wish fulfillment.

 

 

Normally, people who ask questions to themselves, want sincere answers.

It would be foolish otherwise.

[KhunFred]

Which God were you particularly interested in. Mine is MONEY!!!!    THe only one that counts.

[notmyself]

6 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Au contraire. We say we can't establish or deny the existence of a God. Call it fence-sitting if you want. Atheists actually make a religion out of their denial of God's existence.

 

Sitting on the fence of another question no less.

 

I'll use the old gumball example where there is large jar full of gumballs or marbles....

 

 

Theism is the claim that an intervening god exists so in this example it is the claim that there is an even number of gumballs in the jar. Atheism is the rejection of the claim which in this example is not believing the claim of knowledge that there is an even number of gumballs in the jar. Many people, sadly, consider atheism to be a claim itself that there is an odd number of gumballs in the jar. This very simple but often misunderstood piece of logic should be asked of any person due to serve on a jury because it means the person does not understand the difference between 'guilty or not guilty' and 'guilty or innocent' or basic logic for that matter. To state that atheism is a claim or assertion that no god exists is patently foolish and sadly widespread.

 

[mauGR1]

6 hours ago, dick dasterdly said:

I'm not, as not understanding the genuinely important things, annoys the hell out of me!

 

Which is why I hope that our spirit/soul is separate from our bodies, and that this spirit/soul will be released to understand after we die.

Anthroposophy ( Rudolph Steiner ) gives crystal clear answers to those questions.

[notmyself]

10 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Normally, people who ask questions to themselves, want sincere answers.

It would be foolish otherwise.

Yep

[CharlieH]

Very much aligned with this view of things...........

 

 

[ben2talk]

I quite enjoyed Aleister Crowley's writings when I was younger - one thing I was drawn to was the concept of the 'collective unconscious' - a Jungian concept. It gave a view that can help explain external 'powers' which actually come from within. The concept that if we actually knew how, we could all perform miracles and wield supernatural powers.

 

Many people can claim to have experienced 'Grace' and ascribed it to their idea of 'God'. Some dyslexic atheists lie awake at night wondering if there really is such a thing as 'Dog'.

 

I am an atheist, I cannot deny or accept the existence of 'God' as any form of religion explains it - with it's own ideas and purpose - that's just ridiculous.

 

The one that works for me is that every point and every individual is also the centre of the universe. It doesn't seem to make much sense, but it's the explanation that works for me.

 

We know that matter and energy are not entirely separate concepts (i.e. everything is essentially energy, and that 'matter' is simply another form of that energy). Research leads us to investigate ever decreasing 'particle' sizes, some of which don't even respect the idea of time... 

Edited April 21, 2019 by ben2talk

[thaibeachlovers]

12 hours ago, CMNightRider said:

How anyone looking at their surroundings and nature could ever deny God the Creator is beyond me.  All you need to know about life and death is clearly stated in the Bible (KJV).  

 

There are one of two things that will happen upon death.  You will be condemned to eternity in Hell or spend eternity in Heaven.  To spend eternity in Heaven, all you have to do is ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins, accept God as your creator, and repent from your sins.

 

Rather than posting ridicules comments about God, you would be better served to read the Bible (KJV) yourself.  Why on earth anyone would choose eternity in Hell is beyond me.   

To spend eternity in Heaven, all you have to do is ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins,

The reason some of us don't believe in the Bible as a literal book is that if that were true it would condemn almost all the people ever lived to hell. Christians make up a tiny proportion of the people that ever lived on earth, and before Christ no one knew about him.

BTW, most people that call themselves Christian are not. They may go to church, but they don't live Christian lives.

Even those that live good lives, but think bad thoughts are condemned, according to the Bible.

 

BTW, you are not correct with all you have to do is ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins,

One has to truly repent one's sins, not just mouth the words.

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, ben2talk said:

I quite enjoyed Aleister Crowley's writings when I was younger - one thing I was drawn to was the concept of the 'collective unconscious' - a Jungian concept. It gave a view that can help explain external 'powers' which actually come from within. The concept that if we actually knew how, we could all perform miracles and wield supernatural powers.

 

Many people can claim to have experienced 'Grace' and ascribed it to their idea of 'God'. Some dyslexic atheists lie awake at night wondering if there really is such a thing as 'Dog'.

 

I am an atheist, I cannot deny or accept the existence of 'God' as any form of religion explains it - with it's own ideas and purpose - that's just ridiculous.

 

The one that works for me is that every point and every individual is also the centre of the universe. It doesn't seem to make much sense, but it's the explanation that works for me.

 

We know that matter and energy are not entirely separate concepts (i.e. everything is essentially energy, and that 'matter' is simply another form of that energy). Research leads us to investigate ever decreasing 'particle' sizes, some of which don't even respect the idea of time... 

Perhaps you might find the concept of universal intelligence acceptable. In that theory, there is an intelligent force present throughout the universe, perhaps in another dimension, that gives "life" to the life forms that inhabit planets. when that life form stops functioning ( our bodies are just biological machines that carry "us" around ) the consciousness just returns from whence it came.

Explains a lot of things that have no rational basis, like two people thinking the same thing at the same time when separated by hundreds of miles.

[CharlieH]

Off topic removed.

[dick dasterdly]

19 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

Anthroposophy ( Rudolph Steiner ) gives crystal clear answers to those questions.

Thank you, I'll look into that - but know that there will be no "crystal clear answers".

 

Its all opinion or 'belief'.

[dick dasterdly]

21 hours ago, steve73 said:

I see a few posts here have strayed onto the subject of death...

 

But what exactly is death? The heart stopping or the brain losing consciousness? Either can occur and be reversed and life can continue largely unaffected.

 

A heart attack often proves fatal when the blood (or more accurately, the oxygen supply) is cut off to the brain, which then loses consciousness. CPR can keep the blood circulating and the brain supplied with oxygen for quite some time, and if the heart can be restarted, then life can be extended.

 

Strangulation kills either by preventing breathing when death can take a few minutes, or by trapping the carotid artery, depriving the brain of blood and consciousness is lost within a few seconds, and if continued death follows soon after, perhaps even with the heart still pumping for a while....

 

But what about those unfortunate to be killed by the guillotine? Would they remain "conscious" for a few seconds as the head rolls into the basket? Or would the shock render them unconscious immediately?

 

Just when you think it's safe to die we read about recent research on pig brains that show "signs of activity" many hours after they've been removed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47960874

 

 

Something I'd prefer not to think about, as it's just too horrible and I don't need the nightmares.

[Naam]

23 hours ago, steve73 said:

CPR can keep the blood circulating and the brain supplied with oxygen for quite some time,

only if CPR is carried out by Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. CPR can fill lungs with air but the transfer of oxyden can only happen by blood circulation and that means heart pumping.

[steve73]

31 minutes ago, Naam said:

only if CPR is carried out by Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. CPR can fill lungs with air but the transfer of oxyden can only happen by blood circulation and that means heart pumping.

The main aim of CPR is deep "massage" of the chest to manually pump the heart to keep the blood moving around the body - principally to the brain..  Resupplying the oxygen to the blood by re-inflating the lungs occasionally is of secondary importance...  Anyone with basic first aid training should know this.

 

I agree that it is often only of limited benefit though..

 

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

Edited April 22, 2019 by steve73
wiki link added

[Spidey]

1 minute ago, steve73 said:

The main aim of CPR is deep "massage" of the chest to manually pump the heart to keep the blood moving around the body - principally to the brain..  Resupplying the oxygen to the blood by re-inflating the lungs occasionally is of secondary importance...  Anyone with basic first aid training should know this.

The latest teaching, in the UK, is that inflating the lungs is no longer deemed necessary during CPR (or should it now be referred to as CR?). Just keep pumping.

[notmyself]

10 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

BTW, you are not correct with all you have to do is ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins,

One has to truly repent one's sins, not just mouth the words.

 

How would the god of the Bible know either was since he [it] was not as all knowing and he [it] was cracked up to be such as being unable to find Adam in the garden of Eden?

 

And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

 

https://www.biblehub.com/kjv/genesis/3.htm

 

 

 

 

[farcanell]

23 hours ago, notmyself said:

 

Sitting on the fence of another question no less.

 

I'll use the old gumball example where there is large jar full of gumballs or marbles....

 

 

Theism is the claim that an intervening god exists so in this example it is the claim that there is an even number of gumballs in the jar. Atheism is the rejection of the claim which in this example is not believing the claim of knowledge that there is an even number of gumballs in the jar. Many people, sadly, consider atheism to be a claim itself that there is an odd number of gumballs in the jar. This very simple but often misunderstood piece of logic should be asked of any person due to serve on a jury because it means the person does not understand the difference between 'guilty or not guilty' and 'guilty or innocent' or basic logic for that matter. To state that atheism is a claim or assertion that no god exists is patently foolish and sadly widespread.

 

That’s silly.... but I’m all for applying it to jury duty selection as I would never have to serve

[55Jay]

On 4/21/2019 at 1:41 PM, Cereal said:

No, I don't believe in God for the same reasons I don't believe in The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny and Santa Claus: I'm not 4 years old and I'm not gullible.

A oft repeated cliche.  But it is maddening how religious parents eventually tell their kids the truth about those, but the jesus/god lie prevails, and infects future generations.

 

Edited April 22, 2019 by 55Jay

[notmyself]

2 hours ago, 55Jay said:

A oft repeated cliche.  But it is maddening how religious parents eventually tell their kids the truth about those, but the jesus/god lie prevails, and infects future generations.

 

 

How else would it propagate?

 

You would think these people would be happy. Paradise, streets paved with gold and an eternal life grovelling to a celestial dictator who can convict you of thought crime but they are not because you have to believe it too.

 

[mauGR1]

27 minutes ago, notmyself said:

 

How else would it propagate?

 

You would think these people would be happy. Paradise, streets paved with gold and an eternal life grovelling to a celestial dictator who can convict you of thought crime but they are not because you have to believe it too.

 

Why the hyperbole ? Maybe you need to convince yourself ?

[mauGR1]

7 hours ago, dick dasterdly said:

Thank you, I'll look into that - but know that there will be no "crystal clear answers".

 

Its all opinion or 'belief'.

Nope, he's very rational from the beginning to the end, but, of course, if you have built a wall of disbelief, let it go, it would be just wasted time. I recommend the first book, " Theosophy".