Does God exist?

[Wildcard]

But if everything was to be proven by scientific fact, what would be the fate of those works? Would they inspire a sense of mystery and wonder in those that viewed them, or would they simply be seen as mathematical formulae to be solved? Use that essay that those kids tore out in in Dead Poet's Society as an example.

 

[Kit]

Just because something is not real, or something is known to be untrue (to humanity), we as a species will always cling to ideas. We will never move away from visual entertainment like film and tv, despite the fact that they are neither real, nor true. (mostly)

I mean, we read comic books, and watch films where unbelievable and insane things happen. We know that (in a contect including us) they aren't true.

But they still exist.

 

[Wildcard]

Perhaps. Still, how hard do you think it'd be for a generation to re-learn imagination in a society that stifled it in a net of cold, hard fact?

"I like unicorns!"

"Unicorns are a mythological creature which have been proven not to exist. From the time of the...."

Etcetera. That'd really suck, especially for a little kid.

 

[Kit]

True.

But isn't it better to know the truth of the universe at the price of innocence, if you will?

Because, linking this back to the debate, that's apparently what God though, with the whole apple malarkey...

 

[Jetzt]

God? Yes, there has to be some kind of devine power... though I highly doubt we are created in its image.

Spirits/Ghosts? Yes... but I'm not going to spend all night trying to convince you.

 

[Wildcard]

Well, once you know the truth of the universe, then what? For one thing, some nutjob would eventually come along and try to use it for power. It's human nature. Not only that, but what else would we have to do? Humans exist to fight each other, and the only reason why we, as a species, haven't gone insane with boredom is the belief that something else is out there. Personally, I'm an agnostic, so I'm just waiting to see what happens when I die rather than jumping to conclusions, but I've seriously been kept from going insane because we don't know everything. Plus, you have to admit, religion does keep many people in line, if only from the threat of divine punishment. Why spoil their fun? I disagree with spreading faith that don't want it, but why spread your own anti-faith instead? And doesn't that take just as much faith as a religion, based on beliefs, some of which can't be proven?

And that's the gospel of an agnostic, ladies and gentlemen.

 

[The Agriculturist]

Kelly- The hebrew She'ol comes in far later than what is considered the end of the old testament, or the hebrew torah. The original place, called 'Gehenom' was a place outside of Jerusalem where Pagans used to sacrifice their children to Moloch, in a ceremony which placed their children in the hands of a large idol, and then burned the child, usually adding brimstone to keep the fire going. When The Jewish ruler outlawed this ritual, the area became a garbage dump for the city of Jerusalem, where waste was burned, as well as the bodies of dead criminals, or Animal carcases.

Aaron- do explain the event.

 

[Wildcard]

Sorry, guys, I've just gotta throw this in here. Heh.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tiqZaFkpH9E

 

[lol not primary]

Kelly- The hebrew She'ol comes in far later than what is considered the end of the old testament, or the hebrew torah. The original place, called 'Gehenom' was a place outside of Jerusalem where Pagans used to sacrifice their children to Moloch, in a ceremony which placed their children in the hands of a large idol, and then burned the child, usually adding brimstone to keep the fire going. When The Jewish ruler outlawed this ritual, the area became a garbage dump for the city of Jerusalem, where waste was burned, as well as the bodies of dead criminals, or Animal carcases.

Aaron- do explain the event.

Alright, I went to bed at 12 AM. I woke up at 1. Why? Because something under my bed was pushing up into my stomach. I even got up to see if it was the dog under my bed(It was a couch-bed so it wasn't that low to the ground) and nothing was underneath there. My mom was in the laundry room on the computer.

I laid back down on the bed and tried to go to back to sleep. Again, I was woken up by my bed doing some freaky stuff. This time, however, It literally shook. Not just wobbled, SHOOK. As in, I was airborne(Even if it was less than an inch, which I'm sure it had been. I was too scared to pay attention to how high above my bed I was at the moment.) for less than a second.

 

[lol not primary]

Reverse those incidences. The bed shook first, which made me look for my mom at the foot of it(Since it was in the living room), then it started pressing up into my stomach the second time, which made me look underneath it for my dog.

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

Sorry, guys, I've just gotta throw this in here. Heh.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tiqZaFkpH9E

LOL...I'd never seen that before. I love it!

 

[The Agriculturist]

Well your uncertain timeline makes me think you make it up! mooohahahaha!

Anywho,
Since i don't know the layout of your house, I will not state the obvious that it could have been the washing machine or drier shaking the floor up a bit (that happens in my humble abode).

Now, this is where it gets interesting. You could have simply been experiencing a waking dream, which can acctually wake you up, yet you will still be in a dream state, so things might feel shaky, or might look or sound wierd, or you might feel all messed up (I.E. bieng lifted from your bed). The somthing pushing on your stomach can be anything from a bit of movement of your organs due to the position you were sleeping, to somthing not bieng digested right, to just another part of that dream.

 

[lol not primary]

The only problem is that I woke up and was wide awake when the thing pushed into my stomach. I know it wasn't my organs moving because my shirt ended up inside my pants when it happened.

And I know it wasn't the washer and dryer because they're on the other side of the house.

Odd though, we had a pot thrown at us two weeks prior to this and my Step Dad, I think, Provoked whatever was in that house by putting up a tombstone in the crawlspace. It was his idea of a joke, making fun of my mom and me experiencing stuff like the pot.

 

[Wildcard]

Agri, d'you mind if I ask you something? Why do you have to prove him wrong? Does it really matter in the long run if one little event occurred and he interpreted it one way? Plus, by your logic, we're going to be dead eventually and it won't matter, so really, who cares?

 

[The Agriculturist]

Because I am a very evil and argumentative person that must have things his way.

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

lol. I'll almost agree with Agri's statement about himself on that one. ;) jk, dear

 

[Green Ranger]

Personally, i'm not a fan of debating the existance or lack thereof of God or other deities, simply because I don't like to impress my beliefs on others. I'll leave that to the Catholics and the Atheists (Generalization there, but i'm surrounded by Catholics and Atheists who go to no end to make me believe their point of view, which I really dislike)

I'm not a fan of the idea of one all powerful deity controlling the entire universe - in my own opinion, the Universe is too random, too strange and chaotic to have been concieved by one power. I'm also a strong believer in spirits and in the power of nature - somewhat akin to neo-druidism - and I personally have always felt strong ties to the natural world, though i'm not a fan of rituals. For me, the greatest connection to the greater powers is walking barefoot on a beach, or wandering through a forest, or even simply sitting on the back lawn and zoning out. And as for an afterlife, I'm a believer of reincarnation, sort of as a spiritual journey for the soul until it learns the great lessons of life, and then ascendance to a higher spiritual level.

Whether my wacky belief is right, or if the Atheists are right and this is all there is, or maybe we've got it all wrong and we're all going to hell anyway, it's not important. The one thing that every group of believers or non-believers in deities is a belief in their own opinion, and that's probably the most important thing to have. Without some sort of belief in your life, you have no motivations, and might as well be nothing. If there is something beyond this life, then we'll find out eventully anyway. If not, then we need to make the most of our lives and not have our beliefs rule our experiences. Travel the globe, encounter and overcome fears, go out and live. By doing that, you'll enrichen your life, and will be happier for it.

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

Personally, i'm not a fan of debating the existance or lack thereof of God or other deities, simply because I don't like to impress my beliefs on others. I'll leave that to the Catholics and the Atheists (Generalization there, but i'm surrounded by Catholics and Atheists who go to no end to make me believe their point of view, which I really dislike)

I'm not a fan of the idea of one all powerful deity controlling the entire universe - in my own opinion, the Universe is too random, too strange and chaotic to have been concieved by one power. I'm also a strong believer in spirits and in the power of nature - somewhat akin to neo-druidism - and I personally have always felt strong ties to the natural world, though i'm not a fan of rituals. For me, the greatest connection to the greater powers is walking barefoot on a beach, or wandering through a forest, or even simply sitting on the back lawn and zoning out. And as for an afterlife, I'm a believer of reincarnation, sort of as a spiritual journey for the soul until it learns the great lessons of life, and then ascendance to a higher spiritual level.

Whether my wacky belief is right, or if the Atheists are right and this is all there is, or maybe we've got it all wrong and we're all going to hell anyway, it's not important. The one thing that every group of believers or non-believers in deities is a belief in their own opinion, and that's probably the most important thing to have. Without some sort of belief in your life, you have no motivations, and might as well be nothing. If there is something beyond this life, then we'll find out eventully anyway. If not, then we need to make the most of our lives and not have our beliefs rule our experiences. Travel the globe, encounter and overcome fears, go out and live. By doing that, you'll enrichen your life, and will be happier for it.

I have only one thing to say, dear. There are Christians, Jews, etc that also feel a closer bond to God or spiritual powers in nature. How they perceive nature may or may not be different. As for me, I always feel closer to God outside than inside. I can see the things that I believe He created just for us humans to enjoy every day. The cycle of the seasons and thriving of life through them is similar to the cycles of our lives and also the struggles we face. I guess I like to remind myself that just like how a mother sets up a nursery for a baby before he/she's born, God created this world, all the animals, the laws of nature, all of the things for us to look at, admire, wonder about, seek and discover the meaning behind...all of it was created for our enjoyment. Once it was all in place, He then created man and woman and interacted with them in this new and wonderous Creation.

 

[Wildcard]

Because I am a very evil and argumentative person that must have things his way.

...Kay.

 

[Enishi]

Anway, I'm an Atheist. I see God and otherworldly deities as humanity's way of keeping sanity. If proof was given that there was no afterlife, no god(s)(ess)(esses) have ever existed, and that we are all doomed into an eternal abyss, how do you think humanity would react?

I personally believe that Jesus Christ intended not to create God, but to create morals. At the time, there were Gods and Godessess and the end for any life was a trip to the underworld. Jesus, I believe, created the one God and one Satan to have humanity be good to each other; to avoid sleeping with your neighbors wife, to not steal, etc.

And, I believe, that Jesus' ruse worked for a good while; others followed him, preached his word, and spread the good word. However, as time passed, the moral that Jesus tried to convey, through a way that humans would understand (IE: divine powers), was broken apart and sewn together with bad cloth. The followers stretched God's power and masked the moral of the stories that Jesus attempted to give.

So the bible was eventually chopped and screwed.

That is my hypothesis on God.

Now, onto God's "Miracles"; Starting with the birth of Christ.

An angel supposedly impregnated Mary, the virgin, with the son of god. Now, this seems pretty odd: a young woman witnesses an angel impregnates her, then disappears without any sign of his presence? Perhaps she slept with another man? or perhaps she was raped?

---

The creation of Adam and Eve.

I believe there is no need to explain this one; God only made two humans? and they only had five children, three girls and two boys. One of the boys was murdered, btw, by his brother.

---

The Great Flood.

Noah builds an Ark then collects two of every animal, in order to survive a rain storm that would last 40 days and 40 nights.

First, and foremost, how would he collect two of every animal in the animal kingdom? not to mention the predators?

Now, this rain storm happened in the middle east (mainly desert). Wouldn't the sand absorb the rain?

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Alot of people believe that god is the one performing medical miracles, curing cancer, illnesses, etc.

So here is a question: Why won't God heal amputees?

It's obvious that an amputated limb can't regenerate. However, sickly people pray to god for miracles and so do amputees. It would seem that those who are amputees are unlucky.

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Why does god demand the death of so many innocent people in the bible?

Look up these verses in the bible:

Exodus 35:2 - God demands we kill everyone who works on the Sabbath Day.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 - God demands that we kill disobedient teenagers

Leviticus 20:13 - God demands the death of homosexuals

Deuteronomy 22:13-21 - God demands that we kill girls who are not virgins when they marry.

And so on.

Does it make sense? Why would a Loving God want to kill our fellow man for such trivial matters?

Just because you work on the wrong day of the week, you must die?

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And one final question:

Why was God such a proponent of slavery in the bible?