List of gods

Originally posted by jiggerj
Just another reminder asking you to consider the silliness of gods. Of this list of gods, doesn't it became embarrassingly apparent that they are all man-made? ALL of them!

Thanks for the Post. Certainly always a provocative discussion. One thing I like about it is for some, if they choose, is take a look at themselves and really think about what it is that they believe in and why? And I am not talking about the Flying Spagehetti Monster , certainly a lighted hearted view of religion. I'm suggesting that perhaps it's not a bad exercise to think about what you believe in, what factors are you considering and ultimately come to a conclusion. And, like anything else, if new or counter information should appear that changes your view, that's cool.

So, with that said, if what you want to call God, Intelligent Designer, Creator....I'm ok with that. I am a believer! A believer in what? Well without going on and on. I've come to the belief out of faith that we (life, species, right here on Earth.....can't speak for the rest of the Universe, but have my hunches) just didn't happen by accident or originate out of a sloppy pool of luck. I believe there is something that we do not quite understand. However, if you look around at all of the natural beauty and the millions of living species, this is miraculous...not an accident, that is my belief. Always a good topic to talk about and refresh your beliefs''!!

Originally posted by liveandlearn
reply to post by jiggerj

 

Agnostic here, leaning toward atheist, but do believe, know, that there is something beyond us.....sometimes it just takes the experience.

No one can beat Carlin, he was the best. BTW, do love your sig.

Just wanted to respond. I love Carlin too. Love all of the YT vid.
Like you, I too BELIEVE , however I cannot say I KNOW as you said, but agree, I believe there is something beyond us, or perhaps better expressed something GREATER than us.

Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, deity, It can also be belief that is not based on proof.[1] The word faith is often used as a substitute for hope, trust or belief.

This is much closer to my feeling, belief. Again NOT to be accused with RELIGION. Because, YOU DO NOT have to BELIEVE in something greater than yourself, and then automatically ADOPT, SUPPORT, FOLLOW as specific religious dogma. One who does evaluate their OWN belief system: to believe, or not to believe or just not sure, often knows about the teaching of various religions, however, they (like myself) have come to the conclusion that not one religion is the answer and MUST BE THE ALL for everyone.

I believe based upon FAITH as descrbed above and continue to remain open minded and respect everyone's personal belief system. I'm not here to convert anyone, just to be the best human being that I can be and wish the best for everyone else! Peace!!! ID !!!!

Originally posted by jiggerj

Originally posted by adjensen
reply to post by wildtimes

 

This isn't a "troll thread" when a member is asking other members to "wake up to yourself" and smell the coffee.

I have a faith that makes me happy and brings me peace. Why would I want to "wake up" and reject that?

I have asked repeatedly and no one has EVER given me a good reason to become an atheist. Apart from "more money for yourself by not donating to church" and "extra hour to sleep in on Sunday", I've never seen any practical benefit, and from what I can tell, most atheists want to convert theists for the same reason theists want to convert atheists -- they're ticked off that someone doesn't think that they have a corner on the truth.

Atheists won't fly planes into buildings.
Atheists won't tell Africans that they can't wear condoms to protect themselves from AIDS.

I could go on, but hopefully you get the point. Just as atheists support the belief that there is no biblical god, when you pretend to believe there IS a biblical god, you support all the religions based on it.

What you suggest is that just because someone likes smoking crack it should be all right. However, this addict's business supports the drug trade that kills children.

You know that's a bit unfair. Atheists do plenty of horrible things just like Christians, Muslims, or any other faith/non-faith. For atheists, ideology replaces faith and there are good and bad ideologies just as there are good and bad aspects to every faith.

A Christian could take the bible literally and do any one of the deplorable things in the OT or they could, instead look at the brotherly love aspect. An atheist could take Ayn Rand to heart and treat everybody like garbage and tools or they could, instead look at the altruistic nature of basic Humanism.

Fanaticism will be found wherever you look for it. Certain paths may lean more heavily towards love or hate but, ultimately, it's up to the adherent to follow a path of good.

reply to post by GodIsRelative

Just imagine how many people would still be addicted to crack or alcohol or whatever if it weren't for their belief in a higher power.

It's nothing but a "substitute" addiction when that happens. It might cure the substance abuse, but it doesn't address the "real" problem.

Addiction-prone personalities need something to obsess about - they often find a substitute obsession, but it's STILL addiction. No matter what the "addiction" is - church, knitting, cleaning, gambling - there IS an underlying problem which needs to be addressed for the person to actually let go of it.

reply to post by NOTurTypical

Well, a mental disorder would be genetic. I'm no more responsible for my faith than I am for having blue eyes.

Originally posted by wildtimes
Nope!
SOME mental disorders ARE genetic and run in families - others ARE acquired from life experience and early life trauma. You know all the debate terms --- I know which mental illnesses are considered "genetic" and which are not.

Yeah, I agree with Wildtimes mostly on this. Having blues eyes is genetic, no question about that! However, having faith is not necessarily something you are born with genetically, mostly it is a learned knowledge. One can change their BELIEF and not have to conform to a specific Religion.

As you live, and if you are curious enough to want to think about such things as why am I here? What's my purpose, you may choose to study, learn and begin to form new, personal beliefs which differ completely with the ones you were most likely introduced and taught by your parents and schooling. Unless a mutation in the human species ocurrs the person born with blue eyes will always have blue eyes. The child at 5,6,7,8,9,10 may have been taught a certain religion of belief system, but for some people, as they mature and their intellectual curiosity matures, may cause their belief system and the reasons for it evolve.

So, people who have faith

Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, deity, can also be belief that is not based on proof.[1] The word faith is often used as a substitute for hope, trust or belief.

...and not be considered to have a mental disorder. To label one such, is simply out of fear and one's own lack of being, and to discredit someone else who has developed a belief that doesn't conform with you.....really one of the most illogical things you can do in my opinion, to discount someone out of fear based on your own lacking.

Originally posted by jiggerj

Originally posted by adjensen
reply to post by wildtimes

 

This isn't a "troll thread" when a member is asking other members to "wake up to yourself" and smell the coffee.

I have a faith that makes me happy and brings me peace. Why would I want to "wake up" and reject that?

I have asked repeatedly and no one has EVER given me a good reason to become an atheist. Apart from "more money for yourself by not donating to church" and "extra hour to sleep in on Sunday", I've never seen any practical benefit, and from what I can tell, most atheists want to convert theists for the same reason theists want to convert atheists -- they're ticked off that someone doesn't think that they have a corner on the truth.

Atheists won't fly planes into buildings.
Atheists won't tell Africans that they can't wear condoms to protect themselves from AIDS.

When have I flown a plane into a building? When have I told people in Africa not to wear condoms?

Again, those aren't good reasons for me to become an atheist. They're not even good reasons for everyone to become an atheist, because some people are just evil, whether they're religious or not. Remember Joseph Stalin? Mao Tse Tung?

Yeah, thought so.

reply to post by wildtimes

My belief is that we all get to reunion with the Source eventually.

I can agree with that.

reply to post by lonewolf19792000

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000
Our God wasn't a chunk of stone like all those others were. He walked and talked and was executed as a criminal for blasphemy, because the man clearly thought he really was God. The jewish Talmud paints him as the insane bastard of a hair dressing whore that got himself crucified for telling lies that he was God.

Come on...think about it.

According to the bible, he didn't get killed for claiming to be one with "I AM". He got killed for claiming to be the jewish messiah without fulfilling certain prophecies

(The 3rd temple, Yahweh being exalted among the nations with Israel leading the world, etc.)

There were prophecies Jesus didn't fulfill so the jews called him false. Christians realized this and claimed that he will come back to fulfill them.

reply to post by wildtimes


I don't buy it. Your psychobabble isn't gonna screw me out of other people's money or a handicap plastic thingie to hang from my rearview mirror.

reply to post by adjensen


I have a fail-safe way to prevent AIDS.

You don't even need condoms either.

reply to post by wildtimes


That was beside the point. My point was that comparing religion to smoking crack was an awful comparison. God's love is free and the love of God is as powerful as a force for good as it is for evil. I love God so I "tithe" to the homeless, and not because it's what anybody said I should do, but because I know in my heart that it's the right thing to do. If I loved crack, then I would give money to my crack dealer to get more crack.

reply to post by lonewolf19792000

Our God wasn't a chunk of stone like all those others were. He walked and talked and was executed as a criminal for blasphemy, because the man clearly thought he really was God. The jewish Talmud paints him as the insane bastard of a hair dressing whore that got himself crucified for telling lies that he was God. Come on...think about it.

You got this from a book of old fictional tales handed down by word of mouth - just like Horus, Rah, and all the other gods. Think about it.

reply to post by GodIsRelative

Did you just compare believing in God to doing crack? That is incredible. Just imagine how many people would still be addicted to crack or alcohol or whatever if it weren't for their belief in a higher power. As far as what else you said goes, a real Christian wouldn't fly a plane into a building. A real Christian wouldn't let their neighbors starve to death just because they can't find a job. A real Christian wouldn't sacrifice their sense of compassion for profit. Should I go on?

God or crack; they're both addictions. In your statement, please replace 'real Christian' with decent human being'. Thanks.

reply to post by NOTurTypical

I don't buy it. Your psychobabble isn't gonna screw me out of other people's money or a handicap plastic thingie to hang from my rearview mirror.

What do you mean you don't "buy it"? It's been established at this point in 'psychology' and 'psychiatry', through brain scans, laboratory tests, chemistry, etc. that some people are born with mental disorders - biological mental disorders - some develop them due to brain injury, illness, etc. - and some develop them due to environmental and psychological factors. Genetics may influence whether a person will react to situations in a 'disordered' way, yes, but it's a combination of things, and every person is different. (Just like every person doesn't have the same "beliefs" in God).

Ignoring the uncalled-for insult, what are you talking about??

Whether you "buy it" or not has nothing to do with it. They carry on studying it, and learning about it...and from time to time they throw out old notions and update their standards. They do this neutrally, and are willing and eager to learn more.

reply to post by wildtimes


What "insult"?? I've been joking around for a couple pages now!

reply to post by NOTurTypical


All right, then. Sometimes it's hard for me to tell.

Originally posted by wildtimes
reply to post by NOTurTypical

 

All right, then. Sometimes it's hard for me to tell.

Even if I was serious the term psychobabble isn't an insult, babble means speech/jargon and psycho is short for psychological.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


Got your psychobabble right here:

Awesome! And it goes nicely with the lighthearted nature of the thread.

I once spent time in Christian forums for curiosity's sake. Some of the forums were for Christians only, but I posted in one that wasn't

I asked the members why they believed that our only saviour appeared two thousand years ago in the Middle East. Why not some other time in some other place? What was so special about the time and place?

Also, why did they believe their particular god was the only god? Why isn't some other god the 'one true god?'

Some people became annoyed because I would not accept "Because my book says so" as an answer. There's been an awful lot of 'holy books' in the world.

I got accused of trolling, which isn't what I was doing at all. I thought I was asking very good questions.

Originally posted by SwanIsland
I once spent time in Christian forums for curiosity's sake. Some of the forums were for Christians only, but I posted in one that wasn't

I asked the members why they believed that our only saviour appeared two thousand years ago in the Middle East. Why not some other time in some other place? What was so special about the time and place?

Well, Jesus came to the Israelites, God's chosen people, at a critical juncture for their religion. Within one generation of his death, the Romans had had enough of the uppity Jews and destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, which was the fundamental core of Judaic ritual practices, and scattered the race to the four winds. They would remain dispersed like that until 1948 (and, arguably, still are scattered to this day.)

Put into that context, Christ came at the exact time that he had to, to give God's people the opportunity to go from the old covenant, which could no longer be fulfilled with the destruction of the Temple, to the new covenant, which was him.

Also, why did they believe their particular god was the only god? Why isn't some other god the 'one true god?'

For me, who came to Christianity in a round about fashion, through Deism, it is because of my own personal experiences, and the logical conclusion that, to me, it makes the most sense. All religions contain some element of truth, I just believe that orthodox Christianity is the "truest" of them.

I got accused of trolling, which isn't what I was doing at all. I thought I was asking very good questions.

I think that you asked good questions, as well, and I'm sorry that all you got back was "because the Bible says so", because that's a reasonable answer for someone who believes in the Bible, but it isn't a reasonable answer for someone who does not.