Astralinre

I can't help but wonder about his reading comprehension, if, after reading all 63 pages, he is still making the claim that I've never thought about my beliefs. :P Besides, how could I possibly refute his argument of "You and religion are stupid!" ?

In your point of view :P in my opinion the atheist usually uses science, which is irrelevant to God's existence. Evolution? God could've used it. To say "it makes more sense that it just randomly happened", is merely a matter of opinion. To me, it makes more sense that something caused it to happen the way it did. Do you really thin kscientists just make up the stiff they figure out? the things scientsts claim have been proven to be facts after a long time of research, its not something they just decided to belive in and told the rest of the world to belive, thats religion, not science, science isnt just another religion, they have proof to support their discoveries, religions just have tales and verses that an unnamed author wrote long ago. (ps. see my sig) Do you realize that your response had nothing to do with his post? He said that science is irrelevant to the existence of God, and you said that science proves the things it claims. Where's the connection? His point was not that science is wrong, but rather that science deals only in the natural, therefore it is irrelevant to God, the supernatural. If you had actually read the entire 63 pages, as you implied earlier, you would see that most of the questions had been discussed and answered a long time ago. Perhaps they try to prove themselves right out of love? They believe that their religion is the truth, and they care enough about others to make sure that other people know the truth. And if you haven't noticed, every institution than humans are involved in is corrupted, not just religion. It's much more logical to say that humans are inherantly corrupt, rather than that religion is inherantly corrupt. What is all this evidence you're talking about? Evidence for what? Evidence against religion? If you're talking about science being able to proove its claims, as you were earlier, I refer you to my first paragraph about how science has nothing to do with God's existence.

But isn't that the way these threads always go? One group of people debate every detail of some point, then move on, when a few pages later, someone else starts that same debate over again with different people? As we discussed earlier, this thread is really about exercising our minds and exploring our own beliefs deeper. If you want to take part in the discussion, then do so; otherwise let them exercise their own minds without you flaming them.

You talk as if lightsabers and mind tricks are the only weapons in the Jedi arsenal, what about Force shoves, lightning, or Jedi reflexes? What about their mad fighting skills and ingenuity? Besides, if Magneto were to try taking a lightsaber away from a Jedi, it would be a contest of wills. Who do you think would win, some old guy who can control metals, or a warrior who wields the Force, which runs through all things?

You poor, ignorant fool. Of course cartoons are real. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to meet Bugs Bunny for dinner. Goodnight, sir.

I'd wager most of the people in the north have no clue :P Just one more reason why the South shall rise again. :mrgreen:

Just in case you haven't watched enough movies, most wish granting institutions (i.e. genies, birthday cake candles, etc.) have rules prohibiting wishes such as yours. (Just go watch Aladin or something; best kids movie ever.) You know, I didn't actually put any thought into my earlier post, but I'd wish that same thing in a heartbeat. Edit: I just realized that genies also have a rule that you can't make somebody love you. Darn.

I would wish to nullify every wish that everyone else has ever made or will make, just to be spiteful. Either that or a life-time supply of BBQ chicken - it would all depend on how hungry I was at the moment when I made the wish.

Chick-fil-A 'Nough said. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you're missing out on the best fried chicken sandwiches ever.

Thank you for perfectly stating the view I hold, which I've been too lazy to type up. :P For example, my grandfather suffered a massive heart attack, and we could either keep him alive with several machines performing his bodily functions and him having massive brain damage, or we could take him off the machines. We took him off the machines. I can't describe how much it hurt to let him go, but keeping his body alive would have been pointless when the man I knew, loved, and admired was gone. Over the course of the next year, my grandmother had increasingly bad liver problems, among other health problems, leading to her death. She and we knew she only had a few months to live, and that she'd be in nearly unbearable pain during that time. As far as I know, she never considered euthanasia, and I know that none of us did. So we watched her waste away painfully over several months, until she finally died one night. It was far more painful watching her suffer like that than it was to watch my grandfather go quickly, but in hindsight, I wouldn't have had it any other way. She loved her family so much, and we loved her so much, that no matter the circumstances, we wanted to have every possible bit of time together while she was alive. We would never have wanted to cut that time short. It hurt, but even in pain, there is still joy.

I've got to say, that's very impressive. I tried making a language a couple of years ago, but it was nothing compared to that. :shock: Great job, man. So, are you going to pull a Tolkein and write a huge volume of stories explaining the origin of your language that will become world-famous a few years after your death?

This link has been sitting and rotting in my Bookmarks for months, waiting for just such an occasion to present itself. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/driving/bigrigsotrr/index.html?q=Big+Rigs Scroll down and watch the video. The game is every bit as bad as Mr_Putter described it, if not worse. :P

Amen. :P I spend countless hours on my red version game and ended up with 149 Pokemon. I never could find anyone with the one that I lacked (I can't remember which it was), so being a 10-year-old who was bored, I restarted my almost completed game.

Nothing at all? What about encouraging morality? What about providing hope? What about inspiring brotherly love? Just as an example, when hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the Christian churches in the south responded overwhelmingly. You should have seen the churches filled to the brim with clothes and food for the refugees, the trucks loaded with men and women heading south to rebuild and serve food, and the love that was poured out for the victims. Surely you can't say that religion is all bad. Religion caused the American Civil War? Please pick up a history book, sir. Science may not have advanced as quickly then as it did during the Scientific Revolution or in modern times, but it was hardly at a stand-still. The Middle Ages produced plenty of intellectual advancements and achievements in architechture (cathedrals), theology (Thomas Aquinas), literature (Dante's Divine Comedy), painting (tons of religious works of art), and learning (Both Cambridge and Oxford were established in the Middle Ages). We as moderns have this horrible tendancy to pretend as if nothing good was produced or thought of between the fall of Rome and Galileo. Hardly. Government and religion have coexisted throughout most of history. Sometimes they worked together, sometimes they fought, and sometimes they had nothing to do with each other, but it's incorrect to say that religion was first then died out when government came.

You ought to check out the Ted Dekker book Showdown. There's something like that in there. :P

Another funny thing is this: People who criticize those who pray over every little thing often say things like, "Why would God care about something so small and insignificant?" But if God doesn't care about the small things like math tests, why pray about the big things, like finding a spouse, moving to another country, or losing a loved one? Surely such things are small and insignificant in the eyes of a God who is infinite and eternal. Why would he care about the affairs of a piece of dust on a ball in space when he is so important? The way I see it, since everything in our lives must be little to God, either he cares about the little things, or he doesn't care at all. Karma? Well, I kind of agree with it. You sow what you reap, after all. I don't generally think about it or act a certain way because of it, but I agree with it to an extent.

J.K. Rowling claimed to be God incarnate in Harry Potter? Wow, you learn something new every day. *resists the urge to use the roll-eyes smiley* I actually enjoyed The DaVinci Code, but I did have to speed through it because I only had a day to read it since it was on loan. It could have been better, and Brown's historical information is questionable at best, but it wasn't a bad novel, overall. I liked all the twists and turns, predictable or not.

Hahahahahaha :lol: Or to add variety to an already overly used joke, use sheep! It's more fun to watch people chase chickens. :P Necro, all I've got to say is wow. I'd love to do something that elaborate my senior year.

Chinatown? What an idiot. Anyone who knows basic English grammar can tell you that the capital of Vietnam is "V." I've got pages of quotes from teachers and classmates that I've written down this school year, but the majority of them require either context, knowing the person who said it, or both in order to be funny, so I'm not going to post many. Though the other day my biology teacher did say something along the lines of, "Alright, we're done with the notes, so now we're going to... *gasp* Chiapet!"

I don't think you read through my post. In it, I agreed with you completely. I can no longer accuse god of being hypocritical because your quote from the bible shows me that his actions of bringing bringing non-believers to earth in order to punish them and show believers how fortunate they are match up with his holy text. Before, I said that Christianity doesn't support the part I underlined, but because of your bible quote, I admit that I am wrong. Oops, sorry. I misinterpreted your post, thinking that you were saying that it proved God was hypocritical. My mistake. :oops: English Standard Version. It's basically a word-for-word, literal translation from the original text.

Were the claw type things what created the evil Captain Planet, or am I thinking of a different episode? You know, the one where all the bad guys join together, make their own rings, and create their own Captain Planet that loves pollution and stuff?

That would mean we have a god who brings certain people into the world with the acknowledgement that he will punish them. This might fit your definition of just, but it certainly doesn't seem right to me. Well, perhaps we could resolve this problem if you told us your definition of just? The way I see it, how can anything God does with His creation be unjust? Assuming the Bible as truth, God is the creator of everything; apart from His will, nothing is able to exist. Therefore, since what is created owes everything it is, including its very existence, to God, is it not fitting that God has full rights to do with it what He wishes?

Well, you know what they say: "Don't worry about the world ending today; it's already tomorrow in Australia." :P I have no idea when the world as we know it will end. Some asteroid could be heading straight for earth, bird flu could become a pandemic any day, another ice age could hit, Christ could return - how are we to know when anything of this could happen? Do I believe that we are living in the last days? Certainly. For all I know, this is the last day of my life. My heart could stop while I sleep, I could have a wreck while driving to school in the morning, the New Madrid Fault could snap, causing an earthquake that would bring my house down on top of me. My world could end at any moment, so I think it's best to live as if it is going to. Why not help somebody out? Why not put your heart and soul into everything you do? Why not enjoy life? For all you know, it's your last chance to do so before the end of the world.

Thanks for all your encouragement, guys. :) That would mean we have a god who brings certain people into the world with the acknowledgement that he will punish them. This might fit your definition of just, but it certainly doesn't seem right to me. Well, perhaps we could resolve this problem if you told us your definition of just? The way I see it, how can anything God does with His creation be unjust? Assuming the Bible as truth, God is the creator of everything; apart from His will, nothing is able to exist. Therefore, since what is created owes everything it is, including its very existence, to God, is it not fitting that God has full rights to do with it what He wishes?

However, Child Two's addiction and are not the only parts of his life. As a child, he'll have a pet dog, play with his brother, watch a good movie, have a crush on a at school, make friends, eat candy, and be a kid. Mom knows that he's going to suffer later in life and die painfully, but nevertheless, she wants him to experience all the joys of being a kid. No one's life is all bad. Even starving, HIV infected orphans in Africa have some simple joys - a kind word or bit of spare change from a stranger, seeing a sunset, finding the tastiest scrap of food ever. Could it be that God believes that if a person is able to experience one moment of pleasure, the pain is worth it? Is it possible that one fleeting glimpse of heaven makes a man's existence worthwhile, even if he is doomed to hell for eternity? Maybe, just maybe, God loves the damned enough that he'd rather them experience a little joy among an eternity of sadness, than to never exist or know happiness at all. In regards to the whole Vedas/Bible thing, allow me to quote what started all of this. The Vedas (the sacred texts of Hinduism) were written in 1500 B.C, long before Christianity came into being. As you said, truth does not change. Therefore, according to you, the Vedas would be true and the Bible would be false. Piano merely said that truth does not change; he did not claim that the Bible is true because it came before something else. You also made the assumption that the Vedas was true to begin with, according to Piano's beliefs, while his beliefs do not affirm. Saying that truth does not change does not equate to saying that whatever was accepted as truth first is true. That whole debate seems to me to be the result of a misunderstanding. Alright, thank you. You did overlook my first question though, which is one of the things I was most curious about: "How did you reach the conclusion that God would not be a person, but rather an idea?" And you seem to be very must against people preaching their religion to others, but what is wrong with it? If you follow Religion X, and you believe that Religion X will improve the lives of anyone who follows it, what is wrong with telling other people about it? Is it not a loving act to do what you believe to be best for others? Now, I'm not advocating shooting someone if you believe that it is good for them, but I am saying that if there is nothing directly harmful about Religion X, then what is wrong with wanting other people to convert to it? Edit: Fixed a typo.