• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

How do you feel about God.

My point is, you can feel that something is true and genuine and without proof... you can be easily mislead. I know as I was deeply religious and I was taken. I firmly believed and knew I was right and following a path that was getting me closer to god. I felt like I was touched by god and unconditionally loved at times and it was the the best feeling in the world and the lows were extremely low. I tried other religions and noted I got the same feelings. I eventually realized I could make myself feel that way without religion. I didn't need religion or the guilt to feel good. I didn't need to follow someone blindly. I'm trying to show I can relate to how many that are religious feel, but in all honesty I don't think I need to do that as I think most of us when we think about it realize that everyone who has a religion honestly feels like they have the one true religion or at the very least the best religion for them and they hope that they are following a religion that will get them some sort of reward for their belief, prayer, etc. whether that reward is peace, eternal life, etc. I have simply found that my peace is internal and I don't need any external trappings or religion to achieve it. I don't need to be taken or lead down anyones path. Love, compassion, nature, science... family. These are the only trappings I desire.
 
http://www.catholic.com/tracts/homosexuality

Divine Law

The rejection of homosexual behavior that is found in the Old Testament is well known. In Genesis 19, two angels in disguise visit the city of Sodom and are offered hospitality and shelter by Lot. During the night, the men of Sodom demand that Lot hand over his guests for homosexual intercourse. Lot refuses, and the angels blind the men of Sodom. Lot and his household escape, and the town is destroyed by fire "because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord" (Gen. 19:13).

And yet, there are other religions that embrace homosexuality. I see the disparity in religions and how they conflict with one another and I know that I can never not think for myself. The lakota for instance look at homosexual individuals as often having special powers. I don't believe that nor do I believe homosexual acts are sinful.
 
vetusvates said:
ETA : Re the crucifixion of B16, in the post several posts back.

Besides, looks like they are going to make JP2 a saint. Sigh. Do we really think he knew nothing? Or a little? Or how much? Or how much is little enough (action would imply knowledge) to still get to be a saint?
Click to expand...
How have you been? Long time no see my friend.
 
I know many religious people, and in many diverse religions, who have managed _not_ to be misled. As far as we can endeavor to know. LOL.

That _many_ can be led and are led is a hasty generalization.

I prefer the safer hypothetical. And/or giving leaders, intellectuals, 'big guys' the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.

And yes....I know....there are many in my country who have been politically following a 'big guy' blindly for oh, 6=ish years now,...and for reasons other than his being german or even infallible. And I suspect he would prefer rather no blind followers, than the hoards that unfortunately are what they are.
 
Cultures that have sacrificed human beings to their gods... Aztecs, Mayan, Zapotec,....
Exodus 13:2 Consecrate to me every first-born that opens the womb among Israelites, both man and beast, for it belongs to me.

On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you. 1 Kings 13:1-2

Take your son, your only son – yes, Isaac, whom you love so much – and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you. Genesis 22:1-18

Put the entire town to the torch as a burnt offering to the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 13:13-19
 
Carpe Serpentis said:
Cultures that have sacrificed human beings to their gods... Aztecs, Mayan, Zapotec,....
Exodus 13:2 Consecrate to me every first-born that opens the womb among Israelites, both man and beast, for it belongs to me.

On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you. 1 Kings 13:1-2

Take your son, your only son – yes, Isaac, whom you love so much – and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you. Genesis 22:1-18

Put the entire town to the torch as a burnt offering to the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 13:13-19
Click to expand...
Within the context of each of the cultures you allude to, and the evolution of these cultures and their religious beliefs and the subtleties thereof,.....what is so odd about the substance of any of your observations?

Who is doling out rightness and wrongness and where did they get their Ph.D. in rightness and wrongness?
Let's hope they also have a doctorate in Cultural Relativity.
 
For whoever mentioned unicorns in the Bible...
http://www.creationtoday.org/why-does-the-bible-mention-unicorns/
Unicorns are not mentioned in any of the modern translations. Only in the King James version are they mentioned. Most of the modern translations say “wild ox.” Some translations even say “buffalo.”

However, many Christian apologists are insistent that the King James Version is the most accurate of all the English translations. So because of this, some people, especially atheists, like to scoff at the Bible and make fun of it as a book of myths and fairy tales.

However, it is important to understand that the definition of the word “unicorn” has changed over time.

If you get an old 1828 Noah Webster’s Dictionary, which is the very first edition dictionary that Webster came out with about 200 years ago, and look up the word “unicorn” it says:

Unicorn – An animal with one horn; the monoceros. this name is often applied to the rhinoceros.
 
Outcast said:
For whoever mentioned unicorns in the Bible...
http://www.creationtoday.org/why-does-the-bible-mention-unicorns/
Unicorns are not mentioned in any of the modern translations. Only in the King James version are they mentioned. Most of the modern translations say “wild ox.” Some translations even say “buffalo.”

However, many Christian apologists are insistent that the King James Version is the most accurate of all the English translations. So because of this, some people, especially atheists, like to scoff at the Bible and make fun of it as a book of myths and fairy tales.

However, it is important to understand that the definition of the word “unicorn” has changed over time.

If you get an old 1828 Noah Webster’s Dictionary, which is the very first edition dictionary that Webster came out with about 200 years ago, and look up the word “unicorn” it says:

Unicorn – An animal with one horn; the monoceros. this name is often applied to the rhinoceros.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Aaron.

Your examples of Cultural Relativity, as well as your reminder of Temporal Relativity (across the evolutionary millennia of human beliefs and writings), and their complex relationship--is spot on and refreshing.
 
Carpe Serpentis said:
My point is, you can feel that something is true and genuine and without proof... you can be easily mislead. I know as I was deeply religious and I was taken. I firmly believed and knew I was right and following a path that was getting me closer to god. I felt like I was touched by god and unconditionally loved at times and it was the the best feeling in the world and the lows were extremely low. I tried other religions and noted I got the same feelings. I eventually realized I could make myself feel that way without religion. I didn't need religion or the guilt to feel good. I didn't need to follow someone blindly. I'm trying to show I can relate to how many that are religious feel, but in all honesty I don't think I need to do that as I think most of us when we think about it realize that everyone who has a religion honestly feels like they have the one true religion or at the very least the best religion for them and they hope that they are following a religion that will get them some sort of reward for their belief, prayer, etc. whether that reward is peace, eternal life, etc. I have simply found that my peace is internal and I don't need any external trappings or religion to achieve it. I don't need to be taken or lead down anyones path. Love, compassion, nature, science... family. These are the only trappings I desire.
Click to expand...
Carpe, I agree with many of your beliefs. But you need to learn when there is nothing else to talk about. You can't force the whole world to see things your way. You can only tell them you don't believe in the super-natural and move on. Don't be guilty of knocking on their door and forcing your beliefs on them the way so many of them have done to non-believers. I'm starting to take the view of the woman in this video because I really have nothing else to talk about. And discussing beliefs has never changed a persons mind anyway. Atheism is a personal journey. You can't MAKE someone atheist. But it IS kind of like the belief in Santa. Once a child sees the stack of Christmas presents hidden in the upstairs closet they can never believe in Santa again. Their view of reality has forever been changed. And for many science is like those presents in the closet. Once a person really gets it the light bulb will come on and expose the super-natural and the belief in god for what it really is. But you can only point them in the direction of the bulb and hope they learn enough to flip the switch on. But until they do there's nothing else to talk about.
 
Vetusvates, I forgot to quote around what I pasted. It was in the article I posted the link for, in case some people decided it wasn't worth looking at.
 
I will personally declare anyone as both a saint and infallible.....if they can turn on a metaphorical light bulb or show me the metaphorical stack of gifts....that proves God is like Santa Claus and therefore does not exist.

Or provide me with proof that he does exist.
Either way, one will have trampled under foot the minds of many great men across the ages when one can definitively provide the proof either way.
 
Last edited:
vetusvates said:
I will personally declare anyone as both a saint and infallible.....if they can turn on a metaphorical light bulb or show me the metaphorical stack of gifts....that proves God is like Santa Claus and therefore does not exist.
Click to expand...

You can't prove a negative. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
You can't prove that there isn't a santa, an invisible pink unicorn, dragons, god, etc. Simply put, in this respect gods, santa, etc. stand on equal footing. Each exists in the minds and in the faith of those that believe they exist and feel real for those that believe. These things are believed blindly and without proof by those that feel that believe. Every time you say fairies don't exist one dies. You can't prove that doesn't happen either. For those like me, we require extraordinary claims to be backed by extraordinary evidence. So, santa and god may stand on equal footings of blind faith and neither can be proven not to exist.
 
If Casey Anthony can walk free, I suspect I could with minimal effort prove to a jury of humans that Santa does not in fact exist. LOL.

We know where he is supposed to live. And we can go there.

As for "God", it is not the same as for Santa. We are superlatively unsure about his address, and (for a number of reasons) we cannot go there. LOL.
 
But are you really sure about his exact address and how do you know he doesn't have magic to throw you off track or hide his home so to speak? I think your seriously underestimating the power of santa.
 
Or one could say that Bhūmi, Coatlicue, Diti Gaia, Maka-akan, Pachamama earth gods... or perhaps Inyan... the rock god... there are so many stories...myths... gods.... they can be found anywhere if one only looks hard enough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top