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(October 21, 2014 at 10:16 pm)Christian Wrote: My pastor is a very intelligent person and has recommended that I come here often to pass the message of Jesus Christ as the end times may be near.
No need, buddy. Professor already did that schtick last month. Surely Jesus would allow a cooling-off period before he threatens to come again?
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
(October 22, 2014 at 12:17 am)YahwehIsTheWay Wrote:
Oh Sweet Jesus we have another dumb ass phony Christian who's knowledge of scripture is roughly equal to Ken Ham's knowledge of evolutionary biology. Once again, it's up to a True Christian ™ like me to set him straight.
The first clue that our Lord Yahweh is a physical being is found in Genesis chapter three, right after the talking snake convinces the rib woman to eat the magic fruit.
The Wholly Babble Wrote:Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden
Now you notice the word, "walking", right? That's awfully hard to do when you're floating around as a disembodied spirit. You know how people walk, right? You move your physical, bodily feet, one in front of the other.
And then the Lord drops by Abraham's place for lunch.
The Wholly Babble Wrote:Genesis 18:1-5 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
Don't you just hate it when God drops by and you're fresh out of nectar and ambrosia?
Later, the Lord wrestles with Jacob.
The Wholly Babble Wrote:Genesis 32:24-30 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
And speaking of face to face, the Lord didn't always need a burning bush to speak to people. He could drop by in the flesh and dispense with the pyrotechnics.
The Wholly Babble Wrote:Exodus 33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.
... Exodus 33:23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
"Face", "hand", "back parts", sounds like a body to me.
Yahweh's got a big cock, too. The Lord couldn't help pulling a bit of an Anthony Weiner move and show off to one of His chosen prophets.
Quote:Ezekiel 1:27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
Apparently, He's hot and well hung.
The Lord would feel quite at home in Area 69 of this forum. He'd whip out his magnificent pecker and put all you heathen trash to shame. I suppose if it were His will, he'd have Lotsy converted faster than you can hit the "upload" button.
So I hope I've educated you out of all this New Age nonsense about the Lord being some kind of nowhere and yet everywhere disembodied spirit. That's just talk among namby pamby sissy Christians who've conceded to Godless science that the sky's not really a dome.
Now go read the Bible. All of it. From "In the beginning" of Genesis to the final "Amen" in Revelation.
And stop calling yourself a Christian until you do.
(October 22, 2014 at 8:38 am)Tonus Wrote: Surely Jesus would allow a cooling-off period before he threatens to come again?
Nah, his refractory period is the stuff of legend.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
(October 21, 2014 at 10:16 pm)Christian Wrote: I am really really sorry for not posting often. I was away on Church duties for a while and only came back. My pastor is a very intelligent person and has recommended that I come here often to pass the message of Jesus Christ as the end times may be near.
Exactly what makes you think your pastor is intelligent? His recommendations don't seem too smart to me.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
(October 22, 2014 at 11:02 am)FatAndFaithless Wrote: And..if he's just here to preach and not discuss..?
If we wanted to hear preaching we would go to a church.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Sometime back I took the courage to realize that God is not supernatural. An omnipresent, omniscient, benevolent GOD could not exist in this world, where we are in constant struggle for survival against nature, evils of our own creation and our mind. We and our universe are nothing but a product of cosmic chance and evolution.Although such a realization helped me appreciate nature, society and life more,it also made me lost and helpless, a feeling of lost ground. This made me ask what is GOD? Why do we need GOD?
We have always struggled through ages to make sense of our world. We seek to find order in chaos, explain the unknown and the concept of GOD is an effort in that direction. Looking back into anthropological history we can see how GOD has evolved over time, to address the unknowns of that era. I feel GOD is one solution to a problem,But what is the problem?
Life is not an easy game, and we need a strong sail to get past the turbulence, the unknown still scares us, we are by nature anxious about the future and our well being.The faith in GOD helps us in coming to terms with life, may be because of our conditioning.Again it brings in a certain order to chaos and knowledge into the unknown.We feel comforted by a personal benefactor always hearing and protecting ,working in magical ways.
Why not look at GOD from a different perspective? Why not redefine GOD? The concept of GOD has changed so much over time and I believe a redefinition is long overdue.Why can't GOD be a concept that is symbolized? Concepts of Positive thinking, living the moment, compassion, love, nature, family, friends and all life around us. Such a GOD is not supernatural but is as real as the feeling of being alive.
Lets look at GOD as Rightful Action,Positive thinking, Living the moment, Compassion, Love, Nature, Family, Friends and all life around us. Such a GOD is not supernatural, but is as real as the feeling of being alive.
(October 16, 2014 at 12:58 am)Christian Wrote: God is not what you think He is. He is not a a physical entity that you can feel. He is a force that exists in no tangible form, in a separate dimension.
I don't understand, what's the difference between "a force that exists in no tangible form, in a separate dimension" and something that doesn't exist? How can you tell one from the other?
Our identity has no tangible form. Even if souls don't exist, what is being made by the mind and the concept of self has no tangible physical form. What we perceive of it and our experience of it is something else entirely even if it is created by a physical components and the brain. God is like an identity except he isn't created by physical components. Just like you can detect your identity, believers believe God can be detected spiritually.
October 22, 2014 at 6:55 pm (This post was last modified: October 22, 2014 at 6:57 pm by jesus_wept.)
(October 22, 2014 at 6:20 pm)MysticKnight Wrote:
(October 22, 2014 at 8:35 am)jesus_wept Wrote: I don't understand, what's the difference between "a force that exists in no tangible form, in a separate dimension" and something that doesn't exist? How can you tell one from the other?
Our identity has no tangible form. Even if souls don't exist, what is being made by the mind and the concept of self has no tangible physical form. What we perceive of it and our experience of it is something else entirely even if it is created by a physical components and the brain. God is like an identity except he isn't created by physical components. Just like you can detect your identity, believers believe God can be detected spiritually.
This doesnt really answer my question, unless you're also saying our minds exist in a separate dimension...
(October 22, 2014 at 8:35 am)jesus_wept Wrote: I don't understand, what's the difference between "a force that exists in no tangible form, in a separate dimension" and something that doesn't exist? How can you tell one from the other?
Our identity has no tangible form. Even if souls don't exist, what is being made by the mind and the concept of self has no tangible physical form. What we perceive of it and our experience of it is something else entirely even if it is created by a physical components and the brain. God is like an identity except he isn't created by physical components. Just like you can detect your identity, believers believe God can be detected spiritually.
I disagree. I think the personal god that you form in the mind is exactly like an identity created through processes like the theory of mind and empathy sprinkled with a need for authority.
