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Is God really real or are people simply deluded?
#1
Is God really real or are people simply deluded?
This is my first attempt at a thread about religion, and hopefully it will be an average one. To go with my average intelligence and also my limited ability to speak from a point of view of an atheist or agnostic.

Admittedly, I have read the bible from front to back and back to front. I don't think I have missed anything. I'll get straight to the point anyway. We all know that certain characters in the old testament lived to a ripe old age of about 800 years, until God decided to flood the earth and state (if I am correct, since it has been a long time since I have had a bible in my hands) that all humans will live upto 120 years of age.

This is all very well, however, what with the food they were eating, the working conditions, the conditions in which they found themselves living in, and most importantly of all; medicinal needs. With the aforementioned conditions, it is very possible that most humans around that time lived to about the age of 40 or perhaps a little bit more.

I guess I am straying from the point I am initially trying to make. What I really would like to know is this. Is it possible that God actually existed in the flesh, that is to say, someone who had some sort of education, who was actually able to prey on those who were considered at the time, uneducated and thus believe anything whatever a certain person would say?

Throughout history, we have seen many Catholic missionaries trying and succeeding in converting native Indians in South America and also the peoples of Africa and other countries. They did so, because they had the knowledge and whatever they said, would be taken as "gospel." Being intelligent and writing a book that spoke of Adam and Eve, the creation of the earth in 7 days, that is all very well if you want to believe, but to someone who is uneducated, this will become fact and it would be very hard to dissuade them to think otherwise because religion would be the only thing they ever know; basicaly living their lives through a book.

So, to sum it all up, if I was to go to Mars tomorrow and found a few people and told them that I created a new world, they would no doubt call me a god and everything I would say would become the truth. Basically, I am guessing that there were a couple of people around that time who were either literate or semi-literate, clever enough to write a book, and they used this book to manipulate the people into committing mass genocide and doing it in "Gods name."

As for "God created heaven and Earth", in Genesis. I really do hope there are some forms of life on Mars. If and when they are discovered, religion will no longer have anymore legs to stand on.

Note:

I have a great deal to learn about atheism so, please bear with me. Wink
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#2
RE: Is God really real or are people simply deluded?
Quote:As for "God created heaven and Earth", in Genesis. I really do hope there are some forms of life on Mars. If and when they are discovered, religion will no longer have anymore legs to stand on.


Don't sell them short. They will quickly incorporate it into their tale.

Religion, above all, is a business. They sell bullshit to the gullible. It is a very successful model.
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#3
RE: Is God really real or are people simply deluded?
It's a good point. Anyone sufficiently advanced, or in fact powerful, could be viewed as a "God" and probably accepted pretty quickly as such. Especially if he killed people who disagreed. Then he can just write whatever he wants, or make sure people write what he wants.

Personally I think it's more likely the Yahweh character is stolen from pre-existing myths. There's fair reasons to think that much of christianity is scavenged this way and sewn together, not always convincingly either :p
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#4
RE: Is God really real or are people simply deluded?
Well Rob. Remember, in war, it is always the victors who wrote the history. When I think about Mohammed and all his goings on with regards to war, and you compare him to God, they are pretty much the same. It is something that needs to be looked into to be honest. We have seen in the past how powerful the Popes have been through history too. It didn't take much for his followers to put into practice his instructions to kill, maim and torture. Remember the victims of Charles Manson? I am pretty sure that all of his followers at the time thought he was God too. All he had to do was select individuals gullible enough to swallow his guff and that was it. The good thing today is that we have finally broken free from the handcuffs and are now intelligent enough to question religion. This century is going to be the turning point for religion, and armageddon isn't going to when the world ends, it is going to be the day when people finally wake up and realise that thinking for yourself is the best thing ever, being free!!!
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#5
RE: Is God really real or are people simply deluded?
Quote:Is God really real or are people simply deluded?

Deluded.

Um... what do we talk about now?
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#6
RE: Is God really real or are people simply deluded?
Thanks for your response Norman....
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#7
RE: Is God really real or are people simply deluded?
Yeah, deluded, Norman took the word right out of my mouth...
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition

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#8
RE: Is God really real or are people simply deluded?
(March 10, 2015 at 3:48 pm)Alex K Wrote: Yeah, deluded, Norman took the word right out of my mouth...

Yuck. You want it back?

And what's with me stealing people's punchlines lately? Though, you know, you're German, I'm Polish... I was bound to steal something from you at some point.

And now I'm derailing a thread. Jeesh, what a rascal I am. Sorry about that.


So, yeah. Deluded. Confused
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#9
RE: Is God really real or are people simply deluded?
(March 10, 2015 at 3:30 pm)RobertE Wrote: Well Rob. Remember, in war, it is always the victors who wrote the history. When I think about Mohammed and all his goings on with regards to war, and you compare him to God, they are pretty much the same. It is something that needs to be looked into to be honest. We have seen in the past how powerful the Popes have been through history too. It didn't take much for his followers to put into practice his instructions to kill, maim and torture. Remember the victims of Charles Manson? I am pretty sure that all of his followers at the time thought he was God too. All he had to do was select individuals gullible enough to swallow his guff and that was it. The good thing today is that we have finally broken free from the handcuffs and are now intelligent enough to question religion. This century is going to be the turning point for religion, and armageddon isn't going to when the world ends, it is going to be the day when people finally wake up and realise that thinking for yourself is the best thing ever, being free!!!

I agree, in the free world at least, religion is gonna get kicked to the curb this century I reckon. I feel the Internet is one of the key players. Religion relies on insulating people from knowledge, and that's harder than ever.

Freedom :)
Feel free to send me a private message.
Please visit my website here! It's got lots of information about atheism/theism and support for new atheists.

Index of useful threads and discussions
Index of my best videos
Quickstart guide to the forum
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#10
RE: Is God really real or are people simply deluded?
(March 10, 2015 at 4:01 pm)Norman Humann Wrote: you're German, I'm Polish... I was bound to steal something from you at some point.

That's racist! Big Grin
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition

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