blue edwards said:
The animal kingdom has similar stuff:
- stealing each other's food
- the strongest male shagging all the females while the rest get nothing
- killing or leaving to die those who don't join the pack and co-operate
Are they evil too? Is this whole thing called life evil? Should chimpanzees also accept Jesus Christ as their savior or is there a chimp equivalent of Christ who died for their sins? Not trying to be a smartass here, just wondering what you think.
"and, if an all-powerful God decides that the way he will communicate his plan for mankind is through a book which details the lives of people who lived thousands of years ago, who are you to say that that method is no good?"
If God is all powerful can he make a stone so large that he can't move it?
If the Bible has been intrepreted so many times by man in so many languages how much can we be sure it is factual? Take the dark ages for example, where literature was nearly lost, saved by monks copying books by hand. How do we really know no that man has not added his two cents here and there throughout the ages?
If God is all powerful can he make a stone so large that he can't move it?
If the Bible has been intrepreted so many times by man in so many languages how much can we be sure it is factual? Take the dark ages for example, where literature was nearly lost, saved by monks copying books by hand. How do we really know no that man has not added his two cents here and there throughout the ages?
"in this quote, i am not proving any thing about christianity...just saying that most of the "good" done in this world is done by people who believe in God. not necessarily the God of the new testament."
Knowing that only about 33% (World Almanac, christian God and you have to include mormons) of the world believes in God makes that premise hard to believe.
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Knowing that only about 33% (World Almanac, christian God and you have to include mormons) of the world believes in God makes that premise hard to believe.
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JinnRikki said:
I was thinking about this discussion this morning for some reason, and was thinking precisely this exact thing. I do believe in Jesus - in that I believe he existed - and the beatitudes are beautiful. I am always reminded of this:
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
.. when I think about current US politics and the religiosity creeping in. I wonder if perhaps this one shouldn't be engraved in statue at the front of the Supreme Court, rather than the Ten Commandments.
Blue Edwards said:
But, Blue, isn't it also true that much evil is done in the name of god? Priests molesting little boys, planes being flown into buildings, heads being lopped off, countries being invaded ... none of these are 'good' works by any stretch of the imagination. They are motivated by absolutism and self-righteousness, that very thing that is preventing you from accepting scientific evidence of evolution (thankfully this ommission on your part doesn't hurt anyone at least.) The closed-mindedness of organised religion has done more damage to human societies than it has good. There are more examples of humans changing things for the good by rejecting religion as a social organiser than by their acceptance of it. Take the Enlightenment, for example. Even Jesus eroded the religious corruption of his day.
guys, there are a lot of differing opinions here and its clear that not everyone will agree. to be honest, i am getting a little worn out on this discussion so, i think this will be my last post in this thread.
a couple things...yes, there has been a lot of things done in the name of God that have been very evil. my opinion is that those things are a perfect example of human nature being evil and corrupting and perverting something intended for good into evil.
as far as only 33% of the world believing in God...i think that number is very low. i don't know what the right number is but, i suspect it is far greater than 33%. also, i think that most (not all) of the good done in this world...feeding starving people, housing the homeless, caring for those with disease, giving to charities that help people out of dire situations, etc...is done by people who beleive in God. i am not saying that 100% of the people who are kind believe in God. i am also not saying that everyone who believes in God is compassionate.
peace, out.
a couple things...yes, there has been a lot of things done in the name of God that have been very evil. my opinion is that those things are a perfect example of human nature being evil and corrupting and perverting something intended for good into evil.
as far as only 33% of the world believing in God...i think that number is very low. i don't know what the right number is but, i suspect it is far greater than 33%. also, i think that most (not all) of the good done in this world...feeding starving people, housing the homeless, caring for those with disease, giving to charities that help people out of dire situations, etc...is done by people who beleive in God. i am not saying that 100% of the people who are kind believe in God. i am also not saying that everyone who believes in God is compassionate.
peace, out.
Blue, that came out of the World Almanac a few years ago, may have changed slightly but I wouldn't expect anything drastic. It shouldn't really be a surprising number if you think about the number of oriental and arabic people in the world.
Even if you say it's as high as 40% I still find it hard to believe that a majority of the good done in the world is done by Christians, how many doctors could there be in China, just as an example.
Anyway nice thread Blue, we don't agree on much but I do respect you as a bright guy.
Even if you say it's as high as 40% I still find it hard to believe that a majority of the good done in the world is done by Christians, how many doctors could there be in China, just as an example.
Anyway nice thread Blue, we don't agree on much but I do respect you as a bright guy.
Well, Blue, you lasted alot longer than truthteller, who started this thread. And you were kinda ganged up on, so kudos for sticking with it this long.
As for creationism being taught in science class -- well, obviously it's your education system and you can do what you want with it. But I think I'd be pulling my kids out of public school pretty quickly and send them somewhere more pragmatic.
As for creationism being taught in science class -- well, obviously it's your education system and you can do what you want with it. But I think I'd be pulling my kids out of public school pretty quickly and send them somewhere more pragmatic.
