You are a funny dude Mr. Gekko! I have no faith in anything. I have had so many bad things happen to me.....if I thought there was a purpose and a plan.....I would go PSYCHO with FEAR!!!!!!!
Hmmm, didn't think I apologized anywhere in there, did I? I know your beliefs are rock solid (in your own mind at least)- figured they must be, given your enthusiasm... not sure how that relates tho'... No frustrated sponge here, just thought I'd offer a response to your near shouted inquiries... keeping in mind the notion that coherent answers are generally worth more than taunts or insults... p.s. i kinda like you too Gordo, in spite o' some of them nasty things you've said about my Lord in the past... for some reason you remind me of my cousin
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I sat down, said screw it, why even try if ignorance is bliss, no thanks- too big a price to pay if you missed something important Not necessarily... my faith is not based on coping with loss, or frustration, or fear, or some negative emotion of any kind... I believe because I have to believe... as Luther said, I can stand and do no other
I am far from ignorant. Just I learned to accept things as is, Not as I wish it would be. Logical as Mr. Spock...... reality is my religion.
religion really is nothing but a 3rd wheel. just get rid of it and you'll never go back. you guys are riding around on tricycles and i'm on a harley. faith is simply not needed. just accept we human beings do not know everything! do your best to learn as much as you can, but in the end just accept we do not have all the answers! that's all you have to do! there is no need to take a "leap" and believe some fairy tale. if it helps you, fine. but in the words of jesse ventura... "religion is a crutch for the weak-minded." p.s. i do not agree that all religious people are weak-minded, but it's still a great quote.
You may indeed be quite informed... but you said you had no clue why you are here, which is a fairly good definition of ignorance is it not? (Note that if you were a consistent atheist, you would say 'for no reason at all' as Gordo did.) And now you claim to accept things as they are? How can you do that if you have no clue? Doesn't cluelessness entail having no idea what or what not to accept? Mr. Spock might take issue with that... Seems you and Gordo share some inconsistencies.... I have more respect for atheists who back their play instead of pretending to be neutral... p.p.s. Jesse Ventura, that's great. Gordo, you can't resist the insults can you. Too boring to stay with substance.
ok, horse, i'm gonna make this quick and simple. first of all, i do not call all religious people stupid. NOT AT ALL. there are many people smart people both religious and non-religious. i do, however, think of most religious people as brainwashed. a smart person can be brainwashed when they are brought to church every sunday and told to believe something. for those who turn to religion later in life, i would just call it a weakness and question their judgement. we need to look no further than palestine to understand brainwashing. just look at the suicide bombers. they start on them when they're young, so when they get older, they're conditioned like rats. they totally believe they're getting 72 virgins JUST LIKE you believe you're going to heaven. it's all the same and all a bunch of bs. I CAN NOT MAKE MY CASE ANY CLEARER THAN THIS: you said you feel embarassed for me? you're the one who can click on the link below and actually claim you have it all figured it when it is OBVIOUS we don't. so like i said, if you click on the following link, watch it to the end, and come back here and say the bible is the explanation for everything.....I WILL JUST LAUGH!!! man does not have it all figured out yet (probably never will) and that's the TRUTH! SO here's the AMAZING link....displaying HOW BEAUTIFUL THE UNIVERSE IS....AND SO ASTOUNDING, WE CAN NOT EVEN COMPREHEND IT ALL: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/
Those who believe in god do not need proof because they are foolish people and the foolish believe without proof. And those who do not believe will never have enough proof because enough proof doesn't exist. _______________________________________________ Superior beings, when of late they saw A mortal man unfold all nature's law, Admir'd such wisdom in an earthly shape, And shew'd a Newton as we shew an ape.
all you've done here with your beliefs darkhorse is to fill in the information gaps in a manner that makes you feel all good and warm inside. nothing more, nothing less. you have no real proof or evidence of your sorcerers and demons just a bunch of loose vague ideas that you try to fit together and make work. in the end they amount to nothing but vague circular arguments and tautologies. i actually feel a little sad for you because otherwise you seem a very bright guy, but for the grand leap of faith. ___________________________________________________ Superior beings, when of late they saw A mortal man unfold all nature's law, Admir'd such wisdom in an earthly shape, And shew'd a Newton as we shew an ape.
I'll leave the brainwashing/weak mind stuff alone because that's pretty clearly been played. For whatever reason, we find ourself on opposite sides of a debate. So be it. When I said I felt embarrassed for you, it was not in regards to your position as an atheist at all. It was in regards to your line of attack; that you were offering up challenges to questions with old hat answers under the mistaken impression that they were actually tough questions. It was specifically related to the fact that you were lobbing softballs under the false impression that they were mortar shells. Curious thing- you use that cool link to say "I cannot make my case any clearer than this," yet at the same time a theist can gladly use the exact same link to make a case for how the stunningly creative complexity of our universe points strongly to the intelligent design of a purposeful creator. Others on this board have stated that they believe in the existence of a sentient creator for this very reason- the sheer elegance and beauty of the universe itself. The bible is not "the explanation for everything"- God is. It puzzles me why you would assume I think otherwise. The bible is not a scientific textbook, and so it does not delve into the specifics of DNA or quantum physics or string theory. It is not a mathematical textbook, and so it does not dissect the finer points of euclidean vs riemannian geometry. The bible is a combination of historical text and divine truths revealed to man. Nowhere does it tell us how to build an engine or split an atom. That isn't the purpose. That isn't why it was given to us. Books are written with a purpose, just like people. Would you fault your math textbook for not teaching you about the boer wars, or your history book for not teaching you about bernoulli's principle? I'm not clear on how you view science within the overall scope of knowledge. Science and philosophy are not on equal wavelengths. Science is the study of observable phenomena and the application of knowledge based on observations of such. Philosophy and metaphysics deal with intangibles, eternals and other transcendent principles that cannot be pinned down in a lab or dissected under a microscope. They are not in necessary conflict with science, they are simply on a different plane most of the time. They often intersect in the realm of human decision, of course, but they are not always related and they do not necessarily conflict. So, do I claim to have the "explanation for everything?" Of course not. But I never claimed to have such. God has no obligation to tell man all the mysteries of his design. We wouldn't be able to comprehend most of it anyway, as our finite minds are far too tiny. And again, the fact that the universe is vast and wonderful beyond description, as you point out, is an argument used by many a theist. "Wonderful beyond description" is even an old hymn I think.