they cant allow themselves to think. a questioning mind is the enemy of faith. "Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but -- more frequently than not -- struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God." father of modern Protestant christianity, Martin Luther
That quote is taken out of context, as it was in a discussion pertaining to the baptism of infants. You're approach is to take fringe elements of religion out of context and base the truthfulness of the whole on your misguided opinions,50 years? whatever.....
no my approach is to look at the evidence and see if what the bible says is true or even possible without magic. that is how you use reason. in most cases the answer is no. the difference between you and i is if scientific enquiry shows something wrong i throw it off. you on the other hand dont seem to have the intellectual curiosity to challenge what you have been indoctrinated to believe. Beliefs should be a search for truth and understanding, not denying reality so you can have faith in a compendium of books written by unknown authors over hundreds and hundreds of years complied much later by other fallible men, as 100% literally correct. That is a faith that is truly blind
Beliefs can never be a search for truth and understanding. A search for truth and understanding leads to knowledge. If you have knowledge, you won't believe something, you will know it. The point of belief is to have a confidence in something you can't hope to know for certain or can't possibly fully understand. This is why religion will never leave mankind. Though we've gone quite a distance in trying to understand things, there is still a great deal we don't know and if the speed of light is the fastest we could ever hope to travel, there are things we will never be able to know. If someone believes the bible, great. I can only ask that they realize that it is not for everyone so imposing their sensibilities on others is morally wrong. Faith should be personal. So, say, if a bible believer thinks abortion is wrong, then don't have one. Moreover, if God has an issue with it, let Him deal with it, not you. Surely he's able, no?
It does. But oddly enough, many believers try to separate God from his creation. Doing so removes him from first cause status and renders him a demigod. They do it based on their concept of freewill. Thinking it is man's freewill that is to be blamed. The problem with that thinking is that is it not God who gave mankind freewill? Did he not know, being omniscient, the consequences of having done that before doing it? And if this is the inevitability of freewill, why punish? Though, I must give credit where credit is due. Calvinists, having a better interpretation and understanding of the bible, view God as a sovereign first cause and the author of all things. In fact, anyone who has actually studied the bible will invariably come away with a Calvinistic viewpoint. Too many verses demonstrating that there is no such concept as freewill coexisting with an omniscient deity.
Wallet, look how the christian website show archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon for proof of the bible is true, but this website article NEVER say to the reader Kathleen Kenyon think the bible is (wrong) for the time of Joshua. Why? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Although Kenyon had no doubt the sites she excavated were linked to the Old Testament narrative she nevertheless drew attention to inconsistencies, concluding that......................................... and that Jericho fell long before Joshua's arrival (1978:35). Consequently Kenyon's work has been cited to support the minimalist school of Palestinian archaeology that argues the pre-586 B.C.E. Old Testament historical account was highly exaggerated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathle...--------------------------------------------- "Is the Bible accurate concerning the destruction of the walls of Jericho? See this page in: Bulgarian, Spanish (Español) The sinful city of Jericho was judged by God through the Israelites. The seemingly impenetrable walls were collapsed by a miracle. In the Old Testament, in Joshua chapter 6, we have an account of the Israelites defeating the city of Jericho when they came into the Promised Land after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. According to the biblical account, after the Israelites marched around the city once a day for six days, on the seventh day they encircled the city seven times. On the seventh time around, the priests blew the trumpets, the people shouted and the walls fell flat. The first major excavation of the site of Jericho, located in the southern Jordan valley in Israel, was carried out by a German team between 1907 and 1909. They found piles of mud bricks at the base of the mound the city was built on. It was not until a British archaeologist named Kathleen Kenyon reexcavated the site with modern methods in the 1950s that it was understood what these piles of bricks were. She determined that they were from the city wall which had collapsed when the city was destroyed!" http://www.christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a011.html -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Kenyon This is the link I have the quote from. The link of my post before is wrong link. Sorry.
Are you only capable of quoting other peoples ideas? Einstein may not have believed in a personal God but he had no question that the universe was created by a higher power. "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings. " Albert Einstein I don't understand why atheists tend to be the most closed minded of people. I love to debate theology and discuss new ideas. Atheists only enjoy it if you agree with them. Isn't that the reason you give for disliking people who believe in God?
I just wanted to make an amendment to my post above. People like you are great. We don't have to agree but the ability to respect other peoples opinions is key. I like your approach.