Do You Believe In Dragons?

[Twig pentagram]

This is a question for the theists of the forum.

Do you believe in dragons?
And I do mean actual spiritual or physical dragons like those mentioned in Chinese legends or fairytales.

Now, before you go all "this is a silly question" on me, consider this:
Legends of dragons exist in most of the major cultures in some form or other, just like the concept of gods.
Stories telling of dragons far out-date all of the worlds major religions by several thousand years and thus have more history behind them.
Also, there is no lack of books about dragons.

Still, assuming that your answer will nonetheless be "no"...

If you believe in a god/gods, why do you not believe in dragons?

I dont believe in dragons because of a lack of evidence.

 

[jarofthoughts]

By the way, my answer is yes, I do believe in dragons. They live on the island of Komodo, and belong to the monitor lizard family.

And that is the wrong answer...
We're talking about the dragons of legend.
And while pretty awesome, the Komodo dragons are just big lizards.

So, any chance of seeing an actual answer?

 

[jarofthoughts]

I dont believe in dragons because of a lack of evidence.

Are you a theist?

 

[jarofthoughts]

So, actually spiritual like you... okay.

Not what I said.

 

[jarofthoughts]

I'd say that the image of "God" that refers to the creator of reality isn't comparable to any part of that reality that's created, be it real or imagined.

Well, the "dragon" and "serpent" are symbols representing Satan, the "ancient enemy". But I don't think it's literal that Satan is a dragon or a serpent.

Symbolically, not literally.

Wow... So much for dodging the question. :sarcastic

One might get the impression that I hit a nerve or something...

 

[Renji]

Wow... So much for dodging the question. :sarcastic

One might get the impression that I hit a nerve or something...

You do know that the term "believe" has a wide scope and can be "subjective", do you?

 

[Midnight Pete]

I dont believe in dragons because of a lack of evidence.

Dragons are rich in symbolic meaning, are they not?

 

[Riverwolf]

And that is the wrong answer...
We're talking about the dragons of legend.
And while pretty awesome, the Komodo dragons are just big lizards.

Isn't that ultimately what dragons are, though? (Not all of them can fly or breathe fire, you know.)

So, any chance of seeing an actual answer?

Sure. The dragons, as they are described in legends, don't exist IMO.

But I still ask: where did our ideas for dragons come from? And, did it come from the same place as gods?

 

[Riverwolf]

Oh, and by the way, most god-concepts have something going for them that dragons don't: they live in another dimension. Dragons are supposed to live here alongside us; so it's not just the lack of evidence, it's the lack of ANYTHING! No mass-sightings, no mass-experiences, NOTHING. Absolutely nothing. If dragons were to exist, then we'd expect to have at least some of these. But, lo, zippo.

 

[jarofthoughts]

You do know that the term "believe" has a wide scope and can be "subjective", do you?

So we're going to resort to semantics on this one?
Another oft used technique for dodging the question...

The question is simple.
Do you believe that the dragons of legend, either of the Asian spiritual version or of the scaly magical fire-breathing version, exist?

A simple yes or no will suffice, and if the answer is no, why do you believe in god but not in dragons?

 

[Renji]

So we're going to resort to semantics on this one?
Another oft used technique for dodging the question...

You always say that. If you want us to answer if we believe the "physical existence" of those legendary, fire breathing dragons, why not put this topic on some part of this forum like "Science vs. Religion" or stuff? I'm just sayin'...

The question is simple.
Do you believe that the dragons of legend, either of the Asian spiritual version or of the scaly magical fire-breathing version, exist?
A simple yes or no will suffice, and if the answer is no, why do you believe in god but not in dragons?

We are not dodging the discussion. We just answered based on the context of our "faith".

I would answer would be no, I don't, I believe of it as a "symbol", not the "tangible fire-breathing one". Why believe in God and not on those dragons? God is regarded as "spiritual" being that cannot be "seen" but can be "felt" (supernatural) through different ways. Those who believe say that they actually believe because of the "blessings" that God is giving them, while those dragons that you are talking about (conjuring a powerful storm, making the earth tremble and breathing fire), some of the Asian lore's seemingly spoke of them as "physically existing" ("preternatural") (by that, they are saying that dragons are like "animals" that dwell in the lakes, sky, etc) but there are, up to now, no single fire breathing, scaly dragons that can be found. Even their remains.

 

[jarofthoughts]

You always say that. If you want us to answer if we believe the "physical existence" of those legendary, fire breathing dragons, why not put this topic on some part of this forum like "Science vs. Religion" or stuff? I'm just sayin'...

Because neither dragons nor gods are a part of science.

I would answer would be no, I don't, I believe of it as a "symbol", not the "tangible fire-breathing one". Why believe in God and not on those dragons? God is regarded as "spiritual" being that cannot be "seen" but can be "felt" (supernatural) through different ways. Those who believe say that they actually believe because of the "blessings" that God is giving them, while those dragons that you are talking about (conjuring a powerful storm, making the earth tremble and breathing fire), some of the Asian lore's seemingly spoke of them as "physically existing" ("preternatural") (by that, they are saying that dragons are like "animals" that dwell in the lakes, sky, etc) but there are, up to now, no single fire breathing, scaly dragons that can be found. Even their remains.

What you are basically saying is that there is no evidence for the existence of dragons, but the very same thing is true when it comes to god.
There are Asian legends about spiritual dragons as well, or of dragons as being "aspects" of the traditional five Chinese elements, and in either case there are plenty of stories about magical dragons so surely we cannot expect them to adhere to the same rules as natural creatures.
When we are on the topic there is absolutely no evidence that there even is such a thing as the supernatural.

All in all, it seems that your argument is invalid and that dragons and god are on the same footing.

 

[Sententia]

This is a question for the theists of the forum.

When I was a theist... no... now that I am an atheist though...

Hah.. still no.

But... surprisingly, I don't believe in ghosts, fairies or spirits either.

Meh. Gonna go out on a limb and say I don't believe in Medusa or Jesus either.

 

[Father Heathen]

Where do ideas about dragons come from?

The ancients' misunderstanding of dinosaur bones, probably.

 

[outhouse]

This is a question for the theists of the forum.

Do you believe in dragons?
And I do mean actual spiritual or physical dragons like those mentioned in Chinese legends or fairytales.

Now, before you go all "this is a silly question" on me, consider this:
Legends of dragons exist in most of the major cultures in some form or other, just like the concept of gods.
Stories telling of dragons far out-date all of the worlds major religions by several thousand years and thus have more history behind them.
Also, there is no lack of books about dragons.

Still, assuming that your answer will nonetheless be "no"...

If you believe in a god/gods, why do you not believe in dragons?

Yes

there is the Kamodo dragon.

I believe the rest of the mythical dragons are just that myths. Funny things about some myths, they could be based of old oral traditions passed down through the generations based off some remote resemblance of the mythical creature.

One thing about dragons. Like religion theres no shortage of mans imagination

 

[Erebus]

This is a question for the theists of the forum.

Do you believe in dragons?
And I do mean actual spiritual or physical dragons like those mentioned in Chinese legends or fairytales.

Now, before you go all "this is a silly question" on me, consider this:
Legends of dragons exist in most of the major cultures in some form or other, just like the concept of gods.
Stories telling of dragons far out-date all of the worlds major religions by several thousand years and thus have more history behind them.
Also, there is no lack of books about dragons.

Still, assuming that your answer will nonetheless be "no"...

If you believe in a god/gods, why do you not believe in dragons?

A few of my Gods are described as serpents or dragons, so I guess the answer is yes, I do believe in dragons.

 

[Renji]

What you are basically saying is that there is no evidence for the existence of dragons, but the very same thing is true when it comes to god.
There are Asian legends about spiritual dragons as well, or of dragons as being "aspects" of the traditional five Chinese elements, and in either case there are plenty of stories about magical dragons so surely we cannot expect them to adhere to the same rules as natural creatures.
When we are on the topic there is absolutely no evidence that there even is such a thing as the supernatural.

All in all, it seems that your argument is invalid and that dragons and god are on the same footing.

Actually, I'm not presenting an argument. I'm just explaining my point. But I guess I'm not that talented to present it in a "fashionable" manner.

 

[Renji]

Btw, they say that the concept of dragons on the eastern mythology could be associated by the "ancient's" 'misunderstanding' of reptiles and other animals such as crocodiles and snakes, presented in an exaggerated manner..

 

[St Giordano Bruno]

Where do ideas about dragons come from?

Probably dinosaur fossils, they have been known since ancient times

source here
"Dinosaur fossils have been known for millennia, although their true nature was not recognized. The Chinese, whose modern word for dinosaur is konglong (恐龍, or "terrible dragon"), considered them to be dragon bones and documented them as such. For example, Hua Yang Guo Zhi, a book written by Zhang Qu during the Western Jin Dynasty reported the discovery of dragon bones at Wucheng in Sichuan Province. Villagers in central China have long unearthed fossilized "dragon bones" for use in traditional medicines, a practice that continues today. In Europe, dinosaur fossils were generally believed to be the remains of giants and other creatures killed by the Great flood"

 

[Willamena]

Wow... So much for dodging the question. :sarcastic

One might get the impression that I hit a nerve or something...

The question was answered rather precisely. Guess it just wasn't the answer you were looking for.