For the religious out there

[MaddLlama]

If that's the way you feel about the scientific explanation for the origin of life and the universe, then I would agrue that you don't really know much of anything about science, and the theories you're trying to water down.

 

[Polaris]

If that's the way you feel about the scientific explanation for the origin of life and the universe, then I would agrue that you don't really know much of anything about science, and the theories you're trying to water down.

I purposely gave a very superficial explanation of the whole thing. That's exactly how the religious ideas were portrayed in the link that was provided. The point is you can make anything sound completely ridiculous if you selectively and superficially tell the story.

 

[sparc872]

I think a lot of people here completely missed the point I was trying to get across.

I am sure most of you have heard the quote "[SIZE=-1]When you understand why you reject all other gods, You will understand why I reject yours as well." That was my point.

The article may have been written about Christianity, but with a little abstract thinking, I am sure most of you could understand that it applies to all faiths. I reject the notion of a God or anything supernatural because it just seems silly to me. It doesn't make any sense, alot like Santa Claus, or the Easter bunny.

[/SIZE]

I read it, and it demonstrated pretty clearly why I reject the atheist way of thinking. Most people who reject God have this childish expectation that God is a 'genie in a bottle' who is supposed to grant their every wish and cure every ill in the world. Then when He doesn't 'step and fetch' the way they expect him to, they reject God and religion and hang out the atheist sign.

Well if you want to whip out the insults, feel free. I believe you have a childish belief in an all powerful daddy who is there to help you along your way and wants nothing more than the people your faith sees as evil to be in Hell (perhaps, I'm not sure if you subscribe to that belief) and all of your friends and family to be in Heaven.

It's not that I want God to step in and make the world perfect, but when I ask him in a very serious and sincere way to give me proof of his existence and nothing happens, then I do come to the conclusion that there is no one there. Aside from that, I see scientific evidence that points away from God. I see no reason to believe in one faith over the other and accept it as truth.

If this article represents a thought process into which you claim to buy, then you might want to get out a bit more and actually talk to people of faith. Once you broaden your mind a bit, and study the long rich history of different faiths, you'll better be able to understand why people believe what they believe.

I have done plenty of getting out there and looking at other faiths. In all of my researching, I have seen no real reason for me to believe in God, or reincarnation, or any number of things that appear to me as arising from a people who had a poor understanding of the workings of the universe.

We lead our lives free from his interference; if he did interfere, it would invalidate our being born on Earth.

Michel, if I were to believe in some form of Christianity, I would probably choose yours. From what I gather, everyone is reincorporated into the spiritual essense of God after they die according to you. I do not have a problem with that. It is when someone tells me that I am immoral for being an atheist while people of their faith are out stealing, murdering, lying and cheating to get ahead, it upsets and irks me just a tid bit. And when those same people tell me that I am going to go to Hell because I do not have faith in God, that really frustrates me.

For everyone else on here, I really see no reason to believe in any gods, godesses, spiritual beings, angels, reincarnations, etc for exactly the same reason I don't believe in the Judeo-Christian God. It all seems like some sort of fairy tale to me.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

For everyone else on here, I really see no reason to believe in any gods, godesses, spiritual beings, angels, reincarnations, etc for exactly the same reason I don't believe in the Judeo-Christian God. It all seems like some sort of fairy tale to me.

Which is perfectly fine, and we accept that. (Or at least most of us do, I imagine. ) We were merely replying to the link itself. While my faith lends itself to my imagination and supporting the aspects of my personality that I wish to cultivate, the idea of such things not being real or not existing doesn't upset me. I tend to hope that, even if it is a fairy tale, that if I'm not using it as a reason to question the worth of others or to believe something that harms my understanding of the world, that others will respect that as I respect their beliefs and approach to life.

 

[fantome profane]

I would like to step in here and plead for a little intellectual humility.

First I have to admit that to me most of these kind of religious idea’s that are discussed in this article seem extremely silly to me. It makes no difference to me if you are talking about golden plates, angelic revelations, or "God" (or Christ) dropping in for a little chat. My gut reaction is that it is all nonsense.

However, I must consider the possibility that the fault lies not with these ideas, but with me. It is possible that I lack some vital knowledge or understanding. If I assume that my understanding is already sufficient, then I allow no room for my own intellectual (or spiritual?) growth.