Open Religious Debate

[xAidanx]

I am basically looking for an open debate on religion. I invite any religious member(s) to debate on their religious beliefs. My usual preference is Christianity, but I guess that's cliché, everyone picks on the Christians.

So I welcome believers of any faith.

Here are the questions:
1 - Can you provide conclusive, un-biased proof that your deity, or deities, (if you worship one) exist?
2 - Does you religion refer to a scripture such as the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Torah etc? If so, do you believe every word written on its pages?
3 - Is your (personal) belief founded upon faith or upon logical proof?
4 - Have you ever broken the rules of your religion e.g. breaking one of the ten commandments set by the Christian God?
5 - Do you accept the possibility that your religion might be wrong or your faith misplaced?

If the debate gets going I'm sure more questions will pop up but we'll stick with those ones just now.

 

[Heneni]

Good luck on finding proof

 

[xAidanx]

Well now, most people would instantly assume that religious believers are totally reliant on "faith" and scoff at the idea of proving their religion through factual means. But if you think about it, most scientific discoveries were based on faith or a hunch in the first place. An idea that it might be true/right and so scientists pursue methods of experimentation to prove or disprove it's validity. As such, there is no reason why its totally implausible that religion has a factual basis.

 

[Storm]

I am basically looking for an open debate on religion. I invite any religious member(s) to debate on their religious beliefs. My usual preference is Christianity, but I guess that's cliché, everyone picks on the Christians.

So I welcome believers of any faith.

Be careful what you wish for.

1 - Can you provide conclusive, un-biased proof that your deity, or deities, (if you worship one) exist?

Nope.

2 - Does you religion refer to a scripture such as the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Torah etc? If so, do you believe every word written on its pages?

No to the former, which makes the latter inapplicble.

3 - Is your (personal) belief founded upon faith or upon logical proof?

Neither. My theology is the result of trying to understand a personal experience. It has changed radically over the years.

4 - Have you ever broken the rules of your religion e.g. breaking one of the ten commandments set by the Christian God?

N/A. My theology has no such rules. However, I am also a UU, and adhere to the 7 Principles. I admit to sometimes struggling with the first, the inherent worth and dignity of all people.

5 - Do you accept the possibility that your religion might be wrong or your faith misplaced?

Hm. Two seperate questions, really. As to my theology being wrong, I actually take that as a given. Second only to my belief in God is my belief that none of us understand it. We're ALL wrong.

However, my faith that God exists is unshakeable. Indeed, I claim not faith, but knowledge.

If the debate gets going I'm sure more questions will pop up but we'll stick with those ones just now.

OK. If you want to review the particulars of my theology, there's a thread linked in my sig.

EDIT: BTW, I adore the name Aidan.

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

Here are the questions:

1 - Can you provide conclusive, un-biased proof that your deity, or deities, (if you worship one) exist?

No

2 - Does you religion refer to a scripture such as the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Torah etc? If so, do you believe every word written on its pages?

Yes, all of them (scriptures) but no, I don't believe every word.

3 - Is your (personal) belief founded upon faith or upon logical proof?

My personal belief is based on the search for spiritual paths.

4 - Have you ever broken the rules of your religion e.g. breaking one of the ten commandments set by the Christian God?

Probably

5 - Do you accept the possibility that your religion might be wrong or your faith misplaced?

Yes

 

[Heneni]

I like to think that god equips us to discover already existing scientific theories as appose to the theories discovering him.

The only proof, if you could call that, is in the life's stories of people who have these things written on their hearts. Their evidence is not scientifically provable, neither is it in anyway removable.

Do you know of any scientific theories that prove god exists? The best scientific evidence for me is energy. Which cannot be created and can not be destroyed. The big bang would have needed energy and so would evolution, and since the energy needed for both can not be created, its good enough evidence for me, that god did.

What is evidence for one person is not necessarily evidence for the next person.

The scientific evidence for evolution to me, is scetchy. Its evidence in hindsight. We came from somewhere...so lets look for clues and then there was darwin. Its like a crime has been commited and we need to solve the puzzle. The best scientific theories are those that can predict what will happen in the future, by using the models of the past and goes about testing those theories.

Evolution is a theory that can not predict what we will evolve into.

Gravity works....we can predict that if we drop something, it will come back to earth, and it does everytime. Evolution works?....but you cant be sure its still happening. There is no recordable data, or observable present evidence. Unless of course....somebody wants to solve another 'crime' and conconct some.


Heneni

 

[xAidanx]

Wow. I love the replies.
I was expecting one or two militant Christians to bite my head off but I'm pleased with the result of my questions.

Although, with these closed, peaceful, accepting replies comes a lack of rebate. I can't really debate on set ideals. I find it so refreshing to find others who don't seek to justify their own beliefs because they actually believe them.

As for the name praise, (Y) thanks. I used to hate my name because it was considerably unique when I was younger. But I've grown to like it.

Another question for believers in a deity: Where does your faith come from? Do you experience connection with your deity on a daily basis? Did you once experience a miraculous revelation that confirmed the existence of your deity? Share.

 

[Dunemeister]

1 - Can you provide conclusive, un-biased proof that your deity, or deities, (if you worship one) exist?

I do worship one. No, I cannot provide the proof you're asking about, but then again, the standard of proof you ask for is impossible for anyone, religious or not, to attain.

2 - Does you religion refer to a scripture such as the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Torah etc? If so, do you believe every word written on its pages?

Yes. And yes, with the caveat that context and genre determine the meanings of the words in question.

3 - Is your (personal) belief founded upon faith or upon logical proof?

Both

4 - Have you ever broken the rules of your religion e.g. breaking one of the ten commandments set by the Christian God?

Yes

5 - Do you accept the possibility that your religion might be wrong or your faith misplaced?

Yes.

 

[Engyo]

I am basically looking for an open debate on religion. I invite any religious member(s) to debate on their religious beliefs. My usual preference is Christianity, but I guess that's cliché, everyone picks on the Christians.

So I welcome believers of any faith.

Here are the questions:
1 - Can you provide conclusive, un-biased proof that your deity, or deities, (if you worship one) exist?

I don't believe in a deity.

2 - Does you religion refer to a scripture such as the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Torah etc? If so, do you believe every word written on its pages?

My school of Buddhism is based on the Lotus Sutra, but not on literal belief in said sutra.

3 - Is your (personal) belief founded upon faith or upon logical proof?

Neither. It is founded on proof of practice.

4 - Have you ever broken the rules of your religion e.g. breaking one of the ten commandments set by the Christian God?

No rules as such. We have guidelines (known as Precepts); I am certainly not the best at following them.

5 - Do you accept the possibility that your religion might be wrong or your faith misplaced?

Wrong how? Buddhism doesn't try to provide eternal answers or all answers; it aims to relieve suffering and help its practitioners achieve enlightenment. I not sure if you could say that faith based on proof of practice could be misplaced. If it didn't work as described, I would not have faith.

 

[Dunemeister]

Although, with these closed, peaceful, accepting replies comes a lack of rebate.

As a closed question....

Where does your faith come from? Do you experience connection with your deity on a daily basis? Did you once experience a miraculous revelation that confirmed the existence of your deity?

Yes, I'd say that I experience connection with God, but I'm not sure it's daily. I mean, I do pray and all that, but the experience (type and intensity) changes frequently. I'm not sure what you mean by "miraculous revelation." I did have a decisive experience that I call my "conversion", and that experience has convinced me about the truth of God's existence, but I like that you use the word "confirmed." For even though I would have officially denied it before my conversion, I saw glimmers and hints and echoes of God before that time. The conversion merely put it all together for me.

 

[Storm]

Wow. I love the replies.
I was expecting one or two militant Christians to bite my head off but I'm pleased with the result of my questions.

Those types don't tend to last long, here.

As for the name praise, (Y) thanks. I used to hate my name because it was considerably unique when I was younger. But I've grown to like it.

Glad to hear it, and you're welcome!

Another question for believers in a deity:

I should clarify that I don't believe in a deity, by the theistic definition. (But I'll answer your other questions, anyway.)

I believe that the cosmos itself is the physical body of God.

Where does your faith come from?

As previously mentioned, personal experience. When I was quite young, I had an intense and transformative theophany. I know that it was God. Now I'm just trying to understand it.

Do you experience connection with your deity on a daily basis?

I used to, when I meditated. Of course, that wasn't communion with some external entity, but a focusing on the divine seed of my own consciousness. However, in recent years, I've been unable to meditate. I miss it.

OTOH, when you believe that all reality is but various manifestations of God, connection is easy.

Did you once experience a miraculous revelation that confirmed the existence of your deity? Share.

I did. I won't post the full account on this forum, but there's an excerpt here. If you want the full story after that, PM me and I'll tell you where to find it.

 

[danny vee]

I am basically looking for an open debate on religion. I invite any religious member(s) to debate on their religious beliefs. My usual preference is Christianity, but I guess that's cliché, everyone picks on the Christians.

So I welcome believers of any faith.

Here are the questions:
1 - Can you provide conclusive, un-biased proof that your deity, or deities, (if you worship one) exist?
I cannot although I truly believe there is enough proof that God exists if you just look for it.

2 - Does you religion refer to a scripture such as the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Torah etc? If so, do you believe every word written on its pages?

I believe in the New Testament as being the Word of God to help Christians, the Qu'ran to help Muslims, and the Torah to help Jews. I certainly don't believe every word on their pages I believe in their message as a whole. To completely, utterly, and fully, love.

3 - Is your (personal) belief founded upon faith or upon logical proof?

Both. I can't be 100% sure of it, and yet there is so much logical proof I should be.

4 - Have you ever broken the rules of your religion e.g. breaking one of the ten commandments set by the Christian God?

Every human being has.

5 - Do you accept the possibility that your religion might be wrong or your faith misplaced?

I personally feel 100% sure of the reality of God. I don't know what He is I just know He is good, and there.

If the debate gets going I'm sure more questions will pop up but we'll stick with those ones just now.

That stuff in between the questions of the quote looks like someone else wrote it but that was me. By the way thanks to Storm for providing that excerpt it was cool:yes:

 

[Storm]

Thanks.

 

[Mister Emu]

1 - Can you provide conclusive, un-biased proof that your deity, or deities, (if you worship one) exist?

No...

2 - Does you religion refer to a scripture such as the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Torah etc? If so, do you believe every word written on its pages?

Yes, and yes, but not necessarily literally...

3 - Is your (personal) belief founded upon faith or upon logical proof?

Both.

4 - Have you ever broken the rules of your religion e.g. breaking one of the ten commandments set by the Christian God?

Yes

5 - Do you accept the possibility that your religion might be wrong or your faith misplaced?

In the sense of some specifics, yes. But I know that my God exists in the same sense that I know anything...

Where does your faith come from? Do you experience connection with your deity on a daily basis? Did you once experience a miraculous revelation that confirmed the existence of your deity? Share.

Both, though I'm not sure of daily... but quite often...

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

An idea that it might be true/right and so scientists pursue methods of experimentation to prove or disprove it's validity.

Close, but dangerously flawed. Disproving validity (falsification) is powerful; proving validity borders on fanciful.

You ask for "conclusive, un-biased proof." Perhaps, by way of example, you could offer "conclusive, un-biased proof" of the Big Bang ...

 

[xAidanx]

Why would I provide conclusive proof of the Big Bang? I guess you assumed I was a Big Bang theory supporter.
I don't place faith in any theory other than I exist. I am here. I don't know why and I am yet to meet another human being who can conclusively prove to me that they know why.

 

[Engyo]

What if "why" isn't the question we are meant to (or need to) answer?

 

[Sunstone]

The questions in the OP have a decidedly Levantine bias.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Why would I provide conclusive proof of the Big Bang? I guess you assumed ...

1. you guessed wrong and
2. fully met my expectations

 

[MoonWater]

I am basically looking for an open debate on religion. I invite any religious member(s) to debate on their religious beliefs. My usual preference is Christianity, but I guess that's cliché, everyone picks on the Christians.

So I welcome believers of any faith.

Here are the questions:
1 - Can you provide conclusive, un-biased proof that your deity, or deities, (if you worship one) exist?

I don't worship any deities, or anything for that matter. But no I cannot prove the gods I believe in exist. As for the forces of the universe that I believe make up every soul there is certainly proof of them in a way at least. Have you experienced love, or anger? then you have proof from personal experience that the forces of love and anger exist. Now whether or not these forces are anything more than mere chemical reactions in our brain; that I cannot prove.

2 - Does you religion refer to a scripture such as the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Torah etc? If so, do you believe every word written on its pages?

I believe wisdom can be found within all religions, scriptures, mythologies, philosophies, stories, etc. both written and unwritten. So yes, but I do not believe every word written in or about any of these. I search for the wisdom within the pages and don't take anything in them literally.

3 - Is your (personal) belief founded upon faith or upon logical proof?

sort of both and yet not really. The mythology I believe in is really just an externalization of who and what I am internally. I know that may not make much sense and I'd be happy to expand on it if you like and don't mind long explanations

4 - Have you ever broken the rules of your religion e.g. breaking one of the ten commandments set by the Christian God?

My faith doesn't really have any set rules to follow. Indeed my faith is defined as my spiritual journey. About the only "rule" there is for me to follow is to never cease my journey. But since I can't exactly make myself stop existing(and I do believe that our soul lives on after death) I can't stop continuing on my journey.

5 - Do you accept the possibility that your religion might be wrong or your faith misplaced?

In terms of my mythology I'm actually 99.99% sure it IS wrong so yes. As for my faith, I don't really see how its a "misplacement" to have faith in yourself so know I don't think it's a possibility for my faith to be misplaced, and my religion is "myself" so...

If the debate gets going I'm sure more questions will pop up but we'll stick with those ones just now.

I look forward to it