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JGWIPhysical claims require physical evidence. Untill some religion produces evidence to support the existence of the deity they claim exists, I give no more credibility to one religion over another. So what am I saying, whether you follow a mainstream religion or as you put it, or a non traditional belief system, you are faced with the same problem. What grounds do you have to stand on and say that your Beliefs are sound?
JGWIPhysical claims require physical evidence. Untill some religion produces evidence to support the existence of the deity they claim exists, I give no more credibility to one religion over another. So what am I saying, whether you follow a mainstream religion or as you put it, or a non traditional belief system, you are faced with the same problem. What grounds do you have to stand on and say that your Beliefs are sound?
Swandog7One thing that I hate is people who say they believe in whatever religion they believe in, they don't even relatively follow it. "I'm a christian, i believe in God and go to church" bullshit is so annoying, as a fellow Christian, I'm being a little bit of a hypocrite because I do it too, but no one actually follows God, they simply believe in him which is dumb, because you aren't really being christian. If people actually stopped arguing over translations and started actually following of whatever text they follow, the world would be a better place. If people only loved thy neighbor as themselves
SterlingArcherI agree with what you're saying about religions that believe in a deity, idol, or physical entity. However, some belief systems (pantheism or zaoism for example) is more of a philosophical tradition than religion. I don't believe you need to provide credibility to a philosophy or a deep ethical belief. So my point is some beliefs don't require sound evidence because the whole belief system is based on self enlightenment, following the essence of your own way in harmony, or reverence for the cosmos/nature
SlushI dunno about anyone else, but I'm pretty sure that ability to believe in something that isn't physically visible is faith. We just have to have faith that he's there. The bible talks a lot about this, as well as having faith in God's actions and decisions ect
This gets me so much. Being a Christian isn't just being a believer. It's also about following God's will and looking to grow in your faith and a whole bunch of other stuff
JGWIYeah I see what you are saying. I guess I ought to explain where I am coming from. I believe evidence is the only path to truth regarding the natural world. Now that's not to say conclusions can't be drawn based on circumstantial evidence, apologetics uses this a lot. However, a hypothesis must be well motivated based on that evidence to have any credibility. So yes, you can have faith in gods existence, however, I could have faith that their are kangaroos living in the volcanos of Venus. Obviously one can never prove that claim to ever be right or wrong but based on what we know, is it reasonable to have such a belief? No.
californiagrownSo, right now, whats your best explanation for how matter, time, and the universe came into existence?
Twiddle me that :)
JGWII don't know! And that is a perfectly fine position. Not knowing the answer to a question does not give one free reign to just assert things. As I said before, truth is reviled through evidence and well motivated postulates. There are several hypothesis out there as to how things began. The difference between them and those brought forward be the different religions is they are well motivated given our current understanding of the universe.
californiagrownthere are a lot of theories out there, champ. which one makes the most sense to you?
Saying "IDK" means that you have never actually thought about it. If you have thought about it, you have a best guess that you likely are not overly confident in.
.Hugo.wait hold on..... you work with witches?
JGWII'm not one to talk out my butt so I would rather leave the question of which of which theory is the best explanation of the origin of our universe as we know it to the physicists, you know...those people that actually understand the physics behind all this and can make reasonable claims that have marrite. I do know currently most physicists would agree that the Big Bang model is the best available explanation as to how our universe came to be. As for what was before that I...D...K and neither do you nor anyone else because we don't know anything about the state of things before the Big Bang and the machanics start to break down. That's a good thing though! It means there is something left to learn.
SterlingArcherI agree with what you're saying about religions that believe in a deity, idol, or physical entity. However, some belief systems (pantheism or zaoism for example) is more of a philosophical tradition than religion. I don't believe you need to provide credibility to a philosophy or a deep ethical belief. So my point is some beliefs don't require sound evidence because the whole belief system is based on self enlightenment, following the essence of your own way in harmony, or reverence for the cosmos/nature
Swandog7If people actually stopped arguing over translations and started actually following of whatever text they follow, the world would be a better place.
SterlingArcherOne guy I work with and his wife are wiccan. He bought a broom the other day and was talking about it. I made wise cracks about it to him, but the more he talked about the beliefs I actually learned something. Never knew it's based around respecting or worshipping nature. Personally it's not something I'd practice because I don't believe in performing spells or worshipping in idol, but it was interesting to hear his thoughts. It was a little like Shamanism or some branch of Pagan.
californiagrownso instead of thinking about it and learning about possible theories and figuring out what you think is the likeliest... you just say youre too dumb and lazy to learn or think about it, shrug your shoulders, drool on yourself, and walk away.
i hope i never give up thinking and learning.
JGWINo, It's not as if I don't understand any of the science behind it. I just realize that I given my limited knowledge I do not have the ability to make claims of which theories are more likely. I wouldn't walk into a ddx and tell everyone that the patient has AIDS when I know nothing of the patient or medicine. It's not being lazy, it is recognizing my place.
JWillySkeezSorry for quadruple post I have no idea what the fuck happened there XD
californiagrownSo you do not dispute that God could be behind it all.
.lenconIm from Idaho which has a heavy mormon influence since the mecca of the mormons is 2 hours away.
I just don't like the hate that goes on here. Either you are mormon, or you hate mormons. Very few individuals can respect it without following it. I was raised mormon and my best friend is mormon. Ive seen a lot of good from the religion, but personally its just not for me. Still have a lot of respect for it though since both my dad and my best friend are mormon. My dad is best friends with a muslim, its crazy. Then you have all the immature people my age hating on the religion. If you don't agree thats fine but have some class and respect. Also another thing I don't like is how people go on missions because of their parents. If you believe In God and want to serve him then go on a mission, but if you do it to make your parents happy then you'll just waste 2 years of your life and be upset.
JGWIPhysical claims require physical evidence.
JGWIYep, he could be behind it all. But pretty much all evidence points to that not being the case.
milk_manPhysical claim? Since when is the spiritual world physical?
californiagrowni thought you werent smart enough to understand any of the evidence or theories? I guess that doesnt apply when their is the chance to put down religon, right? K. Glad we cleared that up.
.lenconIm from Idaho which has a heavy mormon influence since the mecca of the mormons is 2 hours away.
I just don't like the hate that goes on here. Either you are mormon, or you hate mormons. Very few individuals can respect it without following it. I was raised mormon and my best friend is mormon. Ive seen a lot of good from the religion, but personally its just not for me. Still have a lot of respect for it though since both my dad and my best friend are mormon. My dad is best friends with a muslim, its crazy. Then you have all the immature people my age hating on the religion. If you don't agree thats fine but have some class and respect. Also another thing I don't like is how people go on missions because of their parents. If you believe In God and want to serve him then go on a mission, but if you do it to make your parents happy then you'll just waste 2 years of your life and be upset.
JGWIUgggg. Sure.
californiagrownAin't it a bitch when you realize that you have a pretentious, hypocritical way of thinking?
JGWISince when is anything not physical?
milk_manMaterialism is hard to defeat when someone has a post-modern worldview. I just can't comprehend that anyone could think that humans don't have souls. That goes hand in hand with saying that everything is physical and that is your argument against the existence of God
.Hugo.I heard that in slc brother brighams back is to the church and his hand is reaching out towards the bank. Thats fuckin golden