Posts by passwordprotected

10

Man suing bible publisher

by Mickey mouse in

i don't rate his chances of winning.

this is the group he's suing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/zondervan.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-07-09-gay-bible_n.htm.

Practicing Christian Deism- long.

by Lillith26 in

when jesus said, "you shall love .

what did jesus mean by "love your enemy?

so what did jesus mean when he said, "love your enemy"?

I personally take great comfort in the account of "doubting Thomas" in John. Jesus understood that Thomas needed to see before he believed. If he is god, he knows I need to see before I believe. If he comes back as advertised, that will be excellent evidence, but until then, I have no reason to worship him

John 20: 28 In answer Thomas said to him: “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him: “Because you have seen me have you believed? Happy are those who do not see and yet believe.”

51

Our "Bible Study" with the Jehovah's Witnesses

by garyneal in

my wife and i had a "bible study" with an elder and his wife yesterday (9-11-09) and the topic was marraige.

the book we covered was "keeping yourself in god's love.

" this particular "bible study" was based primarily on the topic we covered in the book and, of course, there was a lot of "hop scotching" of the bible.

passwordprotected

Great points raised and praise God for your faith.

33

Belief in God, the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause, and Fairy God Mothers

by frankiespeakin in

when we were a young child full of wonder at the world, so new, so innocent, we believed what ever mommy and daddy told us, if they said there was a tooth fairy why we believed it until we got older(hopefully) especially when we get our permanent teeth.. santa was probably discarded around the same time as the tooth fairy give or take a few years depending on gullibility or lack of it.. well lets face it we probably figured out the easter bunny first for the simple reason you only got some eggs,, which you can have any day of the week and you get to eat a lot of chocolate bunnies ears off not very pious mind you, nor do you fear the bunny might seek revenge for the impious act in some way like god might do remembering: the ark and ussa or wassa or something.

that definately should be considered as a contributing factor as to why and what order they get debuncked tooth fairy danta the benifit factor need to be brought in.. god too has to go in time, eventually, just like not all at once and for everybody.

religion to control the mind is on a head on course with human species vastly excellerated enlightenment.

passwordprotected

So burns, you're saying if a great intellect believed in Santa Clause and easter bunny and defended that belief in writing, it would make the belief plausible?

No, the same as a great intellect saying he/she didn't believe in God somehow making that belief plausible.

33

Belief in God, the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause, and Fairy God Mothers

by frankiespeakin in

when we were a young child full of wonder at the world, so new, so innocent, we believed what ever mommy and daddy told us, if they said there was a tooth fairy why we believed it until we got older(hopefully) especially when we get our permanent teeth.. santa was probably discarded around the same time as the tooth fairy give or take a few years depending on gullibility or lack of it.. well lets face it we probably figured out the easter bunny first for the simple reason you only got some eggs,, which you can have any day of the week and you get to eat a lot of chocolate bunnies ears off not very pious mind you, nor do you fear the bunny might seek revenge for the impious act in some way like god might do remembering: the ark and ussa or wassa or something.

that definately should be considered as a contributing factor as to why and what order they get debuncked tooth fairy danta the benifit factor need to be brought in.. god too has to go in time, eventually, just like not all at once and for everybody.

religion to control the mind is on a head on course with human species vastly excellerated enlightenment.

passwordprotected

Why do some adults believe in god?
Why do some believe the earth is flat?
Why do some believe in alien abductions?
There's all kinds of stupid out there.

Well, that's that settle, then. Good work.

1

This Guy's a Puzzler

by passwordprotected in

jw
friends

alister mcgrathfrom wikipedia, the free encyclopediaalister edgar mcgrath.

born23 january 1953 (age 56).

belfast, northern irelandresidenceuknationalitybritishfieldshistorical theologyinstitutionsoxford university, king's college londonnotable awardsroyal society of artsreligious stancechurch of england (rev.

passwordprotected

bttt for my own gratification.

8

Derren Brown - How to Control the Nation

by Mickey mouse in

derren brown has a series of popular shows running in the uk at the moment called the events.

this week's episode purported to show him predicting the national lottery numbers live on television; he employs suggestion, mentalism, psychology and trickery in his work and in this instance it was mostly camera trickery.. next week's looks interesting, he claims he will use the power of suggestion to prevent people from being able to get out of their seats at home.. http://derrenbrown.channel4.com/derren-brown-the-events-control.shtml.

the good thing about derren brown is that he never claims to be psychic or have special powers; his act often reveals how so called spiritualists were able to give the impression of special powers when all that was involved was illusion.. the best part is that he is bringing into the public domain information about the power of mind control.

passwordprotected

Very, very interesting stuff.

33

Belief in God, the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause, and Fairy God Mothers

by frankiespeakin in

when we were a young child full of wonder at the world, so new, so innocent, we believed what ever mommy and daddy told us, if they said there was a tooth fairy why we believed it until we got older(hopefully) especially when we get our permanent teeth.. santa was probably discarded around the same time as the tooth fairy give or take a few years depending on gullibility or lack of it.. well lets face it we probably figured out the easter bunny first for the simple reason you only got some eggs,, which you can have any day of the week and you get to eat a lot of chocolate bunnies ears off not very pious mind you, nor do you fear the bunny might seek revenge for the impious act in some way like god might do remembering: the ark and ussa or wassa or something.

that definately should be considered as a contributing factor as to why and what order they get debuncked tooth fairy danta the benifit factor need to be brought in.. god too has to go in time, eventually, just like not all at once and for everybody.

religion to control the mind is on a head on course with human species vastly excellerated enlightenment.

passwordprotected

What cameo-d said.

33

Belief in God, the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause, and Fairy God Mothers

by frankiespeakin in

when we were a young child full of wonder at the world, so new, so innocent, we believed what ever mommy and daddy told us, if they said there was a tooth fairy why we believed it until we got older(hopefully) especially when we get our permanent teeth.. santa was probably discarded around the same time as the tooth fairy give or take a few years depending on gullibility or lack of it.. well lets face it we probably figured out the easter bunny first for the simple reason you only got some eggs,, which you can have any day of the week and you get to eat a lot of chocolate bunnies ears off not very pious mind you, nor do you fear the bunny might seek revenge for the impious act in some way like god might do remembering: the ark and ussa or wassa or something.

that definately should be considered as a contributing factor as to why and what order they get debuncked tooth fairy danta the benifit factor need to be brought in.. god too has to go in time, eventually, just like not all at once and for everybody.

religion to control the mind is on a head on course with human species vastly excellerated enlightenment.

passwordprotected

Here's a good example of someone who went from atheism to faith;

Francis Collins.

From Wikipedia;

Religious views

Collins has described his parents as "only nominally Christian" and by graduate school he considered himself an atheist. However, dealing with dying patients led him to question his religious views, and he investigated various faiths. He familiarized himself with the evidences for and against God in cosmology, and used Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis [ 13 ] as a foundation to re-examine his religious view. He eventually came to a theistic conclusion, and finally became an evangelical Christian during a hike on a fall afternoon.

In his 2006 book The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, Collins considers scientific discoveries an "opportunity to worship." In his book Collins examines and subsequently rejects creationism and intelligent design. His own belief system is theistic evolution which he prefers to term BioLogos.

In an interview with National Geographic published in February 2007, interviewer John Horgan, an agnostic journalist, criticized Collins' description of agnosticism as "a cop-out". In response, Collins clarified his position on agnosticism so as not to include "earnest agnostics who have considered the evidence and still don't find an answer. I was reacting to the agnosticism I see in the scientific community, which has not been arrived at by a careful examination of the evidence. I went through a phase when I was a casual agnostic, and I am perhaps too quick to assume that others have no more depth than I did." [ 14 ]

During a debate with the biologist Richard Dawkins, Collins stated that God is the explanation of those features of the universe that science finds difficult to explain (such as the values of certainphysical constants favoring life), and that God himself does not need an explanation since he is beyond the universe. Dawkins called this "the mother and father of all cop-outs" and "an incredible evasion of the responsibility to explain", to which Collins responded "I do object to the assumption that anything that might be outside of nature is ruled out of the conversation. That's an impoverished view of the kinds of questions we humans can ask, such as 'Why am I here?', 'What happens after we die?' If you refuse to acknowledge their appropriateness, you end up with a zero probability of God after examining the natural world because it doesn't convince you on a proof basis. But if your mind is open about whether God might exist, you can point to aspects of the universe that are consistent with that conclusion." [ 15 ]

In reviewing The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine by Alister McGrath [ 16 ] , Collins says "Addressing the conclusions of The God Delusion point by point with the devastating insight of a molecular biologist turned theologian, Alister McGrath dismantles the argument that science should lead to atheism, and demonstrates instead that Dawkins has abandoned his much-cherished rationality to embrace an embittered manifesto of dogmatic atheist fundamentalism.", [ 17 ] [citation needed]

Collins remains firm in his rejection of intelligent design, and for this reason was not asked to participate in the 2008 documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which tries, among other things, to draw a direct link between evolution and atheism. Walt Ruloff, a producer for the film, claimed that Collins was "toeing the party line" by rejecting intelligent design, which Collins called "just ludicrous." [ 18 ]

In 2009, Collins founded the BioLogos Foundation to "contribute to the public voice that represents the harmony of science and faith." He served as the foundation's president until he was confirmed as director of the NIH. [ 19 ]

33

Belief in God, the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause, and Fairy God Mothers

by frankiespeakin in

when we were a young child full of wonder at the world, so new, so innocent, we believed what ever mommy and daddy told us, if they said there was a tooth fairy why we believed it until we got older(hopefully) especially when we get our permanent teeth.. santa was probably discarded around the same time as the tooth fairy give or take a few years depending on gullibility or lack of it.. well lets face it we probably figured out the easter bunny first for the simple reason you only got some eggs,, which you can have any day of the week and you get to eat a lot of chocolate bunnies ears off not very pious mind you, nor do you fear the bunny might seek revenge for the impious act in some way like god might do remembering: the ark and ussa or wassa or something.

that definately should be considered as a contributing factor as to why and what order they get debuncked tooth fairy danta the benifit factor need to be brought in.. god too has to go in time, eventually, just like not all at once and for everybody.

religion to control the mind is on a head on course with human species vastly excellerated enlightenment.

passwordprotected

So you're admitting you don't have any proof or evidence to back up the claims;

- it's rare for someone to go from being an atheist to believing in God

- belief in God stems from infant indoctrination

But without such proof, how can we believe what you're saying without faith?