Posts by MadGiant

104

How to Avoid the Faithless Spirit of most here-

by DocHouse in

1- pray to god (whomever you may imagine him to be) asking for understanding.

2- study the background about the bible (from non-religious sources) to see where it came from.

3- discard (or at least set aside) chuyrch claims and dogma.. 4- read it, looking up archaeological/historical sources about the places and peoples referred to.

MadGiant

"Whataya expect from a sci-fi writer?" -

Fair enough. You are absolutely right. Let's see, if I use part of your criteria:

Study the background about the Bible (from non-religious sources) to see where it came from

Discard (or at least set aside) chuyrch claims and dogma.

READ it, looking up archaeological/historical sources about the places and peoples referred to Be honestly critical- meaning not only looking for things that may be false- but also those that may be TRUE.

Using the criteria mentioned above to study the bible, I predict one of the following outcomes:

a) the person will be a deist, with means they might believe in a god, but he/she/it, does not intervene with the functioning of the natural world in any way, allowing it to run according to the laws of nature.

b) atheist with reject the belief in the existence of deities.

c) antitheist, like me, and I really really think that theism and religion are harmful to society and people, and that if theistic beliefs were true, they would be undesirable.

d) people very, very dangerous to themselves and society, and when I say dangerous, I mean westboro baptist church, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Charles Manson.

"6- NEVER let your faith rest on men, church or even orginization- but ONLY on your growing understanding of God...for it WILL take place if you REALLY want to know!" -

Now this one is a contradiction to the prior four. If I use the criteria mention above, their is no way I can use the sixth one.

Take care,

Ismael

104

How to Avoid the Faithless Spirit of most here-

by DocHouse in

1- pray to god (whomever you may imagine him to be) asking for understanding.

2- study the background about the bible (from non-religious sources) to see where it came from.

3- discard (or at least set aside) chuyrch claims and dogma.. 4- read it, looking up archaeological/historical sources about the places and peoples referred to.

MadGiant

Completely agree:

“Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.”

― Isaac Asimov

Ismael

4

Dark Matter's Latest Video - BRILLIANT

by cantleave in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa5pljiqonk.

MadGiant

Very interesting video. I agree, all Gods are thus externalized forms, magnified projections of the true nature of their creators (us), personifying aspects of the universe or personal temperaments which many of their followers find to be troubling. Worshipping any God is thus worshipping by proxy those who invented that God.

Ismael

14

Interesting article on Neanderthals if anyone is interested

by Randomthoughts in

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/neanderthals-lived-alongside-humans-for-centuries-latest-study-shows-9681740.html.

MadGiant

Thanks

84

Satan and the demons, ghosts, spirits, fortune tellers. Are they real?

by KateWild in

i believe in god.

i don't believe he punishes or rewards people.

so by the same extention i don't believe any spirit beings can communicate with or influence humans.. many who do not believe in god though, have gone to fortune tellers.

MadGiant

Hallucinations happen when someone sees, hears, smells, tastes or feels things that don't exist outside their mind. They are common in people with schizophrenia, and are usually experienced as hearing voices.

Hallucinations can be frightening as they may be unexpected or unwanted, but there's usually an identifiable cause. They can occur as a result of:

taking illicit drugs or alcohol
a mental illness such as schizophrenia or dementia
a progressive neurological condition such as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease
loss of vision caused by a condition such as macular degeneration, this is known as Charles Bonnet syndrome.

http://healthtalkonline.org/peoples-experiences/mental-health/mental-health-ethnic-minority-experiences/hallucinations-delusions

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/body-odd/see-ghosts-there-may-be-medical-reason-f1C9926902

61

I know there is NO GOD

by jam in

isis, plain and simple.

if there is a god there is no way he.

would allow this to occur (beheading of james foley).

MadGiant

"Free will gives us the ability to act and think what we want it does not give us the ability to avoid certain things happening to us. Otherwise free will would mean we have the ability to avoid any kind of unhappiness ever." -

Oh, please. You either have a god who sends extremist maniacs to behead people or you have a god who simply watches it and says, "Hey!! I gave you free will, but you are doing it wrong. When you’re done, I’m going to punish you, someday, maybe".

Or perhaps allah is the one true god.

Ismael.

61

I know there is NO GOD

by jam in

isis, plain and simple.

if there is a god there is no way he.

would allow this to occur (beheading of james foley).

MadGiant

"However, as free-will beings wouldn't a god allow us to act out our free will even if it hurts others?" -

How about the free will of the person being beheaded?

And your logical fallacy is:

Circular cause and consequence

where the consequence of the phenomenon is claimed to be its root cause.

104

If you don't believe in God, Jesus, and everything in the Bible, you are willfully ignorant.

by defender of truth in

ablebodiedman posted~ 10 mins ago (8/16/2014).

post 741 of 741. .

"i absolutely 100% believe in god, jesus christ and everything recorded in the bible.. the reason why is because of the overwhelming amount of evidence.. there is so much evidence that it has taken me years to examine what has cemented my own convictions.".

MadGiant

"I absolutely 100% believe in God, Jesus Christ and everything recorded in the bible.
The reason why is because of the overwhelming amount of evidence." -

The lord placed two types of people on this, his only planet that matters:

(1) Those who critically analyze and evaluate all available information, making decisions, including those involving their belief systems, based on thought, facts and reason; and

(2) Folks who have been blessedly spared such tedium.

Let's see in with group I fit in; Evidence for the historical existence of Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ) as portrayed in the Bible is only found in three places: the Bible itself, other early Christian writings, and references by the various early churches (c. 100 CE) to the long dead leader of those churches.

What qualifies as good evidence?

1) Contemporary evidence: Evidence that dates to the time the person or event actually happened.

2) Derivative evidence: Evidence that is known to use contemporary record-evidence that has since been lost.

3) Comparative evidence: Evidence that gives details that can be checked against known factors of the time.

A good rule of thumb here is that history records the unusual, the special, and the important; and the amount history records is generally directly proportional to when these factors achieve a critical mass. If a person is said to be important and popular during their lifetime then one would expect contemporary or at the least derivative evidence documenting this.

Their is no evidence to support jesus. Gods, well there are over 100,000 gods out there, the Abrahamic YHWH(s), Zeus, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and every other deity from A to Z (and 0-9, !, ", #, $ or any other character, obviously). Someone should be a little more specific.

I can tie hercules throughout the Mediterranean, Elis was a real place. The Euxine Sea is know as the Black Sea now. Nemea is also a real place. Does this mean hercules was an real historical figure?

Respectfully,

Ismael

104

If you don't believe in God, Jesus, and everything in the Bible, you are willfully ignorant.

by defender of truth in

ablebodiedman posted~ 10 mins ago (8/16/2014).

post 741 of 741. .

"i absolutely 100% believe in god, jesus christ and everything recorded in the bible.. the reason why is because of the overwhelming amount of evidence.. there is so much evidence that it has taken me years to examine what has cemented my own convictions.".

MadGiant

Terry, I send you a PM

Ismael

104

If you don't believe in God, Jesus, and everything in the Bible, you are willfully ignorant.

by defender of truth in

ablebodiedman posted~ 10 mins ago (8/16/2014).

post 741 of 741. .

"i absolutely 100% believe in god, jesus christ and everything recorded in the bible.. the reason why is because of the overwhelming amount of evidence.. there is so much evidence that it has taken me years to examine what has cemented my own convictions.".

MadGiant

Removed, Blondie is rigth.

Terry, is way more complicated.

Ismael