JT,
You refuse to accept that all belief is a matter of choice. I am not by any evidence forced to believe a certain way. This being true the wise thing is only to believe only that which it benefits me to.
Zechariah
i have announced i am on a crusade to encourage skeptics to think on the issue in a way they probably have never done before.
i initially have made the mistake of cramming everything into one, two or three posts.
this i should have immediately recognized is an impossibilty because what i have in mind requires a great amount of meditation to fu;;y comprehend.
JT,
You refuse to accept that all belief is a matter of choice. I am not by any evidence forced to believe a certain way. This being true the wise thing is only to believe only that which it benefits me to.
Zechariah
i have announced i am on a crusade to encourage skeptics to think on the issue in a way they probably have never done before.
i initially have made the mistake of cramming everything into one, two or three posts.
this i should have immediately recognized is an impossibilty because what i have in mind requires a great amount of meditation to fu;;y comprehend.
Rem,
Your entire post has me ROTF.
Nobody knows exactly how the first self replicating molecules got started. I prefer the honest approach (Not sure how it happened, but we're workin' on it) as opposed to the "goddidit" non-explanation.
I am sure you're working on it. I'll see you in about 2 billion years and you wont be any closer than you are right now. Don't you realize what you're up against. All the greatest scientific minds in the world with the finest computer technology cannot intentionally replicate a process they claim happen totally by chance. Even if they could it would not prove it could happen without intelligence at work.
Then too the problems just begin. It has to be demonstrated how simple life forms can progress to more improved and complex forms without intelligent guidance. Then too what created the environment this lifeform would need for survival. All things left to themselves without controlled maintenance deteriorate and die. Even if a simple lifeform could evolve on its own what would account for the reproduction process requiring male and female without supernatural guidance. The mental gymnastics people are willing to go thru to believe we are not creation are both vain and stupid.
Remember the old explanation for rainbows? Goddidit... even says so in the Hebrew bible... but then this guy named Newton (not related to the biscuit)figured out that it was just refracted light - a naturalistic answer. No supernatural being necessary (Yahweh, in this case).
Being cute doesn't add to your credibility in regards to rainbows. Are you insinuating Newton did not believe in creation? Are you likewise implying knowing refracted light makes a rainbow that the miracle of what a rainbow is is even remotely explained?
In fact, even a child can create a rainbow. You see, the goddidit explanation is pretty much worthless, as far as explanations go.
Stupidest thing I ever heard. A child can make a rainbow. Remember my example of men talking about their children saying look what I made. I do good work don't I. They didnot make anything. A child can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich too. That doesn't minimize the miracle of what went into creating the root ingredients that a child only has the most menial participation in putting together. Your lack of appreciation of Gods gifts is astounding. You should be very thankful God has agreed to rain on everyone. If I was God because of your attitude I wouldn't pee (yet alone rain) on you if you were dying of thirst. :)
So far there is no evidence that a goddidit (that is, created life)... but we know it happened at least once in this universe - somehow... and we are here. Maybe we will find evidence for this elusive god (Yahweh, Thor, Vishnu, Dyonisus, all of the above?)someday, but today saying goddidit is just as plausible as saying smurfsdidit. The amount of evidence is equal.
More stupidity. Creation and evolution are diametrically opposed concepts. Either somebody made it or it just happened. Lack of evidence for one is evidence for the other. Whoever created the universe must have the ability to do so. I don;t think smurfs foot the bill. In the creation theory there is only one hurdle to overcome. That is where the creator came from. If we learn from the object lesson of my PACman analogy PACman cannot have any comprehension about a Creator who lives outside the limits of the world he created and are not subject to its rules.
But if you are truly interested, there is some interesting work going on right now by scientists who are trying to figure out such mysteries (just as rainbows used to be a mystery). Do some homework on the subject and educate yourself. You might just learn something! :)
What made you think at all I was ever interested in a no God theory of life. NOT.
I hope you don't mind if I turn you down on your offer to educate myself. I suppose the things you said it your post reflects the education I can look forward to. Thanks but no thanks. I rather stay stupid.
Zechariah
GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH
Edited by - zechariah on 24 September 2002 2:21:31
the following is a repost of a april 2001 post on h2o.. .
the key to properly understanding the bible is remembering that it is all about the spirit.
whatever is spoken of in the bible no matter how literal it appears to be is intended to convey something of the spirit.
Spoken like a hypocritical skeptic who never can resist an opportunity to tell believers their wasting their time. You are trying to demonize me by making stupid comparisons to JWs. Am I supposed to feel some guilt from sharing my opinions. This is a discussion board aint it.
Zechariah
the following is a repost of a april 2001 post on h2o.. .
the key to properly understanding the bible is remembering that it is all about the spirit.
whatever is spoken of in the bible no matter how literal it appears to be is intended to convey something of the spirit.
transfered to correct thread
Sorry
Edited by - zechariah on 24 September 2002 1:8:57
i have announced i am on a crusade to encourage skeptics to think on the issue in a way they probably have never done before.
i initially have made the mistake of cramming everything into one, two or three posts.
this i should have immediately recognized is an impossibilty because what i have in mind requires a great amount of meditation to fu;;y comprehend.
Realist,
When are you skeptics going to get it. There is no proof, no evidence, for anyone not willing to accept it. I haven't the ability to force anyone to accept something he is not willing to accept. I've been giving for a full day nothing but what is evidence (IMO). Accept it or not is your choice to make.
If you choose to be Godless be my guest. You not hurting me or God. You are only hurting yourself. Bad choice.
Zechariah
Edited by - zechariah on 23 September 2002 19:35:35
i have announced i am on a crusade to encourage skeptics to think on the issue in a way they probably have never done before.
i initially have made the mistake of cramming everything into one, two or three posts.
this i should have immediately recognized is an impossibilty because what i have in mind requires a great amount of meditation to fu;;y comprehend.
Rem,
You're not bursting my bubble. I'm not opposed to accepting any evolution process. Only where it comes to the conclusion creation is possible with out intelligent design and control (GOD/Creator). Its all irrelevant to me how God created life I only know he did and had to. It certainly didn't happen on its own. Yes something spontaneously from nothing. Just one and you win.
Zechariah
Edited by - zechariah on 23 September 2002 19:17:28
i have announced i am on a crusade to encourage skeptics to think on the issue in a way they probably have never done before.
i initially have made the mistake of cramming everything into one, two or three posts.
this i should have immediately recognized is an impossibilty because what i have in mind requires a great amount of meditation to fu;;y comprehend.
Liberty,
You appear to be a classic example of what a skeptic being unwilling to see evidence of a creator. Skeptics like yourself delude themselves that the only evidence there is is for evolution. Yet I say the only evidence there is is for creation. Obviously we must be looking at two sides of the same coin. Which side we look at is a matter of choice.
Is what I said possibly true? If you are willing to experiment with this notion I would ask you or anybody else to provide me with anything you feel is positive evidence of evoution. By evolution I am referring to something evolving from nothing. Just one would be enough. I for certain will take this same evidence you provide and represent it as evidence for creation.
Belief is a choice and not delusion. Nobody has absolute knowledge of anything but the creator himself. Therefore for humans knowledge is and can only be a state of mind chosen with reasons by the individual. I have been enlightened with the amazing reality that it doesn't much matter what really occurs in life as it does how one perceives what has happened. Does the sight of a snake elicit feelings of fondest and love or great fear. The difference is what you choose to believe. If a baby or someone intentionally dribbles or pees (invalid) on you are you devestated and humiliated as if someone intentionally does the same thing you determine to degrade you. Christ said a christian is to rejoice when the persecute and kill you for my name. What one chooses to believe makes all the difference in the world. We create our own world by what we choose to believe. When we own this responsibility we can use this awareness as a source of tremendous power.
Anonymous Poem......
See where beliefs fit in
Mind the master power that moulds and makes
And man is mind and evermore he takes
The tools of thought and shaping what it wills
Brings forth a thousand joys and a thousand ills
Man thinks in secret and it comes to pass
Environment is but his looking glass
I am only going to comment on the last line as the rest is pretty self explanatory. It means our environment does not make us what we are but shows us up for what we are (looking glass). We can have the same circumstances as someone else but not respond the same
This is the foundation key to all self motivation and positive thinking disciplines as well as a miracle cure for phobias. Change Your beliefs and change your life.
Zechariah
Edited by - zechariah on 23 September 2002 17:21:2
i have announced i am on a crusade to encourage skeptics to think on the issue in a way they probably have never done before.
i initially have made the mistake of cramming everything into one, two or three posts.
this i should have immediately recognized is an impossibilty because what i have in mind requires a great amount of meditation to fu;;y comprehend.
Liberty.
You are very disingenuous to suggest skeptics are open-minded and not biased towards unbelief. I myself have not claimed a willingness to be open-minded and do not apologize for it. I will never accept anything as evidence that does not benefit me.
What I would like from skeptics is that they admit the same is true for them. Never will they accept as evidence anything that supports God existence for they have already preconcieved such a notion ridiculous. It is only the skeptic that pretends to appreciate being unsure. I benefit as long as I believe. My questions serves to help skeptics realize the full implications of what they have chosen to believe.
I am not a glutton for punishment. I am not going to allow anyone to convince me of something it is not in my benefit to believe it. If I am wrong about there being God though I believe he exists I am no worse off than before.
Despite my belief I still like the skeptics understand it is my GOD GIVEN right to believe as I choose. As is yours. All I suggest is you choose wisely. Not out of fear but only after a cost benefit analysis as one skeptic suggests.
Those who pray and believe get old, sick, anddie just like the pagans andskeptics. God's silence is just as deafening to us all.
They die happy though with the hope of everlasting life either spiritual or physical. All the time they spend alive is enhanced by their belief. My life is always enhanced when I have just one ticket for the lottery. The prospects of hitting it big helps me deal with all my problems and therefore adds joy to my life. You have to be in it to win it. We are only in it if we believe.
Zechariah
GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH
Edited by - zechariah on 23 September 2002 11:49:27
i have announced i am on a crusade to encourage skeptics to think on the issue in a way they probably have never done before.
i initially have made the mistake of cramming everything into one, two or three posts.
this i should have immediately recognized is an impossibilty because what i have in mind requires a great amount of meditation to fu;;y comprehend.
Reply to: Pat
Thanks for your reply. I meant the "skeptics" spent many years being non-skeptical. You said they had never considered all these things before--my point is that they had considered these--28 years in my case.
You are incorrectly assuming JWs can be classed believers. They too can never be spiritual men as they deny a man is a spirit being physically embodied. This denial of their royal status as kings of the earth prevents them of ever becoming perfect in terms of being completely equipped for every good work. Only trust in God can completely equip man. He must first accept his created status. It is too comlex right now to go beyond this to explain how JWs are not true believers.
You mentioned teeth numbers as evidence of a creator. I have no specific rebuttal for that off the top of my head.
However, the general argument of complexity and adaptation seems to spring from "anything that complex and perfectly suited must have a designer or creator." What is being left out of the equation in the theists' argumentation is the supposed complexity and suitability of a vastly superior designer or god. If humans are too complex and suited to just appear, how is it possible that God could just appear or always exist, with no designer?
There are many lives we are afforded in the game. From our limited perspective as interactive player these lives are final. But not really. The creator can reincarnate us and give us more plays (lives) to perfect us as spirit beings making us completely equipped for every good work. It also qualifies us positions of oversight as kings and priests with Christ. We can build up a high score for judgement day.
Like man is the creator of a Pacman game. From the viewpoint of the PACman himself it is beyond his comprehension the exact nature of where God came from. If the literal PACman had the reasoning ability of a human he could not possibly be able to comprehend how God himself was not designed by the same binary programming procedure he was but rather by some process called reprduction. We have the same dilemma at this even now young stage in our existence .
We can never move beyond it if we fail to accept the object lessons from our own creations and realize it is not yet time to comprehend those things. Yes. Its is rational to believe the creator somewhere down the line had a creator himself. The when and hows of that is a vain effort if we can't even comprehend our own created status.
P. S. The issue that made me become a critical thinker was the dinosaurs and their significant carnivorous behavior. The JWs always said there was violence in nature because of Adam's sin. Then Isaiah assures us that said violence will be done away with in a paradise earth.
However, when did dinosaurs exist? After humans (i.e., Adam)? No, they lived and ruled the earth millions of years before humans. So, the violence was there long before any humans' alleged sin.
Additionally, Gen. 1:30 states that in the beginning all ate green vegetation. Patently not true. From the bacteria on up to the dinosaurs, probably half of them were eating flesh, not green vegetation. Of course, the writer of Genesis had no knowledge of dinosaurs and their vicious behaviors.So my question to a Bible-believer (fundamentalist), is why is there violence in nature? To me, it gives much more evidence of evolution being the explanation, rather than a "loving" god, deliberately creating fangs, talons, parasites, and poisons so they could all kill or be
killed. That gives evidence of survival of the fittest
This was all a necessary preface to my opinions about violence in the animal kingdom. One of te creative disciplines of the creator is to achieve balance and contrast. Nothing can be perceived or apreciated without something to contrast it with. If everything was white or everything were black we could perceive no form as it would all be camoflagued. How can we appreciate love if there was no hate.
How could we appreciate civility without the beastly behavior of animals to cntrast it. Physical life on earth is a university of hard knocks for the perfecting of the spirit. It is temporary training ground in which evil is allowed to exist to perfect the soul.
Physical death and suffering from the creators lofty standpoint is in no way final. It is no more significant than the rod of discipline for the education of a child. Do not spare the rod. He will not die (spiritually) and can have his life regenerated. Please don't jump on me that I am advocating child abuse. We'll talk about that another time if you have a problem with it (anyone).
Zechariah
i have announced i am on a crusade to encourage skeptics to think on the issue in a way they probably have never done before.
i initially have made the mistake of cramming everything into one, two or three posts.
this i should have immediately recognized is an impossibilty because what i have in mind requires a great amount of meditation to fu;;y comprehend.
Realist.... OK
If everything is in gradually stages of development for millions of years adapting to their environments how can it be universally possible that all humans would share the same number of teeth if evolution was true?
Zechariah