The Religious Discussion of 2012

I can't wait until it's March so this thread can end.

HuskerShark, I'll give you this old saying: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it. Please, understand the second part of this saying. Less people will want to hurt you/think that you are an ignoramus.

Being religious and having faith is generally viewed as a good thing, and hopefully you or any other religious folks on the Huskerboardz don't think that we are attacking you and saying you're wrong for having faith; for being religious. However, it's when you speak of God as the only way and belittle anyone who believes otherwise (a very unchristian thing to do I might add) for even thinking differently.

There are hundreds upon hundreds of not thousands, but millions of people who will disagree with you. I say reactions happened to cause the Big Bang which created our universe which was filled with mitochondria which then by the process of evolution evolved into men who with their cognitive capabilities observed that the sky changed and decided to quantify it, thus making time. Am I right? Probably not. But I'm certainly not wrong either. Might there be another step before all of this [being God started it and then sat back and watched things happen]? Certainly...but we can not prove and we probably will never prove that.

Religion is at best a theory...like I said earlier a theory very similar to psychoanalytic theory.

 
Husker_x said:
HuskerShark said:
johnnyrodgers20 said:
But where did the first matter come from? at some point was there nothing, when and how did matter come into being? :wasted
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Sub-Husker said:
As far as I know energy cannot be created from nothing, and every reaction requires some sort of catalyst.

If there was nothing (matter or energy in our foru dimensions) before the big bang, then what caused it?
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You guys forget that there was no such thing as time until God created it. It's a really difficult concept to grasp, but true.
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See, usually truth is something that has some verifiable aspect to it. What you said wasn't so much true as just blind speculation thrown on top of faith thrown on top of more speculation.
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Time didn't just suddenly begin one day without supernatural intervention. There's no other way to explain it, especially not science. Just the very fact that you guys (and me for that matter) can't wrap your head around how and why things came about is almost enough on its own to verify the existence of God. Like I said, you guys believe what you want. I'm not trying to get anybody to hate me. You guys are asking for facts/opinions/proof etc. so I'm laying it out there. Why do I waste my time? Because your salvation is a worthy cause.

However, unfortunately non-Christians will do anything to not believe in God and/or Jesus. It doesn't matter what I lay out there. I could post absolutely anything on here and you guys would find some way to dismiss it as being fraudulent. You could have God appear right in front of your face and tell you everything that you are wanting to know, and you would probably just dismiss it as a dream. So in the end it doesn't matter what I say. So oh well I guess.....

 
HuskerShark said:
Time didn't just suddenly begin one day without supernatural intervention. There's no other way to explain it, especially not science. Just the very fact that you guys (and me for that matter) can't wrap your head around how and why things came about is almost enough on its own to verify the existence of God. Like I said, you guys believe what you want. I'm not trying to get anybody to hate me. You guys are asking for facts/opinions/proof etc. so I'm laying it out there. Why do I waste my time? Because your salvation is a worthy cause.

However, unfortunately non-Christians will do anything to not believe in God and/or Jesus. It doesn't matter what I lay out there. I could post absolutely anything on here and you guys would find some way to dismiss it as being fraudulent. You could have God appear right in front of your face and tell you everything that you are wanting to know, and you would probably just dismiss it as a dream. So in the end it doesn't matter what I say. So oh well I guess.....
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Don't take this as me attacking you - but, unless I'm mistaken, you initiated the 'proof' argument, by saying Christianity has more proof of it's validity than any other religion. So, if people are demanding proof from you, I think you have no one but yourself to blame. (Also, I'm not seeing many people demanding proof - I'm seeing a lot of people saying there isn't sufficient proof one way or the other...)

Now, there's actually parts of this post I agree with. None of us can wrap our heads around certain aspects of our lives (like time), but that doesn't 'almost' verify the existence of "God" as the entity you believe in. I believe there's something out there that started our existence and is responsible for our being, but I just don't see how this (in reference to our inability to explain time) verifies God's existence as Christians see it. All it tells me is there's something out there we don't understand, yet.

At one point in history people didn't understand weather, the Moon, physics, that the Earth was round, etc. Eventually, we evolved our minds to understand these concepts. I, personally, find a strong correlation between our race evolving and religious beliefs diminishing. Mankind is smarter now than it ever has been, and religion is becoming less and less popular. It might be sad to you - you probably view this as humanities lack of faith in God as you perceive him. I view it as our race/culture advancing itself.

 
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Science can't prove how time came into existence so let's say it was God [something that is just as unprovable]? Come on...

Just the very fact that you guys (and me for that matter) can't wrap your head around how and why things came about is almost enough on its own to verify the existence of God.

Or it just goes to explain how complex the existence of this planet and our race has been.

However, unfortunately non-Christians will do anything to not believe in God and/or Jesus.

And they have every right to no matter how unfortunate. What makes Muslims more wrong for believing in Mohammed? What makes Judaism more wrong for believing that Jesus wasn't the Son of God? Why is that unfortunate?

I'm a Christian, but that doesn't mean I have to fall in line and believe everything and anything that a spiritual book or person says. Why would God make us different if we were all supposed to fall in line?

Like I said, religion is so similar to psychoanalytic theory. Psychoanalytic theory has a way of giving what appears to be a rational explanation to a lot of our thoughts, impulses, and behaviors. It really does. But psychoanalytic theory also has no way of proving itself because that would require testing the "unconscious" portion of our mind. So certainly when explaining behavior you could cite psychoanalytic theory, but don't expect to get a whole lot of support.

 
Enhance89 said:
HuskerShark said:
Time didn't just suddenly begin one day without supernatural intervention. There's no other way to explain it, especially not science. Just the very fact that you guys (and me for that matter) can't wrap your head around how and why things came about is almost enough on its own to verify the existence of God. Like I said, you guys believe what you want. I'm not trying to get anybody to hate me. You guys are asking for facts/opinions/proof etc. so I'm laying it out there. Why do I waste my time? Because your salvation is a worthy cause.

However, unfortunately non-Christians will do anything to not believe in God and/or Jesus. It doesn't matter what I lay out there. I could post absolutely anything on here and you guys would find some way to dismiss it as being fraudulent. You could have God appear right in front of your face and tell you everything that you are wanting to know, and you would probably just dismiss it as a dream. So in the end it doesn't matter what I say. So oh well I guess.....
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Don't take this as me attacking you - but, unless I'm mistaken, you initiated the 'proof' argument, by saying Christianity has more proof of it's validity than any other religion. So, if people are demanding proof from you, I think you have no one but yourself to blame. (Also, I'm not seeing many people demanding proof - I'm seeing a lot of people saying there isn't sufficient proof one way or the other...)

Now, there's actually parts of this post I agree with. None of us can wrap our heads around certain aspects of our lives (like time), but that doesn't 'almost' verify the existence of "God" as the entity you believe in. I believe there's something out there that started our existence and is responsible for our being, but I just don't see how this (in reference to our inability to explain time) verifies God's existence as Christians see it. All it tells me is there's something out there we don't understand, yet.

At one point in history people didn't understand weather, the Moon, physics, that the Earth was round, etc. Eventually, we evolved our minds to understand these concepts. I, personally, find a strong correlation between our race evolving and religious beliefs diminishing. Mankind is smarter now than it ever has been, and religion is becoming less and less popular. It might be sad to you - you probably view this as humanities lack of faith in God as you perceive him. I view it as our race/culture advancing itself.
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Which goes back to what Johnnyrodgers said. The world begins to worship false idols and people turn their backs on God. Your egocentrism will only take you so far. It doesn't matter how smart you are, you will never be greater or more powerful than God, and the fact that you are even saying this is frustrating to say the least.

There's a little thing called humility that everybody should learn at some point in their lives, and it is better learned sooner than later. Bowing down to God, who is far more powerful and amazing than you can ever imagine, is by far the most intelligent act that you can do with your act. So if you're trying to be intelligent, try that route instead.

 
HuskerShark said:
Enhance89 said:
HuskerShark said:
Time didn't just suddenly begin one day without supernatural intervention. There's no other way to explain it, especially not science. Just the very fact that you guys (and me for that matter) can't wrap your head around how and why things came about is almost enough on its own to verify the existence of God. Like I said, you guys believe what you want. I'm not trying to get anybody to hate me. You guys are asking for facts/opinions/proof etc. so I'm laying it out there. Why do I waste my time? Because your salvation is a worthy cause.

However, unfortunately non-Christians will do anything to not believe in God and/or Jesus. It doesn't matter what I lay out there. I could post absolutely anything on here and you guys would find some way to dismiss it as being fraudulent. You could have God appear right in front of your face and tell you everything that you are wanting to know, and you would probably just dismiss it as a dream. So in the end it doesn't matter what I say. So oh well I guess.....
Click to expand...
Don't take this as me attacking you - but, unless I'm mistaken, you initiated the 'proof' argument, by saying Christianity has more proof of it's validity than any other religion. So, if people are demanding proof from you, I think you have no one but yourself to blame. (Also, I'm not seeing many people demanding proof - I'm seeing a lot of people saying there isn't sufficient proof one way or the other...)

Now, there's actually parts of this post I agree with. None of us can wrap our heads around certain aspects of our lives (like time), but that doesn't 'almost' verify the existence of "God" as the entity you believe in. I believe there's something out there that started our existence and is responsible for our being, but I just don't see how this (in reference to our inability to explain time) verifies God's existence as Christians see it. All it tells me is there's something out there we don't understand, yet.

At one point in history people didn't understand weather, the Moon, physics, that the Earth was round, etc. Eventually, we evolved our minds to understand these concepts. I, personally, find a strong correlation between our race evolving and religious beliefs diminishing. Mankind is smarter now than it ever has been, and religion is becoming less and less popular. It might be sad to you - you probably view this as humanities lack of faith in God as you perceive him. I view it as our race/culture advancing itself.
Click to expand...
Which goes back to what Johnnyrodgers said. The world begins to worship false idols and people turn their backs on God. Your egocentrism will only take you so far. It doesn't matter how smart you are, you will never be greater or more powerful than God, and the fact that you are even saying this is frustrating to say the least.

There's a little thing called humility that everybody should learn at some point in their lives, and it is better learned sooner than later. Bowing down to God, who is far more powerful and amazing than you can ever imagine, is by far the most intelligent act that you can do with your act. So if you're trying to be intelligent, try that route instead.
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There's no talking to this guy ^^.

Enhance, I agree 100% on everything you just said. It's like you read my mind or something.

 
Edit - Not worth the time.

I respect your close-minded reliance on faith, HuskerShark, even though I don't agree with it. I sincerely hope that, one day, you broaden your mind to other thoughts and ideals. That doesn't mean change your religion/faith, but understand that people out there think you are 100% wrong. That's all I've been trying to convey this entire time - there are millions who disagree with you, yet you brush them under the rug like a speck of dust. That...I don't understand.

 
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HuskerShark said:
Which goes back to what Johnnyrodgers said. The world begins to worship false idols and people turn their backs on God. Your egocentrism will only take you so far. It doesn't matter how smart you are, you will never be greater or more powerful than God, and the fact that you are even saying this is frustrating to say the least.

There's a little thing called humility that everybody should learn at some point in their lives, and it is better learned sooner than later. Bowing down to God, who is far more powerful and amazing than you can ever imagine, is by far the most intelligent act that you can do with your act. So if you're trying to be intelligent, try that route instead.
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This is hysterical. Religion is anti-humility. You talk about things as fact for which you admit you have no evidence, then accuse your opponents of egocentrism for having the audacity to ask you to explain yourself. The days where religious people get to spout nonsense in public forums without criticism are over. And not a moment too soon, as far as I'm concerned.

 
HuskerShark said:
Time didn't just suddenly begin one day without supernatural intervention. There's no other way to explain it, especially not science.
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VWkZl.jpg


 
HuskerShark said:
Time didn't just suddenly begin one day without supernatural intervention. There's no other way to explain it, especially not science. Just the very fact that you guys (and me for that matter) can't wrap your head around how and why things came about is almost enough on its own to verify the existence of God. Like I said, you guys believe what you want. I'm not trying to get anybody to hate me. You guys are asking for facts/opinions/proof etc. so I'm laying it out there. Why do I waste my time? Because your salvation is a worthy cause.
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I don't feel very compelled to jump too far into this debate, but I'm wondering if you at least find it interesting that Greek philosophers, in particular Aristotle (the concept of an unmoved mover in Metaphysics) grappled with this very question centuries before Jesus was born, and not too long after it is generally accepted that the Hebrew bible was written.

It is interesting to me that when faced with the most basic question of our existence, so many are quick to abandon any attempt exploring their own thoughts and conclude that faith in something that is equally unknowable is the only acceptable answer.

 
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I never understood why people try to convert people to their religion on the internet, which is what this thread has almost turned into. Almost every conversion story you hear is because either something happened to the person that seemed supernatural or they see a person living their lives religiously and they feel a connection, and think that by converting, their lives will have more meaning. Obviously neither of those can happen on a message board, and anything you quote from the Bible and any other religious text is going to have its fair share of criticism, and won't be the only reason why someone converts to a religion. If you did not know, I am a devout Catholic and try to live my life through the words of Jesus, and if, by living my life this way, someone feels they will have a more fulfilling life by converting to Catholicism, then hey, I'm happy for them. But you're not gonna see me on here trying to prove that God is real because I truly believe that it is a waste of time, just like how it's a waste of time to prove that there isn't a God.

 
I will never try to impose my beliefd on someone else. We all have question about where we come from and where we are going. All I cab say is good luck. Eventually we all have to answer for our sins. May God bless you all.

 
I have no problem if you have faith in something, and if it helps you make it through the day, thats good.

But when you begin forcing your beliefs down someones throat, then there's a problem.

 
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