The Concept of God
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Not sure if this is aimed at me, but personally I'm not trying to take anybody down or shit on anyone. As I've said before my questions are based on a genuine interest in the opposing views, and it's hard to have a discussion on the concept of God without including books, tenets and religions. If the thread has veered away from HFD's original post, then maybe that is down to the (dare I say it?) natural evolution of the thread.
There will always be opposing views on this - one side will never be able convince the other that they are 100% right. I believe RYME has been open enough to take part in a healthy discussion and has been very open and honest about his beliefs. I'm not trying to force my (non) beliefs on anyone; just asking RYME about some of the content of his last post.
Peace.“Do not postpone happiness”
(Jeff Tweedy, Sydney 2007)
“Put yer good money on the sunrise”
(Tim Rogers)0 -
goldrush, not at all! A culmination of my thoughts after reading the last few pages. I respect anyone who comes from a place of sincerity.0
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brianlux said:PJ_Soul said:If this were a thread about literature, Bible quotes would make all the sense in the world to me and I would be fascinated by that (I have read the Bible myself and have an English Lit degree, so Bible study in the academic sense is a valuable task IMO), but I'm afraid that Bible quotes used as an actual explanation of what is real or truth to a Christian is equivalent to quoting The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe or The Wizard of Oz to explain the migratory patterns and territoriality of lions. Or maybe like quoting a book that David Koresh or someone wrote, only obviously the Bible is better than anything Koresh could have done, lol.
Anyway, the biggest contradiction I see is the Old Testament vs the New Testament. They have two very different messages, and most of the contradictions stem from how they clash with one another. There seems to be confusion between rich and poor/wealth and poverty, love and vengeance, forgiveness and punishment, and the rights and position of men vs the rights and position of women. Then there is the interpretation of the Bible. I find that the majority of Christians have decided to make some of it literal, and some of it metaphorical. To me, that translates to picking and choosing the meaning of its contents arbitrarily in an effort to basically explain away the impossible while accepting what they can get away with saying is possible. And then there is the doozy. The Ten Commandments: "Thou Shalt Not Kill".... Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... I don't even know how many times the Bible contradicts those 4 words, but it's a LOT. "Thou shalt not steal." ... and then it goes on about how God favours plundering and spoiling Egyptians and stealing goats. I could go on, but you get the gist. Of course many, many more contradictions come up when you compare the Bible to organized dogma.
And then there are more nit picky inconsistencies, although those really don't matter to me. I.e., there are different descriptions of how Judas died and shit like that. Those are petty things that I don't care about. I don't see such things as relevant, since the Bible had many authors, so I assume they just messed up some stuff. Probably didn't collaborate closely enough on the details.
Look, at the end of the day, I find it hard to swallow that anyone could really think the Bible is free from contradiction when so many totally different and contradictory beliefs and practices and sects and denominations have been spawned from the same text.
And I'm sorry, believers, if I'm sounding crass again. It's just that I got sucked into all this 40 plus years ago after hearing the same rote formatted responses proffered verbatim and then later, taking a more critical approach to the whole thing, saw that it just doesn't add up. I know your faith is sincere but what makes least sense is the idea that the Bible is God's word. For all we know, PJSoul's words are God's words and She is trying to tell you something.
So maybe let's take the good lesson from the Good Book and leave the tall tales in the mythology section where they truly belong. Whales don't eat people. People don't survive a blast furnace. And the Dinosaurs didn't go extinct when they saw the ark floating off and said, "Oh crap! That was today?"
The dinosaurs went extinct way before the ark.0 -
There is nothing that limits the concept of God further than the religions which attempt so very poorly to define it.Monkey Driven, Call this Living?0
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rgambs said:There is nothing that limits the concept of God further than the religions which attempt so very poorly to define it.0
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rustneversleeps said:rgambs said:There is nothing that limits the concept of God further than the religions which attempt so very poorly to define it.
I don't know how you do it, your wit is unmatched and your insight is truly prescient!Monkey Driven, Call this Living?0 -
rgambs said:rustneversleeps said:rgambs said:There is nothing that limits the concept of God further than the religions which attempt so very poorly to define it.
I don't know how you do it, your wit is unmatched and your insight is truly prescient!0 -
rustneversleeps said:rgambs said:rustneversleeps said:rgambs said:There is nothing that limits the concept of God further than the religions which attempt so very poorly to define it.
I don't know how you do it, your wit is unmatched and your insight is truly prescient!Monkey Driven, Call this Living?0 -
goldrush said:Not sure if this is aimed at me, but personally I'm not trying to take anybody down or shit on anyone. As I've said before my questions are based on a genuine interest in the opposing views, and it's hard to have a discussion on the concept of God without including books, tenets and religions. If the thread has veered away from HFD's original post, then maybe that is down to the (dare I say it?) natural evolution of the thread.
There will always be opposing views on this - one side will never be able convince the other that they are 100% right. I believe RYME has been open enough to take part in a healthy discussion and has been very open and honest about his beliefs. I'm not trying to force my (non) beliefs on anyone; just asking RYME about some of the content of his last post.
Peace.
Which of my latest posts do you have a question about?
And I certainly don't claim to have all the answers. If I don't know the answer to something, I will look it up so that maby both of us can learn something.0 -
PJfanwillneverleave1 said:^^^
An English Lit degree qualifies a person to have studied myths?
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata0 -
hedonist said:Posted a similar thought some pages back, but isn't this about the concept of god? Not books, not tenets, not religions, not self-righteousness from any view, and holy (ha) shit, not about taking others down.
How goddamned (again, ha) difficult is it to believe or not as you do and not shit on others?
Maybe I'm naive in that my being preached to over time has been rare, and the times it has occurred, been respected, reflected upon, and mostly rejected. From either side. Many sides.
Anyway, blowing (pot smoke) in the wind once again.
I can't profess to know shit, but will say on this wave, I'm open - if I'm lucky, always will be for better or worse.
FWIW, I see absolutely nothing wrong with questioning and debating religious dogma. I think it's important to do so, actually.
Post edited by PJ_Soul onWith all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata0 -
goldrush said:Not sure if this is aimed at me, but personally I'm not trying to take anybody down or shit on anyone. As I've said before my questions are based on a genuine interest in the opposing views, and it's hard to have a discussion on the concept of God without including books, tenets and religions. If the thread has veered away from HFD's original post, then maybe that is down to the (dare I say it?) natural evolution of the thread.
There will always be opposing views on this - one side will never be able convince the other that they are 100% right. I believe RYME has been open enough to take part in a healthy discussion and has been very open and honest about his beliefs. I'm not trying to force my (non) beliefs on anyone; just asking RYME about some of the content of his last post.
Peace.
If I believe that blue monkeys live on venus how do you prove to me that they do not exist?Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018)
The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt20 -
Gern Blansten said:goldrush said:Not sure if this is aimed at me, but personally I'm not trying to take anybody down or shit on anyone. As I've said before my questions are based on a genuine interest in the opposing views, and it's hard to have a discussion on the concept of God without including books, tenets and religions. If the thread has veered away from HFD's original post, then maybe that is down to the (dare I say it?) natural evolution of the thread.
There will always be opposing views on this - one side will never be able convince the other that they are 100% right. I believe RYME has been open enough to take part in a healthy discussion and has been very open and honest about his beliefs. I'm not trying to force my (non) beliefs on anyone; just asking RYME about some of the content of his last post.
Peace.
If I believe that blue monkeys live on venus how do you prove to me that they do not exist?Post edited by Annafalk on0 -
Gern Blansten said:goldrush said:Not sure if this is aimed at me, but personally I'm not trying to take anybody down or shit on anyone. As I've said before my questions are based on a genuine interest in the opposing views, and it's hard to have a discussion on the concept of God without including books, tenets and religions. If the thread has veered away from HFD's original post, then maybe that is down to the (dare I say it?) natural evolution of the thread.
There will always be opposing views on this - one side will never be able convince the other that they are 100% right. I believe RYME has been open enough to take part in a healthy discussion and has been very open and honest about his beliefs. I'm not trying to force my (non) beliefs on anyone; just asking RYME about some of the content of his last post.
Peace.
If I believe that blue monkeys live on venus how do you prove to me that they do not exist?
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^^^
Such nonsense.
I have seen those monkeys in the light and they are blue. Trust me. Just give it a chance and take the plunge - believe. If not, who will?
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I will not bow to your blue monkeys (or Orange). Green is the light
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Smellyman said:Gern Blansten said:goldrush said:Not sure if this is aimed at me, but personally I'm not trying to take anybody down or shit on anyone. As I've said before my questions are based on a genuine interest in the opposing views, and it's hard to have a discussion on the concept of God without including books, tenets and religions. If the thread has veered away from HFD's original post, then maybe that is down to the (dare I say it?) natural evolution of the thread.
There will always be opposing views on this - one side will never be able convince the other that they are 100% right. I believe RYME has been open enough to take part in a healthy discussion and has been very open and honest about his beliefs. I'm not trying to force my (non) beliefs on anyone; just asking RYME about some of the content of his last post.
Peace.
If I believe that blue monkeys live on venus how do you prove to me that they do not exist?
"It's a sad and beautiful world"-Roberto Benigni0 -
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Is this supposed to be fun?0
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Smellyman said:Gern Blansten said:goldrush said:Not sure if this is aimed at me, but personally I'm not trying to take anybody down or shit on anyone. As I've said before my questions are based on a genuine interest in the opposing views, and it's hard to have a discussion on the concept of God without including books, tenets and religions. If the thread has veered away from HFD's original post, then maybe that is down to the (dare I say it?) natural evolution of the thread.
There will always be opposing views on this - one side will never be able convince the other that they are 100% right. I believe RYME has been open enough to take part in a healthy discussion and has been very open and honest about his beliefs. I'm not trying to force my (non) beliefs on anyone; just asking RYME about some of the content of his last post.
Peace.
If I believe that blue monkeys live on venus how do you prove to me that they do not exist?
John 4:20Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018)
The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt20
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