why do you believe in God or...

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  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    brainofPJ wrote:
    but you wouldn't know what's going on or the effect it was having on people.

    ive watched this past year as my childrens' grandmother has lived with alzheimers. she does not who they are, she loses her temper with them and despite all the times her son and i have explained to our children what is happening with their nanna, it hurts them to have her react to them the way she does. this is a woman whom i have always enjoyed intelligent and very discursive conversations with. she thinks people are trying to hide stuff from her and that they are lying to her. this past year she has mistaken me for her eldest granddaughter, she has mistaken my grand daughter as her own and can not be left alone for any length of time. she gets very frustrated and she forgets what she is doing in the middle of doing it. has no concept of time or whether she has eaten.
    my own paternal great aunt was also diagnosed with alzheimers. after my grandmother died(her sister), she had to be moved to a nursing home because there was no one capable of caring for her. despite being told many times her sister had died, she still asks for her. she expresses a desire to return to her own home.
    alzheimers is a horrible insidious disease. so with the fabulous benefit of having been able to observe its effects, and knowing how it affects the people around the sufferer, i can categorical state the desire to lose my head rather than go through what these two women have had to endure.
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • soulsingingsoulsinging Posts: 13,202
    cornnifer wrote:
    Nicely put. When i was 18 i used to talk a lot of shit about not being afraid to die and about how much life sucked and i would actually prefer it. Aproximately 9 years later when my first son was about eighteen months old and a doctor told me "we'll run some tests, but this is classic cancer" i was scared shitless. I remember bawling to my father about "all i want to do is be with my wife and watch my son grow". I was terrified of what i would miss out on with him. i wouldn't be there for him when he needed me. i would, probably, eventually be replaced and i hated that thought as well. (After a few weeks of crying, surgery and no fewer than four pathologists, my doctor was amazed that what i had was benign afterall, so i will in no way compare my situation with yours). i think it is somewhat fair to say that many who claim to have no fear of dying have never been faced with it. It sounds to me like you have come full circle and i am amazed by your attitude. It is inspiring to say the least.

    1) i believe she said she wasn't afraid of dying. she was afraid of leaving her children alone. i see a difference there.

    2) i have. not from anything as dramatic as cancer, but i have nonetheless.
  • brainofPJbrainofPJ Posts: 2,361
    ive watched this past year as my childrens' grandmother has lived with alzheimers. she does not who they are, she loses her temper with them and despite all the times her son and i have explained to our children what is happening with their nanna, it hurts them to have her react to them the way she does. this is a woman whom i have always enjoyed intelligent and very discursive conversations with. she thinks people are trying to hide stuff from her and that they are lying to her. this past year she has mistaken me for her eldest granddaughter, she has mistaken my grand daughter as her own and can not be left alone for any length of time. she gets very frustrated and she forgets what she is doing in the middle of doing it. has no concept of time or whether she has eaten.
    my own paternal great aunt was also diagnosed with alzheimers. after my grandmother died(her sister), she had to be moved to a nursing home because there was no one capable of caring for her. despite being told many times her sister had died, she still asks for her. she expresses a desire to return to her own home.
    alzheimers is a horrible insidious disease. so with the fabulous benefit of having been able to observe its effects, and knowing how it affects the people around the sufferer, i can categorical state the desire to lose my head rather than go through what these two women have had to endure.


    i saw it first hand also. i was asked to move in with my grandparents to help take care of my grandma. never been the same since


    Esther's here and she's sick?

    hi Esther, now we are all going to be sick, thanks
  • cornnifercornnifer Posts: 2,130
    1) i believe she said she wasn't afraid of dying. she was afraid of leaving her children alone. i see a difference there.

    2) i have. not from anything as dramatic as cancer, but i have nonetheless.

    In no way was i being confrontational. Dude, you'll fucking argue with anything.
    "When all your friends and sedatives mean well but make it worse... better find yourself a place to level out."
  • PJammin'PJammin' Posts: 1,902
    ...why don't you, if that is the case.


    i am an atheist. i don't believe in a God cause it makes absolutely no sense to me. this has been the case since i was 11 years old. religion does not give me the answers i require.

    there is a BIG difference between God and religion.

    i believe in God because...

    1. to talk in simple terms. the creation is evidence enough. we as humans create things, and as beautiful as they are, they can't match the creation of the world.

    2. there is no dispute that Jesus Christ walked the earth. He was with God from the beginning and He came in the form of a man to the earth. He relayed the message of God by his words and His works. words and works that were documented in the Bible. by His works His fame spread throughout the world.

    3. most importantly, a relationship with Him has revealed this to me.

    you'll never find Him if you don't seek and understand.
    I died. I died and you just stood there. I died and you watched. I died and you walked by and said no. I'm dead.
  • gue_bariumgue_barium Posts: 5,515
    PJammin' wrote:
    there is a BIG difference between God and religion.

    i believe in God because...

    1. to talk in simple terms. the creation is evidence enough. we as humans create things, and as beautiful as they are, they can't match the creation of the world.

    2. there is no dispute that Jesus Christ walked the earth. He was with God from the beginning and He came in the form of a man to the earth. He relayed the message of God by his words and His works. words and works that were documented in the Bible. by His works His fame spread throughout the world.

    3. most importantly, a relationship with Him has revealed this to me.

    you'll never find Him if you don't seek and understand.

    I've never revealed Jesus to you. I don't even know you.

    all posts by ©gue_barium are protected under US copyright law and are not to be reproduced, exchanged or sold
    except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.
  • soulsingingsoulsinging Posts: 13,202
    cornnifer wrote:
    In no way was i being confrontational. Dude, you'll fucking argue with anything.

    but you again imply that everyone is afraid to die. and it isn't true and it isn't what she said either.
  • soulsingingsoulsinging Posts: 13,202
    PJammin' wrote:
    2. there is no dispute that Jesus Christ walked the earth.

    true fact.
    PJammin' wrote:
    He was with God from the beginning and He came in the form of a man to the earth. He relayed the message of God by his words and His works. words and works that were documented in the Bible. by His works His fame spread throughout the world.

    questionable opinion.
    PJammin' wrote:
    there is a BIG difference between God and religion.

    i believe in God because...

    1. to talk in simple terms. the creation is evidence enough. we as humans create things, and as beautiful as they are, they can't match the creation of the world.

    3. most importantly, a relationship with Him has revealed this to me.

    you'll never find Him if you don't seek and understand.

    fair enough. just so you know though, there IS a difference between god and religion and belief in a divine jesus puts you squarely in the second camp. religion is any means by which humans claim to be able to explain the unexplainable and draw moral codes from it. god is bigger than religion. religion is a narrowing of god's power by explaining that god has only one course of action and it comes with set rules and acceptable forms of belief and worship.
  • brainofPJbrainofPJ Posts: 2,361
    PJammin' wrote:
    there is a BIG difference between God and religion.

    i believe in God because...

    1. to talk in simple terms. the creation is evidence enough. we as humans create things, and as beautiful as they are, they can't match the creation of the world.

    2. there is no dispute that Jesus Christ walked the earth. He was with God from the beginning and He came in the form of a man to the earth. He relayed the message of God by his words and His works. words and works that were documented in the Bible. by His works His fame spread throughout the world.

    3. most importantly, a relationship with Him has revealed this to me.

    you'll never find Him if you don't seek and understand.


    it's nice to see someone able to distinguish God and Jesus. so many people feel they are the same.


    Esther's here and she's sick?

    hi Esther, now we are all going to be sick, thanks
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    brainofPJ wrote:
    it's nice to see someone able to distinguish God and Jesus. so many people feel they are the same.

    What's the difference between God and Santa Claus?

    Besides the name.

    1. He knows when you are sleeping
    2. He knows when you're awake
    3. He knows when you've been bad or good

    Sounds like Omniscience to me.

    4. He hits every house in the world in one night

    Omnipresence

    5. In order to be omniscient and omnipresent one would have to be every atom in the universe, thus also omnipotent.
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • JD SalJD Sal Posts: 790
    PJammin' wrote:
    2. there is no dispute that Jesus Christ walked the earth.

    true fact.

    How is this a fact and undisputable? No one has ever found the physical remains of Jesus, so it can certainly be contested that he existed.
    "If no one sees you, you're not here at all"
  • libragirllibragirl Posts: 4,632
    I do believe in God. I know that there is more then this and I take comfort in believing that. Science can't explain everything. I'm not putting all my faith in man. Look where he has got us....
    These cuts are leaving creases. Trace the scars to fit the pieces, to tell the story, you don't need to say a word.
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    libragirl wrote:
    I do believe in God. I know that there is more then this and I take comfort in believing that. Science can't explain everything. I'm not putting all my faith in man. Look where he has got us....

    I know this is a popular thing to say these days, but the truth is, most of us would be dead right now if not for science. It has got us a long way.
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    JD Sal wrote:
    How is this a fact and undisputable? No one has ever found the physical remains of Jesus, so it can certainly be contested that he existed.

    Yes, and there are still historians that argue that Jesus never existed.

    Some argue that the Hindu figure Jezeus Krishna is related to Jesus Christ. But all of history is disputable.
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • cornnifercornnifer Posts: 2,130
    but you again imply that everyone is afraid to die. and it isn't true and it isn't what she said either.

    Whatever you say.
    "When all your friends and sedatives mean well but make it worse... better find yourself a place to level out."
  • cornnifercornnifer Posts: 2,130
    Ahnimus wrote:
    Yes, and there are still historians that argue that Jesus never existed.

    .
    In all due respect, there are no REPUTABLE, historians that will argue this. You know it as well as i do. i'm not looking for an argument or trying to start a fight. i rarely ever visit this forum anymore. i don't care what you believe, let's just be honest. There are no historians, at least none that any rational scholar takes seriously, that argue that Jesus never existed. Its simply not an argument anymore.
    "When all your friends and sedatives mean well but make it worse... better find yourself a place to level out."
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    Ahnimus wrote:
    What's the difference between God and Santa Claus?

    Besides the name.

    1. He knows when you are sleeping
    2. He knows when you're awake
    3. He knows when you've been bad or good

    Sounds like Omniscience to me.

    4. He hits every house in the world in one night

    Omnipresence

    5. In order to be omniscient and omnipresent one would have to be every atom in the universe, thus also omnipotent.

    santa claus doesn't hit EVERY house in the world in one night. there are countries where the existence of santa claus is actually non-existant.
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    cornnifer wrote:
    In all due respect, there are no REPUTABLE, historians that will argue this. You know it as well as i do. i'm not looking for an argument or trying to start a fight. i rarely ever visit this forum anymore. i don't care what you believe, let's just be honest. There are no historians, at least none that any rational scholar takes seriously, that argue that Jesus never existed. Its simply not an argument anymore.

    Actually it is.
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    cornnifer wrote:
    In all due respect, there are no REPUTABLE, historians that will argue this. You know it as well as i do. i'm not looking for an argument or trying to start a fight. i rarely ever visit this forum anymore. i don't care what you believe, let's just be honest. There are no historians, at least none that any rational scholar takes seriously, that argue that Jesus never existed. Its simply not an argument anymore.

    Three examples

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Martin_%28philosopher%29

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.M._Robertson

    And D Murdoc a.k.a Acharya S

    Acharya is classically educated in archaeology, history, mythology, and languages. Her formal training includes a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree in Classics, Greek Civilization, from Franklin and Marshall College. She also attended the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in Greece.

    Acharya is a fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion, a division of the Council for Secular Humanism.

    While preserving her privacy, Acharya has been interviewed on a variety of radio stations. In an interview she said she came from a moderate Christian background. Though not traumatic or "Fundamentalist", she described it as "boring" and said she ceased attending church regularly at age 12.

    Acharya's inspiration for exploring the Jesus myth theory was reportedly Joseph Wheless's book Forgery in Christianity. She then read other works, such as Kersey Graves' The World's 16 Crucified Saviours, as well as Barbara Walker's The Woman's Encyclopaedia of Myth and Secrets.
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    santa claus doesn't hit EVERY house in the world in one night. there are countries where the existence of santa claus is actually non-existant.

    That's not how the story goes.
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • libragirllibragirl Posts: 4,632
    Ahnimus wrote:
    I know this is a popular thing to say these days, but the truth is, most of us would be dead right now if not for science. It has got us a long way.

    Not to say no good has come out of it..but there has been a lot of bad..but i guess that's God's fault.
    These cuts are leaving creases. Trace the scars to fit the pieces, to tell the story, you don't need to say a word.
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    Ahnimus wrote:
    That's not how the story goes.

    you mean the Western/European propaganda? not all cultures celebrate the bullshit that is christmas, that's what i was getting at. :)
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    you mean the Western/European propaganda? not all cultures celebrate the bullshit that is christmas, that's what i was getting at. :)

    Yea, and not all celebrate God. So, the comparison was within the context.
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    libragirl wrote:
    Not to say no good has come out of it..but there has been a lot of bad..but i guess that's God's fault.

    Blame God if you want. I can't blame things that don't exist.

    Many here know that I don't blame anything anyway. There has to be an ultimate source of causation, an acausal begining in order for blame to be warranted.
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • libragirllibragirl Posts: 4,632
    Ahnimus wrote:
    Blame God if you want. I can't blame things that don't exist.

    Many here know that I don't blame anything anyway. There has to be an ultimate source of causation, an acausal begining in order for blame to be warranted.


    oh i don't blame God for anything..but then again you would have to believe in him to blame him. I blame man for the calamaties of the world.
    These cuts are leaving creases. Trace the scars to fit the pieces, to tell the story, you don't need to say a word.
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    libragirl wrote:
    oh i don't blame God for anything..but then again you would have to believe in him to blame him. I blame man for the calamaties of the world.

    So, you believe human wills are acausal?
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    Ahnimus wrote:
    Yea, and not all celebrate God. So, the comparison was within the context.

    you said EVERY house in the world. i focussed on santa claus cause i couldnt think of a society that didnt venerate some type of God, be it in the judeo-christian way or pagan or some other way.

    but im nitpicking. :D
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    you said EVERY house in the world. i focussed on santa claus cause i couldnt think of a society that didnt venerate some type of God, be it in the judeo-christian way or pagan or some other way.

    but im nitpicking. :D

    Buddhism
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    Ahnimus wrote:
    Buddhism
    this is true. The Buddha is not a God. but he has divine qualities which i find difficult to reconcile with him being just a mere mortal.
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • brainofPJbrainofPJ Posts: 2,361
    Ahnimus wrote:
    What's the difference between God and Santa Claus?

    Besides the name.

    1. He knows when you are sleeping
    2. He knows when you're awake
    3. He knows when you've been bad or good

    Sounds like Omniscience to me.

    4. He hits every house in the world in one night

    Omnipresence

    5. In order to be omniscient and omnipresent one would have to be every atom in the universe, thus also omnipotent.



    you don't believe in God, i get it.

    and God isn't omnipresent but what do you care, you don't believe he exists.


    Esther's here and she's sick?

    hi Esther, now we are all going to be sick, thanks
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