The Concept of God

rustneversleeps said:

rgambs said:

rustneversleeps said:

rgambs said:

There's no reason to get personal pjfanwillneverleave, things can be civil.
Bash religion all you want, there's no need to bash the people here.

this is funny.

Care to elaborate?

theres no need. you said it all. barly?

rgambs said:

mcgruff10 said:

rgambs said:

mcgruff10 said:

rgambs said:

erocshifty said:

I read something about the concept of there being a "Great Architect" that I somewhat agree with. I've found that a lot of my belief system borrows from several different places. The thing that puzzles me is how in a lot of these belief systems: there's no Female deity. For me a lot of the time, "God" is tied in with Nature. Sun, Moon, Earth, etc..

The earliest religions usually had balance between male and female deities, and that survived in many cultures until the Judeo-Christian beliefs spread and influenced so much of the world.

One of many issues I have with the Catholic Church. Women should definitely be priests and priests should be able to have kids and marry. It cracks me up when priests give martial advice lol. 

I wonder if that would have an effect on the problem of molestation?

I honestly think sexual abuse cases would dramatically drop. 

I do too, but who knows, it has to be more complicated than just a lack a physical affection.
Plenty of people get very lonely without seeking that sort of thing.
It seems to me there must be something about priesthood that attracts men susceptible to pedophilic tendancies, it's easier to imagine that than to imagine that it creates those tendancies.

rustneversleeps said:

rgambs said:

rustneversleeps said:

rgambs said:

rustneversleeps said:

rgambs said:

There's no reason to get personal pjfanwillneverleave, things can be civil.
Bash religion all you want, there's no need to bash the people here.

this is funny.

Care to elaborate?

theres no need. you said it all. barly?

I don't understand the cryptic codewords you post when you respond to me.  Barly?  Yagi?  
I have to assume it's part of your troll schtick.

nevermind then.  

rgambs said:

FoxyRedLa said:

I don't remember everything in this thread - those that do not believe do you believe is Satan? Believe in hell? 

I'm still thinking about Him being vain and needy. He died for us.

Those that don't believe what do you believe? The Big Bang? That theory doesn't fully explain either.

Has any none believer thought why they feel they have to actively convince believers He is not?

Do not believe in Satan or Hell.  That is what started me down the path of atheism.
Why would God allow someone he can destroy to continue existing with the purpose of separating us from His love?
How on Earth can we worship a deity which threatens to torture us for eternity if we displease Him?

He is vain and needy, if He exists.  Hundreds of times He commands us to worship him, love him, forsake all others, don't dare to speak ill of him, and spread his name, all under penalty of eternal torture.
"He died for us" 
That part of the story is incredibly convoluted and makes no sense.
God split a piece off of himself that is an autonomous, separate being that is somehow still him.  Then he sends that being that is Himself to Earth to experience bodily torture resulting in physical death for the benefit of everyone.  How does that make sense?  God decided He had to make a sacrifice of a piece of Himself so that He can forgive the transgressions of others?  Only to have Himself back by His side in paradise anyways, just after having endured torture.  What am arbitrary setup, if He has the capacity to forgive, then forgive, don't go through some convoluted symbolic scheme.

The Big Bang is an explanation for how the universe erupted from a singularity, not a theory for the explanation of existence.  There are many theories on that topic, but no credible evidence so far.  At that multiversal, epic scale of existence, I am willing to acknowledge a spark which some would identify as God, though I am entirely unwilling to believe it is the patriarchal, terribly flawed deity described by Judeo-Christian tradition.  That deity isn't fit to be a father of one child, let alone father to billions and creator of existence.

Your final question.
The answer is the same as why people who believe want to actively convince other to do so as well.
We think we know the root of others' suffering and we think we know a better path toward alleviating that suffering.
The only difference is there are a gazillion times more people on your side, and they use fear and manipulative tactics as opposed to evidence and logic.

rustneversleeps said:

rgambs said:

rustneversleeps said:

rgambs said:

rustneversleeps said:

rgambs said:

rustneversleeps said:

rgambs said:

There's no reason to get personal pjfanwillneverleave, things can be civil.
Bash religion all you want, there's no need to bash the people here.

this is funny.

Care to elaborate?

theres no need. you said it all. barly?

I don't understand the cryptic codewords you post when you respond to me.  Barly?  Yagi?  
I have to assume it's part of your troll schtick.

nevermind then.  

Ok lol
I guess God does indeed work in mysterious ways!

do you actually laugh out loud at yourself as often as you type those letters? 

are you people still arguing about God? havent you had this discussion 1000 times over? Poupon?

rgambs said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

again, folks, this is not a religion thread. try to separate the two. 

I understand why you want to separate the two, but it isn't an easy task.
Religion is the language used to describe a God, so I'm not sure how to extract one from the other.
Specific Gods can be avoided, but that leaves little to discuss, doesn't it?