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| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 9:42pm On Apr 05, 2017 |
What's the difference between this pronouncement: "Meningitis is caused by fornication." ~ Governor Yari of Zamfara State. and this tweet: The root cause of mental illness is sin and the foundational solution to mental health is salvation ~ Pastor Sam Adeyemi. I ask because the Christians who are condemning Yari today (and rightfully so) were the same people defending Adeyemi a few months ago. It seems believers are blind to the absurdity of their own beliefs. If you believe that snakes and donkeys spoke Hebrew with perfect human diction or that a virgin gave birth without sexual intercourse or that a man flew into the sky on the back of a horse then how can you be repulsed by the notion that meningitis is caused by fornication? Ijabla Raymond 13 Likes 5 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by adewuyi2012: 12:04am On Apr 06, 2017 |
THE FAMILY RULES* (1) The main purpose of this group is to relate, share knowledge, have fun, help one another, keep ourselves informed with the world around us *(please make sure what you share is in a common language eg English)* and to share the word of God. (2) Members are encouraged to relate well with one another in love,respect,wisdom,maturity and understanding. (3) If any member have posts relating to e.g. on saturday is for music, movies, poem and job updates they should post it without having to get permission from the Admins..as long as d posts are related to the ongoing discussion..however, once a member noticed that there is an ongoing discussion, such member should exercise patient 4 dem to finish d discussion b4 making d post. (4) Feel free to contact any of the Admins if you are not too okay with any comment or behaviour of any member..please don't take laws into your hands by raining abusive words on the group's page. Report to us and appropriate action will be taken. *ACTIVITIES PER DAY* •Monday: Sport •Tuesday: Health talk •Wednesday: Love, Relationship and Welfare •Thursday: Entrepreneur •Friday: Politics, Economy and News around the world •Saturday: Music, Movies and Job Updates. •Sunday: Bible study. *Courtesy- ADMIN* Chat me: 07087844062 if u want to join us. 1 Like |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 5:49pm On Apr 07, 2017 |
THREE LIVES TRUE STORY #2 Miss B: 26 years of age, devout Christian, single, lives in Lusaka, Zambia Miss B did very well at school and speaks and writes English beautifully. She longed for a career in media or public relations and enrolled on a four year communications studies degree. She graduated in 2014 with the equivalent of an upper second class degree. Many graduates in Zambia spend years searching for a suitable job but Miss B was lucky. Within six months she secured a job as the communications officer for an international charity. This was well-paid for a recent graduate, and exactly the kind of job she needed to get her career started. She enjoyed the work and impressed her new employer. The job was for an initial six month contract but was renewable subject to satisfactory performance. Halfway through her initial contract she had a conversation with a junior pastor at her church. He told her he had seen a vision. In the vision, Miss B had married a senior pastor at the church. Miss B soon became convinced that this was a prophetic vision and marrying a man of God was something she had dreamed about since childhood. The two of them discussed this vision on several occasions. The junior pastor told her that this vision could not come to pass unless she studied the Bible and secured a recognised qualification--a pastor's wife must have this basic knowledge. Miss B thought about this for several weeks and researched suitable Bible courses. By this time her contact with the charity was about to expire and she was offered a permanent role. She decided that a call from God could not be ignored, so she turned the offer down and, instead, enrolled on a two-year Bible study course. That is when her problems really began. She had to pay for the course and for her food and rentals but had no income. She had faith something would happen to allow the prophecy to be realised but, by the end of her first year of Bible study, she is broke. Her savings have been spent and she is in debt. She is not sure how she can continue her course. Her job with the charity is no longer on offer and finding a new job could take months or years. She is currently living from hand-to-mouth getting further in debt and is surviving on a very small income from a few hours work a week as an administration assistant. Maybe, the prophecy will come true and she will marry a pastor at her church but all the senior pastors are already married. So maybe she won't. Whatever happens on the marriage front, I hope this diversion has not wrecked her promising career. Stories from across Africa by Mr Flavell 16 Likes 2 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 6:13am On Apr 10, 2017 |
THREE LIVES TRUE STORY #3 Mrs C: 50 years of age, devout Christian, widower, from Lagos, Nigeria Mrs C was such a stellar school student that her extended family made a great fund-raising effort to pay for her to attend university in the United Kingdom. She secured a place to read English at the prestigious University College London. She graduated with First Class Honours in the summer of 1994 and returned to Nigeria as a family celebrity--she was the first person in her family to attend any university, let alone a famous overseas one. Mrs C didn't just return to Nigeria with a degree, she had met a Zambian man in London and she returned home pregnant. Her family hastily arranged a wedding and by 1995 she was married and blessed with a baby daughter. Mrs C did not want to work for anyone--she wanted to run her own business and someone she met in London was going to make that possible for her. At a Christian Circle she attended, she met an American businessman who was in the UK for a short course and they got on well. She told him of her idea to set up an orphanage back home. He agreed to provide part of the funding to get it off the ground and promised to introduce others who would contribute to running costs. By the end of 1995, Mrs C had purchased a large, run-down property in a rural area near Lagos and work was in progress to turn it into a home for up to 40 children. Within six months, the building was ready, the orphanage was officially registered and admitted its first half dozen children. The next two years went extremely well for Mrs C. The orphanage become well-known and respected. It filled to capacity and the American donors were generous, allowing Mrs C to pay her bills and have a good surplus that she took as her own income. With her husband employed as a handyman and driver, the couple lived well and even managed to buy an almost-new Toyota Land Cruiser all-wheel-drive vehicle. Mrs C was very religious. She spoke to Jesus every single day at midnight--it was her ritual. He gave her advice and reassured her whenever problems arose. She knew all her success was not her own doing but was due to Jesus pulling strings and making things go right for her. She felt hugely blessed and very happy with her life. Then something terrible happened. In late 1998, her husband was driving the Land Cruiser alone in the early evening when he was forced to stop by carjackers. A witness said she saw two cars box him in and bring him to a stop. As men approached his car he jumped out and ran. In his panic, he ran into the path of a lorry carrying a load of steel bars. The driver could do nothing to avoid him. Mrs C's beloved husband died on the spot. When her husband died, Mrs C was pregnant with her second daughter. But this pregnancy was nothing like her first. She had terrible morning sickness and felt constantly tired and unwell. She couldn't understand it--she was the same and her baby had the same father, so why was the pregnancy so different and so horrible? She suspected three of the children in her care. Two girls and a boy had been nothing but trouble since they arrived. They didn't do as they were told like the other children and showed no fear. They always stuck together as a group and often refused to join in activities with the others. When she spoke to these three, they would sometimes refuse to answer her or would even walk away as she was talking to them. She hated they way they looked at her--they should be grateful for everything she was doing to help them but obviously, they were not. Mrs C thought these three children might have something to do with her difficult pregnancy but she wasn't sure, so she took no action. However, her husband's death settled matters for her. She concluded the only explanation for so much misfortune was witchcraft. She decided to take her suspicions to Jesus. At midnight, one day after her husband's death she discussed everything with Jesus. Jesus consoled her and she felt better and stronger. Jesus told her the children had powers because of demon possession but they could be restored by exorcism. I won't describe any of the detail of what happened to the children. I only need say Mrs C requested help from a pastor and two assistants and they locked the children in a room and exorcised them over a period of five days. All the children suffered injuries and one, the youngest child, a five-year-old boy, was admitted to hospital. The police became involved in the case but no charges were brought, I have no idea why not. However, word of this incident did get back to Mrs C's sponsors in the USA. The Americans were horrified and Mrs C was asked to step down from her position at the orphanage. That was the turning point in Mrs C's life. She was angry and upset to be treated like that by fellow Christians but, more importantly, she was homeless, alone and broke. In the 18 years, to bring this story up-to-date, Mrs C has never managed to find a job. She and her daughters have stayed with friends and family but she is essentially itinerant and homeless. She has borrowed money and started a succession of businesses but they have all been badly planned, badly managed and under-funded. They have all failed and left her in debt. Her life is not as it promised to be back in those heady days of 1994. NOTE: I don't know Mrs C personally. This story was related to me by her eldest daughter. TWO THINGS YOU KNOW AND ONE YOU DON'T Here are two things you know: 1. Humans have invented and worshipped thousands of gods over a few millennia. 2. Humans find invented gods completely convincing and satisfying. Here is one thing you don't know: 3. Is the god the ancient Hebrews wrote about in the Torah (now worshiped by Jews, Christians and Muslims) one of those invented gods or a real one? Stories from across Africa by Mr Flavell 7 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 5:00pm On Apr 12, 2017 |
WHEN YOUR GOD IS REAL If your god exists and your religion is true, does this give you an obligation to help others who do not share your beliefs? If you saw a child floundering in a shallow pond, you would surely feel obliged to make an effort to save its life but how much greater is your moral obligation if you see a multitude of people headed to an eternity of unimaginable agony? Could anything possibly be more important than saving them? So why don't all religious people dedicate their lives to saving those who worship fake gods or no gods at all? Why do most religious people shrug their shoulders and say people are entitled to their own beliefs? Are we really so selfish and wicked? This is hard to understand. Perhaps it is because you feel it is too hard to convince others that their beliefs are wrong and yours are right. But if your beliefs are true and you know they are true, it should be possible to pass that knowledge to others. After all, if you cannot do that, how can you be sure your beliefs ARE true? I don't know why religious people are so selfish. Perhaps they will tell us. But I do have my suspicions. I suspect they don't do this because they are not really sure their own beliefs are true--they just find them agreeable and hope they are true. They have faith. And how can you expect to convince others, if all you have is faith? 8 Likes 3 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 4:31pm On Apr 14, 2017 |
TODAY IS 'GOOD' FRIDAY: Because a LOVING God needs the blood of his son(no, his own blood) before he could forgive his children. 4 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Elparaiso(m): 5:01pm On Apr 14, 2017 |
joseph1013: LOL, I love asking Christians this question. Why couldn't God just forgive us without shedding blood? They always answer with, "He is a principled God who needs order". 7 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Nobody: 5:22pm On Apr 14, 2017 |
Elparaiso:Lmao 5 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 7:07pm On Apr 14, 2017 |
Elparaiso:  |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 2:08pm On Apr 16, 2017 |
THE RESURRECTION - A FARCE On this glorious Easter sunday, I watched as people well-dressed go to church. In the tranquility of the environment, I used the opportunity to watch the last episodes of the first season of the TV Series, Billions, before continuing with Philip Tetlock's book, Superforecasting. While catching a break, I switched on the cable TV and stumbled on a pastor explaining some of the historical factors that in his view lead to the conclusion that Jesus arose supernaturally. He proceeded to lament the "sinfulness of the human heart that denies the evidence for the Resurrection." This kind of rhetoric is common in evangelical and fundamentalist circles, but I am not sure the pastor understood how inflammatory it is. By using the word sinfulness, he is not merely claiming that we unbelievers are honestly mistaken, but that we are willfully mistaken and are therefore subject to divine judgment for our decision. I am sympathetic to believers who complain about Dawkins' insensitivity and ridicule, but a posture that attributes willful, eternally punishable sinfulness to the majority of the world's population is in my estimation far more provocative. All the much more so in light of the likelihood that few who make such statements have studied in any depth the arguments against their position. Let me address three common arguments made in the favor of the resurrection of Jesus. First, it is often claimed that the disciples' willingness to die for their faith in Jesus' Resurrection proves that they actually saw the risen Jesus. People are never willing to die for what they know to be untrue. But the assertion that Jesus' disciples died for their faith has no historical foundation; it is mere hearsay. We have no historical grounding for the martyrdom of even one of Jesus' disciples. All details regarding their manner of dying emerge years later in accounts that are far removed from the actual events. Even if it could be proven historically that some of the earliest disciples were martyred, we would still be unable to look into their minds and know they died specifically for their belief in Jesus' Resurrection. Joseph Smith was murdered by a mob in 1844 in Nauvoo, Illinois. Latter Day Saints believe he was martyred for his unwavering conviction that God revealed himself through golden tablets that Smith had discovered in 1830. Many non-Mormons believe he was killed because he was a criminal. If the facts are so readily disputed for a relatively recent and well-documented event like Joseph Smith's death, how can we say with any confidence how or why Jesus' disciples perished, let alone what was in their minds when they died? Second, it is claimed that Jesus' disciples could not have experienced a mass hallucination to convince them of Jesus' Resurrection. You will hear apologists say that hallucinations are individual occurrences and that by their very nature only one person can see a given hallucination at a time, that they certainly are not something which can be seen by a group of people. They say since an hallucination exists only in this subjective, personal sense, it is obvious that others cannot witness it. This may not be obvious to Christian apologists, but in fact such occurrences of mass hallucinations are historically well documented. Mass sightings of the Virgin Mary are common, and apologists, especially protestants are unlikely to attribute all of them to actual manifestations of Mary. For example, on June 24, 1981, six children reported an appearance of the Virgin at a hilltop near the town of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Hercegovina. She has continued appearing regularly to these individuals since that time, and millions of others have made their pilgrimages to the site to experience visions, healings, and other supernatural events. Could it be that the power of suggestion is at play? Note that I am not here arguing that Jesus' followers necessarily experienced a mass hallucination, but I am merely establishing its possibility, contrary to the assertions of Resurrection apologists. Third, it is claimed that if the anti-Christian Jewish authorities had wished to disprove Jesus' Resurrection, they could have simply exhumed Jesus' body and paraded him through the streets of Jerusalem for all to see. However, the New Testament mentions no public proclamation of Jesus' Resurrection until seven "short weeks" after Jesus' alleged Resurrection (See Acts 2:1, 24. Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks, fell on the fiftieth day after Passover (Deuteronomy 16:1-12)). If there was concern about the deterioration of Lazarus' body just four days after his death, then Jesus' body must have been unrecognizable after seven weeks. Parading such a decomposed body through the streets of Jerusalem would have proven nothing. Material Recommendations: 1. Robert Price's collection of essays entitled Jesus is Dead. 2. Online video debate "Licona vs. Carrier: On the Resurrection of Jesus Christ" 6 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 9:49am On Apr 19, 2017 |
DOES THE APPEARANCE OF DESIGN PROVE A DESIGNER? The teleological argument for God, otherwise known as the argument from design, goes back at least as far as Socrates. It is the idea that we see evidence of design (or the appearance of design) in nature, and design presupposes a designer. Indeed, given the extraordinary complexity of nature, such design presupposes an extremely intelligent designer. The strength of this argument is that it is logically sound--it does not rely upon a logical fallacy as many other arguments for God do. But that does not mean it is valid... One problem is that "evidence of design" or the "appearance of design" are hard to define. In fact, I have never seen anyone attempt to define these terms. Instead, proponents of this argument rely on analogy. They may say (following William Paley), if you see a watch lying on the ground you have no problem determining that the watch was designed but the rock next to it was not. Of course, we KNOW how watches are produced. We know they are designed by humans. But can we extend this analogy to other complex things when we do not know how they were produced? If complexity is the criteria for "evidence of design", we could look at snowflakes. Snowflakes are all different but are all six-sided, have complex designs and have astonishing multiple symmetries. Could billions of snowflakes be produced by CHANCE and all meet this exacting specification? Well, yes. We understand in great detail how snowflakes form and it is an entirely natural process. Some proponents of the teleological argument might complain snowflakes are a poor example because they have no function--they may say there is evidence for design when a thing is both complex and performs a function. OK, we could look at a river. Rivers perform the function of transporting water to the sea and are part of the complex hydrologic cycle. Despite bends and twists and passing through different types of geology, sometimes for thousands of miles, rivers are always designed with a decline to permit water to flow, and with river banks to constrain water to a particular path. They are an engineering marvel. Of course, we know how rivers form and it is an entirely natural process. So, complexity and function do not necessarily imply intelligent design. What about living things then? Living things are far more complex than any snowflake or river, perhaps they are evidence of design? Indeed, living things are orders of magnitude more complex than a pocket watch and they have many parts with specific functions, such as pumping blood or providing vision. Can we assume a living thing is designed in the same way we can assume a pocket watch is designed? No, we can't. Living things are produced in a unique way that makes them unlike anything else. Living things come about through reproduction. Reproduction has nothing in common with manufacturing. Watches are made of manufactured parts and assembled into the final article. Living things begin as a single cell and develop through cell division and differentiation. Watches made to a single design are identical but reproduction ensures offspring are different from their parent(s). Every living thing comes directly from a very long chain of prior living things but pocket watches do not. So the analogy between a pocket watch and a living thing breaks down--these are two different categories of things and we cannot simply assume the two categories have similar origins. It would be like looking at the category of things called celestial bodies and determining that they come about by a process of accretion caused by gravity and then assuming that the category of things called soft drinks also comes about by accretion caused by gravity. Yes, this is absurd but so is assuming the categories of manufactured things and living things come about in the same way. The way to discover the origins of living things is not by making a false analogy but by tracing back the very long chain of prior living things to see where it takes you. So far as we have been able to do this, we find no evidence for design--but we do find evidence of gradual change and increasing complexity over eons. 7 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by hopefulLandlord: 10:04am On Apr 19, 2017 |
^ Interesting |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 9:50pm On Apr 20, 2017 |
I have left the disgraceful politics section of Nairaland and have shaken the dust off your feet of its tribalism. But make no mistake, I absolutely am interested in politics and economics of Nigeria. One of those I love to read is Professor Pius Adesanmi. Not saying I love everything about him, I don't. For one, were we both in America, we would have pitched our tents in different camps. He, a social liberal, while I am in the conservative libertarian side. But you know the way Nigeria is, there are only two sides. The oppressor and the oppressed. Both of us are in the camp of pointing out how the antics of the oppressor and showing the oppressed how things do not have to remain like it is. So it is in this light that I share this article. Make of it what you wish. I can also draw the religious parallels and it will fit like a glove. So choose how you receive it. Here: ------------- Plato’s Allegory of the Cave 9 Likes 3 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 9:56am On Apr 24, 2017 |
BIRDS EVOLVED FROM DINOSAURS Since 1870, paleontologists have suspected birds evolved from dinosaurs but, apart from archaeopteryx, the evidence has been hard to find. In 1995, a site was discovered in China that is a treasure chest of dinosaur-bird intermediate species. So now there is no longer any reasonable doubt--birds evolved from dinosaurs. Another god gap slammed shut. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dinosaurs-living-descendants-69657706/?no-ist 3 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 8:16am On Apr 25, 2017 |
THE BANNING OF THE JEHOVAH WITNESSES IN RUSSIA So, last week, the Russian state outlawed the Jehovah's Witnesses, and opinions have been divided about it. My first instinct as a humanist is to say that it is wrong. I might find JWs approach annoying but I'll never support the state discriminating against religious people, the same way I have a right to mock religion is the same way people have a right to have their religions without state molestation. But let's understand the real reasons the Russian State decided to ban them. The reasons the organization was banned are in two folds: - Public Health. Spreading bad health practices by preaching that people not take blood transfusion or vaccines. - National Security. Encouraging Russians to not serve in the army. All male Russians are obliged to serve in the army. They also ask their followers not to sing National Anthem, salute the flag, and vote in elections because their allegiance is to Jehovah, not the Russian country. In fact, they urge their members not to attend important national gatherings, because it means being with unbelievers. To me, Jehovah Witnesses is against the Russia state. But on the grounds of humanity, the state should have properly absorbed them and countered their propaganda in an intellectual way. But then, the Jehovah Witnesses is an arrogant organization and the Russian State sometimes borders on dictatorship. How else do you imagine the outcome of such a clash? 6 Likes 3 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 9:55am On Apr 27, 2017 |
spacyzuma: 6 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 5:53pm On Apr 27, 2017 |
THE WORLD'S RICHEST PASTORS It is not easy to establish the wealth of pastors but it is known that rather a lot of pastors enjoy luxurious lifestyles. In many countries, churches are exempt from publishing full financial accounts that are mandatory for normal businesses. And churches often hide the benefits enjoyed by pastors by giving them use of mansions, cars, jets and other church property. The top 10 in-the-world list 2016, reproduced below, is widely published. It only includes personal wealth but, in practice these pastors control very much more wealth than is disclosed here. For example, Joel Osteen does not even make this top 10 but some pundits say he is worth $40 million. And I am not believing that Adeboye is worth just $39m published here. There are dozens more multi-millionaire pastors such as Pat Robertson, Rick Warren, Juanita Bynum, Joyce Meyer, Rev John Hagee, Paula White and Bishop Eddie Long. 1. Bishop David Oyedepo, Nigeria Net Worth – $150 Million 2. Bishop T.D. Jakes, USA Net Worth – $147 Million 3. Chris Oyakhilome, Nigeria Net Worth – $50 Million 4. Benny Hinn, USA Net Worth – $42 Million 5. E. A .Adeboye, Nigeria Net Worth – $39 Million 6. Creflo Dollar, USA Net Worth – $27 Million 7. Kenneth Copeland, USA Net Worth – $25 Million 8. Billy Graham, USA Net Worth – $25 Million 9. T.B. Joshua, Nigeria Net Worth – $10 Million 10. Joseph Prince, Singapore Net Worth – $5 Million It is interesting that this list is dominated by two countries: Nigeria and the USA--a very poor country and a very rich one. Does it matter that these men, especially the ones in Nigeria, who preach the word of Jesus (who abhorred wealth) are so rich, and that they make much of their wealth from very poor people? You decide. 9 Likes 3 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 3:25pm On Apr 28, 2017 |
FOR THE LOVE OF A GOD Instead of talking about logic today, I'll talk about love... ... If you are religious, try to think back to when you were a child. How did you discover God? You probably can't remember. But you may have memories of people around you talking about God, maybe of talking to you about God. These messages may have been reinforced at school and at church, if you were taken to church. Chances are none of these people gave you a reason to believe God exists. God was not a question--it was treated as a fact. The idea of God just permeated through you, much as water permeates through sand on a beach. If you were a questioning child, adults may have told you that you must believe, that bad things will happen if you don't, that good people believe. So you grew up and God became a part of your life and a part of you. When you think back, God did not come into your life, God was put into your life. And that raises another question. What would you believe today, if you had been raised in a different family? If you are a Christian, what would you believe today if your family all believed in Brahma and Vishnu; or believed in the one true God, Allah, but not in Jesus? Look around the world and the answer is obvious. You would be devoted to a different religion and a different god. And you would think Christians were terribly misled and mistaken. This means you are a Christian by chance, by family, by geography, and nothing more. But perhaps there is something you can't reconcile with this logic. If Christianity is wrong, why do you feel Jesus is with you, helping you, guiding you? Why do you feel his love so powerfully? It's a fair question, and you'll find the answer in other religions. Many Hindus choose a preferred, personal god that they pray to. They feel this god walks with them, helping and guiding them. Some even say they feel the powerful love of this god, just as you feel it from Jesus. You can think about why this happens. The simplest explanation is that humans know what it is like to experience love and our brains can reproduce that feeling when we think about our gods, just as we can feel love in our dreams. The idea of living without God may fill you with dread. You would feel so alone and you would miss that powerful love. Again, the answer is elsewhere. Over a billion people have no god in their lives and, in general, they live happy, fulfilled lives. I am one of them. I don't feel alone because I am not alone--I have family and friends. I have enough real love in my life not to need imaginary love. And I have an advantage over you, I do not have to defend a god and religion bequeathed to me by chance. May your weekend be awesome. Happy Labour Day in advance. 11 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by dezhi(m): 1:55pm On May 02, 2017 |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 2:48pm On May 02, 2017 |
GOD'S OWN GOAL What if there really is a god outside of the universe? What if he created the universe and brought about the laws of physics. I have an hypothesis that explains how this could be true. The speed of light was first measured by Danish astronomer Olaus Roemer in 1676. In 1905 Albert Einstein published his theory of special relativity which, among other things, showed that there is an upper limit for the speed of light (299,792 kilometres per second). This limit would have been imposed by god as part of his grand design. But there is a problem. The limit on the speed of light is also an absolute limit on the speed at which information can be transmitted. The edge of our universe is the distance light has traveled since the Big Bang and the limitation on the speed of light means we can never get information from outside of the universe--it is a physical impossibility. So, if God is outside the universe, he cannot pass information to us and we cannot pass information to him--there is an unbridgeable communications gap. If god created us so he could have a relationship with us he likely gave us a need to know him. But the speed of light limitation means we never could. This would explain why humans invent gods and why we can never show any of our gods are real. We can't show they are real because they are not and the real god is forever hidden from us by his own laws of physics. This would be the most spectacular own goal in the history of the universe!  11 Likes 2 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 1:15pm On May 03, 2017 |
WE CANNOT UNDERSTAND GOD Religious people often say that God is beyond our understanding but how could they possibly know that? Our ability to understand increases over time. Indeed, since the advent of science, it has increased approximately logarithmically. So when religious people say God is beyond our understanding, are they saying there is a complexity ceiling beyond which humans can never go? How could they know that? How could they possibly know what we will understand in, say, 1,000 years time? Obviously, they cannot. What they really mean when they say God is beyond our understanding is, we cannot make sense of God because God does not make sense. 5 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 2:45pm On May 10, 2017 |
WHY YOU REALLY BELIEVE With very few exceptions, I don't think god-believers know why they believe. Most will offer you silly arguments for their beliefs. These are always easily rebutted, worthless arguments and they are NOT really why the person believes--they are only an attempt to rationalise why they believe. If believers were honest, they would say they believe because they can't help it, or because it makes them feel safe, loved and part of a community they care about. But they are not honest, so they make feeble excuses. Believing is easy--it is the human default. But not believing things you have been programmed to believe, and are expected to believe, is hard. And most people are just not up to it. 7 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 10:20am On May 11, 2017 |
HOW YOU CAN BE A CHRISTIAN Sometimes I think I am a bit harsh on Christianity. There actually could be good reasons to be a Christian. After all, there is a lot to be said for loving your neighbour and forgiving those who do you wrong. It would be a better world if we could try to be good Samaritans and more inclusive--let's not look down on others who have done less well than us in life. So do these things and be a follower of Christ. You can do all the moral things he suggested without believing the crazy things. There is no reason to believe there is a god or that Jesus was a god or the son of god. There is no reason to believe Jesus was born of a virgin or that he resurrected. There is no reason to believe that we all live forever. All these beliefs were popular long before Jesus came along (and were the modus operandi of a clutch of earlier gods). So let's forget the wild, Iron-Age stories and focus on what's important--how we can be nicer people and make a better world. The Jesus character, (whether he was real or fictional) did have something to say about that. Let's be grateful for that. So you can be a Christian--sort of... 3 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 6:07pm On May 12, 2017 |
THE ARGUMENT FROM INVISIBILITY Some of my religious friends are enamoured with an argument for God that I call the argument from invisibility. The god-believer will start by asking a question. It might be "Can you see love?" or "Can you see air?" They expect you to answer "No". And when you do they apply the coup de grâce: "You can't see love but you know it exists. In the exact same way, you can't see God but you can know God exists!" To see the problem with this argument, I'll set it out as a syllogism: P1 There are some things we cannot see that we know exist. THEREFORE C1 Things that cannot be seen can exist. P2 We cannot see God. THEREFORE C2 It could be possible to know God exists. The interesting thing about this argument is that it is logically sound. The problem is it does not show that God exists, it only shows that God COULD exist despite being invisible. We know some things that we cannot see do exist. But we know they exist because we have non-visual evidence. For example, we can detect air in many ways--it turns windmills, supports aircraft and fills car tyres. We can even detect the individual gases that air is made of. But we have no such luck with God. We cannot see God and have no non-visual evidence that God exists. So, if this is an argument by analogy, it is a false analogy. In fact, the argument is a tautology--it tells us nothing at all. The conclusion (C2) is logically equivalent to the first premise (P1). So, if you are a god-believer, please do not use this argument--it literally goes nowhere. 5 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 3:46pm On May 23, 2017 |
WHO SHOULD BE PUNISHED? Imagine I wrote an intelligent computer program that could learn by accessing Google. Imagine I wanted the program to accept there is a god, and planted that idea in the code. But, after two years of searching Google 24 hours a day, the program concluded there is no god. Who would be at fault, me or the program? If I deemed it necessary to impose a punishment for this malfunction, who should be punished, me or the program? 8 Likes 3 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Nobody: 7:59pm On May 26, 2017 |
been a while bro |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 9:39am On May 27, 2017 |
HAPPY RAMADAN Happy Ramadan to all those who'd enjoy starving themselves this month, may your sincere reflections draw you closer to peaceful doctrines in your faith. Empathies however to all those who'd be forced to join the ritual against their will. Pray you get as much chances to steal as many moments as possible. Hopefully, Allah, the most merciful, understands your plight. ~Henry Jr. 9 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 7:30am On May 29, 2017 |
stephenmorris: Hey, been busy all-round with a few of my new-found interests. How have you been? 1 Like |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 7:31am On May 29, 2017 |
ONE GOD OR MANY? Some theists think the existence of the universe is a solid reason to believe a creator god exists. But they get stuck on the next step, which is to show that this creator god is the one they happen to worship. To get around this, they say there is only one god but different cultures use different names to refer to it. So Yahweh, Brahma, Odin and Tlaloc are really the same deity according to this argument. The briefest investigation shows this argument is wrong. When we look at just these four gods we find such gross differences that they cannot be the same god. For example, some are material and one is immaterial. The gods that are material have very different appearances. Some of these gods are part of a pantheon of many gods and one is the only god. Some have wives and some do not. Some were born and some were not. Three of these gods are creator gods, but they created the world in very different ways (and all of them wrong). There are also great differences in what these gods required of men. For example, only Tlaloc required the sacrifice of children in order to make rain from their tears. I have looked at only four gods but there are thousands to chose from and they vary from heavenly bodies to animals, inanimate objects, winds, rivers, mountains, humans and an immaterial, omnipresent entity. Christians do not even need go to the trouble of learning about these different gods--they just need to read their own scripture. The second commandment says, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Why would God have commanded this if all men were really worshiping the one true god? I accept that theists genuinely believe some of their arguments, but this one is so obviously wrong that I can only see it as dishonest. 4 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Nobody: 10:42am On May 29, 2017 |
joseph1013:I just dey one corner they jerk for my exams,but doing good 2 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 4:40pm On May 30, 2017 |
THE MORAL ARGUMENT AGAINST GOD I can't understand why some people argue that morality is proof that God exists. In fact, morality is evidence that God does NOT exist. It is easy to see why humans like to have rules of conduct. Rules, such as "do not kill or harm your neighbour", "do not take your neighbour's property" and, even, "help your neighbours when they are in need", make life more tolerable for most people. Communities that adopted such rules may have been better able to survive since they would have wasted less time squabbling among themselves. This would have given them more time and focus to defend the community against existential threats. A form of natural selection would arise that would favour communities with effective rules. Making and enforcing such rules is as natural as building shelters to provide warmth and protection from predators. No god is required for such things to happen. Furthermore, as children are instructed in these rules, we can see how, over time, the rules would become established as part of the community's shared value system. We should expect that humans would make mistakes and change their moral rules as they learn, but a perfectly moral god should get everything right first time. This is a useful distinction as it allows us to make predictions and seek evidence: if humans make the rules, we expect to see rules change over time; if God makes the rules, we expect to see no change. Of course, morality has changed dramatically over the past three thousand years or so. It has changed in every society that we know of, although faster in some and slower in others. Specifically, the world has moved sharply away from Biblical morality. Apart from the fundamental prohibitions against murder, theft and perjury (which long predated the Bible), much of the morality said to be handed down by God in the Bible has been abandoned. For example, we no longer consider capturing, buying, selling or holding people as slaves is moral. We do not accept that women are the property of men or that it is acceptable for a man to sell his daughter as a concubine. We do not consider it moral to kill people who worship other gods and destroy their towns and their children. Nor do we consider genocide moral and we do not think it is right for a man to kill a son who is rebellious and stubborn. The list of moral laws that we now regard as immoral is long but these few examples illustrate the point. What conclusions can be drawn from this evidence? I see three possibilities: 1. The abandoned moral laws are right and we are wrong to have abandoned them. 2. God handed down these laws and mistakenly thought they were moral. 3. The Biblical moral laws were created by men who passed them off as God's laws. Only option (3) makes sense. This does not prove God does not exist but it fundamentally undermines the Bible as a book derived from God and shows, at least parts of the Bible, to be fiction created by men. 3 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 7:02am On May 31, 2017 |
stephenmorris: All the best in your exams. 1 Like |
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