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| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 6:30am On Sep 07, 2018 |
THE DIM GOD OF THE GAPS Let's be honest, God is not a star when it comes to the brains department. Apparently, within days of creation he was outwitted by a crafty snake. Soon everything went pear-shaped and he regretted making humans. So he decided to try again and drowned every living thing. That meant unnecessarily killing millions of innocent creatures but worse than that, he kept eight of the original untrustworthy humans alive hoping Noah's descendants would be better than the first lot. But they weren't and it all went wrong again. These events would be unfortunate for any creator but God apparently has the power of omniscience and STILL didn't see the disasters coming! God is not much better when it comes to making things. He made the penis with a foreskin and then realised it was a mistake that had to be cut off. In Judges 1, he helped the men of Judah defeat the Canaanites but they couldn't defeat the Canaanites on the plains because they had chariots of iron--God was defeated by simple Iron Age technology. The Bible has plenty of examples of God's errors and ineptitude that show him to be a dim and bumbling god. It is this reputation that contradicts a favourite Christian argument... Christians often point to something complex, like DNA, or human beings and argue these things couldn't have come about without an intelligent creator. But then they claim the dim and error-prone Jewish god was the intelligent creator! What are the chances that a god who couldn't make an iron chariot could manage complex molecular engineering? What are the chances that a god who was outwitted by a snake could plan an intricate DNA code that would form the basis of ALL living things? If Christians really consider DNA too complex to arise naturally, why don't they search for a super-smart god that does not make simple mistakes instead of wildly claiming the dim god they were raised to believe in must have done it? Or does anyone here think I am unreasonable? 13 Likes 4 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Tozara(m): 7:15am On Sep 07, 2018 |
joseph1013:I am with you, bro.  1 Like 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 11:01am On Sep 15, 2018 |
Dave Partner writes: RICHEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD Jeff Bezos. | Amazon. | $140 billion | Agnostic Bill Gates. | Microsoft. | $97 billion | Agnostic Warren Buffett. | Hathaway. | $88 billion | Agnostic RICHEST PASTORS IN THE WORLD: Bishop David Oyedepo | $150 million Bishop T.D Jakes | $147 Million Pastor Chris Oyakilome $50 Million Bill Gates for instance, is 2,000 times richer than pastor Chris, even though Pastor Chris has direct access to unlimited blessings and key to the floodgates of heaven and riches of the kingdom exploits. Warren Buffet is 598 times richer than TD Jakes. Jeff Bezos is 933 times richer than Bishop David Oyedepo. How come? 5 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by funshyboi(m): 11:58am On Sep 15, 2018 |
joseph1013: Their reward is in heaven lol |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Nobody: 3:21pm On Sep 15, 2018 |
joseph1013: Yes there are some things God permitted sometime for some reasons and that He later stopped. An example is the sacrifices of bulls and bullocks. Now He stopped it, no Christian is permitted to do that anymore. He could have allowed incest just for the purpose of procreation since a man and a man have to meet to produce their kinds and it was a brother and sister that were available. When moses came with the law there had been thousands of families to chose from so why pick your sister. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by sonmvayina(m): 3:25pm On Sep 15, 2018 |
tamethem: Numbers 23:19 1 Like |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by CAPSLOCKED: 9:02pm On Sep 15, 2018 |
sonmvayina: "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" THE MORE YOU LOOK AT IT THE MORE TWISTED IT GETS. HOW ABOUT CREATING PENįSES, AND NEEDING HUMANS TO START CHOPPING PART OF IT CENTURIES LATER? (CHANGE OF MIND) HOW ABOUT FLOODING ALL HUMANS BECAUSE HE "REGRETTED" MAKING THEM? ( MISTAKE) HE SPEAKS AND DOESN'T FULFIL. OLD DUDE GAVE THE RAINBOW AS A SIGN THAT THERE WON'T BE ANY MORE FLOODS BUT I'M SURE YOU READ THE NEWS EVERYDAY. THE BOOK OF PSALMS IS FILLED WITH PROMISES OF DIVINE BLESSINGS AND PROTECTION AS LONG AS BELIEVERS PUT THIER TRUST IN HIM. HAVE YOU EVER DONE CRAPPY THINGS LIKE PICK UP SNAKES AND STEP ON SCORPIONS WITHOUT GETTING HURT? HOW ABOUT THE LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY HE PROMISED... WHERE IS IT? I CAN GO ON AND ON TO COUNTER THIS VERSE BUT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE INTELLIGENT PEOPLE WHO MIGHT READ THIS POST AND FEEL DISRESPECTED. 6 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by CAPSLOCKED: 11:18am On Sep 16, 2018 |
[primesky, musicwriter, sonmvayina] THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH THE GENEALOGY THAT I CANNOT RESOLVE. JESUS' GENEALOGY WAS THROUGH SOLOMON AS DESCRIBED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT (II SAMUEL 7:12-14; I CHRONICLES 17:11-14, 22:9-10, 28:4-6). HOWEVER, HE WAS ALSO A DESCENDANT OF JEHOIACHIN. JEREMIAH 22:30 STATES ABOUT JEHOIACHIN........ "INSCRIBE THIS MAN TO BE CHILDLESS. NONE OF HIS DESCENDANTS WILL EVER SUCCEED IN BEING A MAN WHO SITS ON THE THRONE OF DAVID." THE EXACT WORDS OF JEREMIAH ARE "NONE OF HIS DESCENDANTS". I CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHY THIS DOES NOT DISQUALIFY JESUS TO BE THE MESSIAH. OR DID GOD LATER CHANGE HIS MIND? WAS JEREMIAH TALKING OUT OF DRUNKENNESS, OR HE WAS A FALSE PROPHET WHOSE PROPHECY FAILED. OR IS THE NEW TESTAMENT'S JESUS JUST A WORK OF ROME INDEED WHICH IS WHY JEWS DON'T SUPPORT OR BELIEVE IT? 5 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by sonmvayina(m): 12:03pm On Sep 16, 2018 |
CAPSLOCKED: Now you have just echoed my points all along.. Thanks bro 1 Like |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Primesky(m): 4:52pm On Sep 16, 2018 |
sonmvayina: CAPSLOCKED Well, I will just copy and paste a very good explanation of what played out in that verse. Question: "What is the curse of Jeconiah?" Answer: Jeconiah, also called “Jehoiachin” (1 Chronicles 3:16, NIV) and “Coniah” (Jeremiah 22:24), was a king of Judah who was deported as part of the Babylonian captivity (Esther 2:6; 1 Chronicles 3:17). He is also listed in the genealogy of Jesus, in Joseph’s family line (Matthew 1:12). The curse of Jeconiah is found in Jeremiah 22. First, the LORD likens the king to a signet ring on God’s hand—a ring that God will pull off (verse 24). Then, God pronounces a curse: “Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah” (verse 30). The problem is that the curse of Jeconiah seems to invalidate Jesus’ right to the throne of David. The Davidic Covenant promised that the Messiah, the “Son of David,” would reign forever on Jerusalem’s throne (1 Chronicles 17:11-14). If Jesus is a descendant of Jeconiah, then how can He be the Messiah, since the curse bars any of Jeconiah’s descendants from assuming David’s throne? There are three possible solutions to this difficulty. First, the “offspring” of Jeconiah mentioned in the curse could be a limited reference to the king’s own children—his immediate offspring, in other words. On a related note, the phrase “in his lifetime” could apply to the entire verse. The curse would only be in force while the king lived. This is exactly what happened, as Jeconiah was not successful as a king (he only reigned for three months before he surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar’s forces), and none of his sons (he had seven of them, 1 Chronicles 3:17–18) reigned over Judah. A second solution concerns the virgin birth. Jesus only had one human parent, Mary. His mother was of David’s line, but not through Jeconiah (Luke 3:31). Joseph was Jesus’ legal father, but not His physical one. Thus, Jesus was of royal blood through Mary, but the curse of Jeconiah stopped with Joseph and was not passed on to Jesus. A third possible solution is that God reversed the curse on Jeconiah’s family. This is hinted at by the prophet Haggai, who told Zerubbabel, Jeconiah’s grandson, that God would make him a “signet ring” on God’s hand (Haggai 2:23). Zerubbabel was blessed by God as the governor of Judea, and he prospered in that role when the Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem. The “signet ring” imagery of Jeconiah’s curse is repeated in Zerubbabel’s blessing, which must be more than coincidence. Several rabbinic sources teach that Jeconiah repented in Babylon and that God forgave him and lifted the curse. Recommended Resources: The Moody Handbook of Theology by Paul Enns |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by CAPSLOCKED: 6:42pm On Sep 16, 2018 |
Primesky: I LIKE THIS ABOUT YOUR MAN (GOD). HE ADMITS HIS MISTAKES, EXPRESSES REGRETS, AND OFTEN CHANGES HIS MIND AND MAKES CORRECTIONS... JUST LIKE HUMANS.  Primesky: THERE YOU HAVE IT! THE PROBLEM IS THAT RELIGIOUS PEOPLE NEVER "THINK" FOR THEMSELVES. THEY ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE; THEIR PASTORS, PRIESTS, PARENTS THINK FOR THEM. I LIKE THAT YOU ADMITTED TO HAVE COPIED THAT POST FROM ANOTHER WEBSITE POSSIBLY A CHRISTIAN ONE BECAUSE I'M SURE NOT MANY CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA CAN GIVE AN ANSWER TO THIS MY INITIAL POST ON THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH THE GENEALOGY THAT I CANNOT RESOLVE. IN YOUR "COPIED" WORDS "A second solution concerns the virgin birth. Jesus only had one human parent, Mary. His mother was of David’s line, but not through Jeconiah (Luke 3:31). Joseph was Jesus’ legal father, but not His physical one. Thus, Jesus was of royal blood through Mary, but the curse of Jeconiah stopped with Joseph and was not passed on to Jesus. IF YOU ACTUALLY READ THE BIBLE AND THINK FOR YOURSELF INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING WHAT SOMEONE ELSE SAYS, YOU WOULD REALIZE THAT SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG SOMEWHERE. MATHEW GAVE THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS THROUGH JOSEPH. LUKE SAYS "NO, NO, HE'S MARY'S BLOODLINE" CHRONICLES SAYS SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AND OPPOSITE FROM THE FIRST TWO GUYS. IN FACT, THANKS FOR YOUR TIME. I'VE HAD ENOUGH BIBLE CONFUSION TODAY. I GUESS THIS IS WHY BELIEVERS ARE ADMONISHED TO NEVER REASON, WONDER, OR ASK.. BUT JUST BELIEVE. FOR EVERY BIBLE VERSE, THERE EXISTS TEN OPPOSITE, CONTRADICTORY VERSES. 7 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 5:59am On Sep 18, 2018 |
A QUESTION FOR THEISTS Over the past 400 years, we have discovered the causes of hundreds of mysteries that for thousands of years we thought were caused by gods. Things like wind, droughts, earthquakes, volcanoes, day and night, the eclipse of the sun, diseases and so on. My question for you is, for how many of these solved mysteries have we now confirmed God is the cause? I'll give you a clue, it's a round number, one less than one. Which leads to a second question, why do you continue to assume God is the cause of the few remaining mysteries? I wouldn't bet my life on it. And nor should you. 4 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Primesky(m): 10:27am On Sep 18, 2018 |
CAPSLOCKED: The only contradiction in the bible is the one made in your mind. For the bible has non. Go back and read the post again, and see what Jeconia did afterwards. God forgives when men repent and seek Him, but that doesn't make Him a man who changes like chameleon. Excuse me, does it matter if the answer is given by someone across the ocean. Whether white or black, we are made by God and one family in Christ. You can never discredit the authenticity of Jesus Christ saving grace. God is wiser than you. If this is what makes you doubt Jesus Christ, then you have absolutely no case. Joseph was a foster father to Jesus at birth!. No human factor was responsible for his conception, had that happened, then He would have been disqualified. As a matter of fact, this case you have brought up, is a very good proof that Jesus Christ had absolutely no issue to discredit him. Satan has tried to shoot it down but to no avail, now he is comingg up with a failed excuse. Go and research about Jeconia, and see what happened to Him after that curse. You clearly are interpreting the bible with bias. Satan is a liar, no amount of lies and logic will undermine the finished work of grace. Whoever believes will be saved, whoever thinks he knows more than God, and can argue with Him, is on his/her own. The genealogy of Jesus Christ from both Mary's side and Joseph's side is not a contradiction. But a perfect way of God showing to the shame of Satan, His victory and unlimitedness. Satan, after God made a promise to Abraham to give to his decendants the land of Canaan, began to pollute the blood line of the men and women in that location, so that whoever the Savior will be, will have a polluted blood line that will disqualify him. Apart from God warning the Israelites not to intermarry with these people, He went all the way to preserving the lineage of Jesus Christ. By showing the genealogy, God made it clear for all to see that if He had wanted to use human elements alone, He would have, despite the effort of the devil. But sin is what must be guarded against, and that He also successfully did. CAPSLOCKED, you must be very careful, it will look so real in your eyes, the excuses may look so plausible and authentic, but you must watch out for your soul. This thing is not about religion. Satan is smart and intelligent, he can fool anybody. Don't let him eceive you. Jesus Christ is real. He is the ONLY saviour!. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 6:04am On Sep 19, 2018 |
Primesky keeps arguing for his religion, talking about the authenticity of his Jesus, a personality that we do not even know if he exists. Characters like Abraham and Satan that we have not been able to prove their existence, despite decades of tries. But I say let's even talk about what religion has done for us. Science, since the turn of the 20th century, has extended human life by almost 30 years on average, cured multiple childhood illnesses, discovered the universe contains billions of galaxies and is expanding rapidly all the while perfecting personal transportation, harnessed the sun's energy, increased food production capacity and made living, at least in the West, an enjoyable experience. What has religion contributed to society in that same time period? I posit, aside from obstructing the advances of science and promulgating their superstitions onto credulous, poor, sick 3rd world people, nothing of value whatsoever. Was it not Pope Benedict XVI who told Africans that AIDS is bad but condoms are worse. So I ask, of what value is religion? 5 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by budaatum: 12:31pm On Sep 19, 2018 |
joseph1013:Average life expectancy in Nigeria is 53.05 years (2015). Average life expectancy in UK is 81.60 years (2015). It is rather obvious where primesky intends to get his reward! Pity he lacks love for his neighbours who would rather get their reward here on earth. 3 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by CAPSLOCKED: 5:32pm On Sep 19, 2018 |
joseph1013: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS THE OFFICIAL JOKE OF CHRISTIANITY. 4 Likes 1 Share
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| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Nobody: 5:43pm On Sep 19, 2018 |
joseph1013:I hope you know religion isn't going anywhere anytime soon  ?It's here and it has come to stay, regardless whether it contributes positively or negatively to the society. I'm not sure if what i practice can be referred to as religion, but i know i'm not letting it go anytime soon cus believe it or not, it actually gives me a sense of direction! |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by frank317: 7:03pm On Sep 19, 2018 |
zinnyzee: This one is happy that religion is here to stay... The question is... Who religion help? If it like stay if it like go... Its foolishness must always be pointed out and people who want to be emancipated will be emancipated. 7 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 7:20am On Sep 20, 2018 |
CAN WE BE GOOD WITHOUT GOD? SHOW ME FACTS! Many religious people are suspicious of atheists because they think without God we have no moral compass. They also say, since we don't believe in divine Judgement, we have no reason to fear the eternal consequences of behaving badly. I do wonder why believers don't bother to check the facts before they speak. It is easy to discover that the opposite is true. Non-believers, across a wide range of measures from teen pregnancy to STDs and from domestic violence to homicide are less prone to antisocial behaviour and commit fewer crimes than believers. Both Phil Zuckerman and Gregory Paul have carried out international comparisons that not only show we can be good without God but we are likely to be better without God. (See Note 1.) To illustrate this point, If you chart intentional homicide rates (number per year per 100,000 people) against religiosity (the percentage of people who say religion is important to them). Data for 103 countries is shown. The chart will show a positive correlation between homicides and religiosity. In other words, as a general trend, the more religious a country is, the higher its rate of homicides. The difference between the low homicide and high homicide countries is so great that if this chart is drawn to a logarithmic scale--each horizontal line is TEN times greater than the one below. Keep this in mind when you look at this chart. Several countries are outliers from the trend and are much less murderous or more murderous than their religiosity might suggest. For example, Singapore with a religiosity of 70% has an outstandingly low homicide rate of only 0.2 homicides per 100,000 people per year. In contrast, a clutch of countries have extremely high homicide rates of between 10 and 90 per 100,000 (this is 450 TIMES higher than the Singapore rate). The most murderous countries in the world, which are all above 70% in religiosity, include Honduras (90), Venezuela (54), El Salvador (41), Guatemala (40), Jamaica (39), Columbia (31) and South Africa (31). The low religiosity European countries together with New Zealand, Hong Kong and Japan are all at 1 homicide per 100,000 or less. Correlation is not causation, so this data does not prove that being religious makes people more likely to murder--there are undoubtedly many factors at play here. But it does show us one thing. Being religious does not make people good and being non-religious does not make people bad. ... NOTES 1) Gregory Paul: "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies": Journal of Religion & Society, vol 7 Phil Zuckerman: “Atheism, Secularity and Well-Being” Sociology Compass, vol.3, no.6 (December 2009). 2) I have omitted 37 majority Muslim countries from this analysis because they do not follow the same trend as majority Christian countries. Poorer Muslim countries have relatively high homicide rates, for example Sudan = 11.2; Djibouti = 10.1; Comoros = 10 and Somalia = 8 and wealthier Islamic countries have low homicide rates on a par with, or even lower than, the irreligious European countries. For example, Kuwait = 0.4, Bahrain = 0.5, Indonesia = 0.6, Algeria = 0.7, Saudi Arabia = 0.8 and Qatar = 1.1. However, wealthier Muslim countries tend to be as religious as poorer Muslim countries. (For comparison, the least murderous majority Christian country is Switzerland at 0.6.) For the avoidance of doubt, this is not evidence that being a Muslim makes people good (if it did, we would not see such high homicide rates in poor Islamic countries). I suspect what is happening here is that in Christian countries, as people become wealthier, more secure and better educated they tend to become less religious and better behaved. People in Islamic countries experiencing the same changes, also become better behaved but they do not become less religious. 3) Religiosity data: Gallup Research (2009): http://en.wikipedia.org/w…/Importance_of_religion_by_country Homicide data: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (most data from 2012): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate 4) Norway is shown with a homicide rate of 2.2. Norway's more usual rate is around 0.6. The elevated rate was caused by a single terrorist attack in 2012 and does not reflect the country's long term rate. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 6:06am On Sep 21, 2018 |
COUNTING ATHEISTS When there is one atheist in your town, you can think he is mad. When there are 100, you might worry about their motives and intentions. When there are 1,000, you start to wonder what they know, that you don't. 7 Likes 3 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Primesky(m): 9:15am On Sep 23, 2018 |
budaatum: To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace!. Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: Let God be true and Everyman a liar! |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Primesky(m): 9:18am On Sep 23, 2018 |
joseph1013: My dear, Christianity is not a religion. Religion is man made. God has called us, men to have a personal relationship with Him. Please stop misinterpreting the two. Thank you. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by CAPSLOCKED: 9:41am On Sep 23, 2018 |
Primesky: ITS QUITE A COINCIDENCE THAT THIS SURE GOD IS THE SAME ONE YOU GO TO WORSHIP IN A CHRISTIAN CHURCH, AS INTRODUCED TO YOU BY YOUR FAMILY, WHO ALSO LEARNED FROM THEIR OWN FAMILY. AND YOU ENGAGE IN A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM EXACTLY AS YOUR MOTHER, SIBLINGS, OR PREACHERS TAUGHT YOU. WHY DO YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE YOUR OWN VERSION OF GOD (YAWEH) WHEN YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN ALLAH? WE MUSLIMS CAN ALSO QUOTE FROM THE HOLY KORAN. THERE'S NO GOD BUT ALLAH, AND MUHAMMAD IS HIS PROPHET... THERE'S NOTHING IN YOUR BIBLE THAT CAN CHANGE THIS FACT. 5 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 10:13am On Sep 23, 2018 |
"Does God exist? That depends on which God you have in mind. The cosmic mystery or the worldly lawgiver? Sometimes when people talk about God, they talk about a grand and awesome enigma, about which we know absolutely nothing. We invoke this mysterious God to explain the deepest riddles of the cosmos. Why is there something rather than nothing? What shaped the fundamental laws of physics? What is consciousness, and where does it come from? We do not know the answers to these questions, and we give our ignorance the grand name of God. The most fundamental characteristic of this mysterious God is that we cannot say anything concrete about Him. This is the God of the philosophers; the God we talk about when we sit around a campfire late at night, and wonder what life is all about. On other occasions people see God as a stern and worldly lawgiver, about whom we know only too much. We know exactly what He thinks about fashion, food, sex and politics, and we invoke this Angry Man in the Sky to justify a million regulations, decrees and conflicts. He gets upset when women wear short-sleeved shirts, when two men have sex with one another, or when teenagers masturbate. Some people say He does not like us to ever drink alcohol, whereas according to others He positively demands that we drink wine every Friday night or every Sunday morning. Entire libraries have been written to explain in the minutest details exactly what He wants and what He dislikes. The most fundamental characteristic of this worldly lawgiver is that we can say extremely concrete things about Him. This is the God of the crusaders and jihadists, of the inquisitors, the misogynists and the homophobes. This is the God we talk about when we stand around a burning pyre, hurling stones and abuses at the heretics being grilled there. When the faithful are asked whether God really exists, they often begin by talking about the enigmatic mysteries of the universe and the limits of human understanding. ‘Science cannot explain the Big Bang,’ they exclaim, ‘so that must be God’s doing.’ Yet like a magician fooling an audience by imperceptibly replacing one card with another, the faithful quickly replace the cosmic mystery with the worldly lawgiver. After giving the name of ‘God’ to the unknown secrets of the cosmos, they then use this to somehow condemn bikinis and divorces. ‘We do not understand the Big Bang – therefore you must cover your hair in public and vote against gay marriage.’ Not only is there no logical connection between the two, but they are in fact contradictory. The deeper the mysteries of the universe, the less likely it is that whatever is responsible for them gives a damn about female dress codes or human sexual behavior. The missing link between the cosmic mystery and the worldly lawgiver is usually provided through some holy book. The book is full of the most trifling regulations, but is nevertheless attributed to the cosmic mystery. The creator of space and time supposedly composed it, but He bothered to enlighten us mainly about some arcane temple rituals and food taboos. In truth, we haven’t got any evidence whatsoever that the Bible or the Quran or the Book of Mormon or the Vedas or any other holy book was composed by the force that determined that energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared, and that protons are 1,837 times more massive than electrons. To the best of our scientific knowledge, all these sacred texts were written by imaginative Homo sapiens. They are just stories invented by our ancestors in order to legitimise social norms and political structures. I personally never cease to wonder about the mystery of existence. But I have never understood what it has got to do with the niggling laws of Judaism, Christianity or Hinduism. These laws were certainly very helpful in establishing and maintaining the social order for thousands of years. But in that, they are not fundamentally different from the laws of secular states and institutions. The third of the biblical Ten Commandments instructs humans never to make wrongful use of the name of God. Many understand this in a childish way, as a prohibition on uttering the explicit name of God (as in the famous Monty Python sketch ‘If you say Jehovah …’). Perhaps the deeper meaning of this commandment is that we should never use the name of God to justify our political interests, our economic ambitions or our personal hatreds. People hate somebody and say, ‘God hates him’; people covet a piece of land and say, ‘God wants it’. The world would be a much better place if we followed the third commandment more devotedly. You want to wage war on your neighbours and steal their land? Leave God out of it, and find yourself some other excuse. When all is said and done, it is a matter of semantics. When I use the word ‘God’, I think of the God of the Islamic State, of the Crusades, of the Inquisition, and of the ‘God hates gays’ banners. When I think of the mystery of existence, I prefer to use other words, so as to avoid confusion. And unlike the God of the Islamic State and the Crusades – who cares a lot about names and above all about His most holy name – the mystery of existence doesn’t care an iota what names we apes give it." ~ Yuval Harari: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century 4 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 10:14am On Sep 23, 2018 |
"Does God exist? That depends on which God you have in mind. The cosmic mystery or the worldly lawgiver? Sometimes when people talk about God, they talk about a grand and awesome enigma, about which we know absolutely nothing. We invoke this mysterious God to explain the deepest riddles of the cosmos. Why is there something rather than nothing? What shaped the fundamental laws of physics? What is consciousness, and where does it come from? We do not know the answers to these questions, and we give our ignorance the grand name of God. The most fundamental characteristic of this mysterious God is that we cannot say anything concrete about Him. This is the God of the philosophers; the God we talk about when we sit around a campfire late at night, and wonder what life is all about. On other occasions people see God as a stern and worldly lawgiver, about whom we know only too much. We know exactly what He thinks about fashion, food, sex and politics, and we invoke this Angry Man in the Sky to justify a million regulations, decrees and conflicts. He gets upset when women wear short-sleeved shirts, when two men have sex with one another, or when teenagers masturbate. Some people say He does not like us to ever drink alcohol, whereas according to others He positively demands that we drink wine every Friday night or every Sunday morning. Entire libraries have been written to explain in the minutest details exactly what He wants and what He dislikes. The most fundamental characteristic of this worldly lawgiver is that we can say extremely concrete things about Him. This is the God of the crusaders and jihadists, of the inquisitors, the misogynists and the homophobes. This is the God we talk about when we stand around a burning pyre, hurling stones and abuses at the heretics being grilled there. When the faithful are asked whether God really exists, they often begin by talking about the enigmatic mysteries of the universe and the limits of human understanding. ‘Science cannot explain the Big Bang,’ they exclaim, ‘so that must be God’s doing.’ Yet like a magician fooling an audience by imperceptibly replacing one card with another, the faithful quickly replace the cosmic mystery with the worldly lawgiver. After giving the name of ‘God’ to the unknown secrets of the cosmos, they then use this to somehow condemn bikinis and divorces. ‘We do not understand the Big Bang – therefore you must cover your hair in public and vote against gay marriage.’ Not only is there no logical connection between the two, but they are in fact contradictory. The deeper the mysteries of the universe, the less likely it is that whatever is responsible for them gives a damn about female dress codes or human sexual behavior. The missing link between the cosmic mystery and the worldly lawgiver is usually provided through some holy book. The book is full of the most trifling regulations, but is nevertheless attributed to the cosmic mystery. The creator of space and time supposedly composed it, but He bothered to enlighten us mainly about some arcane temple rituals and food taboos. In truth, we haven’t got any evidence whatsoever that the Bible or the Quran or the Book of Mormon or the Vedas or any other holy book was composed by the force that determined that energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared, and that protons are 1,837 times more massive than electrons. To the best of our scientific knowledge, all these sacred texts were written by imaginative Homo sapiens. They are just stories invented by our ancestors in order to legitimise social norms and political structures. I personally never cease to wonder about the mystery of existence. But I have never understood what it has got to do with the niggling laws of Judaism, Christianity or Hinduism. These laws were certainly very helpful in establishing and maintaining the social order for thousands of years. But in that, they are not fundamentally different from the laws of secular states and institutions. The third of the biblical Ten Commandments instructs humans never to make wrongful use of the name of God. Many understand this in a childish way, as a prohibition on uttering the explicit name of God (as in the famous Monty Python sketch ‘If you say Jehovah …’). Perhaps the deeper meaning of this commandment is that we should never use the name of God to justify our political interests, our economic ambitions or our personal hatreds. People hate somebody and say, ‘God hates him’; people covet a piece of land and say, ‘God wants it’. The world would be a much better place if we followed the third commandment more devotedly. You want to wage war on your neighbours and steal their land? Leave God out of it, and find yourself some other excuse. When all is said and done, it is a matter of semantics. When I use the word ‘God’, I think of the God of the Islamic State, of the Crusades, of the Inquisition, and of the ‘God hates gays’ banners. When I think of the mystery of existence, I prefer to use other words, so as to avoid confusion. And unlike the God of the Islamic State and the Crusades – who cares a lot about names and above all about His most holy name – the mystery of existence doesn’t care an iota what names we apes give it." ~ Yuval Harari: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century 5 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 11:16am On Sep 23, 2018 |
CHRISTIANITY IS NOT A RELIGION! This is a response to Primesky latest comment. Have you noticed a new Christian apologetic emerging in recent years? Rather than attempt the hopeless project of finding evidence to support the existence of God, Jesus, heaven, hell and all the rest of it and excuses for the contradictions and embarrassing nonsense, these new kids on the block, like Primesky, simply say we misunderstand it all--Christianity is not a religion, it's just a way of life. Really? So Christianity has no god, no prophets, no holy scripture, no dogma, no priests, no worship, no life-after-death and Christians don't pray? OK, it's not a religion then. It's just a lifestyle. A lifestyle that happens to believe in a god, prophets, holy scripture, dogma, priests, worship, life-after-death and prayer. What an amazing coincidence--it's a lifestyle that looks just like a religion! 15 Likes 3 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by CAPSLOCKED: 11:38am On Sep 23, 2018 |
joseph1013: AND RELIGION EQUALS TO BULLSHĮT. R = BSײ 3 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Omooba224: 2:29pm On Sep 23, 2018 |
joseph1013:Just ignore the guy, Indoctrination i |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by budaatum: 3:45pm On Sep 23, 2018 |
Primesky:Explain! |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by budaatum: 3:59pm On Sep 23, 2018 |
zinnyzee:Roses, yeah? Smell them! All around is spat on mud rubbed vigorously in peoples' eye and they run screaming, "We can see!" The poor may always be amongst us but they will reduce in number! zinnyzee:Hold it tight. See where it leads. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by LordReed(m): 4:11pm On Sep 23, 2018 |
4 years and still going strong. I like this guy. LoLz |
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