christian

[hoof31 0]

To quote smash from like 2 months ago, "yeah, i like cheese."

[MDXS 0]

After reading natedoggs comments all i could say was wow. He seems to choose to ignore or not know quite a bit of history surrounding the Bible. There were actually several other Apostles besides Paul and all their books were written about the same time. As for Constantine. The only reason people make a big deal of it now is b/c of the Davinci code. Had that book not been written people wouldnt be using this argument. There is great historical evidence that the Christian community was thriving well before he laid down any edict. Several of the Books of the Bible were recognized well before that time. Paul recognized Luke's Gospel,

Heh...he's ignorant of the history? Paul wasn't an apostle. The gospels were not written at the same time. Constantine is important outside of a crappy book. Of course the Christian community was thriving by the time he converted...it wouldn't do him any good to convert to an illegal cult if they weren't everywhere. Luke's gospel, as well as the rest, were likely written down after Paul's death. Not bad...averaging about one factual inaccuracy a sentence...

[pbwl11 0]

I've read that book. I also read a couple others that the author, Lee Strobel, wrote: A Case For A Creator, which puts up a strong case for the whole Creationism vs Darwinism argument. It shoots alot of holes in Darwin's evolutionary theory about how life on this planet began, and how there must be an "Intelligent Designer" behind things. Mr. Strobel's other book, A Case For Faith, takes the story of Jesus one step further and explains who he was, what he was about and proves how he could perform the "miracles" that he did. If you are searching for answers on the meaning of this life, I would strongly suggest picking up these three books, as they have very good information, and answer alot of the questions that humans have been asking throughout history.

I am a Christian. After reading "A Case for Christ" it left no doubt in my mind that Jesus not only existed, but was who he says he was. He'd have to be totally insanse to lie about something like that and based on his actions there was no reason to believe he was mentally unstable. The book was written by an atheist who spent years studying facts. He put those facts into a book and after reading it you would have to have a lot of "faith" to believe that everyone who believes is delusional and that everything that occured was just a random coincidence. As for me not behaving like a Christian... I do my best. I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and I realize that I will screw up again, and again. We all do and that's ok, no one can be like Christ was. We all sin in one form or another and God doesn't condemn us for that. He understands. I don't chew people out for not believing, it's not my place to. However if they attended a live debate between a Christian and an atheist I think they would see that again and again, it's the atheist that has a deep faith in random coincidence while a knowledgeable Christian shows Christ's existense as the more likely possibility. That's supported by numbers as well. Studies have shown that after watching these debates a decent percentage of people convert to Christianity while a miniscule percentage of people decide that atheism is rooted in fact. I was really surprised that the book (A Case for Christ) shot so many holes through so many atheist arguments. From how do we know he died on the cross? To how do we know he wasn't crazy? To how do we know he wasn't a magcian rather than a miracle worker? If you are a Christian or not I think the book is pretty awesome read and I'd be happy to send you a free copy if you e-mailed me.

[pbwl11 0]

You can find the book at any major bookseller (i.e: Barnes & Noble, Boarders Bookstore..." The author is Lee Strobel. Good luck!

I know you said that you would send people a copy of the book. I am not asking for that, but is this a book that is carried in main stream book stores or do I need to go to a religious book store. Just wondering.

[Erik67 0]

So how many of you have had a change of heart either way due to this colossal waste of energy. 2:1 says zero. Don't come at me with the, "If it's a waste of time why did you read it?" Because I didn't. I went straight to "post reply" Seriously, do you think you're really going to change someone's core beliefs via an online forum :roll:

[faketree 0]

So how many of you have had a change of heart either way due to this colossal waste of energy. 2:1 says zero. Don't come at me with the, "If it's a waste of time why did you read it?" Because I didn't. I went straight to "post reply" Seriously, do you think you're really going to change someone's core beliefs via an online forum :roll:

Its not about changing anyones mind or beliefs. Its just about having a discussion or an argument. It is healthy and stimulating and may bring to light new ideas some may never had heard of. Its basic human nature to discuss something as important as this.I, for one, have never heard some of the things mentioned in this thread and I certainly never heard of the book that Daniel is offering to send to people. I am a pure agnostic. I really have no idea one way or another. But I love reading about religion and look forward to reading this book.I don't think anyone really believed they would change someone's mind during this discussion. Just making an argument for what they believe.

[Smasharoo 0]

I don't chew people out for not believing, it's not my place to. However if they attended a live debate between a Christian and an atheist I think they would see that again and again, it's the atheist that has a deep faith in random coincidence while a knowledgeable Christian shows Christ's existense as the more likely possibility.It's your website and everything, and I repect your oppinions, but that's not even vaguely accurate.Letting alone the obvious fallacy that more faith is required to believe what evidence shows than to believe what there is no evidence of, there is the fact that Christians rarely debate atheists because it's impossible. They merely ask questions that have no foundation in reason and play only to the emotions and fears of their audience.The bible is replete with contradiction and the case for a specefic judeo-Christian god is laughable to anyone evaluating it based on fact as opposed to sentiment.

[scunning 0]

The only thing that I would mention about Christianity and poker is that poker is unfortunately a sin in the state of Georgia, but not in the state of Nevada. While I think it's baloney that the state of Georgia is allowed to operate legal lotteries to fund merit-based scholarships for college while cash games are strictly illegal, Christiasn are nevertheless bound by Paul's letter to the Roman church, ch. 13, v.1ff. It says, "Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God." I figure there are two instances, broadly defined, when a Christian can legitimately exercise civil disobedience: 1) when the state is expressing forbidding the Christian from doing something which his religious requires (ex: evangelism). 2) when the state requires the Christian to do something that his religion explicitly fobids (ex: sacrifice to idols, worship other religion's gods, etc.). As much I've tried, via theological acrobatics, to make poker an obligation via divine fiat, I have been unsucccessful, and so feel compelled to quit my regular cash game. Out of curiousity, where can I learn about the policy environment and changes in the policy environment that affect gambling laws by states? Is there a lobbying group for casinos, and if so, how successful have they been in getting gambling laws relaxed?

[Erik67 0]

So how many of you have had a change of heart either way due to this colossal waste of energy. 2:1 says zero. Don't come at me with the, "If it's a waste of time why did you read it?" Because I didn't. I went straight to "post reply" Seriously, do you think you're really going to change someone's core beliefs via an online forum :roll:

Its not about changing anyones mind or beliefs. Its just about having a discussion or an argument. It is healthy and stimulating and may bring to light new ideas some may never had heard of. Its basic human nature to discuss something as important as this.I, for one, have never heard some of the things mentioned in this thread and I certainly never heard of the book that Daniel is offering to send to people. I am a pure agnostic. I really have no idea one way or another. But I love reading about religion and look forward to reading this book.I don't think anyone really believed they would change someone's mind during this discussion. Just making an argument for what they believe.

What's the puropse of discussing somethingif your not trying to convert the other person to your side? Boredom? Nothing else to do? At least admit that these internet religious posts are about one upsmanship and nothing more.

[Mandelbrot 0]

I follow a religion I once read about on Paul Philip's blog...ApatheismI don't know if God exists, and I don't really care either. I will live my life as a good person regardless of who may or may not be watching. I put my faith in myself and those around me.

He doesn't care whether God exists? Paul Philips is so full of his own hubris... That aside, it's an interesting credo but it certainly leaves a elephant standing in the middle of the room -- what exactly does it mean to be a "good person"? Organized religions answer this question a little too definitively for my taste, but I also don't think it's enough to just make it up as you go along. Science is no guide either. BTW, I think a better term for this philosophy would be benevolent agnosticism.

[Mattnxtc 0]

After reading natedoggs comments all i could say was wow. He seems to choose to ignore or not know quite a bit of history surrounding the Bible. There were actually several other Apostles besides Paul and all their books were written about the same time. As for Constantine. The only reason people make a big deal of it now is b/c of the Davinci code. Had that book not been written people wouldnt be using this argument. There is great historical evidence that the Christian community was thriving well before he laid down any edict. Several of the Books of the Bible were recognized well before that time. Paul recognized Luke's Gospel,

Heh...he's ignorant of the history? Paul wasn't an apostle. The gospels were not written at the same time. Constantine is important outside of a crappy book. Of course the Christian community was thriving by the time he converted...it wouldn't do him any good to convert to an illegal cult if they weren't everywhere. Luke's gospel, as well as the rest, were likely written down after Paul's death. Not bad...averaging about one factual inaccuracy a sentence...

Again it is always comical to see where exactly you say your qettin gyour info from. Based of of matching up the different historical events that took place and historical leaders it has been shown that the Bible was finished by around AD 95...so kinda makes no sense what your sayin now does it

[mark33f 0]

'Great example, The Pope got a tracheotomy because of the flu, right, the flu lasts for 7 to 10 days. More disinformation courtesy of the Vatican. "Yes the pope had this done to assist with his breathing after he had the flu. Maybe when you are 84 years old with Parkinson's, you might have a little trouble handling illness and therefore have more side effects as a result of that illness. I respect everyone's point of view but as a general note please back up your points with actual facts and not random garbage.

[Mattnxtc 0]

I don't chew people out for not believing, it's not my place to. However if they attended a live debate between a Christian and an atheist I think they would see that again and again, it's the atheist that has a deep faith in random coincidence while a knowledgeable Christian shows Christ's existense as the more likely possibility.It's your website and everything, and I repect your oppinions, but that's not even vaguely accurate.Letting alone the obvious fallacy that more faith is required to believe what evidence shows than to believe what there is no evidence of, there is the fact that Christians rarely debate atheists because it's impossible. They merely ask questions that have no foundation in reason and play only to the emotions and fears of their audience.The bible is replete with contradiction and the case for a specefic judeo-Christian god is laughable to anyone evaluating it based on fact as opposed to sentiment.

It takes more faith to think that magically something appeared from nothing to start the big bang? Last time i checked if you have a perfect vacuum with nothing in it..no molecules atoms or anything else...nothing will appear no matter how much you hope for it. Then lets look at some of that science that you seem to base your faith that there is no God on. If just one part out of 10^120 was different Id show the zeros but thats a whole lot of zeros after that one. Basically since this is a place full of people who understand gambling odds..Its like winning the lottery over and over. We are not here. Another example. Lets look at carbon...which is a huge part of most material. "The formation of carbon sits on a knife edge of uuncertaintiy. To form carbon, radioactiver beryllium (element number 4) must absorb a nucleus of helium (elemnt 2) and build to elemtent 6 carbon. Seems easy right. we all learned that in high school. But there is a big problem with it. See radioactive beryllium has a life of 10^-16 seconds. that would be .0000000000000001 of a second. Yet somehow carbon is the 4th most abundant element on this earth." So to say that it takes more faith to believe that a God created us then to believe that all these millions of random occurrances just happened is an interesting question. Since this is poker...I woudl say its like winning 10^120 hands in a row. just isnt gonna happen

[hoof31 0]

I don't chew people out for not believing, it's not my place to. However if they attended a live debate between a Christian and an atheist I think they would see that again and again, it's the atheist that has a deep faith in random coincidence while a knowledgeable Christian shows Christ's existense as the more likely possibility.It's your website and everything, and I repect your oppinions, but that's not even vaguely accurate.Letting alone the obvious fallacy that more faith is required to believe what evidence shows than to believe what there is no evidence of, there is the fact that Christians rarely debate atheists because it's impossible. They merely ask questions that have no foundation in reason and play only to the emotions and fears of their audience.The bible is replete with contradiction and the case for a specefic judeo-Christian god is laughable to anyone evaluating it based on fact as opposed to sentiment.

It takes more faith to think that magically something appeared from nothing to start the big bang? Last time i checked if you have a perfect vacuum with nothing in it..no molecules atoms or anything else...nothing will appear no matter how much you hope for it. Then lets look at some of that science that you seem to base your faith that there is no God on. If just one part out of 10^120 was different Id show the zeros but thats a whole lot of zeros after that one. Basically since this is a place full of people who understand gambling odds..Its like winning the lottery over and over. We are not here. Another example. Lets look at carbon...which is a huge part of most material. "The formation of carbon sits on a knife edge of uuncertaintiy. To form carbon, radioactiver beryllium (element number 4) must absorb a nucleus of helium (elemnt 2) and build to elemtent 6 carbon. Seems easy right. we all learned that in high school. But there is a big problem with it. See radioactive beryllium has a life of 10^-16 seconds. that would be .0000000000000001 of a second. Yet somehow carbon is the 4th most abundant element on this earth." So to say that it takes more faith to believe that a God created us then to believe that all these millions of random occurrances just happened is an interesting question. Since this is poker...I woudl say its like winning 10^120 hands in a row. just isnt gonna happen

What is this topic about? Poker?

[Nutcracker 0]

Smash, you could learn a lot from Jesus.I bet he stomped the microlimits back in the day.

[KingAustin 0]

Religion is just like poker. Some people do things totally different and other people dont agree. (raising in the dark, checking the nuts on the river, betting into a calling station with absolutely nothing, etc.) Just let it go people, being different is what makes us human.

[MDXS 0]

Again it is always comical to see where exactly you say your qettin gyour info from. Based of of matching up the different historical events that took place and historical leaders it has been shown that the Bible was finished by around AD 95...so kinda makes no sense what your sayin now does it

I have no idea what you're saying right now. I will back off my earlier assertion that Paul was unfamiliar with the gospel of Luke. I thought that the gospel was written after Paul's death (65-67 CE), but it's possible that it was written in the early 60's. Doesn't mean he read it, but he could have.

[hoof31 0]

Smash, you could learn a lot from Jesus.smash likes cheeseI bet he stomped the microlimits back in the day.

[Mattnxtc 0]

1Timothy 5:18 For the Scripture says, "YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING," and "The laborer is worthy of his wages." Luke 10:7 "Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. Youll notice here that in 1 Timothy Paul references a line from Lukes Gospel. So it seems to imply that he had read itSorry I wasnt clear on the other comment I made earlier but Im studyin for a test too so my focus isnt 100%. There have been several copies found dating around 3rd century. And even a few dating to AD 170. Which they use to make sure that the versions we have today are still in line with what was written then. So to say that it has gone off track and been changed is shown to be wrong. So to say that Constantine put together the Bible and is the major influence of it seems to deny all the text that was together before he even got ahold of it. All he did was help the growth of it. He isnt responsible for it. Its the exact same as when the European nations set up their Churches. The didnt start the religion they jsut made it more widespread

[MDXS 0]

Okay, now I see what you're saying. Never said Constantine put together the bible or any of that. Just said that he made Christianity the religion of the empire.

[tweeds07 0]

Proverbs 23:13-14: "Withold not discipline from the child, for if you strike and punish him with the (reed-like) rod, he will not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell."Proverbs 22:15: "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him."Proverbs 13:24(AMP): "He who spares his rod (of discipline) hates his son, but he who loves him diligently disciplines and punishes him early."

Like people have previously stated, y'all take what has been written down far too literally. When the Bible was written it was a vastly different time, there were no real laws against things of this nature versus today's world where there are laws against physical abuse. It may have been socially acceptable to discipline your child in such a way and having not lived in that time none of us would know.Also, have you thought about the use of the words "rods" and "strike" and "punish" being used as metaphors for merely keeping your child in line by disciplining him...The "rod of discipline" could be anything in this circumstance not purely a rod that one uses to discipline their child (hit). Metaphors are used in everyday life where one will say "Yeah I beat the $hit out of him"...In many cases it means simply that you beat him in whatever competition you are participating in.Much of what the Bible preaches is used in metaphorical language meaning to be applied to one's life.

[Smasharoo 0]

So to say that it takes more faith to believe that a God created us then to believe that all these millions of random occurrances just happened is an interesting question. Since this is poker...I woudl say its like winning 10^120 hands in a row. just isnt gonna happenYou're joking, right?You're saying the thing with no evidence at all is more likely than the thing with evidence....It's like saying that a metor hitting the same town twice, a statistically unlikely but possible event takes more faith to belive than that a giant dragon came and shat out flaming turds at it.Do you really want to your argument to be that ludicrously laughable?

[wrto4556 0]

Religion is just like poker. Some people do things totally different and other people dont agree. (raising in the dark, checking the nuts on the river, betting into a calling station with absolutely nothing, etc.) Just let it go people, being different is what makes us human.

But, you see, betting into a calling station with nothing is wrong, just like the assumption that God exists is wrong. We are our own gods.

[tweeds07 0]

Within the past few months I have come to the knowledge that my beautiful wife is pregnant. With all the doctors appointments (she is having complications) I have had a new view on life and some of the things that confuse people. We have pictures of our unborn child on the refrigerator, and pregnancy books all over the house. My point being, for those of you who have had the opportunity to have children how could you not believe in something higher than yourself, in a being or spirit or some kind of power helping us out. Is it coincidence that we happen to be just the right distance from the sun, so that plants and animals and ourselves can all live together? Is it coincidence that our atmosphere is just the right distance and mixture of gases so that we can breathe the air. Is it a coincidence that the air we breathe in is transformed in our lungs, heart, and capillaries into energy that we need to survive? Is it coincidence that we as humans are the only creatures on the planet who can think analytically, emotionally, and know of our own existence and take that existence away at anytime (suicide)? I’m sure that all the miraculous things that go into making, having, and giving birth to a child are just coincidences also. Some may think the whole process we call life is chaotic, but what is more humbling to know that we ourselves can create life to proceed on after us and have faith that there is something else besides coincidences.

:clap: :clap: :clap: Great post, I stood up and applauded. Congratulations on the pregnancy, I sincerely hope all turns out well!

[Mattnxtc 0]

So to say that it takes more faith to believe that a God created us then to believe that all these millions of random occurrances just happened is an interesting question. Since this is poker...I woudl say its like winning 10^120 hands in a row. just isnt gonna happenYou're joking, right?You're saying the thing with no evidence at all is more likely than the thing with evidence....It's like saying that a metor hitting the same town twice, a statistically unlikely but possible event takes more faith to belive than that a giant dragon came and shat out flaming turds at it.Do you really want to your argument to be that ludicrously laughable?

No evidence? i have 29000 copies of the Bible some dating before Christ and some dating about a century after his time. Where is ur proof that nothing came from nothing? Your analogy is based on there being a dragon. Well nobody has ever mentioned a dragon ever existing in this world. So that just wont do. It is laughable that you sit there and deny that there is no evidence of Jesus when even some of the most respected Atheists will admit that He lived. What I find funny is that everybody tries to make Jesus out to have been such a nobody yet he has had a more lasting impact in this world then just about any other person.