How Stupid Do U Have To Be To Believe In God?

[EmeraldAce.com 0]

Is it believing in god you find unbelievable (no pun intended) or is it that people follow a scripture that was written thousands of years ago that you find a bit hard to understand?I am nor a religous person, but I can understand the belief of something larger than us as there are some pretty big questions that are still unanswered (like, what created the universe, where do life come from, how come everytime you drop a sandwich it falls on the side with butter) and since these questions are beyond our understanding its not that far fetched to give the idea of a god, or powerful being had a finger in there somehow.Religion is not so much about god(s) as it is about a sense of belonging and that awesome sensation of the world making sense and not being all confusing. In a world like today where war, crime and unjustice is everywhere its quite natural to look for a reason to live on and for a way to make sense of this mayhem. Some find this comfort in religion, others in their work and some find it in friends and family.Religion has always been a part of our lives and I believe it has been so for a reason. I may not belive in any particular belief system, but I keep an open mind to the possibility of something/someone out there.I suggest you do not shut out the possibility or call people stupid for a personal choice they have made. Take a moment and look passed the crap that is tossed between religions and spammed all over the media and look at the history behind the religion. I think you will find that its not justa bunch of mindless drones worshipping a "allmighty" out fear for obscure punishment or glorified heavens if you behave. religion is so much more...Its psychology, politics, history, myths and legends. You just have to get passed the surface.

[hardkorbeatz 0]

if you make a choice to believe in god despite 134785684 obvious reasons and truths to the contrary, despite the fact that u are indulging in blind faith, despite the fact that its irrational thinking - then yes ill call u stupid for that, because you are.

[fckthis 0]

if you make a choice to believe in god despite 134785684 obvious reasons and truths to the contrary, despite the fact that u are indulging in blind faith, despite the fact that its irrational thinking - then yes ill call u stupid for that, because you are.

FUK, you're like herpes, you dont go away.

[HangukMiguk 8]

Seruiousli, if you don't give this guy attention he will go away.

or if he uses racial slurs, and you pm governator about it, he goes away.hope he has fun in banville.

[screech 0]

Is it believing in god you find unbelievable (no pun intended) or is it that people follow a scripture that was written thousands of years ago that you find a bit hard to understand?

this is an excellent question for all the atheists on the forum. im surprised it hasnt been asked before.personally, i find the idea of a god - one that created the universe - not all that far-fettched. if you go back far enough you reach as point where science breaks down. this is at the singularity that existed before the big bang. what created the singularity, or what event started the big bang is unknown. it could very well have been a supreme being.what i find ridiculous is the notion that such a being would hand carve humans or put us up on a pedastool over all the other potential life in the universe. i also find it very silly that people follow scriptures thousands of years old, translated many times over (or maybe only once?) without any evidence that what was written down is more than a fairy tale.

[Loismustdie 0]

this is an excellent question for all the atheists on the forum. im surprised it hasnt been asked before.personally, i find the idea of a god - one that created the universe - not all that far-fettched. if you go back far enough you reach as point where science breaks down. this is at the singularity that existed before the big bang. what created the singularity, or what event started the big bang is unknown. it could very well have been a supreme being.what i find ridiculous is the notion that such a being would hand carve humans or put us up on a pedastool over all the other potential life in the universe. i also find it very silly that people follow scriptures thousands of years old, translated many times over (or maybe only once?) without any evidence that what was written down is more than a fairy tale.

No more ridiculous then believing in other potential life in the universe. There is plenty of evidence that the Bible is more than a fairy tale, some physical and some that you could only experience if you managed to summon the faith to believe and follow what it says, which is between you and God. Christianity was designed that way- it's for believers and only believers,and until one becomes that there are some things they will never understand or comprehend, mostly because they are not tangible. Why is it so easy to assume life, or let's say assume other possibly more intelligent beings, why is it so easy to accept that but not an intelligent creator? What gives one the ability to make that leap of faith but not the other, because I would have to assume it's not proof- so, what is it?

[crowTrobot 2]

this is an excellent question for all the atheists on the forum. im surprised it hasnt been asked before.

it has many times. generally speaking christian posters are the ones that seem incapable of differentiating between their fundamentalist belief and belief in a generic creator, not the atheists or agnostics.

[crowTrobot 2]

No more ridiculous then believing in other potential life in the universe.

belief in the potential for a (generic) god is not more ridiculous than that, no. that doesn't exactly describe you, though, since your belief in the specific christian god is absolute. i don't recall you ever saying you believe in the christian god because he "potentially" exists.

and some that you could only experience if you managed to summon the faith to believe and follow what it says, which is between you and God. Christianity was designed that way- it's for believers and only believers,and until one becomes that there are some things they will never understand or comprehend, mostly because they are not tangible.

yes christianity requires a blind leap of faith for belief, just like any other cult.

Why is it so easy to assume life, or let's say assume other possibly more intelligent beings, why is it so easy to accept that but not an intelligent creator? What gives one the ability to make that leap of faith but not the other, because I would have to assume it's not proof- so, what is it?

i'm too lazy to look at what exactly you were responding to with this, although i'm not aware of anyone in this forum that has absolute "faith" in the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life. however you can make valid logical arguments for that possibility being more likely than that the universe was created by an intelligence that is particularly interested in us. the facts that we exist and the universe is immense are in themselves a good indication that intelligent life is at least a remote possibility elsewhere. however as far as science can determine at this point the universe appears to be completely mechanical in operation, with no indication whatsover of an interested creator hanging around.

[DonkSlayer 1]

or if he uses racial slurs, and you pm governator about it, he goes away.hope he has fun in banville.

I love me some Hanguk.Seriously, if his "Bad Deal" thread got locked up, I don't understand why this didn't. Not the topic that bothers me, but just the fact that it's here to stir shyt up and not be intelligent or conversation-starting.

[screech 0]

No more ridiculous then believing in other potential life in the universe. There is plenty of evidence that the Bible is more than a fairy tale, some physical and some that you could only experience if you managed to summon the faith to believe and follow what it says, which is between you and God. Christianity was designed that way- it's for believers and only believers,and until one becomes that there are some things they will never understand or comprehend, mostly because they are not tangible. Why is it so easy to assume life, or let's say assume other possibly more intelligent beings, why is it so easy to accept that but not an intelligent creator? What gives one the ability to make that leap of faith but not the other, because I would have to assume it's not proof- so, what is it?

not to get sidetracked here, as i am sure you have eplained this many times, but what evidence is there in the bible that deems it to be more than just a fairy tale?the reason it is so easy to assume that there is other life in the universe is simple probability. given the size of the universe, and the initial conditions necessary for life to thrive, it is basically a certainty that life exists somwhere else in the universe. in fact, there are likely a large number of planets that support life, and this has been shown using different formulas and monte carlo simulation.of course, this assumes you don't believe in a creator, so i can see why it is a bit of a stretch for christians to believe in other lifeforms. but, assuming we were created by god, don't you think the universe is an awfully big place for him to create just us? couldn't he have life foms on the other side of the universe to toy with, and just never bothered to tell us because we would never find out anyway?the reason i find an intelligent creator - or more importantly, the one described in the bible - difficult to believe is all the strings that it comes with it. heaven/hell, satan, angels, plagues, garden of eden, vengeful and petty all-knowing god, etc.for all i know, life started on this planet because an asteriod carrying bacteria from another planet crashed into ours some 10 billion years ago. or maybe, even more unlikely, animals and other complex organisms are nothing more than highly complex (to us anyway) robots created by far more intelligent beings. the above two scenarios, and many like them, are much less likely than the standard evolution theory, yet i think they are much more probable than the creation events layed out in the bible.

[crowTrobot 2]

for all i know, life started on this planet because an asteriod carrying bacteria from another planet crashed into ours some 10 billion years ago

just to be a jerk, the earth is 4.5 billion years old not 10. but yeah that is a respected theory otherwise. scientists are currently into checking asteroid fragments for microbal life.

[screech 0]

just to be a jerk, the earth is 4.5 billion years old not 10. but yeah that is a respected theory otherwise. scientists are currently into checking asteroid fragments for microbal life.

right. i was confusing the age of the universe with the age of the earth.

[Loismustdie 0]

Got to go to work, but I will give a detailed account of what I have as far as proof of/for the bible when I get home tonite, probably during the Negreaunu Open, hopefully as I am winning it. One more final table- even better, a win, and I can slip into the top 9.

[gkunit20 1]

Wanna know what's great? He got banned.

[DonkSlayer 1]

Wanna know what's great? He got banned.

[mtdesmoines 3]

i mean really... im not THAT smart

FYP

[HangukMiguk 8]

I love me some Hanguk.Seriously, if his "Bad Deal" thread got locked up, I don't understand why this didn't. Not the topic that bothers me, but just the fact that it's here to stir shyt up and not be intelligent or conversation-starting.

don't we all i'd say the key underlying factor that got "bad deal" locked was the fact that he called out several people from the boards in that thread on the OP just to attempt to humiliate them.

[DonkSlayer 1]

I think I need some religious inspiration soon...I feel myself slipping a little further away every day.

[fckthis 0]

You know if you didnt take the bible literally, or w.e holy book it is, the lessons are still there. Essentially, even if you dont believe that adam and eve did what the bible says, the story has values and morals, which really are the point. Thats why ppl find religion a turn off, mainly because they are expected to believe that the Red Sea actually parted, or a flaming bush talked to a prophet. True or not, the message and values expressed, remain.

[crowTrobot 2]

You know if you didnt take the bible literally, or w.e holy book it is, the lessons are still there. Essentially, even if you dont believe that adam and eve did what the bible says, the story has values and morals, which really are the point. Thats why ppl find religion a turn off, mainly because they are expected to believe that the Red Sea actually parted, or a flaming bush talked to a prophet. True or not, the message and values expressed, remain.

yes the bible is a collection of fables, some with valuable morals. what does that have to do with believing in god?

[screech 0]

You know if you didnt take the bible literally, or w.e holy book it is, the lessons are still there. Essentially, even if you dont believe that adam and eve did what the bible says, the story has values and morals, which really are the point. Thats why ppl find religion a turn off, mainly because they are expected to believe that the Red Sea actually parted, or a flaming bush talked to a prophet. True or not, the message and values expressed, remain.

of course there is a lot of good that can be taken away from the bible, as just about anything else in life. but there's a lot in there that manipulates people into believing in strange things, which causes them to have a negative impact on society.

[Loismustdie 0]

of course there is a lot of good that can be taken away from the bible, as just about anything else in life. but there's a lot in there that manipulates people into believing in strange things, which causes them to have a negative impact on society.

What negative impact? That is such crap it barely merits a response. Name one thing that is so strange that it affects society negatively.

[screech 0]

What negative impact? That is such crap it barely merits a response. Name one thing that is so strange that it affects society negatively.

Are you really that blinded by your faith?George Bush thinks god talks to him. Invades Iraq. (Religion is the cause of just about every war in history).Suicide Bombers.Political Impact.Protesters at soldiers funerals.Stem Cell Research (**** progress).Abortions (**** rape).Gays (**** gays).

[Loismustdie 0]

Are you really that blinded by your faith?George Bush thinks god talks to him. Invades Iraq. (Religion is the cause of just about every war in history).Suicide Bombers.Political Impact.Protesters at soldiers funerals.Stem Cell Research (**** progress).Abortions (**** rape).Gays (**** gays).

Your talking about fanatics and extremists- no one I know when it comes to church aqcuaintances claims that God talks to them, or is a suicide bomber, or protests at a soldiers funeral(that's just awful), stem cell research may be something in the future that could flat out change lives, and thats a good thing. Abortions- I don't know one women who is happy they did it, that should tell you something. It's a violation of the natural order. Would I protest against it? No. Gays? Biblically, it's wrong, but so is lying to my boss or being a womanizer- I have been those things, who am I to judge? I have gay friends, and they know where I stand, and we get along fabulously- mostly becuse they are not my gay friends, they are just my friends. If a carpenter attacked me and maimed me, put me in a wheelchair, and then I saw a statistic that said 10% of all carpenters are murderers could I then say that all carpenters are murderers and bad for the planet and humankind? No. Case closed.

[screech 0]

Your talking about fanatics and extremists- no one I know when it comes to church aqcuaintances claims that God talks to them, or is a suicide bomber, or protests at a soldiers funeral(that's just awful), stem cell research may be something in the future that could flat out change lives, and thats a good thing. Abortions- I don't know one women who is happy they did it, that should tell you something. It's a violation of the natural order. Would I protest against it? No. Gays? Biblically, it's wrong, but so is lying to my boss or being a womanizer- I have been those things, who am I to judge? I have gay friends, and they know where I stand, and we get along fabulously- mostly becuse they are not my gay friends, they are just my friends. If a carpenter attacked me and maimed me, put me in a wheelchair, and then I saw a statistic that said 10% of all carpenters are murderers could I then say that all carpenters are murderers and bad for the planet and humankind? No. Case closed.

Fair enough. At least you seem to be a level headed worshiper.The carpenter analagy is silly because that's just one carpenter out of millions on earth. Now, if 10% of the carpenters on Earth actually did murder people, you could probably draw the conclusion that there is something about their profession that makes them snap and kill people. The profession of carpentry would undergo careful scrutiny, and most people would draw the conclusions that carpentry is bad for people, since it causes so many deaths.Religion probably causes the most human deaths since it's idea came about. Do you agree with that statement?