In our world, it seems necessary to have both sides of the coin. Good and bad. Each person makes a choice, we have free will. We all seem to know right from wrong. Will there be consequences, that's not up to us to choose. Did God allow Hitler to be born yes, however, he did not direct the choices Hitler made. Free will. Could Hitler have become a very different person, yes. What happened/happens is not pre-ordained. A lot of good came from WWII, we saw just how far man's inhumanity to man can go. People are on the watch now, alert to prevent something like this happening again. Not everything is perfect, but everything happens for a reason, there is no cause with effect. We (humanity) are imperfect beings. The point is to strive to become better. For some, faith helps achieve the goal, for others faith isn't necessary. I wish I was smarter and could put this in better terms.
A child's mother dies from a disease, the kid decides to become a Doctor, he wants to find a cure, along the way, he inspires, helps countless others. Could it go another way? Sure, kid turns dark, decides no one should have a mother, becomes a serial killer, changes the lives of many people. Either goes to prison for the rest of his life, or gets executed. I don't know how to weave this into what I said above. Both scenarios happen, not exactly of course, but I hope you can kind of understand what I mean.
In our world, it seems necessary to have both sides of the coin. Good and bad. Each person makes a choice, we have free will. We all seem to know right from wrong. Will there be consequences, that's not up to us to choose. Did God allow Hitler to be born yes, however, he did not direct the choices Hitler made. Free will. Could Hitler have become a very different person, yes. What happened/happens is not pre-ordained. A lot of good came from WWII, we saw just how far man's inhumanity to man can go. People are on the watch now, alert to prevent something like this happening again. Not everything is perfect, but everything happens for a reason, there is no cause with effect. We (humanity) are imperfect beings. The point is to strive to become better. For some, faith helps achieve the goal, for others faith isn't necessary. I wish I was smarter and could put this in better terms.
A child's mother dies from a disease, the kid decides to become a Doctor, he wants to find a cure, along the way, he inspires, helps countless others. Could it go another way? Sure, kid turns dark, decides no one should have a mother, becomes a serial killer, changes the lives of many people. Either goes to prison for the rest of his life, or gets executed. I don't know how to weave this into what I said above. Both scenarios happen, not exactly of course, but I hope you can kind of understand what I mean.
Well said! We all make our own choices. If u choose the right path then positive things will come along the way.
In our world, it seems necessary to have both sides of the coin. Good and bad. Each person makes a choice, we have free will. We all seem to know right from wrong. Will there be consequences, that's not up to us to choose. Did God allow Hitler to be born yes, however, he did not direct the choices Hitler made. Free will. Could Hitler have become a very different person, yes. What happened/happens is not pre-ordained. A lot of good came from WWII, we saw just how far man's inhumanity to man can go. People are on the watch now, alert to prevent something like this happening again. Not everything is perfect, but everything happens for a reason, there is no cause with effect. We (humanity) are imperfect beings. The point is to strive to become better. For some, faith helps achieve the goal, for others faith isn't necessary. I wish I was smarter and could put this in better terms.
A child's mother dies from a disease, the kid decides to become a Doctor, he wants to find a cure, along the way, he inspires, helps countless others. Could it go another way? Sure, kid turns dark, decides no one should have a mother, becomes a serial killer, changes the lives of many people. Either goes to prison for the rest of his life, or gets executed. I don't know how to weave this into what I said above. Both scenarios happen, not exactly of course, but I hope you can kind of understand what I mean.
This is what I was trying to get to. Hitler's choices were his own and by that same coin so were Jim Henson's. Therefore God has absolutely chuff all to do with Jim Henson's Dinosaurs!
(...and it was Jim Henson's parents who created Jim Henson. God had chuff all to do with that either unless God is Jim Henson's dad. Which would make Jim Henson Jesus's brother. There is a resemblance I suppose, what with the beards...)
Last edited by Dan_Lebou; August 10th, 2012 at 06:36:24 PM..
And the egg/live birth thing is basic evolution as learned in school - simpler life forms lay eggs in large amounts (eg: fish/reptiles). As you go up the evolutionary scale and creatures became more evolved they start producing less eggs so that they can protect them more (eg:birds). Continue up the scale and you come to mammals, who did away with eggs and started to carry their young inside them during gestation.
And as for the parent being something other than a chicken, just look at mules - they are the offspring of a horse and a donkey but are neither a horse nor a donkey themselves and as such a genetic mutation/anomaly/variation.
God has always existed. This could be the only universe, or, one of many. We don't know. I have faith in God, and that God produced our science. It boils down to everything working out so perfectly. Science can explain a lot, but not everything. At one point, God set all the rules in place, kick started things, and allowed things to develop. We have good and bad. How else would you know the difference. I'm not the brightest bulb out there, but that's my view.
Since science debunks a lot of what people claimed God has done - I am not so sure you want to claim that "God" produced our science.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan_Lebou
Might I ask something?
Now all of these discussions are based on philosophy, they are not based on cold hard 100% fact.
My philosophy is that I base my beliefs on the evidence that is placed in front of me. If evidence cannot be provided then I do not say that it is the work of a higher being, I just say that we do not have the ability or knowledge to be able to explain it at that point in time - a bit like the everyday stuff that we have now that would have been called "Magic" or "the work of God" 300 years ago.
This philosophy leaves me open to the option that if proof were provided that God DID exist then I could happily say "Fair enough, I was wrong".
Now my question is (and this is asked in all seriousness and is not intended to poke fun at anyone) - if proof were provided that God did NOT exist, would those of you who believe in him emphatically be able to admit that you were wrong?
I think most religious people will ignore the proof and claim it's not true - much like they do dinosaurs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MutantXavier
what if he really does exist and you never believed cuz there was no proof of his existence according to you......
Then judgement day comes..... Your in front of him and god ask you. Tell me why you should belong in heaven when all your life you never believe in me? Give me some proof at some point in your lifetime that you ask for my help when you are in need? Now you should belong in hell and burn for all eternity.
Most everyone is going to hell - according to the bible.
So, when you are standing in front of your God and he says you are going to hell for any of these infractions:
- Eating shellfish
- Wearing clothes made of more than one fabric
- Getting raped (this only goes for the ladies, but you can smooth things over by marrying your rapist, so…)
- Trimming your beard or sideburns
- Getting remarried
- Planting more than one crop in a field
- Having a wet dream
- Eating rare meat
- Touching a dead animal
- Menstruating and/or earning your “red wings”
- Getting a tattoo
- And drinking alcohol
Which are all sins according to the bible.
Are you going to still feel good about believing? In hell of course...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan_Lebou
Well I live a life where I do no harm to others, do good for those around me, am always polite, offer help, give to charity, don't break the law, etc. without needing to do it so that I can get a reward at the end. I do it because I choose to rather than because I have to otherwise I'll be punished.
If, despite all this, God still chose to punish me because I didn't go to Church every Sunday or acknowledge his existence then he isn't the all loving benevolent God that he is made out to be and is actually rather petty.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MutantXavier
God created us for us to worship him and glorify him. If that is the only thing your missing then you should think twice.
Its great u do good deeds...
Anyhow...
If you guys watch the news, cnn etc. THE PHILIPPINES AND CHINA ARE IN DEEP TROUBLE. FLOODS EVERYWHERE. I feel bad for tHem. Theres nothing they can do but pray.
Praying does nothing to actually help the issues. Unfortunately.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ren
Hey guys, I am an atheist. It is not up to atheists to prove that God does not exist. It is up to believers to prove that he does. And in the absence of any good, solid evidence or arguments in favour of God’s existence — and in the presence of a whole lot of solid arguments against it — I will continue to be an atheist. I have no issues with anyone believing in any religion, in a way I am quite envious of them as there faith is a great comfort to them. My last word on the subject will be dinosaurs .............
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Real General
What about the dinosaurs?
Dinosaurs were not mentioned in the bible. God created the universe and everything - and then humans - which leaves no explanation of when and why the dinosaurs were around.
what if aliens seeded the oceans of earth with their spawn? as we evolved out of the water, we interbred with chimpanzees. as we evolved into variants of the human species, the lesser branches died off like cro magnon, neanderthal and homo-erectus. as we continue to interbreed with other races and nationalities, our species will eventually all be the same color. and as women no longer find a need for man except for sperm for reproduction, we will become uni-gender with no reproductive organs, hair or breasts. what if?
what if aliens seeded the oceans of earth with their spawn? as we evolved out of the water, we interbred with chimpanzees. as we evolved into variants of the human species, the lesser branches died off like cro magnon, neanderthal and homo-erectus. as we continue to interbreed with other races and nationalities, our species will eventually all be the same color. and as women no longer find a need for man except for sperm for reproduction, we will become uni-gender with no reproductive organs, hair or breasts. what if?
Well that would sure as hell take the fun out of everything.
Whereas the alien spawn theory you present is certainly romantic, it's very highly unlikely that alien genetics would be compatible with anything born of Earth (sorry Trekkies). It would be more plausible that aliens came to Earth and set up camp for a spell and did a little tampering with the local flora and fauna. Perhaps they gently pushed evolution along until a creature, in our case from the primate order, developed which had an edge over other species in the intelligence dept. Then the aliens would go away for awhile, maybe back to Mars, and return to check up on how things were cookin'.
Now, Homo Erectus was admittedly a dead end but Cro Magnon and Neanderthal man evolved into Homo Sapiens (it'stwue it's twue....Neanderthal Man did not die off). But early Homo Sapiens, although a little smarter than the average trilobyte, was still a few cans short of a six pack and had an annoying and utterly useless habit of believing "gods" were responsible for everything. And when they finally crossed paths with the more advanced alien caretakers they too were believed to be gods. But the aliens, patient and caring souls that they were were, said "You just go ahead and get that god thing out of your systems and we'll be back to see how you're doing" on what will one day come to be known as December 21, 2012.
The aliens of course didn't go away. They were very good at hiding from man and from their secret places they watched mankind develop step by step. What they saw broke their little ET hearts and it was decided that for their own safety they could not keep their 12-21-2012 date. And for the safety of other intelligent races which might happen by the Earth in the future, they placed "quarantine satellites" out in space just past the meteor belt warning that Earth was the home of a violent, theocratic society and should be avoided at all costs.
Now, when this December 21 comes and goes without fanfare, you'll know what might have been.
As for the Earth and all the other wonderful lifeforms inhabiting it, like cats, the kind alien caretakers must formulate some plan to protect them from destruction. But first.....something is going to have to be done about Homo Sapiens...........
Oh and by the by, even though I just pretty much spilled the beans on them the aliens aren't worried a bit. They say y'all will just think I'm a crackpot. Anyway, they're having too much fun with the Mars rover to give a wit.
Well that would sure as hell take the fun out of everything.
Whereas the alien spawn theory you present is certainly romantic, it's very highly unlikely that alien genetics would be compatible with anything born of Earth (sorry Trekkies). It would be more plausible that aliens came to Earth and set up camp for a spell and did a little tampering with the local flora and fauna. Perhaps they gently pushed evolution along until a creature, in our case from the primate order, developed which had an edge over other species in the intelligence dept. Then the aliens would go away for awhile, maybe back to Mars, and return to check up on how things were cookin'.
Now, Homo Erectus was admittedly a dead end but Cro Magnon and Neanderthal man evolved into Homo Sapiens (it'stwue it's twue....Neanderthal Man did not die off). But early Homo Sapiens, although a little smarter than the average trilobyte, was still a few cans short of a six pack and had an annoying and utterly useless habit of believing "gods" were responsible for everything. And when they finally crossed paths with the more advanced alien caretakers they too were believed to be gods. But the aliens, patient and caring souls that they were were, said "You just go ahead and get that god thing out of your systems and we'll be back to see how you're doing" on what will one day come to be known as December 21, 2012.
The aliens of course didn't go away. They were very good at hiding from man and from their secret places they watched mankind develop step by step. What they saw broke their little ET hearts and it was decided that for their own safety they could not keep their 12-21-2012 date. And for the safety of other intelligent races which might happen by the Earth in the future, they placed "quarantine satellites" out in space just past the meteor belt warning that Earth was the home of a violent, theocratic society and should be avoided at all costs.
Now, when this December 21 comes and goes without fanfare, you'll know what might have been.
As for the Earth and all the other wonderful lifeforms inhabiting it, like cats, the kind alien caretakers must formulate some plan to protect them from destruction. But first.....something is going to have to be done about Homo Sapiens...........
wow...ET meets Scientology. i believe that it was possible Cro Magnon and Neanderthal were around at the time Homo-Sapien appeared. they didn't survive because man needed to increase intelligence and their brains couldn't handle the ability to do so. most evolution occurs out of necessity, so by that theory, the stronger will die out and the meek shall inherit the earth.
Oh don't get me started on Scientology! I am as far as I know, the only living human to get a refund from those lunatics.
Recent news just a few years back has reported that Neanderthal "genes" are still present in a portion of the population today. And, honestly, was there ever any real doubt?
Less certain am I on my Cro Magnon specifics but to my best remembrance it marked the beginning of the early modern human (homo sapiens) so I'd say Cro Magnon didn't come to a dead end but rather went on (evolved?) to form the basis of homo sapiens. At least that's what's I'm recalling in the memory fragments I have of elementary school which, admittedly, I attended in the dark ages of the education system when the solar system contained nine planets and dinosaurs had not evolved into birds.
Finally, which I omitted before, homo sapiens superior only began to sporadically pop up in the last 200 years and isn't quite ready for the history books.
I'm not the brightest bulb out there, but that's my view.
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