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Originally posted by JasonT
I would just like to say that this is a fantastic thread. If only more religious threads were like this one where discussions are taking place between Atheists, Christians and Muslims in a logical manner - No arguing or any of that stuff, just an intelligent discussion.
A millennium before Europeans were willing to divest themselves of the Biblical idea that the world was a few thousand years old, the Mayans were thinking of millions and the Hindus billions.
Carl Sagan.
The Hindu religion is the only one of the world's great faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths. It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond, to those of modern scientific cosmology. Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to a day and night of Brahma, 8.64 billion years long. Longer than the age of the Earth or the Sun and about half the time since the Big Bang. And there are much longer time scales still.
Carl Sagan
Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition.
Carl Sagan
Think of how many religions attempt to validate themselves with prophecy. Think of how many people rely on these prophecies, however vague, however unfulfilled, to support or prop up their beliefs. Yet has there ever been a religion with the prophetic accuracy and reliability of science? ... No other human institution comes close.
Carl Sagan.
Could you tell us the difference between the "Qur'an" and the "Koran"?
Originally posted by vcwxvwligen
The "Qur'an" and the "Koran" are two different books. OP is obviously ignorant about the subject matter.
Originally posted by ArMaP
Could you tell us the difference between the "Qur'an" and the "Koran"?
Originally posted by vcwxvwligen
The "Qur'an" and the "Koran" are two different books. OP is obviously ignorant about the subject matter.
I have always seen those two names as meaning the same book. Thanks.
Originally posted by vcwxvwligen
The "Qur'an" and the "Koran" are two different books. OP is obviously ignorant about the subject matter.
History Channel
Ancient Aliens.
(2 Hours)
Airdate: March 8, 2009
What if life on Earth began in outer space? Millions of people accept the theory that intelligent life forms visited Earth thousands of years ago and were worshiped as gods by primitive man. Are monuments like Stonehenge and Easter Island the last remains of an ancient alien visitation? From unexplainable super structures, to knowledge of the solar system, mathematics, and even the ability to make electricity, this special explores evidence of super-human influences on ancient man and embarks on an around-the-world search for answers. It's an investigation into a theory some believe cannot be true, but many agree cannot be ignored. (New--2009 special.)
Originally posted by mikesingh
Originally posted by aysekaly
Also, in Q'uran, it mentiones that there isn't any other beings, ET living on any planet. It tells about heaven, hell, satan, angels, some spiritual beings. I hope this would cover some of you questions.
That's what this whole debate is about - interpretation! What are these spiritual beings? Satan? Angels? Can you explain? Could this be interpreted as ETs? Could Heaven and Hell be two planets at war? Could Satan be the ruler of the evil planet? Could angels be the good ETs?
It is possible that ETs were described as angels in most religious books for want of a better word! How do YOU interpret these concepts?
Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg (born Emanuel Swedberg; February 8, 1688[1]–March 29, 1772) was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, Christian mystic, and theologian. Swedenborg had a prolific career as an inventor and scientist. At the age of fifty-six he entered into a spiritual phase in which he experienced dreams and visions. This culminated in a spiritual awakening, where he claimed he was appointed by the Lord to write a heavenly doctrine to reform Christianity. He claimed that the Lord had opened his eyes, so that from then on he could freely visit heaven and hell, and talk with angels, demons, and other spirits. For the remaining 28 years of his life, he wrote and published 18 theological works, of which the best known was Heaven and Hell (1758), and several unpublished theological works.
Source : Wikipedia
The Roman Inquisition
In 1542, Pope Paul III established the Congregation of the Holy Office of the Inquisition as a permanent congregation staffed with cardinals and other officials. It had the tasks of maintaining and defending the integrity of the faith and of examining and proscribing errors and false doctrines; it thus became the supervisory body of local Inquisitions. Arguably the most famous case tried by the Roman Inquisition involved Galileo Galilei in 1633. Following the French invasion of 1798, the new authorities sent 3,000 chests containing over 100,000 Inquisition documents to France from Rome. After the restoration of the Pope as the ruler of the Papal States after 1814, Roman Inquisition activity continued until the mid-19th century, notably in the well-publicised Mortara Affair (1858-1870).
Source : Wikipedia
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Source : Gutenberg Project
According to Luxenberg, the Qur'an was not written in classical Arabic but in a mixed Arabic-Syriac language, the traders' language of Mecca and it was based on Christian liturgical texts. When the final text of the Qur'an was codified, those working on it did not understand the original sense and meaning of this hybrid trading language any more, and they forcefully and randomly turned it into classical Arabic. This gave rise to a lot of misinterpretations. Something like this can only have happened if there was a gap in the oral transmission of the Qur'anic text. That idea is in serious disagreement with the views of both traditional Muslims and western scholars of Islamp
Originally posted by andre18
Umm people....no aliens are going to invade earth....
So...um, no theres no evil aliens. And - there's no Armageddon because there's no god.