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Originally posted by CHA0S
reply to post by novastrike81
Saying, "oh, it's written by The Holy Spirit, look, it even says so" isn't evidence but an opinion based on a presupposition with no factual basis to back it up.
Saying, "oh it's written by humans," isn't evidence but an opinion based on a presupposition with no factual basis to back it up.
The best selling book ever is it? So let me get this straight...millions of people mold their lives around a book with no factual basis to back it up?
Genesis 22:17
Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
1 Corinthians 15:41
There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
Jeremiah 10:13
When He utters His voice,
There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:
“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”
Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Isaiah 40:22
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
Please refer to page 7 for my take on faith. It's nothing but a faith in humans and what they have taught you.
They don't call it faith for a reason, smart one.
I'm actually agnostic, please refer to page 7 again to understand my view here. I believe Atheists and Christians (or members of any organized religion really) are as bad as one another.
You can move along with your other atheist buddies now.
Trust me, if it had any factual basis, I would know about it...you did nothing but quote numerous passages from the bible, which could be interpreted in a number of ways...and even if you did interpret them correctly, it states nothing amazing in my opinion...other ancient cultures had knowledge far more advanced...
It actually does have factual basis but you are not willing to accept it because you don't want to. You are a close minded individual, someone who isn't willing to accept the half of something.
I never believed in it either, I thought it was a bunch of crap until I started looking into it and started... dare I say it... some research and found it.
Isn't also on the first page of the bible that the moon and the Sun are referred to as the same thing, just small and large? Small light and big light or something like that? Seems to me ancient men didn't realize the moon was actual reflecting light off the Sun and didn't actually produce light of its own...
Originally posted by CHA0S
Trust me, if it had any factual basis, I would know about...you did nothing but quote numerous passages from the bible, which could be interpreted in a number of ways...and even if you did interpret them correctly, it states nothing amazing in my opinion...other ancient cultures had knowledge far more advanced...
Isn't also on the first page of the bible that the moon and the Sun are referred to as the same thing, just small and large? Small light and big light or something like that? Seems to me ancient men didn't realize the moon was actual reflecting light off the Sun and didn't actually produce light of its own...
Genesis 22:17
Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
Jeremiah 33:22
“As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.”
Genesis 1:14-19:
14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the da, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Originally posted by deenuu
reply to post by CHA0S
Isn't also on the first page of the bible that the moon and the Sun are referred to as the same thing, just small and large? Small light and big light or something like that? Seems to me ancient men didn't realize the moon was actual reflecting light off the Sun and didn't actually produce light of its own...
Genesis also makes no mention of the universe or the dinosaurs, which shows the limited human knowledge at the time. For a god that created all he was a bit sparse on the details. The Egyptians and myans knew more. From memory it also talks about god creating night and day, which is the sun and our earths rotation, but the earth was flat at that time according to religion, it wasn’t for another 1500 years we discovered the earth rotates around the sun not the other way around all of this was not mentioned in the book which Christians, Jews and Muslims base their knowledge of god around.
novastrike81. You have spent about 5 hrs defending Christianity take my hat off mate thats one hell-ova belief you got going.
and it says so here too
Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
I.e. figure it out on your own. Do you want to spoon feed everything to everyone or do you want them to grow intellectually and learn for themselves the mysterious in the world?
Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
Correct.
Yes, the ancients were way better then we were and they didn't have telescopes. That should tell you something.
---
Then again, you probably believe in aliens from another planet.
Exactly..."two great lights"...they aren't both "lights"...why would God, or The Holy Spirit, or whoever, state the moon was a light?!? Surely they knew better...as for the rest of your bible quotes...I don't really see the significance...they do nothing but make observations that anyone could make...
16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the da, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
Originally posted by CHA0S
Exactly..."two great lights"...they aren't both "lights"...why would God, or The Holy Spirit, or whoever, state the moon was a light?!? Surely they knew better...as for the rest of your bible quotes...I don't really see the significance...they do nothing but make observations that anyone could make...
[edit on 2/5/10 by CHA0S]
Now on to your point that dinosaurs aren't mentioned in the book of Genesis... well they are, indirectly. They aren't called dinosaurs, they are called dragons. Unicorns is a different topic lets not go there. I also want to point out I mentioned the verse that says the earth is round; not sure if you saw it or not. It should be at the top of this page. If the Bible says the earth is flat then there would be no point in believe it because we know the earth is round. So that's one of those lame "i'm trying to debunk the Bible" arguments that simply isn't true.
But it ISN'T a lesser light. It simply isn't a light...so why call it a light?!?
It was supposed to be a lesser light to rule the darkness.
I hardly think that's true. You take the most complex parts of the bible, and say, look how smart they are, they must be telling the truth...then when it seems like they don't know what they are talking about, or they have their facts wrong...it's always "You're interpreting it wrong", or "It has been translated wrong" or "You're over-complicating things"...I'm so sick of it...let me quote something I said a while back:
You really over complicate the meaning of the text.
after talking to a lot of Christians, when it comes down to it, most of you have stated that we shouldn't take every word the bible says literally...and because it is a translation/interpretation from another language, which is probably an interpretation/translation from yet another language...how can we trust any of it? Assuming it was the work of God in the first place...how do we know man hasn't edited and changed it do his desire over time? How can we really know what to take as truth? How do we know what sections aren't the words of God? It's a guessing game...and I'm not for it...
Originally posted by deenuu
reply to post by novastrike81
Now on to your point that dinosaurs aren't mentioned in the book of Genesis... well they are, indirectly. They aren't called dinosaurs, they are called dragons. Unicorns is a different topic lets not go there. I also want to point out I mentioned the verse that says the earth is round; not sure if you saw it or not. It should be at the top of this page. If the Bible says the earth is flat then there would be no point in believe it because we know the earth is round. So that's one of those lame "i'm trying to debunk the Bible" arguments that simply isn't true.
Im working today to but ATS is keeping me awake and especially this topic
You seem like a switched on guy, you frequent ATS and obviously know how to use the net. Mentioning dinosaurs indirectly and the vague quotes you provide from the bible, (BTW is that bible online where you are getting these quotes) that are very open to interpratation can’t give even you confidence that everything is known.
I get the whole morel side of religion, live well, treat others well and just be a decent human being, I live the same way without religion. But what I can’t understand is how people take the bible seriously. It was written almost 2k years ago in unknown circumstances giving all the answers we have asked for millennia, what created the universe? Why are we here? Etc. The big bang has been proven as the start of this universe which we frequent at this time, a whole species of completely foreign animals roamed our planet before us, was god watching over them and did he wipe them out for us?? Link that all up with the Jesus story which is very big stretch of the imagination, how can you believe all this???? I know you have faith but that faith has come from a Chinese whisper and media basically, has god spoken to you??? Do you trust the media now days, agendas and propaganda are very powerful tools? There must be something more that is driving your faith; usually it’s a life experience...
Originally posted by CHA0S
reply to post by novastrike81
But it ISN'T a lesser light. It simply isn't a light...so why call it a light?!?
It was supposed to be a lesser light to rule the darkness.
I hardly think that's true. You take the most complex parts of the bible, and say, look how smart they are, they must be telling the truth...then when it seems like they don't know what they are talking about, or they have their facts wrong...it's always "You're interpreting it wrong", or "It has been translated wrong" or "You're over-complicating things"...I'm so sick of it...let me quote something I said a while back:
You really over complicate the meaning of the text.
after talking to a lot of Christians, when it comes down to it, most of you have stated that we shouldn't take every word the bible says literally...and because it is a translation/interpretation from another language, which is probably an interpretation/translation from yet another language...how can we trust any of it? Assuming it was the work of God in the first place...how do we know man hasn't edited and changed it do his desire over time? How can we really know what to take as truth? How do we know what sections aren't the words of God? It's a guessing game...and I'm not for it...
Originally posted by deenuu
Isaiah 40:22
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
I think someone just looked at the sun and the moon and saw they were circles and assumed the earth was a circle, if the sun and moon were squares that verse would have prob said "It is He who sits above the square of the earth.
Plus that quote actually says to me why they though the world was flat because it looks flat in the sky... Interpretations of quotes that have already been interrelated many times don’t fill me with confidence of anything.
Exactly! I don't think it's smart to mindlessly follow a book which claims to have all these answers, when there is absolutely no proof of these claims. Apparently, some great book has given you all the answers to life and the after-life...it's seems a little too convenient to me...I've said something similar before:
It was written almost 2k years ago in unknown circumstances giving all the answers we have asked for millennia, what created the universe? Why are we here? Etc.
Religion: Usually informing it's followers that everything in the universe (including humans) was created by a God of some description, it relieves followers of the need to ask questions about reality, history and our origins. It totally strips you of any chance at independent thought, Christianity for example, a whole freaking book that dictates how you should live your entire life...was written by man, not a God...I'm not saying God(s) don't exist, or even that they didn't create us or the universe, just that no book on Earth contains the will of such an entity if one does exist...
---
Seemingly, some great book has answered everything for you. You now know where you came from and how you got here, you don't really have to ask questions about reality. You now know what's right and wrong....and the bible even goes so far as to say "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding."...basically you can't even think for your self anymore. How can you accept all this and be content with it? It's an insult to independent thought.
The irony of religion is that because of its power to divert man to destructive courses, the world could actually come to an end. The plain fact is, religion must die for mankind to live. The hour is getting very late to be able to indulge in having in key decisions made by religious people. By irrationalists, by those who would steer the ship of state not by a compass, but by the equivalent of reading the entrails of a chicken.
George Bush prayed a lot about Iraq, but he didn't learn a lot about it. Faith means making a virtue out of not thinking. It's nothing to brag about. And those who preach faith, and enable and elevate it are intellectual slaveholders, keeping mankind in a bondage to fantasy and nonsense that has spawned and justified so much lunacy and destruction.
Religion is dangerous because it allows human beings who don't have all the answers to think that they do. Most people would think it's wonderful when someone says, "I'm willing, Lord! I'll do whatever you want me to do!" Except that since there are no gods actually talking to us, that void is filled in by people with their own corruptions and limitations and agendas. And anyone who tells you they know, they just know what happens when you die, I promise you, you don't. How can I be so sure? Because I don't know, and you do not possess mental powers that I do not.
The only appropriate attitude for man to have about the big questions is not the arrogant certitude that is the hallmark of religion, but doubt. Doubt is humble, and that's what man needs to be, considering that human history is just a litany of getting # dead wrong. This is why rational people, anti-religionists, must end their timidity and come out of the closet and assert themselves. And those who consider themselves only moderately religious really need to look in the mirror and realize that the solace and comfort that religion brings you actually comes at a horrible price.
If you belonged to a political party or a social club that was tied to as much bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, violence, and sheer ignorance as religion is, you'd resign in protest. To do otherwise is to be an enabler, a mafia wife, for the true devils of extremism that draw their legitimacy from the billions of their fellow travelers.
If the world does come to an end here, or wherever, or if it limps into the future, decimated by the effects of religion-inspired nuclear terrorism, let's remember what the real problem was. We learned how to precipitate mass death before we got past the neurological disorder of wishing for it. That's it. Grow up or die.
Originally posted by CHA0S
reply to post by deenuu
Exactly! I don't think it's smart to mindlessly follow a book which claims to have all these answers, when there is absolutely no proof of these claims. Apparently, some great book has given you all the answers to life and the after-life...it's seems a little too convenient to me...I've said something similar before:
It was written almost 2k years ago in unknown circumstances giving all the answers we have asked for millennia, what created the universe? Why are we here? Etc.
Religion: Usually informing it's followers that everything in the universe (including humans) was created by a God of some description, it relieves followers of the need to ask questions about reality, history and our origins. It totally strips you of any chance at independent thought, Christianity for example, a whole freaking book that dictates how you should live your entire life...was written by man, not a God...I'm not saying God(s) don't exist, or even that they didn't create us or the universe, just that no book on Earth contains the will of such an entity if one does exist...
---
Seemingly, some great book has answered everything for you. You now know where you came from and how you got here, you don't really have to ask questions about reality. You now know what's right and wrong....and the bible even goes so far as to say "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding."...basically you can't even think for your self anymore. How can you accept all this and be content with it? It's an insult to independent thought.
Originally posted by MrXYZ
Religion in itself isn't a bad thing. Science has shown that praying leads creates endorphines which make you feel good (or have visions). People meditating enjoy a similar effect.
Having said that, if everyone would just accept the fact that whatever religion they follow makes them feel good...and at the same time allow others to enjoy the same by letting them believe whatever they want, all would be good.
Sadly, the churches (Christian/Muslim/etc.) are abusing their power. They are using religion as a way to indoctrinate key words into people, and they can link those to whatever they want.
For example...if some political leaders want to prevent the use of microchips in modern medicine, all they have to do is talk about the "mark of the devil" in the news, and Christians will automatically look at microchips negatively, no matter how beneficial they are in certain circumstances.
Religion allows leaders to condition people, appeal to their emotions rather than their rationality and logic.
This fact makes the CHURCH a dangerous organization. Just look at the agenda of Christian fundamentalists (or Muslim fundamentalsits...same thing really).
It's time moderates and agnostics to rise up, and tell all those fundamentalists and leaders who abuse religion as a way to foster their agenda to SHUT UP!!
The sad part is, it's a devil's cycle. It's very hard for believers to break out, because the only way they can do so, is to admit that they've been manipulated and wrong. No one likes to admit they've been wrong.
Imo religious beliefs should be banned from all fields that require RATIONALITY and LOGIC...namely politics and science.