Super powers is it? Or just naive hope?
Will God accept you if you renounce religion?
- Thread starter craptakular
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Super powers is it? Or just naive hope?
What about them?....we are speaking about the collective journey of mankind not the individual (particularly in the context of reincarnation, spiritual essence, immortal souls or whatever you wish to call it). You can point to any tragedy, be it natural or otherwise and see how humanity both rises to deal with such as well as the actual tragedy of whatever example you wish to point to. Adversity makes men, Prosperity makes monsters...as Victor Hugo once said.
I am sorry you do not have a spiritual influence in your life. I hope this changes for you.
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I really don't believe you just posted that after all the stuff you absorb.
The stuff I read didn't originate there.
That would depend on the ultimate goal and the necessities of attaining those goals...I don't see anything in the various texts and dogmas of Abrahamic religions that even hints at any sadism in God, quite the contrary, it is always portrayed as being a necessary thing, rather than something done out of some divine enjoyment.
Precisely. You HAVE to look at the bigger picture. You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.
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Oxy said:
Soldato
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Those are all human attributions. Entirely irrelevant to the long-term development of the world and the universe.
Why can't it? He is all powerfull?
Think about it for a second. It doesn't matter how powerful items. You can not have true free will without opening up the possibilities of all aspects that includes evil. Remove evil you remove free will.
Now go think about it and when you come up with a system of free will and no evil then come back. It really is as simple as that.
It doesn't really matter whether I agree or disagree with him as Dawkins himself claimed the passage you quoted was more humourous than anything else and while it has some truth to it in isolation, it is not the truth when you consider the Bible (even the Old Testament) in a wider more inclusive context. But I explained this to you only a week or so ago so I won't bother repeating myself and it doesn't have anything to do with this thread or the question asked in the OP.
I'd be happy for someone to come up with an accurate explanation of our universe that includes free will, that's as near to impossible as we can get.
I find the idea that one can choose to be religious quite strange, if you don't believe in a deity or a religion then that's not a decision you have consciously made, it's just part of who you are. If your favourite color was green and I told you it had to be blue or you'd be punished in some way then there would be nothing you could do since it's not a choice you've made, it's just a part of who you are and there isn't a right/wrong side.
I suppose I find it hard to believe that an intelligent wise God could punish anyone for their thoughts or beliefs since you have very little/no control over them and pretending to have faith is surely no better than being honest about not having it. If someone annoys me then I might want to say/do something about it but I can choose not to, what I can't do is choose not to be annoyed in the first place.
I know that there are some for whom being anti-religion (as opposed to just not believing) is cool and that's not something I have time for but for me personally I don't follow a God because it just isn't something that I believe in although I have no desire to convince anyone else that they shouldn't (and at times envy those with a strong faith). I still try to lead a good life, I help people and I do "the right thing" as much as I can but I do so because I like being a decent person and I hope (although can't be sure) that if I do my bit then someone else might be influenced to do theirs and at some point that'll come back around.
I suppose I find it hard to believe that an intelligent wise God could punish anyone for their thoughts or beliefs since you have very little/no control over them and pretending to have faith is surely no better than being honest about not having it. If someone annoys me then I might want to say/do something about it but I can choose not to, what I can't do is choose not to be annoyed in the first place.
I know that there are some for whom being anti-religion (as opposed to just not believing) is cool and that's not something I have time for but for me personally I don't follow a God because it just isn't something that I believe in although I have no desire to convince anyone else that they shouldn't (and at times envy those with a strong faith). I still try to lead a good life, I help people and I do "the right thing" as much as I can but I do so because I like being a decent person and I hope (although can't be sure) that if I do my bit then someone else might be influenced to do theirs and at some point that'll come back around.
Atheism is not an ideology, you cannot deduct anything about an atheist's philosophy or beliefs on anything, other than the fact they do not have a belief in god.
So, I'm not going to take you seriously. I hope you don't mind.
Of course I can't come up with it. I am not a all knowing, all powerful god.
That doesn't make an ounce of difference, you remove the possibility of evil, you can not have free will. You do not need to be all knowing to come to that conclusion.