Debating thread

[King Avallach]

God is supposed to be omnipresent. However how can he be benevolent and omnipresent with so many evils existing and not doing anything about it. Also he is supposed immortal which must mean he experiences time different to us which means he couldn't experience time the same way we do thus he cannot be omniscient. Finally I see little evidence of omnipotence, I mean everything humankind has achieved, it has done on its own.

 

[DemonSlayer6]

Well, we have minds of our own, yes. But, some evil we do by satan's order. The good we do from the command of our hearts, mind, and soul. Sometimes you do something wrong, and you ask yourself, "Why did you do that? What happened to you?" (Like me) It is one who fears God which asks those questions. At times though, you feel like strangling yourself when you repeat the question over and over. It is an angel. I forgot waht it is called, but it makes yourself understand whyu you ddi the wrong. If you don't have the valid reason (Well, for everything wrong you do, there is no valid reason) the act haunts you for eternity.

 

[King Avallach]

Well, we have minds of our own, yes. But, some evil we do by satan's order. The good we do from the command of our hearts, mind, and soul. Sometimes you do something wrong, and you ask yourself, "Why did you do that? What happened to you?" (Like me) It is one who fears God which asks those questions. At times though, you feel like strangling yourself when you repeat the question over and over. It is an angel. I forgot waht it is called, but it makes yourself understand whyu you ddi the wrong. If you don't have the valid reason (Well, for everything wrong you do, there is no valid reason) the act haunts you for eternity.

I think you are referring to your conscience. There's no angel there. It's just the frontal lobe of your brain that controls judgment, remorse, temper and that kind of stuff. If it's damaged then people do become vicious.

 

[DemonSlayer6]

Yeowch, vicious, is a crazy word. I'm not sure if they become vicious. I think they just take out their confusion and anger on the person next to them.

 

[King Avallach]

I call a ceaseless violent temper vicious, I don't know about you.

 

[DemonSlayer6]

CVTV. That is quite long so I just made it shorter. Though, I don't think I will remember that. :lol:

 

[King Avallach]

Well wasn't that redundant then?

 

[DemonSlayer6]

Well, why would you say that? I was just being a little sarcastic. And anyway, at time, I am redundant... unfortunatly, which I don't like being.

 

[SpArAda1127]

so are we like, still on topic or what?

 

[King Avallach]

Good point. Enough digression.

 

[The dark knight]

Baptist WOOOOO!And by the way...last time there was a religious debate it resulted in flaming and deletion of the thread......

It gets a bit confusing when it comes to Christianity and all the billion denominations there seems to be :lol:

True Christianity is non-denominational - it's about a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Just because you are catholic, protestant, baptist, lutheran, episcopalian or whatever else is out there it doesn't mean you are a Christian. It just means you belong to a particular variation of the religion, not necessarily a participator of the faith itself. Anyone can go to church each Sunday, say some prayers, wear a cross around their neck, read the Bible and preach the Gospel - it does not make them a Christian. To become a Christian is a choice, it cannot be made for you by anyone else - I've been to mosques, but I'm not Muslim. I've attended Hindu temples but I am not a Hindu. Similarly, belonging to a denomination does not make you Christian.

God can turn up anywhere - catholic church, protestant church, middle of a field, when you're having a bath - He's not fussy about where. He's not interested so much in the geography, liturgy, whether you have a rosary, whether you confessed enough to a priest in the next box - His interest is in people. I've met catholics who are more passionate about God than others claiming to be pentecostal - no one has the monopoly on His power as He'll turn up wherever the need is. The problem with religion is it's full of rules and laws - the freedom comes in the faith, not the following of rules to the letter. Many denominations focus on getting it right when faith calls for you to step out on a limb at the risk of being called a fool and seeing what happens when you do - in essence, Catholicism focusses largely on rules and regulations (this is a broad assessment) and less on the power of God and forging a close relationship with Him which leads many to believe that all Catholics regard God as just the guy who comes down on you like a ton of bricks if you don't do as you are told.

(by the way, this was not part of the debate about God's existence - just a clarification thing)

 

[King Avallach]

We're trying to stay away from that, provided you've read the rules.

What I don't get is that the bible says "the meek shall inherit the earth" But a lot of the people I've met who are religious consider themselves "better" than atheists such as myself. I mean it's gives one cause to think that in their minds they don't believe it but they'll use it to back their arguments and to even justify unspeakable amount of vitriol.

 

[Angel]

Those people are incorrect - simply put. Unfortunately, all Christians are human beings which puts us at a disadvantage in the first place. If you want to meet the most dysfunctional people in the world, head to your nearest church and there will be a bunch of guys and gals who, if it were not for their faith, would never even consider speaking to one another :lol:

No one person is better than another - regardless of beliefs. The bible is pretty specific about bigging up yourself and using your "status" to stamp over other people - God doesn't hold much truck with arrogant behaviour in His name. But like I say, we're people too and we screw up - normal human failings which carry more weight because of what we believe in. Those who bomb abortion clinics, villify homosexuals and look down on anyone who doesn't live in a nice middle-class suburban neighbourhood are not being true Christians; but at the same time, there needs to be that level of understanding that these people, whilst claiming to be better than others, are as much a work in progress as those Christians who do not become arrogant and cruel.

We're humans and we suck like everyone else - only difference is we have a faith in someone who can help us change from the inside out. But we're still gonna mess up

 

[DemonSlayer6]

Well, my friend, has many problems. BAD problems. And so, because of those problems, she told me, just yesterday, that she has lost her faith in god. I was astonished at first, I told her that she cannot choose that path, because beleiving and smiling is the only thing that will get you through. So, not having something to belive in can sometimes be a bad thing. When you need guidance, and help, you need someone important to speak too, right? So, my friend needs that, but now, she lost her faith, believe, and trust in God.

 

[King Avallach]

I lost my faith ages ago.

 

[Angel]

My whole family has too...and it's not hard to see why people give up on God. Even the most strong in faith can have times when they want to know what the hell their god is up to.

I've got plenty of very good reasons to tell God to go screw Himself but I've been there and done that and I prefer to be with Him than without Him. But that's not to say I don't have the odd tantrum at Him here and there from time to time...

If someone is going through a hard time sometimes the last thing they need to hear is "but God will help you" because at that moment it may mean absolutely nothing to them. I find that offering practical and emotional support is the best help you can give and behind closed doors you can pray for that person. It's up to God, not you, to restore faith - we cannot shame, cajole or push a person into re-believing because it simply isn't right to do so. All we can be is the friend they need so that they can see there is a way through their problems and if they want to and feel up to it, they may return to their beliefs afterwards.

The more you push a person in a particular direction, the more they tend to go the other way.

 

[DemonSlayer6]

I lost my faith ages ago.

And, if you don't mind me asking, why have you lost your faith? (Sorry if I am going off topic. I'm just curious.)

 

[King Avallach]

And, if you don't mind me asking, why have you lost your faith? (Sorry if I am going off topic. I'm just curious.)

The creationist story lacked the verisimilitude and too highly abounded in logical fallacies for me to follow it any further.

 

[The dark knight]

It is not us but it is God to restore faith?Sorry but God gave us free will so he cannot make us do anything.So it is our job to restore faith.

My whole family has too...and it's not hard to see why people give up on God. Even the most strong in faith can have times when they want to know what the hell their god is up to.

I've got plenty of very good reasons to tell God to go screw Himself but I've been there and done that and I prefer to be with Him than without Him. But that's not to say I don't have the odd tantrum at Him here and there from time to time...

If someone is going through a hard time sometimes the last thing they need to hear is "but God will help you" because at that moment it may mean absolutely nothing to them. I find that offering practical and emotional support is the best help you can give and behind closed doors you can pray for that person. It's up to God, not you, to restore faith - we cannot shame, cajole or push a person into re-believing because it simply isn't right to do so. All we can be is the friend they need so that they can see there is a way through their problems and if they want to and feel up to it, they may return to their beliefs afterwards.

The more you push a person in a particular direction, the more they tend to go the other way.

 

[King Avallach]

I believe there is abouts as much proof for God creating everything as a bunch of pan-dimensional hyper-intelligent carrot mutants doing it.