Is There A God?

[Sandman]

[Keith]

Ha, HA,
Funny 9 votes so far and not one person made any type of comment.
3 Yes
3 Unsure
3 No
To funny 1/3 yes, 1/3 unsure, and 1/3 no. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/mask.gif

[beautiful_mess38]

I just voted this morning.

Of course there is a God and I can't wait to meet him.

[MtnEagle]

Yep there is... Just saw her drinking coffee this morning.

http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/lol.gif

[Dodgergirl]

When I voted Yes last night, I didn't think an explanation was necessary...Oh well, for the record... Yes, I believe there is a God and He has taken care of me my entire life. (I don't always make the best choices) Thats why this is my personal graemlin.... http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/goodbad.gif

[Goddesschyyld]

Originally posted by beautiful_mess38:
Of course there is a God and I can't wait to meet him.

And I can't wait to meet her! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/wink3.gif

[MtnEagle]

Originally posted by Dodgergirl:
When I voted Yes last night, I didn't think an explanation was necessary...Oh well, for the record... Yes, I believe there is a God and He has taken care of me my entire life. (I don't always make the best choices) Thats why this is my personal graemlin.... http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/goodbad.gif

What made you feel you have to explain?

http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/wink3.gif

I definately believe there is a God, and I'm looking forward to his coming. There is no fear, and no guilt, because he has paid for it all.

One has only to accept the gift.

http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

[Dodgergirl]

Oh, just the post about no one offering explanation to their choice. While my lifestyle is not what one might expect from a Christian, I never would want it to appear that I hide the fact that I believe in God, the Resurrection & Redemption.

[BGW]

I am spititual and not religious. I find the Bible to be a book of myths and legends that had been handed down over the generations and finally committed to print. I believe these myths and legends were a way to explain the unexplainable back then (Yes, I believe these things really happened...The Nile River has been proven to have flowed blood red etc).

I believe everything has an energy (Which you may say is God or a God). I believe that praying enhances my energy and any of the energy around me needed; thereby allowing me to complete what ever it was I was praying for or help whom ever I was praying for.

I do not believe in the pearly gates or meeting my Maker.

There is plenty more to go with this but this is enough for now!

[jakobscalpel]

Ask me spiritually and I vote unsure. Ask me rationally and I say there isn't a chance in hell (which doesn't exist either). I voted unsure.

[LindaBo]

Sure there is http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/eusa_dance.gif and that makes me feel good,I have had my prayers answered http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/disappointed.gif......Everything else can go to He--, but at least i can belive in SOMETHING that well Never change.

[Keith]

I didn't mean that I thought each person should explain their vote . I just found it funny that 9 people voted without any posting http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/laugh.gif.
We all seem to enjoy posting our feelings and/or believes on multipule subjects, so That's why I was surprized that not one post had yet appeared http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/confused.gif.
No big deal, just a funny observation http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/rolleyes2.gif.

For the record, there is http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/yes.gif, and I'm not sure if it's a "Him" or "Her" http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/idea3.gif

[CatdaBrat]

A god of any type probably wouldn't have a need for a gender ... http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

[Coldwolf]

If you could modify the poll to have an "I doubt it", I'd vote.

[CatdaBrat]

From what I gather, God is viewed as an all-loving, all knowing entity that has the answers to everything we don't understand, created all things and gives people hope when they are desperate. God is also someone who, when something good happens, receives praise and thanks, but when something tragic happens, there is still comfort because He "works in mysterious ways" and we can just trust that the tragedy was actually a "good" thing.

If we want or need something, we can just pray and hope to get it, but if we really have that complete trust that was just mentioned, shouldn't we just sit back and accept whatever happens? No matter what, God will do the right and good thing. (?)

With all this good stuff, I can see how humankind throughout the ages has believed in God.

Hopefully, this response will not make me out to be against prayer. I think it does have much power, like how the subconscious has unexplainable power to accomplish wonders. I agree with what bgirlsworld said about how prayer enhances her energy and the energy around her.

People need something to believe in, something to try and make sense out of life and even death, and most won't require proof or feel a need to justify their beliefs. Makes for very interesting discussions, though. Whatever works ...

[Californee Girl]

I believe in God the creator, father to all things.

[Patagoniamaniac]

Did you have a chance to go outside today and acknowledge what a beautiful day it was ( and still is?) did you feel the Suns warmth on your face?( any closer to the sun and we'd burn up) the sound of birds? The wind blowing through the trees? the beauty of nature around you and the changing of the season? all amazingly timed....Were you able to look in the mirror today and see how truly special and uniquely different you are then anyone else on this entire earth? Placed here, for a special purpose. If you were able to see what God has created for you to enjoy in this world today. Then you have used your sight, to see the colors and ...The LIGHT!...our eyes....a truly complex design created by our maker...think about it.. was created by him......Our Father....in heaven that has a love for you beyond your comprehension.... Yes! there is a God....Amazing grace How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me...and still forgives me each and everyday...

[MarkB]

Patag....

the best part (for me) of knowing we have a kind loveing God is ..... all my friends who want to deny his existance, will be forgiven and loved by him just the same

[jakobscalpel]

The vote is now more how I expected it, dominated by belief. But why? I just don't understand why so many of you think there is a god. Patagoniamaniac, although your sentiments are nice, nothing you say in any way indicates the existence of god, just your choice too attribute our world to god.

Were most of you raised in a religious environment? Were your parents believers? Is that where your belief comes from? It just seems odd to believe so deeply in something for which no evidence exists, unless you have a good alternate reason.

[Patagoniamaniac]

I like how this person put it.
(e mailed to me)
right to the point. and this is not directed at you Jaco, it just puts in some perspective of why I believe...Among many other reasons including miracles he has performed in my life. Just as others have their reasons for not believing, I have mine for believing. thats all http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif


Are you sure God doesn't exist? You are willing to contend, aren't you, that there is a tiny chance that God does exist? If you don't believe in him, and he DOES exist, you're screwed. You HAVE A CHOICE. When the day comes to choose who enters Heaven, it is highly doubtful you will be chosen, if you don't believe. Isn't it safer just to believe?

So you have moral dilemmas? They're annoying, aren't they? What is right and what is wrong? Who knows? The law? Crap, you cross the street at a red light. God knows what is right and what is wrong. Believe, and all your moral problems are solved. If you are ever stuck again with a moral dilemma, just ask your local priest, rabbi or equivalent. He'll explain it all to you.

You have sinned, you know. And you DO know it. Even if you don't call it sin. So you call it "a mistake". But you can't forgive yourself. God knows you've tried. You can't forgive yourself. Well, if God can forgive you, you'll be able to forgive yourself too. All the major religions have methods of forgiveness. For example:
Christianity : confession,
Islam : Ramadan,
Judaism : Yom Kippur.

Can you explain infinity? I can't. I'm talking about two dimensions of infinity. Spacial and temporal. Talk quantum mechanics, and dimension folding all you like, the human mind can never grasp it. I don't think anyone can comprehend infinity. If you believe in God, no problem.

You can't possibly believe that evolution theory completely. Oh, I'll agree, natural selection exists. Of course it does. Creation theory does not conflict with the belief in natural selection, don't make any mistakes. Of course, many people believe it does, but that's mostly because they are misinformed. Natural selection hardly explains Man. And where is that missing link? You can't possibly believe that Man (a conscious being) originated from the monkey, which is so far below him?

What happens when we die? Scary, isn't it? Don't you have a soul? Of course you do. You can't possibly, deep in your heart believe that we just die and disintegrate? There has to be an afterlife.

The bible contains predictions of the future. Many predictions have already happened, so if you are a disbeliever, you can see for yourself. No other book in the world has so many prophetic words and codes interwoven into it as the bible. Many experiments have shown this. Coincidence?

The world today is full of pornography and gore and is low on moral fiber. You know it's wrong. And you sure as heck don't want your children to grow up in such a society. The return to morals is the only solution, and the only way to do that is through BELIEF.

Most of the world does, in fact, believe in God. How could this be, if God didn't exist? If you've strayed off the path, you must return to it. Everyone was born capable of believing in God. Some haven't found Him yet, others have lost Him. He WILL take you back.

Look deep inside your heart. God is there.

[Patagoniamaniac]

A PRACTICAL MAN'S PROOF OF GOD

The existence of God is a subject that has occupied schools of philosophy and theology for thousands of years. Most of the time, these debates have revolved around all kinds of assumptions and definitions. Philosophers will spend a lifetime arguing about the meaning of a word and never really get there. One is reminded of the college student who was asked how his philosophy class was going. He replied that they had not done much because when the teacher tried to call roll, the kids kept arguing about whether they existed or not.

Most of us who live and work in the real world do not concern ourselves with such activities. We realize that such discussions may have value and interest in the academic world, but the stress and pressure of day-to-day life forces us to deal with a very pragmatic way of making decisions. If I ask you to prove to me that you have $2.00, you would show it to me. Even in more abstract things we use common sense and practical reasoning. If I ask you whether a certain person is honest or not, you do not flood the air with dissertations on the relative nature of honesty; you would give me evidence one way or the other. The techniques of much of the philosophical arguments that go on would eliminate most of engineering and technology if they were applied in those fields.

The purpose of this brief study is to offer a logical, practical, pragmatic proof of the existence of God from a purely scientific perspective. To do this, we are assuming that we exist, that there is reality, and that the matter of which we are made is real. If you do not believe that you exist, you have bigger problems than this study will entail and you will have to look elsewhere.

THE BEGINNING

If we do exist, there are only two possible explanations as to how our existence came to be. Either we had a beginning or we did not have a beginning. The Bible says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1 :1). The atheist has always maintained that there was no beginning. The idea is that matter has always existed in the form of either matter or energy; and all that has happened is that matter has been changed from form to

form, but it has always been. The Humanist Manifesto says, "Matter is self-existing and not created," and that is a concise statement of the atheist's belief.

The way we decide whether the atheist is correct or not is to see what science has discovered about this question. The picture below on the left represents our part of the cosmos. Each of the disk shaped objects is a galaxy like our Milky Way. All of these galaxies are moving relative to each other. Their movement has a very distinct pattern which causes the distance between the galaxies to get greater with every passing day. If we had three galaxies located at positions A, B. and C in the second diagram below, and if they are located as shown, tomorrow they will be further apart. The triangle they form will be bigger. The day after tomorrow the triangle will be bigger yet. We live in an expanding universe that gets bigger and bigger and bigger with every passing day.



Now let us suppose that we made time run backwards! If we are located at a certain distance today, then yesterday we were closer together. The day before that, we were still closer. Ultimately, where must all the galaxies have been? At a point! At the beginning! At what scientists call a singularity!

A second proof is seen in the energy sources that fuel the cosmos. The picture to the right is a picture of the sun. Like all stars, the sun generates its energy by a nuclear process known as thermonuclear fusion. Every second that passes, the sun compresses 564 million tons of hydrogen into 560 million tons of helium with 4 million tons of matter released as energy. In spite of that tremendous consumption of fuel, the sun has only used up 2% of the hydrogen it had the day it came into existence. This incredible furnace is not a process confined to the sun. Every star in the sky generates its energy in the same way. Throughout the cosmos there are 25 quintillion stars, each converting hydrogen into helium, thereby reducing the total amount of hydrogen in the cosmos. Just think about it! If everywhere in the cosmos hydrogen is being consumed and if the process has been going on forever, how much hydrogen should be left?

Suppose I attempt to drive my automobile without putting any more gas (fuel) into it. As I drive and drive, what is eventually going to happen? I am going to run out of gas I If the cosmos has been here forever, we would have run out of hydrogen long ago! The fact is, however, that the sun still has 98% of its original hydrogen. The fact is that hydrogen is the most abundant material in the universe! Everywhere we look in space we can see the hydrogen 21 cm line in the spectrum_a piece of light only given off by hydrogen. This could not be unless we had a beginning!

A third scientific proof that the atheist is wrong is seen in the second law of thermodynamics. In any closed system, things tend to become disordered. If an automobile is driven for years and years without repair, for example, it will become so disordered that it would not run any more. Getting old is simple conformity to the second law of thermodynamics. In space, things also get old. Astronomers refer to the aging process as heat death. If the cosmos is "everything that ever was or is or ever will be," as Dr. Carl Sagan is so fond of saying, nothing could be added to it to improve its order or repair it. Even a universe that expands and collapses and expands again forever would die because it would lose light and heat each time it expanded and rebounded.

The atheist's assertion that matter/energy is eternal is scientifically wrong. The biblical assertion that there was a beginning is scientifically correct.

THE CAUSE

If we know the creation has a beginning, we are faced with another logical question_was the creation caused or was it not caused? The Bible states, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Not only does the Bible maintain that there was a cause_a creation_but it also tells us what the cause was. It was God. The atheist tells us that "matter is self-existing and not created." If matter had a beginning and yet was uncaused, one must logically maintain that something would have had to come into existence out of nothing. From empty space with no force, no matter, no energy, and no intelligence, matter would have to become existent. Even if this could happen by some strange new process unknown to science today, there is a logical problem.

In order for matter to come out of nothing, all of our scientific laws dealing with the conservation of matter/energy would have to be wrong, invalidating all of chemistry. All of our laws of conservation of angular momentum would have to be wrong, invalidating all of physics. All of our laws of conservation of electric charge would have to be wrong, invalidating all of electronics and demanding that your TV set not work!! Your television set may not work, but that is not the reason! In order to believe matter is uncaused, one has to discard known laws and principles of science. No reasonable person is going to do this simply to maintain a personal atheistic position.

The atheist's assertion that matter is eternal is wrong. The atheist's assertion that the universe is uncaused and selfexisting is also incorrect The Bible's assertion that there was a beginning which was caused is supported strongly by the available scientific evidence.

THE DESIGN

If we know that the creation had a beginning and we know that the beginning was caused, there is one last question for us to answer--what was the cause? The Bible tells us that God was the cause. We are further told that the God who did the causing did so with planning and reason and logic. Romans 1:20 tells us that we can know God is

"through the things he has made." The atheist, on the other hand, will try to convince us that we are the product of chance. Julian Huxley once said:

We are as much a product of blind forces as is the falling of a stone to earth or the ebb and flow of the tides. We have just happened, and man was made flesh by a long series of singularly beneficial accidents.
The subject of design has been one that has been explored in many different ways. For most of us, simply looking at our newborn child is enough to rule out chance. Modern-day scientists like Paul Davies and Frederick Hoyle and others are raising elaborate objections to the use of chance in explaining natural phenomena. A principle of modern science has emerged in the 1980s called "the anthropic principle." The basic thrust of the anthropic principle is that chance is simply not a valid mechanism to explain the atom or life. If chance is not valid, we are constrained to reject Huxley's claim and to realize that we are the product of an intelligent God.

THE NEXT STEP

We have seen a practical proof of God's existence in this brief study. A flood of questions arise at this point. Which God are we talking about? Where did God come from? Why did God create us? How did God create us?


Some answers I guess I'll have to find answers to when I meet my father in Heaven, and like Beautifulmess says...I can't wait to meet him..

http://www.doesgodexist.org/Phamplets/Mansproof.html

[Californee Girl]

"The probability of life originating from an accident is comparable to the probability of an unabridged dictionary resulting from an explosion in a print shop."

- Dr. Arthur Conklon
Princeton University Biologist

And just for the record, I was raised by devout athiest.

[jakobscalpel]

Thanks Pata and CG, I appreciate the comments. I had more to add to this discussion but decided this morning not to pursue it.

CG - Edwin Conklin was a highly religious man, who also said something like "Man can never prove the existence of divine design." That is a paraphrase...don't have the quote in front of me. See "The Blind Watchmaker" by Dawkins for a refutation of your original quote by Conklin. Of course, like everything else, you have to take Dawkins' refutation on faith http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

[Californee Girl]

Faith definitely has a lot to do with it.

[Yosemite Joy]

Chicken or the Egg?

Who really knows?

[MtnEagle]

Originally posted by Yosemite Joy:
Chicken or the Egg?

Who really knows?

And still a VERY relevant arguement too! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/wink3.gif

[MarkB]

Originally posted by MtnEagle:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Yosemite Joy:
Chicken or the Egg?

Who really knows?

And still a VERY relevant arguement too! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/wink3.gif </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I thought a relevant was a large grey animal with a long ole nose

[oakhurstleaf]

My 6 yr old asked me recently,

"If God made everybody and the earth, who made God?"

"Where was he born?"

I couldn't tell ya.

[Dodgergirl]

Originally posted by MarkB:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by MtnEagle:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Yosemite Joy:
Chicken or the Egg?

Who really knows?

And still a VERY relevant arguement too! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/wink3.gif </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I thought a relevant was a large grey animal with a long ole nose </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

No, silly, that's a Heffalump...

[Coldwolf]

I once owned a 1962 2 door Relevant, with a straight six and auto tranny. It was a smooth ride.

[MtnEagle]

*NEWSFLASH*

MtnEagle goes extinct due to typos...

http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/tongue.gif

[julc21]

Originally posted by Yosemite Joy:
Chicken or the Egg?

Who really knows?

The egg could not survive without the chicken to keep it warm.

[MarkB]

God could have had incubators

[Mr. Man]

I answered too quick. I don't "believe" in anything. Belief is faith in something that can't be known. I "know" there is God. God is love. God is Light. The Love and Light that lets you know there is more to this world, to this universe, than that which is burdened by the religions that bring death, destruction, and hate upon all sentient beings in their path in recent history. Whatever God is, God has shown me that. But I am different than most, and more like some. I am not like you.

[jakobscalpel]

Originally posted by Mr. Man:
I answered too quick. I don't "believe" in anything. Belief is faith in something that can't be known. I "know" there is God. God is love. God is Light. The Love and Light that lets you know there is more to this world, to this universe, than that which is burdened by the religions that bring death, destruction, and hate upon all sentient beings in their path in recent history. Whatever God is, God has shown me that. But I am different than most, and more like some. I am not like you.

I "believe" you don't "know". But I also believe that you believe you know.

[Mr. Man]

Maybe I know something that you don't "know".
I don't "believe" in anything.

Some people think Jesus was a talking Mushroom.
I can entertain that thought.

The main translator of the Dead Sea Scrolls named John Marco Allegro put that out to the world. He published a best-selling book in 1956 entitled The Dead Sea Scrolls. It was through this book as well as other writings that the public gained most of its knowledge of the scrolls. Allegro was a brilliant student of Semitic Languages at Manchester University and went on to study Hebrew dialects at Oxford University. His main work is called "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross", voicing his opinion that Christian religion was based on a cult practicing frequent drug-use (psychedelic mushrooms) and sex. He theorized that Jesus' last words on the cross were not a lament to God but “a paean of praise to the god of the mushroomâ€� (Skepticfiles.org - John Allegro).

I am still entertaining that thought.
You might want to Google him to find out more.
Like I said,
"I don't believe in anything"

[LindaBo]

Sure there is... http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

[High_Roller]

If somebody needs and wants there to be a God, then God exists for that person. Nobody's ever going to prove their belief one way or the other.

A friend of mine recently discussed many such common beliefs with me and got me to thinking in a direction I didn't want to go. It is almost scary to get into such discussions with her, because several years ago, one of them led to a serious "nervous" breakdown when something I needed to believe in just dissolved as I realized I could not refute her point of view on the subject.

We are STILL going round and round on a lot of sensitive subjects, such as life after death, souls, guardian angels, prayer, etc. There are valid points being brought up that force me to see things from an angle I never would be brave enough to look at alone.

Like I said, if you NEED to believe in something, just do it. As for myself, even with a science background, I always wanted to believe that there's got to be something more than just, "you live, then you die." But now, I have been forced to accept that it (death being final) very well COULD be a true concept. To be truly open-minded in discussions about religious beliefs leaves one very vulnerable.

I do not necessarily believe in the "traditional, religious, Christian" version of "God," but I THINK there could be some sort of force or energy that rules or guides all things ... whatever it is I don't know.

[SheilaMae]

I'm not a debater or skilled in argument and I try to practice avoiding conflict - so why I did I even read and why am I even posting in this thread?????

First let me comment that it's commendable that though opinions expressed differ extremely a high degree of kindness has been exhibited. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/applause.gif

I have no desire to argue theology or religion or preach at anyone. Allow me to pose yet another question, however. When you look deep into your heart of hearts and examine what your truest desires of your heart are - what do you find? Get beyond the material things such as wealth, success, recognition/acknowledgement, etc and I'm pretty sure that everyone of us has the same hearts' desires - that we might all know/have love, peace, joy, harmony, justice, wisdom, health and abundance. Isn't that universal within us all? That is God Himself poured into us...no matter what makes us different in action and/or appearance.

I marvel and wonder and recognize Him expressed in nature and cellular biology and organic chemistry - TRULY! I KNOW Him best when I'm being creative for I believe that created in His image the most primary thing we know of Him is Creator and I think we must also express ourselves creatively - be it music, literature, construction, sewing, painting, whatever. (It continually awes me when I make a thing and think it was just string/thread or color smudges to start with!)

But when you throw out all the other trash - the miscellany - recognize that as unique as we might individually be beneath and behind it all we all want/desire the SAME. Even the most vengeful and cruel among us are misguidedly seeking justice when you come down to it.

I'm ever so grateful I believe that He lovingly, generously, mercifully gave the gift of Jesus so that we might be forgiven for not recognizing and/or abandoning Himself in us.

[LindaBo]

I don,t care what any one thinks,,,,I know hes there for me http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/yes.gif

[LindaBo]

Life would be much easyer if people would be simpler,,other words---Life is simple, you just don,t get it.....

[Mr. Man]

I find it interesting that there are a lot of references to "him" in this thread.
Most of the men I've met in my life are a#*holes, revolting bastards, and devoid of any moral decency. Except for myself. I'm a big sweetiepie. Look what men have done to this beautiful world. They have made it a scary place for the rest of us. I have a problem with calling "God" a man, or putting human qualities on the creator. But that seems to be the problem with religion. They are just wrong. Period end.

[MtnEagle]

Originally posted by Mr. Man:
I find it interesting that there are a lot of references to "him" in this thread.
Most of the men I've met in my life are a#*holes, revolting bastards, and devoid of any moral decency. Except for myself. I'm a big sweetiepie. Look what men have done to this beautiful world. They have made it a scary place for the rest of us. I have a problem with calling "God" a man, or putting human qualities on the creator. But that seems to be the problem with religion. They are just wrong. Period end.

I can think of a lot of women who have screwed this world up for the rest of us too...

... but let's not engage in pointing fingers.

http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/wink3.gif

[beautiful_mess38]

I beleave in God obviously. I beleave in life after death. You can do the turn around and go back into vetro or live in heaven serving God.
I beleave in spirits. I have seen my own Grandparents in thier spirit forum.
I have also seen my Guardian Angel. I was pregnant with Delaney at the time.
I beleave in spirit guides.
I also beleave in prayer.

[Mr. Man]

Thanks to God and Her Creation. She truly is wonderful and you only have to look at Her creation around you to see that She is truly beautiful. We are so lucky to live in Her world that She has created for us. We truly live in Paradise. If only we could get rid of those damn men. Can't live with them, can't live without them.....Oh wait a minute... I am one of them. Nevermind.

[CatdaBrat]

are you sure we can't live without them?

[beautiful_mess38]

I love my Men and I love my God.

[Dakota Blue]

This is a question with no one right answer for everyone. If you believe in God, then God exists, and there is proof everywhere--the infinite cycle of life in nature, the miracle of gravity, the ability of the body to heal itself, vanilla chai. If you don't believe in God, then God doesn't exist, and there's proof of this everywhere--war, crime, Katrina, Bush. We get to choose our own reality. I love to ponder questions like who/what created the first spec of dust--taking it all back to the beginning of creation. What if there is no beginning--and no end? Are we one-dimensional and unable to comprehend the truth?

[BGW]

What if there is no beginning--and no end? Are we one-dimensional and unable to comprehend the truth?

I remember, as a young child, watching an episode of either the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits that started out showing a happy little girl playing with her doll house and train set and all the other fancy toys of the upper middle class during the the era of black nad white television.

Being a show with bizarre and shocking twists and turns one never knew just how they would end , but you knew you were probably going to be freaked out.

Anyways, this episode ended with huge giant upper middle class aliens living atheir lovely life and playing with their upper middle class toys such as a doll house and elaborate train station. Yep, you guessed it...the humans were spaceman toys.

In the immortal words of Judy Tenuta, "It could happen."

[MtnEagle]

Heh...

Still beats believing you are long evolved creatures from space goo some 3.5 billion years ago...

http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/tongue.gif

[Proud American]

I believe in my God and nothing can change that.

[Yosemite Joy]

*wipes tears*

Cause at least I know I'm free...

[Summer]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Yosemite Joy:
*wipes tears*

Yeah, I can see you're all broken up.

[Yosemite Joy]

Ouch, burn. You are very good at pointing out when I am being sarcastic and trying to make it sound like I was being serious.



Is there a God? Yes, of course.

But which one?

[Summer]

Oh YJ, of course I recognized your sarcasm. In no way did I think your response was serious in the least.

[MtnEagle]

jakobscalpel

...
---------------------------------------------
me = space goo + 3.5 billion years


Hmmmm...

That signature of yours looks awfully familiar...

http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/laugh.gif

[Mr. Man]

Of course, I know all the answers to everything. Just ask me after I've had a couple of beers.

[MtnEagle]

Originally posted by Mr. Man:
Of course, I know all the answers to everything. Just ask me after I've had a couple of beers.

It's interesting that after that post I noticed that your avatar is the Temple of Karnak too...

http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/laugh.gif

[LindaBo]

.....YES..... http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/yes.gif

[Dawn]

If there is or isn't a God it seems odd that people would call God "loving" when God was responsible for so many deaths of innocent people in the Bible...

To me, the idea of a relationship with God seems more like having an imaginary friend.

[Patagoniamaniac]

Heavy sigh... :O(....I'm not going to touch this one...infact, I wont look at this particular post again...I know some of you are rubbing your hands together on this one....I get slammed on any religious or political topic I have an opinion on...sorry to dissapoint some of you......have fun...

[Dawn]

After I finished reading the whole Bible I was very disappointed. And I'm just trying to understand how people can still call God "loving". All the religious people I have met have not even read the entire Bible word for word, page by page. So maybe they don't seem to understand and are unable to explain it.

[Dodgergirl]

After I finished reading the whole Bible I was very disappointed. And I'm just trying to understand how people can still call God "loving". All the religious people I have met have not even read the entire Bible word for word, page by page. So maybe they don't seem to understand and are unable to explain it.

I've read every page of the Bible, but please don't call me "Religious"... My God is a loving God, He is not responsible for people's deaths... ever hear of Free Will? And please, I couldn't ever call the people of the Old Testament innocents... They say unless you are open to the teachings, you will never understand, or 'get it'... is it possible you read the book (this is what I call the Bible in conversation) with a cynical eye?
I hope you find whatever you are looking for, whether it is My God, or something else... I will not push my faith on anyone...

JMHO

[Dawn]

There were people in the Bible who were killed for minor things like complaining or offering incense to people and for dancing naked. God ordered the death of 3,000 people to be killed because they were dancing naked. All of this is in the Bible and it seems wrong God ordered them to be killed. Exodus 32:27 & 32:28. I'll never be able to make sense of the Bible.

[citizen]

There were people in the Bible who were killed for minor things like complaining or offering incense to people and for dancing naked. God ordered the death of 3,000 people to be killed because they were dancing naked. All of this is in the Bible and it seems wrong God ordered them to be killed. Exodus 32:27 & 32:28. I'll never be able to make sense of the Bible.

Uh oh, I am burning Nag Champa right now and I was just getting ready to get naked and play some Abba. They just dont create music the way they used to. Sorry, don't mean to complain.

[Dodgergirl]

There were people in the Bible who were killed for minor things like complaining or offering incense to people and for dancing naked. God ordered the death of 3,000 people to be killed because they were dancing naked. All of this is in the Bible and it seems wrong God ordered them to be killed. Exodus 32:27 & 32:28. I'll never be able to make sense of the Bible.

Oh, and worshipping idols, which were forbidden in the commandments..., but how could an imaginary friend order the deaths of people? Just wondering???

[Dawn]

No, I meant that if god is fake then it would be like having an imaginary friend that people pray to.

That is funny Citizen I like your sense of humor. :)

[Yosemite Joy]

Why would we even have this topic?

Dead horse.

This horse should be buried not beaten with a stick.

[David_V]

Oh, and worshipping idols, which were forbidden in the commandments..., but how could an imaginary friend order the deaths of people? Just wondering???
It's a discussion. When people debate whether Superman can fly or only jump very far they are discussing a character in a book. It's the same with gods and such. When I mention that the god in the bible caused a "she bear" to kill 42 children (I can just picture them all lined up, patiently, awaiting their turn to be torn apart) for calling an old man "baldy," I do not have to believe the god was/is real or that the event actually happened.

[Dawn]

You are so funny. That is hilarious. Can't stop laughing. :)

I'm getting tired of discussing religion.

[kellieflan]

Of COURSE Superman can fly! Who ever heard of THAT debate? The actual debate, David, is: Who would win: Superman or Mighty Mouse? Please!
Goodnight, friends.

[Yosemite Joy]

You are so funny. That is hilarious. Can't stop laughing. :)

I'm getting tired of discussing religion.

Unless you are talking to like-minded people, you can't "discuss" religion. It doesn't work that way.

It's a discussion. When people debate whether Superman can fly or only jump very far they are discussing a character in a book. It's the same with gods and such. When I mention that the god in the bible caused a "she bear" to kill 42 children (I can just picture them all lined up, patiently, awaiting their turn to be torn apart) for calling an old man "baldy," I do not have to believe the god was/is real or that the event actually happened.

So glad I hadn't responded to that other post, you have a better way with words.