Ask Me Help Desk

Ask Me Help Desk (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/forum.php)
-   Religious Discussions (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=485)
-   -   There never was a Jesus? God? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=186492)

  • Feb 21, 2008, 12:38 AM
    Greg Quinn
    There never was a Jesus? God?
    I'm an atheist and have been since I was very young. I always had a great argument due to being brought up in a religious home, but never had the answer as to how religion came into play. My friend brought this video over to my house and it seemed a little boring at first, then about ten minutes into it, I realized this may very well be the answer to my question! I've researched arguments against the facts here and have found none that out weigh the obvious. The thing is, I'm shocked at how it was in my face and every ones face all this time. Please watch this segment and tell me what you think and if you can see another truth. Best regards, Greg Q

    Zeitgeist - The Movie, 2007
  • Feb 21, 2008, 12:45 AM
    nicki143
    I have never believed in god or jesus it is just some story made up years ago like cinderella
  • Feb 21, 2008, 12:52 AM
    nicki143
    Just watched a little bit its quite good will watch the rest later its true the beginning why does he need money? God I mean
  • Feb 21, 2008, 02:04 AM
    deeva28
    First off let me say that although I am a firm believer in God, I do not knock the fact that you are a non-believer. I actually went through that phase when I was younger and then I realized that there is a God or some other type of higher being. God has worked in my life so many times and in so many different ways, that I know that it was not a mere coincidence or happenstance. I haven't viewed the movie link yet, but I will. I will state that although I know that God is real, I also don't believe everything that was written in the Bible. I realize that things change in translation as well as through people like the ever popular telephone game. That doesn't mean that there isn't a God to me, it just means that the Holy Book is tainted with the translations of other people. It all depends on a person's vantage point when they tell a story and that is how I view the Bible, but I KNOW that there is a GOD.
  • Feb 21, 2008, 02:58 AM
    nicki143
    I do believe there is more out there than us and I would never knock anyone else's beliefs each to there own.
  • Feb 21, 2008, 04:38 AM
    Clough
    Would you care to share with us here why you are an atheist, Greg. I am just curious. By the way, my first name is Craig. So, I do think that we have something in common there!
  • Feb 21, 2008, 07:05 AM
    Fr_Chuck
    I am normally shocked that people can't believe in God, the facts are too obvioius in their face he exists. I respect everyone right to not believe but do feel very sorry for their loss in their life. Even non Christian writings like the Quran even accept Jesus as being a real person,
  • Feb 21, 2008, 07:09 AM
    NeedKarma
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck
    ...do feel very sorry for thier loss in thier life.

    There is no loss in our lives. You may feel a loss if you didn't have a god to worship and rely on but that does not mean that others are like that at all. We don't go around saying that we feel bad for your wasted time worshipping something that doesn't exist. Don't worry about us, worry about yourself. :)
  • Feb 21, 2008, 11:24 AM
    Greg Quinn
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Clough
    Would you care to share with us here why you are an atheist, Greg. I am just curious. By the way, my first name is Craig. So, I do think that we have something in common there!

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Hey Craig. There are endless reasons, I have gone through flaws in the bible and other routine arguments a thousand times with family and it always comes down to debating against faith. I believe faith is believing in something as fact when it simply is not. After watching the first segment of Zeitgeist, I believe the missing pieces to the puzzle are finally visible.
    I was pushed from a very young age to believe in something as questionable as Religion is. I chose look beyond faith, that was difficult to do when there was no Internet. Religion is passed down from generation to generation with very little question from its followers. What a system to have, in fact it is very much like a virus. Its rules are to get them almost at birth, and then get their children at birth and so on. The fact is, I usually don't come on here going off on a subject as sensitive as religion. It usually leaves a bad taste in peoples mouths in the end and no one gets converted either way... But after watching this compelling movie, I wanted to share it with fellow atheists agnostics and also share it with people who are of faith. I'm not sure, but I have never been made aware of this view of where religion came from. And I must say it is not the most wonderful feeling learning that I have a whole new fantastic argument to support my beliefs. I would love there to be a god, a saviour but the evidence simply does not exist. The majority of the world believe there will be a day when Christ will come back and save us from ourselves I believe Christians call it "the second coming," in the mean time lets burn burn burn. I'm afraid my daughter one day will have a 02 mask on her face looking up at the sky waiting for a holy ghost.

    Zeitgeist part 1 is the clearest, logical and easy to understand explanation to how something like an object (the sun) could be celebrated 3000 years BC and how translations have gone to where they are now. A ten year old boy could follow this 20 minute evidence full documentary, I'm still researching this to prove that it it may be false. So far my catholic school teacher girlfriend and I are convinced it is authentic.
  • Feb 21, 2008, 11:34 AM
    NeedKarma
    You'll also like this movie: "The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear" (2004)
  • Feb 21, 2008, 12:02 PM
    bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE
    Might I say that, umm, people have become brainwashed?
  • Feb 21, 2008, 12:07 PM
    Gernald
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by nicki143
    just watched a little bit its quite good will watch the rest later its true the beginning why does he need money? god i mean

    Why in the world would G-d need money, better yet how dose he get it?? The church has his mailing address and they send it to him so he can fund "Go to H-e-l-l projects" or "Wings for Angels projects"
    Really G-d dosen't personally use the money, how would he? The church does. So they can pay their preachers and preists and then give it to the poor. The point is to give money to people who need it so they can buy food, have homes, etc.

    I watched the movie, and it has just as many flaws as does the Bible. I think you need to take in to account that it was written well over a thousand years ago, it has changed since it's been translated over and over again... books have even been left out. Just because all of it might not be true, I'm certain that there is some amount of truth. For even in lies there is truth.

    Another thing. Some religons don't believe in Hell. They think that if G-d really loves you then he wouldn't sentence you to eternal pain and misery. (this was in part of the intro)

    Believe whatever you want, I'm not here to stop you. But if your going to allow yourself to be brainwashed by a movie meant to encourage atheism then be warned. Try to make your own assumptions about weather there is a G-d or not, it's easier to truly believe something if you are the one who makes the asumptions about it... though I think you already have.
  • Feb 21, 2008, 12:10 PM
    anamia
    Hi. I'm a good Southern Catholic girl ;) - a contradiction in terms it seems. I think that whatever your beliefs may be, especially unpopular beliefs, it takes balls to share them.
  • Feb 21, 2008, 05:51 PM
    Greg Quinn
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gernald
    Why in the world would G-d need money, better yet how dose he get it??? The church has his mailing address and they send it to him so he can fund "Go to H-e-l-l projects" or "Wings for Angels projects"
    Really G-d dosen't personally use the money, how would he? The church does. So they can pay their preachers and preists and then give it to the poor. The point is to give money to people who need it so they can buy food, have homes, ect.

    I watched the movie, and it has just as many flaws as does the Bible. I think you need to take in to account that it was written well over a thousand years ago, it has changed since it's been translated over and over again...books have even been left out. Just because all of it might not be true, I'm certain that there is some amount of truth. For even in lies there is truth.

    Another thing. Some religons don't beleive in Hell. They think that if G-d really loves you then he wouldn't sentance you to eternal pain and misery. (this was in part of the intro)

    Beleive whatever you want, I'm not here to stop you. But if your going to allow yourself to be brainwashed by a movie ment to encourage atheism then be warned. Try to make your own assumptions about weather there is a G-d or not, it's easier to truly beleive something if you are the one who makes the asumptions about it...though I think you already have.

    ------------------------
    -----------------------
    I was hoping for a better response. I'm not really sure if you did watch the movie, or if you only watched the first 2 minutes. You seem a little angry, the movie does take into account when the bible was written. This documentary clearly shows the mistakes in the translation. In fact, that is what the movie is about. I'm not interested in fighting someone over this, I'm here for a discussion. If you feel you are too busy to watch the video, then move on. My question is directed at people who are willing to view it, and share their views. The joke at the beginning of the movie is the last thing I would have expected come up as conversation after having watched the first segment.
  • Feb 21, 2008, 06:15 PM
    Gernald
    Sorry I didn't specify... I watched part of the movie and I may have been doing something else while listening to it. That thing is an hour long!! :)
    My point was the movie could be biased just as much as the Bible.
    Not fighting, just warning that some things are biased. Kind of like you can't trust a politician to tell you the truth about the government because they'll give there version which really isn't the truth. Same with this, you can't be objective about making a movie or a book (Bible) about your own religon.
    Sorry if I came off as mad (it's been a horrible day :))
  • Feb 21, 2008, 06:30 PM
    Greg Quinn
    Quote:

    BEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE disagrees: Why do you need evidence to believe in something? Do you demand your girlfreind or wife every night that you need evidence that she loves you? No, and that sounds just darn right silly. She would probably reply, 'You need to have faith that I love yo
    ___
    _______________

    OK... That would come down to "TRUST" not faith. If my girlfriend cheated on me and abused me and showed me so much (EVIDENCE) that she hated me, and then if she were to say "you need to have faith that I love you." that would be ridiculous, she earns my trust everyday based on how I treat her and how she treats me. What a silly uneducated reason to go tossing around your reds. If your liberal views of not needing evidence to believe in something was as broad as the ridiculousness as that statement... there would be a lot more innocence in prison, frankly the entire world would fall apart.
    It seems you simply did not like my question and wanted to express it by blindly throwing stones. If people didn't ask questions we would still think the earth was flat. Get on topic or move to the next thread and quit picking at straws in mine.
  • Feb 21, 2008, 06:39 PM
    Gernald
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Greg Quinn
    _______________

    OK... That would come down to "TRUST" not faith. If my girlfriend cheated on me and abused me and showed me so much (EVIDENCE) that she hated me, and then if she were to say "you need to have faith that I love you." that would be ridiculous, she earns my trust everyday based on how I treat her and how she treats me. What a silly uneducated reason to go tossing around your reds. If your liberal views of not needing evidence to believe in something was as broad as the ridiculousness of that statement... there would be a lot more innocence in prison, frankly the entire world would fall apart.
    It seems you simply did not like my question and wanted to express it by blindly throwing stones. If people didn't ask questions we would still think the earth was flat. Get on topic or move to the next thread and quit picking at straws in mine.

    I think they did answer your question though. The point was to get an opinion about if we could see a different truth and well they answered with the truth they saw. Maybe not what you personally wanted to hear, but all the same an answer.

    Personally I think trust and faith are one in the same, with faith you trust that there is a
    G-d with just trust you trust that your girlfriend is being loyal or that she loves you.

    This whole thing basically comes down to one of the biggest questions man kind has ever asked, is there a G-d? And answers are bound to be different.
  • Feb 21, 2008, 08:13 PM
    jillianleab
    Haven't watched the clip yet, but I will. I just really wanted to comment on this:

    Quote:

    Gernald agrees: Balancer: He's talking about religons brainwashing us. They probably are but that's not the point is it? Atheism is a type of religon (like it or not) and it to has the ability to brainwash.
    I know this is a bit off topic, but please read this article:

    Atheism Myths: Is Atheism a Religion?

    /threadjack over
  • Feb 22, 2008, 06:57 AM
    nicki143
    I have seem the first part of zeitgeist and it was very intresting and I am a not beliver in god.
    One thing for sure is when the end of the world happens some people are goona be disapointent christians believe in god jesus jehovahs believe in him muslims believe in Allah and so on but which one of these people is going to be there if any
  • Feb 22, 2008, 06:59 AM
    bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Greg Quinn
    _______________

    OK... That would come down to "TRUST" not faith. If my girlfriend cheated on me and abused me and showed me so much (EVIDENCE) that she hated me, and then if she were to say "you need to have faith that I love you." that would be ridiculous, she earns my trust everyday based on how I treat her and how she treats me. What a silly uneducated reason to go tossing around your reds. If your liberal views of not needing evidence to believe in something was as broad as the ridiculousness of that statement... there would be a lot more innocence in prison, frankly the entire world would fall apart.
    It seems you simply did not like my question and wanted to express it by blindly throwing stones. If people didn't ask questions we would still think the earth was flat. Get on topic or move to the next thread and quit picking at straws in mine.

    Hello Greg,

    I, myself, watched the entire clip (yes all 2 hours of it!) and might I say that although there were some good 'pointers' in it, people endlessly try to find excuses not to have faith. Why? Because something that is not 'physically' there is unreal. Because you posted this thread, expect to hear the worst. Don't assume that you are going to read what you want to. You asked for opinions; you asked for a discussion and now you are going to get one.

    I apologize if I offended your beliefs and do not want to 'argue' over this matter. In my opinion, faith and trust walk in the same shoes. I can understand why it is difficult for most people not to believe something that isn't even there. At one time I did question my beliefs as well, but then decided that if I didn't trust the lord, then I didn't trust myself.

    Do you believe in the afterlife? Resserection? Armegadon? Revelations? Ghosts? Entities? Spirits? Souls? I would love to hear your opinion on those!
  • Feb 22, 2008, 07:12 AM
    NeedKarma
    I hope you don't mind if I throw my $0.02 worth. :)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE
    ...but then decided that if I didn't trust the lord, then I didn't trust myself.

    Do you believe in the afterlife? Resserection? Armegadon? Revelations? Ghosts? Entities? Spirits? Souls? I would love to hear your opinion on those!

    I trust myself without a lord, it's quite easy, you actually do it everyday as well. I don't believe in afterlife nor resurrection nor armageddon (except that our sun will blow up some day), Revelations... what's that? No ghosts, entities, spirits, souls in my life. Anything you want to know?
  • Feb 22, 2008, 07:23 AM
    bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by NeedKarma
    I hope you don't mind if I throw my $0.02 worth. :)I trust myself without a lord, it's quite easy, you actually do it everyday as well. I don't believe in afterlife nor ressurection nor armageddon (except that our sun will blow up some day), Revelations...what's that? No ghosts, entities, spirits, souls in my life. Anything you want to know?

    ... lol well that sums it all up for you! Revelations is a prophecy in the bible that is the 'end of the world.' Thank you for your million dollar answer!

    Just a quick though, your username is needkarama, why? Karama isn't actually an object, but a belief.
  • Feb 22, 2008, 08:07 AM
    NeedKarma
    My answer was worth a million dollars? Cool.

    BTW it's not karama but karma. I kind of use this definition:
    "All living creatures are responsible for their karma — their actions and the effects of their actions "
    Karma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • Feb 22, 2008, 08:22 AM
    bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE
    So basically, if I do wrong it will come right back at me?
  • Feb 22, 2008, 08:32 AM
    NeedKarma
    Not immediately. That used to be the joke about instant karma, you screw someone over and you get hit by a bus 2 minutes later. Hehe.
    Nah, I believe that if you do mean things to others it will come back to haunt you.
  • Feb 22, 2008, 08:33 AM
    ScottGem
    Boo! :D
  • Feb 22, 2008, 08:45 AM
    Greg Quinn

    bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE
    Quote:

    Hello Greg,

    I, myself, watched the entire clip (yes all 2 hours of it!) and might I say that although there were some good 'pointers' in it, people endlessly try to find excuses not to have faith. Why? Because something that is not 'physically' there is unreal. Because you posted this thread, expect to hear the worst. Don't assume that you are going to read what you want to. You asked for opinions; you asked for a discussion and now you are going to get one.

    I apologize if I offended your beliefs and do not want to 'argue' over this matter. In my opinion, faith and trust walk in the same shoes. I can understand why it is difficult for most people not to believe something that isn't even there. At one time I did question my beliefs as well, but then decided that if I didn't trust the lord, then I didn't trust myself.

    Do you believe in the afterlife? Resserection? Armegadon? Revelations? Ghosts? Entities? Spirits? Souls? I would love to hear your opinion on those!
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    I believe in the scientific afterlife, being recycled into the earth. No, I do not believe in resurrection I believe it to be a mislead concept explained very clearly in the documentary as the procession of the equinoxes. I am not a spiritual person at all, so it is a no to the rest of your questions. There is a great difference between trust and faith (contrary to Gerald's views) I have never taken offence to anyone's views against my beliefs. You said that people try to find excuses not to have faith, I find that to be a little insulting, there is a difference between excuses and reasons. In this documentary alone (which was supposed to be the topic) there are a ton of reasons a person would rely on fact based logic and not faith. I have a hard time understanding people who don't understand that.
    As for "getting for answers I don't want to hear", my question was watch the movie and I would like to see if you can find problems or flaws within its contents, find a truth other than the one I have come to believe. The majority of the answers in this thread are from people who have not watched the documentary! No, those are not answers I want to hear. I want to discuss the contents... Not how I came to believe what I believe, or why. I've been getting 2 cent answers from people who either never paid attention to its contents, skimmed through it, or watched the first minute. I am yet to get a discussion of any value.
    Quote:

    BBRUNETTE)Don't assume that you are going to read what you want to. You asked for opinions; you asked for a discussion and now you are going to get one.
    Where is it? I just get irrelevant questions, here it is: My beliefs are reflected in part 1 of zeitgeist, that would be the answer to all of your questions. It's that simple, any insults that have been put out [QUOTE BBRUENETTE]Might I say that, umm, people have become brainwashed?[/QUOTE] could come right back at you, considering my beliefs, I could say the same thing. I have not tried to insult anyone's beliefs, I belong to other forums where people debate and argue. I ask, what conclusion do you come to after viewing zeitgeist? If I get an answer like " I think its crap" I would want to know why. People are so quick to jump on with one leg but refuse to share the reigns.
  • Feb 22, 2008, 08:45 AM
    bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by NeedKarma
    Not immediately. That used to be the joke about instant karma, you screw someone over and you get hit by a bus 2 minutes later. Hehe.
    Nah, I believe that if you do mean things to others it will come back to haunt you.

    Okay, exactly my point. It is a belief. This said 'karma' is not an actual object you can see, feel or hear so how can you believe in that, but not the lord? I'm sorry if I have offended you with this question :)
  • Feb 22, 2008, 08:53 AM
    NeedKarma
    You haven't offended me at all. The way I view karma is not related to an unseen being in the sky, it's a societal thing. If you are a jerk to everyone then you run the chances of being shunned by people, being alone, etc. If you want to say that it is a belief then I'm fine with that if that makes you feel good.

    Dans ta signature tu parle de confiance en soi et d'être heureux avec soi-même avant d'être avec un autre - je crois à ça aussi. :)
  • Feb 22, 2008, 08:54 AM
    bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Greg Quinn
    I believe in the scientific afterlife, being recycled into the earth. No, I do not believe in resurrection I believe it to be a mislead concept explained very clearly in the documentary as the procession of the equinoxes. I am not a spiritual person at all, so it is a no to the rest of your questions. There is a great difference between trust and faith (contrary to Gerald's views) I have never taken offence to anyone's views against my beliefs. You said that people try to find excuses not to have faith, I find that to be a little insulting, there is a difference between excuses and reasons. In this documentary alone (which was supposed to be the topic) there are a ton of reasons a person would rely on fact based logic and not faith. I have a hard time understanding people who don't understand that.
    As for "getting for answers I don't want to hear", my question was watch the movie and I would like to see if you can find problems or flaws within its contents, find a truth other than the one I have come to believe. The majority of the answers in this thread are from people who have not watched the documentary!! No, those are not answers I want to hear. I want to discuss the contents... Not how I came to believe what I believe, or why. I've been getting 2 cent answers from people who either never paid attention to its contents, skimmed through it, or watched the first minute. I am yet to get a discussion of any value. Where is it? I just get irrelevant questions, here it is: My beliefs are reflected in part 1 of zeitgeist, that would be the answer to all of your questions. It's that simple, any insults that have been put out could come right back at you, considering my beliefs, I could say the same thing. I have not tried to insult anyones beliefs, I belong to other forums where people debate and argue. I ask, what conclusion do you come to after viewing zeitgeist? If I get an answer like " I think its crap" I would want to know why. People are so quick to jump on with one leg but refuse to share the reigns.

    Again, you jump to think that I am trying to insult your beliefs. I am not! Understand that! I really did watch the whole documentary Gregg, and am not giving 2 cent answers as you quote. With discussing this topic and just like any other topic, comes opinions, and that is what we are all doing. Tell me what exactly you want to discuss since you are not getting the responses that you want? If you want peple to list flaws, be prepared for their opinions. It is so hard to put a label on what is the truth and what we are mislead to believe because there are always going to be people who think otherwise.
  • Feb 22, 2008, 09:20 AM
    workerbee
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Greg Quinn
    I'm an atheist and have been since I was very young. I always had a great argument due to being brought up in a religious home, but never had the answer as to how religion came into play. My friend brought this video over to my house and it seemed a little boring at first, then about ten minutes into it, I realized this may very well be the answer to my question!! I've researched arguments against the facts here and have found none that out weigh the obvious. The thing is, I'm shocked at how it was in my face and every ones face all this time. Please watch this segment and tell me what you think and if you can see another truth. Best regards, Greg Q

    Zeitgeist - The Movie, 2007


    Hey Greg, I am going to tell you what I know about God, HE DOES NOT EXIST. There are thousands of gods, which one do some of the people that responded believe in? Zeus, how about Apollo? People believe in the God od their community. No one can prove Jesus even existed. He was mentioned never during his life only after. If he did miracles he should have attracted many contemporary writers but did not. Also he never left any writings in his own hand why not? That should have been something he would have wanted to do. Some think if he did exist he was illiterate that's why no writings. As I have stated in other threads Prayer does not work at all.
    This is not just my opinion it is a fact. The AHJ did a 3 year 2.4 million , 1800 patient study
    There conclusion was that Intercessory prayer doesn't work, that should tell you something
    There is so much more I want to say but I don't want to make this too long. Go to my signature, there you will find a forum that will help you understand in more detail

    workerbee
  • Feb 22, 2008, 09:24 AM
    BMI
    Wonderful, another thread about the existence of God. I should know better but here is my take.

    First off, one can post thousands of movies, books, articles, about the existence of God, supporting it or refuting it. Also, its intresting to note that all the non-beleivers here like the film and find it "concrete" whilst beleivers here seem to be against it. So really this is just another argument about religion, there are tons of them on this site.

    What I do find interesting about the whole thing is that the OP, stating that he has been an atheist his whole life, would be researching and watching movies about whether God exists or not. Don't get me wrong, I'm not implying there is anything wrong with that in the least, although most people who have a firm belief in something need not search for supporting evidence if indeed they were 100% satisfied with that belief. Most beleivers, most I say, do not entertain every theory or article written to base their faith upon, to support what they believe or question themselves. That's why not everyone would feel the need to watch the video, it would make very little difference.

    Myself being a beleiver, I can say that it is more of a feeling, a faith that cannot be swayed by any argument against the existence of God or reinforced by any argument supporting the existence of God, it's just my own personal belief. One writer, whom I cannot remember his name, many ages ago, wrote that he believed in God but found it useless and wasteful to explain why. His reasoning being that we as humans cannot possibly understand God, why he created Earth and so on. So his view was that he just believed, but he could not logically explain why, I think that is very applicable to many a beleiver.
  • Feb 22, 2008, 09:24 AM
    Gernald
    Just wanted to point out the zeitgeist is a the german word for spirit of the age, I'm kind of curious why they used this title and not something else? Any ideas?
    I guess spirit of the age could be the modern religon of atheism, but atheism dosen't believe in a spirit, right?
    Confused!!
  • Feb 22, 2008, 09:25 AM
    RickJ
    Even most atheists agree that Jesus was a person who walked the earth. The evidence from history is only very weakly arguable.
  • Feb 22, 2008, 09:29 AM
    Allheart
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by BMI
    Wonderful, another thread about the existence of God. I should know better but here is my take.

    First off, one can post thousands of movies, books, articles, about the existence of God, supporting it or refuting it. Also, its intresting to note that all the non-beleivers here like the film and find it "concrete" whilst beleivers here seem to be against it. So really this is just another argument about religion, there are tons of them on this site.

    What I do find interesting about the whole thing is that the OP, stating that he has been an atheist his whole life, would be researching and watching movies about whether God exists or not. Don't get me wrong, I'm not implying there is anything wrong with that in the least, although most people who have a firm beleif in something need not search for supporting evidence if indeed they were 100% satisfied with that beleif. Most beleivers, most I say, do not entertain every theory or article written to base their faith upon, to support what they beleive or question themselves. Thats why not everyone would feel the need to watch the video, it would make very little difference.

    Myself being a beleiver, I can say that it is more of a feeling, a faith that cannot be swayed by any argument against the existence of God or reinforced by any argument supporting the existence of God, it's just my own personal beleif. One writer, whom I cannot remeber his name, many ages ago, wrote that he beleived in God but found it useless and wasteful to explain why. His reasoning being that we as humans cannot possibly understand God, why he created Earth and so on. So his view was that he just beleived, but he could not logically explain why, I think that is very applicable to many a beleiver.


    So beautiful said. One of the best, and there have been many good ones on this site, but one of the best.

    It is a struggle for belivers to voice their love as most don't want to offend and when asked for proof, faith is hard to capture into words or events and is not something you can point to.

    All I can offer is if you were here, I would take your hand and ask you to look into my heart. I just don't know how to share it better then that.
  • Feb 22, 2008, 09:30 AM
    BMI
    Oh one more thing.

    For all the testiness that is involved in such arguments I do findit amusing that those who do not believe in God are very adamant about expressing this belief, BOLD LETTERS AND CAPS LOCKS STATING THAT GOD DOES NOT EXIST!!

    Quite the enlightened fellow that can claim that with the utmost belief. Not that there is anything wrong with feeling that way, just seems comical that the beleivers are labelled "touchy" and thatalot of this argument is based on beleivers not being able to Prove the existence of God, while the non-beleivers can Prove he does not exist with... a... video?
  • Feb 22, 2008, 09:38 AM
    Greg Quinn
    Thanks Scott!
  • Feb 22, 2008, 09:39 AM
    Greg Quinn
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by workerbee
    Hey Greg, I am going to tell you what i know about God, HE DOES NOT EXIST. there are thousands of gods, which one do some of the people that responded believe in? Zeus, how about Apollo? People beleive in the God od their community. No one can prove Jesus even existed. He was mentioned never during his life only after. if he did miracles he should have attracted many contemporary writers but did not. Also he never left any writings in his own hand why not? that should have been something he would have wanted to do. Some think if he did exist he was illiterate that's why no writings. As I have stated in other threads Prayer does not work at all.
    this is not just my opinion it is a fact. The AHJ did a 3 year 2.4 million , 1800 patient study
    there conclusion was that Intercessory prayer doesn't work, that should tell you something
    There is so much more I want to say but I don't want to make this too long. Go to my signature, there you will find a forum that will help you understand in more detail

    workerbee

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    I'll take a look, thanks for your input.
  • Feb 22, 2008, 09:42 AM
    ScottGem
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE
    If you want peple to list flaws, be prepared for their opinions. It is so hard to put a label on what is the truth and what we are mislead to believe because there are always going to be people who think otherwise.

    What I think Greg wants is someone to refute the facts as stated in that documentary. For example. Is what they said about Horus correct? While there is a difference between truth and fact, one can deal with hard facts.

    That being said, there is one issue I have with one of the points that were made. They referred to the virginal birth of some deity on Dec 25th, but December 25th has not always been the same. Different societies have had different calendars. The western calendar that we use today was instituted by Pope Gregory XIII in the late 16th century. At the time 10 days were eliminated during October (see: A Brief History of the Western Calendar) So it would appear that its impossible for all those deities to have been born on Dec 25. Now if the documentary had said all those deities were born 3 or 4 days after the Winter Solstice, I would find it more credible.

    On the other hand, I've long believed that Christianity incorporated a lot of pagan and naturalist symbology. Therefore, I accept a lot of the points made about the zodiac and astrology being at the core of a lot of these beliefs.

    I've said, on several occasions, that I do not believe in organized religion. I believe religion was created by man to explain things he could not explain otherwise. I believe it was also established before strong national governments came into being to provide a framework for morality.

    One other point the documentary seems to be making is the similarity between the tales of the Bible and other religions. For example, the event of a flood. The fact that a flood story exists in several different religions tells me that something likely did occur.

    And the use of one of George Carlin's diatribes on religion was very apt. One should listen to Carlin's routines on God and religion. Those have the ring of truth to me.
  • Feb 22, 2008, 09:53 AM
    ScottGem
    [quote=workerbee]Hey Greg, I am going to tell you what I know about God, HE DOES NOT EXIST. /quote]

    Hate to split hairs here, but you do NOT "know" he doesn't exist. Anymore than a christian "knows" he does exist. If there was conclusive proof one way or the other, it would have been found by now. What you mean is you BELIEVE he does not exist. And you are entitled to that belief and there are many factual and logical arguments that can support your belief and vice versa.

    But this debate has raged for millennia and will rage for millennia to come because there is no absolute proof one way or the other.

  • All times are GMT -7. The time now is 03:48 AM.