6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

RossCaleb
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

the 6 reasons

"Look throughout the major world religions and you'll find that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God. Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus apart from all the others."

wowww

I always thought that if you want to change the world then you have to start with yourself. So if the heads of state want to end terrorism, they should go ahead and kill themselves. - Anti-Flag


Sleestak
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

interesting article... good racial/gender diversity in the pics of the happy youths at the top of the page -- kind of like a 'sunny delight' commercial. nice, polite, non-threatening tone to it all. easy to follow point-by-point sections.
oh... um...i'm still waiting for some EVIDENCE!!!
"here's all you need to know to prove god's existence: the bible says so!"
i grew up with this shit. i didn't get it when i was 8 and i don't get it now.


Yellow_Number_Five
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

And I claim to be better than Jesus. Worship me, peons! I called it first! :roll:


CynageN
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

I claim to be better than every thing ever created by man. You'll only be punished if you start calling me your lord, or worshipping me or anyone else, or dreaming up some imaginary man in the sky.

That's pretty fair isn't it?


Yellow_Number_Five
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

Dude, I clearly called dibs. How dare you usurp my megalomania?! :-x Laughing out loud

I am always looking for a guy to mix the Kool-Aid though - interested?

I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world. - Richard Dawkins

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CynageN
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

You're just intimidated that I'd be a better lord than you!

But I accept the position as koolaid mixer... I suppose nobody would expect death by koolaid Eye-wink


SilkyShrew
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

But I'm always the Goddess ....

*runs away to whine to nearest playground authority*


natto_the_sane
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

I hate it when they trot out the old favourites:

Why believe in god...

Everyone else has though history...
So? People like explanations for things and in the absence of science, they made some up. ...and women have been seen as inferior throughout history - funny, I don't go along with that old tosh either.

Isn't earth just perfect for life? It's size, water being so nifty, the human brain so dandy
So? The earth is so perfect for life because WE ARE THE LIFE THAT HAS EVOLVED HERE! We'd hardly have evolved to be unsuited to the planet now, would we! Go read about the anthropic cosmological principal!

Chance can't explain it
Read The Blind Watchmaker by Richard *the man's a legend* Dawkins. Then try being simplistic.

Inherent sense of right and wrong
What? Does a lion have a sense of right and wrong? Do ants? They seem to have a system of communal living... hmmm, not that pesky evolution thing again where survival of the fittest doesn't mean killing everything around you in a psychotic rage?

the bible?
Do me a favour - if I wanted to read a work of fiction for some entertainment I'd choose Lord of the Rings - it's far more consistent, uncut and written by a single bloke who invented elvish as a language.

Jesus?
What is it with the cult of Jesus? For starters, if he did exist, he wasn't white. Do I worship David Blane for his tricks??? Nah! Derren Brown maybe...

...and that was all that she could come up with. Hell. I've had more convincing Jehovah's at my door.

NSane

Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind. ~ Virginia Woolf 1928.


shorty
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W0RSHIP ME!!!

0=)worship me (need money for beer and pizza)0=)


qwak
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

Jesus was a dick anyway.


MattShizzle
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

He did destroy that fig tree just because it was out of season (he should have known, considering he supposedly invented the seasons.) That meant, of course, nobody could ever get figs from that tree again. That would certainly qualify him as a dick!

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rubiksqueen
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Re: 6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

RossCaleb wrote:
the 6 reasons

"Look throughout the major world religions and you'll find that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God. Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus apart from all the others."

wowww

my new favorite way to discourse this claim is to say:

"prove that i'm not god"

they can't do it... Smiling

I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own/Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body though feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear...einstein


shorty
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

:smt059 worship me please... and feed me... and give me beer too... also give me weed...yeah...ummm...i can prove im god to... i can make a slice of pizza disappear, i can make a joint disappear,i can make a beer disappear.. man im good at making things disappear :smt059

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qwak
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

yeah, well given a few months, I can turn water into wine.


MattShizzle
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

I can turn a water glass into a dick.


shorty
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

3 reasons for christians to stop believing in the holy trinity

1.)jesus doesnt exist, and never existed
2.)god doesnt exist, and never existed
3.)the holy spirit doesnt exist, and never existed

and the scientific documents of religious species like the one who made that article and how its evolved

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neon
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

Earth is also perfectly 'designed' for the Ebola virus.

Funny how Christians never point that out.


notsaved
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Re: 6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

RossCaleb wrote:
the 6 reasons

"Look throughout the major world religions and you'll find that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God. Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus apart from all the others."

wowww

The essay is your basic theistic assertion for the existence of God motivated from the perspective of ignorance. I thought of this quote by Edward Abbey when I read it:

"Whatever we cannot easily understand we call God; this saves much wear and tear on the brain tissues."

I am an atheist because I do not believe in any Gods or anything related to the imaginary subjective supernatural realm that does not exist outside the mind. -- NotSaved


shorty
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

("them"Eye-wink me

("1. Does God exist? Throughout history, in all cultures of the world, people have been convinced there is a God."Eye-wink

all over the world there was once belief in dragons, that doesnt make them real though, even dragons are explained in depth in writing of all cultures (espesially in china)

("2. Does God exist? The complexity of our planet points to a deliberate Designer who not only created our universe, but sustains it today."Eye-wink

thousands of years ago thunder pointed to zeus. that didnt make him real, or zeus a valid explanation for thunder. surely if a god existed and worked in "mysterious" complex ways wouldnt that mean he needed a creator. there is no natural phenomenon which gods are created except in our imaginations, where all gods were created.

("The Earth...its size is perfect. The Earth's size and corresponding gravity holds a thin layer of mostly nitrogen and oxygen gases, only extending about 50 miles above the Earth's surface. If Earth were smaller, an atmosphere would be impossible,"Eye-wink

oh dear, some poor village has lost its idiot. the poor ignoramus thinks that the universe is small. considering the number of planets and moons is actually very high. im sure youll be incredibly shaken if they find limestone on mars. poor idiot. i had to respond to this, hope i didnt make you cry.

("3. Does God exist? Mere "chance" is not an adequate explanation of creation."Eye-wink

again the universe is huge, dumbass.

("Imagine looking at Mount Rushmore, in which the likenesses of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt are carved. Could you ever believe that it came about by chance? Given infinite time, wind, rain and chance, it is still hard to believe something like that, tied to history, was randomly formed in the side of a mountain. Common sense tells us that people planned and skillfully carved those figures."Eye-wink

this kind of answer is the kind i hate the most. the assuption that inatimate objects that we know are created must be like humans or any other type of animal. WRONG! what about the rock its carved out of we have a perfectly scientific explanation for that god didnt "make" limestone it comes about naturally so there could just as easily be a natural explanation... but people would rather listen to fairy tales than try to actually advance society to a higher degree of intellect.

("4. Does God exist? Humankind's inherent sense of right and wrong cannot be biologically explained."Eye-wink

some animals act in ways that we would see as moral or immoral. apes have culture. many animals are mean and agressive to eachother. if there are more agreesive traits passed on the species will eventually become more agressivethis also works with tameness. the books of the babble (hahaha!) do show short bursts of morality but is by far full of immoral and contradictory terms. the most immoral things have been done in the name of religion.

("There arises in all of us, of any culture, universal feelings of right and wrong. Even a thief gets upset and feels wronged when someone steals from him. If someone violently grabs a child from a family and rapes that child, there is an anger and revulsion and a rage to confront that act as evil, regardless of the culture."Eye-wink

what about suicide bombings, many religions tell us to do immoral things.
have you killed an infidel today? better do gods holy work and kill me then.

("Where did we get this sense of wrongness? How do we explain a universal law in the conscience of all people that says murder for fun is wrong?"Eye-wink

instinct. you wouldnt want to be killed... so why kill others that are the same as you. treat others the way you want to be treated, by far the best philosophy to live by. example do you need to believe in santa claus to give people things out of kindness... no

("5. Does God exist? God not only has revealed Himself in what can be observed in nature, and in human life, but He has even more specifically shown Himself in the Bible."Eye-wink

god cannot and has not revealed himself in any way because he is non-existent, as for the babble (hahaha!...AGAIN!) its a big fairy tale combined with history like the illiad or the oddessy

("Throughout the entire Bible the same message appears

God created the world we live in, and created us specifically to have a relationship with Him."Eye-wink

thats why he made a fruit he knew they'd eat then kicked their asses out when he did

"He deeply loves us."

yet he has order the slaughter of a countless many, flooded the earth, ordered rapist and rapee killed in a rape case, in unsolved murders kill a nearby person, and has been an overall mean and unsupportive person. this evil fuck of a god does not "love" us ok.

"We have sinned and are under God's judgment, in need of His forgiveness."

he doesnt exist, the flying spaghetti monster will never forgive you for this

"God provided a way for our sins to be forgiven."

to sacrifice himself to himself so we can escape the wrath of himself

"He asks us to receive His forgiveness and have a relationship with Him that will last eternally."

he coulda fixed that shit in the garden of eden couldn't he?

"6. Does God exist? Unlike any other revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the clearest, most specific picture of God."

that never existed might i add

"Do you want to begin a relationship with God and actually know you are accepted by Him?"

do you want to try to start over again with an unbiased unbrainwashed point of veiw. no, right? any time you want to attempt rational thought call me. until then beat yourself with an aluminum bat until you do.

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Atheist_Scathe
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

Quote:
Just once wouldn't you love for someone to simply show you the evidence for God's existence? No arm-twisting. No statements of, "You just have to believe." Well, here is an attempt to candidly offer some of the reasons which suggest that God exists.

"Just once wouldn't it be nice to prove the existance of the Flying Spaghetti Monster? To feel His Warm, Holy, Noodly Goodness flowing through you? Well here is an attempt to demonstrate His Noodly Existance!"

Quote:
But first consider this. If a person opposes even the possibility of there being a God, then any evidence can be rationalized or explained away.

Eh?! Excuse me?! What if there IS no evidence?

Quote:
It is like if someone refuses to believe that people have walked on the moon, then no amount of information is going to change their thinking. Photographs of astronauts walking on the moon, interviews with the astronauts, moon rocks...all the evidence would be worthless, because the person has already concluded that people cannot go to the moon.

No, dipshit, because we HAVE photographs, physical evidence etc. of that... not for gods.

Quote:
When it comes to the possibility of God's existence, the Bible says that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they have suppressed the truth about God.1 On the other hand, for those who want to know God if He is there, He says, "You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you."2 Before you look at the facts surrounding God's existence, ask yourself, If God does exist, would I want to know Him?

Okay, then the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster says that there are no a-Pastafarians... next...

Quote:
1. Does God exist? Throughout history, in all cultures of the world, people have been convinced there is a God.
Billions of people, who represent diverse sociological, intellectual, emotional, educational makeups...believe that there is a Creator, a God to be worshipped. Now, the fact that so many people believe something certainly doesn't make it true. But when so many people through the ages are so personally convinced that God exists, can one say with absolute confidence that they are all mistaken?

More bullshit, and begging the question. In my not-so-humble opinion (and by the way, I 1] used to be a Christian and 2] am studying anthropology at UC Davis), supernaturalism is the most systematically perpetrated and perpetuated delusion humanity has ever visited upon ourselves. So YES, they are all wrong: all theists. SINCERELY wrong, yes of course, but no less SEVERELY wrong.

Quote:
"Anthropological research has indicated that among the farthest and most remote primitive people today, there is a universal belief in God. And in the earliest histories and legends of people all around the world, the original concept was of one God, who was the Creator. An original high God seems once to have been in their consciousness even in those societies which are today polytheistic."3

And they quote... wait for it... A PASTOR OF COURSE! Hmm, I'm sure he's read from all the greats in the field of course: just off the top of my head, Malinowski, Geertz, Durkheim, Douglas... no? Yeah, thought not. Supposing this nonsense about monotheism was true (it isn't AFAICT) so WHAT?! If everyone believed in the same invisible friend that wouldn't make it true any more than the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Quote:
2. Does God exist? The complexity of our planet points to a deliberate Designer who not only created our universe, but sustains it today.
Many examples showing God's design could be given, possibly with no end. But here are a few:
The Earth...its size is perfect. The Earth's size and corresponding gravity holds a thin layer of mostly nitrogen and oxygen gases, only extending about 50 miles above the Earth's surface. If Earth were smaller, an atmosphere would be impossible, like the planet Mercury. If Earth were larger, its atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, like Jupiter.4 Earth is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere of the right mixture of gases to sustain plant, animal and human life.
The Earth is located the right distance from the sun. Consider the temperature swings we encounter, roughly -30 degrees to +120 degrees. If the Earth were any further away from the sun, we would all freeze. Any closer and we would burn up. Even a fractional variance in the Earth's position to the sun would make life on Earth impossible. The Earth remains this perfect distance from the sun while it rotates around the sun at a speed of nearly 67,000 mph. It is also rotating on its axis, allowing the entire surface of the Earth to be properly warmed and cooled every day.

And clearly, this COULDN'T be due to natural processes which we're too lazy to investigate so goddidit... wow, guess all those sciuntistisms are just snortin' crack with the devil, huh? Freezing... take it these guys haven't been to Antarctica? And heat... well, I think it gets pretty hot right here in California's Central Valley, but it can't hold a candle to the Rub al-Khali (Empty Quarter) of the Arabian Peninsula. The earth has also been through multiple ice ages at widely variant times in its history (those from 2.5 mya to ~10 kya being only the most recent), as well as warming periods. So rather than the earth being "fine-tuned" to life I think it's more the case that the earth simply IS, and when it goes into extreme change life has to catch up- and quite often there're extinctions.

Quote:
And our moon is the perfect size and distance from the Earth for its gravitational pull. The moon creates important ocean tides and movement so ocean waters do not stagnate, and yet it restrains our massive oceans from spilling over across the continents.5

It's also in a decaying orbit, slipping just a little further from the earth every year. Seriously, this is just ridiculous... once again, goddidit is the answer for things they could actually INVESTIGATE.

Quote:
Water...colorless, odorless and without taste, and yet no living thing can survive without it. Plants, animals and human beings consist mostly of water (about two-thirds of the human body is water). You'll see why the characteristics of water are uniquely suited to life:

Yawn... again, WHY pray tell does this add up to a deity? Carbon is also necessary for life, even more so, so HOW do we get from necessary-prerequisites to deity/ies? Water is formed naturally from two Hydrogen atoms and one Oxygen atom- no miracles there.

Quote:
It has an unusually high boiling point and freezing point. Water allows us to live in an environment of fluctuating temperature changes, while keeping our bodies a steady 98.6 degrees.

Water is a universal solvent. This property of water means that thousands of chemicals, minerals and nutrients can be carried throughout our bodies and into the smallest blood vessels.6

Water is also chemically inert. Without affecting the makeup of the substances it carries, water enables food, medicines and minerals to be absorbed and used by the body.

Water has a unique surface tension. Water in plants can therefore flow upward against gravity, bringing life-giving water and nutrients to the top of even the tallest trees.

Water freezes from the top down and floats, so fish can live in the winter.

Ninety-seven percent of the Earth's water is in the oceans. But on our Earth, there is a system designed which removes salt from the water and then distributes that water throughout the globe. Evaporation takes the ocean waters, leaving the salt, and forms clouds which are easily moved by the wind to disperse water over the land, for vegetation, animals and people. It is a system of purification and supply that sustains life on this planet, a system of recycled and reused water.7

As stated...

Quote:
The human brain...simultaneously processes an amazing amount of information. Your brain takes in all the colors and objects you see, the temperature around you, the pressure of your feet against the floor, the sounds around you, the dryness of your mouth, even the texture of this article in your hand. Your brain registers emotional responses, thoughts and memories. At the same time your brain keeps track of the ongoing functions of your body like your breathing pattern, eyelid movement, hunger and movement of the muscles in your hands.

The human brain processes more than a million messages a second.8 Your brain weighs the importance of all this data, filtering out the relatively unimportant. This screening function is what allows you to focus and operate effectively in your world. A brain that deals with more than a million pieces of information every second, while evaluating its importance and allowing you to act on the most pertinent information...can we say mere chance brought about such an astounding organ?

When NASA launches a shuttle mission, it is assumed a monkey didn't write the plan, but intelligent and knowledgeable minds. How does one explain the existence of the human brain? Only a mind more intelligent and knowledgeable than humanity could have created the human brain.

Again, begging the question. Actually monkeys ARE quite intelligent (just wanted to point that out), but WHY couldn't this be due to cumulative processes that facilitate our survival?

Quote:
3. Does God exist? Mere "chance" is not an adequate explanation of creation.
Imagine looking at Mount Rushmore, in which the likenesses of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt are carved. Could you ever believe that it came about by chance? Given infinite time, wind, rain and chance, it is still hard to believe something like that, tied to history, was randomly formed in the side of a mountain. Common sense tells us that people planned and skillfully carved those figures.
This article only touches on a few amazing aspects of our world: the Earth's position to the sun, some properties of water, one organ in the human body. Could any of these have come about by chance?

Again, begging the question... this is getting really old. No, they DIDN'T come about by chance but RATHER, by virtue of innate, cumulative properties! Christ, it's not THAT hard!

Quote:
The distinguished astronomer Sir Frederick Hoyle showed how amino acids randomly coming together in a human cell is mathematically absurd. Sir Hoyle illustrated the weakness of "chance" with the following analogy. "What are the chances that a tornado might blow through a junkyard containing all the parts of a 747, accidentally assemble them into a plane, and leave it ready for take-off? The possibilities are so small as to be negligible even if a tornado were to blow through enough junkyards to fill the whole universe!"9

Oh please... of course they'd pop this one. Please show me specifically HOW these two are equivalent? Plain truth is Hoyle was just fuckin' WRONG, and ignorant to boot.

Quote:
When one considers the intricacies of our life and universe, it is reasonable to think that an intelligent, loving Creator provided for everything we need for life. The Bible describes God as the author and sustainer of life.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster loves me, this I know, because His Holy Noodly Appendage tells me so... little ones to Him belong, they are pasta-less but He is Long...

Quote:
4. Does God exist? Humankind's inherent sense of right and wrong cannot be biologically explained. There arises in all of us, of any culture, universal feelings of right and wrong. Even a thief gets upset and feels wronged when someone steals from him. If someone violently grabs a child from a family and rapes that child, there is an anger and revulsion and a rage to confront that act as evil, regardless of the culture. Where did we get this sense of wrongness? How do we explain a universal law in the conscience of all people that says murder for fun is wrong?
And in areas like courage, dying for a cause, love, dignity, duty and compassion, where did these come from? If people are merely products of physical evolution, "survival of the fittest," why do we sacrifice for each other? Where did we get this inner sense of right and wrong? Our conscience can best be explained by a loving Creator who cares about the decisions and harmony of humanity.

As stated, but let's run with this one: Ever considered an ant? Why does a single, asexual female ant worker toil for the good of the colony? Oh, THAT'S right... because she's PART of the colony... so maybe it benefits ants to make INDIVIDUAL sacrifices for collective good? So maybe it benefits HUMANS to make individual sacrifices for collective good? Say I'm willing to get in the way of an armed madman, a raging beast or a careening truck and thus save the lives of say, three small children who will go on to possibly reproduce (hell, I'd do it for one), how pray tell is that inexplicable by evolution?! Would I not be making a "noble" (human semantic term) sacrifice for the GROUP at a cost to myself?! Please, this is so common sense... Of COURSE people don't want people to abduct, rape and murder their children; if they didn't care they wouldn't be protecting their reproductive investment, now would they? Evolution does us one better, though: not only do we react against the prospect of this happening to our OWN children, not only are we willing to sacrifice ourselves for them, but we are in fact, as a general rule, willing to sacrifice for OTHER people's children: so once again we see the collective fitness of the group advanced even with individual sacrifices.

I don't buy this universal morality bullshit, though: as far as murdering for fun, I'd invite them to consider the wanton acts of genocide enacted in the bible and in fact, all throughout history to our own time (Rwanda, Darfur).

Quote:
5. Does God exist? God not only has revealed Himself in what can be observed in nature, and in human life, but He has even more specifically shown Himself in the Bible.
God's thoughts, personality, and attitudes can only be known if God chooses to reveal them. All else would be human speculation. We are at a loss if God does not wish to be known. But God wants us to know Him and has told us in the Bible all we need to know about His character and how to relate to Him. This makes the reliability of the Bible an important consideration.
Archaeological findings continue to confirm rather than refute the accuracy of the Bible. For example, an archeological find in northern Israel in August 1993 confirmed the existence of King David, author of many of the Psalms in the Bible.10 The Dead Sea Scrolls and other archaeological discoveries continue to substantiate the historical accuracy of the Bible.

Haha, Garden of Eden?! Noah flood?! Exodus?! Please...

Quote:
The Bible was written over a 1500-year span, by 40 different authors, in different locations and on separate continents, written in three different languages, covering diverse subject matters at different points in history.11 Yet there is an astounding consistency in its message. Throughout the entire Bible the same message appears:

God created the world we live in, and created us specifically to have a relationship with Him.
He deeply loves us.
We have sinned and are under God's judgment, in need of His forgiveness.
God provided a way for our sins to be forgiven.
He asks us to receive His forgiveness and have a relationship with Him that will last eternally.
Along with this central script, the Bible specifically reveals God's character. Psalm 145 is a typical summary of God's personality, thoughts and feelings toward us. If you want to know God, here He is.

6. Does God exist? Unlike any other revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the clearest, most specific picture of God.
Why Jesus? Look throughout the major world religions and you'll find that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God. Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus apart from all the others. He said God exists and you're looking at Him. Though He talked about His Father in heaven, it was not from the position of separation, but of very close union, unique to all humankind. Jesus said that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father, anyone who believed in Him, believed in the Father.
He said, "I am the light of the world, he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."12 He claimed attributes belonging only to God: to be able to forgive people of their sin, free them from habits of sin, give people a more abundant life and give them eternal life in heaven. Unlike other teachers who focused people on their words, Jesus pointed people to himself. He did not say, "follow my words and you will find truth." He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me."13

What proof did Jesus give for claiming to be divine? He did what people can't do. Jesus performed miracles. He healed people...blind, crippled, deaf, even raised a couple of people from the dead. He had power over objects...created food out of thin air, enough to feed crowds of several thousand people. He performed miracles over nature...walked on top of a lake, commanding a raging storm to stop for some friends. People everywhere followed Jesus, because He constantly met their needs, doing the miraculous. He said if you do not want to believe what I'm telling you, you should at least believe in me based on the miracles you're seeing.14

What did Jesus reveal about God's personality? What about God's thoughts, expectations and His feelings toward humankind? Jesus Christ showed God to be gentle, loving, aware of our self-centeredness and shortcomings, yet deeply wanting a relationship with us. Jesus revealed that although God views us as sinners, worthy of His punishment, His love for us ruled and God came up with a different plan. God would have His Son receive the punishment for our sin. And Jesus willingly accepted this plan.

Jesus was tortured with a whip of nine sharp-tipped ends. A "crown" of two-inch thorns was pressed into his head. Then they secured Him to a cross by pounding nails through His hands and feet into the wood. Given His other miracles, those nails didn't keep Him on the cross; His love for us did. Jesus died in our place so we could be forgiven. Of all the religions known to humanity, only through Jesus will you see God reaching toward humanity, providing a way for us to have a relationship with Him. Jesus proves a divine heart of love, meeting our needs, drawing us to Himself. Because of Jesus' death we can be forgiven, fully accepted by God and genuinely loved by God. God says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."15 This is God, in action.

The most conclusive proof that Jesus is equal to God was Jesus' most closely scrutinized miracle - His own resurrection from the dead. Jesus said that three days after His burial He would come back to life. On the third day after His crucifixion, the almost two-ton boulder in front of His tomb was catapulted up a slope.16 The guard of well-trained Roman soldiers saw a blinding light and an angel. The tomb was empty, except for the burial clothes that had been wrapped around Jesus' body. Over the years, legal, historical and logical analysis has been applied to Jesus' resurrection and the most feasible conclusion still is that Jesus rose from the dead.

Does God exist? If you want to know, investigate Jesus Christ. We're told that "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."17

Do you want to begin a relationship with God and actually know you are accepted by Him?

This is your decision, no coercion here. But if you want to be forgiven by God and come into a relationship with Him, you can do so right now by asking Him to forgive you and come into your life. Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door [of your heart] and knock. He who hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him [or her]."18 If you want to do this, but aren't sure how to put it into words, this may help: "Jesus, thank you for dying for my sins. You know my life and that I need to be forgiven. I ask you to forgive me right now and come into my life. Thank you that you want a relationship with me. Amen."

God views your relationship with Him as permanent. Referring to all those who believe in Him, Jesus Christ said of us, "I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand."19

So, does God exist? Looking at all these facts, one can conclude that a loving God does exist and can be known in an intimate, personal way. If you need more information about Jesus' claim to divinity, or about God's existence, or if you have similar important questions, please email us.

The rest of this is more pious nonsensical bullshit: I reject the Christian conception of sin as the load of crap that it is, so why would I need a saviour? I don't believe in gods or spirits or miracles, so ancient hagiographic miracle stories about Jesus (who never existed AFAICT), are also unimpressive. Jesus claimed to be divine- so WHAT?! I can claim I get great action from Jessica Alba every night but that doesn't make it true; I can claim that I'M DIVINE but that doesn't make it true.

So in conclusion, boys and girls... the Earth is intelijuntly desined and the Keebler Elf baked for your fiber so you could eat cookies with Him forever amen! But if you don't repent and try to get fat you'll BURN at the BOTTOM OF THE COOKIE TREE FOREVER, making cookies but NEVER GETTING TO EAT ANY!!![/i]


Rigor_OMortis
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

My response to the article, at my own article space:
http://www.ixiancorp.com/users/rigoromortis/article20060622.htm

Hope that satisifes reader needs.

Inquisition - "The flames are all long gone, but the pain lingers on..."
http://rigoromortis.blogspot.com/


Anonymous
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

the 6 reasons

What have we got then...

1. "A zillion microsoft users can't be wrong."
2. "God cannot not exist, seriously."
3. "Really, he definitely cannot not exist."
4. "If you disagree then you approve of raping babies."
5. "Stop being so closed-minded about the bible."
6. "Christianity is better than other religions because Christianity says so."


Saganite
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

HA HA HA! and another HA! for the road. given infinite time and weathering, do I think that mount rushmore could occur naturally? Absofuckinglutely. That's why it's INFINITY you dumbass. given an infinity of time, MY face would fucking appear there. as well as a visage like that most christians seem to think god/jesus looks like. I'm sure that when it eventually did, millions would take it as irrefutable evidence of the existance of god. and given infinite junkyards and twisters, you'd have a fucking FLEET of 747's before too long.

I vote YES http//underdogryan.blogspot.com/2005/09/should-men-fling-poo.html


peppermint
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

1. Does God exist? Throughout history, in all cultures of the world, people have been convinced there is a God.

Right....and people have believed in all kinds of superstitious nonsense. What happened to development and figuring shit out? These silly theists and their convulted logic... Laughing out loud

On a side note, this kid (happened to be an asshole) in my Hebrew school once used this argument. When I challenged it, he told me I needed a life. Nice comeback.

The Earth...its size is perfect.

Then why are we overpopulated?

Water...colorless, odorless and without taste, and yet no living thing can survive without it.

This only further proves the concept of evolution, you nutcase. Everything has to have it to survive because that's part of what we're made up of. Duh.

Only a mind more intelligent and knowledgeable than humanity could have created the human brain.

Or you know...it evolved.

4. Does God exist? Humankind's inherent sense of right and wrong cannot be biologically explained.

Not every human has a concept of right and wrong. What about sociopaths? It's all in the emotional responses and what we're "raised" to believe among other things. Most of us naturally feel empathy for other humans and creatures with human-like qualities because without it, we'd all kill each other and fail as a species.

We tend to that anyway...so maybe we do fail. Whatever. This doesn't prove your point.

I'm bored with this. Next innocous argument...

*Our world is far more complex than the rigid structure we want to assign to it, and we will probably never fully understand it.*

"Those believers who are sophisticated enough to understand the paradox have found exciting ways to bend logic into pretzel shapes in order to defend the indefensible." - Hamby


Rigor_OMortis
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6 reasons for us heathens to believe in God

Well, I wrote a small response to that, and I'll repost some ideas here, as a response to the last poster (peppermint):

1. it's not only that, but there's more... people have NOT been convinced that there was A god, but that there were MANY gods... which one(s) is(are) the real one(s) ?

2. Mistaken cause and effect. Is the Earth perfect for us because we are like that, or are we like that because of the way Earth is ?

3. so what does the necessity of water prove exactly... ?

4. Not really... how about more intelligences lower than the human one, but working together ?

5. the sense of right and wrong CAN be biologically explained... you just have to learn more biology for that Eye-wink

Inquisition - "The flames are all long gone, but the pain lingers on..."
http://rigoromortis.blogspot.com/