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bigrobwoot · 2010-06-10, 10:17 PM

Wow, there's a lot there. I'm going to have to chip away at that tomorrow.

As for my beliefs: I'd say I'm somewhere between agnostic and atheist. Even in all of the creationism arguments, there are gaps. Gaps I will address tomorrow. But, to boil down into a hopefully short post my beliefs, I don't believe that there is one all-powerful being. At least not the one from the bible. Maybe something played a role in the creation of the universe, but it doesn't give a shit about us. If it does exist, it has made that abundantly clear. And if it does give a shit about us, then it is not powerful enough to stop all of the horrible things that happens to its followers.

One of my favorite quotes on the subject:

"Is God willing to prevent evil, but unable? Then He is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"
- Epicurus

That pretty much sums up my views on God. If he does exist, he is apathetic towards us, and I feel the same.

I don't think that following the bible, or any organized religion or religious text is healthy. Using the bible for an example, there are so many stories of miracles happening to God's followers, yet he couldn't do a damn thing to stop the holocaust. People lived to be 700+ years old, according to the bible, yet all evidence we have says that we are living longer now than we ever have. In fact, people used to die from old age in their 20's and 30's. That site KSTech posted has a lot I had never thought of, but for the sake of this conversation, I'll leave those out of it. I can't think of the many others I had a problem with when I used to go to church as a youngster.

The point is, followers of the bible come up with reasons why these exaggerations are okay, but then other parts of the bible need to be taken literally. It's all just so contradictory.

It's late, I feel like I'm babbling, but if you have anything else you want me to touch on in my personal beliefs, let me know. I'm an open book. Hell, conversations like this make me re-examine what I believe, since I rarely challenge it anymore.

2010-06-10, 10:17 PM	#98
bigrobwoot EJ251 Real Name: Rob Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Reno Posts: 679 Car: 2019 CBS WRX Premium Class: Middle Shoot for the moon, because even if you miss, you'll still be among the stars	Wow, there's a lot there. I'm going to have to chip away at that tomorrow. As for my beliefs: I'd say I'm somewhere between agnostic and atheist. Even in all of the creationism arguments, there are gaps. Gaps I will address tomorrow. But, to boil down into a hopefully short post my beliefs, I don't believe that there is one all-powerful being. At least not the one from the bible. Maybe something played a role in the creation of the universe, but it doesn't give a shit about us. If it does exist, it has made that abundantly clear. And if it does give a shit about us, then it is not powerful enough to stop all of the horrible things that happens to its followers. One of my favorite quotes on the subject: "Is God willing to prevent evil, but unable? Then He is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" - Epicurus That pretty much sums up my views on God. If he does exist, he is apathetic towards us, and I feel the same. I don't think that following the bible, or any organized religion or religious text is healthy. Using the bible for an example, there are so many stories of miracles happening to God's followers, yet he couldn't do a damn thing to stop the holocaust. People lived to be 700+ years old, according to the bible, yet all evidence we have says that we are living longer now than we ever have. In fact, people used to die from old age in their 20's and 30's. That site KSTech posted has a lot I had never thought of, but for the sake of this conversation, I'll leave those out of it. I can't think of the many others I had a problem with when I used to go to church as a youngster. The point is, followers of the bible come up with reasons why these exaggerations are okay, but then other parts of the bible need to be taken literally. It's all just so contradictory. It's late, I feel like I'm babbling, but if you have anything else you want me to touch on in my personal beliefs, let me know. I'm an open book. Hell, conversations like this make me re-examine what I believe, since I rarely challenge it anymore.