SAM HARRIS

i apologize if i come across to strident. its just that science is the one tool where evidence and facts and good philosophy and a argument constrained by intellecual honesty is what we must use to find the truth and map reality with it. there is an argument to be won peacefully through conversation and i happen to think that this is also the case when it comes to a priori beliefs and imperical belief. for me its gotta b imperical when it comes to declaring truth that people should accept which the one thing faith does but without the imperical evidence. science is in the business of trying to find out where did life come from and scientists are humble enough to say u know what i dont know yet but lets keep looking and use all the tools of science to find out. in a sense i think u and i could agree if we use science to find that higher power or god. i am not a patent nonsense type of person but i try to be in these discussions which i think more people should be talking about what is true and what isnt. look at it from a perspective in a court room. would the answer "my finger prints and dna magically appeared" b acceptable? no so why is it in religion?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8dv7OUKjeE...feature=related here is ur answer.

yes louis pasteur put a end to spontaneous generation and how life cant just start but i would say i have no idea how life started. there r a # of theories with not much evidence within them but i wouldnt lie and say hey i know and use the god of the gaps argument. people say god must have done this when they dont understand certain things. also what specifically do u need for a missing link? i dont understand.

we dont respect peoples beliefs on anything in this world, we connect and marginalize with reasons and evidence not belief. u can believe whatever u want, doesnt make it true. thats the point.

that doesnt prove that we are all made of the same thing because the chromosomes other than 2,12 and 13 which are not similar but identical prove that in species the more complex it becomes that fusion happens within a species to form a new one. this happens through adaptation, diverse genetics within species and also through adaptation through random mutation, all of these take place today within viruses mutating into another. they are less complex so they obviously evolve quciker. but since humans and primates are much more complex and stronger genetically it takes thousands and thousands of years to evolve. the proof is simply how humans and primates split when chromosome 12 and 13 fused together to form a more stronger genetically and in molecular biology, species in homo-sapiens. the missing link can also be characterized within fossils such as homo-erectus and Neanderthal. here is another link to support evolution through the means of paleontology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal

first of all the big bang is something that is not accepeted whole heartedly among scientists. evolution however is. here is the proof. the primates have 48 chromonsomes humans have 46, 23 from the m and 23 from the f in chromosome 2 of human beings there is a fusion of chromosome 12 and 13 in primates. they are identical, these matches are found through all species of animals not just primates and humans that prove through geneaolgy we have common ancestory. here is a good link on the proof. watch the whole thing its very interesting!

die hard fan just turn the argument on to yourself, what if i told u through writing just like the bible that i saw george washington and he told me there are ten things i need to change about my life. would you think that is true? no. can u prove it didnt happen, no. this is the problem when trying to map reality with these questionable holy books. go bills!

I believe that something whatever u want to call started the universe but because there is no specific evidence to suggest exactly what it is i wont claim i know. the burden of proof is not on me but the one making the claim, christians jews and muslims are making claims that there is a god and this god however they name him has written this book the bible or other holy books. i am simply responding to the claim and saying there is no proof for the christian god. people dont fly in the air or raise from the dead or part the red sea. in fact lets for the sake of argument say that there is a god and he is taking interest in human events, morality and ethics. why doesnt god heal amputees or why does god let 5 year old girls drown during hurricane katrina, better yet if god is all-knowing or omniscient than how do we have free will. if he knows everything then everything is predetermined according to his will, so god is purposely sending people to hell. reasonable ground with all the evidence considered would suggest that something created all of this but be humble and admit we dont know what it is yet. all i am asking for is for people to use the same token when finding out if something is true and apply is to there religious claims.

jesus also indorces slavery in the bible and tells people they will burn in hell forever if they dont believe he is god and rose from the dead which sounds like the most unreasonable notion of redemption i have ever heard of. the gospels were also written 60-90 years after christs death. so i dont know what good reading the gospels does for giving proof for christs deity...

I agree if u mean man struggling with his ethical intuition but i think u need to read a little more than the ten commandments to say that the bible is a good way to have a productive society. the bible could be improved in 5 minutes when it comes to ethics... just read leviticus or deuteronomy. kill a woman if she isnt a virgin, kill homosexuals, kill someone if he calls god a different name, telling abraham he might have to sacrifice his child, this is stone age people writing things about how they interpret morality and ethics, they didnt know a damn thing about the reality of this world.

sorry master educated, its just a typo man. relax

i dont want to be recognized at all i just want people to seriously start thinking about these outlandish claims from the bible and other supposed holy books. i used to be a christian and i know the psalms of david. the old testament is one of the worst books on human morality ever. the killing never stops. its literally like children of the corn... its ok to question things, it doesnt take anything away from someone's humility.

im not eduacated enough in astronomy or bio-chemistry to suggest that there is life on other planets. i would say this though when someone says a higherpower or god what the hell do they mean? it seems like wishful thinking to put it lightly...

I believe anything supported by good evidence and reasonableness.

quoting the bible to support that jesus is god or there is a christian god is like quoting something is true about sherlock holmes... ITS FICTIONAL PEOPLE, U CANT LIVE IN A FISH OR HAVE TALKING DONKEYS WHICH ARE IN THE BIBLE!

there is truth and there is an argument to be won. should we let the muslims just believe whatever they want or should we question all claims with kindness and diligence. what is wrong with this. this conversation is worth having! i used to b a christian but changed my mind...

the point is we need to stop lying to our children about what we think we know and when really we dont. faith is the answer when there is no good reason, its the god of the gaps argument over and over. well i dont get it so god must have done this... its not a post to bate people but to get people to think for themselves unlike the crusades.

because what u believe matters. if i really believe that i won the lottery or in the boogie man there are severe consequences!

if i have faith that hulk hogan is going to raise my great grandfather from the dead how is that a good reason??????

the fact is u think jesus is coming back because a book told u so. sorry but if u told me superman was coming in the near future because a book told u so i think u might be called a idiot...

if god is simply not subject to human understanding then how do u know. ur argument is circular and contradicts itself...

lol

I couldnt agree more its just that these beliefs people have could cause ww3 one day if we dont start to scrutinize what is truth and what isnt...

lol