SAM HARRIS Posted August 22, 2008 Author Posted August 22, 2008 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...
Hazed and Amuzed Posted August 22, 2008 Posted August 22, 2008 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... So being that you never educated yourself in astronomy or bio-chemistry you have no opinion of life on other planets? It's just an opinion.
Dante Posted August 22, 2008 Posted August 22, 2008 I believe anything supported by good evidence and reasonableness. Although I think 99% of religions are laughable on lots of levels, I do think any that do not believe in a supernatural being watching, saving, coming back or whatever are much more reasonable. That said, we have a guy working for us named Jesus. I'll keep my eye on him just in case fairy tales do come true.
SAM HARRIS Posted August 22, 2008 Author Posted August 22, 2008 I see you have seen fit to modify your initial post, turning from your initial braggadocio, and palpable desire for getting personally petted. Your so-called revelations have been discussed for centuries. Your cult need to read history. If you would like to read something about Man's doubt of God, read the Book of Job and the Psalms of David. Your group is SO last Millinium. Oh - keep away from the instant drink aisle when you shop, and watch out for Comets... 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.
SAM HARRIS Posted August 22, 2008 Author Posted August 22, 2008 Nooo. Seriously? sorry master educated, its just a typo man. relax
stuckincincy Posted August 22, 2008 Posted August 22, 2008 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. Umm...the Ten Commandments (and there were more) seems to have gotten everything right if you wanted to have a world full of healthy and productive people. We all question. Those who have never rebelled against God or at some point in their lives shaken their fist in the face of Heaven have never encountered God at all. We will converse further.
Hazed and Amuzed Posted August 22, 2008 Posted August 22, 2008 Those who have never rebelled against God or at some point in their lives shaken their fist in the face of Heaven have never encountered God at all. That is a very telling statement and I agree with it 100%.
SAM HARRIS Posted August 22, 2008 Author Posted August 22, 2008 Umm...the Ten Commandments (and there were more) seems to have gotten everything right if you wanted to have a world full of healthy and productive people. We all question. Those who have never rebelled against God or at some point in their lives shaken their fist in the face of Heaven have never encountered God at all. We will converse further. 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.
Andrew in CA Posted August 22, 2008 Posted August 22, 2008 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. Try reading the Gospels, then. Jesus talks about the importance of seeing the forest for the trees and not obsessing over tedious rules, but rather living life morally.
SAM HARRIS Posted August 23, 2008 Author Posted August 23, 2008 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...
Dwight Drane Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 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... Right....the character and accomplishments of an influential person could never be given an accurate account 60-90 years down the line. Hell, I just read that Hitler loved ice cream and used to give little Jewish children horsie rides on his knee until he was tuckered out. Then they would have some warm milk and read stories of how we are all brothers that should love each other. Hey....I can't prove Jesus is God just like you can't prove your sister didn't give me a BJ in 8th grade. Sometimes you just need to have a little faith. How'd the orthodontia turn out by the way?
PromoTheRobot Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 I have a customer who stiffed me for a couple of hundred dollars worth of work. I've been chasing him for over year now and he keeps telling me he didn't get my e-mail or invoice in the mail. etc, and he will get a check in the mail to me right away. I'm still waiting to get paid. By the way, this guy is a pastor of a baptist church. It not fair to paint people with a broad brush, but I have to say some of the sleaziest, most dishonest people I know are ones who proclaim themselves as devout Christians. It seems that many of them figure it's okay because they aren't perfect and God will forgive them anyway. PTR
Dwight Drane Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 I have a customer who stiffed me for a couple of hundred dollars worth of work. I've been chasing him for over year now and he keeps telling me he didn't get my e-mail or invoice in the mail. etc, and he will get a check in the mail to me right away. I'm still waiting to get paid. By the way, this guy is a pastor of a baptist church. It not fair to paint people with a broad brush, but I have to say some of the sleaziest, most dishonest people I know are ones who proclaim themselves as devout Christians. It seems that many of them figure it's okay because they aren't perfect and God will forgive them anyway. PTR I agree with that fact. I think too many people end up bashing the idea of God because they see the faults and deception in organized religion. People suck, point blank. People that claim they are close to god yet still find a way to screw someone else over, suck even more. I don't go to church, but I won't fault someone for going. I do have so little trust and respect for our own species that there has to be a god shaking his head going, "What the F did I do that for?" Jesus says in the bible to go into your closet in peace away from the multitudes to pray. He is not a fan of organized religion and even proclaims how all the churches will fail him. I look at his message as pretty simple. I like to think of life as a toy that needs to be put together and we are all children. If we are so focused on putting the toy together that we lose focus on the reason we have that toy, and tell our "dad" to "Get out of my face! I can figure it out on my own!" Then dad is probably going to back off, leave the room, and let you get frustrated on your own. Now if we look at the toy and quickly understand that we cannot handle figuring out the toy on our own and tug on dad's shirt and hand him the toy so he can help us....dad is probably going to smile and do whatever he can to get that toy working right for us. He probably will even have time to play with us once we put it together. There isn't much to figure out once you hand the toy over to dad. Just watch out for the crabby kids that think they can figure it out on their own. They eventually try to break your toy to make things fair.
Pete Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 I have a customer who stiffed me for a couple of hundred dollars worth of work. I've been chasing him for over year now and he keeps telling me he didn't get my e-mail or invoice in the mail. etc, and he will get a check in the mail to me right away. I'm still waiting to get paid. By the way, this guy is a pastor of a baptist church. It not fair to paint people with a broad brush, but I have to say some of the sleaziest, most dishonest people I know are ones who proclaim themselves as devout Christians. It seems that many of them figure it's okay because they aren't perfect and God will forgive them anyway. PTR The two biggest douche bags I have ever met in my life are Christian zealots constantly preaching down to people. The two douchebags are the most unscrupulous human beings I have ever encountered. They are truly pathetic
Marv's Neighbor Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 So does Hannah Montana. NOT FOR 48 YEARS!
DieHardFan Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 I believe anything supported by good evidence and reasonableness.To NOT believe that God (or a higher power) exists (or logic could say existed; an unlikely scenario for an omnipotent being) is entirely unreasonable. The fact that we are communicating is evidence that we exist. If there is/was no God please provide any reasonable explanation or good evidence as to how we came to exist. If it is indeed the Big Bang that started the events that led to our existence what supplied the raw materials for the event? Please spare us any flippant responses. The Apostle Paul started out as a fervent persecutor of Christians [1 Timothy 1:12-17]. Consider Christianity with the same zeal you are exhibiting in this thread and with an open mind and there is hope for you also.
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 I just go with the assumption that no one really knows what the hell he/she is talking about, including me. I agree... Except for the me part.
SAM HARRIS Posted August 23, 2008 Author Posted August 23, 2008 To NOT believe that God (or a higher power) exists (or logic could say existed; an unlikely scenario for an omnipotent being) is entirely unreasonable. The fact that we are communicating is evidence that we exist. If there is/was no God please provide any reasonable explanation or good evidence as to how we came to exist. If it is indeed the Big Bang that started the events that led to our existence what supplied the raw materials for the event? Please spare us any flippant responses. The Apostle Paul started out as a fervent persecutor of Christians [1 Timothy 1:12-17]. Consider Christianity with the same zeal you are exhibiting in this thread and with an open mind and there is hope for you also. 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.
SAM HARRIS Posted August 23, 2008 Author Posted August 23, 2008 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!
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