Summations Only

Phat, you could argue whatever the hell you like, but it's just waffling about nonsense - you know, the 'how many angels can fit on a pinhead' stuff. Why is what you are saying any different?Edited by Tangle, : No reason given.

Are you suggesting that the faith and belief forum is where waffling about nonsense is an acceptable replacement for an argument.

They do if they they post waffle and nonsense. Sheesh, are your arguments reduced to nit-picking grammar now? ...... Here's a superfluous one for then next time. ? Feel free to stick it where you like. I have a suggestion if you don't know where.

Because that's what was taught in religious schools and from the pulpit and as far as I'm aware, still is. Hence all this thanking god nonsense.

Christianity does it all the time. Be good and you'll go to heaven. It's a deal, if you're saying that this God is not obliged to keep his part of the bargain, that's not the message shouted from the pulpit and a lot of people are going to be very disapointed.

You can't have an objective God Phat because you have absolutely no evidence of a God's existence - you can only have a subjective belief. If it was objective, it wouldn't be a belief, it would be a fact.

If only those promises that God makes that can be proven to be honoured are allowed into this discussion, it's going to be an extremely short discussion.No matter; a promise is a promise regardless of outcome - proven or otherwise, it places an obligation on the promiser.

Except that that makes god a liar.

This is silly. For thousands of years pretty much everyone on earth has believed in god and gods of various kinds with various features. Gods are massively easy to swallow. We really want god(s) to exist because they provide all the simple answers to the difficult questions people have about why they're here and what happens after they die.You have it the wrong way round, the difficult thing to swallow is that we're just another animal with a short and fixed lifespan and that this is all there is for us. We have to make the most of what we have now. In other words, we have to grow up and put aside childish beliefs.

And we know why that is, it's because we are an evolved ape with all the base instincts of territorialism, competition, carnivourness and survival that you believe your god inflicted on the world.What you actaully have to explain is not all this biblical nonsense but why, having made us this way, he then commands us to be different.

I'm asking you why the loving god you believe in would design in all the flaws that make us, then tell us that we need to be different. What's the reasoning behind that logic?

I've heard lots of people say this but when I ask 'what does he say?' And 'how do you know it's Him?' I never get a real answer. Can you give me one?

"Use the Force, Luke" Obi Wan Kenobi

Yes, yes, yes and it's a biological trait shared by many large brained animals. It's notably lacking in individuals we call pychopaths and sociopaths. It's got sod all to do with god unless you believe that all other instincts, emotions and feelings like hate, violence, competiveness, xenophobia, acquisitiveness etc, etc, come from him too.Edited by Tangle, : No reason given.

How many different people did god use to write the bible?The bible is stuffed full of stories - creation myths, talking snakes, global floods, parting seas, pillars of salt, resurrections - good grief man, most of them even predate the bible and are present in many other traditions and cultures. We made up stories to explain the things we didn't understand. These are childish myths endlessly repeated even now in the modern day story telling of the movies.