Saturday, March 02, 2002
An Opining Rebuttal
Ahhh, someone with some valid comments (see last posting comments), thank you for your participation. I was asked to seek God's presence and ask him some questions for myself. I could no more seek the counsel of the Easter Bunny as I don't believe any such being exists. Therein lies the problem and why I ask those who believe to provide their reasons for belief and how they resolve some somewhat ridculous assertions made by religion and the bible. It is said that we are made in his image yes, so to go full circle, did Adam and Eve have navels? A ridiculous question yes but it if you believe that Adam and Eve were indeed the first created it has some implications. If yes why would they need them? If not does that imply they were not perfect human beings and hence god is imperfect? I'm immensely curious by the comment that men were not created to experience death?
I was looking for some stats on belief in things like angels, ghosts, etc as I read in the newspaper not long ago that a majority of people do indeed believe in these things. I am not one of them, I don't believe in ghosts, angels, devils, E.T, horoscopes, reflexology, psychics, nor that Uri Gellar can bend spoons or anything of the ilk. There were 2 psychics on Conspiracy Theory the other night and one skeptic. The skeptic asked one simple question the entire night, why don't you go to the horsetrack? The reply ... we don't use our god given powers for personal gain. Now that's funny.
God reveals himself to us through others, hmmmmmmm. Wouldn't an ominpotent being come up with a better method than that? If he really wanted to be known, and I don't fathom why he wouldn't if he existed, wouldn't he take the more obvious path like appearing to everyone? The fact is Christianity spread thru the world (not everywhere yet though) because Christian nations conquered the earth (ie... England, Spain etc.). Does anyone honestly believe that god would be present in North America if England, France, and Spain hadn't landed here? Was he here before that? Of course not, the Native Americans had their own belief systems that most often did not include one deity.
It was also asked if I could come up with something more substantial than the story of Noah for disbelief in the bible as the word of god. I could come up with pages and pages but I think I'd lose whomever was reading out of boredom. I honestly believe that those who take the word of the bible literally are seriously deluded. For sake of argument though, here's some thrilling parts. "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property (Ex. 21:20-21, NIV)." Isn't that nice eh ... Since I'm more into the science aspect here in this space let's quote some biblical science ... The earth has ends or edges (Job 37:3), The earth has four corners (Isa. 11:12, Rev. 7:1), The world's language didn't evolve but appeared suddenly (Gen. 11:6-9), unicorns exist in the following passages (Deut. 33:17, Psalms 22:21. 29:6, Job 39:9-10). These examples are presented for breviety. I can get into some stories later if we want, Jonah swallowed by a whale?
Prayer is communion with god ... sure, I'll buy into that. But the truth is that alot of people pray for themselves or their loved ones to be saved from this calamity or another. What's the point if the outcome has already been decided? Doesn't god have a supposed plan? And isn't heaven a better place? I'm confused and alas, sidetracked LOL.
Ahhh, someone with some valid comments (see last posting comments), thank you for your participation. I was asked to seek God's presence and ask him some questions for myself. I could no more seek the counsel of the Easter Bunny as I don't believe any such being exists. Therein lies the problem and why I ask those who believe to provide their reasons for belief and how they resolve some somewhat ridculous assertions made by religion and the bible. It is said that we are made in his image yes, so to go full circle, did Adam and Eve have navels? A ridiculous question yes but it if you believe that Adam and Eve were indeed the first created it has some implications. If yes why would they need them? If not does that imply they were not perfect human beings and hence god is imperfect? I'm immensely curious by the comment that men were not created to experience death?
I was looking for some stats on belief in things like angels, ghosts, etc as I read in the newspaper not long ago that a majority of people do indeed believe in these things. I am not one of them, I don't believe in ghosts, angels, devils, E.T, horoscopes, reflexology, psychics, nor that Uri Gellar can bend spoons or anything of the ilk. There were 2 psychics on Conspiracy Theory the other night and one skeptic. The skeptic asked one simple question the entire night, why don't you go to the horsetrack? The reply ... we don't use our god given powers for personal gain. Now that's funny.
God reveals himself to us through others, hmmmmmmm. Wouldn't an ominpotent being come up with a better method than that? If he really wanted to be known, and I don't fathom why he wouldn't if he existed, wouldn't he take the more obvious path like appearing to everyone? The fact is Christianity spread thru the world (not everywhere yet though) because Christian nations conquered the earth (ie... England, Spain etc.). Does anyone honestly believe that god would be present in North America if England, France, and Spain hadn't landed here? Was he here before that? Of course not, the Native Americans had their own belief systems that most often did not include one deity.
It was also asked if I could come up with something more substantial than the story of Noah for disbelief in the bible as the word of god. I could come up with pages and pages but I think I'd lose whomever was reading out of boredom. I honestly believe that those who take the word of the bible literally are seriously deluded. For sake of argument though, here's some thrilling parts. "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property (Ex. 21:20-21, NIV)." Isn't that nice eh ... Since I'm more into the science aspect here in this space let's quote some biblical science ... The earth has ends or edges (Job 37:3), The earth has four corners (Isa. 11:12, Rev. 7:1), The world's language didn't evolve but appeared suddenly (Gen. 11:6-9), unicorns exist in the following passages (Deut. 33:17, Psalms 22:21. 29:6, Job 39:9-10). These examples are presented for breviety. I can get into some stories later if we want, Jonah swallowed by a whale?
Prayer is communion with god ... sure, I'll buy into that. But the truth is that alot of people pray for themselves or their loved ones to be saved from this calamity or another. What's the point if the outcome has already been decided? Doesn't god have a supposed plan? And isn't heaven a better place? I'm confused and alas, sidetracked LOL.
