Zone1 Why is it so tough to believe in God?

[BreezeWood]

Exactly. Somebody gets it!

the periodic table of elements evolved and the extreme example of life evolved from them - life may have come first, the creator and programed its physiology is a possibility as life consists of both.

 

[Meriweather]

Funny that none of the Jews of Jesus' day expected their messiah to die on a tree without freeing his people.

Considering the fact they were focused on Nathan's prophecy, not the Moses prophecy, what's funny about it?

 

[Meriweather]

The evil that is done by men in the name of god

What about the good that has been done in the name of God? Evil is generally about power and wealth, not God.

 

[BreezeWood]

What about the good that has been done in the name of God?

in the name of their religions ...

there hasn't been any of grand proportions done by the desert dwellers than the persecution and victimization of the innocent through false and self serving commandments and their written document used as well by them for nefarious purposes.

 

[shockedcanadian]

in the name of their religions ...

there hasn't been any of grand proportions done by the desert dwellers than the persecution and victimization of the innocent through false and self serving commandments and their written document used as well by them for nefarious purposes.

There was a strong belief in G-d by the Founders of America and by faith in G-d and principles of liberty Commanded, they took a new, mid sized nation and built a world super power. Great inventions and social progress all from this book that "desert dwellers" shared. America didnt become the Soiviet system or N Korea, it became the most desired destination for humans everywhere on earth. Thus, your bias doesn't make sense, it's already been disproven really.

 

[frigidweirdo]

There was a strong belief in G-d by the Founders of America and by faith in G-d and principles of liberty Commanded, they took a new, mid sized nation and built a world super power. Great inventions and social progress all from this book that "desert dwellers" shared. America didnt become the Soiviet system or N Korea, it became the most desired destination for humans everywhere on earth. Thus, your bias doesn't make sense, it's already been disproven really.

America progressed because of what happened in England. The US would never have developed out of France or Spain, for example.

England made rights. Rights developed out of the king being weak and the lords wanting to take power from him. The way they did it turned into a quirk of politics and when the US took over rights, they made them more universal because they were angry at the monarchy.

Christianity helped, because Christianity is the pot of the religious world, Islam is tea and Judaism is coffee. You can't get high from them. Christianity is more about freedom, but it's always been used by the powerful to get what they want. Henry VIII helped, by moving to Protestantism which become more free than Catholicism.

A lot of things happened in English history to make the US be more free.

 

[JoeB131]

Joe, I've suggested to you before to study ancient history to learn how many Egyptian, Greek, and Roman gods came into being--and to learn how all of these are different from the One God. Knowledge grows and expands, as was pointed out using the analogy of physical science. Yet you cling (sometimes it seems cling desperately) to your "sky pixie".

Actually, I have. Most of them predate Yahweh. in fact, Yahweh himself wasn't the dominant god in the Levant in the Bronze Age. It was only when the Hebrews started a monotheistic religion based on Yahweh that we got the stupidity that is the Abrahamic Religions.

Of course, the problem with "One God" is that he becomes responsible for everything, good and bad. Not a problem for Bronze Age people, so much, but later groups needed someone to blame for the bad stuff, which is how Satan evolved.

Bottom line, if who "God" is depends on where and when you were born, then you have to question the whole thing.

Shrug. Read your own posts. You don't fear death--yet you hold a strong certainty everyone else does. You have no knowledge/experience of God, so all other knowledge/experiences you attribute to your belief in a "sky pixie". Most of us do not live in that that very small world world of pixies that limit one's knowledge of history to one's own small story with its own conclusions--which by definition are minute.

I've had plenty of knowledge of "God". God was a frustrated Lesbian in a habit, making my childhood a living hell. I suspected they were full of shyte even then.

Can it be done when someone tightly wraps you in a linen cloth?

Have you read what AI found while scanning the cloth?

You skipped right over the fact that Clement VII admitted it was a fake, didn't you?

If Jesus were wrapped up tightly in a linen, there wouldn't have been two perfect prints of his body. It would just be a lot of smudges.

Have you read what AI found while scanning the cloth?

Have you seen all the misinformation AI spreads?

 

[Meriweather]

You skipped right over the fact that Clement VII admitted it was a fake

Just as you skipped over the fact that later popes (like Sixtus IV) believed in the shroud was authentic? Not to mention skipping past the more unbelievable aspect of the Clement VII story is that he heard it from a bishop who said he heard a confession of someone who said the shroud was his own artwork? Priests--especially bishops/popes--never discuss what is said in confession because its certain excommunication. This had once again been emphasized in the Lateran Council of 1215.

Have you seen all the misinformation AI spreads?

Have you bothered to view all the recent information scientists and AI have discovered? This is not to argue that modern scientists, and AI (not to mention Pope Clement VII) cannot be wrong. I'm merely curious if you bothered to look more deeply into what is known today as what you knew/told about Pope Clement VII and the shroud was lacking as well.

 

[ding]

Is it because:

• Lack of belief we are lovable
• Lack of belief we are cared for
• Lack of belief God is an active agent in our lives
• Lack of belief we have a reason for being

What blocks people from believing in God? Why is it so hard to believe?

It's because they can't understand how suffering can exist if God is good. It would be like me arguing love can't exist because my heart was broken.

 

[alang1216]

Selection is the mechanism. That was square one, for the scientists.

Abiogenesis is proven. Just as star formation is proven.

Once there was no star, then there was. Star formation happened.

Abiogenesis happened. We have already more than proven that it happened.

Selection can only influence things that can replicate so that is not relevant.

Abiogenesis happened but how? Did a divine being do it? Did aliens do it? Did it happen here or only spread to earth?

 

[alang1216]

Considering the fact they were focused on Nathan's prophecy, not the Moses prophecy, what's funny about it?

Funny because the Moses prophecy, as relating to Jesus, was created by Christians, after Jesus.

 

[JoeB131]

Just as you skipped over the fact that later popes (like Sixtus IV) believed in the shroud was authentic? Not to mention skipping past the more unbelievable aspect of the Clement VII story is that he heard it from a bishop who said he heard a confession of someone who said the shroud was his own artwork? Priests--especially bishops/popes--never discuss what is said in confession because its certain excommunication. This had once again been emphasized in the Lateran Council of 1215.

Yes, we know the sanctity of the confessional is how the Church has hidden pedophila for generations, but that wasn't the point.

Someone said they faked it.

The cloth itself has been dated to the 14th century.

https://escholarship.org/content/qt6x77r7m1/qt6x77r7m1_noSplash_27e4e861ba6a3d1a6123cc1611ff6c48.pdf

Have you bothered to view all the recent information scientists and AI have discovered? This is not to argue that modern scientists, and AI (not to mention Pope Clement VII) cannot be wrong. I'm merely curious if you bothered to look more deeply into what is known today as what you knew/told about Pope Clement VII and the shroud was lacking as well.

I have looked into it.

It's a fraud.

 

[BreezeWood]

There was a strong belief in G-d by the Founders of America and by faith in G-d and principles of liberty Commanded, they took a new, mid sized nation and built a world super power. Great inventions and social progress all from this book that "desert dwellers" shared. America didnt become the Soiviet system or N Korea, it became the most desired destination for humans everywhere on earth. Thus, your bias doesn't make sense, it's already been disproven really.

the u s constitution is the initial secular national government made into law in world history they did everything they could who wrote the document to keep any and all religious documents from influencing the new gov't of the people.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion ...

what good have those religions done ... where were those religions during the colonial period but at the forefront of self enrichment at the expense of the native populations in every instance of recorded history.

 

[shockedcanadian]

America progressed because of what happened in England. The US would never have developed out of France or Spain, for example.

England made rights. Rights developed out of the king being weak and the lords wanting to take power from him. The way they did it turned into a quirk of politics and when the US took over rights, they made them more universal because they were angry at the monarchy.

Christianity helped, because Christianity is the pot of the religious world, Islam is tea and Judaism is coffee. You can't get high from them. Christianity is more about freedom, but it's always been used by the powerful to get what they want. Henry VIII helped, by moving to Protestantism which become more free than Catholicism.

A lot of things happened in English history to make the US be

the u s constitution is the initial secular national government made into law in world history they did everything they could who wrote the document to keep any and all religious documents from influencing the new gov't of the people.



what good have those religions done ... where were those religions during the colonial period but at the forefront of self enrichment at the expense of the native populations in every instance of recorded history.

Err, Americans have the word. "G-d" on their money, in patriotic songs, they have tonpit their hand on the bible to be sworn into office. It is serious business and a critical aspect of their identity.

 

[Woodznutz]

Sorry, I didnt see any evidence there.

And if not for your fear of not living forever, soothed by a promise that you will, neither you nor any of us would ever have even heard of Christianity. The entire religion is a regime based on fear.

So, why am I not afraid?

 

[Woodznutz]

the u s constitution is the initial secular national government made into law in world history they did everything they could who wrote the document to keep any and all religious documents from influencing the new gov't of the people.



what good have those religions done ... where were those religions during the colonial period but at the forefront of self enrichment at the expense of the native populations in every instance of recorded history.

America is the fulness of God's promised land to Israel. The indigenous peoples were just squatters. In fact, many 'knew' we were coming someday.

 

[Meriweather]

Funny because the Moses prophecy, as relating to Jesus, was created by Christians, after Jesus.

When, exactly, did Christians "create" this after Jesus? Is it your believe that John, after Jesus' death, simply made up Jesus saying in John 5:46, that Moses wrote about him? And you believe Deuteronomy, where Moses and God speak of this prophet, was written by Christians, after Jesus, as well?

The Jews, from Nathan on, were expecting a king like David, one who ruled an earthly kingdom. Deuteronomy speaks of someone who will speak God's own words. Deuteronomy 18, does not speak of an earthly king. In the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus, David is nowhere. It is Moses and Elijah who join him.

 

[Meriweather]

The cloth itself has been dated to the 14th century.

Look at modern research, research done in the last few years, not the research done decades ago that identified a corner of of the mended shroud as occurring in the 14th century. (That corner of the shroud had been repaired after a fire.)

 

[DGS49]

Faith is a CHOICE, not a gift from God. (Same with marital "love," but that is a whole different matter).

Rational people DECIDE to believe in "god" and/or a moral framework to guide their lives. Is it better to believe that death is the end of one's existence, or that there is an afterlife in which virtue will be rewarded and evil punished (or existence extinguished)? The answer is clear. Is it better to believe that "the World" was created by an omnipotent being who keeps things moving without interruption, or that it all just "happened" through an infinite number of random events and possibilities?

Rather than fretting about whether God's existence can be proven (a question that will never be resolved), it is far better to accept a belief system that works for nearly-infinite masses of people and leads to a desired result (peace, harmony, and an affirmation of the human dignity of every living soul).

And while many self-proclaimed atheists like rail on about the "atrocities" committed by Christians over the centuries, one is compelled to ask, What religious tradition brought about the end of slavery - as a moral imperative? What religious tradition grants ultimate dignity to all persons, regardless of race, nationality, or any other human trait? What religious tradition mandates compassion for the ("deserving") poor, lesser-abled, and victims of life's vicissitudes? What religious tradition emphasizes forgiveness of evil to anyone who repents and promises to do better?

There is only one.

And fortunately, that tradition also provides clear guidance on how one must lead one's life.

Being an "atheist" is intellectually lazy and stupid.

 

[Hellbilly]

What about the good that has been done in the name of God?

Example?

Evil is generally about power and wealth, not God.

Except when the evil is in the name of god.
The Doctrine of Discovery is a prime example.
God didn’t write it. Men wrote it in the name of god.

For me personally that answers your question.
While I have your attention maybe you can clear something up for me. Why is it that God and Jesus are so different?