Religion

I'm not an expert in theology but sometimes I get the feeling that God and Satan are actually one and the same being. I mean in the bible God does many things which look questionable to me like killing the firstborns of Egypt and also punishing the Egyptians when he himself hardens Pharaoh's heart. Also in the book of Job, God lets Job suffer needlessly in life and for what? God also sends people to an eternal Hell and for what? For committing finite crimes during a single lifetime on Earth? It looks to me like God sins alot so I think that God and Satan are actually one of the same person. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_as_the_Devil http://en.wikipe…

It has been about fifty years with the teachings of a wise catholic priest, admirable history and literature professor embedded in my 'retina' He mentioned the romanticism originated as a movement of Roman citizens against the church schism. That is, -----> Rome anti schism. (1054?) Can anyone clarify, deny or leave open door to such origin of the movement/word ? I was never able to confirm such anywhere. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Llevo unos cincuenta años con la enseñanza de un culto sacerdote católico profesor de historia y literatura grabados en mi 'retina'. …

Time and space are very similar things. So much so, in fact, that we treat them the same mathematically. But what are they? They are separations. Distance is the separation between objects within a state, and duration is the separation between states. The magnitude of both separations are relative and depend on the energy distribution within the reference frame of the observer. How can one be outside of all separations. You cannot separate yourself without being separated. To speak of "outside" of the universe is to be unintelligible.

I found this talk to be interesting. In it the speaker suggests that atheists can learn something from religion and should use the useful parts. 1) Education - Teach morality and how to live, not just information. Use the sermon method and repetition more often. Attach rituals to the calendar, nature and the body 2) Art - Art should be used for a purpose - for the betterment of humanity, not just for arts' sake. Art as a tool to celebrate our emotions and morality 3) Community/ Grouping - Religion scales very large effectively. We need a Wal-Mart or Google for…

The Gospels give us some information by which we can date when the crucifixion was. The Last Supper was (depending on which Gospel you read) either a Passover dinner or the night before. Passover starts on the first full moon after the spring equinox. Immediately following the crucifixion, the Gospels say there was an eclipse. Eclipses, full moons, and equinoxes are all calculable. This should be enough to find the date. When was it?

Tell me something about this overly educated and very literate ass who seems to be revered by so many. Did he actually work for a living? Get his nails dirty at a job, or donate a dime to any worthy charity with his hard eraned cash? I can't find a damned thing to argue these questions pro or con. Other than his philosophy, questions about him are as hard to pin down as they are Obama. But then, perhaps my questions should not be a part of this conversatrion? I think a person with this guys intellect and education could have done far much more for civilization had he not sit on his ass behind a desk, write books and make money by taking pot shots at anything he saw fit. S…

Questions 1 and 2 can be answered with a yes or no, and I you explain why. Question 3 is a how question. Do you believe freedom of religion should be protected by constitutions? How about freedom of speech? How are such are these freedoms protected?

so hear is a few problems i see, and why i think God might, i emphisize the word might, be nessicary. so let's start with morality. i think most poeple can agree, there are some, though not many "concrete" rules, such as rules against murder, rape, theft, torture, etc. obviously these are relative in the sense we can disobey these rules if we see fit, but there are severe consquences for so doing. where do these rules come from? not from nature, animals use and abuse violence in abundance. not from government, who often implements such methods, at the cost of society. we can only say one of two things, either they come from ourselves, or they come from some entity o…

I want to discuss some shocking human behavior in a series of post taken from history. I am sure we need a shared mythology, but religion is not the perfect mythology. As we know, throughout history humans have done some really awful things based on Christian mythology, and this one story. I am not sure Edmund Stillman association with the modern totalitarian state is not a prejudice that distorts the lesson we need to learn, but his account of what happened deserves our attention. I see a relationship between what happened in Munster and Occupy. Anabaptist competed with Lutherans, and eventually became Mennonites and Amish. Something the later faiths might w…

should atheists retain religious holidays/festivals just because they like them/want to and can they do so without compromising their opinion? and should atheists be offended by religious elements to religious holidays that they celebrate? while i do not believe in god/ Jesus i have no problem hearing a song about the birth of Jesus around Christmas (quite possibly the best holiday ever).

There is no way for me to prove you how all of this came to be but let Us look into the future to see if we can't see for ourselves how we came to be. After all, a clock always returns to 12 so wherever the end is there you will also find the beginning. Mankind is progressing very rapidly in the direction of technology. Even 10 years ago we were growing human hearts in jars of proteins with electric diodes connected to them, we have mapped the human genome codes and you gotta know there is an abundance of technology being concealed from us. So in 50 years where will we be? Creating humans from scratch? Sure they are doing that already with cloning. So what about in 50…

Religious fervor. Incurious worldviews. Intellectual laziness. Unreason. These are the problems that threaten the future of civilization as sloppy thinking and superstitious nonsense spread their tentacles. Even the skeptical community has sometimes been negligent in their responsibility to fight these ills.But there is one man who has something to say about it.In this Fish Tumor Productions exclusive, Shafreel finally breaks his silence about today's most important issues as believers and skeptics alike are called out and held accountable.Comments and discussion are welcome and encouraged. Just remember, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

Hello everyone, what keeps a human alive?? Since the human body has heat, and works much like an external device to move around with on this planet, then what is the source of this energy? Metaphysical And Or Spiritual: Is it the soul? Scientific: Is the human body "plugged" into an invisible machine, much like a radio, or tv? And if so, where does this energy come from? and where does this energy get recycled as per E= mc squared as energy conservation when a human being dies? If this energy is thus conserved does this mean humans can be: Scientific: Recycled? Metaphysical And Or Spiritual: Re-incarnated? …

Suppose, as an experiment, we set up a community, where none of the adults ever talked about religion. A community competely isolated from any mention of God, or religion. Self-contained, and self-sufficient. Food, water, and all other material requirements, supplied by the work of the people in the community. They would make their food, by ploughing the land, sowing seeds, and reaping the harvest. They would make their houses, by baking clay into bricks. And furniture would be made of wood from trees. The trees would be cut down by axes, made out of flint. And perhaps from bronze or iron - the necessary ores would be available for mining and smelting. …

God has the following duties: 1. Heal all existing SDD [suffering, Destruction, and Death] 2. Prevent any future SDD Since none of the above happens, either God is being a jerk and not doing his job OR he simply doesn't exist. I was once watching an Adam & Eve cartoon. The serpant lures the couple into a tree to eat a forbidden fruit. They do exactly that. God then punished the couple because they could've resisted. God also punished the serpant [which I don't understand]. Adam & Eve chose, out of their own free will to give into temptation -- the couple then experience the negative results of their actions. I completely understand why God puni…

Hi, I am hoping this subject got your attention, and that you help me articulate the thought with your arguments. This is very much what the Occupy movement is about, but as you will see, it is difficult to articulate. There was a time when we thought virtue was synonymous with strength, and the average person could dare to be bold. S/he fully believed if s/he were virtuous, s/he had the support of God, and therefore could not fail. These people dared face great and real dangers such as crossing an ocean in little ships, entering the wilderness of a newly discovered land, with unknown gifts of God and dangers. This knowledge of virtues and faith in God, is …

Let's be honest. Is it childish for theists to believe in the existence of God or multiple gods? What does everyone here think?

Valentinian theology Brief Summary of their teachings. The analysis of Isha Upanishads- Aurobindo. 'V' refers to Valentinians and 'B' refers to Brahmans. V. The Godhead manifests itself through a process of self-unfolding in the subsequent multiplicity of being while maintaining its unity. He is the unknown true God or the Father. B. "The Purusha there and there, He am I." It is He who has become all things and beings. The Inhabitant of all forms. The Lord, the Purusha who both contains and inhabits the universe. He is called as Isha or Savitru. V. Valentinians believed that God is androgynous and frequently depicted…

As humans we seek logical explanations of our origin and the origin of all material things. For if I showed a young child an apple and the child would ask me "where did it come from?" And I reply "nowhere, and no, it didn't come from a tree either" the child would search for the origin of that apple in an attempt to better understand it. The same is with logical minded adults concerning our origin. I understand that whatever is inside of me, that spark of life- that peice of divinity- that fragment of God, is also me. So it is futile to identify myself apart from IT. Consider a circle drawn by hand. The drafter must begin at a point and return to it in order to c…

A point well made in the 'locked' discussion is 'what bible'. Considering the scriptural discoveries made only last century one might reasonably ask or even assume that religion as we know it from history and tradition has been running on half a deck for all of it's existence. No wonder it has such falling credibility in the modern world. But to presume that the direct evidence barrier cannot be overcome, is of course the same presumption that the whole of scholastic theology and religion is founded upon. One can ask what would a religious conception look like that could break that barrier and fit the model of scrutiny we have come to associate with science? In a develo…

If no proof of God exists how come the US government still produces US dollar bills that says, " In GOD WE TRUST" Atheists who carry US dollar bills should not carry them in their wallets if they don`t believe in God. American atheists whose salaries are in US dollar bills that says, " In GOD WE TRUST" should rip these bills apart. Atheists who go to court should not vow before the court and say, "Yes, Honor!" if they are made to swear the truth and nothing but the truth and say, " So help me God!" Are Americans fools or not in saying, In God We Trust? And why these American atheists, scientists who get salaries from the US government still continue using these US dollar …

If I were someone from the distant future and could time travel, I'd probably consider going back to the past with the geniuses of the future to form my own religion that other people could follow. If you could time travel, would you go back to the past to create a really good religion that other people could follow (e.g. one that would benefit mankind significantly based on your understandings of the future)? Maybe something that has lots of emphasis in the pursuit of scientific knowledge and logical thinking? Also, what do you think are some of the problems with Christianity or Mormonism in their ability to control people and make them behave? How could the teac…

So, it turns out that Tim Minchin live is amazing even in the rain. With the poor weather, we had about a 20k turnout not including the Westboro Baptists and the other miscellaneous protesters. We must have done something right, because FOX wrote a horrible article about the rally. Here's a taste: I was a fair bit closer than that.

I got interested in reading Von Daniken`s Chariot of the Gods when I first entered college (1976 ). I found out Christ Jesus was a cosmonaut. Our earth was once a sun. The moon the earth. The sun a former star. That while there`s still time, mankind`s got to find a way once the sun gives off her last breath. That will incinerate earth in time with a mega solar flash. Only a few chosen ones will survive by building a space craft to escape this so-called Kaliyuga or Kalayu (Fire) age. But can they really do that when they have no where to go? Christ Jesus therefore with his great wisdom has decided to turn earth into Spaceship ET. The recent earthquakes we are experiencing …

When Jesus said he is the alpha ( 1st ) & omega ( last ), he was actually referring himself to a radioactive atom (spirit-soul) whose nuclei has spontaneously disintegrated & emitted alpha particles or electromagnetic rays during the process ( alpha decay )& Resurrection as an Omega ( baryon )-a subatomic hadron particle which have the symbols Ω Jesus was trying to tell us that we are radioactive atoms (spirit-souls) which have decayed into the human form, aquatic animals, birds, etc after thousands of years of emitting alpha, beta & gamma rays. Here`s an example how a 238U is transformed with a half live of 4.5 billion years to another ato…