Do you believe in God?

[huskeR32]

I'm not a complete atheist and prefer to keep my options open.

That is exactly what an atheist does.

 

[BradTC12]

I know it's not a pleasant thought, I've dealt with it myself. But is the Christian system, in which unbelievers, no matter how good they are, get thrown into hell while pedopriests are forgiven and brought to heaven, that much better?

Because of the after-death questions, I'm not a complete atheist and prefer to keep my options open, but one thing's for sure, organized religion will never be my cup of tea. I can see through them, they like to instill false hope into any followers they can gather while milking money from them as well.

In my opinion - I'm not a full Christian. I don't believe everything in the bible. The bible was man made.
And also, I think anyone can get into heaven as long as they're a good person. Non believer or not.

 

[Carbonox]

That is exactly what an atheist does.

Wow, on later glance that was poorly worded. I was probably supposed to say non-theist. The BHRxRacer guy's bizarre definitions must've confused me.

 

[mustang fanatic]

So for anyone who think humans were created from nothing, here:

Adam and Eve (though not referenced by name) were created together in God's image and jointly given instructions to multiply and to be stewards over everything else that God had made. In the second narrative, God fashions Adam from dust and places him in the Garden of Eden where he is to have dominion over the plants and animals. God places a tree in the garden which he prohibits Adam from eating. Eve is later created from one of Adam's ribs to be Adam's companion. However, the serpenttricks Eve into eating fruit from the forbidden tree.

 

[DQuaN]

Um... Maybe people who don't believe in God.

This the point. They didn't. No one ever did.

Apart from people who DO believe in god.

*edit*
So you really think. Adam and eve started it all? Even though they had two sons. Bowchickawowow.

And there was a talking snake?

That doesn't seem at all strange to you?

 

[Spurgy 777]

So for anyone who think humans were created from nothing, here:

Where did the dust come from?

 

[mustang fanatic]

Where did the dust come from?

Seriously?

 

[Jet Badger]

So for anyone who think humans were created from nothing, here:

Funny you excluded the very first paragraph on the page you quoted...

Adam and Eve, according to the creation myths of the Abrahamic religions,[1] were the first man and woman. The story of Adam and Eve is central to the belief that God created human beings to live in a Paradise on earth, although they fell away from that state and formed the present world full of suffering and injustice. It provides the basis for the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors.[2] It also provides much of the scriptural basis for the doctrines of the Fall of man and Original Sin, important beliefs in Christianity, although not generally shared by Judaism or Islam.[3][4]

 

[Dennisch]

So for anyone who think humans were created from nothing, here:

I like the scientific answer better. We were all once stardust.

 

[mustang fanatic]

Funny you excluded the very first paragraph on the page you quoted...

That had nothing to do with the point I made. That, in no way, says whether or not humans were created from something.

 

[huskeR32]

In my opinion - I'm not a full Christian. I don't believe everything in the bible. The bible was man made.
And also, I think anyone can get into heaven as long as they're a good person. Non believer or not.

A rare opportunity to constructively discuss something here!

I'm a former Christian. I slowly (and if I'm honest, painfully at times) discarded it all, because none of it held up to rational thought. The physical impossibilities, the impossible time frames proposed, the hypocrisy, the vast differences from one version to the next, etc. etc. etc.

So, if I may ask, what parts of the Bible do you not believe? More importantly, I suppose, would be why don't you believe those things? And of course, most importantly, why continue to believe any of it?

 

[Jet Badger]

That had nothing to do with the point I made. That, in no way, says whether or not humans were created from something.

I can make up a story about how everything came to existence. Or I can quote Vinnie The Pooh for that matter. While welcome in the literature class it has nothing to do with reality.

 

[GBO Possum]

That had nothing to do with the point I made. That, in no way, says whether or not humans were created from something.

But it does qualify it as "a myth".

 

[mustang fanatic]

I can make up a story about how everything came to existence. Or I can quote Vinnie The Pooh for that matter. While welcome in the literature class it has nothing to do with reality.

Well this:

The Bible is clear that Adam had no human parents—Luke calls him the son of God because of this (Luke 3:38). In the Old Testament, the angels are called ‘sons of God’ for the same reason—they are direct creations of God. On Day 6 after creating the land animals, God created Adam from dust then breathed life into him. From the beginning, unlike animals (and angels), human beings were a mixture of physical and spiritual attributes. This made Adam fundamentally different from all the animals that God created, which is why none of them were suitable as companions for Adam. Naming the animals was a great object lesson for Adam to show him that he needed someone like himself, not animals. Up until now in the creation account, every time God saw something, it was good, but for the first time, God sees something that isn’t good—Adam is alone. Creation is incomplete. This doesn’t mean that God didn’t foresee the need for a companion for Adam; it just means that now, when Adam realizes his need, God is going to do something about it.

In the first-ever ‘surgery’, God removed a rib from Adam’s side and from it He created a woman, who Adam named Eve. When Adam saw her for the first time, he recognized that she was not like the animals—she was a person like him. And Genesis affirms that like men, women are fully created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27).

Says exactly the same thing.

 

[Spurgy 777]

Seriously?

Yes. It had to come from somewhere according to you, where?

 

[GTracer98]

If one believes in God then we can ask: "Where did God come from?"

If one doesn't believe in God, we can ask: "Where did energy and matter come from?"

These questions seem way over the capabilities of our human minds, at least for now.

 

[Jet Badger]

Well this:



Says exactly the same thing.

I don't think you get the point. I don't care what the Bible says. It's a myth with nothing to back it up. It holds zero value in court.

 

[mustang fanatic]

Yes. It had to come from somewhere according to you, where?

God's other creations. Humans weren't the first things God created.

Edit:

I don't think you get the point. I don't care what the Bible says. It's a myth with nothing to back it up. It holds zero value in court.

It's what someone believes. If you don't believe it, fine. I have no problem with that. But trying to tell me that my belief of it is wrong is what I have a problem with.

 

[GBO Possum]

So prior to being born, we were dead?
How are you sure of that?
Are you any more sure than the idea of there being an afterlife?
So basically you're saying that all your emotions, experiences, memories just goes down the drain when you die?
Like I said before - not the most pleasant thought.

Just because it's not "pleasant" doesn't mean it's not real. Infestations of tapeworms, tsunamis wiping out towns and villages, brain cancer, malaria and so on are not "pleasant". But they happen.

What do you think happens to the memories and experiences of other animals on this planet when they die? Or do you think there is something special about you that makes you different?

 

[Spurgy 777]

God's other creations. Humans weren't the first things God created.

So what were the first things made of? Because if they were first, there was nothing before them.

 

[huskeR32]

It's what someone believes. If you don't believe it, fine. I have no problem with that. But trying to tell me that my belief of it is wrong is what I have a problem with.

That's all fine and good, until you pass your beliefs off as fact. At that point, it's fair game for anyone to point out the massive heap of rational fallacies in your "evidence."

Stop passing off your faith as fact, then running and hiding behind a wall of "everybody must respect everybody else's opinions!" That's not an honest way to debate.

 

[mustang fanatic]

That's all fine and good, until you pass your beliefs off as fact. At that point, it's fair game for anyone to point out the massive heap of rational fallacies in your "evidence."

Stop passing off your faith as fact, then running and hiding behind a wall of "everybody must respect everybody else's opinions!" That's not an honest way to debate.

I wasn't passing off my beliefs as a fact. I was proving my beliefs with what I, and other Christians believe, after quite a few members proceeded to tell me what I was saying was wrong.

 

[Danoff]

So prior to being born, we were dead?
How are you sure of that?
Are you any more sure than the idea of there being an afterlife?
So basically you're saying that all your emotions, experiences, memories just goes down the drain when you die?
Like I said before - not the most pleasant thought.

It wasn't that bad when we were all dead. I didn't mind it at all. I had no complaints before I was born. It was only after I was born that I started complaining.

I am sure that I was dead before I was born, much more sure than of the idea of an afterlife. I can't tell you with any certainty that being dead after having lived is exactly the same as being dead before birth, but I don't see a single reason why it would not be so. I think it is the absolute best plausible answer to your question.

So for anyone who think humans were created from nothing, here:

So basically God created the universe (and everything in it - including us) from nothing. Got it.

 

[mustang fanatic]

So basically God created the universe (and everything in it - including us) from nothing. Got it.

Oh yes. Exactly.

 

[huskeR32]

I wasn't passing off my beliefs as a fact. I was proving my beliefs with what I, and other Christians believe, after quite a few members proceeded to tell me what I was saying was wrong.

So, instead of

So for anyone who think humans were created from nothing, here:

You meant to say "So for anyone who thinks Christians believe that humans were created from nothing, here:"?

If so, then say it that way. The way you worded it certainly suggested you were trying to pass off facts.

 

[GTracer98]

So basically God created the universe (and everything in it - including us) from nothing. Got it.

But if we take out God from the equation, doesn't that leave us with the Universe that created itself from nothing? Or what?

 

[Danoff]

But if we take out God from the equation, doesn't that leave us with the Universe that created itself from nothing?

Interestingly, not necessarily. One of the current prevailing theories is that our universe exists (or existed) alongside a nearly infinite number of alternative universes that are all equivalent of nothing. In otherwords, for nothing to exist, so must our universe and every alternative universe. I know it sounds crazy, but when you think about it it's actually the only form the answer can seemingly take.

But let's not talk about that right now. We're talking about the Christian creation myth and how it involves God creating the universe from nothing.

 

[mustang fanatic]

So, instead of



You meant to say "So for anyone who thinks Christians believe that humans were created from nothing, here:"?

If so, then say it that way. The way you worded it certainly suggested you were trying to pass off facts.

Like I said, I was proving my opinion, as us humans are not entitled to our own opinions. And that still wasn't enough.

 

[BradTC12]

Interestingly, not necessarily. One of the current prevailing theories is that our universe exists (or existed) alongside a nearly infinite number of alternative universes that are all equivalent of nothing. In otherwords, for nothing to exist, so must our universe and every alternative universe. I know it sounds crazy, but when you think about it it's actually the only form the answer can seemingly take.

But let's not talk about that right now. We're talking about the Christian creation myth and how it involves God creating the universe from nothing.

"Theories" Okay, you haven't proven that your theory is true. Yet have you to prove that Religion is true. So Christianity is merely a Theory as well. Don't call it a myth.

A rare opportunity to constructively discuss something here!

I'm a former Christian. I slowly (and if I'm honest, painfully at times) discarded it all, because none of it held up to rational thought. The physical impossibilities, the impossible time frames proposed, the hypocrisy, the vast differences from one version to the next, etc. etc. etc.

So, if I may ask, what parts of the Bible do you not believe? More importantly, I suppose, would be why don't you believe those things? And of course, most importantly, why continue to believe any of it?

I believe that there is an afterlife, I don't believe that God created adam and eve. Being descendants on incest seems pretty messed up. I don't believe that there will be a rapture. I believe in most of the scriptures in the bible.
Why continue believing in it? Well, isn't it possible, that God is real? That we created his image, not vice versa?
Isn't it possible by believing in him, makes him real?

 

[dddsprayshop]

Wow this topic took another turn.
Very interesting but also disturbing to me.
But interesting and disturbing in a good way.


Huske32 posted what i did when i was 19 years old.But i did not believe in "god" anymore.

OK, let's grant for a minute that God did it. What did God make that "something" out of?

I assume you're sticking with "something" as the thing that "something" was made out of. Fair enough, I applaud your willingness to go with "I don't know."

So, what was the something made out of something made of?

And what was the something made out of something made out of something made of?

And what was the something made out of something made out of something made out of something made of?

And what was the something made out of something made out of something made out of something made out of something made of?

And what was the something made out of something made out of something made out of something made out of something made out of something made of?

And what was the something made out of something made out of something made out of something made out of something made out of something made out of something made of?

And what was the something made out of something made out of something made out of something made out of something made out of something made out of something made out of something made of?

Of course, the obvious, and most oft-provided solution is that at one point, there was indeed nothing. God created the first batch of something that begat all future batches of something.

OK, who made God?

Who made the God that made God?

I'm sure you see where that is headed...

Yes, i started once to think about everything around me and how did it start.
And now i'm curious again. What was the beginning? How far, or long, back is that?
Will I ever know? And if something or someone would explain it, would I believe that? Can I believe that? I will never know.