Poll: religon: a 7 point scale

[Shoqiyqa]

This is an all mighty being we're talking about here, it can probably do whatever it wants, no matter what the physics behind it are. Why does it need to follow to the laws and restraints of the universe if it controls the whole thing?

Ah-hah! I was wondering how long it would take you to make it clear that you were starting from the assumption that an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, eternal and conscious being exists.

You just did.

What you're saying is: "Assuming God as described in my Bible exists and has all the powers my Bible says He has, all the things it says He did are well within His power."

Mm-hm.

Assuming for the time being that this world and its people and history are all a strange dream being had by a pink-and-blue cat with eight legs and four ears that is snoozing on a diamond-studded sofa in the sunlight while her well-trained pet green bear goes for more salmon on a planet that rotates to the west and has three moons, then the Earth can't have been created in seven days because the cat's only been dreaming about it for a few seconds ... and tidal current charts are very complicated.

 

[RiffRaff]

I won't try converting you, but assuming there's either a Christian God or nothing, mathematically speaking you really should believe in God. Look-up Pascal's Wager.

Pascal's wager doesn't really work though does it? Mainly because it assumes belief is a choice. I can't 'make' myself, or anyone else for that matter, believe or not beleive in anything. Logic can't defeat faith.

I would also point out that pascals wager does not take other religions into account, nor does it provide a "good" reason to believe in God.- If you only believe in God because its a safer bet in case he does not exist, would your faith mean anything??

Choose to believe in God (regardless of how hard that may be). Then follow all the "rules," start going to Church, discuss with others, act as a Christian (WWJD?), see what happens. Some people choose to believe first and faith follows, others faith comes first. I'm guessing if you did all those things with an open mind, your faith would begin to mean something.

 

[anNIALLator]

I won't try converting you, but assuming there's either a Christian God or nothing, mathematically speaking you really should believe in God. Look-up Pascal's Wager.

Pascal's wager doesn't really work though does it? Mainly because it assumes belief is a choice. I can't 'make' myself, or anyone else for that matter, believe or not beleive in anything. Logic can't defeat faith.

I would also point out that pascals wager does not take other religions into account, nor does it provide a "good" reason to believe in God.- If you only believe in God because its a safer bet in case he does not exist, would your faith mean anything??

Choose to believe in God (regardless of how hard that may be). Then follow all the "rules," start going to Church, discuss with others, act as a Christian (WWJD?), see what happens. Some people choose to believe first and faith follows, others faith comes first. I'm guessing if you did all those things with an open mind, your faith would begin to mean something.

But do you really think that your chosen deity would value fake belief over honest skepticism?

 

[RiffRaff]

I'm saying you can have both. If you are a skeptic, but at least give the other side a try for a while, the fake belief may turn into a real belief and your skepticism may subside. In fact, no better place to talk about skepticism than in a discussion with a priest/pastor/reverend/etc.

This doesn't work for everybody but it does happen for some.