So, over 700 dead......

[rogersix]

Nope. I just have faith.

in what? is faith inside you, or, outside as well?

 

[rogersix]

eh?

you'll need to expand on that. that's my line that is, you're not a thinker, you're a follower

 

[rogersix]

My story was like a parable as I assume you know.

I've tried to translate spiritual matters to the level of your brain which you still refuse to understand. I'll give up which I think was probably your intention in the first place anyway.

so you lose the debate and resort to patronising the chap, (as alluded to in a previous post). we are trying to help you, and, indirectly, ourselves, and everyone else, and everyone yet to be born, (which will be less if your philosophy holds sway)

 

[ThePompousPaladin]

At my sister in-laws memorial service a couple of years ago the clergyman didn’t preach it as a metaphor and there were young children there. He clearly said that you will only be saved from darkness if you seek Jesus. Darkness is a horrible way to explain death and that in itself is a threatening condition.

This service ended up being a recruitment opportunity for his church.

I've been to services like that.

 

[rogersix]

Exactly.

i didn't initially spot that serious edit there, unflippinbelievable

 

[Megazone]

you'll need to expand on that. that's my line that is, you're not a thinker, you're a follower

You class that as a line and yet you call yourself a thinker?

 

[rogersix]

Do you see Onelove and I as religious?

ah, now we are getting down to the nitty gritty, cool. i got sh1t to do, but i will pick this point up asap!

 

[rogersix]

Do you really think people join the Army because of God?

I take it God dropped the Hiroshima bomb too?

our army takes chaplains to the front line.

the americans can barely finish a sentence wiyhout imploring god to bless america, and the japs were zealouts before!

 

[beorhthelm]

My story was like a parable as I assume you know.

I've tried to translate spiritual matters to the level of your brain which you still refuse to understand. I'll give up which I think was probably your intention in the first place anyway.

thank you making your point as you would to a pre-enlightenment farm worker, it demonstrates the paucity of material you have to work with. its a shame you give up, rather than attempt to think about the question i posed you.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Wow, this is a weird metaphysical thread. I am curious - those of you in the conversation who believe in a god, does he (or she) speak directly to you? If not, are you satisfied that he or she is quietly watching over you, or even perhaps not watching over you exactly, but just generally observing all his or her works, shaking his or her head in sadness and disappointment every time someone does something bestial to someone else? Or are you a bit disappointed that your prayers are not answered directly? Or is it a more self-centred faith whereby any questions like these just make you feel even more smug and superior than you did before?

Personally it is irrelevant to me whether or not there is a god or whether I or anyone else has faith. Suffering and premature death are bad and wrong. What to do about it is another matter. Having faith may inspire action, but faith alone is no better than hope, and hope without action is a ludicrous self deception.

 

[One Love]

thank you making your point as you would to a pre-enlightenment farm worker, it demonstrates the paucity of material you have to work with. its a shame you give up, rather than attempt to think about the question i posed you.

I've given you an answer to all your questions but this seems to have passed you by. The question you pose is one of many i have been contemplating for over 10 years. That may surprise you as you have accused me of blind faith already. When the conversation took a turn for the worst and you became spiteful then I lost any will to continue it.

It's not difficult to know where you want this to go because you're not continuing it for answers but for something else.

Anyhow, as I've answered all your questions then will you answer one of mine?

 

[One Love]

Wow, this is a weird metaphysical thread. I am curious - those of you in the conversation who believe in a god, does he (or she) speak directly to you? If not, are you satisfied that he or she is quietly watching over you, or even perhaps not watching over you exactly, but just generally observing all his or her works, shaking his or her head in sadness and disappointment every time someone does something bestial to someone else? Or are you a bit disappointed that your prayers are not answered directly? Or is it a more self-centred faith whereby any questions like these just make you feel even more smug and superior than you did before?

Personally it is irrelevant to me whether or not there is a god or whether I or anyone else has faith. Suffering and premature death are bad and wrong. What to do about it is another matter. Having faith may inspire action, but faith alone is no better than hope, and hope without action is a ludicrous self deception.

You ask your question as though God is a human or the very least has human characteristics. Is this your idea of God?

 

[beorhthelm]

I've given you an answer to all your questions but this seems to have passed you by. The question you pose is one of many i have been contemplating for over 10 years. That may surprise you as you have accused me of blind faith already. When the conversation took a turn for the worst and you became spiteful then I lost any will to continue it.

It's not difficult to know where you want this to go because you're not continuing it for answers but for something else.

Anyhow, as I've answered all your questions then will you answer one of mine?

i think you may be mistaken, as you have not asked any questions. and as i recall, the conversation never took a turn for the worse, i used some language when projecting opinion of your God that you dont like. i simply followed deductive reasoning, though i may have skipped a step for brevity and you havent responded with anything to the contrary, though that was very late last night. as you missed the question im refering to, it i'll ask again (the question comes from challenging your parable):

why does your God want a mother who's done nothing wrong in life to give birth to a deformed child. who is this suffering in aid of: the mother, the child, the rest of mankind?

 

[One Love]

why does your God want a mother who's done nothing wrong in life to give birth to a deformed child. who is this suffering in aid of: the mother, the child, the rest of mankind?

He doesn't. I've answered this already.

How long does your line of questioning, straight from the skeptics guide to challenging believers in God on the internet, have to continue before you listen to my answer?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

You ask your question as though God is a human or the very least has human characteristics. Is this your idea of God?

I'm a scientist. God, to me, is like father christmas and fairies. Whether he she or it exists, is irrelevant.

 

[One Love]

I'm a scientist. God, to me, is like father christmas and fairies. Whether he she or it exists, is irrelevant.

So in your estimation, how much of everything that exists do you think science has discovered?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

So in your estimation, how much of everything that exists do you think science has discovered?

That's a silly question. The answer, of course, is that I don't know. How much of everything that exists do you think religion has (well, 'discovered' isn't the right word wrt religion) decreed?

 

[beorhthelm]

He doesn't. I've answered this already.

no you havent. i've checked, between the question and saying your story was a parable, no replys. is that your anwser, its a parable? doesnt really address the question, certainly not the gravity of it. or is your answer "He doesn't" which is a bit terse and unqualified, to which i might ask "who does allow this then". but seems pointless so i'll leave it there, and accept that for what it is. (a total inability to justifiy your God for the record)

anyway, i dont need an answer, it was really posed for you to contemplate and reflect upon, though i'll be interested to know how you do reconcile your definition of God and your parable with the problem presented. and i'll try to answer any questions, if you ask them.

 

[One Love]

That's a silly question. The answer, of course, is that I don't know. How much of everything that exists do you think religion has (well, 'discovered' isn't the right word wrt religion) decreed?

I don't think it's a silly question at all. You don't have to be specific, just ball park.

1% ? 50%? 99%?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Sorry folks, I missed the parable post. The conversation here does not follow any line of reasoning, including the strange question about how much science has achieved. Beorthelm, good luck with your discourse. I'm afraid you may be up against David Icke . . . .I'm out.