Uh-oh

Trying to see the goals from Basel and Bellinzona game that took place today. Is there a site like atdhe for highlights? Google search didn't turn up any results.

(Oh, free, highlights.)

Now, I'm pretty sure God adopted Jesus because that whole virgin birth thing doesn't really make sense to me. Anyways, if you thought a god was your father, you wouldn't want to grow up to be an accountant; you'd want to spread your word, talk about how proud you are of your dad for creating Earth, etc.

Therefore, if you really, genuinely, believed you had a father/deity watching over you at all time, attempting miracles doesn't seem that crazy. (I don't mean walking on water or anything, but aiding the somewhat injured seems possible - though word of mouth probably exaggerated these feats.) But anyways, the complexity of the human brain gives us the ability to walk on hot coals, lift cars to save our children, etc. So if someone really believed they were the son of God, isn't it possible they performed some sort of minor miracles? (Almost like a placebo...)

Mainly I thought this was an interesting idea, I'd like to see where you guys can take it. All opinions are welcome (even the one that goes something like, "you're going to Hell for questioning that Jesus is the son of God.") Thanks.

Obviously, being black does not say much about you as a person. You have a shared history with other black people, and that might count for something.

(by the way, I'm glad Obama got elected because he was the better candidate)

Agnostics come in all shapes and sizes, just like blacks and whites and Christians and every other classified group. But obviously agnostics share the knowledge that they do not (or can not) know everything. Is that a quality you want in your president? Why or why not?

(All responses welcome - ignorant ones make reinforce my complex or just make me laugh.)

=P

Even if 15% of my prayers are answered, I'm being conditioned to believe in the God I'm praying to.

So... what about the apple?

He knew Adam and Eve were going to eat from the tree when he created it. He also knew that when he designed them. However, he didn't change his designs, he didn't change his plans at all. Technically, he created us to punish us for His negligence or laziness. My conclusion is that He can be all-knowing, all-powerful, or loving, but not all three.

Are there any other sensical conclusions to be drawn?

Let me know what song too, because he's used similar rhymes in different songs.

My favorite is from "Live from the 504"

"Live from the 504, it's Mr. Crazy flow,

jumping like a bungee no rope.

Even in the dungeon I glow,

even if it ain't sunny I grow,

if it ain't about money I go...

nowhere I'm nailed to the floor.

Money controls where I go,

it is the sail to my boat,

and it's going down

it's going down like there's a whale in the boat."

I hear God created us because he wanted to share his love with us. So, he created a dysfunctional society in which less than half of his creations believe in him?

People rarely have an impulse to count to 1 million. Christians believe God made us that way. Why did he give many people an impulse to kill other people? Humans are the only creature on Earth that kill for pleasure. I know, free will, etc. But God knew exactly what was going to happen when he gave us free will (he is all-knowing) so why didn't he change us, just the least little bit? Just so we could be more able to receive his love.

He knew Adam and Eve were going to eat the apple. So why did he bother creating the apple? That's the root of allll sin, and without that, he could be sharing his love with every single one of Earth's inhabitants today, not just (less than) half of them.

I promise I will be open minded to any response who actually tries to help me understand.

I'll support my theory, I'm interested as to what intelligent people have to say. If I'm being unfair to either industry, let me know.

Both are selling an obviously flawed product. (Or not so obviously to the Christians among us) They could not sell their product to an educated person, so they resort to taking advantage of the innocence of children. (This is in response to the "Bible Action Figures") By nature, children are much less likely to question what they hear. (This is due to the fact that they do not understand (or know of) the politics and lies that infest what the Church or tobacco industry tells them.

Bonus question: If humans were born with a high school education, how well do you think either industry would be doing?

Back to my main question - any problems with my analogy?

If you are racist, (and not wicked) but donate money to your equivalent of the United ***** College Fund (if for no other reason, out of pity for an "inferior race.")

(Please understand I'm not at all racist. I'm not even Christian. I'm just curious as to what your God would think of this, or any equivalent. Please, don't get stuck on the issue of racism, that was just an example.)

Why do we quote God when there is absolutely no way to know what he said?

Why do we document God's actions before any other life ever existed?

If he actually talked to people, you really think he would waste his time revealing what he said when there was nothing there to listen to him?

Why did God say "Let there be Light," anyways? There wasn't anything there to listen to him.

Why did people write the Bible so long after the fact - and is there any chance they misremembered?

While God was instructing everyone on what the Bible should say, do you suppose he could have taken credit for the actions of Mother Nature, Zeus, or Ra?

How come He was so eager to show off his stuff during earlier times of hardship, but now decides not to perform (noticable) miracles when hardship is more prevalent then ever before?

You don't have to answer all of them, but give me something. And don't seriously answer the Ra question, that was a joke.

It does have quite the ring to it. Mark Twain and Lemony Snicket are jealous, that's for sure.

If you knew someone was having a difficult time accepting the fact that there is no God, and could not avoid a depression (due to the fact they would never see their family members again or whatever,) would you encourage a belief in God or heaven? (If there were a better word for weak or simple, I'd use it:) but for the more simple/weak-minded, who need that sort of sense of direction, etc, would you encourage that belief?

If so, you would stress the problems with "religion" and the Bible, and only expose them to "God."

...right?

I wholeheartedly believe in evolution because it just makes sense, and there is enough evidence for me. I'll admit I do base some of this on the fact that most of the developed world believes it as well. I realize some dots still need to be connected, but there is enough proof to convince me that it actually happened. So does anyone here who doesn't believe in creationism, also not believe in evolution?

Seriously, sleeping, video games, etc, I can't think of any.

Prayer does not accomplish anything at all. Statistically, it's been tested and proven, re-tested and re-proven, over and over again. People who pray are no more likely to win the lottery, support a Superbowl winning team, get a promotion, or get home before the storm hits. In many cases, prayer has had negative effects (because prayer is often subsituted for constructive actions.)

I know the Christians are going to either argue vehemently or accept that I will "never understand," etc.

But atheists, can you think of a bigger waste of time than prayer? I can justify everything I can come up with.

You're all heard the tired, "why would God let people become atheist, or gay, etc." But here's new (at least to me) reasoning.

Well, at least for atheists and agnostics. Atheists and agnostics become the way they do (often times) because religion (or certain religious people) repulses them. Other times, it is because they are thinking for themselves, and looking for the truth.

So God seriously punishes people who do not agree with the actions of the church or church goers, as well as those who only try to use reason and logic to solve problems/mysteries?

Atheists and agnostics often do not accept their beliefs with any malicious intent. Most times, it is the opposite. And God punishes them? (That's part of the reason I don't believe he exists - because he's backwards on a lot of important ideas)

So, while the child is still without a gender, thought, etc, it is pretty helpless. Obviously, it would die if it was removed. So, if the mother was just going to abandon it when it was born, why can't she have the option to abandon it beforehand? I mean, the mother is making sacrifices while the baby is growing, and if she doesn't plan on caring for the kid, why should she have to endure months of it anyways?

(As abortion rates increase, crime rates decrease. Maybe if all women who were going to abandon their children did it a little earlier, these figures would be even more dramatic.)

(I don't necessarily feel this way 100%, I'm just thinking and encouraging all of you to do the same)

I have a long list, and I have trouble choosing just one, so I want to see what the rest of you have to say. (Please give appropriate examples also.)

I would say that religious people need to understand exactly how detrimental their (and everyone else's) religion is. The example I always use is the politician who banned the cure for HPV which causes cervical cancer. He felt (maybe he was right) pre-marital sex would increase if the vaccine was released. However, pre-marital sex is a sin, but not illegal. So thousands of women of all religions will continue to die of cervical cancer.

(This is the closest thing we have to a cure for cancer, and religious beliefs are interfering with the production of it.)

To those who say: That's just one Christian(!,) etc. He had to be elected, didn't he? And because your religion encourages blind following, this could (and does) translate into votng for the leader of your party, whether he is the best person for the job or not.

If you agree with the quote, Christians never display their true character because they think God is always watching.

Considering this, their moral compass must be questioned moreso than atheists. I mean, atheists do not act because they fear God or are trying to please Him. Atheist's actions are based upon their own values. Do you agree?

(Usually I don't bother asking questions because I know how Christians will avoid answering them. I asked this one because I want to hear from (mainly) Christians.) But of course, all answers are appreciated.

I asked an earlier question that went something like, "Does God care about animals?" Everyone told me he didn't, but now I hear there is a patron saint.

So, does God care about animals? And if he does, do they go to heaven?

Isn't it odd to think that we could be wrong about something that we never had any reason to think we were wrong about?