...and it's time to dump religion(s) and get back to science instead of superstition and reason instead of blind emotion.
Especially as the religious so willingly dump/ignore their supposed morality and humanity to embrace immorality, greed, and racism.
There is no proof of any god(s) nor the supernatural.
Now come on, people do enjoy their superstitions.
Questions? :confused: How many thing bad is done in the name of god? How many people in the history of man has been killed in the name of god? The Christians won't tell you. Let us pray. :pray: :preach: :pope:
Most, if not all on here, know my displeasure and disdain for humankind's organized religions. All of them. Nothing but tools with which to manipulate the masses and gather personal wealth and power. "No God" though? I don't believe it to be true.
If we truly believe such a statement, then it must be based upon an assertion that humanity is king of the infinite universe and this planet. Surrounding the planet we prove each and every day we are no more powerful than the planet and environment allow us to be. We can not control the weather, earthquakes, tsunamis, and any other naturally occurring events, anymore than the average person can control their own human faults.
If there is no God then everything that is the universe is just by chance, and we, the ugliest of the life that exists are all that will ever be; imperfect, prone to greedily accumulating power and wealth, and for the most part ignoring the planet that sustains our very existence.
For me it is very hard to look at the universe and believe it all just came to be by chance. Moreover, it is harder still for me to see the diversity of life on this planet, understanding the connections all of this life shares, and ignore the evidence it represents to me of the existence of something or someone greater than humanity. An entity that has a far greater understanding of life, love, and the purpose of all that is. Surely humanity does not represent the best of all that is within the universe.
The issue for me is humankind and its propensity for bastardizing everything it touches. From God to governances, all of it is manipulated to support personal desire for wealth and power, and the frustrations of those within the species that are unhappy with the lack of personal progression within their efforts to achieve it, are the source for this bastardization. And there are billions of them.
Most religions are based upon the premise that there is a God, and that God requires of humanity humility, respect for each other, nurturing thoughts and deeds, and love for each other and self. However, humankinds greedy nature forces us to manipulate those basic premises in an infinite number of ways in order to support personal desires. So in the name of a virtual cornucopia of bastardized religions we have and continue to kill, rape, and persecute each other throughout history. It is no wonder so many have turned their backs on religion, and by proxy God.
Religious tomes are replete with tales of a "messiah" that heals, is humble, and provides examples of how each person should live and conduct themselves. Leading the least among us toward a better quality of lifestyle. Most totally ignore that and instead ascribe to only those things within a given religion that support their personal agenda.
God has never intended to govern humankind, nor does s/he ascribe to any nation, law, or policy we created; inclusive of the religious tomes we created. S/he has much greater items to attend to. The universe is vast and all of it connected, just as life on this very planet is connected. A lot can go wrong with such a complex process, and God is busy keeping it moving. And S/He doesn't always get to everything, just like us. After all, some believe we were created in His / Her image. Are we perfect? Nope.
Quote from: Palehorse on August 21, 2019, 10:17:42 AMIf there is no God then everything that is the universe is just by chance...
This is exactly how religion came into being: people couldn't wrap their minds around the possibility that everything that has occurred did so without some guiding force so they made that guiding force up.
QuoteSurely humanity does not represent the best of all that is within the universe.
You're making the assumption that there are no other planets anywhere in the universe that evolved to sustain intelligent life forms and that if they did, they couldn't possibly have evolved into something far superior to us. The statistical probability of that being true is almost zero.
Quote from: Exterminator on August 21, 2019, 12:26:20 PMThis is exactly how religion came into being: people couldn't wrap their minds around the possibility that everything that has occurred did so without some guiding force so they made that guiding force up.
You're making the assumption that there are no other planets anywhere in the universe that evolved to sustain intelligent life forms and that if they did, they couldn't possibly have evolved into something far superior to us. The statistical probability of that being true is almost zero.
Agree surrounding how religion came to be. And I am not making the assumption there are no other planets, etc. In fact I believe exactly what you state to be true and we are just to unevolved to realize it, in part because of the conditioning religion has imposed upon humanity. . . I guess I just didn't say it correctly. Sorry.
But it doesn't change the fact I personally believe in a higher power / creator. But that is my choice and I don't expect anyone else to believe it. That is their personal choice and I respect it. Fact is I see both sides of the argument and the validity in both. And despite my scientific training, I cannot help but believe both to be right and wrong. I truly suspect the reality is very likely to be a mixture of aspects of both sides. Just as in life.
Quote from: Palehorse on August 22, 2019, 12:06:04 AMAgree surrounding how religion came to be. And I am not making the assumption there are no other planets, etc. In fact I believe exactly what you state to be true and we are just to unevolved to realize it, in part because of the conditioning religion has imposed upon humanity. . . I guess I just didn't say it correctly. Sorry.
But it doesn't change the fact I personally believe in a higher power / creator. But that is my choice and I don't expect anyone else to believe it. That is their personal choice and I respect it. Fact is I see both sides of the argument and the validity in both. And despite my scientific training, I cannot help but believe both to be right and wrong. I truly suspect the reality is very likely to be a mixture of aspects of both sides. Just as in life.
I can respect this very much!!! I'm not 100% in line with you, but I certainly understand your reasoning and logic behind it. :yes:
If there is a god, he has to be one stupid son of a bitch. Farmers here in the USA treats their land and farm animals better than god treats the earth and it's people.
The dumb ass moron Christians says god is perfect. Never makes a mistake and can do everything. Well, have you seen a eye replaced after a loss. A arm replace after loss of it. If this is true, he the stupid one who created Donald Trump. :doh: Let us pray. :pray: :preach: :pope: Someone say A-men. :haha:
I have written about this before, but since I am scheduled for cataract surgery in a couple of weeks am not sure I have completely figured out this forum works and what I wrote. So. Here's what I think. Right now. I started going to church (Methodist) alone, maybe when I was 5, in a tiny coal mining town, and everybody was so nice to me I loved it. And believed in a benevolent God. That stayed with me until my 20s when reality set in. So most of what I believe now comes in the form of science fiction. One of my favorites probably seems silly to most, but For me Men in Black suffices. Specifically, the last scene. (It shows a little girl playing something like crochet, where the ball is Earth. And the sky above and below and around looks just like our Sky. :wacko:
Libby,
I hope your surgery goes well and very successful.
Best regards,
Duke (basking in the sunshine) Jupiter
Quote from: libby on August 30, 2019, 06:11:58 PMI have written about this before, but since I am scheduled for cataract surgery in a couple of weeks am not sure I have completely figured out this forum works and what I wrote. So. Here's what I think. Right now. I started going to church (Methodist) alone, maybe when I was 5, in a tiny coal mining town, and everybody was so nice to me I loved it. And believed in a benevolent God. That stayed with me until my 20s when reality set in. So most of what I believe now comes in the form of science fiction. One of my favorites probably seems silly to most, but For me Men in Black suffices. Specifically, the last scene. (It shows a little girl playing something like crochet, where the ball is Earth. And the sky above and below and around looks just like our Sky. :wacko:
Libby I have have had cataracts removed from both eyes. The yellow vision is gone from my eyes and had no problems from the operations at all. So you will do just fine.
Quote from: duke jupiter on September 02, 2019, 01:16:29 PMLibby,
I hope your surgery goes well and very successful.
Best regards,
Duke (basking in the sunshine) Jupiter
Hello and thank you my dear old friend Duke
Quote from: The Troll on September 02, 2019, 02:36:06 PMLibby I have have had cataracts removed from both eyes. The yellow vision is gone from my eyes and had no problems from the operations at all. So you will do just fine.
Thank you, Troll. What you wrote makes me feel better about it. :yes:
Quote from: Palehorse on August 21, 2019, 10:17:42 AM..."No God" though? I don't believe it to be true.
If we truly believe such a statement, then it must be based upon an assertion that humanity is king of the infinite universe and this planet.
Actually, you have that backwards. It's falsely assuming there is a 'god' - especially one in our image, only supernatural - that is presupposing humanity is 'god's' ultimate creation. BTW, assuming a 'god' is assuming a 'creator', and you're following the 'divine watchmaker' fallacy.
Quote from: Palehorse on August 21, 2019, 10:17:42 AMIf there is no God then everything that is the universe is just by chance, and we, the ugliest of the life that exists are all that will ever be...
'Chance' is the simple actions/reactions of the matter of the universe. We aren't here because the Earth, nor the universe, was 'created' for humanity, but that humanity came about because of the way the Earth and the universe developed. We're nothing special no matter how hard we want to be.
BTW, we're not even the most intelligent or successful species on this planet, Earth.
For people who thinks there's a god, let us use a little simple logic. :bang: :genius:
Let us look at the last picture of the Voyager space craft as it left out solar system. That tiny little blue dot was earth among thousands and thousands stars. Other than where there is the blue dot and where the stars are, there is a 100% vacuum where no life can exist. We know that life cannot exist on stars. :yes:
You really think this was all created by god for humans. Oh, give me a break. Let us pray :pray:
Quote from: The Troll on December 06, 2019, 11:47:08 AM
For people who thinks there's a god, let us use a little simple logic. :bang: :genius:
Let us look at the last picture of the Voyager space craft as it left out solar system. That tiny little blue dot was earth among thousands and thousands stars. Other than where there is the blue dot and where the stars are, there is a 100% vacuum where no life can exist. We know that life cannot exist on stars. :yes:
You really think this was all created by god for humans. Oh, give me a break. Let us pray :pray:
Science has already identified a few planets outside of our galaxy that are "earth like and could support life. Maybe even human life. It's one fo the primary missions of that Voyager spacecraft you mentioned.
I for one am not ignoring the fact that the vastness of the infinite universe means we are very likely not the only intelligent life existing with it.
And hypothetically, the infinite universe could just be a rash on the butt of a very large animal and we are existing within it. . .
I'd like to point out that all this Drumpfian douchbaggery in America can be laid directly at the feet of religion - the belief in Gawd.
Believing in non-existent, non-factual, Gawd(s) leaves your mind directly open to subscribing to other non-sensical foolishness like Drumpfian and Q-Anon madness.
Quote from: Y on July 23, 2020, 01:57:53 PMI'd like to point out that all this Drumpfian douchbaggery in America can be laid directly at the feet of religion - the belief in Gawd.
Believing in non-existent, non-factual, Gawd(s) leaves your mind directly open to subscribing to other non-sensical foolishness like Drumpfian and Q-Anon madness.
The Q-Anon crowd's only usefulness in life is to provide examples of what the Dunning Kruger effect looks like.