| Welcome to Campfire Soapbox. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Dumbing Down Of America, 2 | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: May 12 2006, 11:46 AM (5,632 Views) | |
| DocInBird | Jun 13 2006, 10:49 AM Post #541 |
|
Member
|
Actually, TeryT, there have been a number of people that said something very similar to that, both before and after the historical Jesus' life. Each of them had devout followers. Most of them did things that their followers called miracles. The problem that many have with Christianity is the belief that god sent only one avatar to earth. Did god love humans less in this century than he did 2000 years ago? Did he care less for them 4000 years ago? You will find very few Hindis that will dispute that Jesus was an avatar, for example. They have no problem with that. But to say that he was the only avatar is a different matter. |
|
--doc Just Doc and Orson (German Shepherd) wandering around North America. | |
![]() |
|
| TexasShadow | Jun 13 2006, 11:21 AM Post #542 |
![]()
Jane
|
this goes to what I mean by our understanding of God evolving... or should be evolving. history clearly shows us the development/evolution of religion.. only problem is: our understanding is arrested at certain points in history when an agent of God appeared and gave us new food for thought because each person (or their disciples) declared "this is it, and there ain't no more". Not sure what the eastern persuasions say, but they appear to hang onto the words of their ancient agents, without much alteration. So... religion is stuck with what folks got 2000 to 4000 years ago. This is not so bad...if you strip away a lot of the details and go for the gist of the messages, because the core of each seems (to me) to be about the same thing. do unto others, etc. equality, mutual respect, justice without bias, forgiveness, compassion, etc. haven't read the koran, but I suspect those things are in there somewhere. |
|
| |
![]() |
|
| DocInBird | Jun 13 2006, 11:31 AM Post #543 |
|
Member
|
Oh Brad, <sigh> what is the entire 18th chapter of Leviticus about? It is rules for what? Therefore the context for verse 22 has to be what? In history, what celebration was going on that involved anal intercourse, at the time Leviticus was written? |
|
--doc Just Doc and Orson (German Shepherd) wandering around North America. | |
![]() |
|
| cmoehle | Jun 13 2006, 11:52 AM Post #544 |
|
Chris - San Antonio TX
|
"do unto others, etc. equality, mutual respect, justice without bias, forgiveness, compassion, etc." Except each religion adds all sorts of its own spiritual and supernatural stuff, extraneous to what is more or less common sense like do unto others etc. No, not saying extraneous to you, but extraneous to social morals, since those morals exist without religion, and exist for the sake of the living here and now. |
|
Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order. --Barry Goldwater | |
![]() |
|
| TexasShadow | Jun 13 2006, 11:59 AM Post #545 |
![]()
Jane
|
yes, they do, because they are human and each group tends to "stamp" the religion with their personal, ethnic culture and heritage. me... I like supernatural stuff and incense and candles and chanting and rhythm...I like solemnity and drama. The magnetic appeal of the occult is clearly apparent with all the cr..p we see on tv and in the movies. Lacking it in churches, the folks are going for it in the theaters. |
|
| |
![]() |
|
| cmoehle | Jun 13 2006, 12:16 PM Post #546 |
|
Chris - San Antonio TX
|
Ceremony carries a lot of tradition, dogma the rest. Change is not all always good. But if you don't bend you break. This discussion has evolved. |
|
Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order. --Barry Goldwater | |
![]() |
|
| TexasShadow | Jun 13 2006, 01:36 PM Post #547 |
![]()
Jane
|
no kidding.
|
|
| |
![]() |
|
| abradf2519 | Jun 13 2006, 02:43 PM Post #548 |
|
Member
|
No, it mutated.
|
|
Alan Milan, New York, USA | |
![]() |
|
| cmoehle | Jun 13 2006, 02:49 PM Post #549 |
|
Chris - San Antonio TX
|
Naturally.
|
|
Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order. --Barry Goldwater | |
![]() |
|
| teryt | Jun 13 2006, 02:52 PM Post #550 |
![]()
Missing in Action Member
|
I'm outa here - this just ain't, well . . . scientific!
|
My Boast is Christ ![]() Soon to have MBA (I'll perhaps be smart then) Recovering Perfectionist Christian Hedonist | |
![]() |
|
| teryt | Jun 13 2006, 03:02 PM Post #551 |
![]()
Missing in Action Member
|
OK, somebody has to get us back on track. How 'bout this?! London Times: I’ve found God, says man who cracked the genome
I heard about this article on Dennis Prager's radio show today. Dennis made an interesting comment: "If one found a computer program with 3.1 billion [bits] in it, they would never say that it didn't have an intelligent designer!" |
My Boast is Christ ![]() Soon to have MBA (I'll perhaps be smart then) Recovering Perfectionist Christian Hedonist | |
![]() |
|
| cmoehle | Jun 13 2006, 03:18 PM Post #552 |
|
Chris - San Antonio TX
|
Prager would find a 1-bit program indicative of God. What scientific evidence does Collins provide? Any? Or does he leap from the edge of awe to God out of incredulity? Einstein, who had no need of leaps of faith: The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. And The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely t o comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity. |
|
Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order. --Barry Goldwater | |
![]() |
|
| TexasShadow | Jun 13 2006, 03:59 PM Post #553 |
![]()
Jane
|
all einstein did, in my opinion, was transfer his awe of an incorporeal creator (ID) to that which the creator has made, and there's nothing wrong with that. we do it with a lot of things, admiring art or films or books or cars or good cooking... but we also honor the maker of them. I don't think einstein really rejected the Creator. He rejected man's interpretation of the Creator, which is what a lot of people do because man is often mistaken and sometimes devious and cannot be trusted. einstein chose to honor the things that are just what they are, without free will... and more honest, I suppose. |
|
| |
![]() |
|
| cmoehle | Jun 13 2006, 04:06 PM Post #554 |
|
Chris - San Antonio TX
|
If "man is often mistaken and sometimes devious and cannot be trusted" then how trust the concept of God. Perhaps God is just a projection of the awe we naturally feel. Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods. --Einstein And we saw this back a few months ago discussing atheistic morals: I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings. --Einstein |
|
Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order. --Barry Goldwater | |
![]() |
|
| TexasShadow | Jun 13 2006, 04:23 PM Post #555 |
![]()
Jane
|
you have to remember this is spoken by a jewish man who immigrated from germany (the holocaust) I think the holocaust made a lot of jews reject the religion of their fathers/grandmothers, and I can understand why. for that matter, anyone who suffers terrible tragedy, especially unjust tragedy, has a reasonable reason to reject the concept of a personal, benevolent Creator. the only answer I have come up with comes from my own experience with tragedy. you come to a point where you ask yourself: am I in this for what I can get out of it materially (protection, immunization, eternal life?) or am I in this for what I can get out of it spiritually (peace of mind, acceptance of life as it comes, faith/hope in better times to come, no grudges, no hate, no need for vengeance, no heartburn, etc)? |
|
| |
![]() |
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Soapbox · Next Topic » |










1:28 PM Jul 11