I missed the news.. True? Did he say this?

[WB9YZU]

EVERYONE, pay close attention.
I am not religious, I do not believe in christ.
.

Is believing in Christ the litmus test for being religious?

 

[Ray H]

Is believing in Christ the litmus test for being religious?

No, thats why I seperated them. "Im not religious, in addition, I dont believe in christ." Two seperate things.

 

[Ray H]

Thats because you and Goatman are both secure in your beliefs and don't give a rats ass what someone else believes in. Some here should take some lessons.

Its very true. I really couldnt care what other believe. Faith is a private ordeal. Two people can sit right beside each other, in the same church for years and years and their beliefs wont be exactly the same (cough, cough, Obama). No two atheists will believe exactly the same. It would be a lonely world if you picked your friends by their religious beliefs.

 

[ehall]

I challenge you to find anything in the constitution that says anything about polygamy.

Well that's a strange response, given that I did not say otherwise.

Besides, the US federal constitution is not the whole of our legal system.

 

[Ray H]

Well that's a strange response, given that I did not say otherwise.

Besides, the US federal constitution is not the whole of our legal system.

Im sorry. I thought when you said
"If we are fill-in-the-blank nation like B. Hussein said then polygamy would be legal here. It's not, and we're not" you meant that polygamy was illegal in this country.
And when you said" Just look at monogamy, for example. If we were truly neutral about it we'd have polygamy 200 years ago." you were referring to the constitution not being "neutral", which was coicidentally written about 200 years ago.

My mistake I guess.

 

[WB9YZU]

No, thats why I seperated them. "Im not religious, in addition, I dont believe in christ." Two seperate things.

You say you are not religious, and that you don't believe in Christ.
Some may say the later is a "Duh!" statement based on the first, but one can not make that distinction nowdays

Religion takes all forms, even being an Athiest is a religion in and of itself because in order to say you do not believe something exists is to acknowledge the possibility of it's existance and in the next breath to deny it.

So, what do you believe in?

 

[Ray H]

You say you are not religious, and that you don't believe in Christ.
Some may say the later is a "Duh!" statement based on the first, but one can not make that distinction nowdays

Religion takes all forms, even being an Athiest is a religion in and of itself because in order to say you do not believe something exists is to acknowledge the possibility of it's existance and in the next breath to deny it.

So, what do you believe in?

You're right, I guess I couldve just stopped by saying Im not religious, and left it there. For some reason I felt I should go on and mention christ since he seems to be a predominant figure in this thread.
Do you really want to know what my beliefs are?

 

[Goatman]

You're right, I guess I couldve just stopped by saying Im not religious, and left it there. For some reason I felt I should go on and mention christ since he seems to be a predominant figure in this thread.
Do you really want to know what my beliefs are?

Actually, I thought you're statement "I'm not religious, and I don't believe in Christ", was very appropriate and clearly understood. I am not religious, however I do believe in Christ. Like you, I see the two as being totally independant of each other.

To me, tolerance is a very Christ like action and character trait, and I value it very highly. Unfortunately, if you study much religion, of all types, tolerance can too often be found not valued or practiced.

Really, the term "religion, or religious" is difficult to use, as it has so many meanings. It's hard to know what a person really means by using it.

 

[WB9YZU]

Ray, Not if you don't want to share. I am curious.

I don't believe in a "God" per se, but, I am positive that life on this planet was not an accident. I believe that Jesus was, and that he was a man and a prophet, but not son of any God. I believe that many events in the Bible happend, but perhaps not the way they were depicted exactly. I believe that the moral teachings in the Bible are useful to society and we should continue to uphold them.

Am I religious per se? No, but I am not without belief either

 

[WB9YZU]

Really, the term "religion, or religious" is difficult to use, as it has so many meanings. It's hard to know what a person really means by using it.

Very true.
"Not religious" could mean that you believe, but don't go to Church. Or it could mean you believe yourself to be an Athiest. People use it different ways.

One needs to set asside the whole Judeo-Christain concept and paint with a larger brush to understand that religions are not just based on those values, but a deep belief in something external to ones own being.

 

[Ray H]

Ray, Not if you don't want to share. I am curious.

I don't believe in a "God" per se, but, I am positive that life on this planet was not an accident. I believe that Jesus was, and that he was a man and a prophet, but not son of any God. I believe that many events in the Bible happend, but perhaps not the way there were depicted exactly. I believe that the moral teachings in the Bible are useful to society and we should continue to uphold them.

Am I religious per se? No, but I am not without believe either

I dont believe in a supreme being. I dont believe we have soles. I think we are just animals just like the rest of them. I believe the bible is a book of stories that are based on actual events but have been embellished to incorporate a god to explain the unexplainable. I believe the earth is hundreds of thousands of years old but Im not sure of our (human) origins. I believe the universe is billions of years old but I dont know how it all started. I would give anything to know what the very first "thing" that existed was. Something can not be made from nothing. This is something I have yet to get a good answer from anyone who believes in a god. Ok, so god made the earth and everything else, but who made god????? Did he just appear from nothing, because thats impossible. There had to have been a creator for god and then a creator for the creator of god and so on. I guess thats the thing I have in common with those of faith. Neither of us truely know what started everything. Maybe god was created from a random space dust cloud that formed into a being. If thats the case, then god really isnt so much a god but more of just a more advanced being than we are. Thats assuming nothing can be made into something, which it cant.
I believe we are one species of thousands on one of a billion planets. If there was once a "god" who created everything, I dont think he gives a rats ass what one little insignificant species on one tiny planet is doing. What happens when people are gone, extinct? (and some day they will be) Will god make more?

 

[Goatman]

I dont believe in a supreme being. I dont believe we have soles. I think we are just animals just like the rest of them. I believe the bible is a book of stories that are based on actual events but have been embellished to incorporate a god to explain the unexplainable. I believe the earth is hundreds of thousands of years old but Im not sure of our (human) origins. I believe the universe is billions of years old but I dont know how it all started. I would give anything to know what the very first "thing" that existed was. Something can not be made from nothing. This is something I have yet to get a good answer from anyone who believes in a god. Ok, so god made the earth and everything else, but who made god????? Did he just appear from nothing, because thats impossible. There had to have been a creator for god and then a creator for the creator of god and so on. I guess thats the thing I have in common with those of faith. Neither of us truely know what started everything. Maybe god was created from a random space dust cloud that formed into a being. If thats the case, then god really isnt so much a god but more of just a more advanced being than we are. Thats assuming nothing can be made into something, which it cant.

Pretty good question. I don't know the answer to it. However, there is something that I feel is important. I see, and accept, that many, if not most, truths exist in a paradox. It's like looking at a coin, or other two sided objects. You can only see what's on one side at a time, yet the coin itself is definitely both sides. Many truths can be the same way, with seemingly opposite sides that are really part of the same thing, yet it's virtually impossible to see. It can only be accepted after viewing both sides. Too many times people viewing the individual sides argue their perspective, while the truth of the matter is missed...........or not accepted.

Does there HAVE to be something before the creator? If there really is a creator, how well could we understand him (or whoever)? How well do we understand the physical principals of our universe? We've learned a lot, come a long way, yet there are theories and principles that we have no understanding of.......and yet use.

Regarding the universe, or our world, when you look at the vast number of intricate elements of design that are present, especially in living things, I find it harder to believe it came to be without a creator/designer than to believe that it did. To me, accepting a creator is very logical. It is also logical to accept that by the very nature of it there would be a tremendous lack of ability on my part to understand a creator, or how or why things came to exist. I can think of a child and how little they initially understand about the world around them. Or how about an embryo in an egg of some animal trying to understand it's situation relative to the world outside and the universe beyond that. If there really is a creator who did have the ability to design and create all of this, we are a far cry from having the ability to understand much.

Hey, once in awhile it's fun to ponder this stuff.

 

[GSequoia]

Pretty good question. I don't know the answer to it. However, there is something that I feel is important. I see, and accept, that many, if not most, truths exist in a paradox. It's like looking at a coin, or other two sided objects. You can only see what's on one side at a time, yet the coin itself is definitely both sides. Many truths can be the same way, with seemingly opposite sides that are really part of the same thing, yet it's virtually impossible to see. It can only be accepted after viewing both sides. Too many times people viewing the individual sides argue their perspective, while the truth of the matter is missed...........or not accepted.

Does there HAVE to be something before the creator? If there really is a creator, how well could we understand him (or whoever)? How well do we understand the physical principals of our universe? We've learned a lot, come a long way, yet there are theories and principles that we have no understanding of.......and yet use.

Regarding the universe, or our world, when you look at the vast number of intricate elements of design that are present, especially in living things, I find it harder to believe it came to be without a creator/designer than to believe that it did. To me, accepting a creator is very logical. It is also logical to accept that by the very nature of it there would be a tremendous lack of ability on my part to understand a creator, or how or why things came to exist. I can think of a child and how little they initially understand about the world around them. Or how about an embryo in an egg of some animal trying to understand it's situation relative to the world outside and the universe beyond that. If there really is a creator who did have the ability to design and create all of this, we are a far cry from having the ability to understand much.

Hey, once in awhile it's fun to ponder this stuff.

Richard...


...Are you stoned?


:greensmok

 

[Goatman]

Richard...


...Are you stoned?


:greensmok

:laugh:


That's funny!


So, you didn't know that I think about this stuff?

 

[Ray H]

Pretty good question. I don't know the answer to it. However, there is something that I feel is important. I see, and accept, that many, if not most, truths exist in a paradox. It's like looking at a coin, or other two sided objects. You can only see what's on one side at a time, yet the coin itself is definitely both sides. Many truths can be the same way, with seemingly opposite sides that are really part of the same thing, yet it's virtually impossible to see. It can only be accepted after viewing both sides. Too many times people viewing the individual sides argue their perspective, while the truth of the matter is missed...........or not accepted.

Does there HAVE to be something before the creator? If there really is a creator, how well could we understand him (or whoever)? How well do we understand the physical principals of our universe? We've learned a lot, come a long way, yet there are theories and principles that we have no understanding of.......and yet use.

Regarding the universe, or our world, when you look at the vast number of intricate elements of design that are present, especially in living things, I find it harder to believe it came to be without a creator/designer than to believe that it did. To me, accepting a creator is very logical. It is also logical to accept that by the very nature of it there would be a tremendous lack of ability on my part to understand a creator, or how or why things came to exist. I can think of a child and how little they initially understand about the world around them. Or how about an embryo in an egg of some animal trying to understand it's situation relative to the world outside and the universe beyond that. If there really is a creator who did have the ability to design and create all of this, we are a far cry from having the ability to understand much.

Hey, once in awhile it's fun to ponder this stuff.

Its true, we are all trapped by our lack of knowledge.
I added a sentence to my last post since you quoted me. Basically Im willing to accept that the universe and existance itself is due to a creator because in honesty, the very beginning of something (the universe) is the part of my beliefs that I have no explanation for. Where I lose faith is thinking that we (humans) are more than just a very small insignificant spec in the universe. I guess to put it simply, I believe in the possibility of a being creating a particle floating in space that has now become our universe as we know it. I dont think this creator has micromanaged the creation of this planet or this species. I dont believe he watches over us or directs us or has effected the development of this planet or any other planet.

 

[Ray H]

How could anyone NOT think about this stuff, its eternity we are talking about.

 

[cracked-butt]

I think we are just animals just like the rest of them. I believe the bible is a book of stories that are based on actual events but have been embellished to incorporate a god to explain the unexplainable.

This is something I have yet to get a good answer from anyone who believes in a god. Ok, so god made the earth and everything else, but who made god????? Did he just appear from nothing, because thats impossible. There had to have been a creator for god and then a creator for the creator of god and so on.

I guess thats the thing I have in common with those of faith. Neither of us truely know what started everything.

If there was once a "god" who created everything, I dont think he gives a rats ass what one little insignificant species on one tiny planet is doing.

have to agree with you on that one. we are just like every other animal on earth... sometimes better, most often worse.

answer 1; the GODDESS made "god" (just do a little research of paganism & you'll see)

answer 2; not any more if he (she) ever did. (as to first & last part of the quote).

and back onto the original topic, (sorta) i believe that the church & state (government) SHOULD BE seperated , as they are now. (at least how they portray it any how)

 

[WB9YZU]

How could anyone NOT think about this stuff, its eternity we are talking about.

And the older you get, the more you tend to ponder it.

All of us who have past "mid-age" have struggled with the questions that have haunted men's souls since the dawn of time.

* How did we get here? Were we created, or are we a cosmic accident?

* Is this all that there is? Are we just here to reproduce and die, or is there a higher purpose?

* What happens when we die?

We attempt to answer the un-answerable.

 

[red91]

As I was listening to a news program last night, I watched in horror as Barack Obama made the statement with pride. . ."we are no longer a Christian nation; we are now a nation of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, . . . As with so many other statements I've heard him (and his wife) make, I never thought I'd see the day that I'd hear something like that from a presidential candidate in this nation. To think our forefathers fought and died for the right for our nation to be a Christian nation--and to have this man say with pride that we are no longer that. How far this nation has come from what our founding fathers intended it to be.

I hope that each of you will do what I'm doing now--send your concerns, written simply and sincerely, to the Christians on your email list. With God's help, and He is still in control of this nation and all else, we can show this man and the world in November that we are, indeed, still a Christian nation!

UH OH...You know those JEWISH people are just a bunch of subverts anyhow...



I actually like Buddhists to be honest... whats wrong with that ?

Oh wait...most of them are pacifists...smell a revolution on the way?

 

[red91]

I I dont believe we have soles.

No but my shoes do.