Unscientific survey of 'poly religious beliefs

[Brent]

If God had no contact with the universe, He may as well not exist.

I do not think complexity is possible without a creator.

Life is a test.

We need faith in order to act, and with perfect knowledge, there is no need for faith.

Parents require their children to trust them without understanding why.

Every being that can exist does exist.

Nonbelievers serve as tools of God to test believers.

If God is omnipotent, He has the power to solve any problem He creates.

One can easily, wholeheartedly, believe something empirically, falsely.

Everyone needs to be taught by a greater being.

I communicate, therefore I have a brain.

The meaning of the word "God" in the English language is shaped by monotheism.

God wishes for mortals to be instructed.

Belief leads to action.

God shows Himself directly to some, but not you or I.

It is impossible to do right without knowing what is right.

The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. The Law was made for man, and not man for the Law.

Faith precedes the miracle.

[Bill3000]

Write in paragraphs dammit, stop

pressing

enter

for

every

sentance!

I do not think complexity is possible without a creator.

You are wrong on this one; it is. I do remember one particular chemiocal reaction that was completely spontaneous and was extrordinarily complex; there was no creator needed for that. (And don't pull the "but someone had to put them in the bottle together" crap)

If God had no contact with the universe, He may as well not exist.

You finally got it! And he doesn't, or at least has very little contact as to consider it no contact.

We need faith in order to act, and with perfect knowledge, there is no need for faith.

Yeah, if we had perfect knowledge, we'd be god. But we don't need faith; it's just humanity's crutch to instill hope in an unforgiving universe. It has its advantages, but its artificial.

I communicate, therefore I have a brain.

If god is supposedly omnipotent, everywhere at the same time, he can't possibly have a central nervous system, much less a brain. Therefore he cannot communicate with us, and since he could not communicate with us, he doesn't exist, coinciding with your previous argument.

The meaning of the word "God" in the English language is shaped by monotheism.

Well, that's because throughout the evolution of middle and modern english, the anglophones for the most part has been monotheistic.

Faith precedes the miracle.

So an abstract concept of sentience existed before there was the quark-gluon plasma that was the preceddors of all matter 15 billion years ago? mmmkay.

Parents require their children to trust them without understanding why.

That's probably the most untrue thing you have ever said. Children should learn to think for themselves and strive for knowledge on their own, not to trust their elders (much less their parents) on what is right. Dogma is only harmful for the progress of humanity.

Every being that can exist does exist.

Considering the fact that humanity will most likely be able (And will) to create artifical life in the near future, your statement is most likely false.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Brent
If God had no contact with the universe, He may as well not exist.

agreed... in which case, it's pointless to worship him

I do not think complexity is possible without a creator.

why? and if that's the case, who is God's creator? surely something as complex as God must have a creator.

Life is a test.

possible... but no way to know

We need faith in order to act,

the weak do

and with perfect knowledge, there is no need for faith.

agreed

Parents require their children to trust them without understanding why.

but behind every child's ignorance, there is a reason for parents' actions

Every being that can exist does exist.

wha?

Nonbelievers serve as tools of God to test believers.

not if we have free will

If God is omnipotent, He has the power to solve any problem He creates.

ah ha! but then God does NOT have the power to create a problem he cannot solve... and hence, he is not omnipotent

One can easily, wholeheartedly, believe something empirically, falsely.

true, but it is easier to believe something that is false, based on faith

Everyone needs to be taught by a greater being.

then who taught God? who was God's creator?

I communicate, therefore I have a brain.

eh... okay...

The meaning of the word "God" in the English language is shaped by monotheism.

relevance?

God wishes for mortals to be instructed.

then why doesn't he instruct us

Belief leads to action.

true, illustrating the danger of belief... especially if it is false.

God shows Himself directly to some, but not you or I.

and how do you know this? did God tell you?

It is impossible to do right without knowing what is right.

actions are not predicated on knowledge... one can do right without knowing it is right... and one can do wrong without knowing it is wrong.

The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. The Law was made for man, and not man for the Law.

I don't even know what the **** this is supposed to mean...

Faith precedes the miracle.

sounds like a catch-22 to me... I can't have faith without the miracle, but according to you, you can't have the miracle without the faith. Convenient cop out if you ask me.

[quantum_mechani]

Originally posted by Heresson


oh, not all the details.
Just that in the karaite-samaritan-jewish-christian-muslim tradition, Christianity is the only acceptable.

Well, and what has it to do with my claim that agnostic and atheist choice should be separated?

What do you mean by 'acceptable'?

I don't have any problem with separating the atheist and agnostic choices on the poll, I was debating your statements generalizing agnostics as doubting members of other religions, rather than having a wholly separate belief system(and I believe the second type are the ones much more likely to call themselves agnostic).

[Thorn]

I sleep with God, therefore I need no religion I only pray.

[MOBIUS]

Originally posted by quantum_mechani
What do you mean by 'acceptable'?

I don't have any problem with separating the atheist and agnostic choices on the poll, I was debating your statements generalizing agnostics as doubting members of other religions, rather than having a wholly separate belief system(and I believe the second type are the ones much more likely to call themselves agnostic).

This is one of the main thing that really bugs me about religious types...

How is it they can believe in one religion exclusively over others - what gives these mere mortals the right to decide which religion is acceptable to them?

In many ways that makes them worse than atheists IMO, and also contributes to the preposterousness of organised religion due to the fact that there are so many...

[Bill3000]

Organized religion = teh suck. Unless you create your own.

[MOBIUS]

"Join the First Church of MOBIUS!

Contribute 90% of your income and I will personally guarantee that your every wish will come true in the Afterlife...

P.S. I don't have a hell unless you are a masochist and you're into that sort of thing"

[Moral Hazard]

This has really degenerated into a nice bukakke fest.

[MOBIUS]

"All the bukkake you want in the First Church of MOBIUS afterlife!"

[Bill3000]

Originally posted by MOBIUS
"All the bukkake you want in the First Church of MOBIUS afterlife!"

[Mr. Harley]

How is it they can believe in one religion exclusively over others - what gives these mere mortals the right to decide which religion is acceptable to them?

Mobius - I assume then you plan to become B'Hai? Or Universalist.

[Atahualpa]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
Which is why it is impossible for God to prove his omnipotence given the constraints of the universe.

It doesn't make God any less real, it just illustrates the limitations of our own world.

impossible for an omnipotent god
You haven't understood a bit of what I was talking about.

[Brent]

God is not literally omnipresent. He has a body. God created man in His own image. The Lord spake unto Moses face to face. There is no beginning. There will be no end. Should a newborn need to think for itself completely? If man artificially creates true life, that life already has a spirit. Same with all life. God's actions have reasons. God's knowledge of what mortals will do does not mean it is not their choice. Everything you learn, you learn by the power of God. Correct belief leads to correct action. You will not be rewarded for accidentally doung what is right. You will not be punished for something you did not know was wrong.

[Atahualpa]

Didn't know that the RCC had forum-bots..