Do you believe in God?

[Professer Frost]

Nay, nay I’m too lazy even to paraphrase. One redundant question: How can you say that something infinite “exists”? Doesn’t the very definition of existence require that whatever exists be differentiated from other existent things and thus finite?

So far I’m extremely uncertain about God but I think there’s a good case to be made for agnosticism. I haven’t quite finished reading the chapter on “Ultimate Religious Ideas”
in Spencer’s “First Principles” but so far it seems to make a deal of sense.
- Frost
P. S.
I know that short posts lacking detail are unhelpful but I'm still very much in the process of learning about Herbert Spencer and the things he stood for so a multi-faceted critique is not to be expected. I'm sorry if I misled people into thinking I had more knowledge than I in fact do.

[Holiday20310401]

Exactly! If there is a god it lies in the transcendent, and therefore physically irrelevant. The only potential that we can give God is the fundamentals it possesses, which depending whether you choose to believe in God or not, can be through god or through yourself independent of God as a necessity.

[astrotheological]

No I don't believe in god because I just assumed that it was one of those childish beliefs that you grow out of like Santa Claus. Obviously as I got older I was wrong though.
There is just no actual physical evidence that a god exists or at least characters from the bible exist. Its great that the ten commandments exist but honestly if we have to go to church every Sunday like a child going to school to learn. Then the human race would still be considered a child. At least if thats the only ways for people to obey the ten commandments because obviously thats a good thing.

[Zetetic11235]

Originally Posted by astrotheological

No I don't believe in god because I just assumed that it was one of those childish beliefs that you grow out of like Santa Claus. Obviously as I got older I was wrong though.
There is just no actual physical evidence that a god exists or at least characters from the bible exist. Its great that the ten commandments exist but honestly if we have to go to church every Sunday like a child going to school to learn. Then the human race would still be considered a child. At least if thats the only ways for people to obey the ten commandments because obviously thats a good thing.

That is very circular reasoning. First of all, you assume that only children asttend school, which isn't true, what of college? There are adults ranging from 18 to 80 who attend Universities. Many christians and indeed most of the religious do not just go to Church to attend, and many have a set of beliefes derived from thier chosen doctrie that contradict what some of the ministers might have to say. People get very personal with religion and the religious are not a homgenous group.

Many hebrew people see the old testament as a book of ethical stories which promote certain actions. The ten commandments as the most basic set of tennents.

I personally do not think that the Ten Commandments are neccessarily the best basis for a legal system, but if you toss out 1 2 3 and 4 it works O.K. if you are satisfied with the judeo-christian ethics we live under.

[astrotheological]

When I say that it is children going to school to learn. I'm referring to kindergarden or preschool. This is where they develop social and behavioual skills. Eventually as they get older they begin to understand using logic and common sence to determine what is right and what is wrong.

[cupofcoffees]

Umm, kay, sorry but I'm a little offended.

Why wasn't the flying spaghetti monster an option? Are you discriminating against my religion?

[astrotheological]

Originally Posted by cupofcoffees

Umm, kay, sorry but I'm a little offended.

Why wasn't the flying spaghetti monster an option? Are you discriminating against my religion?

If your referring to what I was saying I apologize. I don't mean to offend people who are religious. I'm just looking at religion in my own perspective.

[Zetetic11235]

The kindergarten paralell isn't really accurate though. Its not neccessarily like going to school, in fact, there are christians who do not attend Chruch. They have developed an ideology based on their doctrine of faith that is personally distinct. This is true even of fundamentalists. They argue about certain passages becuase for many parts a literal translation is not called for os there are many possible interpretations.

For many people god does not follow the same logical form as santa claus. I myself am and agnostic. I do not believe in god but I do not refute the possiblity totally. You cannot refute somthing when their is no definite evidence either way, and you certainly can't make a proof over a system as open as the physical universe.

[Holiday20310401]

Cupofcoffee,

Why be offended? Its only an opinion.

This is what I don't get about people and religion and how we can't get facts presented upon it in school. It would offend people. And then it ticks me off even more when people want to offend others.

But for most, people do not want to offend another's religion, just convey the truth; not hold bias upon it, or saying 'my religion's better than your'. (In Canada we don't get that crap, often). No, atheists are wonderful for helping others understand religion because they tend to know more about the source of the actual religion than the religious people.

Though I envy those who can be religious because it means they have a healthy (humanistic) spirit.

But really. Why must people hold their own religion as such a base to their emotion so that when criticized, it becomes offensive. Religion is not meant to be a tool of comparison and as such there is no need to allow yourself to be taken in by what others say about your spiritual side.

[Didymos Thomas]

No, atheists are wonderful for helping others understand religion because they tend to know more about the source of the actual religion than the religious people.

Come on now, Holiday. You know better than to make that sort of generalization. As a general rule, everyone is pretty well ignorant, atheist and theist alike.

Though I envy those who can be religious because it means they have a healthy (humanistic) spirit.

Some of them, yes. But some are just as angry and hateful as the angry and hateful atheists. And among atheists you also find wonderful, compassionate people.