Is There a God?

Back a few years ago a Judge had the ten commandment prominently displayed in the courthouse, it caused quite a ruckus. I'm not sure but I think it was in Alabama.
I couldn't help imagining some poor rube going into the courthouse with a traffic violation, reading the Ten Commandments and thinking "Damn!! I'm guilty of violating one through five, as well as ten.
Hell fire y’awl boys are gonna throw the book at me". :s mokin:

:s ailor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqaf2...ipcontrinter=1

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Originally Posted by Rudy Tamasz

Based on the history examples I tried to show you that with a virtual inability of human beings to know all the facts, and deficiencies in human thinking, any reasoning is inherently flawed. Believers cope with this problem by factoring in things beyond human control and understanding, while atheists just tend to ignore those. In my book ignorance has never been a good strategy.

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No, Just no.

Leaving what we don't understand to be in the hands of the supernatural is ignorance.

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Originally Posted by gloomyDAY

That is naive. I'm an atheist too, but I don't think our world would be necessarily better without religion.

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Ever been to the middle east? You might want to reconsider what you posted.
Also it has been religion that kept people away from science for centuries. How does that sound?

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Originally Posted by Mr Alcatraz

Religion is "dying hard"! I don't want to step on anyone’s spirituality. However, there was a time when unexplained natural phenomena and the idea of "causality" were not understood. Our species has evolved. We don't need human sacrifice to appease a rain god to ensure our corn will grow. And personally I don't need religion to know it is improper to take what belongs to someone else. The only thing I want to say about Jesus (not you Gloo) is; at a time when the Romans were ruling the middle east with an iron fist some Israelites were thinking that this may be a good time for the second coming of god. There were many candidates at the time, most were discarded as phonies, and arguably so was Jesus, because the majority of Israelites did not recognize him as "The One"
I don’t even want to get started on Caesar Constantine's promotion of "The Holy Roman Catholic Church", the justice it meted out to non believers, and intolerance of advances in physical science that the church instituted. What I do believe about jesus is that he was a non-violent revolutionary, and possibly the the first significant one.

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:up: Nice one!

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Originally Posted by Robinho

I saw something the other day which used the phrase "Faith is a euphemism for gullibility"

I don't believe in a god, I am not religious, I see no need for it in modern society. I don't believe in fate or that I don't have control over my life. I don't wish to feel that some unseen force is guiding me or my decisions. People can influence my life, and it bothers me that some believe that they are guided by some unseen force and use it as justification for their actions.

You are resonsible for you actions.

You have one life. Live it. We have one planet. I don't believe that this is preparation for something else. I don't believe that there is a god waiting to reward/punish our decisions or on hand to save the human race (or the other inhabitants of this planet). I honestly believe that the word would be vastly improved if people did not use religon and faith as a doctrine of control and political will.

I could not believe in a god that can allow people to act as they do to each other.

I also believe that despite the number of people who may refer to themselves are "Christian" etc on a census form or if stopped in the street, most of these don't actually practice nor believe in the foundation of their stated religon

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We rarely agree on anything, this time though I fully agree.

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Originally Posted by gadjo_dilo

No. I'm not sure. But I have doubts. That's why when I talk about such issues I do it like " I think that..." not like " I believe that..."

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You're on the right way.Thinking is better, much better than being a believer.

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Originally Posted by BDunnell

May I make an important theological contribution here?

"God is... a gas."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49j2Y_680D0&

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:D

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Originally Posted by studiose

The difference between Europe and America is certainly interesting when it comes to religiousness in politics. As the article implies, an atheist can pretty much forget about being President in the US. Or he has to lie..

Not so in many European countries.

I know that in Estonia -- as perhaps an extreme example, but nevertheless -- if a presidential candidate started talking about God and faith, he/she would be seen by most as some sort of dangerous nutter. Even at Christmas when politicians make a point of being seen in church, it comes across as somehow unnatural.

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Exactly.
US politicians have been using religion as a means to support their careers, yet people continue to vote for such hypocrites. Funny eh?

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Originally Posted by Mr Alcatraz

Back a few years ago a Judge had the ten commandment prominently displayed in the courthouse, it caused quite a ruckus. I'm not sure but I think it was in Alabama.
I couldn't help imagining some poor rube going into the courthouse with a traffic violation, reading the Ten Commandments and thinking "Damn!! I'm guilty of violating one through five, as well as ten.
Hell fire y’awl boys are gonna throw the book at me". :s mokin:

:s ailor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqaf2...ipcontrinter=1

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I think Uncle Fousto is Hank Williams. :laugh:

The 10 commandments are a fascinating point of this subject. To say they are a foible in the Christin faith is an understatement in the extreme.

I think all will agree that the 10 commandments are a cornerstone of the 3 major western faiths; Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is the most clear example of divine intervention and details where God directly interacted with man and unquestionably instructed man the fundamental principles that they should live their life by. They are described as The Royal Laws and The Laws of Liberty, these are the unbreakable rules, the set in stone laws, the cornerstone of principles of the 3 faiths. If you're a follower of the Christian, Jewish or Islamic faith, these are the basic principles of your faith which you MUST follow aren't they?

Exodus 20:1

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1. You shall have no other gods before me.

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Pretty self evident that God should be the most important thing in your life. Not money, not family and not other Gods. Sounds a bit insecure if you ask me and none of this respecting other faiths and beliefs business. There is one God and that's it.

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2. You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

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Hang on. Isn't that why we get annoyed with Islamic fundamentalists. Because they get upset when we draw pictures of Heaven etc. I know what heaven and hell looks like from pictures in Christian texts or Churches. If you ask me, this God fella seems a bit OTT by persecuting the 3rd and 4th generations of people that don't follow him. Bt of a nasty bugger really.

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3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

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God damn it. For Gods sake. God help us. Any of us never used these oaths. Bit shakey all these principles aren't they?

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4.Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

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Hang on a minute. This is getting silly now. What about Co-op on a Sunday or the Sunday papers. What if you need fuel or the Police or to make a train journey. This Sabbath thing isn't serious is it? Surely the fundamental Laws of Christianity aren't meant to be taken seriously are they?

5. Honour Father and Mother.... well, unless you have better things to do of course. Stick them in a home. It'll be better for them and they wont cramp your style.

6. Murder... Well, if it's pedo's or Rapists or enemies or someone that might be a threat so we must have a gun to blow them away just in case eh?

7. Adultery.... Well, unless your a Catholic priest in a boys school.

8. Steal.... Apart from the Government in tax evasion or a few hours off the boss to play golf.

9. Lie.... Nobody lies do they. I'm just waiting for someone to come on here and claim they adhere to the 10 commandments :laugh:

10. Wanting something someone else has. A car, a House, a woman or a beer. Jealousy is part of life. Christ on a bike, even God admitted he was jealous earlier in these commandments.

Now come on. What committed Christian doesn't break most of these or is complicit in violating them on a regular basis? And these are the 10 commandment set in stone by your GOD!!

Yet, you're quite happy picking up a vague bit of ambiguous text such as on homosexuality and shouting it from the tallest steeple but can't abide by the basic principles.

Isn't this a tincy wincy bit hypocritical?

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Originally Posted by Alexamateo

Conversely, I would see a politician with no faith as groundless and lacking a frame of reference. In other words, there would be no anchor points from which to make decisions from.
Atheism just seems so nihilistic.

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Allow me to be honest and tell you that what you posted is rubbish.
As an atheist I find my reference in my own knowledge and capabilities, and I know that I can count on them to live the life I want to live.