Is There a God?

[Tazio]

@ Knock-on I found this Top 10 Peaceful Men
I should be more specific and say that Jesus' legacy is peace and who is to say when a revolution of humanity ends?

[Knock-on]

Knock-on wrote:
What record do we have that Jesus was peaceful? The Bible was written 300 years later

You are right here; so I guess it is quite possible that the legacy he left although very subjective is one of advocating among other things peace. No one can speak with authority of his day to day life or even what specifically he said. So I guess it depends on whose story you believe.



I'll take this opinion that refers to:
Mark 8:27-38; Philippians 2:1-11; I Corinthians 2:1-10
As you say we know very little about the man!
BTW I believe this could all be BS

Totally agree. We can choose to 'believe' parts of the Bible that reflect our individual beliefs, morals and convictions while ignoring those passages that contradict our principles. It's human nature after all. Look at the arguments we have on here with some Americans cherry picking parts of their constitution to suit their arguments and ignoring others that contradict them. Similarly, I personally get irate and judgemental about bloody mothers that park on School Zone lines and make the entrances dangerous for children but other driving laws such as speeding at 80 MPH on the motorway i quite readily flaunt. Hypocritical non?

The Bible is no different is it? In many ways it is a subjective work of fiction with little basis in fact other than the underlying framework similar to a Dan Brown novel.

Nope the Bible, or any religious teaching for that matter, is no evidence of fact or fiction, right or wrong. It's just a teaching from the past that we can learn lessons from but should be used advisedly.

As to whether Jesus and the early Christians were peaceful and non-aggressive? Very unlikely when the socio-economic situation at the time would rather preclude this. Could you imagine that any such tribe would survive without fighting and conquering it's enemies? Peace and Love? Yeah right! Tell that to the Romans

Either way, all of this has no bearing whatsoever on the existence of a God. In my opinion, a God and Religion are mutually exclusive. It's beyond reason and logic that any organised Religion is derived from the existence of a supreme being or whatever God is (if it exists).

[Tazio]

Good post knockie
We know most of both the old and New Testament was cherry-picked. And there is no doubt that that there was ugly goings on after Jesus' death and before Christianity was the official religion of Rome. But what is cherry picked about jesus in his life points to him being very strong on the side of non-violence. I don't think we will ever really know however.
ailor: Peace bro

[EuroTroll]

If Jesus had had a machine gun, would he have won?

[wedge]

If Jesus had had a machine gun, would he have won?

Last week I found this sticker when I was in Ghent, Belgium:

[Knock-on]

Good post knockie
We know most of both the old and New Testament was cherry-picked. And there is no doubt that that there was ugly goings on after Jesus' death and before Christianity was the official religion of Rome. But what is cherry picked about jesus in his life points to him being very strong on the side of non-violence. I don't think we will ever really know however.
ailor: Peace bro

Cheers mate.

As for whether Jesus was peaceful, it matters little if the people that choose to follow Christianity adopt the "good" parts of the bible's teachings. What has or should have been is not as important as what is or shall be. Can't change the past but the future is ours to command.

Same is true about the past of Countries and Race. We can't influence what happened before we were born but are responsible for what we can influence and change

If religion has an important role to play in tody's world, it is to make things better for everyone and not to be a weapon in conflict to prove one sides beliefs are more relevant than anothers.

All of which has no bearing on any type of God of course.

[Tazio]

ailor: Amen!!

[Rollo]

Religion according to the OED is:
2. "a particular system of faith and/or worship",
3. "a controlling influence on a person's life"

Religion for want of a better word is a set of practices based on or that follow as a result of one's faith. To put it more simply: Faith is where and what you believe in; Religion is what you do about it. That definition is flexible enough to include many/few/one/zero God/god/s.

If all of this is logical, then even I must concede that religion breeds intolerance and ignorance, because: "everyone from the lowliest peasant, to kings and princes are motivated by self-interest"
- Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, Book 1.

The thug who robs a 7-Eleven, a lazy plumber who takes too long to do a job, the bankers on Wall St, even the priesthood who do "naughty things", are all "motivated by self-interest"; because of this, the religion that has caused more mistreatment and unhappiness than any other is surely the religion of self-interest? I'd say that it's caused both far more bad and good than any organised church, or codified religion ever has. Even if you want to look at the examples of jihad and the crusades, we still find people operating from the motivation of self-interest.

Either way, all of this has no bearing whatsoever on the existence of a God. In my opinion, a God and Religion are mutually exclusive. It's beyond reason and logic that any organised Religion is derived from the existence of a supreme being or whatever God is (if it exists).

I think that the two questions of "is there a God?" and "what is a religion? are separate and distinct but not necessarily mutually exclusive. The answer of how one goes about their religion is predicated by the first question. I can for instance be argued that Richard Dawkins as an atheist is following his own brand of religion because his practices (including putting adverts on buses) are the result of what he believes in; likewise I go to work five days a week based on the belief that the rewards derived from working pay for the electric, gas, grocery bills etc. Is it a religion? Under the loosest definition that it is a set of practices based on I believe, it is.

[BDunnell]

Totally agree. We can choose to 'believe' parts of the Bible that reflect our individual beliefs, morals and convictions while ignoring those passages that contradict our principles. It's human nature after all. Look at the arguments we have on here with some Americans cherry picking parts of their constitution to suit their arguments and ignoring others that contradict them. Similarly, I personally get irate and judgemental about bloody mothers that park on School Zone lines and make the entrances dangerous for children but other driving laws such as speeding at 80 MPH on the motorway i quite readily flaunt. Hypocritical non?

I don't see how any human except the most tiresomely righteous moralist could have the slightest objection to any of this.

[BDunnell]

May I make an important theological contribution here?

"God is... a gas."

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