Religion – your views

[Xenon]

Perhaps the seven wives were actually participating in a top secret gambling contest, betting that they would survive.

[Acarr]

Or maybe they were betting to see how long it would take for him to realise that they were actually men.

[spiraldoor]

Perhaps the seven wives were actually participating in a top secret gambling contest, betting that they would survive.

Seven?

Or maybe they were betting to see how long it would take for him to realise that they were actually men.

Well, if they all had sex on the night they were married, I think he might have had an inkling...

[Xenon]

Perhaps the seven wives were actually participating in a top secret gambling contest, betting that they would survive.

Seven?

I'm tired today.

Anyway it seems likely that the women married because of the fame and fortune they thought they would inherit. Not sex and certainly not gambling! ^^

[Acarr]

Well, you never know...

[stan423321]

...now imagine that instead creating anglicanism, Henry converted to islam.

[spiraldoor]

...and became a suicide bomber?

[iHeckler9]

Ah, that Henry...
I read in a history book he likes to chop and change.

[Cairnie]

Speaking of Islam, I stumbled upon this today.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... 310016.ece

Now to tell all truth, I never really liked anyone that was in Big Brother, but that is just nasty.

[Acarr]

If his goal was to get at the front of a newspaper, he made it.

[Xenon]

What's with the great hostility between these two religions? The two follow pretty much the same god, so the two should be open to each other, not antagonistic. Some religions try to eliminate atheism, and some atheists try to eliminate religion. It's a never-ending cycle of idiocy.

It is IMPOSSIBLE to shape faith in someone, whether they believe strongly in a god of some sort or whether they hold no belief whatsoever. So what for crying out loud is this continual backstabbing stupidity about?

[Cairnie]

It was the last comment about Jade's head that ticked me off. What the poor woman [and several others across the globe] is going through is awful and the last thing she needs is to have Islamic fanatics picking on her just because only this last weekend she and her kids were baptised.

All this talk about Ms Goody makes me feel lucky that my mum had some really accurate smear tests.

[Joshua822]

Extremists are never good. But to be honest, translate Allah into English and it means "god". The lord of Christians is god too. So this is nonsense. Jade didn't turn her back on Allah at all, she only worships him in a other way.

This is really ridiculous. There isn't anything in the bible that conflicts with the Koran. They both come from the same statement too, be good to each other. And if Bakri was a real Moslim, he wouldn't be spreading hate. In the Koran, it even says that Christians and Jews are the brothers of the Islam.

[Tobbe]

It is IMPOSSIBLE to shape faith in someone

Wrong. It is entirely possible to change the opinions of someone who has an open (healthy) mind. I am an atheist, not because I have been brought up to be, but because that is what I see as the reasonable stance to take on the question of the existence or non-existence of god. After all, there is no evidence at all out there that supports the god hypothesis. I despise anyone with so-called "unshakable faith", and why it is considered a virtue is to me a mystery. Let me be clear: My faith (or rather lack of faith) is not unshakable. If any proper and convincing evidence confirming the existance of god, I would immideatly accept it and change my opinion.

The biggest sin (to use a word you religious people will recognise) a parent can commit is raising their kid to be Christian, Muslim, Jewish or whatever. You will probably have kids some day, and you should be ashamed of yourself if you were to raise them to believe in your religion. Why would you be so cruel to a child? It's to rape its mind!

To all you theists who are open to new ideas, try watching this televison documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_1Gpt6d ... annel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PN45mQU ... annel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXJRxsnw ... annel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhIAdcUn ... annel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76FgwKHf ... annel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBDJgXOZ ... annel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5NG_B1g ... annel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4lo1V5O ... annel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZozd1lE ... annel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARUNqisI ... annel_page

I also dare all of those who have "unshakable faith" to read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. If you can read it and not at least doubt the existence of a god, you are not just religious, you're fanatically religious.

[Xenon]

But it is impossible. You go to an average Christian church and present each member with damning arguments against God/Allah's existence, and tell me how many will reconsider their faith. Chances are you'll be unsuccessful because their belief lies deep in their hearts and not in their brains. People have been baptised and brought up by parents to strongly support their religion.

As for atheists, well, you're right that most would reassess their beliefs when presented with evidence, but truth be told, no evidence can or will exist.

The biggest sin (to use a word you religious people will recognise) a parent can commit is raising their kid to be Christian, Muslim, Jewish or whatever. You will probably have kids some day, and you should be ashamed of yourself if you were to raise them to believe in your religion. Why would you be so cruel to a child? It's to rape its mind!

I don't really agree with what you're saying, but I do believe strongly in secular education. Children should make their own decisions and not be brainwashed into believing in a god, without giving the slightest portion of thought. Christianity is a very delicate minority in society and this is probably the reason children are baptised into the arms of God.

[Tobbe]

But it is impossible. You go to an average Christian church and present each member with damning arguments against God/Allah's existence, and tell me how many will reconsider their faith.

I have personally converted a former priest from Christianity to Agnosticism, so I know that it is possible. Many Christians (or followers of any other religion) are not open minded enough to consider alternatives to religion, but there will always be some who will be.

Also, I have always been puzzled by the heart muscle's ability to carry emotions and beliefs.

[stan423321]

Ah, you...

Many Christians (or followers of any other religion) are not open minded enough to consider alternatives to religion, but there will always be some who will be.

I'm actually a Catholic, as you probably knew, and I'm enough intelligent to thinking about being atheist. But, you know, I tried for some time, and I found it: 1) hard (ethically), 2) boring, 3) not making any sense. I simply believe that the Big Bang had to be caused by something, whatever it is. Because, other way, we fall into one of Lem's books...

[spiraldoor]

Who, or what, is Lem?

[stan423321]

An atheist. And good sci-fi writer. However, in Polsih, so you probably wouldn't read his books.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanisław_Lem

[Tobbe]

But, you know, I tried for some time...

You "tried" atheism? How is that possible? You simply decided to stop believing in god? That doesn't make any sense.

and I found it: 1) hard (ethically)

Ethically hard? Please explain further.

2) boring

Boring?! You rejected what is almost infitely probably the truth because it was boring? That is such a load of horseshit. How is it boring anyway? Instead of going to church, praying and performing loads of other meaningless task, you are free to do whatever you want.

3) not making any sense. I simply believe that the Big Bang had to be caused by something, whatever it is.

Of course the Big Bang had to be caused by something, but we do not know what. A few centuries ago we had absolutely no idea of what caused disease, now we know that bacteria do. I accept that we don't know what caused the Big Bang, but I hope that we some day will find out. Explaining the Big Bang with "god did it" is just a cheap way of avoiding the question. And who created god, by the way? If you do not accept that the Big Bang didn't "just happen", you shouldn't accept that god "just happened" either.

And just a thought: If there really is a god, and he is wise, just and stuff like that, don't you think he would encourage individual thought rather than the blind worshipping most religious people do?