Quote from sarah-eats-cupcakes

it is highly unlikely that the world as we know it is nothing but a result of coincident reactions or that dna was originally a very simple structure.
and take a look at earth,compare earth to other planets...this is the only planet that contains everything necessary to all living beings...oxygen(and right amount of other gases),water.suitable temperature,ozone layer to protect humans,plants and animals from harmful uv radiations
doesnt this seem too perfect to be a coincidence?doesnt it seem like someone designed all of this?

Nope. The reason earth is habitable is cause its the proper distance away from the sun. too close leads to evaporation of water if there was any at all. and any further you get ice-planets. Water is the staple of life, or atleast a staple to how we evolved. (i personally like to entertain the fact that there is life outside earth, for the following reason)
There are billions of billions of stars out there, each one of them with a solar system of its own that holds its own set of planets. To think that there isn't even a 1/100000000000000000 chance that a planet be a certain distance away from a star and have the proper basic gases that can come to react and form together is just plain ignorant.

EDIT:
also again using the whole "1/1000000000000000 chance" thing to say that yes, even if its just that one out of a thousand billion or so, there should be atleast one planet that holds a successful sequence of evolutionary developments to come up with what we have today
(apologies if this was from too far back in the convo)

Also for the arguements on war and fighting:
I can't quote it line for line, but i remember many/some religions have "punishments" for certain things. Like being stoned to death for being homosexual because its not what "god intended".
If god did not intend it, then why is it so? Does this prove his fake omnipotence to not be able to stop homosexuality? or does it reflect the decisions of a person of old who claimed to see a being no other could see, so that he may give people false hope during times of trouble?

That's honestly what I believe religion to be, actually. Someone either saw it as a chance for power if they could become a messenger of some omnipotent being, or as someone who wished to find a reason to give his people hope when all seemed lost. And throw in a little bit of misunderstanding of natural events, along with a lot of "lost in translation" parts, and you get todays religion.

Tho i don't bash religion, don't get me wrong. I think its great to have found something to believe in and have faith in. I personally haven't found something to sway me from logic yet, but I'm still keeping an eye out. I personally just like parts of Buddhism, with the attitude of "don't worship anyone, just be true to oneself and work to make your life worth it, without trying to impress anyone but oneself in some unsure promise of a better life after this one."

From the manga: Good Luck, Demon King!

In all seriousness, I'd like to talk a little bit about my beliefs to make my position clear. I believe the most important part of the human entity is the spirit, not the body or mind. Man is in fact an immortal spiritual being, with many past lifetimes. Any person's capabilities are of infinite power, if only he can access them through the use of Dianetics.
A successful person can access two mindsets, Clear and Operational Thetan. Operational Thetan is especially important, because once any person reaches it they have godlike powers over themselves, as well as time and space. Truly, they have reached a level where they can communicate with the Supreme Being.
This Supreme Being is in fact the same as the great gods of all the main religions in existence. He communicates with us all on a subconscious level, which explains his importance in so many cultures around the world.
Through the practice of Dianetics, you and I and any human on this earth can reach a state of mind where we can truly know and touch the Supreme Being (ie God). I hope this has been clear and informative for everyone. See here for more information. 😀

@Binturong
2 things.....
1-i really really really love what you wrote 😀
2-which manga is the pic in ur signature from? 😛

I don't believe in God as described in any religion, and I don't think there is life after death either (though I'd like to believe there is, but I know I'd be lying to myself if I did). Even if there is some sort of godlike being, I can assure you that none of the existing religions got it right; though we cannot exclude the possibility, however unlikely, that there exists an omnipresent, omniscient, everlasting entity that could be defined as "God", but such an entity couldn't possibly be anthropomorph or have a gender as in male/female.
But I think you should think of "holy books" as scientific theories from a distant past; I think for the people who live then it was merely a way of explaining their surroundings (for some reason, we humans really can't stand not being able to explain things that vex us). But the rule for scientific theories is that the theory remains valid until proven wrong; I think by now we've established that whatever these "holy books" say is not what actually happened, so I think people should stop trying to hold onto outdated theories (you wouldn't keep wiping your behind with stick now that we have access to toilet paper, right?)

[img]http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x392/WandereroftheDeep/higurashiimage1-1.jpg[/img]

i could never believe in something like god because it is better to have no god than having a cruel god

[img]http://img3.lln.crunchyroll.com/i/spire1/d3534fdb6e3e9a20689515e4361f69ea1312335455_full.jpg[/img]
currently reading: Nyotai-ka
please support me

Quote from ShadowSakura

it is better to have no good

No good, indeed.

Quote from Sagaris

Quote from ShadowSakura

it is better to have no good

No good, indeed.

The Supreme Being is in fact all-good, so she is not wrong.

Quote from Binturong

The Supreme Being is in fact all-good, so she is not wrong.

If we take all-good as the opposite of no good, then we can take what she is saying to be that it is worse to have the supreme being than having a cruel god.

Quote from Sagaris

Quote from Binturong

The Supreme Being is in fact all-good, so she is not wrong.

If we take all-good as the opposite of no good, then we can take what she is saying to be that it is worse to have the supreme being than having a cruel god.

Soooo that means she is a masochist?? She wants a cruel god after all, to punish her.

Quote from Binturong

Soooo that means she is a masochist?? She wants a cruel god after all, to punish her.

But that's only if we consider all-good to the opposite of no good, if we take all-good to the opposite of negative all-good, then no good is between the two the extremes.
Then she could mean that having the supreme being is equal to having a cruel god.

Quote from bajuwa

also again using the whole "1/1000000000000000 chance" thing to say that yes, even if its just that one out of a thousand billion or so, there should be atleast one planet that holds a successful sequence of evolutionary developments to come up with what we have today
(apologies if this was from too far back in the convo)

just so you know, that probability there is way too generous. For example

The probability of forming one homochiral polymer of N monomers by chance = 2–N. For a small protein of 100 amino acids, this probability = 2^-100 = 10^-30. Note, this is the probability of any homochiral polypeptide. The probability of forming a functional homochiral polymer is much lower, since a precise amino acid sequence is required in many places. Of course, many homochiral polymers are required for life, so the probabilities must be compounded.

Quote from Crenshinibon

This is only logical with a very flawed understanding of genetics (as well as environmental data correlating with mass extinctions, the theory of evolution itself, etcetc). It makes sense from a certain perspective, but that perspective is not really based in fact, and eliminates far too many necessary variables.

Not mention the fact that at the time the bible was written/divined/whatever you want to call it, allegorical myth was the primary mode of espousing moral lessons. The old testament is not meant to be taken literally, from a historical context, so you shouldn't treat it as though it's providing a concrete framework with the dates... there's a reason even other Christians make fun of bible-thumpers.

How much do you know about Creation? Have you ever read a legitimate book written by PhD creationist scientists? Also the Bible is written on eyewitness accounts, unlike the evolutionary history that is constructed to fit the evidence.

“Any rational debate requires the honest presentation of both sides. But there exists a powerful, self- styled ‘intellectual elite’ [that] would have a debate wherin only one side was heard- while the other side was either ignored or grossly misinterpreted”
-John Sanford Ph.D, Courtesy Associate Professor, Dept. of Horticultural Sciences, Cornell University. Genetic engineering pioneer, inventor of the ‘gene gun’.

"I'll shut your mouth~~~~~ with mine~~~"

二息歩行

Quote from Sagaris

Quote from Binturong

Soooo that means she is a masochist?? She wants a cruel god after all, to punish her.

But that's only if we consider all-good to the opposite of no good, if we take all-good to the opposite of negative all-good, then no good is between the two the extremes.
Then she could mean that having the supreme being is equal to having a cruel god.

I understand you completely, but I disagree. Here is a picture of the Supreme Being. How could anyone believe this to be cruel?? Inconceivable!
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/13/Xenu_BBC_Panorama.jpg[/img]

you could not do anything for me to believe he is WORTH something. yes, maybe there is a god, but that doesnt mean that he created, rules, and controls humans. i think the idea is simply rediculious. so its impossible to make me believe that anything about god is reasonable. aparently, if im mean, i am evil so i go to hell. if i "sin" im evil, so i must go to hell. if i am a "non believer" i am evil, so i must go to hell. humans are mistakes.

my religion = the reasons humans are so "inteligent" was because of a simple evolutionary mishap. simple.

.

Quote from AnnMarie

Well it is impossible for me to convert to being an atheist because of what I have experienced and I agree with the quote "It's not real until it happens to you". I don't consider myself to be in any particular Christian branched religion but hey if I get blessed and experience miracles from God then I must be doing something right correct?
But I used to be curious, even though I lived in a family that believed in God and there were miracles that were unexplainable and impossible in 'reality'.
I guess you could say when I finally experienced something supernatural that happened to myself, I knew 100% that God exists. I knew it wasn't a hallucination because it was an impossible thing to happen and how can something impossible be a hallucination if more than one person experience it as well. It can't.
And I choose to obey God because he helps me and I would be foolish to turn my back on him if he does that for me.

So exactly what kind of supernatural experiences are you talking about?