Yea, good point Nitrous, I hate it when people judge people so quickly and then call them "blatantly ignorant". I'm still Christian, but that was good.
I can not scientificly prove God exists, thats for yourself to decide. But let me remind you God is not bound to science, He is the creator and he isn't bound to the created.
Isn't that the truth. I read in a book once that religion is just something some people need, because they refuse to believe that there is no salvation after their lives are at an end. After reading that I started noticing that people seem so convinced that there is somewhere after death, but I can't see where their confidence comes from. Personally I believe that people believe in god because they couldn't bear the emptiness at the end of the road if he weren't there. I guess it all comes down to some people just having much more devout faith.
Why doesn't Jesus/God just come back already? If the God wants followers, why not give them something to believe?
This is an article that my religion has translated from the bible into todays words. 1. When he was on earth, Jesus taught his followers to pray for God's Kingdom. A kingdom is a government that is headed by a king. God's Kingdom is a special government. It is set up in heaven and will rule over this earth. It will sanctify, or make holy, God's name. It will cause God's will to be done on earth as it is done in heaven.—Matthew 6:9, 10. 2. God promised that Jesus would become the King of His Kingdom. (Luke 1:30-33) When Jesus was on earth, he proved that he would be a kind, just, and perfect Ruler. When he returned to heaven, he was not enthroned as King of God's Kingdom right away. (Hebrews 10:12, 13) In 1914, Jehovah gave Jesus the authority He had promised him. Since then, Jesus has ruled in heaven as Jehovah's appointed King.—Daniel 7:13, 14. 3. Jehovah has also selected some faithful men and women from the earth to go to heaven. They will rule with Jesus as kings, judges, and priests over mankind. (Luke 22:28-30; Revelation 5:9, 10) Jesus called these corulers in his Kingdom a "little flock." They number 144,000.—Luke 12:32; Revelation 14:1-3. 4. As soon as Jesus became King, he threw Satan and his wicked angels out of heaven and down to the locality of the earth. That is why things have become so bad here on earth since 1914. (Revelation 12:9, 12) Wars, famines, pestilences, increasing lawlessness—all these are part of a "sign" indicating that Jesus is ruling and that this system is in its last days.—Matthew 24:3, 7, 8, 12; Luke 21:10, 11; 2 Timothy 3:1-5. 5. Soon Jesus will judge people, separating them as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. The "sheep" are those who will have proved themselves his loyal subjects. They will receive everlasting life on earth. The "goats" are those who will have rejected God's Kingdom. (Matthew 25:31-34, 46) In the near future, Jesus will destroy all goatlike ones. (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9) If you want to be one of Jesus' "sheep," you must listen to the Kingdom message and act on what you learn.—Matthew 24:14. Under Jesus' rule, there will be no more hatred or prejudice 6. Now the earth is divided up into many countries. Each has its own government. These nations often fight one another. But God's Kingdom will replace all human governments. It will rule as the only government over the entire earth. (Daniel 2:44) Then there will be no more war, crime, and violence. All people will live together in peace and unity.—Micah 4:3, 4. 7. During Jesus' Thousand Year Reign, faithful humans will become perfect, and the whole earth will become a paradise. By the end of the thousand years, Jesus will have done everything God asked him to do. Then he will hand the Kingdom back to his Father. (1 Corinthians 15:24) Why not tell your friends and loved ones about what God's Kingdom will do? Here is another one that helps prove gods word(the bible). Does Science Contradict the Genesis Account? MANY people claim that science disproves the Bible’s account of creation. But the real contradiction is between science and, not the Bible, but the opinions of so-called Christian Fundamentalists. Some of these groups falsely assert that according to the Bible, all physical creation was produced in six 24-hour days some 10,000 years ago. The Bible, however, does not support such a conclusion. If it did, then many scientific discoveries over the past hundred years would indeed discredit the Bible. A careful study of the Bible text reveals no conflict with established scientific facts. For that reason, Jehovah’s Witnesses disagree with “Christian” Fundamentalists and many creationists. The following shows what the Bible really teaches. When Was “the Beginning”? The Genesis account opens with the simple, powerful statement: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Bible scholars agree that this verse describes an action separate from the creative days recounted from verse 3 onward. The implication is profound. According to the Bible’s opening statement, the universe, including our planet Earth, was in existence for an indefinite time before the creative days began. Geologists estimate that the earth is approximately 4 billion years old, and astronomers calculate that the universe may be as much as 15 billion years old. Do these findings—or their potential future refinements—contradict Genesis 1:1? No. The Bible does not specify the actual age of “the heavens and the earth.” Science does not disprove the Biblical text. How Long Were the Creative Days? What about the length of the creative days? Were they literally 24 hours long? Some claim that because Moses—the writer of Genesis—later referred to the day that followed the six creative days as a model for the weekly Sabbath, each of the creative days must be literally 24 hours long. (Exodus 20:11) Does the wording of Genesis support this conclusion? No, it does not. The fact is that the Hebrew word translated “day” can mean various lengths of time, not just a 24-hour period. For example, when summarizing God’s creative work, Moses refers to all six creative days as one day. (Genesis 2:4) In addition, on the first creative day, “God began calling the light Day, but the darkness he called Night.” (Genesis 1:5) Here, only a portion of a 24-hour period is defined by the term “day.” Certainly, there is no basis in Scripture for arbitrarily stating that each creative day was 24 hours long. How long, then, were the creative days? The wording of Genesis chapters 1 and 2 indicates that considerable lengths of time were involved. Creations Appear Gradually Moses wrote his account in Hebrew, and he wrote it from the perspective of a person standing on the surface of the earth. These two facts, combined with the knowledge that the universe existed before the beginning of the creative periods, or “days,” help to defuse much of the controversy surrounding the creation account. How so? Genesis does not teach that the universe was created in a short period of time in the relatively recent past A careful consideration of the Genesis account reveals that events starting during one “day” continued into one or more of the following days. For example, before the first creative “day” started, light from the already existing sun was somehow prevented from reaching the earth’s surface, possibly by thick clouds. (Job 38:9) During the first “day,” this barrier began to clear, allowing diffused light to penetrate the atmosphere.* On the second “day,” the atmosphere evidently continued to clear, creating a space between the thick clouds above and the ocean below. On the fourth “day,” the atmosphere had gradually cleared to such an extent that the sun and the moon were made to appear “in the expanse of the heavens.” (Genesis 1:14-16) In other words, from the perspective of a person on earth, the sun and moon began to be discernible. These events happened gradually. The Genesis account also relates that as the atmosphere continued to clear, flying creatures—including insects and membrane-winged creatures—started to appear on the fifth “day.” However, the Bible indicates that during the sixth “day,” God was still in the process of “forming from the ground every wild beast of the field and every flying creature of the heavens.”—Genesis 2:19. Clearly, the Bible’s language makes room for the possibility of some major events during each “day,” or creative period, to have occurred gradually rather than instantly, perhaps some of them even lasting into the following creative “days.” According to Their Kinds Does this progressive appearance of plants and animals imply that God used evolution to produce the vast diversity of living things? No. The record clearly states that God created all the basic “kinds” of plant and animal life. (Genesis 1:11, 12, 20-25) Were these original “kinds” of plants and animals programmed with the ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions? What defines the boundary of a “kind”? The Bible does not say. However, it does state that living creatures “swarmed forth according to their kinds.” (Genesis 1:21) This statement implies that there is a limit to the amount of variation that can occur within a “kind.” Both the fossil record and modern research support the idea that the fundamental categories of plants and animals have changed little over vast periods of time. Contrary to the claims of some Fundamentalists, Genesis does not teach that the universe, including the earth and all living things on it, was created in a short period of time in the relatively recent past. Rather, the description in Genesis of the creation of the universe and the appearance of life on earth harmonizes with many recent scientific discoveries. Because of their philosophical beliefs, many scientists reject the Bible’s declaration that God created all things. Interestingly, however, in the ancient Bible book of Genesis, Moses wrote that the universe had a beginning and that life appeared in stages, progressively, over periods of time. How could Moses gain access to such scientifically accurate information some 3,500 years ago? There is one logical explanation. The One with the power and wisdom to create the heavens and the earth could certainly give Moses such advanced knowledge. This gives weight to the Bible’s claim that it is “inspired of God.”—2 Timothy 3:16. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”—Genesis 1:1 * In the description of what happened on the first “day,” the Hebrew word used for light is ’ohr, light in a general sense; but concerning the fourth “day,” the word used is ma·’ohr´, which refers to the source of light.
God was formed from our inabilities. Not saying that a god doesn't exist, but the reason for god is to provide what we lack... to fill the gaps. Asking someone to prove the existence of god which is, essentially, a mental product of our inabilities doesn't seem fair or logical. What I'm saying is that gods existence cannot be proven or disproven. If god can be disproven, we would be god thus disproving even ourself... which is just lame.
I can agree with what you said in the last parts, since science cannot do anything against those speculations. They are perfectly plausible, and some of those thoughts are part of what I choose to believe. Something about that article irks me though. How is it that your article has such specific numbers and dates for the first few points, and then later says that the bible does not have specific dates for the Earth's creation. Why are there such inconsistencies? Obviously it's possible some information was lost along the way, but how did we find out Jesus decided to send down the "demons" in 1914? "That is why things have been so bad since 1914." « Rather odd thing to say, since there has always been strife and war throughout time. Hence the "Great Flood" that was supposed to wipe out all "evil". So what this article implies is, God made the flood to kill all evil, then sent satan and his followers right back down in 1914. Thanks for that gift. 144,000. Ahh, what? Where did this come from? :S While I can agree with some points, such inconsistencies as stated above are what led me to agnostic.
You decide to believe him or not, its that simple. Its not proven that God himself exists, but 85% of the rest of the bible has been proven true, so even just thinking hes real wouldn't hurt. Its your decision, and no one elses.
Please point out to all of us this 85% portion that has been proven, and maybe where you got this number. Yes everyone, we all have our own choices when it comes to religion and everything else in life. That is not what this thread is about. We are discussing what is possibly true or false about certain religions. It's a debate thread, not a conversion thread. No need to worry about others forcing their beliefs on you.
At least I accept it. You have said yourself belief without evidence is ignorant. God has no evidence, therefore you're ignorant. Evolution has evidence, therefore I am not ignorant. Nothing in the universe is proven but that does not mean evidence pointing towards one subject or another does not exist. As for faith, do what you will with yours but I'll use mine more practically and apply my faith to something that requires less of which.
If 85% of your history text book was true, would you want to read it? And religion has not been my decision my whole life. My parents forced me to go to church, trying to "give me a basis on religion" so I could "make a choice later in life". Why wouldn't they give me a list of religions I could choose from? Because they wanted me to believe theirs. That is why most religious fanatics piss me off. They think it's their mission to convert you, even though it is a personal choice.
There are vast amounts of evidence pointing toward a young earth, and that evolution that did not exist. There are also vast amounts of evidence showing the Bible is legit. (Bible prophecy, anyone?) Other religions have no such evidence. Therefore, with no options but Christianity, I choose God. How is this ignorant?
Why is it that when we debate, suddenly "vast amounts" of evidence for a religion miraculously appears. Someone please point out where this info might be. It is ignorant because you do have other options, hence why there are people who believe in other things.
Okay, Dinosaurs were not found and recorded until 1800's right? Evolution states they never lived together. In a period of millions and millions of years, how can this be found? A dino with 80% of his skin still on? In many caves carvings of dino's can be found at least hundreds of years old before dino's were recorded. Both sides of the arguements look at this evidence different. The only LOGICAL... explantion is that that dinosaur was buried with tons of weight at one time, AKA, the flood. This is an amazing article