What is Tim Duncan's religion?

[SpursRock20]

lucky ginobili's there to keep the team's collective head screwed on straight

So let me get this straight, you think less of Duncan because he is a religious man? Those same morals have allowed him to grow into the man he is today. And I wouldn't have him any other way.

[Agloco]

Some non-believers say that man's existence was dumb luck.

Can you conclusively demonstrate otherwise? I'm all ears.

Man has thus far been unsuccessful at finding life on other planets. It's 2012 and we have the most powerful cameras and satellites, the smartest scientists in the history of the world and to this day, have not been able to find life on other planets. Forget the Universe, lets narrow it down to our own Galaxy. -- Nothing. Zip.

I don't follow. Why is it necessary to invoke a God to fill in the gaps in our knowledge? Everything in due time. At one point in time we had no knowledge of bacteria either. At that point we had the most advanced technology and smartest scientists in the history of the world as well.

We now know what caused bubonic plague, etc. It wasn't a God, just as most assuredly a God isn't the cause of todays failings either.

You believe in the Big Bang theory ? Cool, who or what caused it ?

It's the "what" part of your statement that you don't really entertain tbh.

[jARS mEsH sEt]

it's too easy ain't it Agloco? The same, rehashed, irrational arguments over and over again.

"There's no way the universe could have come into being through natural means, an infinitely powerful, infinitely complex, all knowing deity must have created it!"

Really? Cool. What created that infinitely powerful, infinitely complex, all knowing deity? If an infinitely powerful deity is required to create universes, surely a process of infinitely infinite complexity is required to create that being!

"LOL DON'T BE DUMB GOD ALWAYS EXISTED I'VE DEFINED HIM TO BE MAGICAL HE CAN DO ANYTHING HE'S ALWAYS EXISTED"

Really? So deities can always exist but universes cannot always exist? How do you know that?




======================

It's like you have to spoon feed them step by step (Wait, that's an argument from ignorance! Just because you can't fathom how a universe could come into being through natural means doesn't mean you can make up your own explanation for it to assuage your own ignorance. Wait, that's special pleading - you claim the universe requires a cause but you fail to apply the same, faulty logic to your own God. Wait, that's a non- ing-sequitur, even if I agreed that you proved that the universe has a cause, that's all you can say about it, you can't then go "oh by the way that cause is Allah, an infinitely powerful infinitely complex being who has written his law into the Q'uran), one simple idea after another, before they "get it," and inevitably like clockwork they'll throw their hands up in the air and say something along the lines of "it's my faith I've had a personal experience that proves it and nothing you say could change that."

[SpursRock20]

it's too easy ain't it Agloco? The same, rehashed, irrational arguments over and over again.

"There's no way the universe could have come into being through natural means, an infinitely powerful, infinitely complex, all knowing deity must have created it!"

Really? Cool. What created that infinitely powerful, infinitely complex, all knowing deity? If an infinitely powerful deity is required to create universes, surely a process of infinitely infinite complexity is required to create that being!

"LOL DON'T BE DUMB GOD ALWAYS EXISTED I'VE DEFINED HIM TO BE MAGICAL HE CAN DO ANYTHING HE'S ALWAYS EXISTED"

Really? So deities can always exist but universes cannot always exist? How do you know that?

And you're point? Why do you have a problem with people who have faith? Does it affect you in any way? You choose what you want to believe and they choose what they want to believe. Plain and simple. Look, life can be a real s.o.b. Sometimes religion can help, and if it does help and makes a person a better version of what they are, then there is nothing wrong with it.

Now there is no doubt that the religous bigots that enforce their faiths on to others and are a walking contradiciton for what they supposedly believe in hamper the improvement of society. But some one on the internet that has a different view on how the world is created causes you to have a problem with the person is kinda comical. What he believes has no impact on your life.

Would it upset you if he believed that a certain fruit you absolutely hate is his favorite?

[pgardn]

And you're point? Why do you have a problem with people who have faith? Does it affect you in any way? You choose what you want to believe and they choose what they want to believe. Plain and simple. Look, life can be a real s.o.b. Sometimes religion can help, and if it does help and makes a person a better version of what they are, then there is nothing wrong with it.

Now there is no doubt that the religous bigots that enforce their faiths on to others and are a walking contradiciton for what they supposedly believe in hamper the improvement of society. But some one on the internet that has a different view on how the world is created causes you to have a problem with the person is kinda comical. What he believes has no impact on your life.

Would it upset you if he believed that a certain fruit you absolutely hate is his favorite?

Seems it is reasonable to ask why one has faith in what one believes to be true. Some people require reasonable explanations that are based on testable ideas. Others can have faith in tradition and beliefs that have come before them that are not testable. One can be proven right or wrong based on what we believe to be rigorous testing and modeling; The other is impossible to even begin to lend itself to the rigor involved in the first.

So imo its no big deal... Very different ways of looking at how faith in a belief is acquired. Because both are usually attempting to answer very different types of questions both of which rely on very different methods. Its when people try to mix these "ways to belief" that it gets ugly.

As far as Tim:
Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. That is my belief based on faith in absurd thoughts. Carry on.

[SpursRock20]

Seems it is reasonable to ask why one has faith in what one believes to be true. Some people require reasonable explanations that are based on testable ideas. Others can have faith in tradition and beliefs that have come before them that are not testable. One can be proven right or wrong based on what we believe to be rigorous testing and modeling; The other is impossible to even begin to lend itself to the rigor involved in the first.

So imo its no big deal... Very different ways of looking at how faith in a belief is acquired. Because both are usually attempting to answer very different types of questions both of which rely on very different methods. Its when people try to mix these "ways to belief" that it gets ugly.

As far as Tim:
Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. That is my belief based on faith in absurd thoughts. Carry on.

Good point. There is nothing wrong with asking. But insulting another for their faith and carrying on and on does not get either of the two anywhere. Is it actually possible that one will budge on the religion that they have valued for their lifetime over an internet forum? They are just getting entrenched deeper in their ideas.

[Leetonidas]

jARS mEsH sEt ting on religites

[tmtcsc]

Can you conclusively demonstrate otherwise? I'm all ears.

Lol, I'll do that after you explain to me how Something can come from Nothing.

I don't follow. Why is it necessary to invoke a God to fill in the gaps in our knowledge? Everything in due time. At one point in time we had no knowledge of bacteria either. At that point we had the most advanced technology and smartest scientists in the history of the world as well.

There are no gaps to be filled. My faith tells me God is the creator. The how is merely entertainment. Science will never be able to explain how the Universe was created because Science can only measure that which exists. In other words, there are no formulas to explain Nothing. Even dark matter is Something. If you believe in the Big Bang theory as the beginning of our universe, you are still stuck trying to explain who or what caused the big bang. It didn't just merely happen out of Nothing.

My faith in God wasn't the result of a search for the beginning of the Universe. In all actuality, I really don't care how it was created. That's for philosophy junkies to banter about.

[GSH]

Good point. There is nothing wrong with asking. But insulting another for their faith and carrying on and on does not get either of the two anywhere. Is it actually possible that one will budge on the religion that they have valued for their lifetime over an internet forum? They are just getting entrenched deeper in their ideas.

Once in a very rare while, I will drop in on this thread. I don't know why. Sort of like leaning over to look at a traffic accident. But out of all the times I have scanned the posts in this thread, this is certainly the most (and perhaps the only) mature and rational comment I have ever read.

The one thing I can say is that the group who scream their unwavering belief in science (and our understanding of it) are acting on "faith" every bit as much as those who scream their belief in God. Our scientists are shamans of the first order, teaching of things like quantum entanglement and wave-particle duality as if they really know what the is going on. They don't. The sad thing is that some people simply "take them at their word", but scoff at those who do the same thing when considering the existence of God.

The only things we really know for certain are that we are desperately short on answers, and there is more here than meets the eye. I could spend another couple of pages on that, but I won't. SpursRock20 pretty much said it all: nobody's getting convinced to change their view on an Internet forum. It would give me a little extra hope for the world if a few people could at least learn to chill out and quit trying.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Lol, I'll do that after you explain to me how Something can come from Nothing.

There's this thing called quantum physics/mechanics and even though it's not mentioned in the bible for some strange reason, you might want to read a bit about it.

[DrSteffo]

The one thing I can say is that the group who scream their unwavering belief in science (and our understanding of it) are acting on "faith" every bit as much as those who scream their belief in God. Our scientists are shamans of the first order, teaching of things like quantum entanglement and wave-particle duality as if they really know what the is going on. They don't.

Anyway, it's a good thing you have enough trust in science to use stuff like computers and the internet, inventions based on speculations about "electrons" and other crazy things scientists/shamans have made up... But I agree with the general idea of your post, let people believe what they want if it makes them happy

[tmtcsc]

There's this thing called quantum physics/mechanics and even though it's not mentioned in the bible for some strange reason, you might want to read a bit about it.

I'm familiar with Quantum physics/mechanics (even though its not mentioned in the bible - for a very good reason). I think you need to read about it, learn it and then come back here and explain how it answers Something coming from Nothing. It doesn't.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

You really aren't familiar with QM, so I've nothing further to discuss with you. I don't mind people who are genuinely truly religious, I don't like people who are obnoxious when they know all. Cheers.

[tmtcsc]

You really aren't familiar with QM, so I've nothing further to discuss with you. I don't mind people who are genuinely truly religious, I don't like people who are obnoxious when they know all. Cheers.

Weak. You've been exposed as nothing more than sarcastic and cowardly, hiding behind a Physics theory you don't understand. Therefore you are bailing on this conversation.

Your big answer to how Something can come from Nothing lies in the fact that Quantum Physics describes the universe as being different then the world we see.

Contrary to the way you've entered and exited this conversation, I'll give you an answer:

1.Quantum Physics didn't exist as a subject to be studied when the Bible was written. - Pretty straight forward a not a strange reason at all for it not being in the Bible.

Even so, the authors of the Bible were wise enough to explain that God is, was and always will be.

-- God exists outside of the Time and Space continuum as we know it, and as far as science has taken us.

-- I thought you would come in here with theories of a Multiverse. Nope, you ran.

Cheers, run fast and enjoy the breeze!

[Blake]

Even so, the authors of the Bible were wise enough to explain that God is, was and always will be.

Why wasn't God wise enough to give mankind something better than the Bible?

-- God exists outside of the Time and Space continuum as we know it, and as far as science has taken us.

Is this also explained somewhere in the Bible?

[tmtcsc]

Why wasn't God wise enough to give mankind something better than the Bible?

Define better, I think its pretty amazing. What did you have in mind considering the audience? Some sort of textbook filled with science that really wasn't developed as a discipline yet? The Bible wasn't meant to appease science.

Would you have rather God waited until now to send Jesus or prophets to Earth?

Just trying to discuss these topics put forward by scientists, philosophers and amateurs (like me) is mind boggling. The Bible is a collection of parables and/or stories that needed to be simple, to the point and understandable.

[Proxy]

The Bible is a collection of parables and/or stories that needed to be simple, to the point and understandable.

There were collections of similar stories projecting the same code of morality long before the Bible.

[redzero]

Lol, I'll do that after you explain to me how Something can come from Nothing.

Who is making that claim?

[Paranoid Pop]

I don't believe in any of the established religions (that make no sense to me at all because they are human-centric and humanity is nothing in the universe but a grain of sand really) but I don't look down on people who do because I think it gives some kind of confidence that can really help some people. Most successful athletes believe in God. Actually even some great scientists believe in God.

That said the big bang theory and the origin of water (by extension life) that exists in several places inside the universe do present questions we are not able to answer right now. But human centric religions are most likely power tools used by human to control their peers, wives etc...

Now in the not-so-distant future there will be a cross-road and a clash between Old religions and the Technology-centered religion. Ultimately technology followers will fuse with machines to increase their abilities, life expectancy and so on (technically evolving from humanity) while God followers will resist/oppose it.

There's a good do entary that talks about that :

[Blake]

Define better, I think its pretty amazing. What did you have in mind considering the audience? Some sort of textbook filled with science that really wasn't developed as a discipline yet? The Bible wasn't meant to appease science.

Would you have rather God waited until now to send Jesus or prophets to Earth?

Just trying to discuss these topics put forward by scientists, philosophers and amateurs (like me) is mind boggling. The Bible is a collection of parables and/or stories that needed to be simple, to the point and understandable.

If the Bible was simple, there wouldn't so many different denominations.

It's a contradictory, mis-translated crock of , imo.

[Russ]

Secular humanism!

If I am capable of grasping God objectively, I do not believe, but precisely because I cannot do this I must believe.

Soren Kierkegaard

That's you're best and only argument folks. Forget about "what could be before nothingness?" and "how could a sunset exist without Him?" and "how could a flagella come to be without some grand design?"

That's all faux rationality intended to persuade people who lack the capacity for faith to begin with. And you'll only get the dumb ones.

Kierkegaard was no dummy and he was a believer. He knew that your best argument is that having no proof is the essence faith and that faith is somehow central to this whole thing. In other words, it's no accident that you don't know and can't prove -- that's the point and that's the test.

Or as Dylan put it more bluntly, "God said to Abraham, kill me a son. Abe said man, you must be puttin me on." But he would have been willing to it. Now that's faith (and insanity in a court of law).

But what has any of this got to do with Duncan?

[tmtcsc]

Who is making that claim?

Those who reject a theory of a Divine creator or designer.

[tmtcsc]

If the Bible was simple, there wouldn't so many different denominations.

It's a contradictory, mis-translated crock of , imo.

Denominations are man-made.

The Bible can seem contradictory but there's no reason to become so discourage by it. What particular contradiction are you having issues with ?

[z0sa]

Wwtd?

[redzero]

Those who reject a theory of a Divine creator or designer.

No, that isn't necessarily true. You do not know what you are talking about.