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then that goes against the "promise" of eternal life by believing in Jesus in this mortal life.
Apparently Lucifer and 1/3 of the angels didn't like it so much.
Agreed, but the key here is they were allowed to do it just like humans. You have free will, but you must suffer, or enjoy the consequences of your use of that free will.
then that goes against the "promise" of eternal life by believing in Jesus in this mortal life.
Good point, to which I have no rebuttal. There is a contradiction for ya.
Noone can really tell you what to do. You need to follow your own direction.
It is my personal belief that if you live a moral and just life, you will be fine regardless of what you believe in. I, for one, would find it hard to believe that God could ignore an atheist if he/she still lived their lives the way he intended. As far as the believing if God exists or not, would be answered at the gates.
True loyalty and faith survive all.
Still waters are no test.
You realize the darkness and are seeking the light.
This speaks to the path you wish to follow.
There is no point in believing in something that does not align with your spiritual goals.I just don't see the point of believing in God and Christianity. I think about it a lot too. I will admit that I have a lot of anger and resentment toward God about some things.
These are what you must seek to establish.
Only then, will your path have more clarity.
If you are on the right path, the anger you feel will be dissipated.
God does not choose your path. The path is layed out before us. We choose to follow or not to follow.The main reason why I have anger towards God is because of past disappointments. I had realistic prayers that didn't get answered and it pissed me off. I also made a lot of terrible mistakes and choices in my past which have resulted in why I'm having this debate. God could have prevented me from making those bad mistakes and choices in my past or at least given me a sign or warning. I will admit that those choices and mistakes are my fault but I do blame God for letting me make them. And another reason why I'm pissed at God is because I want to know what my purpose is. That was the first time I realized what the world is really like because I was sheltered as a kid. I use to be a nice helpful caring person when I was younger but now I'm a negative pessimistic prick.
What do you want your ultimate purpose to be?
The world is filled with reckless fools with hardened hearts.
The wise will not be initiated.
Observe what people do, not what they say.There are a lot of people that say they love God and have a relationship with Him. Sometimes I don't understand that. How can you love someone or something that you cannot see, touch, or hear? This is probably a bad or stupid reason to believe in God but I have only believed in His existence because I have a fear of . Or I guess you could say it's fear that had always been my reason for believing.
Only one's actions speak to their true nature.
One cannot follow the path of enlightenment whilst consumed by fear.
Do not be afraid of death, but instead seek to truly live.
But do not be fooled by what 'truly live' means to the masses.
The presence of the divine light will make itself known to those that walk the path.
All I'm asking for is answers from God. If God has so much power then it shouldn't be a problem. I want a sign or something. I want to have a conversation with God in which he answers back to me.
Sometimes, one must remove their eyes and ears from the equation in order to see and hear clearly.
Good luck with your journey.
who knew angel_luv had trolls
Francis Crick, co-discoverer of human DNA, said that they calculated the possibility man evolved from primordial soup is 1 in 10 to the 265th power.
Thanks for playing.
Oh, and Charles Darwin converted to Catholicism toward the end of his life.
Darwin remained close friends with the vicar of Downe, John Innes, and continued to play a leading part in the parish work of the church,[152] but from around 1849 would go for a walk on Sundays while his family attended church.[142] He considered it "absurd to doubt that a man might be an ardent theist and an evolutionist"[153][154] and, though reticent about his religious views, in 1879 he wrote that "I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God. – I think that generally ... an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind."[81][153]
The "Lady Hope Story", published in 1915, claimed that Darwin had reverted back to Christianity on his sickbed. The claims were repudiated by Darwin's children and have been dismissed as false by historians.[155] His last words were to his family, telling Emma "I am not the least afraid of death – Remember what a good wife you have been to me – Tell all my children to remember how good they have been to me", then while she rested, he repeatedly told Henrietta and Francis "It's almost worth while to be sick to be nursed by you".[156]
Crick also attributed it to aliens.
The bull Darwin urban legend about his conversion on his deathbed is the reason Richard Dawkins has said he wants his death to be taped, so no one can ever trash his name the same way.
The pope accepted evolution as true quite some time ago anyway.
...but Carl Sagan was
First, it is normal to question, especially at your age. You may have been raised to think you should never doubt, but even Mother Teresa did.
What it seems you might be questioning is not so much whether you believe IN God as it is what that faith means. You seem to have a notion that God should stop you from doing the wrong thing or that He should directly tell you what to do, but it is not that simple.
I do not see a person who has come to believe that God does not exist. I see, instead, a person growing into a more mature understanding of what faith really means and dealing with the growing pains that come along with it. I think maybe you are angry that it is not what you were told as a child. You thought that faith made everything easy and that you would know what God always wants, but you won't. Maybe no one ever told you that.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
I probably shouldn't have included atheist in the choices. It should have been Christian or agnostic or maybe a non-practicing Christian. When I was younger, the reasons for believing in God and following him for me were being afraid of going to , it was tradition, and my conscience made me think it was the right thing to do.
I guess maybe I could be asking for too much. Wanting to know the "why" might just be too much for God to give me. But I still want to know the "why".
crofl. This guy is serious, I thought this was a drunk thread.
good one, luke
Maybe, you could think about a church that is more positive than that- not a fire and damnation kind, but more that is about love and mercy, than about fear.
Nothing wrong with wondering that.But I still want to know the "why".
St. Augustine: "Doubt is but another element of faith."
did Crick come up with another possibility?
so you think that evolution and christianity/catholicism are not compatible?Oh, and Charles Darwin converted to Catholicism toward the end of his life.
Ohh Darwin?
Well sign me up
No. They are. Both Augustine and Acquinas addressed evolution as being compatible with the faith. Only the religious fundamentalists believe they aren't. Any study of the christian faith or at least the Catholic faith, tells you that genesis is not to be taken literally, as much of the Bible is not.
God did not create the universe, earth, and man....in six 'earth' days.
Augustine lived in the 4th century. Aquinas in the 13th century. Neither of them addressed evolution as it was conceived in the 19th century.
Augustine believed in the Olympic gods ie Jupiter and his thunderbolts and Aquinas believed that whatever the 13th century church said was the truth. IE the earth was the center of the universe etc. Neither of them addressed evolution as it was before their time and they were too backwards to accept it if it was not.
What a meaningless statement. Newton didn't address physics as it was conceived in the 20th century either.
Carl Sagan was most certainly not an atheist. He states it categorically in "Demon Haunted World"
When I was going to Catholic school as a child, I had some questions about some of the tenets that I was being taught in religion class. My teacher, and priest actually encouraged me to question my faith. They said that when you question your faith that it will eventually serve to strengthen your faith.
Even though I am an atheist, I don't have a problem with others being of whatever religion, as long as it does something good for them, great, do that. I hope that helps.
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