(12-29-2014 05:18 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  i'm giving props to john's constructional sig structure......

I hire you as a writer....

go for it

(12-30-2014 01:22 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(12-30-2014 11:57 AM)DragonLair Wrote:  

(12-30-2014 10:31 AM)ken d Wrote:  [quote='Fo Shizzle' pid='11599966' dateline='1419905021']
[quote='ken d' pid='11598914' dateline='1419889929']


I didn't engage in name calling either. If your statement was honest, and I believe that it is in the context of this thread, then you are saying explicitly that the actual truth, if it were known to you, wouldn't matter. It would be irrelevant. The fact that we can't prove or disprove the existence of gods, and the Christian God in particular, is simply convenient, allowing you to believe whatever you want to believe without fear of being "proven" wrong.

All of history shows that an overwhelming majority of humans, have a strong psychological need to believe that there is an afterlife, and that it will be a better existence than we experience while alive. History also shows that this need is not universal. A consistent minority of humans are OK with the idea that when we die, that is the end of our existence, and that we will live on only in the sense that the things we have done will have some little effect on future generations. I am one of them.

I learned a long time ago, that if you really want something to be true, any excuse will do for you to believe it. But if you truly want to know if something is true, blind faith will not be enough.

Bingo, I cannot have faith in something that is already know because faith implies believing where no facts are present.

The underlined part is a nice saying but in the end is not a fact of life.

The part of that which you bolded is not the relevant part of my comment. I have bolded the part that is relevant. It says to me that either you don't want to know the truth, or are simply content to not know it and are unwilling to seek it.

And, while you would like to narrow the discussion only to the existence of god, the fact is that you also accept, by faith alone, numerous other religious beliefs specific to Christianity. None of those things must be true in order to believe in a creator. They are, however, central to belief in the God of the Christians, and by extension to the God of the Jews.

I have seen on this forum, and many others, testimony that evidence for many of their fundamental Christian beliefs (the Resurrection, for example) is compelling. But that is all I have ever seen. Claims that evidence is overwhelming or compelling. But never, when asked about specifics, has anyone ever actually shared any evidence. A typical response to such a request is "you aren't a believer, so you wouldn't understand if I told you". Forgive me if I don't find answers like that particularly compelling either.

I may not be able to say with absolute certainty that there is no god. But I can certainly feel as confident as is humanly possible that the God of the Bible isn't it. Or any of the other gods humans have believed in and/or worshiped over the millennia. We created them, not the other way around.

Sorry i bolded the wrong part. I now bolded what i meant to.(dang touch pad was moving my cursor around.)

The problem i see with the the want and know as you put them is it is impossible to "know" that GOD exists. No facts are present to show me he exists. I believe deep down and have faith he does and that is fine with me. As i have said if you can prove that wrong then fine, prove it wrong. It is just the same as i can't prove your belief that the God of the bible is wrong. That does not mean i can call you ignorant or willfully ignorant.

If that is what you believe then that is what you believe and there will be very little i can say to show you otherwise because i don't have facts just as you don't have facts.