Yeah... to the people that think everyone is right...
Try thinking about it like this.
There is a box, nobody knows what is inside the box. Christians take one galnce and say... God is in the box
Atheists lift it to see it's weight, shake it to hear the sound it makes and say evolution is in the box but they don't stop there... they continue to work on developing xray vision
A couple cults find some people who like cheeseburgers and say cheeseburgers are in the box as it suits thier recruiting needs.
etc
etc
basically what is in the box won't change despite what people speculate.
Make sense? I know it needs refining but I just thought of it so give me time.

 

Ah now I used evil ironically. I don't actually believe that any of those things are evil, including war.
Now let me stipulate here. I think Bush is a HORRIBLE president. I'm a die-hard liberal through and through. I have never supported the war in Iraq or half the things that Bushy boy has done.

That being said sometimes War can be justified and good. Saving lives and freeing people from a despot is a good thing. Not evil at all.

 

In regards to Atheists not feeling guilty...
That's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard.
If any group feels less guilt it would be christians as they made up a god who will forgive them for literally ANYTHING(rape, child molestation, murder)!!!
Who forgives the Atheist? Nobody, Atheists have to live with what they have done (and take responsibility for it but that is a different conversation).

 

yes, i've been to catholic churches when I dated a few catholic girls. I only thought they were more over the top with their beliefs and putting their stock in religious icons and people.

Ok, you ever feel guilty for sinning, where no one else saw? Tell me when you pray/repent to god, you don't feel atleast 1% less guilty.
If me or you do anything wrong by someone, and then come up to them and say "we're sorry, i shouldn't have wronged you" we feel less guilty, as the weight of your bad actions has been somewhat lifted off your shoulders. To say you forever carry 100% of the guilt around even after asking for forgiveness, even after repenting to/in your mind is ludacris and you'd need to see a shrink. Carrying around guilt forever is not healthy.

 

Well honestly, yes. I realized that it wasn't the bible or the koran or any other religous text that I hated. It was realizing that a majority of my beliefs were founded on rebelion from what I was taught my entire childhood.
I thought that by just giving any of the world religions a chance I was becoming a conformist.

 

Well, I never once said that an Atheist doesn't feel guilt. They are human after all.



By the way, you're metaphor about the Box and the cults having cheeseburgers actually got me a little hungry! haha. Not your outcome I know.

 

what evidence? I've waited my whole life to hear about christian evidence, please be the one who's got some. All I've ever heard is personal testimony.

you say you're a hardcore liberal and yet christian, so how do you feel about a man laying with another man(i.e. ___). Do you feel abortions are about the right for a woman to choose, and not put any stipulations on abortion?

 

I'm going to answer the liberal one first, I hope that's ok.
If you actually read the bible, you would see that Jesus didn't change the laws to match the views of God, he didn't lobby to have the Greeks or Jews change the way things were done. What he did was speak on something higher then laws.

If a guy wants to marry another guy, go for it. Its not my job to tell them they can't. Each person has been given free will for a reason. God lets us each choose our own course, not to rule the decisions of others.

As far as abortions go, no I don't believe that it is just about a woman's right. Unlike being ___ and married, this actually is something that is affecting another person. Now that doesn't mean I'm going to go out and picket outside of a clinic and scream like a psycho. That never helped anyone either.

 

Now as far as evidence goes, I'm just curious to ask what is it you are looking for? After all the evidence that I used/saw may not be the same that you'd like to see.

 

so are you saying you believe in some of the bible, but not all of it?

 

Oh I see what you are trying to get at.

Should we allow ___ marriage to be legalized? Yes. Once again God gave each person free will. Who the heck am I to argue against that.

Do I believe being homosexual is what the big guy upstairs wants? Nope.

 

By the way man, your icon and the qoute in your sig has me jonesing for some SeaLab action. Looks like I'm going to be looking for my DVDs when I get home.

 

evidence. just like what the word means. Say we were in a debate, o wait we are, or a court and you were asked to provide evidence, what would you bring?

Something physical and authentic that proves to actual other people what you're claiming.

I hear too many times christians pretend they have evidence, when all they have really mean "uncorroborated testimony".

 

Well my good man, that's kinda why I asked. Its like if I had a red glove that I was telling you about and you told me you didn't believe me and wanted proof. You obviously wouldn't believe if I brought a friend of mine into the room and told you to ask him if he saw the glove. You could just turn around and say that you don't believe him either.
So I bring in a group of my friends, they all say the same thing. You once again would say they were all being dishonest.
Well at this point I'd have to show you that I had a grainy old photo that you can make out SOMETHING red in the corner of the picture. You of course would say, "BS!"

 

actually what I'm getting at, is it seems you took the idea of god from a religion you don't totally believe in, but you believe that your stripped down version of someone else's religion is correct.

i think you believe in a god, because you actually are conforming, because god seems like the best idea you've come across. If you found truth in the bible 2 years ago, then please share what seems true, as I can repost my comments on this thread(if you haven't read it all) to show you there are many false statements in the bible.

 

So I guess my question is what gives the testimony of certain people merit to you?

 

LOL... I was already hungry thus the cheeseburgers!!!

 

HAHAHA Citizen01! I work across the street from a FuddRuckers and I'm contemplating a trip over in a few minutes.

 

evidence. testimony supported by evidence has merit.

 

Actually I'd appreciate that. I've only just now stumbled across this thread this morning and I can't read all 25 some pages of it fast enough.
Thanks for offering my man.