Hell is a place where love and everything good is absent. Those who take all the good for granted on earth, will see what it's like to have NOTHING that is good to hold on to. many who have flatlined have reported the same things about hell. When I was in Nicaragua, I thought of it as hell, but coming to think about it, it was just a taste of hell. Not the real deal. That's what this world is about. A taste of heaven and a taste of hell. But the good will win at the end.
Be careful there matey. Not everything is literal in the Bible. There's a fair amount of figurative things too. Careful study of the Bible will reveal this. Col
It is called the "principle of first causes". Bertrand Russell has written on this, but it is such an obvious question, it has been around since Socrates, if not before. I so absolutely do not believe in a god, especially not the christian or muslim or jewish kinds. WTF? How in hell does god make sense? It doesn't. without doubt. In fact, I think that the mental gymnastics neccessary to reconcile the existence of god with common sense undermines a fundamental ability to be rational.
The spirit you speak of in regards to our soul is clearly explained in the Bible. Read Gen 2:7; Gen 1:20,24; Gen9:4. Your soul is your life. Once you life ceases to exist, so then does your soul. Col
BTW, I love this topic more than any other. To be with god, you must first understand you are completely alone - that there is no god. Then you can have an unimpeded understanding of yourself. Then you meet 'god'. It is not an entity.
If you believe in the bible literally, you're just a complete fool. Anyways: http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/jim_meritt/bible-contradictions.html for laughs. Massive list of bible contradictions.
Oh how I just love being called a fool when it comes to the Bible. Makes me know I am doing my job right. Thanks matey! Col
ermmm guys.. chilll.. relax. nobody is a fool. Lets learn to respect each others believes. I guess its time to go to bed now. Its 4 AM here. Was nice getting to know your points of view about god .
I don't have to. Anyone can twist words to their own liking. I choose to read an accurate translation of the Bible thanks. Col
Hmmm. An 'ad hominum' attack. Why don't you try using logic? Whether I have beer dribbling, or have heroin spiked, my words make sense. If you disagree, then show me where I have erred. God is such a stupid idea. It is purely a fear of death, a fear of responsibility for your life. Dare you stand alone?
King James version is the standard? Here's just a random one off the list. Matthew 1:16 (King James Version) King James Version (KJV) 16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Luke 3:23 (King James Version) 23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.
Sorry hate to break it to you, but these people are delusional. They DON'T provide facts, and never will. The only thing they do is paste random verses from the bible. We as atheists can play that game too, like I did above. They're brain washed beyond all help. No amount of factual debating will even phase these sheep.
Sorry, you appeal to a false authourity. Your burden od proof lies now in substantiating whatever translation of the bible you are talking about. Furthermore, you do have many hundreds of contradictions in the bible to reconciliate. If you want to make this easier, perhaps you should dictate whether we are talking about the New Testament, or the first. How can you possibly live your life based on the interpreted words of a book that is so provenly inconsistent with even its own message? I mean, why do you need instructions on what is moral? It is a simple understanding reached by independent thought and understanding. Being told how to act is an artificial way to live. It is so fake.
I sometimes wonder why I engage in debate with brainwashed people. Do we have a purpose? Yes. To be silent, is to condone. It is also fun to learn about the sheer psychological idiocy people willingly subvert themselves to.
Fear of responsibility of life?? Hardly, fear of death?? Hardly!! Logic tells me this. Man has tried to be his own authority for centuries and look where he is today. What's the figure? Is it 50,000 or 80,000 children die every day from lack of food and hygiene? The figure is so high it does not matter anymore. The teachings from the Bible for how man should live would eliminate this figure completely. The Bible was written by man but inspired of God. The Bible teaches we should love our neighbour and also our enemies. Is this a stupid teaching? Hardly!! I got a figure quoted to me just yesterday that collectively, the world spends $1.9 million a second on armaments. Yes, man is doing very well indeed ruling himself and looking after it's own kind. I have no fear of death. Of course I don't want to die but if I do die then so be it. I believe in the resurrection from what the Bible teaches about that. If you don't. That's your choice and I will respect that. But, have you dotted your i's and crossed your t's before stating you are utterly convinced the Bible is fake or God does not exist? Col
I have them all dotted and crossed. The bible teaches GW Bush. It teaches Ted Haggart, it teaches many things, some good, some evil and corrupt. The reason mankind has faults, is because we are not rational. The bible does not teach independent thought, nor rationality. No dogma can. It is that: dogma. Dogma is anathema to thought, to ideas, to reason. I know there are good, compassionate, peaceful christians. There are also many good, compassionate, peacefull muslims, jews, and especially athiests. Reading and following the bible is not an indicator of morality or compassion and many use it to promote intolerance and hate. How do I know this? Because I think. I was taught to think. Everyone thinks. If you have to be told what to think, you are not yourself, you are a sheep. I am amenable to rational ideas (yeah, in theory!) and when something makes sense to me, I am able to draw a different conclusion. Can you draw a different conclusion when you are shown absolute contradictions in the bible? Do you have the ability to make your life ulimately meaningfull if you get another chance? You are very sadly mistaken if you think belief in an afterlife confers the desperation that the finality of death brings a deep understanding to take advantage of your only opportunity for existense. You have to do it now, there is no afterlife. Be a man. My i's are dotted, and my t's crossed. How about you? Are you prepared to be ended.... forever? I wonder if you have any idea how precious and rare your life is. Don't fuck it up. Learn as much as you can, feel as much as you can stand. You only get to be alive once.
Anyways, that is not logic. If you insist, I will list all your cognitive distortions. The bible is not the only source of morality. Buddhism teaches much more respect for nature (God) than the bible. So, now what to follow?
eXe, you wrote: I believe that God created all things. Now that does not to my understanding neccesarily negate evolution. I have said here many times I have yet to see where the Bible says that evolution was not God's method of creation, or proponents of evolution rise up to the occasion and explain to me how the big bang actually occurred. What made it occur? Oh, you guys are great at demanding answers... you just don't hold yourselves to the same standards. In other words, you like playing with a stacked deck. A sign of the inherent weakness in your argument. Oh, and eX3e, I edit everyone of my posts. This one for instance. I correct syntax, complete thoughts, clear up grammatical errors. Isn't that what the edit button is for?