Is there a God?
I haven't done my religion gig in a long time and I probably wouldn't have done this if not for some thought provoking article I happen to Stumble! upon. I'll post reproduce it here word for word, aka copy-&-paste, in case it ever gets removed in the future when someone reads this.
Source
In order to present the article true and unaltered, I did screenshots of it and pieced it together.
You can also get the PDF version here.
I'd first like to make it clear once again my stand on the existence of God. I belive in the existence of a greater being but not in Jesus. The title caught my attention and so I read. I actually agree to some of the points but probably in a different way. I'll break it down point by point, in order of my reading, it'll get a little messy as I refer back to her previously made points.
In point 1, she wrote that billions of people throughout history believed that God exists, I so agree. Ever culture have their own image of God and most of these cultures started off with 1 God, even those cultures with many gods have 1 God that is the most powerful. I'm not sure what this proves but apparently it's supposed to prove the existence of God. She quoted the Bible in her introductory passage which led me to conclude that she's a Christian which led me to wonder why this point, which suggests that different cultures have different Gods, will support her claim that God exists and that Jesus is the only way to God as illustrated in point 5 and 6.
I started to get skeptical at point 2 with all that she wrote about Earth. She first noted the unique position of earth, the unique configuration and blance of it's distance from the sun, it's size, composition and gravity, presence of water, and the distance and size of the moon. About life on earth and how impossible it is for every factor she mentioned to be at the right place at the right time. I will not disagree with her about life on earth and how the perfect balance sustains it however, the fact that she's talking about life on earth is the greatest flaw in her argument. I believe I can safely assume that from what she wrote, she's only taken into consideration life on earth, that water and air is essential to sustain life and that in order for there to be life, there must be oxygen in it's gaseous state and water in it's liquid form. There's also the assumption that life cannot exist beyond the range of temperatueres as experienced by that of the earth.
I believe that with the limitless possibilities of the universe, extra-terrestrial life can exist and as it's name suggest, not of earth. As off today, our perception of what aliens look like or behave is still largely influence by our impressions of earthlings. The fact that we portray aliens as humanoid beings is the best example. Now let's assume that water and oxygen is absolutely essential to sustain life, isn't it possible that life exists on a planet with gravity so strong and temperatures so low, it pressurises oxygen into liquid and life itself swims in the very air they breath?
She also wrote about the marvels of the human brain, which I personally think doesn't explain anything. Humans learn and knowledge is passed down through communication. The fact that the Bible still exists is the best example. Humans are not born with the knowledge we have today, we are not born with the ability to write or talk, we are born with the ability to function like any other creature in this world, to eat, sleep, shit, whatever. What sets us apart is our ability to learn and to create. The human brain is just another organ doing it's job in the human body. The brain of someone void of education and that of someone educated is the same when stripped of information, information not from an individual but from a history of probing and research, a train of thought enhanced and archived through generations.
Hence point 2, though lengthy, doesn't prove anything. It does however help bring out her argument in point 3. All the complexity cannot be a mere "chance". To brand all the seemingly random events with "chance" would be injustice. Creation is a highly complex orchestrated process of God, is that it? The fact that all of creation is constantly changing proves that God is sustaining life? The world today is in no way similar to when it first came about, it's constantly changing and improving, so to say, until what it is now. Can we then conclude that evolution is an act of God? If so, wouldn't it contradict the idea that God will not let any of his creations become extinct?
Point 4. Sociology, doesn't prove that God exists. Our supposed inherent sense of what's right and wrong originates from what benefits us and not. Whatever is to our advantage is right and whatever is not is wrong. It's that simple and it's not exclusive to humans. An animal will get pissed if you take his food away. The same animal will get pissed if you kill it's mate. However, not all creatures are like that, some feed on their mate, mantis & spiders, some eat their young, hamsters, all these acts may or may not be exclusive to the species. It's the same in human society. In some societies, it's normal to have an arranged marriage regardless of whether the person in subject is willing or not, it's right to them. However it's frowned upon in other societies and hence it's wrong. It's all relative and constantly evolving.
Point 5 and 6. I'll put these together since they both relate to the Christian faith. I'd like to point out once again that you can't prove something to be correct by what that something claims. You can't prove that Jesus in fact came back to life because it's recorded in the Bible when you only know of the event from the Bible itself. Why is it that miracles performed by other religious figures are dispelled as myths while that of Jesus really happened when everything is common? Why is Jesus the only path to God just because he said so? Sounding very much like a spoilt child don't you think?
I spent close to 2 hours writing this, mainly because I can and also largely because I'm bored.
With reference to my last statement,
"Although the SAF has not been called to battle, precious sons and daughters have been lost in the process of serving the country. Let us observe a minute of silence to remember our comrades in arms."
What's your point?!
Source
In order to present the article true and unaltered, I did screenshots of it and pieced it together.
You can also get the PDF version here.
I'd first like to make it clear once again my stand on the existence of God. I belive in the existence of a greater being but not in Jesus. The title caught my attention and so I read. I actually agree to some of the points but probably in a different way. I'll break it down point by point, in order of my reading, it'll get a little messy as I refer back to her previously made points.
In point 1, she wrote that billions of people throughout history believed that God exists, I so agree. Ever culture have their own image of God and most of these cultures started off with 1 God, even those cultures with many gods have 1 God that is the most powerful. I'm not sure what this proves but apparently it's supposed to prove the existence of God. She quoted the Bible in her introductory passage which led me to conclude that she's a Christian which led me to wonder why this point, which suggests that different cultures have different Gods, will support her claim that God exists and that Jesus is the only way to God as illustrated in point 5 and 6.
I started to get skeptical at point 2 with all that she wrote about Earth. She first noted the unique position of earth, the unique configuration and blance of it's distance from the sun, it's size, composition and gravity, presence of water, and the distance and size of the moon. About life on earth and how impossible it is for every factor she mentioned to be at the right place at the right time. I will not disagree with her about life on earth and how the perfect balance sustains it however, the fact that she's talking about life on earth is the greatest flaw in her argument. I believe I can safely assume that from what she wrote, she's only taken into consideration life on earth, that water and air is essential to sustain life and that in order for there to be life, there must be oxygen in it's gaseous state and water in it's liquid form. There's also the assumption that life cannot exist beyond the range of temperatueres as experienced by that of the earth.
I believe that with the limitless possibilities of the universe, extra-terrestrial life can exist and as it's name suggest, not of earth. As off today, our perception of what aliens look like or behave is still largely influence by our impressions of earthlings. The fact that we portray aliens as humanoid beings is the best example. Now let's assume that water and oxygen is absolutely essential to sustain life, isn't it possible that life exists on a planet with gravity so strong and temperatures so low, it pressurises oxygen into liquid and life itself swims in the very air they breath?
She also wrote about the marvels of the human brain, which I personally think doesn't explain anything. Humans learn and knowledge is passed down through communication. The fact that the Bible still exists is the best example. Humans are not born with the knowledge we have today, we are not born with the ability to write or talk, we are born with the ability to function like any other creature in this world, to eat, sleep, shit, whatever. What sets us apart is our ability to learn and to create. The human brain is just another organ doing it's job in the human body. The brain of someone void of education and that of someone educated is the same when stripped of information, information not from an individual but from a history of probing and research, a train of thought enhanced and archived through generations.
Hence point 2, though lengthy, doesn't prove anything. It does however help bring out her argument in point 3. All the complexity cannot be a mere "chance". To brand all the seemingly random events with "chance" would be injustice. Creation is a highly complex orchestrated process of God, is that it? The fact that all of creation is constantly changing proves that God is sustaining life? The world today is in no way similar to when it first came about, it's constantly changing and improving, so to say, until what it is now. Can we then conclude that evolution is an act of God? If so, wouldn't it contradict the idea that God will not let any of his creations become extinct?
Point 4. Sociology, doesn't prove that God exists. Our supposed inherent sense of what's right and wrong originates from what benefits us and not. Whatever is to our advantage is right and whatever is not is wrong. It's that simple and it's not exclusive to humans. An animal will get pissed if you take his food away. The same animal will get pissed if you kill it's mate. However, not all creatures are like that, some feed on their mate, mantis & spiders, some eat their young, hamsters, all these acts may or may not be exclusive to the species. It's the same in human society. In some societies, it's normal to have an arranged marriage regardless of whether the person in subject is willing or not, it's right to them. However it's frowned upon in other societies and hence it's wrong. It's all relative and constantly evolving.
Point 5 and 6. I'll put these together since they both relate to the Christian faith. I'd like to point out once again that you can't prove something to be correct by what that something claims. You can't prove that Jesus in fact came back to life because it's recorded in the Bible when you only know of the event from the Bible itself. Why is it that miracles performed by other religious figures are dispelled as myths while that of Jesus really happened when everything is common? Why is Jesus the only path to God just because he said so? Sounding very much like a spoilt child don't you think?
- God created the world we live in, and created us specifically to have a relationship with Him.
- He deeply loves us.
- We have sinned and are under God's judgment, in need of His forgiveness.
- God provided a way for our sins to be forgiven.
- He asks us to receive His forgiveness and have a relationship with Him that will last eternally.
I spent close to 2 hours writing this, mainly because I can and also largely because I'm bored.
With reference to my last statement,
"Although the SAF has not been called to battle, precious sons and daughters have been lost in the process of serving the country. Let us observe a minute of silence to remember our comrades in arms."
What's your point?!
BY Neo :: 3:29 PM
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