October 9, 201511 yr That has always fascinated me. I, too, know some otherwise very smart people who believe the most outrageous things , all tied to their religious convictions. Simply fascinating and bewildering. How does that affect you? I'm not a young earther, but I do believe in God all based on faith. To atheist that notion of faith alone seems crazy. My best friend on this planet is an atheist and probably one of the most intelligent people I've met. But after many conversations over the last 15 years we've come to an agreement. I have no burden to prove to him God exists and he has no burden to believe what I believe. The whole point in this topic is to shame people who believe something you don't and this type of religious shaming is disgusting and prejudice.
October 9, 201511 yr How does that affect you? I'm not a young earther, but I do believe in God all based on faith. To atheist that notion of faith alone seems crazy. My best friend on this planet is an atheist and probably one of the most intelligent people I've met. But after many conversations over the last 15 years we've come to an agreement. I have no burden to prove to him God exists and he has no burden to believe what I believe. The whole point in this topic is to shame people who believe something you don't and this type of religious shaming is disgusting and prejudice. Wouldn't BGP be a more vanilla place if this was SOP?:lol:
October 9, 201511 yr Wouldn't BGP be a more vanilla place if this was SOP?:lol: I love spirited debate and arguments. It's the only reason I'm on this board. But this topic was started with malicious intent. It's so common in some circles I used to be in. He/she wants to start a topic and corner someone with his gotcha questions. Pat himself/herself on the back for having superior "intelligence". The need to dive into these type of topic starters reeks of desperation and needed attention or approval for ones self worth.
October 9, 201511 yr I love spirited debate and arguments. It's the only reason I'm on this board. But this topic was started with malicious intent. It's so common in some circles I used to be in. He/she wants to start a topic and corner someone with his gotcha questions. Pat himself/herself on the back for having superior "intelligence". The need to dive into these type of topic starters reeks of desperation and needed attention or approval for ones self worth. Maybe, maybe not. I wouldn't have said "fools", but Post #15 makes me wonder. I'm a person that usually tries to give the benefit of the doubt.
October 9, 201511 yr Author How does that affect you? I'm not a young earther, but I do believe in God all based on faith. To atheist that notion of faith alone seems crazy. My best friend on this planet is an atheist and probably one of the most intelligent people I've met. But after many conversations over the last 15 years we've come to an agreement. I have no burden to prove to him God exists and he has no burden to believe what I believe. The whole point in this topic is to shame people who believe something you don't and this type of religious shaming is disgusting and prejudice. Topic was absolutely not to shame anyone. I've just always been fascinated with the idea of smart people believing outrageous ideas. For example, Heaven's Gate, the Hale-Bopp comet people. Very educated, tech saavy people who bought into Marshall Applewhite's belief that Hale-Bopp was coming to taxi them to Nirvana. Just fascinating...simply fascinating. Like I say, if you WANT to believe bad enough, rationality will be cast aside in favor of magic...
October 9, 201511 yr Topic was absolutely not to shame anyone. I've just always been fascinated with the idea of smart people believing outrageous ideas. For example, Heaven's Gate, the Hale-Bopp comet people. Very educated, tech saavy people who bought into Marshall Applewhite's belief that Hale-Bopp was coming to taxi them to Nirvana. Just fascinating...simply fascinating. Like I say, if you WANT to believe bad enough... What is your take on people who believe in God?
October 9, 201511 yr Author What is your take on people who believe in God? I think its human nature to want to believe there is order in the universe and that there is a maestro conducting that order. I know a lot of really good people who believe in God. I know some really smart people who believe in God. If that belief helps the individual deal with the challenges of this life and serves a purpose for them, then I say good for them. I know it's an important part of the lives of many. Spirituality is a good thing. Religion, much less so. My take on people who believe in God is to continue believing if it adds something positive to your existence here on this planet . Doesn't make you any better than a non-believer or any worse. As long as others are not harmed in the name of God(something that happens far too often), I have no problem with those who believe in God. But just because millions choose to believe in some sort of Creator God, that doesn't mean its real.
October 10, 201511 yr Topic was absolutely not to shame anyone. I've just always been fascinated with the idea of smart people believing outrageous ideas. For example, Heaven's Gate, the Hale-Bopp comet people. Very educated, tech saavy people who bought into Marshall Applewhite's belief that Hale-Bopp was coming to taxi them to Nirvana. Just fascinating...simply fascinating. Like I say, if you WANT to believe bad enough, rationality will be cast aside in favor of magic... If you ever truly want to have that conversation about why people believe what they believe you will need to set aside your rhetoric, name calling and innuendo such as the last line of this post. There have been discussions on here before about faith and religion that were productive...but with mutual respect for others opinions. You may never be involved in those types of discussions as you have never shown an ounce of respect for the beliefs of Christians or any other religion. You are a self proclaimed "Man of Science" and I have no idea of what your actual background is. But even you must admit that science has never given man all of the answers...it has only given answers as far as man could prove at that moment in history. Scientific Answers that were Scientific Fact 50-100-200 years ago are scoffed at today. Unlike you and others like you I will readily admit that I don't have all of the answers...but I also don't feel any need to convince you of anything. As it says under my Avatar, "To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible"
October 10, 201511 yr How does that affect you? I'm not a young earther, but I do believe in God all based on faith. To atheist that notion of faith alone seems crazy. My best friend on this planet is an atheist and probably one of the most intelligent people I've met. But after many conversations over the last 15 years we've come to an agreement. I have no burden to prove to him God exists and he has no burden to believe what I believe. The whole point in this topic is to shame people who believe something you don't and this type of religious shaming is disgusting and prejudice. Another rare occasion where I almost agree with you Lipton. I like this post especially because of the agreement you have with your friend. Kudos. My quibble is with the bolded part. That is not necessarily true. I don't think the notion of faith is "crazy" Though I don't share the faith, I can see plenty of pretty straightfoward and rational motivations for people (generally speaking) to have faith. It's wrong,...no, make that..It's false, but not crazy.
October 10, 201511 yr Another rare occasion where I almost agree with you Lipton. I like this post especially because of the agreement you have with your friend. Kudos. My quibble is with the bolded part. That is not necessarily true. I don't think the notion of faith is "crazy" Though I don't share the faith, I can see plenty of pretty straightfoward and rational motivations for people (generally speaking) to have faith. It's wrong,...no, make that..It's false, but not crazy. There it is again. An absolute, a statement of fact when nothing has been proven. I'll put this to you, your disbelief is as much a matter of faith as my belief is. You can't disprove the existence of God any more then I can prove God does exist yet we are both firm in our beliefs. You believe what is not provable.
October 10, 201511 yr Topic was absolutely not to shame anyone. I've just always been fascinated with the idea of smart people believing outrageous ideas. For example, Heaven's Gate, the Hale-Bopp comet people. Very educated, tech saavy people who bought into Marshall Applewhite's belief that Hale-Bopp was coming to taxi them to Nirvana. Just fascinating...simply fascinating. Like I say, if you WANT to believe bad enough, rationality will be cast aside in favor of magic... Like your insistence that aliens exist. Hypocritical but typical. Your science stance is as porous as a colander.
October 10, 201511 yr There it is again. An absolute, a statement of fact when nothing has been proven. I'll put this to you, your disbelief is as much a matter of faith as my belief is. You can't disprove the existence of God any more then I can prove God does exist yet we are both firm in our beliefs. You believe what is not provable. No. They are not equivalent beliefs. I can appreciate you admitting you can't prove God exists. But there are differences between the two. One big difference is that I would change my mind, if there was proof. Another difference is that it is a little different between proving an affirmative (God exists) and a negative (God doesn't exist). Russell's famous teapot is important. (Russell said that if he stated there was a cosmic teapot floating in space between earth and mars, you would be unable to disprove his belief in the teapot, but that your inability to disprove his belief doesn't mean he is right). I don't believe in Santa Clause. Would you consider that "a matter of faith" as well? If so, your working definition of "a matter of faith" is too broad to have any real meaning. Finally, we should define what you mean by "God" If you mean some vague force that created the universe, set it in motion and then has been taking a nap for 14 billion years, then okay, that would be hard to disprove. If you mean "God" as the Christian God in the Bible, or the God of any other modern religion, then disproving parts of that are much easier. I will assume, and pardon me if this incorrect, that you are a Christian. So, you then would not believe in Zeus. Is your disbelief in Zeus "a matter of faith" or is it the result of you not seeing any evidence of Zeus whatsoever? If it makes you feel better for some reason to think as you posted, I guess it's no real big deal.
October 10, 201511 yr Wouldn't surprise meat all. Between the name Science Friction and this typo in the post I had to laugh. Immature? Maybe. Funny? Yes sir
October 10, 201511 yr Topic was absolutely not to shame anyone. I've just always been fascinated with the idea of smart people believing outrageous ideas. For example, Heaven's Gate, the Hale-Bopp comet people. Very educated, tech saavy people who bought into Marshall Applewhite's belief that Hale-Bopp was coming to taxi them to Nirvana. Just fascinating...simply fascinating. Like I say, if you WANT to believe bad enough, rationality will be cast aside in favor of magic... Who are you trying to kid?
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