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October 9th, 2013
02:27 PM ET
Creationists taunt atheists in latest billboard warBy Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor (CNN)– A new video billboard in New York's Times Square has a message from creationists, "To all of our atheist friends: Thank God you're wrong." The video advertisement at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan is one of several billboards going up this week in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, paid for by Answers in Genesis. Answers in Genesis is best known as the multimillion-dollar Christian ministry behind the Creation Museum outside Cincinnati. The museum presents the case for Young Earth creationism, following what it says is a literal interpretation of the book of Genesis, which says the Earth was created by God in six days less than 10,000 years ago. Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, said the idea for the advertisements came from an atheist billboard in Times Square at Christmas. During the holidays, the American Atheists put up a billboard with images of Santa Claus and Jesus that read: "Keep the Merry, dump the myth." “The Bible says to contend for the faith,” Ham said. “We thought we should come up with something that would make a statement in the culture, a bold statement, and direct them to our website. "We're not against them personally. We're not trying to attack them personally, but we do believe they're wrong," he said. "From an atheist's perspective, they believe when they die, they cease to exist. And we say 'no, you're not going to cease to exist; you're going to spend eternity with God or without God. And if you're an atheist, you're going to be spending it without God.' " Dave Silverman, president of the American Atheists, said he felt sad for creationists when he saw the billboards. "They refuse to look at the real world. They refuse to look at the evidence we have, and they offer none," Silverman said. "They might as well be saying, 'Thank Zeus you're wrong' or 'Thank Thor you're wrong.' " Silverman said he welcomed another competitor to marketplace, noting that after atheists bought a billboard two years ago in Times Square that read "You KNOW it's a myth," the Catholic League purchased competing space at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel for a sign that read "You KNOW it's true." "I would suggest, if they're actually trying to attract atheists, they should talk about proof and reason to believe in their god, not just some pithy play on words," Silverman said. Ham says part of the goal of the campaign is to draw people to the website for Answers in Genesis, where he offers a lengthy post on his beliefs for the proof of God. Ham insists that this campaign is in keeping with their overall mission. "We're a biblical authority ministry. We're really on about the Bible and the Gospel. Now, we do have a specialty in the area of the creation account and Genesis because that's where we say God's word has come under attack." Ham said Answers in Genesis made the decision to split its marketing budget for the ministry between a regional campaign for the museum and this billboard campaign, rather than a national campaign. IRS filings for the ministry in recent years have shown a yearly operating budget of more than $25 million. Ham said the marketing budget is about 2% of that, about $500,000 a year. Though they are waiting for all the bills to come due for this campaign, he said he expected it to cost between $150,000 and $200,000. Silverman noted that his billboards were not video and cost approximately $25,000 last year. He said another campaign was in the works for this year. "They're throwing down the gauntlet, and we're picking it up," Silverman said, adding that his group would "slap them in the face" with it. Ham said that despite criticism from other Christians for being negative and the usual criticisms from secularists he received on his social media accounts, the advertisements have been a success. "We wanted people talking about them, and we wanted discussion about this. We wanted people thinking about God," Ham said. The Creation Museum and the theory of Young Earth creationism are widely reviled by the broader science community. In a YouTube video posted last year titled "Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Children," Bill Nye the Science Guy slammed creationism, imploring parents not to teach it to their children. "We need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers for the future," he said. "We need engineers that can build stuff and solve problems." The museum responded with its own video. For the past 30 years, Gallup Inc. has been tracking American opinions about creationism. In June 2012, Gallup's latest findings showed that 46% of Americans believed in creationism, 32% believed in evolution guided by God, and 15% believed in atheistic evolution. For as long as Gallup has conducted the survey, creationism has remained far and away the most popular answer, with 40% to 47% of Americans surveyed saying they believed that God created humans in their present form at one point within the past 10,000 years. The Creation Museum said it recently welcomed its 2 millionth visitor since its opening in 2007. soundoff (8,748 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Both sides missed the entire point of divine philosophy. How it evolved into various religious doctrine. No recognition of why it was sourced and connected to our races the way it was. Clueless why it was propagated through society and told the way it was, Lost on what it was meant to do or how any of it should be interpreted. And absolutely no idea to even what practical purpose it was assigned. None of you people will find your perception accurate even to a tiny degree. Your setting lies and falsehoods as the director your ways sets athiest and devotees in the exact same camp. If it obvious to me, How much more so will it be apparent to the Divine Conclussion. Boo on all of you that think your ways will elude timeless justice. I certainly wouldn't make a peep for any of you. Let alone justify you in your ways.
Conclussion? Is that like a conclusion derived from somebody with a concussion?
You have an interesting position which seems to be, "Only I understand." So only the voices in you head are telling the truth?
Which god are they referring to??
There is only One God The Almighty... but due to the 'Free Will' given to human, they either say NO or associates partners...
Allah – there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great. – 2:255
112:1 – Say, "He is Allah , [who is] One,
112:2 – Allah , the Eternal Refuge.
112:3 – He neither begets nor is born,
112:4 – Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
Peace
AMEN and Praise HEY-JEUS! No Virgiin rewards in Christianity = ONE true R E L I G I O N!
Repent!
repent!
repent!
repent!
what if we never pented in the first place?
please, matt, get off your knees
Because of "Original Sin" we are trapped and destined for hell at birth. Unless a person happens to win a lottery at birth and is born into a culture where Jesus can save them through baptism then they're doomed. After birth we have the free will to choose between blind obedience and belief in a loving god or infinite torture created for us by that loving god.
location, location, location
Islam is just as silly as Christianity. So basically they teach that intercourse is wrong before marriage, but at the same time promote that you get dozens of virgins in the afterlife. Doesn't that seem like a HUGE contradiction? Why teach that it's a bad thing when its the basis of your afterlife? And where do these virgins come from? They just don't want people to have fun, because you get to have lots of fun later. Logic?
Maybe the one where the current living "holy" men where dresses and funny pointed hats?
Or perhaps the one where the believers wear little replicas of execution devices?
On the other hand, maybe the one with the "holy" book the proscribes stoning to death with stones for various and sundry "sins?"
Two-thirds of star names have Arabic names. They came from Islam's fertile period (AD 800-1100.) During that time Baghdad was the intellectual center of the world, open to people of all or no faiths. During that time were some of the greatest advances known to mankind: engineering, biology, medicine, mathematics, celestial navigation; this is the time and place that gave us numerals we use, terms like algebra and algorithm.
Enter Imam Hamid al-Ghazali in the 12th century. The fundamentally religious period of Islam begins, and so begins the steady decline of free intellectual expression in that area of the world. Some would argue that it has since never recovered.
As astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson explains, throughout history most of the great minds give virtually no mention to any god for their discoveries and explanations. (Ptolemy, Isaac Newton, Laplace, Huygens, Galileo.) That is, until they reach the problem they feel they cannot and will never fully tackle. Dr. Tyson demonstrates this with writings from the great minds in his talk "The Perimeter of Ignorance".
Perhaps that is all God has ever been – a placeholder for discomfort or frustration over the unknown; an excuse of last resort when, for one reason or another, one gives up investigation. It is at that point of discomfort over the unknown when one should remember what humanity has already witnessed: that today's scientific explanations were often yesterday's gods.
"[If] the nature of... government [were] a subordination of the civil to the ecclesiastical power, I [would] consider it as desperate for long years to come. Their steady habits [will] exclude the advances of information, and they [will] seem exactly where they [have always been]. And there [the] clergy will always keep them if they can. [They] will follow the bark of liberty only by the help of a tow-rope." –Thomas Jefferson
love the atheist mind
Lego (created by purpose) – solar system (created by accident, no designer, purposeless)
trash can (created by purpose) – human (created by accident, no designer, purposeless)
How many a sign is there in the heavens and the earth, which they
pass by with their faces turned away! (12:105)
"We make our signs and indicahons entirely manifest in the world and in the souls and inner beings of Our servants so that it should be clear that God is the True." (41:53)
"On theface of the earth there are signs for the possessors of certainty, and also in your own selves; will you not see?" (51:20-21)
"Did man emerge from non-being through his own devices? Was he his own creator? Did mankind create the heavens and earth? Certainly they do not know God." (52:35-36)
Addressed 1.400 years ago
@kay,
Pure assertion. Your book makes claims, but there is no evidence to support such claims. By the way, the sun is just a giant ball of gases, hardly a sign of design, and the human body is the product of billions of years of evolution.
Oh ..... more bible quotes written by man.... big YAWN
fintastic,
Actually, @kay quotes the Quran, but I agree with the yawn...
Same thing.
The logical error here is that you are saying "atheist" and then talking about something that is not necessarily atheist.
Atheist does not equal evolutionist. Most atheists believe in say a big bang, yes, but not everyone who believes in the big bang is an atheist.
And atheist is only a person who does not believe in a god.
If you wish to discuss atheism, focus on that. Otherwise, if you point is to argue your lack of belief in the big bang, address is to those who do, rather than to atheists.
kay,
Do you know how many "solar systems" there are in our Milky Way galaxy alone? There are about 100 billion (100,000,000,000.) stars in the MIlky Way galaxy which is only one of about 3000,000,000,000 galaxies in the known UNIVERSE ! Do you have a purpose all set in your mind for them?
We do not know for certain how this stuff all started or if there is a "why". Shall we make up answers? Shall we latch onto the fantasies and superst'itions that ethnocentric Israelis dreamed up 3,000+/- years ago?
We. Do. Not. Know. Fantasize if you like, just don't claim your ideas as fact.
kay,
Don't be simple-minded. Atheists don't claim they have answers for everything. They have a wide range of views. One of them is "I don't know" which seems impossible for believers to understand.
why do you feel there must be a purpose?
Why do you equate having no creator to being purposeless? That's a matter of a opinion, regardless of whether or not you believe in god. Why create a purpose based on a guess? That's the real question. Why not seek these answers for yourself instead of blindly believing what others have told you?
Surat (Chapter) Luqmān (Luqman):
31:1 – Alif, Lam, Meem.
31:2 – These are verses of the wise Book,
31:3 – As guidance and mercy for the doers of good
31:4 – Who establish prayer and give zakah (obligatory charity), and they, of the Hereafter, are certain [in faith].
31:5 – Those are on [right] guidance from their Lord, and it is those who are the successful.
31:6 – And of the people is he who buys the amusement of speech to mislead [others] from the way of Allah without knowledge and who takes it in ridicule. Those will have a humiliating punishment.
31:7 – And when our verses are recited to him, he turns away arrogantly as if he had not heard them, as if there was in his ears deafness. So give him tidings of a painful punishment.
31:8 – Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds – for them are the Gardens of Pleasure.
31:9 – Wherein they abide eternally; [it is] the promise of Allah [which is] truth. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
31:10 – He created the heavens without pillars that you see and has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it should shift with you, and dispersed therein from every creature. And We sent down rain from the sky and made grow therein [plants] of every noble kind.
31:11 – This is the creation of Allah . So show Me what those other than Him have created. Rather, the wrongdoers are in clear error.
Verse 31:10 and 11 – an open challange to those who either does not believe in The Creator or associates partners by saying God has a son or daughter or any other human or any objects or making The Creator as one of the three...
Peace!!!
Bragging and gloating is very un-Christianlike.
Based on examples here on this blog, it actually seems to be precisely Christian-like.
Atheists will never realize that they win nothing for proving others wrong..."AWESOME, we get to die and go to a vast black space for all eternity!, thats great". However, a totally Religious world wouldn't be good either. Everyone would go to church EVERY day probably and all science would be rejected including my favorite subject, weather science. The truly best way to go is a non-religiously-agnostic world. In other words, no one is right or wrong, they are just in between. The only reason conflict exists is because of what is in the pictures above....debates and arguments. Unless people learn to realize there is no true honest way to completely prove the other side, there will always be terrorists and dictators and a lack of equality (ie LGBT, racism, ethnicity). Its a shame people don't realize that places like North Korea are a atheist state and Iran is a religious state. So clearly neither one would be acceptable for this world.
why do you feel that atheists will "visit black space for an eternity"?
if atheists do not believe in something that goes on after death, they would not believe in eternity
perhaps being dead is like before you were alive
The only logical way to put it is that we do not know the answer. Many claim to know it, but nobody can provide evidence. I see various religions as different pathways to the same ultimate goal. Some folks can't grasp that concept and find it more beneficial to repress anybody who doesn't believe their version of the "truth".
Hee,hee,hee. Go Jesus.
I am? Well prove it!
Yes you are... what prove do you seek?
Hello All,
It is very unfortunate that today a human deny things whereas yesterday he was not exist and he did not have any control when he was inside of his mom's womb and then even when he comes out of the womb, he can't do anything without help... and then when he comes to an adult, he denies everything... and comes up with some ideology and seek to see logic for everything to believe in any Creator...
O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it, its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever an All-Watcher over you. – 4:1
There are 2 elements of human body:
A. Body
B. Soul OR atma OR ruh
A. The body which has been created from dust – from the earth:
It is He who created you
i) from dust, then
ii) from a sperm-drop, then (stage-1.1)
iii) from a clinging clot; then He brings you out as (stage-1.2)
iv) a child; then [He develops you] that you reach your [time of] (stage-2: Child)
v) maturity, then [further] that you become (stage-3: Young)
vi) Elders (old age). (stage-4: Old)
vii) And among you is he who is taken in death before [that], so that you reach a specified term; and perhaps you will think. – 40:67 (stage-5: end of life)
more detail of stage ii and iii:
Then We made the Nutfah into a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood), then We made the clot into a little lump of flesh, then We made out of that little lump of flesh bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh, and then We brought it forth as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators. – 23:14
He created you (all) from a single person (Adam); then made from him his wife [Hawwa' (Eve)]. And He has sent down for you of cattle eight pairs (of the sheep, two, male and female; of the goats, two, male and female; of the oxen, two, male and female; and of the camels, two, male and female). He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation in three veils of darkness, such is Allah your Lord. His is the kingdom, La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He). How then are you turned away? – 39:6
The meaning of creation after creation in three veils of darkness in the above verse:
"creation after creation":
– means everyone of you is originally a Nutfah (means a semen-drop which is mentioned in 22:5),
– then he becomes an `Alaqah (means: clinging substance which is mentioned in 96:2),
– then he becomes a Mudghah (means: the embryonic lump which is mentioned in 23:14 – this verse actually gives all the stages meaning mentioned Nutfah then 'Alaqah and then Madghah.... subhanallah glory be to Allah The Almighty who Created the human and the entire universe),
– then it becomes flesh and bones and nerves and veins, and the Ruh (soul) is breathed into him, and he becomes another type of creation.
"three veils of darknesses":
veil # 1 – the darkness of the womb,
veil # 2 – the darkness of the placenta which blankets and protects the child, and
veil # 3 – the darkness of the belly.
These three layers/veils are used to keep the child protected (belly, placenta and womb).
B. Soul breathed in to it which makes the body to move or ability to think and so on – from up and no one knows more details about it
32:7 – Who perfected everything which He created and began the creation of man from clay. Then He made his posterity out of the extract of a liquid disdained. Then He proportioned him and breathed into him from His [created] soul and made for you hearing and vision and hearts; little are you grateful.
End of this earthly life:
Say, "Indeed, the death from which you flee – indeed, it will meet you. Then you will be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, and He will inform you about what you used to do." – 62:8
Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire]. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion. – 3:185
When time is over a human just leaves from this earthly life no matter what whether healthy or not...
Peace!!!
That's all Holy Baloney, mzh. Sad to see you back spamming us ad nauseum about your sick delusion again.
Got any modern proof for your claims? Didn't think so.
No such thing as a "soul" unless you're talking about shoes.
So you can prove that a soul exists? *gets popcorn*
"I would suggest, if they're actually trying to attract atheists, they should talk about proof and reason to believe in their god, not just some pithy play on words," Silverman said.
Here is what you are looking for, Mr. Silverman.
http://www.holy-19-harvest.com
UNIVERSAL MAGNIFICENT MIRACLES
How is it that you present the same mumbo jumbo claim for proof repeatedly and expect different results?
Publish real evidence as proof in a recognized peer reviewed science journal and receive accolades and praise from the entire world, including atheists.
Thous shalt not steal comes to mind here...stealing advertising space doesn't help you and makes you looks rather hypocritical for preaching and yet not following the commandments that guide your life..
Hey GOOD NEWS you belong there too.
How shameless Christian con artists took over the GOP
by Amanda Marcotte posted on October 28, 2013 01:15AM GMT
Conservative politicians are exploiting their voters the same way some church leaders exploit believers
Right. That's just what all atheists need: Stories from the Koran.
Not sure, but I just don't think you get it.
good news is a troll
faith/hhari/etc is a troll
salero21 is a troll
larry of arabia, gopher, robbie (i cannot possibly be wrong about god) brown are not trolls, they are just pompous a
a$$es, in addition, gopher is a coward
In my opinion it's severely depressing either way...
Christianity: The afterlife is bliss...just believe the impossible.
Atheism: No afterlife, nada, zippo nil
Miserable.
Why do you see the atheist position as depressing?
A determined enough individual will always find a way to look at the negative and feel shortchanged. I find such a position to be rather useless.
I never really found that everlasting bliss thing very enticing. For one thing, you're going to have to sit there and look down into Hell and see all of your friends relatives, (who prayed to the wrong god for instance), writhing and screaming as they receive they're eternal torture. But alas! You do get to sit on the right hand of that egotistical sadomasochist torturer, God. Of course, if you blow it and pray real hard to the wrong version of God, (or make a little idol to do it with), you're going to be one of the writhers and screamers.
I am an atheist.
Why does everybody generalize atheists to believing in no after life, zero zip nada? Where is the justification in that? Atheists believe in a large variety of things, and some do indeed believe in a soul / afterlife. You do not have to believe in a creator to believe in a soul. Stop generalizing
I had to chuckle at the billboard answersingenesis.org Don't these people realize that the creation story is a POEM??? A poem with metaphors and images....NOT a science textbook....good grief.
No. It is the literal word of GOD. Despite copy and translation errors, despite the rewrites done for political reasons, despite interpretation errors, and despite ETC,. But if God said it and inspired people to write it down, its true. If you find the Bible to be contradictory and filled with violence and suffering caused by a sicko GOD, then you are misinterpreting it. The Bible is the absolute word of a loving God.
Unless God tells you, in person, that the bible is His literal word, then all you're doing is acting in faith that it is God's word. Just because you grew up believing something, doesn't mean you KNOW that it is truth. Maybe you BELIEVE it is, but that's faith. Atheists have faith in their own beliefs/unbeliefs, just as you and I have faith in what we believe in and what we don't believe.
Atheists don't have faith. Faith is defined as belief without evidence, Atheists care that their beliefs are backed with evidence.
I think you missed my sarcasm.
Has anybody actually even read the original bible in Hebrew? It reads absolutely nothing like the English version. If you haven't ya'll should check it out. It might open your eyes. God = aliens.
Some other bene crowdsourcingowych shares carry a popularity of our brand, the involvement of a wide range of buyers and maximize in social media marketing action.
If following a couple of weeks you could be nevertheless not delighted, say to your boss. Talk truthfully and brazenly, but don't demonstrate their resentment – preserve professionalism. Inside a dialogue with your supervisor discuss the scope of their responsibilities. Try to ask those that can modify it with your current operate corresponds to that anything you study with the supply you with. In case your employer would not choose to facilitate, you should get in touch with the experts of HR.
firany żakardowe Years in the past, the eight year old Samuel Johnson, Lego enthusiast, wrote a letter to the business inquiring what situations ought to be achieved if you want to operate considering the maker of toys. Lego has handled the make any difference seriously and sent him a list within the crucial skills. This was the boy's enthusiasm to learn and increase. Once several years of his thesis with Lego was spotted by reps of the corporation. Samuel Johnson, whose childhood goals ended up taken significantly, he was employed at Lego, exactly where she promotions which includes a series of toys, Lego Ninjago.
Environment trade is a really earth of temptation, but as shoppers start to ripen in Poland is usually to choose for themselves regarding their shopping for choices. As entrepreneurs we need to just take this pattern into account inside pursuits.
"A number of families say that they uncovered what is the influence of coaching,
Jack Welch was highly surprised by these terms, but didn't clearly show it. He just explained "excuse me". The employee continued, announcing, "note that for 25 several years I worked to the agency. All this time, business enterprise paid for my palms. And at that time is also absolutely free my brain, but I never wanted to utilize it. " This party raises the dilemma – how to proceed making sure that workers employed don't just "hands", but additionally "head" to work?
sukno zielone Just one case in point with the skills coaching is seen as a two-day coaching class Company Coach U: Coaching Clinic?. However in many instances shop is operate by facilitators CCU, the program is additionally created for internal use by properly trained inside CCU coaches in the group.
If we believe which the important and vital rozprawiliśmy myth, you might like to emphasize a handful of truths about corporate espionage, which the gurus are trivial difficulty par excellence.
"The Creation Museum and the theory of Young Earth creationism are widely reviled by the broader science community."
They are also widely reviled by the broader Christian community, too.
Jack, your comment is appreciated. Not all theists oppose science. It's going to be up to "modern" theists to educate and convince creationists that a person of faith can trust the sciences. Mistrust of science and the search for understanding is harmful to society.
Everyone who cannot c god is a dodo bird.
Fun fact, did you know that the dodo bird is the only animal not created by God? Yes, that and when you go into space, if you believe in God, you can breathe. I'm going to just start making stuff up and say it's truth without any real evidence. I guess I am one of those animals not created by God but when I get into Hell, there will be an amusement park there named after me.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tarantula+song&qs=n&form=QBVR&pq=tarantula+song&sc=0-0&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&mid=0E58E0EABAE6489E8C3F0E58E0EABAE6489E8C3F
Your God is visible? Where?
I saw him on a slice of toast yesterday
@FAKElaststonecarver,
Who will you be today? –
You can't 100% prove there is no god. You can't prove 100% that God exists. So what would you rather believe? Would you rather have hope for something beyond this life? Or have no hope at all?
No, that's not the way things work. Otherwise people should believe in unicorns since we can neither prove nor disprove their existence, along with Ufaloms. The way it has always worked for every facet of our lives is someone makes a claim, we ask them for proof. Trying to change the game to, "well, you can disprove it," is dishonest. Shame on you.
would you prefer to think there is a judgement, or that this life is all you have?
i prefer the latter. how about you?
Sam; do you prefer "a judgement" after death because of the inequities you see in life and a final punishment for those who take advantage of others?
This is one of the reasons I see people like the idea of a final judgement. But other reasons exist...
Punishment is deserved for people that do not believe the "truth faith."
But most heinous is the belief that any person of "true"faith" is spared from judgement and forgiven for any behavior. This is where the argument of "absolute moral authority" breaks down.
In reality there is no justice, justice is a human concept not found in nature. If there were justice we could roll back time and set things right. If there were justice I could undo the hurts I may have caused others. I can learn from my mistakes and try not to repeat them, but there is no control z in life and that is the only way I could unsay some of the mean things I have said that the wisdom of experience has since shown me to be wrong and even cruel.
sean: i think you misunderstood me. i prefer to belief that this is the only life we have
i think the threat of "judgement" is a bad joke played on mankind
My bad Sam, I misread your statement! Glad to see someone hasn't taken your ID.
the faith/hhari/bethany/tex/etc, etc, et-fvcking-c troll often takes my ID. but, this was not one of those cases
Yes, in case you didn't see my reply, I reread your comment Sam. Theft of ID's is plainly the work of someone who wishes to harm to all. Atheists would say this behavior is the result of mental illness, and some theists would argue this is done to be of service to evil. By stealing atheist ID's and pretending to be a theist the thief's problems are obvious to all. In the end the thief has nothing, not even his own unique id and will never get credit for any original idea that merits consideration.
I truly believe that God is a distraction. I think that humans, if they are good caring people, will love one another without the need of a God judging them. Faith is also one of those enigmas; it enables the user to not do anything because they have "faith"....well, I think that we all need to participate and especially question everything. We will never grow as a society if we are still standing behind a figure that we cannot confirm or deny his existence.
You're right. The existence of a deity cannot be proven nor disproved. But I think the problem lies not so much in this difference of opinion , but arises significantly when believers in a literal Bible, want their beliefs legislated into law. In a republic with democratic principles & tremendous diversity, That cannot be done. But to put it in colloquial terms; I'd suggest to fervent believers, (I'm not necessarily an atheist) ; you look after your soul & I'll look after mine. Any religion tends to exploit the most common fear/concern of humans since time immemorial ; That being: what happens to us , if anything; after we die.
"Proof" is a concept valid only in mathematics. In science we measure to a statistical degree of certainty. There are no absolutes and if something is consistently "hitting" 100% we better check the assumptions, data, math and hypothesis because it's not digging deep enough to give us a degree of confidence in what we are measuring.
You can't prove 100% that unicorns exist and you can't prove 100% that they don't. Should we just believe in them because we like that idea? You can if you want but when there is a severe lack of objective evidence, non existence is the logical default for anything. There is an infinite potential of things that don't exist. We don't believe them all just because we can't prove they don't. Burden of proof is on the one claiming existence, not the person who says your claim is BS.
Sometimes I worry that no one reading CNN takes the comment section seriously or cares what I have to say
"They refuse to look at the real world. They refuse to look at the evidence we have, and they offer none," Silverman said.
Here is what you are looking for, Mr. Silverman.
http://www.holy-19-harvest.com
UNIVERSAL MAGNIFICENT MIRACLES