Do you believe in god?

[london_red]

I'm not religious at all, but wouldn't be as arrogant to dismiss a Higher Power just because I had no proof they existed.

The question of what type of God would cause all the misery in the World is simple though: If a Higher Power exists and created the World, maybe they've just left us to get on with it?

If people find comfort and solace in believing and following a religion, where's the harm? Once again it's people that corrupt and distort things, The New Testament is all about love and tolerance, I doubt those that wrote it expected it to be used in the way it has (The Crusades being just one example).

What we need to remember is live and let live, which can be summed up in this thought provoking passage:

 'Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum,
What might be right for you, may not be right for some.
A man is born, he's a man of means.
Then along come two, they got nothing but their jeans.

But they got, Different Strokes.
It takes, Different Strokes.
It takes, Different Strokes to move the world.

Everybody's got a special kind of story
Everybody finds a way to shine,
It don't matter that you got not alot
So what,
They'll have theirs, and you'll have yours, and I'll have mine.
And together we'll be fine....

Because it takes, Different Strokes to move the world.
Yes it does.
It takes, Different Strokes to move the world.'

Worth thinking about, eh?

What'chu talkin' 'bout?

[tans]

Ha i was just going to post the same thing LR

[herthab]

Ah, I see some are aware of the Good Works of Arnold and Willis.

[LucienSanchez]

The 'virgin birth' is likely to be a translation error...'virgin' and 'young' being confused as it was spread. I think some of the bible is real. Stories about an influential speaker and cult leader are entirely plausible. The way in which the bible is interpreted, and religious practice formulated by this has been debated for centuries. I think catholicism and the papacy is the most corrupt branch of Christianity, its interpretations of the bible are self-serving and in some cases completely erroneous.

[Benzel]

I believe in Evolution. Just need to get a Darwin fish for the back of my car to confirm this.

[Phil_S]

I believe the bible shouldn't be taken literally, but is largely based on truth, ditoted by the fact that some of it was written centuries after the events, has been translated from different languages, by people with frailties, beliefs & prejudices.  I do believe in God & The Devil, but only in so musch as we all have a good side & an evil side within us. Certainly science now disproves the literal side of the bible, & probably other religeous books too, but a lot of what is said can be explained. eg the burning bush could have been caused by spontaneous combustion. The flood did occur around the back sea area.
What I struggle with is the belief of life after death, heaven & hell, which I can't match with my scientific beliefs. It would I guess be easier to understood if we understood death. Perhaps heaven & hell is a definition of how we have lived our life & that time stands still for us at the moment of death (Like when you get an adrenaline rush)

[Bob's Orange]

I am not reading 8 pages of this but my input is simple.

No.

[herthab]

I believe in Evolution. Just need to get a Darwin fish for the back of my car to confirm this.

I agree with evolution too, but it doesn't answer the question of where Life originated from, does it?

[Don Rogers Shop]

I feel my work here is done.

Many thanks.

[sheepshagger]

The trouble with the church is (oh bloody hell where to start !!).......

The Bible (for me) is a really well put together set of fairy tales - a lot like Father Christmas or the Tooth Fairy

So many things in the bible are open to interpretation on so many different levels.  My neighbours (Mormons) will tell you one thing and for them it is cast in stone.  For other christians the same passage will mean something completely different - but for them it is again cast in stone.

The two things cannot possibly both be right - and this is where the problem lies.  Even after scientists have disproved the theory, religious people will "poo poo" the scientists findings with a "you cannot take it literally, it is meant differently to how it was written"

This is where the church "cop out" comes - it is easy for the church to argue against the scientist and say "you do not understand" - the trouble is that the church will do ANYTHING to cling to this fairy story, and brainwash people along the way....

Another loathsome thing about religion (especially catholocism) is there insular way of denying anything wrong about the church.  For goodness sake the Pope is one of the worst offenders !  Head of the church, yet a few years ago was one of the people tasked with investigating paedophiles in the American church - the evidence was damning and overwhelming - yet he and others did their very best job to sweep it under the carpet and pretend it didn't happen.  They didn't even get rid of the biggest culprits - and now are paying the price with countless $$ paid as compensation !

In any other walk of life the wankers responsible would have been thrown in prison, and the organisation thrown to the wolves.  However because it's the church, no-one was dealt with in law and one of the culprits responsible for allowing it to continue becomes Pope !!

If that's not sick and twisted, and a damn good reason for the church to be reviled, I am not too sure what is....  

[Ginginho]

I used to believe in god as a kid, my parents aren't particularly religious, but I used to go to church every now and then.
As i've grown up, religion has played no part in my life whatsoever and I would consider myself agnostic.
I didn't get married in a church as neither my wife or I are religious.

But religion doesn't bother me, people live their life how they want and if following a religious path is how they wish to do it, as long as they don't harm anyone on the way, then there's no problem.

[Benzel]

I agree with evolution too, but it doesn't answer the question of where Life originated from, does it?

No, I know what you mean and this fact has at times made me wonder whether or not there is some sort of higher being that chucked a load of ingredients down and let it pan out.

How did space get there? and if that can be answered - how did the elements that created space get there? and so on....

[BANGKOK RED]

I think god's having a press conference at 11.30 today.

[reeves4england]

Fucking hell. A TEF bible basher just waiting for the right moment to pounce!

Reevsy, sorry to shatter your illusion, but you're full of shit. The bible is a tome of complete bollocks, literally made up to control the populace at the time.

Virgin birth? Yeah, right. More like some old slapper who took one on the sly.

Some old dude sitting up top, watching eveyone (at the same fucking time, no less), waiting to cast them into hell if they do wrong or don't conform to his list of 10 sins? Bullshit.

Grow some balls, face life, yourself and the world, form your own opinions and stop peddling ancient bullshit.

Grow up mate. All you've said there is "I don't believe any of this could happen therefore I'm right, you're wrong and I'm going to put myself on a pedestal, trying to make you look 2 inches tall in the process." And from where I'm sitting you've just come across as arrogant, single-minded and totally unwilling (or perhaps unable?) to engage in discussion.

I'm not a "Bible basher" waiting to pounce. Whilst I believe in the Bible and believe it is something that everybody needs to hear, I don't go forcing it down people's throats. And I've done little different to anybody else in this thread - I've responded to the question asked in the first post, and highlighted reasons why people might disagree. I've then accepted that people who call themslves Christians are in part to blame. In fact, the only thing I've done differently is I've stopped short of abusing anybody who thinks differently to me...

[herthab]

Grow up mate. All you've said there is "I don't believe any of this could happen therefore I'm right, you're wrong and I'm going to put myself on a pedestal, trying to make you look 2 inches tall in the process." And from where I'm sitting you've just come across as arrogant, single-minded and totally unwilling (or perhaps unable?) to engage in discussion.

I'm not a "Bible basher" waiting to pounce. Whilst I believe in the Bible and believe it is something that everybody needs to hear, I don't go forcing it down people's throats. And I've done little different to anybody else in this thread - I've responded to the question asked in the first post, and highlighted reasons why people might disagree. I've then accepted that people who call themslves Christians are in part to blame. In fact, the only thing I've done differently is I've stopped short of abusing anybody who thinks differently to me...

I was going to reply in much the same way to him, but I would've probably resorted to calling him rude names. Thanks for saving me the time and effort.