Atheists in the Okanagan.

[pepsilover]

Sorry for your loss. I'm sure you are a caring person, but one that can give no hope to a dying friend or parent. You had a good kick at the can, we all loved you and you'll be missed, bye forever. That wouldn't provide much comfort to many people in my opinion. As I look at the world and learn from history, I see where its really heading and its not good. We will not fix the big issues before we destroy the planet and millions more are killed. I have zero faith in mankind to accomplish it. I do have a strong belief that God will soon intervene in our affairs and he will fix things. That may be a false hope to you, but millions believe it and it does provide real comfort to many in their last days, or when they are contemplating the sad state of this planet and man. When you combine that belief with the feeling of Gods spirit infusing you and the sense of calm, joy, peace and love that is part of it, even in the hardest trials, then yes, it gives me and others a real hope. i can't imagine facing these things with the belief that out of thin air, purely by chance with no direction, everything came into existence. That to me would be hopeless. Caring people that beleive that are hopeless, as they have to trust mankind to solve these things and there is no help for the dying.

Anyway, I'm sure this subject will just get more cloudy if it continues and we will both misunderstand one another. Again, sorry for all you have been through, and my trying to explain my point may have been misdirected. I'm sure in person we could understand what we each mean, but such is life in the CN forums.

I believe much like you do. Mankind is hopeless that's a for sure. A look at history will show us that. When people blame "God" for the holocaust I am thinking "Ummm, what about Hitler? Didn't he have something to do with that?". It is some weird glitch in human nature to BLAME something or somebody for every single thing that happens, which is in reality kind of ironic coming from any atheist, to blame God. If they truly believed in fate as most of them claim to, why would they be blaming anybody or anything? Why wouldn't they just believe it's fate? Why would they constantly blame God for all the ills in the world? I don't know why other than I believe that the more militant atheists are simply Christians or former believers who had a bad experience. Most of them are WAY TOO EMOTIONAL not to have been through something prior.

It is man who has messed up the planet, man who continues to, man who fills my home page with horror stories of crimes and man's inhumanity to man every morning on the internet. It isn't God. God gave man FREE WILL and look at how he has used it? Uh-huh. So now we have the results. I cry for 'Mother Earth' as I feel we have passed the 'tipping point'. Look at all God gave us and looked how we all have messed it up.

Like you, I believe the writing is on the wall. We, with our cumulative 'free will' so graciously given, have screwed things up royally and it's likely getting close to the time we pay the piper so to speak. I've done a lot of study, I feel very confirmed in my beliefs. Am I comfortable with it all? Uh - no. I have grandkids and want them to have a beautiful world but they might not. I feel sorry for the young kids today they are missing out on so, so much already (meaning the 'techie age' has taken over their brains - lol).

It isn't easy being a Christian that's for sure and especially in this day and age.

[cliffy1]

[Glacier]

Weird sign... a Christian was the one who first proposed the Big Bang.

[cliffy1]

Weird sign... a Christian was the one who first proposed the Big Bang.

It is a strange sign. It shows me that science has become the new religion. I think that both creationist and evolutionists are off the mark. Nothing is ever black and white. There is always many shades of grey.

[vixxen]

Oh who really cares haha. Humans of any non religion or religion are the cruelest living things on this earth. Yep I believe in God but judge no one on race, religion or who they love I could care less. I am more for the animals on this earth. I am actually married to a atheist do I care NO. Choose what you want believe in what you want who cares. The hate in this world is unreal people need to live their lives and quit worrying about others . To many bad things happening to poor living animals and children in this world then your religion or non religion *bleep*.

[youjustcomplain]

Vixxen,

Humans of any non religion or religion are the cruelest living things on this earth.

Correction. Humans are among the cruelest living things on this earth. But I'm glad you limited the cruelty to that of living things on this earth. If you looked at the gods humans have worshiped, you may find more cruelty than humans are capable of.

I am more for the animals on this earth.

I know what you mean. However, lets remember that humans are animals. Some of us are more wild than others.

Choose what you want believe in what you want who cares.

Right, until peoples private believes affect others.

The hate in this world is unreal people need to live their lives and quit worrying about others.

Your first comment was that humans are the most cruel things on this earth. I do worry about others, because of what they may do.

To many bad things happening to poor living animals and children in this world then your religion or non religion *bleep*.

I'd probably have a comment for this sentence, but I have no idea what it was intended to mean.

[Hermes]

1. Religious people throw better parties

2. "I don't base my life on not believing in Santa Claus" Frank Zappa, a paraphrase

Emotionally I relate to religious people, intellectually to atheists. Perhaps that explains why I am a secular Buddhist. Gautama Siddhartha (the historical Buddha) said, more or less, "Whether God exists or doesn't, it's not important." Of course, in the context of the time and place, it was whether godS exist. If you study Buddhist texts there is no doubt Buddhists believe in ghosts and transmigration. They just don't (except maybe the Tibetans) put much stock in Gods with a capital 'G'. Even though I was raised United Church I find Abrahamic religions bizarre.

What is important is how we live. Many Jews would agree with me.

Sam Harris - I like his podcasts, but at a party I think he would be boring. Hitchens is incisive. Dawkins somehow irritates me. Father Guido Sarduci is more my style.

[youjustcomplain]

2. "I don't base my life on not believing in Santa Claus" Frank Zappa, a paraphrase

I don't know any atheists who base their life on their lack of believe in any one thing, god included. It's a cute quote, but misses the mark.

Emotionally I relate to religious people, intellectually to atheists.

Except, atheists are no more intellectual than the religious. Belief in a god doesn't make someone dumber than someone who doesn't.

...I find Abrahamic religions bizarre.

Hallelujah ! totally agree.

Sam Harris - I like his podcasts, but at a party I think he would be boring. Hitchens is incisive. Dawkins somehow irritates me. Father Guido Sarduci is more my style.

[/quote]
I'd happily enjoy chatting with any of them... or just hearing Hitch one more time. Dawkins seems to rub a lot of people the wrong way. I can't put my finger on it. I generally agree with him or listen and learn.

[GalaxyzAway]

z

[youjustcomplain]

Well I think it shows a serious compromise in intelligence when you believe in things like:

Unicorns - Numbers 23:22
Giants - Deuteronomy 2:11
Dragons - Deuteronomy 32:33
Giant Fish you can survive in for 3 days - Jonah 1:17
Flying women - Zechariah 5:9
Two of every animal that exists fit on one dudes boat - Genesis 7:8
A few inbred people lived for nearly 1000 years - Genesis 5:27
The sea parted for God's old fav people - Exodus 15:8
Leprosy can be cured by a strange ritual that involves murdering birds - Leviticus 14:2
Abortions are fine as long as they are non-consensual and only preformed on cheating women - Numbers 5:27
Earthquakes aren't caused by tectonic plates moves - but actually an angry god - Isaiah 29:6


You can do all the mental gymnastics you want, but these are things the bible says. If you believe in the bible, you must believe in these things, and I just can't take anyone that believes in Unicorns seriously...

But ask Christians if they believe in unicorns. Point it out in the bible they haven't read. It won't change anything. I suspect the odd, highly ignorant, Christian will fully endorse the bible, but the rest will call it a metaphor or just a story with a moral lesson or something of that sort. I think you'd be hard pressed to find many people, Christian or otherwise, who believe any of this to be more than a story.
For many, belief in a god is something different than their Christianity or what is written in their bible. I find it amazing and confusing all at once. :)

[zzontar]

You can do all the mental gymnastics you want, but these are things the bible says. If you believe in the bible, you must believe in these things, and I just can't take anyone that believes in Unicorns seriously...

I find it hard to take seriously anyone who believes that if you're religious, you believe in unicorns... but go on about your intelligence.

[GalaxyzAway]

z

[Glacier]

I find it hard to take seriously anyone who believes that if you're religious, you believe in unicorns... but go on about your intelligence.

I'm sure that most atheists are intelligent decent people, but online atheists are largely ignorant hypocrites.

Online atheists will encounter someone who has spent years and decades studying religious texts, and then simply dismiss it as complete bunk because a friend of a friend received a chain email from an acquaintance that the Bible says there are unicorns.

Have these keyboard geniuses even discovered Google yet? Don't they know you don't just post chain emails and hearsay conspiracy theory garbage online without fact checking? There might not be any bible experts on Castanet, but Google is available to everyone, so let's just run with the first item on the list above: unicorns.

Looking up Numbers 23:22 in the Blue Letter Bible reveals that you only get unicorn in the King James Version, which is written in a language not spoken today (ie. words like unicorn had a different meaning back then as they do today). Many words have changed since then which is why modern English translations do not use the word unicorn, and instead opt for wild ox or buffalo. Here's what the KJV says:

"God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn."

The word unicorn here is the Hebrew word "rĕ'em," which has the meaning: "probably the great aurochs or wild bulls which are now extinct. The exact meaning is not known."

So, an ancient animal now extinct was translated as unicorn in the 1600s because unicorns in King James' day referred to more than just mythical creatures, and atheists think that this means the bible says unicorns exist as we understand the word to mean in the 21st century because they're the self-appointed experts (even though they've never done a day of research on the topic).

Ironically enough, when confronted with the correct information, most atheists will use mental gymnastics to cling to their stupid beliefs about what they think the Bible says about unicorns, and instead just pretend they never said what they did by deleting their posts.

[averagejoe]

If you believe in the bible, you must believe in these things, and I just can't take anyone that believes in Unicorns seriously...

But ask Christians if they believe in unicorns. Point it out in the bible they haven't read. It won't change anything. I suspect the odd, highly ignorant, Christian will fully endorse the bible, but the rest will call it a metaphor or just a story with a moral lesson or something of that sort. I think you'd be hard pressed to find many people, Christian or otherwise, who believe any of this to be more than a story.
For many, belief in a god is something different than their Christianity or what is written in their bible. I find it amazing and confusing all at once. :)

Sorry to blow your theory on unicorns....

I'll introduce you to the Siberian Unicorn.

New Discovery Reveals When The 'Siberian Unicorn' Went Extinct



https://www.forbes.com/sites/shaenamont ... ee34ef1d34

Even has a scientific name... Elasmotherium sibiricum or ‘Siberian unicorn’

Extinct 'Siberian unicorn' may have lived alongside humans, fossil suggests


Painting of the Elasmotherium sibiricum or ‘Siberian unicorn’ by Heinrich Harder.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/201 ... kazakhstan

The Royal Coat of Arms of Britain...notice something?

[averagejoe]

Well I think it shows a serious compromise in intelligence when you believe in things like:

Giants - Deuteronomy 2:11
Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.

Could be very tall people?

Dragons - Deuteronomy 32:33
Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras.
Some Bibles say dragon, but most say serpent....


Giant Fish you can survive in for 3 days - Jonah 1:17

Check this out...

http://forums.castanet.net/viewtopic.ph ... h#p1815739

Flying women - Zechariah 5:9
Then I looked up--and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

Angels?

George Washington with woman with wings....