Deism

Then Jesse Ventura must be in line to be the next Pope! :rofl:

I had a philosophy teacher that once said that most religious people across belief systems have a belief and hope for eternal happiness and fulfillment. The best atheists can hope for is to have a nice day. Not exactly on point on this discussion, but it's among my favorite quotes...so I use it whenever possible.

 

Even with the Big Bang & evolution, something has to start that whole process. This leads me to believe in a higher being.

 

It should be noted that Creationism, the Big Bang, and evolution should not be considered mutually exclusive, IMO.

 

Yes, this is true about religion. It's also what makes it so easy to believe that every religion is made up. "I can tell people they go to Heaven and get 30 virgins, and they'll crash into buildings with planes for me!" Religion appeals to human's most basic instincts - happiness & fulfillment. This, to me, seems very likely that it was created just for that one reason.

For as a philosopher once said, "If God didn't exist, it would be necessary to create him." and another one, "Religion is the opiot of the masses."

 

good read on the Big Bang Theory......
http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/bigbang.htm

so....why are we here? who is responsible? are we alone? is there another planet like us out there someplace asking these same questions?

i hate these questions. neither religion nor science can answer most of these questions. it is funny a poster here mentioned if there is a higher power, then who created him? my 4 year old asked me that this past week, and I had no answer........and disturbingly it was the first time I ever thought about that. would there not have to be another that came before God?

 

maybe so, and maybe not, but they arent answered yet. when i saw "we know nothing", i mean us now, not humans including future generations.

when cparso says:

that is like an infant saying they dont get the heisenberg uncertainty principle. quantum theory doesnt make sense to me, but i do not dispute it. some things about science do not make sense to anyone. perhaps our brains are not equipped for it.

any claim that the universe must have been created by a higher power is based on hope, or nothing, or logic that may or may not even slightly apply to the question.

 

I've thought of that too... if there is a God, where did he come from?

However, that's where I black out and just say screw it. That's why I call it a "higher being" Because, um, it's higher and can magically appear with no scientific explanations.

 

agreed.

yo that was me yall!

i am reading a book now that everyone should read. "a short history of nearly everything". it talks plenty about the origins of the universe, and how far we have gotten in our research on it, and how cripplingly stupid we are, when considering the big picture.

 

Ths is one of Philosphy's oldest arguements. Aristotle believed in an unmoved mover and an uncuased cause. St Thomas Aquinas surmised that God was the unmoved mover. Thats enough for me.