the passion? like the play? i dont think so. i saw the passion of the christ, the movie where jesus is like a regualr dude. keep in mind this is like me asking you if you have read the koran or the book of mormon. if only you read the book of mormon you would know that a guy found some gold scrolls in new york state and a crazy ass angel told him not to eat caffeine! this reminds me. my parents live off highland road next to this new mormon church. have you guys seen this thing. it like a gleaming white and gold palace. my dad says you are seriously not allowed inside unless you are an offical mormom. like even reporters cant go in. this is like frat house secret room or something. how crazy is that? and cant i just say i am a mormon and i believ in nonsense and get in and see all the secret artifacts?
This is what I was talking about. Hypothetically in your case, if the Bible were true then I would say that movie is a fairly accurate depiction of what happened in it. Having seen it, how could you say that there was no legitimate sacrifice there?
who is supposedly making the sacrifice, god or jesus? neither can really sacrifice anything, they are all-powerful. if i can snap my fingers and generate piles of 100 dollar bills, it isnt a sacrifice for me to give you some money. my supply is endless. i cant be hurt by losing money. know what i mean? i would give up as much money as anyone wanted. it doesnt hurt me, because i am magic and i can make money. god is magic and he can make anything and as such is incapable of sacrifice. same rules go for jesus. if jesus wants to play ping pong with hendrix and then jump down to earth to see if he can kick penalty kicks past that hot lsu goaltender, he can. he cant give up anything. this is the nature of being all-powerful. it ihard for me to ever feel like the poor guy made a sacrifice for me or for us as a race. everything he does, he does it to himself.
What's the difference between a sacrifice and a waste? Why would an All-powerful God require a human sacrifice before being able to forgive. He can just forgive if he wants to. Presto--forgiven.
The funny thing about the Big Bang Theory is that it was first created by a very Catholic Priest who was also a physicist and an astronomer. Seriously. Although you rarely ever hear about this. It was later called "Big Bang" out of mockery by some other physicist who was trying to dismiss it. I think it was originally called the "Cosmic Egg Theory" or something very similar. "Big Bang" stuck after the mockery because it was probably a little easier to remember. His theory was pretty much ignored/dismissed at first (even by Einstein to an extent), but then later taken seriously as some of the details of his theory such as an expanding universe became real in the science world. Then Einstein was on board, etc. But anyway, the priest thought that the Big Bang and God made sense together. So apparently everything doesn't have to be so exclusive. At least that's what the creator of the theory thought (and he was mocked and called illogical, but apparently he isn't seen as an idiot anymore). I think there are some lessons in that story... By the way, if there is a hell, I heard that the only song that is constantly played is "Shiny Happy People" from REM. But if you like that song I guess you'd be in luck! Actually, I don't think you are born anything... When you're first born, your brain is not really developed enough to even consider the issue in any aspect. You're just looking at what is in front of you and wanting to fulfill your needs. As your brain develops and you age, you start to contemplate the creation of the world around you and yourself. If you were never taught about God or never had heard of him, you wouldn't really be atheist. You would simply be ignorant of the whole idea in general. Then, once you were told about God, if you took a stance one way or the other, then you could be classified in such terms. And if they just thought about it on their own without ever being introduced to the idea of God in any way (ex. Did something unknown to me create the world?, how did the first people come about?, etc.) and felt like all of that information was unknowable, they'd really be agnostic if anything. If they thought about it and said the idea that something I can't see created the universe and put some design behind it is ridiculous and not credible, then they would be called an atheist. Actually, I personally think that neither are really that convenient. If a person is a true 100% atheist who has no doubt that his conclusions are right, then he would never worry about burning in hell or even consider hell since the idea is totally false and nonexistant anyway. And the burning in hell stuff takes on more religious connotations rather than just considering that there could be a God or creator of some sort. I think the purpose on earth stuff is very fair, but even the "why bad things happen" subject is not easy for a believer. There's not always direct answers for that stuff. Many will try to attach some kind of reason as to why something bad has happened, but it doesn't mean they genuinely believe it or know it to be true. And believers in a particular religion can have it tough too. You've got all the rules of that religion that they're supposed to adhere by if they truly believe, etc. Atheists don't have any rules of that sort. They may have their own moral rules, etc., but not those laid out it front of them. I will say that I'm sure atheists have less people to relate to when talking about their particular views, so I'm sure that is harder on them. So I don't think anybody really has it that easy. I think this is a key statement. Why? Because the universe is an unbelievable mystery. Even the greatest scientist out there can't really say he knows how the universe was started, etc. But just about all of them will state that nature exhibits remarkable coincidences. I do believe that coincidences happen, but the ones that happen in nature are very unbelieveable in themselves. Nature seems to be overwhelmingly supportive for the existance of people, etc. That is something that just can't really be ignored. It's mysterious indeed. People can talk about hurricanes, earthquakes, famine and every natural disaster in the book. But those natural disasters, although no less terrible, only affect a miniscule percentage of the earth's population in the grand scheme of things. I've seen religious zealots be ridiculous, regular believers be ridiculous and atheists be ridiculous on the subject when discussing their "knowledge" and beliefs on the subject. I think a little humility from whatever side that one approaches the subject is probably best for a conversation on the topic if it's to really shed any kind of light on something to someone. Peace.
do you believe in god when you are born? no. that makes you atheist. you are literally without theism. if you never heard of religion, were free from the virus of faith, then you would continue to be without theism. the person you describe does not really exist, or at least i have never heard of him. the whole point of lacking belief is that you do not know, so you dont have to make something up. you are without belief. youa re not certain that god doesnt exist. nobody really is certain of that. that is just the way people like to portray atheism as a way to pretend is a belief based on faith. of course it is. which is why the only rational view is atheism. you do not understand the mystery. you do not have faith in some sort of goofy answer. richard dawkins gratefully accepts your rebuke: YouTube - Neil Tyson rebukes Richard Dawkins;-)
Except that at some point in time people were without theism, and then some how were not without it. How do you think that happened. I tend to think atheism is the least rational explanation. To me the most far fetched thing I have ever heard is all this stuff happened, ya know, just because.
same way people started believing in alien abductions or astrology. thats what people do, they believe lies. the better the story, the more it is believed. the more it attaches to our nature, the more catchy it is. the major religions are evolved, they have changed over time to be as viral as possible. just like a good virus or urban legend, they evolve over time, the boring parts falling by the wayside and the good parts getting emphasized. in fact it seems to me like nobody ever really cares about the old testament anymore. it appeals to the mind of the man of a thousand years ago far better than it does today. in fact someobody should rewrite it and keep the bible evolving with the pace of modern thought. i dont think it happened "just because". i have no clue how it happened or what caused it, if anything. i think we need to remember than an atheist has no answers. he is simply not buying your answers, in the same way you are not buying the answers of whatever religion you dont believe in.
