this is beside the point but funny you should mention that. i have a notoriously terrible relationship with cops. a few years ago when i was in college and i didnt have a licence plate on my motorcycle so a cop took it from me and had it towed. i was really mad, although it was obviously my stupid fault. so anyways after this asshead cop preached to me forever, he let me go to class and started to load my bike up to take away from me. but as i was walking away he yelled and called me back, and said he needed my keys. i was terribly angry. so i said "way to remember, you are a really good cop, eh jackass?" and then he want crazy and got in my face and lost his temper. and he yelled and all the people nearby stopped and looked at us. and knowing the only thing i could do to make him angrier was to laugh, i did. it was great. i would never have said anything excpet he was an incredible dick about the fact that he was taking my bike. i was obviously in the wrong, but i still enjoyed it in my childish way. do you gamble in office pools? ever speed ? jaywalk? then you agree with me, laws are not sacred. the end. you have no idea what you are talking about. laws are not magic, you dont have to obey all of them. if there is a law against brushing your teeth i would break it every day.if i was 17 i would drink beer again like i did back then and not feel bad about it. you have zero understanding of what i was saying. i dunno why you cannot understand that. TE was saying it was wrong for gays to marry if it is illegal. i was saying right and wrong is independent of laws. if you choose to let politicians define right and wrong for you, be my guest. i use my brain.
Some things never change. You take a few weeks off from the Forum and the longest thread includes about half of the posts from our resident religious zealot, Martin, preaching his special brand of regurgitating what a professor told him he should belive. And, he continues to do so ad nauseum. Proof positive that the most dangerous and incessantly vocal religious folks are the crusading secular self-styled *atheists*. They don't *believe* in a God, but never, ever hestiate to discuss the subject.
i was the first atheist i ever met. so, i dunno who told me to be atheist besides me. and i dont think i have ever had an atheist professor. you would sound smarter if you didnt make up things about me you can't possibly know. honesty helps credibility.
Well Martin, since by your own admission you have no choice in what you believe (or not), SOMEBODY must have told you you were an atheist or forced you to be a non believer!
If it was evidence, then that would mean you weighed it and made a choice not to believe based upon it or a lack thereof, wouldn't it?
if you are going to tell me scientific evidence supports the idea that jesus died on a cross to forgive our sins, then there isnt much i can tell you that helps you live in a non-fantasy world. look, just admit you have faith, god loves you extra for believing the impossible and we can leave it at that. you have more capacity to be irrational than i do. congratulations.
I know that you believe I and others like me are irrational for believing in God and Jesus, but it is you who constantly contradicts himself by saying we have no choice in what we believe, etc. You say you don't believe because of evidence. Well I think we have shown more evidence for belief than you have for non-belief. In fact, I don't think you've given anything but opinion. So by your statement that you don't believe because of evidence, would you please kindly present that "evidence"?
you don't seem to even know what faith is. the whole premise of religions is that they are based on faith. faith is by its nature not based on logic or facts. i am sorry you do not have the ability to understand the idea that belief is not volitional for a rational mind. if you can look at something that is red, and choose to believe it is blue, enjoy yourself. i am forced to believe it is red. that seems simple to me, but i know people with faith can "choose" to believe things. it is also unfortunate that you think there is evidence for belief. i dunno what science books demonstrate the concepts behind the resurrurection or the loads of other miracles performed by god and jesus. they must have skipped the chapter on rising to heaven in my physics class. but you claim there is evidence. crazy. my evidence shows that dead people dont rise and fly away into the sky after being dead for three days. this is an article of faith, can you understand that? in my world, the evidence shows that you cannot magically turn water into wine, or heal someone with the holy spirit. i have learned that healing takes doctors and hospitals, not magical shamans. in my world, evidence shows that you cannot part the red sea and walk across it, or pack two of each of the billions of creatures in the world into one boat. my evidence shows that evolution occured. my evidence shows that if you want something, you should go get it, and asking an invisible man in the sky through prayer does nothing. call me crazy, but my evidence shows that the world is based on logic, not faith. and yet here you are claiming there is "evidence". you and i must have studied vastly different versions of "science"
I believe you. Thinking it is all over must be depressing. You are just worm food. Terrible. But living and believing is exciting. I would enjoy life more with hope than living dreading death. And the biggest difference in our beliefs is that the Christian nation does not believe your life is totally over. We believe non believers will burn in torment forever. Most preachers don't dwell on that nowdays. They are afraid people like you will accuse them of using "scare tatics." If the Bible says you will burn in hell--end of conversation.. Go ahead and show your MACHO/INTELLECUAL side. I would rather know one person that loved me with agoppi love than have a million of you by my deathbed.
