My condolences, may she suffer no longer. What some people do not understand is that Christianity does not only save you in the here after. It saves you right here and right now. The family of the departed will take heart knowing their beloved is not just a rotting corpse, but a ransomed soul. I pity and pray for those that are blind.
First of all, the Big Bang IS purported to be fact! I don't have the full information, perhaps someone more learned at physics does, but several years ago there were two scientists monitoring the SETI program and they picked up noise which was declared to be echoes of the Big Bang, thus proving the theory. Most scientists and scholars today generally accept this as proof of the origin of the universe. Secondly, just becaue you were to put a gun to my head and "force" me to "believe" in astrology, is no proof that I actually would. Chances are that I would just tell you what you wanted to hear in order to save my life but in no way would it actually change what I did or did not believe. Thirdly, I never implied LSU was the "one true school to believe in". I merely used LSU as an example of how we choose things based on our parents choices, thus supporting YOUR claim that our parents influence our thinking. And lastly, the question begs to be asked, why do you find it necessary to taunt and make fun of what others believe? Is it not enough for you that you yourself are content to disbelieve? I think the answer to that question might disturb you were you to discuss it with a counselor. Generally when one finds it necessary to denigrate others for their beliefs and so forth, it means that the person doing the denigrating is unsure of himself and his beliefs. Just as a person who has nothing good to say about himself usually concentrates on bringing others down to his level by constantly degrading them. Personally, I don't think you are a very happy person and I don't think you are content with your station in life. I am sure I'll get a strong rebuttal from you but I don't think even you will believe it. And no JS, I wasn't speaking of anyone in particular. I was just pointing out that when we (anyone) ridiculed Martin for his (non)beliefs, we were just bringing ourselves down to his level of non-respect for the rights and beliefs of others.
you are incorrect. a hobby of mine is reading about physics. i have read many of the more relevant works by the world's most prominent physicists. NONE of them would ever call big bang a fact. repeat, none. you are wrong. i challenge you to show me anywhere besides christian sites where anyone says this. nasa says: "Although the Big Bang Theory is widely accepted, it probably will never be proved; consequentially, leaving a number of tough, unanswered questions. " http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/universe/b_bang.html thats is exactly my point! you cant choose to believe anything if it is obvious to you that it isnt true. this is why i cant believe christianity. just like you cant be forced to believe astrology. i say this in response to when you guys say it is a comforting insurance policy. i cant have that insurance even if i try. if everyone on this board was basing their lives on crystal balls and worshipping them would you say anything? that is what it is like from my perspective. from my perspective it is obviously ludicrous and yet the vast majority of americans believe it. if we lived back when everybody worshipped zeus and poseidon i think you would feel like i do now. of course, we are on the same page again. our parents influence our thinking. but don't you see how arbitrary that is? dont you see that if you were born a jew in israel you would be just as certain that jesus was not the son of god? and that doesnt strike you as arbitrary? accident of birth has defined the truth of the universe for you.
Concerning the Big Bang on Christian sites, the only thing you'll find on any of them regarding it is refutation. Fundamentalist Christians, which I am not, believe in the Creationist theory, that the world is only a few thousand years old. I (we) can choose to believe whatever we want. There are people who still believe the Earth is flat and that the sun revolves around the Earth in spite of proof to the contrary. There are people who choose to believe we never went to the moon. There are people like yourself who choose not to believe in a deity in whatever form or name. I can believe in Astrology and still believe in a deity or choose to believe in one or the other. There are people who believe in a hole at the center of the North Pole that leads to a lost world in the center of the Earth. There are people who believe aliens have and are visiting the Earth. If you were one of these people and I showed you proof to the contrary and you refused to change your ideas, then would that not be by your choice? My point is that, unless a person is mentally ill, everything we believe is a matter of choice. Certainly when we are young our parents have a great influence on what we believe and think but as we grow older and move out into the world there are more and varying influences upon us and our thought process. As we assimilate more and more information those thoughts and beliefs are subject to question and change and we react accordingly. To use your example of Santa Claus, your parents had you convinced when you were small that SC did what he did but as you grew older you discovered the facts and changed your belief. Many people are raised up with one particular set of religious beliefs and conversly some with none. Of those a great many one day will change what they believe or do not believe and convert to a different religion, convert from a non-believer or become a non-believer. All of this is by choice and free will due to whatever set of circumstances predicated the change. A good example of this is when our soldiers who were raised Christian go to the Middle East and are exposed to Islam and convert. Even in the strict Muslim world you have people raised Muslim converting to Christianity and even Judaism. If everyone on this board were basing their lives on crystal balls and worshiping them would I say anything? I would express my opinion and try to refute it with intelligent facts but try to do it in such a way as not to make it a personal attack on people which is what you do. It is fine to have differing opinions, that's what makes the world go 'round so to speak. It is what makes us different and individual. But when we take our opinions and put them forth as the only one that matters and ridicule others because they are different or we find them far fetched crosses the line of etiquette and respect for our fellow man. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion and whether we agree or not that opinion should be respected because that opinion is an extension of the person giving it. We don't necessarily have to agree with it but we should respect it. To ridicule the opinion or belief is to ridicule the person holding it. Instead of attacking the person and his belief, you can say something like, "I'm sorry, but in my opinion, based on what I know and believe, I find that statement to be unfounded and ludicrous, but I certainly respect your right to think that way." And the reason you don't have that "comforting insurance" is because you would rather think you are in control of your life and not have to answer to anyone or anything for your actions. And I don't really know how to convince you otherwise. To me and others the proof we need is in the Bible and we CHOOSE TO ACCEPT that proof and act in our lives accordingly. You CHOOSE NOT TO ACCEPT that proof and act accordingly. And that is your right. But I, and I hope the others on here that are Christian, will pray for you in hope that someday you will so that, in our belief, you will not have to suffer the consequences of eternal damnation. And I would hope that you would respect our right to do so aand be appreciative of our caring for you as a fellow human being in spite of your belief to the contrary. As an aside, I don't understand how any true Christian can wish eternal damnation on anyone as some have done on this board regarding our enemies in this war on terror. No true Christian could ever, in my mind, wish this most horrific of punishments on anyone! We as Christians should find the possibility of even one lost soul heartbreaking because every lost soul diminishes what Jesus did for us.
well said, Mikey. I agree, Martin, your posts are very demeaning and belittling to people who do not share your same beliefs. Its your right to do so whether intended or not, however it is often times just plain rude.
