Religion & Spirituality - 5 July 2006

Since I am not a Christian, it's kind of like having a sex dream with Zeus. Since the figure is a mythological one, I think it's quite ok to have a sex dream.

Come on - fess up Christians. And remember - Jesus knows if you're lying since he is supposidly everywhere.

2006-07-05 12:29:22 · 21 answers · asked by rt 3

so is bible really a revelation of god or is it made by people like us?

2006-07-05 12:28:19 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous

Assume there is no God: then this world, and happiness in it, is extremely important. Indeed, it is all there is. So it is a great tragedy whenever anyone does not have a long and happy life here. The death of a child, or a painful life in a third-world country, is an unimaginable tragedy, which nothing can mitigate.

If you have seen your own grandchild killed by a car, or have traveled in poor countries and have seen the misery of people starving slowly to death, your own sense of justice demands that there be more to life than the vale of tears we experience in this life. It is just not fair that the only life a small girl knows should end almost before it is begun, in an agony of injuries. It is just not fair that so many millions of people be born into circumstances that they have no control over, and that condemn them to unimaginable suffering every day of their lives.

Are we ready to say that this beautiful universe, which is so incredibly orderly, is also diabolically unfair? That would make us only a great cosmic joke. That is not acceptable.

Our sense of justice demands that these wrongs be righted. But by whom? Not by us, that's impossible: only by a Supreme Being.

We have a conscience that lets us know right from wrong. Yet in this world, the people who do not follow this guide and commit murder and cheat and steal and lie and are selfish and mean are often the ones who are the most successful. Honest, good people living quiet lives of loving and charity often have horrible illnesses, or lose loved ones, or are born into abject poverty. Our sense of justice tells us that there will be, there must be a future time of accounting, when the books will be balanced and the inequities of this world will be resolved. Yet with no God, no Divine Justice, this is impossible.

Many of our readers ask: how can there be a God if He allows children to be raped and murdered? We ask: how can there not be a God, in a world where this in fact happens? It is only His Divine justice that can right this wrong. It is only a God with infinite power that could bring any good out of this unspeakable evil.

2006-07-05 12:28:07 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-07-05 12:26:34 · 31 answers · asked by Micah 6

2006-07-05 12:25:30 · 26 answers · asked by Anonymous

from a region over 1,000 miles from Jesus' travels, how can we believe christianity at all ?

2006-07-05 12:25:08 · 9 answers · asked by McGuiver 1

2006-07-05 12:24:46 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-07-05 12:24:04 · 13 answers · asked by Micah 6

With all the conflict in the world today, due at least in part to the conflict of different religious beliefs and perspectives, would it not be a better investment for the future to encourage free thought regarding faith, i.e. forget religious 'education' and facilitate the development of an internal body of concepts concerning the innate curiosity of an individual, with each individual's considerations and conclusions mutually exclusive from another?

2006-07-05 12:23:47 · 15 answers · asked by The 3 postmen of the apocalypse 2

"I will tell you who the real fanatics are: they are they who adopt false principles and ideas as facts, and try to establish a superstructure upon a false foundation." ... "Who can tell us of the inhabitants of this little planet that shines of an evening, called the moon? When we view its face we may see what is termed "the man in the moon," and what some philosophers declare are the shadows of mountains. But these sayings are very vague, and amount to nothing; and when you inquire about the inhabitants of that sphere you find that the most learned are as ignorant in regard to them as the most ignorant of their fellows. So it is with regard to the inhabitants of the sun. Do you think it is inhabited? I rather think it is. Do you think there is any life there? No question of it; it was not made in vain. " Quoted from Journal of Discourses [http://journalofdiscourses.org/Vol_13/JD13-268.html], discourse by Brigham Young 1870

2006-07-05 12:23:30 · 4 answers · asked by Pedir mi cosa 1

2006-07-05 12:21:48 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous

Ok seriously think about it. No where in the Bible does GOD refer to dating. Girls are literally stuck with 50 year guys who just chose them. I'm not saying we should do that but I think that dating at a young age is kinda hard for a Christian to do. Because you can endup worshiping you're bf or gf. What's your thoughts?

2006-07-05 12:21:48 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous

And why aren't people asking questions that will diminish those stereotypes?

I realize this is a rhetorical question. I just think some of the 'adults' in this forum are behaving like fools.

2006-07-05 12:21:17 · 3 answers · asked by jayfer1976 3

2006-07-05 12:21:04 · 6 answers · asked by ThinkPad 3

2006-07-05 12:19:44 · 12 answers · asked by ThinkPad 3

Hi should JW's do after school actvities and where eye lioner i mean like hilary duff and then say that they are ready to get baptized do you think they really are and they also have a million worldy freinds more then JW friends how can I help her?

2006-07-05 12:18:49 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous

I believe in God. I believe that Jesus is the son of God but I am never pray to Jesus. I also believe that God is loving and forgiving and looks at our weaknesses but doesn't sentence us to hell because we are bad (sins). I believe humans are good, for the most part, and that "things" have happened to us that make us commit sin. I tested INFP on Keirsey so that may explain my basic tenets . I want a church or religion that is most closely aligned to my beliefs. Any ideas

2006-07-05 12:17:45 · 10 answers · asked by Brenda E 2

Muslims tell that prophet mohammad went through some 40 battles. He also ahd 11 wives. How could he find time to worship god?

2006-07-05 12:15:51 · 19 answers · asked by Bionimetiket 2

2006-07-05 12:15:12 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous

My moslim friends told me that their prophet Mohammad had 11 wives and he allowed other moslims only 4 wives!

Is this true? why did he have such large number of wives? and why did not he abide to 4 wives like whaty he ordered moslims for?

2006-07-05 12:13:14 · 20 answers · asked by Bionimetiket 2

For instance, a man who loves golf dies and spends eternity playing golf might well be in heaven, but a man who hates the sport yet is destined to do the same would be languishing in hell. Do you think things might work this way when our lives end? If not, then feel free to tell me what you believe.

2006-07-05 12:12:22 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-07-05 12:12:21 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous

The Creation


The Two Accounts of Creation

If there is one thing to be said about the Bible, its that it doesn't waste time in contradicting itself. Technically the very first word of the Bible is the beginning of the first contradiction. The very first thing the Bible covers is creation, and there are two accounts of creation in Genesis... two different accounts. The first account starts at Genesis 1:1 and ends at Genesis 2:3. The second account begins at Genesis 2:4 and ends at Genesis 2:25. Now let's see how they differ.

The order of creation in the first account.

1. Heaven and Earth

2. Light (night and day)

3. Sky

4. Plants

5. Sun, moon, and stars

6. Fish and birds

7. Land animals

8. Man and woman at the same time

The order of creation in the second account

1. Man

2. Plants

3. Birds and land animals

4. Woman

There is a reason to this, as there is for many of the errors in the Bible. The first account originated in a time when man wanted to believe that they were God's pride and joy. That this world was made for mankind. God created everything, and made this nice little place for him to put his masterpiece... man. The second account is from a time when men were seeking dominance over women, and justified it by saying man was God's original creation, and worked with God in naming things. Then women were made from a left over part of a man. Women always get dumped on in the Bible.

Errors in the Creation

Aside from the obvious contradictions, there are just a lot of things in this short section of the Bible that just doesn't make sense.

In Genesis 1:1 it says "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.", then later on in Genesis 1:8 it says "And God called the firmament Heaven." So did he create heaven twice? Are there two heavens? I thought maybe the first statement was just saying what God did, then it was going to explain in detail how he created heaven and earth... but in Genesis 1:2 the earth has already been created. So I have to believe that there was a double creation of heaven.

On the first day, God created light. No problem there, right? But God didn't create any sources of light until the forth day. So did he only invent the concept of light on the first day, but no light was around until the forth day? If he had light, as well as darkness, and light and day... then why did he have to make the sun, moon, and stars? No matter how you look at the subject of light during the creation, it just doesn't add up.

Sunlight brings us to another problem. We know the sun was created on the forth day... but plants were created on the third day. We know plants require sunlight to live, so why did God make these things in this backwards order? Now if we take the literal time frame, and a day in creation as being a 24 hour period, the plant thing isn't a real problem... plants can survive 24 hours. But then the whole creation story loses credibility... who really believes the universe was created in less than a week? Not even most creationist believe this one. That is why many people say that a day in the creation was 1,000 to 7,000 years (depending on who you ask). Name a plant that can live 7,000 years with perfect conditions... much less with no sunlight.

Creation Science

This is possibly the biggest oxymoron of all time. How could you call anything that supported the story of creation as fact a science? Its amazing that anyone would try to get this stuff taught in class as a fact, do you believe it? With all of these errors? Be honest.

2006-07-05 12:11:25 · 17 answers · asked by Mahfuz R 1

You've probably seen the post by Dr. Stephen Hawking. He took the words out of my mouth. Although I am a very strong Christian and I feel that I will not have to worry about where I go on judgment day, I am apprehensive about having children, etc. as I think the the earth is in its final days. I broke down and cried last night after watching the craziness about N. Korea's missiles etc. I am so sad that all of this is happening. I am sure that God, like any good human father, would be disappointed at the mess we all have created... politically, socially, environmentally, militarily, etc. etc. Millions of people are suffering unspeakable situations and circumstances needlessly... He wanted something better for us, I'm sure.

2006-07-05 12:10:29 · 61 answers · asked by Mishy 1

Why would it have made Jesus impure to have had a child? He may well have been married to Mary, just because it doesn't say so in the bible, doesn't mean he wasn't.

2006-07-05 12:08:29 · 20 answers · asked by Nemesis 7

1. You can only ask ONE question. So think carefully of what you want to ask, and how you would ask it. This question should be THE QUESTION - something of utmost importance that you want to know.

2. The question must be respectful of God with an approach of humility with a sincere desire to know - as a child is curious to understand, learn, and know the truth of what is asked - so questions that are judgemental, profane, disrespectful, with a spirit of (pride/rebellion/unbelief/hatred/blame), will not be accepted.

3. Provide with the question an EXPLANATION that clarifies what you are TRULY SEEKING FOR.

4. Do not ask a question within your explanation.

5. You can only ask a question, not make a prayer request. You can make a prayer request to God in secret.

The purpose of this exercise is to get you to THINK HARD of what you would ask God if you can ask Him ANYTHING - BUT you can only ask Him ONE THING.

What would that question be?

And then ask God directly...

2006-07-05 12:08:19 · 39 answers · asked by Q 6

the majority of hurricanes start off the coast of western africa.
and follows the path of the african slave trade.
why??

2006-07-05 12:07:16 · 9 answers · asked by sput07018 1

I feel like every bit of me is smiling from that kiss. My inner self feels like I am smiling inwardly and all my blood cells 2...every single drop. That kiss made my eyes smile if you know what I mean. I feel them shimmering. I can feel this blissy smile from head to toe. What is it ? It feels like we were created by God to kiss and hug and love and laugh someone special forever. Somebody more mature than me ( anybody ) please tell me more and tell me how long this feeling can last. Even holding his hand felt like I was floating into another realm and snuggled up close for that kiss was sooooooooo delicious. I felt my self catch my breath at first.. sigh and smiles 4 ever.

2006-07-05 12:06:52 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous

Errors in the Holy Bible

The Bible and the Earth

The earth is pretty well understood today. We know it's spherical and we know it rotates on it's axis as it revolves around the sun. When the Bible was written and compiled, things were different. People believed that we were in a geocentric universe (the earth was the center of the universe and everything revolved around it), they thought the earth was flat, and other basic scientific phenomenon were unknown to these people.

The Flat Earth

The Bible doesn't always reflect that we live on a spinning, revolving, sphere... which I would think that God would have known and would have inspired the authors to tell, but he didn't. That is why the Bible reflects that we live on a flat earth.

The term "ends of the earth" is used quite a bit in the Bible. I have received hundreds of e-mails saying "the term 'ends of the earth' is a saying, it's not literal", but they forget that it is a figurative saying today. When the Bible was written it wasn't a figure of speech... it was a fact. Even as late as 1492, people were convinced that silly old Columbus was going to fall off of the earth. But as we know today, the earth is a sphere, and there are no ends on a sphere. Just pick up a ball and find its ends.

Even if one was to accept that God was foreseeing enough to put futuristic lingo which matched the beliefs of the day in. But Job 38:13 speaks of the earth being taken by the physical ends with "That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?"

Other mentions of the ends of the earth can be found in the following places. Deuteronomy 13:7, 28:49, 28:64, 33:17. Job 2:8, 19:4, 22:27, 33:13, 48:10, 59:13, 61:2, 65:5, 72:8.

The ends of the earth isn't the only signs of the flat earth in the Bible. In Job 11:9 it says that heaven and hell's measurements are "Their measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea". How long is a sphere? There is no length in a sphere. Now a flat two dimensional object would have a length.

Now we get to something that many people have said is proof of the Bible knowing the true shape of the earth. The following verses have been sent to me with notes like "See, the Bible says the earth isn't flat":

Proverbs 8:27- When he prepared the heavens, I was there, When he drew a circle on the face of the deep

Isaiah 40:22- It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And it's inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

But anyone with a basic grasp of geometry knows what a circle is. It's a flat, two dimensional object. According to these scriptures, the earth is shaped like a CD. Again, as much as many people want to believe this proves that the world is a sphere, they are only proving the Bible talks of a flat earth. There are many who say "it says circle, it got the shape right". But this was also a common mistake of the day. People thought the earth was shaped like a plate. They got this belief because if they pointed at the horizon and they spin while tracing the horizon, it appears that they live on a flat circle. And they could travel 1000 miles and do the same thing and they got the same result. It made sense.

The Sky and Atmospheric Conditions

The sky is also described inaccurately in the Bible. In the above scripture, Isaiah 40:22, it mentions that the heavens are stretched out like a tent. A tent would not be a good description of the earth's atmosphere nor the cosmos. It's describing a flat floor which where there is nothing below it... no heavens below the top of the earth. By this description you would either step off of the earth into outer space (but not fall off, because tents don't go underground, so the heavens can't go below the earth), or you will crash into the sky when you reach the end of the earth. Much like how you would crash into the side of your tent if you roll over too much in your sleep.

In Genesis 1:6-8 God created a firmament (which he named "Heaven") to divide the water on earth and the water in the sky. Do we really have a solid sky holding water over us? How the heck did we get to the moon? Does the space shuttle have a "firmament opener" on the front of it? This would explain why every time it rained in the Bible, that God had to "open the windows of heaven" (Gen. 7:1 and Isa. 24:18 are examples). These openings allowed all the water above the solid sky to leak out. Maybe we broke a window on our first space mission, and have flown out the broken window every time since.

Snow and hail are mentioned in the Bible. It is also mentioned that they are stored for future use by God. In Job 38:22 God asks "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail". I can't believe that we are so naive as to think snow and hail are formed by freezing water vapor. Someone should inform these radical meteorologists that it's all in God's storage areas, and that he throws him down when he sees fit.

The Stationary Earth

The idea of a stationary earth has been touched on by nearly every mythological tale. There was Atlas who held the earth on his back, and let's not forget the turtle and elephants in Terry Pratchett's Disk World series. It seems like this inaccurate belief found its way into the Bible also.

Job chapter 38 has a lot of mentions of a stationary earth, and as direct quotes from God. Quotes like the following:

"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding." - Job 38:4

"Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;" - Job 38:6

Really, do these sound like descriptions of a world that spins on its axis, while at the same time revolves around the sun? First off, everything I have seen foundations on are stationary. Buildings, walls, towers, etc. Then God says that the foundation is fastened to something. Again, does your car have a foundation attached to something? Your house has a foundations which attaches it to the ground. Hmmmm, If you believe these verses, you must have a hard time finding your house whenever you go out, because it probably moved away while you were gone.

That's not all. 1 Samuel 2:8 states that "For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, And He has set the world upon them". If you go to any seashore, you are bound to see houses built on pillars, and yet the houses don't move. How strange.

Psalms 93:1 flat out says that the world doesn't move. "The Lord reigns, he is clothed with majesty; The Lord is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established so that it cannot be moved."

Again, earths foundations (as well as the sky's windows) are mentioned in Isaiah 24:18- "And it shall be That he who flees from the noise of the fear Shall fall into the pit, And he who comes up from the midst of the pit, Shall be caught in the snare; For the windows from on high are open, And the foundations of the earth are shaken."

The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars

The sun and the moon are mentioned in the Bible. Why wouldn't they be? After all they are these two huge things in the sky every day. Every society has mention of them in their writings, just as every religious text. Some people thought they were gods, others thought they influenced luck and so on. Even today some people won't go out when there's a full moon.

Today we know that they sun is a massive fireball which provides the earth with light and heat... not to mention is a requirement for life on Earth. The moon on the other hand is just another chunk of dirt and rock that floats in space, it just happens to revolve around our little planet. It does effect some things here on Earth, like the tide. The only reason we see it every night is because it reflects light from the sun.

The Bible doesn't always reflect the truth about the sun and moon.

In Genesis 1:16 says "And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also." According to this, the moon is a light source just like the sun, only not as bright. If this was the case, we couldn't land on the moon, it would be too hot. It is also strange that it took God the day to make the sun and the moon, but the stars are portrayed as an afterthought of sorts. "He made the stars also", this is a definite sign that the Bible is inspired by man. It is clear that man could not have perceived that the stars were the same as the sun, but in most cases much larger. Naturally they thought that these specks were just thrown about. The verse should read "God created the stars and planetary objects, he also made the earth, sun, and moon". But man, in those days, would have never seen it that way.

Isaiah 13:10 also says that the moon is a source of light. "moon shall not cause her light to shine." Again this is another example of the Bible seeming to be inspired by man and limited to his own perception.

Animals in the Bible

The Bible is also pretty good at inaccurately depicting animals. Pretty odd since it is the supposed word of the being who created them.

According to Leviticus 11:5-6 Rabbits (Coney) chew their cud and because of this they are unclean. Last time I checked, rabbits don't chew cud.

According to the Bible, our brother mammal, the bat, is a bird. This one has been debated through e-mail quite a bit, but if one looks in Leviticus 11:13 a list of Fowls is started, and the Bat is included in this list in Leviticus 11:19.

The locust, grasshopper, and beetle all have four feet according to Leviticus 11:22, then in the next verse, it mentions a group of flying animals with four feet. I can't think of any.

2006-07-05 12:06:07 · 11 answers · asked by Mahfuz R 1

I've searched online and most of the websites are outdated or not working. I've called a few and heard their messages they had messages like"members prayer meeting" 7-9 but im not a member so i did'nt feel comfortable just showing up. I live in Arlington Texas and am strongly feeling the need to get myself involved in a church gathering but i do not like all the cameras in my face that really distract me from worshipping God to the fullest. Thanks any sugestions on how to go about finding a good church would be really helpful. I went to the assemblies of God as a child and would like something close to that.

2006-07-05 12:06:05 · 15 answers · asked by Kristi A 4