Religion & Spirituality - 29 May 2007

Would you try to force him/her to change? Would you rather your child be out of the closet and happy, or repressed and miserable?

2007-05-29 07:28:00 · 26 answers · asked by Graciela, RIRS 6

Please don’t tell me since you don’t believe in God, He can’t exist. If I don’t believe the sun will come up tomorrow, does my unbelief negate reality?

2007-05-29 07:25:27 · 33 answers · asked by Dwayne 3

Is the sun the origin of life?

2007-05-29 07:25:13 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-05-29 07:23:52 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous

that the encounter is controlled by you or God? I'm asking this because I seem to get oh-so-many athiests e-mailing me, telling me "Thanks for continuing to disprove Christianity," "You people make it so easy to not believe in God."(That was my favorite) Someone must have told them that I care? The Gospel is totally offensive; its central message is deny yourself(realize your sin) and rely on Christ. We are called to preach the Gospel, not save people. People can't save people, only God has this ability.

To the point--do you think your witnessing is dependent on you or God's divine will? ie. Do you think, since God has used less than noble means to get His point across in the past, that He can use ANYONE with basic Biblical knowledge?

This passage(I'll select some verses) prompted these thoughts: 1Cor.1

2007-05-29 07:22:57 · 13 answers · asked by Soundtrack to a Nightmare 4

Fred Hoyle (British astrophysicist): "A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question." (2)

George Ellis (British astrophysicist): "Amazing fine tuning occurs in the laws that make this [complexity] possible. Realization of the complexity of what is accomplished makes it very difficult not to use the word 'miraculous' without taking a stand as to the ontological status of the word." (3)

Paul Davies (British astrophysicist): "There is for me powerful evidence that there is something going on behind it all....It seems as though somebody has fine-tuned nature’s numbers to make the Universe....The impression of design is overwhelming". (4)

Paul Davies: "The laws [of physics] ... seem to be the product of exceedingly ingenious design... The universe must have a purpose". (5)

Alan Sandage (winner of the Crawford prize in astronomy): "I find it quite improbable that such order came out of chaos. There has to be some organizing principle. God to me is a mystery but is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing." (6)

John O'Keefe (astronomer at NASA): "We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cosseted, cherished group of creatures.. .. If the Universe had not been made with the most exacting precision we could never have come into existence. It is my view that these circumstances indicate the universe was created for man to live in." (7)

George Greenstein (astronomer): "As we survey all the evidence, the thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency - or, rather, Agency - must be involved. Is it possible that suddenly, without intending to, we have stumbled upon scientific proof of the existence of a Supreme Being? Was it God who stepped in and so providentially crafted the cosmos for our benefit?" (8)

Arthur Eddington (astrophysicist): "The idea of a universal mind or Logos would be, I think, a fairly plausible inference from the present state of scientific theory." (9)

Arno Penzias (Nobel prize in physics): "Astronomy leads us to a unique event, a universe which was created out of nothing, one with the very delicate balance needed to provide exactly the conditions required to permit life, and one which has an underlying (one might say 'supernatural') plan." (10)

Roger Penrose (mathematician and author): "I would say the universe has a purpose. It's not there just somehow by chance." (11)

Tony Rothman (physicist): "When confronted with the order and beauty of the universe and the strange coincidences of nature, it's very tempting to take the leap of faith from science into religion. I am sure many physicists want to. I only wish they would admit it." (12)

Vera Kistiakowsky (MIT physicist): "The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world calls for the divine." (13)

Robert Jastrow (self-proclaimed agnostic): "For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries." (14)

Stephen Hawking (British astrophysicist): "Then we shall… be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason - for then we would know the mind of God." (15)

Frank Tipler (Professor of Mathematical Physics): "When I began my career as a cosmologist some twenty years ago, I was a convinced atheist. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that one day I would be writing a book purporting to show that the central claims of Judeo-Christian theology are in fact true, that these claims are straightforward deductions of the laws of physics as we now understand them. I have been forced into these conclusions by the inexorable logic of my own special branch of physics." (16)

Alexander Polyakov (Soviet mathematician): "We know that nature is described by the best of all possible mathematics because God created it."(17)

Ed Harrison (cosmologist): "Here is the cosmological proof of the existence of God – the design argument of Paley – updated and refurbished. The fine tuning of the universe provides prima facie evidence of deistic design. Take your choice: blind chance that requires multitudes of universes or design that requires only one.... Many scientists, when they admit their views, incline toward the teleological or design argument." (18)

Edward Milne (British cosmologist): "As to the cause of the Universe, in context of expansion, that is left for the reader to insert, but our picture is incomplete without Him [God]." (19)

Barry Parker (cosmologist): "Who created these laws? There is no question but that a God will always be needed." (20)

Drs. Zehavi, and Dekel (cosmologists): "This type of universe, however, seems to require a degree of fine tuning of the initial conditions that is in apparent conflict with 'common wisdom'." (21)

Arthur L. Schawlow (Professor of Physics at Stanford University, 1981 Nobel Prize in physics): "It seems to me that when confronted with the marvels of life and the universe, one must ask why and not just how. The only possible answers are religious. . . . I find a need for God in the universe and in my own life." (22)

Henry "Fritz" Schaefer (Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry and director of the Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry at the University of Georgia): "The significance and joy in my science comes in those occasional moments of discovering something new and saying to myself, 'So that's how God did it.' My goal is to understand a little corner of God's plan." (23)

Wernher von Braun (Pioneer rocket engineer) "I find it as difficult to understand a scientist who does not acknowledge the presence of a superior rationality behind the existence of the universe as it is to comprehend a theologian who would deny the advances of science." (24)

Carl Woese (microbiologist from the University of Illinois) "Life in Universe - rare or unique? I walk both sides of that street. One day I can say that given the 100 billion stars in our galaxy and the 100 billion or more galaxies, there have to be some planets that formed and evolved in ways very, very like the Earth has, and so would contain microbial life at least. There are other days when I say that the anthropic principal, which makes this universe a special one out of an uncountably large number of universes, may not apply only to that aspect of nature we define in the realm of physics, but may extend to chemistry and biology. In that case life on Earth could be entirely unique." (25)

Antony Flew (Professor of Philosophy, former atheist, author, and debater) "It now seems to me that the findings of more than fifty years of DNA research have provided materials for a new and enormously powerful argument to design." (26)

2007-05-29 07:21:14 · 28 answers · asked by intellipro 1

to keep God in the schools?

2007-05-29 07:17:21 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous

Lord Rama, Lord Shiva or Lord Krishna? Who inspires you the most?

2007-05-29 07:15:24 · 4 answers · asked by Jade 4

I believe that my actions and the way I lived my life will get me into Heaven, not having water dripped on my head or being thrown into a river.

2007-05-29 07:15:14 · 21 answers · asked by Par 4 7

Where have you been naturally gifted?

2007-05-29 07:14:10 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-05-29 07:13:18 · 13 answers · asked by Daniel C 1

2007-05-29 07:12:52 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous

Incident No 1

When prophet Muhammad started getting revelations he became suicidal and thought to kill himself. A great fear came in his heart and he was not even sure what he was getting and from whom?The so called angel caught him, and ground him, (forcefully) and foams at the mouth. Also pressed him hard that he could not bear it anymore. Like wise 3 times the spirit pressed him hard and he can’t bear it any more. . Further we read that Muhammad became so disturbed that he tried to kill himself.
All these Hadith writings suggest that Muhammad was not getting his revelations from God but from devil. If we read the Bible we can understand that none of the Bible prophets felt suicidal or were in deep distress after meeting God or being in the presence of God.

2007-05-29 07:12:44 · 7 answers · asked by iwant4wifes 1

I am just curious and hope I do not offend anyone.

In the bible God says to worship no one but Him, so is it not wrong to worship Mary and other Saints?

Also, when you go to confessional, does it not bother you to confess and be forgiven by a priest who is a man and of course not sinless? Would it not be better to pray and get forgiveness right from the source..God?

Again I hope no one is offended I am truly interested in the answers to this. Thank you

2007-05-29 07:12:12 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous

We were taught in public school that it took thousands or millions of years for rock layers to form. We were also taught that it took thousands to millions of years to form stalactites. I saw a stalactite that formed on a bridge (draw bridge that was stuck in the up position after a barge hit it) in a matter of weeks. How do they explain hats and other articles of clothing becoming fossilized in less that 100 years?

If the earth is billions of years old is the relatively small amount of data (only 100 years worth) on carbon decay a statistically valid sample size?

2007-05-29 07:10:12 · 28 answers · asked by Anonymous

If our purpose is to serve God, what is the purpose of God

2007-05-29 07:07:45 · 19 answers · asked by Eric S 1

2007-05-29 07:06:35 · 9 answers · asked by JeffyB 7

I honestly don't understand how Jesus was conceived to a virgin.

2007-05-29 07:03:46 · 30 answers · asked by Graciela, RIRS 6

"LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - The adventures of boy wizard Harry Potter can stay in Gwinnett County school libraries, despite a mother's objections, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Laura Mallory, who argued the popular fiction series is an attempt to indoctrinate children in witchcraft, said she still wants the best-selling books removed and may take her case to federal court.

...

At Tuesday's hearing, Mallory argued in part that witchcraft is a religion practiced by some people and, therefore, the books should be banned because reading them in school violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

"I have a dream that God will be welcomed back in our schools again," Mallory said. "I think we need him.""

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070529/ap_on_re_us/potter_protest

2007-05-29 07:02:29 · 16 answers · asked by Nick F 6

2007-05-29 07:01:40 · 17 answers · asked by I Wanna Know 3

Has there ever been a time in your life when you were attending a church but just doing it to keep peace in the family?

You know what I mean. Just going along without a shred of belief in what you were doing? I did, for a time.

2007-05-29 06:59:36 · 27 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-05-29 06:59:32 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous

Whya re so many people here wanting to take us down the road of Europe which is falling into the pits and will collapse?

1000 men living legally with multiple wives despite fears over exploitation

Polygamous marriage is flourishing as the Government admits for the first time that nearly a thousand men are living legally with multiple wives in Britain.

Although the families are entitled to claim social security for each wife, no one has counted how many of them are on benefits.

Ministers appear to be ignoring the separate practice of unauthorised polygamy, which is said to have become commonplace in some Muslim communities. The Ministry of Justice admits that it has no estimates of numbers for these unions, which are often presided over by an Islamic cleric.

More on that article
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/18376/polygamy-britain

2007-05-29 06:57:04 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-05-29 06:56:10 · 32 answers · asked by Jimbo 3

I saw a question like this last week so I thought I ask from a different view point Lol.

2007-05-29 06:53:24 · 14 answers · asked by Star B 3

If you do not believe that we where created by God, then where do you think we came form ?
I am not asking this to funny or get stupid replies, I really want to know what people think. If we where not created by God, then who or how ?
Why are we here ?
IF YOU DO BELIEVE WE WHERE CREATED BY GOD, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU AS WELL.

2007-05-29 06:52:12 · 27 answers · asked by Sweet Tea & Lemons 6

Marvel Comics is putting out their first Hispanic/Latino comic book series. It's about a group of heroes called "the Santerians," with a leader called "Eleggua." Now, Santeria is a real religion that some real Hispanics (and non-Hispanics, too) practice. Eleggua is the main God--He is to the Santeria pantheon as Zeus is to the Greek.

http://altreligion.about.com/b/a/257499.htm

So. Is this appropriate? Disrespectful? A cool-sounding comic series? A lame-sounding comic series? Or something else altoghether?

2007-05-29 06:52:06 · 6 answers · asked by GreenEyedLilo 7

Did I do the curse wrong? Do I need to curse them in Hebrew or something?

2007-05-29 06:47:34 · 27 answers · asked by Anonymous

can my unbalanced energy field affect others? in other words, have i in a sense become a psychic vampire, and if so, how do i keep myself from unconsciously feeding off others, and how long does it take to master basic shielding if at all usefull

thanks!

2007-05-29 06:47:30 · 6 answers · asked by healinghealer 1

Hey folks, what do you make of these mothers who kill their children to "save" them in the name of their religion. Such as the one who drowned her kids in the bathtub (her name escapes me)?

Don't you find it a bit odd? Another family of four, today, in Texas found hanging in a closet. Mother and four daughters, all but one dead, an 8-month old is doing well in the hospital.

And how about the preacher that put his baby in a microwave because, as his wife stated "the devil didn't want him to be a preacher." Hmmmm...

Isn't it strange how the majority if not all subscribe to a particular religion?

Thoughts? Comments?

2007-05-29 06:47:03 · 34 answers · asked by Sr. Mary Holywater 6