does anyone actually truly think there is a god?

[lampinglurcher 36]

Ok Lampinglurcher, perhaps if you could elucidate which questions you found his answers so inadequate to, we could chase up and elaborate upon...it would help us all to reach a deeper understanding of.....?

 

i cant help you reach a deeper understanding mate but ill give you my 2 pence worth..

Dawkins publicly fights the corner of evolution and i take my hat off to him being a well researched and educated guy, but his failure to consider questions such as 'first cause' and lets say, purpose, point or meaning to life.

to me these are more important thaan specically how we are today the way we are.

 

Droid; Dawkins claims our descandance from apes based on similarities in our DNA. Regardless of the fact the there is no proof or even conclusive factual suggestion that we have evolved from them. this being macroevolution - for which there is no evidence.

 

Im not trying to cause arguments or anything, merely playing devils advocate

[droid 11]

You show a lack of understanding of human evolution, and what Dawkins is saying.

 

Apes and humans evolved from a common ancestor. Humans didn't 'evolve from apes' at all.

 

And why should life have a purpose, any more than any other complex chemical reaction?

Edited October 3, 2010 by droid

[bolio 51]

Well researched and educated guy..........? Yes you could describe this ethologist, evolutionary biologist and former Oxford University professor as such.

But the "straw man" argument that everything he says must be wrong because he doesn't address the "meaning of life" presupposes that there must be a meaning to life.

Did you ever lift up a rock to observe the invertebrates scurrying beneath and wonder what the "meaning" was to their lives?

 

As for there being no evidence for evolution........Dawkins recent masterpiece, The Greatest Show On Earth is packed with some very convincing evidence from cover to cover. As the author freely admits, all it would take for him to change his mind....for the whole theory to be called into question would be for the remains of some life form from higher up the evolutionary chain to be found in ancient sediments laid down millions of years before that animal is thought to have evolved. Like finding a horse skeleton in Precambrian rock among the remains of ammonites.

In the whole history of paleontology that has never happened, so the theory of evolution remains the best match for the world in which we find ourselves.

[Catcher 1 639]

I think if you believe in any god.Its not up for discussion.Its down to personal belief./No one has the [bANNED TEXT] to say otherwise.

[bolio 51]

Very true Catcher. All the religions of the world share the common tactic of telling us what to believe based on stories handed down from others, with not a shred of tangible evidence to back them up. Blind faith is surely the antithesis of logic and reason.

Without freedom of thought we are not free.

[shepp 2,285]

I recently took a good look at christianity, went to church a dozen or so times, read a good bit of the old testament and some parts of the new.

I spoke to christians about there beliefs and generally left myself open for a new way to view the world.

 

I think christianity can be a good thing for people who are lost and need the security of believing there is a higher being looking over them and out for them. They also have the advantage in believing there is an after life at a better place.

 

On the down side they may have the constant guilt of commiting percieved sins such as having a few too many drinks, sex outside marriage and even wrong thoughts about disliking people who have wronged them or fancying someone who is not there wife.

 

All in all I never found anything which convinced me that there is a higher being or that everything around us is here for any other reason than the scientific theories I have been brought up to believe.

 

If there is a god then he may have got the ball rolling at the begining and is watching over us which is nice to believe but is a very long shot.

 

I will still keep an open mind but I need some kind of proof to believe in something.

[Attack Fell Terrier 864]

All I reckon is that its a pretty sterile life if all you beleive in is hard facts and black/white realitys.....theres lots in life that cant be explained by science and if your not feeling it then I think your missing out.

 

Still, each to their own, there is no right or wrong.......just opinions

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! You say that like believing in FACTS is a bad thing That's utter and complete insanity IMO mate!

 

There's things in life that can't be explained at the minute, but science is hard at work trying to work out the questions that we're desperate to find out, what's religion doing to answer these questions?

 

And if you ask me there is right and wrong! Right is believing in what's true and proven with fact, Wrong is believing in lies that have no factual evidence to prove what it's preaching is real.

 

Just think, Planet Earth is about.... what 4 - 5 billion years old? Modern humans have been on this earth about 150,000 - 200,000 years say? Now I'm no mathematical genius but even I can work out that the time we've been on this planet isn't but a blink of an eye considering how old the earth is. Then when you consider how long organised monotheistic religion has been around (Judaism being the oldest) which is only about 3000 - 4000 years old, you're talking a minuscule amount of time. So when you look at it, modern Religion or God hasn't really had much to do with any of what's happened on planet earth when you look at the grand scale of things. If their was a god or a creator as well don't you think it would of made itself a little more prevalent a lot sooner? Not only that, if god was so undoubtedly true, why is it after such a short time we've already discovered enormous massive holes in what it says is true?

 

Religion had it's place in time, and now it's time is up IMO.

[J Darcy 5,871]

I don't believe in GOD....I believe in DOG.

[droid 11]

Bloody good post that, AFT

[WILF 46,832]

When science can explain love then I will stop beliving in something more.

Really good thread with some interesting replys

[RicW 67]

When science can explain love then I will stop beliving in something more.

Really good thread with some interesting replys

 

Pheromones.

 

Ric

[gnasher16 30,121]

Very true Catcher. All the religions of the world share the common tactic of telling us what to believe based on stories handed down from others, with not a shred of tangible evidence to back them up. Blind faith is surely the antithesis of logic and reason.

Without freedom of thought we are not free.

 

 

Most of this is way over my head and very much out of reach to my limited intelligence i wouldnt even attempt to try to trade views with some of you folk i would need a dictionary to work some of this out ....but its interesting stuff anyhow.........

But what exactly is wrong with blind faith ?....we have freedom of thought to change our thinking to whatever suits us whenever we like....how are we not free if we simply follow whats handed down to us without questioning it.

Im as guilty as the next man id really love to believe there is a god it would fit in well with everything my old mum and dad told me bless them ....but im not ignorant enough to think theres not just a little more to it than that.

Maybe some of us dont want to know the truth as God is a hard act to follow.....theres not many subjects i,ll sit on the fence on but im sitting firmly on it with this one its a tricky one that my small brain wont allow me to get a grasp of,but damn interesting so good on you chaps for sharing such thought provoking opinions

Edited October 4, 2010 by gnasher16

[Waz 4,262]

'The Big Con'

 

Anyone seen the film 'The Davinci Code' very interesting film, & the book is even better.

[Brummy 9]

All I reckon is that its a pretty sterile life if all you beleive in is hard facts and black/white realitys.....theres lots in life that cant be explained by science and if your not feeling it then I think your missing out.

 

Still, each to their own, there is no right or wrong.......just opinions

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! You say that like believing in FACTS is a bad thing That's utter and complete insanity IMO mate!

 

There's things in life that can't be explained at the minute, but science is hard at work trying to work out the questions that we're desperate to find out, what's religion doing to answer these questions?

 

And if you ask me there is right and wrong! Right is believing in what's true and proven with fact, Wrong is believing in lies that have no factual evidence to prove what it's preaching is real.

 

Just think, Planet Earth is about.... what 4 - 5 billion years old? Modern humans have been on this earth about 150,000 - 200,000 years say? Now I'm no mathematical genius but even I can work out that the time we've been on this planet isn't but a blink of an eye considering how old the earth is. Then when you consider how long organised monotheistic religion has been around (Judaism being the oldest) which is only about 3000 - 4000 years old, you're talking a minuscule amount of time. So when you look at it, modern Religion or God hasn't really had much to do with any of what's happened on planet earth when you look at the grand scale of things. If their was a god or a creator as well don't you think it would of made itself a little more prevalent a lot sooner? Not only that, if god was so undoubtedly true, why is it after such a short time we've already discovered enormous massive holes in what it says is true?

 

Religion had it's place in time, and now it's time is up IMO.

 

 

That's a great post mate. Don't forget though that in the beginning there was Adam and Eve ! My arse !

 

There is physical proof of civilizations that were pre biblical and extremely advanced and yet we're fed history that is pre approved by established religious theologians to support the controlling dogma that's in place.

 

I'd be most interested to spend some time in the Vatican archives to see what those evil scum really know.

Edited October 4, 2010 by Brummy

[Dosser 52]

Yep its a terrible thing that christianity, i mean the very idea, loving your fellow man, promoting compassion and tolerance, devotion to ones family, rediculous eh.

Blind faith in science is surely just as misguided as blind faith in relegion ?