What do you believe?

Getting to know more about a specific belief

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OnceConvinced
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What do you believe?

Post #1

Post by OnceConvinced »

One of the difficult things about debating on a site such as this is trying to keep track of who believes what. Sometimes you can be arguing a point with say a Christian, only to find out that person has a different opinion to what you assumed. Eg Debating the concept of eternal suffering in Hell and finding out the Christian you debated with doesn’t believe Hell is eternal suffering.

I thought it would be handy to create a questionnaire that we can all answer (not just Christians all though it mainly revolves around biblical philosophies) that tells everyone our stance on certain issues. I’m hoping it might be a database we can refer to, to jog our memories of a person’s particular stance. I know I enjoy doing surveys like this, so perhaps there are others here too. It may be that people don’t want to do it, it may be that only a few will even bother, but I thought I’d try it out anyway.

The idea is to answer the questions with very basic answers. Hopefully one word answers, but no more than a sentence. (I have given sample answers, but you aren’t limited to those). No need to back up your views with scripture or anything. The idea of this thread is not to debate issues but just to allow people to know where each of us stands. Some of the questions do assume there is a God, but an atheist should still be able to answer them eg if the question is “Is God omniscient� then you can answer “no� based on the fact you don’t believe in God. Or you can answer based on what you believe God would be according to your observations.

Feel free to skip any questions you don’t want to answer or just can’t answer.

1. Do you believe in God? Yes/No/Uncertain Who?
2. Do you blame God for what’s wrong in your life and in this world? Yes/no? How can I blame something I don’t believe in?
3. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ yes/no/Unsure/Not relevant to me
4. Christianity is a religion Yes/No
5. Christianity is a relationship with God Yes/No
6. Catholics are Christian Yes/No
7. Believing in Christ is a choice Yes/No/You can’t choose to believe something, you either do or you don’t believe.
8. The Bible is… The infallible word of God/Inspired by God/Man’s beliefs about God
9. It requires the holy spirit to understand scripture. Yes/No
10. There are contradictions in the bible Yes/No
11. The gospels are eye witness accounts Yes/no/It’s all heresay
12. The creation story is literal history Yes/No
13. Noah’s Ark and the great flood is a true story Yes/No
It was a local flood Yes/No
It covered the entire world Yes/No
14. God is omniscient (knows everything there is to know including future events) Yes/No
15. God is omnipotent (all powerful) Yes/No
16. God is omnipresent (everywhere) Yes/No/If he chooses to be
17. God is loving Yes/No
18. God is just Yes/No
19. God is merciful Yes/No
20. God is perfect Yes/No
21. God answers prayer Yes/No/Some times
22. God protects his followers Yes/No/Some times
23. God requires works rather than faith Yes/No
24. God violates freewill yes/no/some times
25. God always keeps his promises: Yes/No
26. God sins (based on the bible definition of what sin is) Yes/No
27. Morals: Come from God/Come as a result of evolution
28. Miracles do happen these days Yes/No
29. Hell is… Eternal suffering/Death by fire/the Grave/On Earth
30. God created Hell Yes/No
31. God created Satan Yes/No
32. Young children and babies will go to hell if they are not saved Yes/No
33. People who have never heard the gospel will go to Hell Yes/No
34. Suffering is: God testing us/A result of Satan’s activities/Adam and Eve’s fault/A result of evolution
35. The earth is: around 6-7000 years old/Millions of years old
36. God used evolution to create life Yes/No/Evolution has no intelligence behind it.
37. Sin = Evil things that people do/Actions God hates/ Actions religious leaders hate/Human nature
38. Homosexuality is a sin Yes/No
39. Atheists are evil Yes/No
40. Salvation = Once saved always saved/Requires actions to maintain/There is no such thing
41. You must be baptized to be saved: Yes/No/Unsure
42. Ex Christians were: Never true Christians to begin with/Were Christians but deconverted for some reason
43. Rank in order of importance: Faith, Knowledge, Critical thinking, Belief, Hope
44. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit = (describe in one or two sentences if possible)
45. What does it take to consider yourself a true Christian? (Try to keep your answer as brief as possible)
Last edited by OnceConvinced on Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Society and its morals evolve and will continue to evolve. The bible however remains the same and just requires more and more apologetics and claims of "metaphors" and "symbolism" to justify it.

Prayer is like rubbing an old bottle and hoping that a genie will pop out and grant you three wishes.

There is much about this world that is mind boggling and impressive, but I see no need whatsoever to put it down to magical super powered beings.


Check out my website: Recker's World

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Burninglight
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What I believe

Post #71

Post by Burninglight »

1. Do you believe in God? defintely
2. Do you blame God for what’s wrong in your life and in this world? sometimes
3. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ true.
4. Christianity is a religion No, it is a relationship with Christ
5. Christianity is a relationship with God Yes
6. Catholics are Christian some are
7. Believing in Christ is a choice Yes
8. The Bible reveals God's will for man
9. It requires the holy spirit to understand scripture. Yes, to know the heart of God
10. There are contradictions in the bible If so, they are insignificant
11. The gospels are eye witness accounts not sure, I think a lot is
12. The creation story is literal history yes
13. Noah’s Ark and the great flood is a true story yes, there is evidence for this
14. God is omniscient (knows everything there is to know including future events) Yes
15. God is omnipotent (all powerful) yes
16. God is omnipresent (everywhere) yes... he sees all past, present and future
17. God is loving Only to his favoured humans, For God so loved the world 18. God is just yes
19. God is merciful yes
20. God is perfect Yes
21. God answers prayer yes
22. God protects his followers yes, or I'd be dead now
23. God requires works rather than faith faith works by love, if you have faith you have works, but not the other way around
24. God violates freewill going by the bible maybe, but only through prayer
25. God always keeps his promises: Yes
26. God sins (based on the bible definition of what sin is) God cannot sin, bc sin is anything that separates us from God
27. Morals: God wrote those on our hearts
28. Miracles do happen these days Yes
29. Hell is…It depends on the context
30. God created Hell yes
31. God created Satan Yes
32. Young children and babies will go to hell if they are not saved They get a chance to choose
33. People who have never heard the gospel will go to Hell They get a chance to choose; God's laws are still written in every heart
34. Suffering is: Is part of life on earth
35. The earth is: thousands of years old
36. God used evolution to create life lol :lol:
37. Sin = anything that separates us from God on earth
38. Homosexuality is a sin Yes
39. Atheists are evil No more than anyone else who believe in false gods; but they are lost just the same
40. Salvation = knowing Jesus and being know of Him
41. You must be baptized to be saved: That depends
42. Ex Christians were: never Christians to begin with
43. Rank in order of importance: Knowledge, Belief, Faith, Hope, Critical thinking.
44. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit = To glorify Christ in our lives
45. What does it take to consider yourself a true Christian? genuine belief in Christ and repentence to where Christ is Lord of your life.

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Molly
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Post #72

Post by Molly »

I am going to answer this with "god" referring to the general Christian version.

1. Do you believe in God? Nope
2. Do you blame God for what’s wrong in your life and in this world? N/A
3. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ. N/A
4. Christianity is a religion. Sure
5. Christianity is a relationship with God. Many Christians think so.
6. Catholics are Christian. Yup
7. Believing in Christ is a choice. No, but only because I'm a natural determinist. I don't think anyone choose anything.
8. The Bible is… ... many things, but NOT the word of a god - inerrant or otherwise.
9. It requires the holy spirit to understand scripture. Nope
10. There are contradictions in the bible. Very much a yes.
11. The gospels are eye witness accounts. No
12. The creation story is literal history. Nope
13. Noah’s Ark and the great flood is a true story. No
It was a local flood Most likely
It covered the entire world No
14. God is omniscient (knows everything there is to know including future events) No
15. God is omnipotent (all powerful). No
16. God is omnipresent (everywhere). No
17. God is loving. No
18. God is just. No
19. God is merciful. No
20. God is perfect. No
21. God answers prayer. N/A
22. God protects his followers. No
23. God requires works rather than faith. Depends which denomination you are in.
24. God violates freewill. Yup
25. God always keeps his promises. No
26. God sins (based on the bible definition of what sin is) Yup
27. Morals: A combination of evolutionary biology, genetics and cultural environment.
28. Miracles do happen these days No
29. Hell is… Nonexistent
30. God created Hell Yes
31. God created Satan Yup
32. Young children and babies will go to hell if they are not saved Depends on denomination.
33. People who have never heard the gospel will go to Hell Theoretically.
34. Suffering is: A part of life.
35. The earth is: very, very old.
36. God used evolution to create life. N/A
37. Sin = Depends on context (who is looking, which definition, etc).
38. Homosexuality is a sin No
39. Atheists are evil No
40. Salvation = N/A
41. You must be baptized to be saved: N/A
42. Ex Christians were: Depends on the ex-Christian. Very, very devote through basically apathetic about it.
43. Rank in order of importance: Critical Thinking, Knowledge, Hope, Belief, Faith
44. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit = Depends on denomination.
45. What does it take to consider yourself a true Christian? To complicated for this short response survey.

Fides et Veritas

Answers

Post #73

Post by Fides et Veritas »

1. Do you believe in God? Yes
2. Do you blame God for what’s wrong in your life and in this world? No
3. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ? Yes
4. Christianity is a religion? Yes
5. Christianity is a relationship with God? Yes
6. Catholics are Christian? No
7. Believing in Christ is a choice? Yes and No... believing he existed is fact believing he is the Savior of mankind is a choice.
8. The Bible is…? The infallible word of God
9. It requires the holy spirit to understand scripture? For the most part yes. Anyone can understand basics, but the deeper truth only God can show you via the Holy Spirit.
11. The gospels are eye witness accounts? Yes
12. The creation story is literal history? Yes
13. Noah’s Ark and the great flood is a true story? Yes
It was a local flood? No
It covered the entire world? Yes
14. God is omniscient (knows everything there is to know including future events)? Yes
15. God is omnipotent (all powerful)? Yes
16. God is omnipresent (everywhere)? Yes, but this through the Holy Spirit which is everywhere and is God's power.
17. God is loving? Yes
18. God is just? Yes
19. God is merciful? Yes
20. God is perfect? Yes
21. God answers prayer? Some times
22. God protects his followers? To an extent.
23. God requires works rather than faith? He requires both.
24. God violates freewill? Not really, though he does get pretty persistent sometimes.
25. God always keeps his promises? Yes
26. God sins (based on the bible definition of what sin is)? No, all of God's laws are for man. None of them pertain to him.
27. Morals? Come from God
28. Miracles do happen these days? Yes
29. Hell is… Eternal death. Ceasing to exist forever. IN some passages simply the grave.
30. God created Hell? Yes
31. God created Satan? No, God created Lucifer. Lucifer chose to sin and rebel and was stripped of his name and simply called the Adversary.
32. Young children and babies will go to hell if they are not saved? No
33. People who have never heard the gospel will go to Hell? No
34. Suffering is: God testing us/A result of Satan’s activities/Adam and Eve’s fault.
35. The earth is: around 6000 years old/Millions of years old. Both. There is a huge time gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 The Earth is possibly billions of years old. The life on it in it's current state is less that 6000 years old. As proven by the dendrochronological record.
36. God used evolution to create life? No, God created all things after their own kind. Adaptation, however, is not evolution and fully plausible.
37. Sin = Transgression of God's Laws
38. Homosexuality is a sin? Yes
39. Atheists are evil? No
40. Salvation = Requires actions to maintain
41. You must be baptized to be saved? Yes
42. Ex-Christians were? Never true Christians to begin with/Were Christians but deconverted for some reason, could be both.
43. Rank in order of importance: Faith, Knowledge, Critical thinking, Belief
44. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit = (describe in one or two sentences if possible)? It is God's power on loan. It is how the universe was created (it's a tool). It is also our only way to fully understand God's Law and Bible. It is not a separate being.
45. What does it take to consider yourself a true Christian? (Try to keep your answer as brief as possible)? Following Christ's Example. It is what Christian truly means. Follow the laws he followed (ten commandments, holy days, customs, etc.)

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Post #74

Post by gershom »

responses from GERSHOM

1. Do you believe in God? in a GOD, NO

2. Do you blame God for what’s wrong in your life and in this world? NO

3. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ - There are no GODs

4. Christianity is a religion - Yes
5. Christianity is a relationship with God - With an IDEA of a GOD

6. Catholics are Christian - Yes

7. Believing in Christ is a choice - Yes, it is a choice


8. The Bible is… - A book written by men

9. It requires the holy spirit to understand scripture. - NO, it is all guessing and emotion

10. There are contradictions in the bible - Yes, many

11. The gospels are eye witness accounts - It’s all heresay
12. The creation story is literal history - No
13. Noah’s Ark and the great flood is a true story - No
It was a local flood - Probably
It covered the entire world - No
14. God is omniscient (knows everything there is to know including future events) - No
15. God is omnipotent (all powerful) - No
16. God is omnipresent (everywhere) - No
17. God is loving - No
18. God is just - No
19. God is merciful - No
20. God is perfect - No
21. God answers prayer - No
22. God protects his followers - No
23. God requires works rather than faith - No
24. God violates freewill - No, but I cannot understand FREEWILL
25. God always keeps his promises: - No
26. God sins (based on the bible definition of what sin is) - No
27. Morals: - Come as a result of evolution
28. Miracles do happen these days - No, not that I know of
29. Hell is… - an IDEA
30. God created Hell - No
31. God created Satan - No
32. Young children and babies will go to hell if they are not saved - No
33. People who have never heard the gospel will go to Hell - No
34. Suffering is: God testing us/A result of Satan’s activities/Adam and Eve’s fault/A result of evolution - NONE OF THE GIVEN
35. The earth is: many Millions of years old
36. Evolution has no intelligence behind it.
37. Sin = Evil things that people do
38. Homosexuality is a sin - No
39. Atheists are evil - NO
40. Salvation = There is no such thing
41. You must be baptized to be saved: No
42. Ex Christians were: Were Christians but deconverted for some reason
43. Rank in order of importance: Knowledge>Critical thinking>Belief>Hope>Faith

44. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit = (describe in one or two sentences if possible) NO EVIDENCE FOR IT


45. What does it take to consider yourself a true Christian? (Try to keep your answer as brief as possible)
CANNOT ANSWER

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Kyrani99
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Re: What do you believe?

Post #75

Post by Kyrani99 »

Kyrani99's answers wrote: 1. Do you believe in God? Yes, I believe in God and I believe there is only One God and we can't know God. However in mystical experience where the "I" is extinguished there is mergence with God. God is another level outside of the creations but the creations are all contained within God.

2. Do you blame God for what’s wrong in your life and in this world? NO.

3. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ I see Jesus Christ as one of the prophets or avatars of God, however I don't see that he was saying anything different to any other prophet. So I guess I am saying I don't see Jesus as the only way to God because all ways are the one way!

4. Christianity is a religion Yes

5. Christianity is a relationship with God I think it depends on what you accept and what you reject out of the texts. eg I don't think Paul reflects the teachings of Jesus but has a political message.

6. Catholics are Christian Yes and so are Greek Orthodox and all the other denominations

7. Believing in Christ is a choice Yes You can choose to believe something, but for those that follow Jesus maybe they have some connection with that prophet that gives rise to their belief.

8. The Bible is… Inspired by people’s beliefs about God

9. It requires the holy spirit to understand scripture. Yes, but not all scripture is the inspired word of God, ie through a prophet or greatly enlightened /Graced being.

10. There are contradictions in the bible Yes, I think there are many contradictions.

11. The gospels are eye witness accounts No.

12. The creation story is literal history No

13. Noah’s Ark and the great flood is a true story No and indeed you can find counterparts of these in Greek and other mythology.
It was a local flood It's allegorical. I don't think it is about a real flood but there may have been some local flood that was used to formulate the story to describe some higher truth.

It covered the entire world No

14. God is omniscient (knows everything there is to know including future events) Yes

15. God is omnipotent (all powerful) Yes

16. God is omnipresent (everywhere) Yes

17. God is loving Yes but I would say God is Love or Agape, which is a spiritual condition unlike human love

18. God is just Yes

19. God is merciful Yes

20. God is perfect Yes

21. God answers prayer Yes always but we need to know how to ask. But if we ask it is always given. That has been my experience.

22. God protects his followers Yes but here again one needs to be open to gain the advice /message that will keep one safe

23. God requires works rather than faith Works is faith. If you believe in Justice you cannot stand idle in the face of injustices. You are moved to do something to try and address the injustice, to help the victim etc.

24. God violates freewill no, never

25. God always keeps his promises: Yes, again my experience

26. God sins (based on the bible definition of what sin is) No

27. Morals: Involve God. I believe that it is impossible to talk about ethics without invoking God.

28. Miracles do happen these days Yes

29. Hell is… Eternal suffering because it is eternal spiritual night and as those that go to hell are only those that are evil, then they are alone with their rage forever since they are haters of God, ie they do deliberate acts of injustice and blaspheme, ie misrepresent goodness

30. God created Hell No I don't think hell is a created place on any realm. I think it is spiritual existence in the exclusion of God.

31. God created Satan No From my own understanding Satan or "the evil spirit" is the mindset that is created when two or more evil people form an alliance. Without living evil people there is no Satan. It has no independent existence in the Spiritual realm.

32. Young children and babies will go to hell if they are not saved No. I believe that people reincarnate in this or other worlds until they either find God or become evil and go to hell.

33. People who have never heard the gospel will go to Hell No

34. Suffering is:
God testing us. NO God doesn't need to test anyone since God knows our thoughts before we think them.

A result of Satan’s activities No. Satan, when you understand how evil people operate, is really impotent. They have only deceit and intimidation as their means. They have no mental power. The root cause of suffering is ignorance of what is evil and how to stand against it. With that information all suffering vanishes.

Adam and Eve’s fault. No I think Adam and Eve are only allegorical and not real people.

A result of evolution. I don't think evolution in the form of Darwinian theory is even valid because there is a non-physical/ mental realm imbued with intelligence and information. So blind means of natural selection doesn't seem reasonable to me.

35. The earth is: around 6-7000 years old. No I don't think so. This existence is only a mental construct so how old is it. It might be infinite!

36. God used evolution to create life No Evolution has no intelligence behind it.

37. Sin = is just "missing the mark" or not doing things that consider others. Evil things are only those actions that evil people do.

I don't think we can talk in terms of "Actions God hates" but rather actions that distance us from God

Actions religious leaders hate? That all depends. There are all kinds of religious leaders. I see that some religious leaders are exploitative, others are downright evil and imposters. Those ones would want to manipulate and control others so they use sin as a means to their own ends so they would hate.

I dislike the idea that there is a "Human nature" that drives us one way or another. What we do may be out of ignorance but also out of choice in the light of what we know or don't know.


38. Homosexuality is a sin No, but I don't see it as healthy behavior.

39. Atheists are evil No, I see atheists as those that are not receptive to God because they either are too commited to the ego-self and/or they are trying to find God or find proof of God intellectually and that is impossible.

40. Salvation = once saved always saved Yes BUT it is a matter of Grace. I don't think it is a matter of taking some action, as in accepting Jesus is God. Requires us to love God and God alone and that means we act out of Justice

41. You must be baptized to be saved: No, Christians do not have the sole rights on God. No way.

42. Ex Christians were: are people that have ceased to accept that Jesus is God. I never accepted this premise but I was baptised at the age of 3 years old approx. So I was baptised before I was able to choose. So I might be called an ex-Christian but I was never really a Christian. I accept Jesus only as one of the many prophets that have come to the earth.

43. Rank in order of importance:
1. Faith = Belief = Knowledge of God (It is always there, only need to look within, so is not acquired but ever present)
2. Hope is always there, while we live there's hope. (Hope dies last -a Greek saying) This I think is as a result of #1.
3. Intellectually acquired knowledge and Critical thinking are limited and subject to error. In science we can only make theories and they are subject to update always.


44. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit = (describe in one or two sentences if possible)
I understand this in the original Greek as the Holy Mind and I do not see it as any different to the One Mind that is talked about in Tibetan Buddhism. I see this described in one way or the other in all religions. It is the "matrix" that contains all the possibilities that can be chosen to experience any particular type of existence (available to those that achieve the status of the 'ever-free'/ union with God). And indeed this matrix allows us to access the basic conditions of this particular existence. It is the way we gain an answer to a prayer.


45. What does it take to consider yourself a true Christian? (Try to keep your answer as brief as possible)
I am not a Christian because I do not believe that Jesus is God and furthermore I doubt that he died on the cross. But even if he did, I do not see that as being important in any spiritual way.

Suluby
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Re: What do you believe?

Post #76

Post by Suluby »

OnceConvinced wrote:
1. Do you believe in God? Yes I call Her/Him HaShem. ("It" just seems rude .... a glaring lack in the English language!)

2. Do you blame God for what’s wrong in your life and in this world? No

3. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ No

4. Christianity is a religion Yes

5. Christianity is a relationship with God That's what "they" say ..... but "they" say lots of things with which I disagree. Every god-centered belief system could be called "a relationship with that god.

6. Catholics are Christian I would think so, but then, I'm neither - so my opinion means nothing.

7. Believing in Christ is a choice I guess so. It's not my choice ..... so if one can choose not to believe, then one can choose to believe.

8. The {Jewish} Bible {the Tanakh} is… Inspired by God/Man’s beliefs about God - both, but more of the second

9. It requires the holy spirit to understand scripture. No. I have no idea what that really means; and whatever it is, it seems to tell people wildly different things.

10. There are contradictions in the bible Yes, and mistakes, too. Rabbits don't chew their cud, fr'instance.

11. The gospels are eye witness accounts I don't know, but I doubt it.

12. The creation story is literal history Not at all

13. Noah’s Ark and the great flood is a true story No
It was a local flood Yes
It covered the entire world No

14. God is omniscient (knows everything there is to know including future events) Maybe ..... I told my kids She was ...... but I told 'em I was, too!

15. God is omnipotent (all powerful) Maybe

16. God is omnipresent (everywhere) Maybe. I believe that G-d is not a micro-manager.

17. God is loving Maybe

18. God is just
19. God is merciful Taken together ..... I hope so.

20. God is perfect I think so

21. God answers prayer I don't think so. I don't pray for "things" so I really can't say

22. God protects his followers Yeah, sure ..... the fall of Jerusalem, the Inquisitions, the Crusades, pogroms, the Shoah. We're here and we have to make the best of it.

23. God requires works rather than faith Requires?? My tradition does. Walking the walk is much more important that just talking the talk.

24. God violates freewill No. G-d is not a micro-manager.

25. God always keeps his promises: Made a few ...... and kept them, so far as I can tell.

26. God sins (based on the bible definition of what sin is) I think my bible and your bible have very different definitions of sin. Did G-d do things that I would consider bad if someone else did them? Yes.

27. Morals: Come from God/Come as a result of evolution You mean "humans and apes share a common ancestor" evolution? No. The basis of my morality is in the Tanakh ..... with updates for the days & times in which I live

28. Miracles do happen these days Yup. I wake up, I open my eyes ..... and most days, I can actually get out of bed without falling backwards. That is - to me - a miracle!

29. Hell is… a fantasy

30. God created Hell No

31. God created Satan as a "prosecuting attorney" figure ..... not as an evil demi-god.

32. Young children and babies will go to hell if they are not saved if there is no hell, how can anyone go there?

33. People who have never heard the gospel will go to Hell No

34. Suffering is: part of life. If we never cry, it's hard to value happiness

35. The earth is: way older than me .... even if my kids do believe I am 3 days older than dirt! But seriously, folks ..... a few billion years old - give or take a score.

36. God used evolution to create life I don't know. I think that's what happened. Maybe G-d caused the big bang and everything just followed

37. Sin = missing the mark. It doesn't make us evil or bad, just means we're humans - flawed beings

38. Homosexuality is a sin No, and it isn't a "lifestyle choice!

39. Atheists are evil NO

40. Salvation = What is there that we must be saved from???

41. You must be baptized to be saved: see #40 above

42. Ex Christians were: Christians and now they're not

43. Rank in order of importance: Faith, Knowledge, Critical thinking, Belief, Hope
1) Knowledge
2) Critical thinking
4) Hope
3) Actions are far more important than beliefs


44. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit = I don't have a clue!

45. What does it take to consider yourself a true Christian? I'm not any kind of Christian, so what I think makes a "true" Christian is just the skeptical POV of an outsider.

Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. ~Oscar Wilde

Haven

Post #77

Post by Haven »

I may as well do the full version:

1. Do you believe in God? Most god concepts are meaningless or self-contradictory. In a word, no, I don't believe in God.
2. Do you blame God for what’s wrong in your life and in this world? N/A
3. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ. N/A
4. Christianity is a religion. Of course.
5. Christianity is a relationship with God. One cannot have a relationship with a vacuous, contradictory, and/or nonexistent concept.
6. Catholics are Christian. Yes.
7. Believing in Christ is a choice. Yes, but it is often influenced by upbringing and sociocultural pressures.
8. The Bible is…The writings of ancient men (and perhaps women), not the word of any god.
9. It requires the holy spirit to understand scripture. No, there is no Holy Spirit.
10. There are contradictions in the bible. Yes.
11. The gospels are eye witness accounts. All contemporary scholarship suggests that they are not.
12. The creation story is literal history. Absolutely not!
13. Noah’s Ark and the great flood is a true story. No!
14. God is omniscient (knows everything there is to know including future events) Omniscience is logically contradictory and hence impossible.
15. God is omnipotent (all powerful). No, and omniscience seems to be a vacuous term.
16. God is omnipresent (everywhere). No. If God is defined as an immaterial being, then she/he/it would be nowhere, because location is a physical property.
17. God is loving. I have no idea. God, should such a being exist, is certainly not all loving, due to the existence of natural evil.
18. God is just. No, the existence of natural evil eliminates this possibility.
19. God is merciful. I have no idea, without a definition of "God" this statement is meaningless.
20. God is perfect. Without definitions for "God" and "perfect," this statement is vacuous.
21. God answers prayer. Without a definition for "answered prayer," such a statement is meaningless. The fundamentalist concept of prayer seems absurd, because an all-knowing God would know what the person would pray for before the person opens his mouth.
22. God protects his followers. No.
23. God requires works rather than faith. This statement is vacuous without a definition of God and a statement from God on works versus faith.
24. God violates freewill. This statement is vacuous without a definition of God.
25. God always keeps his promises. See above.
26. God sins(based on the bible definition of what sin is) See above. What do you mean by "God?" If you mean the God of a literal reading of the Bible, then he doesn't sin because he doesn't exist.
27. Morals: Morals are objective, binding on all moral agents (on this planet, adult, mentally healthy humans) and ontologically grounded in human sentiment and emotion.
28. Miracles do happen these days No.
29. Hell is… A small town northwest of Ann Arbor.
30. God created Hell Nope, it was founded by immigrants to Michigan in the 1840s.
31. God created Satan This statement is meaningless without definitions for God and Satan.
32. Young children and babies will go to hell if they are not saved Depends on if their parents drive them through the area
33. People who have never heard the gospel will go to Hell No, but people who travel southwest on Patterson Lake Rd certainly will.
34. Suffering is: A fact of human existence.
35. The earth is: 4.6 billion years old.
36. God used evolution to create life. God doesn't exist / is a meaningless concept / lacks evidence for its existence (depending on the God concept), but evolution is a scientific process that explains the diversity (not the origin!) of life on Earth.
37. Sin = A religious term that has no meaning outside of specific religious communities.
38. Homosexuality is a sin If you're asking if homosexuality is morally wrong, of course not.
39. Atheists are evil As a rule, no, but there are always exceptions (the same goes for any macro-grouping of people).
40. Salvation = Is a meaningless concept.
41. You must be baptized to be saved: N/A
42. Ex Christians were: Really Christians until they left the faith.
43. Rank in order of importance: Hope, Critical Thinking, Knowledge, Faith, Belief.
44. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit = Depending on the definition, it is either a meaningless concept, something of which I am skeptical, or something that doesn't exist.
45. What does it take to consider yourself a true Christian? You must consider yourself one. That's it.

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    wiploc
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    Re: What do you believe?

    Post #78

    Post by wiploc »

    [quote="OnceConvinced"]
    1. Do you believe in God? No
    4. Christianity is a religion Yes
    5. Christianity is a relationship with God No
    6. Catholics are Christian Yes
    7. Believing in Christ is a choice Yes
    8. The Bible is… An attempt by bishops to put more power into the hands of bishops.
    9. It requires the holy spirit to understand scripture. No
    10. There are contradictions in the bible Yes
    11. The gospels are eye witness accounts no
    12. The creation story is literal history No
    13. Noah’s Ark and the great flood is a true story No
    It was a local flood No
    It covered the entire world No
    14. God is omniscient (knows everything there is to know including future events) Yes, if we're talking about the (nonexistent) standard Christian god
    15. God is omnipotent (all powerful) This is one of the contradictions in the bible
    16. God is omnipresent (everywhere) This is one of the contradictions in the bible
    17. God is loving Maybe sometimes
    18. God is just The creator of eternal Hellfire cannot possibly be just.
    19. God is merciful The creator of eternal Hellfire cannot possibly be merciful.
    20. God is perfect "Perfect" is supposed to be a term of art meaning "omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent. But I don't see people using it that way. Otherwise, it's undefined, not truth apt, so the answer is no.
    25. God always keeps his promises: No. Ask any Jew.
    26. God sins (based on the bible definition of what sin is) No. Sin is doubt or disobedience of god. Maybe he could doubt or disobey himself, but does he?
    27. Morals: None of the above
    28. Miracles do happen these days No
    29. Hell is… Eternal suffering
    34. Suffering is: Evil, the punishment for sin.
    35. The earth is: Millions of years old
    37. Sin = Doubt or disobedience of god. Some sins are "moral evils," because they are disobedient and they cause unhappiness.
    39. Atheists are evil No
    42. Ex Christians: Were Christians but deconverted
    44. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit = Maybe a way of referring to god without using his name? And then, later generations, reading about the holy spirit, thought it was a separate person?

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    Cephus
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    Re: What do you believe?

    Post #79

    Post by Cephus »

    1. Do you believe in God? Nope.
    2. Do you blame God for what’s wrong in your life and in this world? Nope
    3. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ Nope
    4. Christianity is a religion Yes
    5. Christianity is a relationship with God Nope
    6. Catholics are Christian Yes
    7. Believing in Christ is a choice Yes, an irrational choice
    8. The Bible is… just another book of primitive mythology
    9. It requires the holy spirit to understand scripture. To understand it? No. To fall for it? No.
    10. There are contradictions in the bible Blatantly obvious
    11. The gospels are eye witness accounts Definitely not.
    12. The creation story is literal history Hell no
    13. Noah’s Ark and the great flood is a true story Hell no
    It was a local flood Unknown, it's likely an amalgamation of several floods plus myths from surrounding cultures
    It covered the entire world Of course not.
    14. God is omniscient (knows everything there is to know including future events) God would have to exist first, there's no evidence of that
    15. God is omnipotent (all powerful) See 14
    16. God is omnipresent (everywhere) See 14
    17. God is loving See 14
    18. God is just Not if you read the Bible
    19. God is merciful Not in the Old Testament
    20. God is perfect Laughably absurd
    21. God answers prayer Tell that to amputees
    22. God protects his followers You're kidding, right?
    23. God requires works rather than faith Non-existent beings don't require anything
    24. God violates freewill See above
    25. God always keeps his promises: Non-existent beings can't make promises
    26. God sins (based on the bible definition of what sin is) Sin is a meaningless concept
    27. Morals: come from juman society
    28. Miracles do happen these days Not today or ever.
    29. Hell is… imaginary
    30. God created Hell Nope
    31. God created Satan Nope
    32. Young children and babies will go to hell if they are not saved Nope
    33. People who have never heard the gospel will go to Hell Still no such thing.
    34. Suffering is: part of being alive
    35. The earth is: 4.6 billion years old.
    36. God used evolution to create life Nope, no need for God at all
    37. Sin = No such thing as sin.
    38. Homosexuality is a sin Nope
    39. Atheists are evil Nope
    40. Salvation = non-existent
    41. You must be baptized to be saved: Nothing to be saved from
    42. Ex Christians were: smart enough to see through the religious nonsense
    43. Rank in order of importance: Knowledge and critical thinking, the others are not important at all
    44. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit = (describe in one or two sentences if possible) No purpose, doesn't exist
    45. What does it take to consider yourself a true Christian? (Try to keep your answer as brief as possible) irrationality? Is that brief enough for you?
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    Re: What do you believe?

    Post #80

    Post by Tidus »

    [Replying to OnceConvinced]

    1. Do you believe in God? No I do not.
    2. Do you blame God for what’s wrong in your life and in this world? No I don't think God is real
    3. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ- No
    4. Christianity is a religion-Yes
    5. Christianity is a relationship with God-No
    6. Catholics are Christian-Yes
    7. Believing in Christ is a choice- This is an interesting question. I would say in part but also largely influenced by ones environment, surroundings, and family
    8. The Bible is... A book which was written thousands of years ago by Hebrews to unsuccessfully attempt to explain the world around them and why it functions the way it does
    9. It requires the holy spirit to understand scripture- To understand it? No.
    10. There are many contradictions in the bible-Absolutely
    11. The gospels are eye witness accounts- Definitely not. Maybe twisted deluded eye witness accounts.
    12. The creation story is literal history-NO
    13. Noah’s Ark and the great flood is a true story- No
    It was a local flood, likely composed of the idea of several floods plus myths from other cultures
    It covered the entire world-NO
    14. God is omniscient (knows everything there is to know including future events) God does not exist or atleast likely does not exist
    15. God is omnipotent (all powerful) No
    16. God is omnipresent (everywhere) No
    17. God is loving-No
    18. God is just- Not if you read the Bible
    19. God is merciful- Absolutely not!
    20. God is perfect- Has more flaws than even most humans
    21. God answers prayer- Never and no evidence for it(which would prove God was real by the way)
    22. God protects his followers- I see much the opposite in the world around us
    23. God requires works rather than faith- No he requires faith alone(and so is very flawed and egotistical if you believe in the Bible)
    24. God violates freewill- Yes most certainly
    25. God always keeps his promises- Refer to Old Testament
    26. God sins (based on the bible definition of what sin is)- Most certainly
    27. Morals: come from humans past experience and partly evolution
    28. Miracles do happen these days- No they certainly do not
    29. Hell is… fake myths composed by humans who ripped off previous religions(dualism was originally introduced by Zoroastrianism) and cultures(great flood based on many other myths)
    30. God created Hell- Well according to the bible yes in reality no
    31. God created Satan- According to the Bible yes in reality no
    32. Young children and babies will go to hell if they are not saved- No Hell is not real
    33. People who have never heard the gospel will go to Hell- Hell is not real
    34. Suffering is: a part of human life and natural order of things
    35. The earth is: 4.54 billion years old.
    36. God used evolution to create life- No, no god involved at all
    37. Sin = Idea by humans that certain acts somehow qualify you to go to hell if one does not "repent"
    38. Homosexuality is a sin-No
    39. Atheists are evil- Absolutely not, infact in referring to the above post it is evil to persecute Homosexuals as we have seen on this thread by almost all the literalists who regard it as a sin just because their mythological book says so and so in some ways religious people are more evil! I certainly wouldn't trust these people personally!
    40. Salvation = fake concept to scare people into believing in God
    41. You must be baptized to be saved: Nothing to be saved from
    42. Ex Christians were: Wise enough to stop believing in the adult "Santa Claus"
    43. Rank in order of importance: Knowledge, critical thinking, faith, belief
    44. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit = (describe in one or two sentences if possible) More rubbish used to lure people into the Christianity myth
    45. What does it take to consider yourself a true Christian? (Try to keep your answer as brief as possible) irrationality, blind faith, and false wishfulness

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