Original Sin?

Quote: Nareed

Far more cling to any interpretation that leaves in any god.

One, the strength of Christian, Muslim or Jewish belief in general or of a person in particular is irrelevant. Before these religions existed, people believed as strongly in other deities with different types of practices. I would no more believe in Amun-Ra because Hatshepsut was the god's wife of Amun, than I would believe in Jesus because Francis is his vicar on Earth.

Two, I stated what criteria any evidence would require to meet. Do you think it's unfair, or held at a different standard than scientific evidence?

I think your criteria is fine. Someone rising from the dead would fit pretty well. That's probably why Jesus used it, so there could be no equivocation.

Quote: pew

Thank youze guys for totally making my point. Anything but god a priori.

I (vaguely) recall a quote - "If the human brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't".

I can admit there can be a god, for no other reason than I cannot prove there's not. But to think that you or I or anyone ever, even if we could combine our collective mental processes into one superthink, could understand It or, as youze guys claim, actually know this being, is ridiculous on such a level so as to be offensive.

Could there be? Sure. Could be alternate dimensions, could be mirror Earths, could be lands where life is based on methane instead of carbon. But your god? The Creator of All has mannerisms insanely similar to humans? And us? We are the Great Creation?

I'll admit, your balls are bigger than mine.

Quote: Face

I (vaguely) recall a quote - "If the human brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't".

I can admit there can be a god, for no other reason than I cannot prove there's not. But to think that you or I or anyone ever, even if we could combine our collective mental processes into one superthink, could understand It or, as youze guys claim, actually know this being, is ridiculous on such a level so as to be offensive.

Could there be? Sure. Could be alternate dimensions, could be mirror Earths, could be lands where life is based on methane instead of carbon. But your god? The Creator of All has mannerisms insanely similar to humans? And us? We are the Great Creation?

I'll admit, your balls are bigger than mine.

I appreciate your sentiments and agree with you for the most part. It is hugely important subject that interested people can actually have an intelligent dialog and discussion over. Just not on this board.

Quote: pew

I think your criteria is fine. Someone rising from the dead would fit pretty well.

Maybe.

It would depend on many factors. Even today it's possible to pronounce someone dead when they're not. In ancient times this happened more often than you'd think.

Quote: pew

I appreciate your sentiments and agree with you for the most part. It is hugely important subject that interested people can actually have an intelligent dialog and discussion over. Just not on this board.

I disagree. I think a few here could have that convo. Just not about the Judeo-Christian god, nor any other god ever conceived within any religion that has ever existed, nor any ideas ever thought about any of these gods, nor any attributes given to any of these gods.

In other words, they're all the same, and dreadfully simplistic. Talking about creation, though, is often interesting. Maybe even fun.

Quote: Face

could be lands where life is based on methane instead of carbon.

Methane is a gaseous compound made of hydrogen and carbon :)

Much has been made in science fiction about lifeforms based on silicon, as it is chemically comparable to carbon ( they're on the same group in the periodic table). To spare you the physics, the additional electron shells found in silicon make this unlikely. For a point of comparison, simply contrast diamond and quartz. The former is crystalline carbon, the other is crystalline silicon. There are similarities, but they're very different.

A quote from a book telling us that people won't believe something proves what?

It certainly doesn't tell me what I am willing to believe.

It certainly doesn't tell you what I am willing to believe either.

Quote: Dalex64

A quote from a book telling us that people won't believe something proves what?

It certainly doesn't tell me what I am willing to believe.

It certainly doesn't tell you what I am willing to believe either.

It most certainly does. It isn't 100% as I'm sure someone would see the evidence in an unbiased manner but alas they would be the exception that proves the rule. It's a very insightful passage as evidenced on these very pages.

Quote: Nareed

Two, I stated what criteria any evidence would require to meet. Do you think it's unfair, or held at a different standard than scientific evidence?

This little video might be helpful to you:

Quote: Dalex64

A quote from a book telling us that people won't believe something proves what?

Well, it relates what Luke imagined Abraham would say to an unnamed man we don't even know for sure existed :)

I think it all goes back to believers thinking that because they find their beliefs so dazzlingly obvious, in some cases, everyone else will too. If they don't, and many, many people don't, then there must be something wrong with them, as there cannot be anything wrong with their beliefs.

IT's a common refrain in the Bible. It's not uncommon today, either. It's just "God" is not invoked as much as he used to be. Just look at politics. One side thinks the other side is criminal and evil. The other side thinks their opponents are mentally ill and evil. And they trade positions every so often.