On December 21 2010 23:40 IPS.ZeRo wrote:
The world is a result of effects that can be explained with scientific methods. We are not able to explain every detail yet, but with time we will learn more about it.

I've heard this countless time. People tend to oppose Religion and Science. But , in my humble opinion, they are completely different things. As of today, the goal of religion is not to explain how the world was created, but rather to give to people a guide ( i dont like the word 'rules') on what is good and what is not. As thus, I believe than you can be a scientific person and still believe in God. One example would be me.

I am Christian. I have been raised as such ( my father is catholic, my mother is protestant). When i reached 12, I entered my "religion is bullshit" phase. for almost 4 years, i did not get even close to a church except on special occasion but just to please my parents. But I changed my mind once I understood that the message is actually more important than the messenger.

I do not actually care if Jesus resurrected from the death, nor do I care if he was able to walk on water, nor if he was able to ride a raptor. Hey, I wouldnt even care if it as proven that he never existed. The message that he gave was a message of love, and peace amongst all people, and I believe in this message. I know some people do not like following guidelines ( once again, please do not use the word 'rules', I am not bound by any rules, I am free to do whatever i want), but in my case, i found it very useful. It gave me something to rely on when i was depressing, it makes me wants to help people when i am able to.

I'll end this post with a disclaimer. Extremism exist everywhere, and religion has this plague too. Please do not judge a religion on its extreme. Christianism is very different from the Inquisition, and Islam is also way different from Terrorism.

Bleak

Turkey3059 Posts

December 21 2010 15:31 GMT

#22

Religion is the biggest threat to mankind's survival because it promotes conservatism and blocks progress. A God might exist or not, but we can never know unless we are directly contacted by such a supreme being. I don't take fairy tales of 2000+ years cooked with popular myths of the ancient times as evidence of a creator's existence.

iNcontroL

USA29055 Posts

December 21 2010 15:33 GMT

#23

We try to avoid religion threads on TL as they always end up the same way. You guys have like 4-5 more posts before I am closing this.

Oh and to be topical: You guys won't make it.

StarStruck

25339 Posts

December 21 2010 15:33 GMT

#24

Well said Tyrran. My thoughts exactly, especially, "As of today, the goal of religion is not to explain how the world was created, but rather to give to people a guide." Yes, you definitely can be a man of science and be religious at the same time.

WilbertK

Netherlands210 Posts

December 21 2010 15:35 GMT

#25

On December 22 2010 00:16 RA wrote:
I believe in universal laws, bible is the book which describes them beautifully.

Can you give an example of a law that you consider to be universal, that is described in the bible? And do you consider all laws that are described in the bible to be just and universal laws? If not, how do you distinguish the universal laws from the non-universal ones?

WilbertK

Netherlands210 Posts

December 21 2010 15:37 GMT

#26

On December 22 2010 00:33 {88}iNcontroL wrote:
We try to avoid religion threads on TL as they always end up the same way. You guys have like 4-5 more posts before I am closing this.

Oh and to be topical: You guys won't make it.

Will you also close this if it doesn't become a flame war? Are threads about religion not allowed on TL? I'm not judging a rule like that if one (formally or informally) exists, I'd just like to be informed about such a rule if one exists.

nihoh

Australia978 Posts

December 21 2010 15:38 GMT

#27

http://www.thebricktestament.com/ sums up every thought I had in my head at Sunday school as a child. The Bible is simply full of shit. I don't need it for moral guide, direction and/or restraint. I'm a rational, logical being who can make them up perfectly fine as I go along. Even if I didn't grow up without a Bible I very much doubt I'd now be drowning kittens for fun as a young adult.

KwarK

United States44191 Posts

December 21 2010 15:39 GMT

#28

On December 22 2010 00:24 Tyrran wrote:
I think religion threads are bound to be closed sooner or later, as they tend to turn into flamewars. Lets hope it does not.

Show nested quote +

By any normal definition you're not a Christian. You need to accept Christ as your saviour and believe he died for your sins etc. Thinking that Christianity gives a message that is useful isn't the same as believing in it.