I going to pull my last card in order to fully join this conversation. I am an atheist. I only pretended to be a weird christian offbranch before to try to gradualy ease it in.
First about the sun, are you so blind as to think that the sun is just as small as it looks? One foot an hour is nothing. Even so it may have that rate now, but could it be said that it was the same oh so long ago. Also the creatures would have adapted. And greenhouse warming was less. Do you think all the scientists of the world would have overlooked that if it were a problem. Leave the science to them, and check your facts before you declare a foot is a lot.
Then about how you have so much sympahty for the "lost souls" of the world? Reality is shocking but at least it is better then delusion! An article (in some reliable news source i forget which), said that tranquility of religion shows up in the brain, does that prove that God has a real world effect? Absolutely not! It proves that every religious being lies to themselves to help them get through the day. It's no supprise that you get that holy feeling when you go to church and are inspired to "be good".
You're "programed" to. THe church is an expert repetition of propaganda, coupled with the bandwagon effect, tradition, denial and wishful thinking. Which is easier to cope with, that you're grandma is in heaven dancing with God or that she is as nonliving as a rock and more then that, she is insignifigant in the scope of things.
I used to be a Christian, and I felt the holiness two, then I realized the truth. Insanity isn't as far away as one my think, because you're already there, And what person in denial will admit it? Flawless, not hardly.
How many religions in the world are there? Doesn't matter, all of them believe their right, so what makes you think you've got the right one? Maybe the guys that wave sticks ijn the air and sing about the forest spirits have the right idea. Maybe the truth is all in one of those enormous consuming cults that just give all your money to a selfish indivisual (if he was God, who could argue?), or maybe its those who still believe Zeus throws down lightning from the sky. The point is, they are just as wrong as you are, they're just better at showing it.
Try the problem of evil on for size. If God is omnipotent, ominsecent, and good, and good opposes evil, why is there still evil? One philospher thought up a good answer but it still had its flaws. The "answer" was that some evil had to be allowed in the world to allow humans to have the free will in order to choose between the two.
That makes sense except when one thinks about the fact that there exists evil not as a direct effect of human sin. Also according to that logic, that means a perfect being is not free. Thus the oh so great God, is a prisoner to his own perfection. Thus no more then the equivalent of a force of nature, and why would such an imperfect-perfect being exist?
To add to that think about the non-free will theory. Not to detour but it was featured in the second matrix movie (which is about an atheist that shows people the truth), and if you have seen it it may help to think of it. The idea is that the same exact mind in the same exact situation would do the same exact thing (much like the reflexive property of mathmatics). Thus based on the processing of the mind, memory, and sensual input, the result will always be the same thuis predetermined and possibly simulated by a perfect device (don't say God because that implies we have no free will, but I'm willing to go there if you do). In that respect, we don't have free will and never will. Some solve the problem by giving us a "soul" that is personality and religion, but then we would be exactly in the hands of God, yet another dead end. The truth is while, we are all predeterminedly set in our paths, it doesn't prevent us from making descisons, just the ones we wouldn't make.
When I was a Christian my answer to the problem of evil was, that life was just to get us prepared for heaven, so that weare properly disiplined, but still people die that are sinners in the eyes of Chrisitianity, even though God is all-powerful and all-knowing.
The Bible is a funny thing, because whenever a Christian is proved wrong they will always fall back on their weakest agreement "But the Bible says so, And my mommy said the Bible was right". Well, tjhey don't say it quite like that, but thats what it comes down to. I ask the question why should the Bible be right. Is here any kind of evidence that points to it. Do just think that because enough people fell for it that it must be real? Please tell I'd like to know, because right now it has about the same credibility as the ancient egyptian "book of the dead".
About miracles must be either an alteration of physics, or a predestined coincidence. the later example, doesn't have to break the laws of physics, but it implies that everything that happens is the absolute best thingthat could happen at any given time. You can't honestly believe that, and the fact that I don't, provess it to be impossible. Breaking the laws of physics would create such a noticable effect in the universe, like space-time ripples. True God could clean up the remenents of the miracle well, but it would also mean that everything that happens he let happen because he felt that it did not need a miracle, and that means perfection equal to the hand of God himself, and neither atheist nor Chrisitian believes that.
On evolution, adaption really just a weaker form of evolution, or rather, evolution over a shorter period of time, thus with less effect. and if evolution is as unlikely as you think, why do all the scientists believe it? Science has credibility that religion doesn't, because they have reason behind their beliefs.
You speak about choosing whether or not we will live eternally and whether or not we have importance. But don't you see? If we are right, you don't have a choice but to face it or not. We are strong enough to accept the truth, are you? Or will you dig a hole in the ground, clasp your hands oiver your ears and scream that it isn't so?
Not to underestimate or devalue your belief, but if you find ourself disbelieving in God, don't do anything stupid. If the transition is hard, talk to us (we havn't commited sucide yet). I'm not trying to be mean I'm trying to be nice.
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