Richard Dawkins- discuss

[alex_m]

the fact (am i allowed to say that?) is, dozens of religions were formed thousands of years before christianity, that shared almost exactly every aspect - the god born to a virgin, killed, ressurected, even the three 'kings' (which are actually stars).

 

whoever made up the bible, did so by copying ancient ideologies, in a bid to control the masses and make them conform.

 

i do not believe in any of the 'gods' that have been made up by homo sapiens over the last 10,000 years. what i do believe in is existence.

i'm a firm believer in the 'big bang' as a starting point of this universe as it is, not as the starting point of existence all together, as this would be impossible.

 

the fact that the microscopic bundle of pure energy leading up to the big bang even existed is what blows my minds - in science everything has to start from something. the fact that space, time, energy, life even exists is what baffles/fascinates me.

 

i'm open to the opinion that something spiritual is behind existence, but i won't devote my life to it, preach it, let it control my behavior, or any of the bollocks that goes with with organised religion. life is about enjoying life and not being a see u next tuesday.

 

BE EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER

[Sam Thompson]

Not at all, because I do not "infect" my children with any belief structure they are free to look at things with a fairly unbiased eye and make up their minds

 

Ahh right, sorry looks like I had the wrong end of the wrong stick

 

 

I hate these threads. They never achieve anything except the bountiful proliferation of bad vibes.

 

100% Aggreement

 

 

 

 

Sam

[skyhuck]

It fascinates me the creationist use the complexity of life as an argument for god, saying its too well designed to have come about by chance.

 

BUT, surely the creator must be even more complex and well designed, so where did he come from??

 

This is a serious question and I would love to get a better answer than the usual, "he's always been there"

 

It seems creationists think evolutionists are crazy for saying something as complex as a tree had no creator, yet they believe the most complex thing in existence had no creator.

 

:confused1:No takers??????????????

 

I can't say I'm surprised, creationists are all too vocal until you get to the nitty gritty, then they go all quiet:lol:

[Mesterh]

Sounds heavy mate, maybe throw the Bible in for something a bit lighter:thumbup1:

 

I have read most of it, well sort of in school.

 

I must say that some of the stories are quite interesting and do teach some good morals.But, only when interoperated correctly, imo.

 

The questions of where we come from and why we are here are asked in all cultures dating as far back as we could ask these things.

 

Religion 'was' a stab at trying to explain/answer these questions and therefore carries a lot of power. Which is then in most instances abused for profit and control.

 

 

If anyone wants to know how we were created and from what, then apparently the answer is tiny vibrating strings.

 

Well its that or 42.

 

 

So a fat bloke down the pub told me.

[Giles Hill]

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Obviously, This fossil could not have been formed according to the current view of fossil formation as there is no chance that it could have "naturally died, sunk to the sea bead, rotted, and then slowly been fossilized-and had its prey in its mouth all along"

 

I believe this fossil was formed when both fish were suddenly buried in a sediment grave of enormous dimensions, then they were cemented into that grave by immense pressure of rising sea water.

 

To me this fossil is evidence of the Genesis flood.

 

 

i believe that this fossil is proof for the Genesis flood and therefore the validity of the Bible.

 

I respect your religious views, but those pictures are not evidence of the Genesis flood. The bigger fish (probably:001_smile:) died because it got the little one stuck in its jaws. I've seen quite a few pictures of pike that have met the same end, here are a couple I've just googled:

 

 

[josharb87]

great thread, itd be nice if people like dawkins could respect and or tollerate others views rather than try and force their own upon them. or to be openminded rather than extremely narrow minded

 

i dont believe in god, the theory of evolution is plauseable to me, i do believe there is more to life than what we see and know

[chris cnc]

i understand that it is difficult to discuss Richard Dawkins without discussing theology. but to avoid people getting heated, lets look at it from a different angle:

 

Does Richard Dawkins give atheism/ atheists a bad name?

 

Is he a good "poster boy" for evolutionary science?

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

If there was a god, then it would have to some kind of sick monster to do this to a person.

 

To quote a certain music group "if you believe in God then you have to believe in the devil". What's not to say the devil is doing it????.....

 

 

BUT, surely the creator must be even more complex and well designed, so where did he come from??

 

This is a serious question and I would love to get a better answer than the usual, "he's always been there"

 

Children often ask "who made God?" The answer is simple - if someone or thing made God then they would have to be greater than God in the first place and thus would actually BE God thus the the made God wouldn't be.

 

Why the yawn? Seriously?

IF (and it's a very big IF) Darwin ''confessed'' on his death bed, he still left behind an enormous body of evidence to back up his theories Such as?

It's akin to crackpots like Sarah Palin arguing that fossils are Gods way of testing us! WTF?! LOL

I don't mind if people believe and get spiritual comfort from their particular brand of higher being, but leave the rest of us out of it.

Personally I'd rather leave that stuff in the Dark Ages and deal in beliefs that can be backed up by that little thing that Creationists find sooo annoying. What's it called? Oh yes, that's it - EVIDENCE!

Besides, living near Plymouth,how can you deny evolution - have you been to Swilly?

Nice. There is plenty of evidence - you just have to look another way. The theory (not fact - fact!) of evolution directly contradicts all the laws of thermodynamics for starters. That's another one...

Of course god doesnt exist Get a grip. Believe in a faith, but dont try to tell me or anyone else that there is a tangible being that is god. It is this sort of nonsense that is the cause of most of the strife in the world at the moment, evangelistic

claptrap. Any of you that are into christianity need to examine the origins of the faith (which on a world scale of faiths is a very recent one) and why and how it came about. You may then realise that you have been brainwashed. I fail to see, after having an upbringing of religion, and and years of studying theology)how anyone with a modecum of intellect can believe that christianity, or any faith, actually has a truth behind it. In fact if god was found to exist he would instatnly disappear in a puff of logic. If his existence was proven then the whole system of promises in thatafter life would fall to pieces. Why? If you are so lost in life that you cannot believe in yourself and feel the need to have a greater reason for existence in a form of social control (again i urge you to examine the origins of christianity as a form of taxation and social contriol through fear - again ) then go for it, just realize that it is founded in anything but truth.

So what is the truth then? Having angrily attempted to demolish one particular belief system, no alternative is offered - is none required? BTW - not to be taken personally. Debate not war! Do other faiths attract your opposition i.e. Islam???

 

Tony, I know what you mean, but Tommer says he has done years of studying theology. I'd be really interested in hearing his sources on where christianity comes from. One man.

 

Hopefully this can be done in a tactfull and sensitive way.

 

I personally don't want to debate the existence of god one way or another on here, but I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting reading material.

 

[chris cnc]

great thread, itd be nice if people like dawkins could respect and or tollerate others views rather than try and force their own upon them. or to be openminded rather than extremely narrow minded

 

i dont believe in god, the theory of evolution is plauseable to me, i do believe there is more to life than what we see and know

 

well said

[John Barleycorn]

Big G & his believers would need some kind of weird convoluted thinking for him to have manufactured all those rocks & fossils in some big "flood" just so as to make it look as if it took millions of years.

Edited July 26, 2010 by John Barleycorn