EDIT: Btw, never understood why some feel the need to categorize ppl based on religion or ethnicity. Nationality is enough for me personally, "race" and religion is just ridiculous.
100% agreed. or better for me even nationality is too much. the sad fact is that in the history of humanity not only some feel the need to categorize ppl based on nationality, race-ethnicity and religion, but some feel entitled to kill other people basing on that categorizations. this is true both for single persons-small groups and for entire nations and peoples.
Grew up Christian but was kind of ejected from the church when I was 14. I believe in god not religion. By god I believe there is intent behind the universe, I see that intent as god.
I'm probably religious, but I'm not sure. I believe in God because I can see It. Which means I have no faith, you don't need faith to believe in something you can see. So it depends on how we define religion. If we include faith in the definition, I'm not religious, otherwise, I am.
@O_Bruce: All of us can see God. I just happen to be aware that I am seeing It.
God is the human gene pool. In a nutshell: A typical definition of God says it is an entity that created the world, created human beings as copies of Itself, is vastly superior to humans, is omnipotent, omniscient, created us for the purpose of serving and worshipping him, judges our actions, and gives punishments or rewards depending on how we behave.
The question of whether God exists or not is the question of whether such an entity exists, i. e., whether an entity exists in the universe that ticks all those boxes. The answer is yes. The entity that ticks all those boxes is the human gene pool. (It ticks those boxes from a human perspective, not from a universal perspective, but since we are human, the human perspective is the one that matters to us).
So, answering your question, I see God every time I see a human being, because each human being carries within himself a part of the human gene pool, a part of God.
All humans fall under category of mammals. All mammals fall under category of animals, therefore humans are uner animalia as well (and I still grossly oversimplified it). Therefore, my judgement is that the view you presented is not internally consistent.
All humans fall under category of mammals. All mammals fall under category of animals, therefore humans are uner animalia as well (and I still grossly oversimplified it). Therefore, my judgement is that the view you presented is not internally consistent.
But my curiosity is sated, thank you.
Only humans have the capacity to discern 'right' from 'wrong'. Name one other animal that has even 1% of the capacity for good or evil that humans have. No animal is nearly as destructive or has the capacity for creation or molding their environment that human beings have. Whether or nor you feel that is 'divine' or not is your opinion, but I will bet you're in the minority.
All humans fall under category of mammals. All mammals fall under category of animals, therefore humans are uner animalia as well (and I still grossly oversimplified it). Therefore, my judgement is that the view you presented is not internally consistent.
Humans are animals, of course, but I can't see how that leads to an inconsistency.
All humans fall under category of mammals. All mammals fall under category of animals, therefore humans are uner animalia as well (and I still grossly oversimplified it). Therefore, my judgement is that the view you presented is not internally consistent.
Humans are animals, of course, but I can't see how that leads to an inconsistency.
All humans fall under category of mammals. All mammals fall under category of animals, therefore humans are uner animalia as well (and I still grossly oversimplified it). Therefore, my judgement is that the view you presented is not internally consistent.
But my curiosity is sated, thank you.
Only humans have the capacity to discern 'right' from 'wrong'. Name one other animal that has even 1% of the capacity for good or evil that humans have. No animal is nearly as destructive or has the capacity for creation or molding their environment that human beings have. Whether or nor you feel that is 'divine' or not is your opinion, but I will bet you're in the minority.
Well, I'll grant that humans invented right and wrong, good and evil. Do those concepts have any independent existence? I would say they do not.
Does the capacity for being destructive somehow makes us divine? How does that correlate?
These discussions are better suited to the Religion and Philosophy Thread. Keep metaphysical discussions in that thread; this one is just about demographics.
Only humans have the capacity to discern 'right' from 'wrong'. Name one other animal that has even 1% of the capacity for good or evil that humans have. No animal is nearly as destructive or has the capacity for creation or molding their environment that human beings have. Whether or nor you feel that is 'divine' or not is your opinion, but I will bet you're in the minority.
First point is irrelevant. Second also, but for the record, some animals like dolphins or some apes are similar to humans in a sense that they are capable of doing evil just for "lulz". Our intelligence and ability to mold/affect our environment is result of natural selection that favored particular traits in expense of others. And now since homo sapiens sapiens are taking the unique niche in history of evolution of life on this planet, it is pretty much guaranteed that as along as humans live nothing else will be able to take that niche. That's all there is to it, really. That makes some people think that we are somehow separate from animals, but the facts differs.
Also, the fact that I'm in the minority is irrelevant. Fact will remain facts, reality will remain a reality regardless what you think of it. Or how many people are wrong on the topic.
Humans are animals, of course, but I can't see how that leads to an inconsistency.
If your basis for seeing "God" is genetics then you have a huge problem on your hands. You seem to notice "God" only in humans despite the fact that genetics applies to huge variety of organisms, both currently existing and extinct in the past. For consistency you should see "God" in everything that has that genetic code, but you don't because reasons.
I've called myself agnostic for years, but was recently introduced to the term ignostic. The question of religion itself, and whether or not there is a deity or deities, is pointless. Irrelevant drivel that changes nothing either way. Unless he/she/they/it would like to pay off my credit cards.
I've called myself agnostic for years, but was recently introduced to the term ignostic. The question of religion itself, and whether or not there is a deity or deities, is pointless. Irrelevant drivel that changes nothing either way. Unless he/she/they/it would like to pay off my credit cards.
Somehow 'ignostic' sounds more like a fire worshipper to me...
Presumably because it calls to mind the word "ignite." Which is weird because, if anything, agnostic is the one that should sound more like a fire worshipper, since Agni is the Hindu god of fire.
I've called myself agnostic for years, but was recently introduced to the term ignostic. The question of religion itself, and whether or not there is a deity or deities, is pointless. Irrelevant drivel that changes nothing either way. Unless he/she/they/it would like to pay off my credit cards.
As a chaotic type I'd like to point out that you don't ever 'have' to pay off your credit cards. Those loans are unsecured which is why the interest rates rates are so high. It will destroy your credit score if you don't pay them, bur that's the only teeth they have. If you're otherwise financially secure and can live a few years with bad credit, you can just screw them if you want. I ditched a time-share that I never used and never should have signed off on and a few years later my credit score is in the 730 range already. Those assholes don't control you unless you let them. I don't feel guilty about that in the least. I was pressured into signing by my family and thought it was a good idea that might save my marriage at the time. Predators don't always win in this country if you have a little patience. Make sure that your obligations aren't in your home state though...
The question of religion itself, and whether or not there is a deity or deities, is pointless. Irrelevant drivel that changes nothing either way. Unless he/she/they/it would like to pay off my credit cards.
do the credit card or the bankers that invented credit cards provide us with sun rays that make possible to grow the food you buy with your credit cards? credit cards, and money, are useful inventions that are effective in many civilized places of the world, but are only a (very imperfect) way to trade other things that have to exist before the credit card, a convention that is usually accepted in many of the places we visit. and in rare occasions i had been in places where the credit card i was not owning and the 100 dollar bills that i had in some hidden pocket would not be accepted by people used only to the local money and absolutely not able to understand that 100 dollars was like the money they could earn in some months of hard work. still i had food, shelter for the night and much more, for free.
also having a rich family that pay off your credit card does not make your father a god only for that, i don't see why the fact that a god does not pay your expenses is relevant for determining if its existence is relevant to your own existence. the hypothesis that after this life you can pass the rest of your infinite time in a hell or in a heaven or according to other religions you can born again, but with bad karma or good one are very relevant to your existence and life, much more then having a credit card (i have one now but i very seldom use it).
the question of religion can be pointless as usually people can only guess, without a real certainty, is a faith matter, but it has nothing to do with credit cards...
I think the argument was just "religion doesn't have an impact on my life," with a credit card balance being an example of a concrete thing in everyday life. You could replace the credit card thing with any other everyday issue (my car's broken; my kid is sick; the weather's bad) and the idea would be pretty much the same.
yep, but my point was not only about credit cards, even if i gave to them to much evidence in my reasoning.
my point is that for some people the question of religion can be pointless cause there is no way to prove the existence of some superior power/creator as false or true, it is a matter of faith, so not rational or scientific.
but still religion has a strong impact on the life of everyone. whether a person is living in usa, europe or iraq his life in the last 20 years has changed so much for reasons that are at least partially rooted in religion. and this impact of religion on the life of almost everybody can not be negated, even if the personal beliefs can sometimes play a very little role on it.
and even a more subtle impact, that is more affected by the personal beliefs, can not be negated. cause having a perspective of a judgment that will give you a hell or heaven future, or of a karma that will determine the conditions of your next life or the belief that after death all ends affects your freedom to act as the consequences (or not consequences) of your acting depend on what you believe.
this is why even if god does not pay to fix your broken car religion has a huge impact on the life of almost everyone, even of a atheist living in a nation of atheists, as his life would be really different from the one he would have lived in some radical religious nation.
I've called myself agnostic for years, but was recently introduced to the term ignostic. The question of religion itself, and whether or not there is a deity or deities, is pointless. Irrelevant drivel that changes nothing either way. Unless he/she/they/it would like to pay off my credit cards.
I wonder how much you know about religions. The only reason you have a credit card at all is that Judaism created the banks and they started to lend money at an interest rate. Other religions, like Islam, consider that lending money at an interest is immoral, but in Judaism it is fine as long as you do it to people who are not jews. So you better not ignore religion, because your creditors and other such religion-created organizations are most definitely not going to ignore you.
Comments
the sad fact is that in the history of humanity not only some feel the need to categorize ppl based on nationality, race-ethnicity and religion, but some feel entitled to kill other people basing on that categorizations. this is true both for single persons-small groups and for entire nations and peoples.
But I'm some weird mash of Catholic/Christian, Jedism, Paganism etc.
Normally I tell people I'm a Jedi though. it's more fun that way ^_^
I believe in god not religion. By god I believe there is intent behind the universe, I see that intent as god.
Voted the "folk" option as this is a religion that exists basically only in Brazil.
God is the human gene pool. In a nutshell: A typical definition of God says it is an entity that created the world, created human beings as copies of Itself, is vastly superior to humans, is omnipotent, omniscient, created us for the purpose of serving and worshipping him, judges our actions, and gives punishments or rewards depending on how we behave.
The question of whether God exists or not is the question of whether such an entity exists, i. e., whether an entity exists in the universe that ticks all those boxes. The answer is yes. The entity that ticks all those boxes is the human gene pool. (It ticks those boxes from a human perspective, not from a universal perspective, but since we are human, the human perspective is the one that matters to us).
So, answering your question, I see God every time I see a human being, because each human being carries within himself a part of the human gene pool, a part of God.
But my curiosity is sated, thank you.
Only humans have the capacity to discern 'right' from 'wrong'. Name one other animal that has even 1% of the capacity for good or evil that humans have. No animal is nearly as destructive or has the capacity for creation or molding their environment that human beings have. Whether or nor you feel that is 'divine' or not is your opinion, but I will bet you're in the minority.
We don't think like animals. Period...
This conversation may be better served over in the Religion and Philosophy Thread.
Well, I'll grant that humans invented right and wrong, good and evil. Do those concepts have any independent existence? I would say they do not.
Does the capacity for being destructive somehow makes us divine? How does that correlate?
First point is irrelevant. Second also, but for the record, some animals like dolphins or some apes are similar to humans in a sense that they are capable of doing evil just for "lulz". Our intelligence and ability to mold/affect our environment is result of natural selection that favored particular traits in expense of others. And now since homo sapiens sapiens are taking the unique niche in history of evolution of life on this planet, it is pretty much guaranteed that as along as humans live nothing else will be able to take that niche. That's all there is to it, really. That makes some people think that we are somehow separate from animals, but the facts differs.
Also, the fact that I'm in the minority is irrelevant. Fact will remain facts, reality will remain a reality regardless what you think of it. Or how many people are wrong on the topic.
Somehow 'ignostic' sounds more like a fire worshipper to me...
As a chaotic type I'd like to point out that you don't ever 'have' to pay off your credit cards. Those loans are unsecured which is why the interest rates rates are so high. It will destroy your credit score if you don't pay them, bur that's the only teeth they have. If you're otherwise financially secure and can live a few years with bad credit, you can just screw them if you want. I ditched a time-share that I never used and never should have signed off on and a few years later my credit score is in the 730 range already. Those assholes don't control you unless you let them. I don't feel guilty about that in the least. I was pressured into signing by my family and thought it was a good idea that might save my marriage at the time. Predators don't always win in this country if you have a little patience. Make sure that your obligations aren't in your home state though...
also having a rich family that pay off your credit card does not make your father a god only for that, i don't see why the fact that a god does not pay your expenses is relevant for determining if its existence is relevant to your own existence. the hypothesis that after this life you can pass the rest of your infinite time in a hell or in a heaven or according to other religions you can born again, but with bad karma or good one are very relevant to your existence and life, much more then having a credit card (i have one now but i very seldom use it).
the question of religion can be pointless as usually people can only guess, without a real certainty, is a faith matter, but it has nothing to do with credit cards...
my point is that for some people the question of religion can be pointless cause there is no way to prove the existence of some superior power/creator as false or true, it is a matter of faith, so not rational or scientific.
but still religion has a strong impact on the life of everyone. whether a person is living in usa, europe or iraq his life in the last 20 years has changed so much for reasons that are at least partially rooted in religion. and this impact of religion on the life of almost everybody can not be negated, even if the personal beliefs can sometimes play a very little role on it.
and even a more subtle impact, that is more affected by the personal beliefs, can not be negated. cause having a perspective of a judgment that will give you a hell or heaven future, or of a karma that will determine the conditions of your next life or the belief that after death all ends affects your freedom to act as the consequences (or not consequences) of your acting depend on what you believe.
this is why even if god does not pay to fix your broken car religion has a huge impact on the life of almost everyone, even of a atheist living in a nation of atheists, as his life would be really different from the one he would have lived in some radical religious nation.
I wonder how much you know about religions. The only reason you have a credit card at all is that Judaism created the banks and they started to lend money at an interest rate. Other religions, like Islam, consider that lending money at an interest is immoral, but in Judaism it is fine as long as you do it to people who are not jews. So you better not ignore religion, because your creditors and other such religion-created organizations are most definitely not going to ignore you.