Cynetix wrote:
On death and the afterlife:
1- To me, those who spend their time trying to discover the possibility or existance of an afterlife, rewards, proof of reincarnations, etc. end up wasting precious energy while the one life that they do have and can prove exists, passes them by. The only facts that anyone knows for sure are that we were all born, we live for a certain amount of time and that we are all going to die someday...in some way.
On religion:
2- Any “organized” religion, to me, is dangerous and should be avoided like the plague. It’s nothing more than a ploy to take people who are afraid to use their own mind in making decisions and convert them to sheep. Use your mind and be your own person. If you must have a religion, make life your religion, not religion your life.
3- A side note: if you do have a religion that you practice and believe in that helps you get through the day, that’s fine. It doesn't mean I'll respect you any less. All I ask is that you do me a favor and don’t try to push it off on me. You’ll garner more respect for it.
On a “higher power”:
4- The Greek philosopher Epicurus said it best. “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?” 'Nuff said.
5- People will disagree with these thoughts and that's a good thing because it's a benefit of being alive and having the ability to express opinion
1- Does your own personal existence close the door on the origin of life before your own birth? Is your mother or father the origin of life? Is your grandfather the biogenesis Singularity? Opinions are fine, but yours sadly doesn't answer any questions of true origins.
2- Boy that narrows it down. Today, the only organized religion is Christianity (since modern Judaism no longer upholds the original Mosaic Law or the Prophets). So I guess we're left with the popular view of today's postmodernism which tells us really nothing about anything, ecxept maybe that law is relative, which violates knowable physics, like the "law" of gravity; none of postmodernistic views are rational as they claim to be. Is organized chaos a rational thought? Absolutely not! Truth is pure like milk; relativism believes its better to mix oil and milk then to just drink the milk the way it comes natural, and has a result we have moral chaos which violates the laws of the human mind.
As a Christian, I know that there are dangerous pseudoChristian cults who decided to mix oil and milk and stray away from the original message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, there are plenty of churches that still teach true orthodoxy and have helped lead many people to true repentance and happiness --something humanism can never do. Thye Pastor of my church teaches the congregation a straight-up message thats Biblically supported through and through. There is no occultic alchemy in my church and nobody is tricked into believing anything. From all the years of studying religion, Christianity, is the only religion that does not use some form of subtle trickery to manipulate the minds of others (apart from the pseudoChristian cults which are mentioned in every book of cults written). I never grew up in a home where I had to believe anything. When I first became a Christian I never became a denominationalist--I accepted Christ has my personal Savior, nothing less. What hurt my life growing up was cultic views of Christianity and living in a political world of Social Darwinism. When oil was mixed with milk I became sick due to the poison I drank. These days I understand that my faith in God is supported through knowable history, science, and experience. Everytime I read the New Testament I learn something new! Something that relates to true experience, while providing a solid explanation behind it all. Hence Christianity is the only religion that one is saved by God's grace, not works alone; because no amount of works will save the strongest of people. In the end of my personal ecclesiastical journey, it was my faith that saved me and strengthened me.
3- Your statement #2 reflects a different view. You seem very very intolerant towards Judeo-Christianity. In fact, your tolerance only supports those who follow your faith in intolerance towards Christians. And in the same breath, you feel other people should tolerate your intolerance. Do you see the spin in postmodernism, yet? We Christians find it necessary to preach the good news that Christ has died for our sins, but modern humanist try to monopolize on thought and thus censor free-religious speech (even in America). I do not see the love or tolerance from the so-called rational humanist. In fact, I see quite the opposite. Each modern generation is degenerating more rapidly than the previous. This is mostly due to Social Darwinism.
4- There are several books on Systematic Theology that answer this "problem of evil" question quite nicely. The answer is too long to answer on a forum (especially at the risk of deletion).
5- I agree that all should have the civil right of free-speech. Expression is important, and to Christians it's absolute.