Why you believe? Why you don’t? Please share…

Why you believe? Why you don’t? Please share…

Skeptic, Is 30 minutes worth your eternity?

Hi ATS atheists, agnostics and skeptics!

I have some time tonight….let’s have a conversation, ok? Please drop me a reply before viewing if you can...

Caveat: This OP will take a small amount of time to view, so I’m not expecting too many responses…hopefully I’m wrong…

I’ve attached 4 very short videos for your review, two about ‘space’, one about’ you’ and one about what’s ‘important to God.’

For those very interested you are going to have to give about 1 half-hour to watch…for those not willing, please move over to another thread…please….I do not want this to be an argument, ok?

= = = = = = = =

VIDEO-God is BIG…part 1 and 2…10 minutes each
www.youtube.com...
www.youtube.com... (the graphics at the end are mind-blowing to me)

VIDEO-God is SMALL…
www.youtube.com...

VIDEO-God is not weird…
www.youtube.com...

Regards,
OT

PS: And if you are young…I have ‘5 words’ for you… au.youtube.com...
Lyrics here for us old folks… www.youtube.com...

For those with the time, this is the BEST reason to believe…God meets ‘ALL’ human needs…yours, mine, all… see… www.tonycampolo.org... (fyi, it’s about 45 minutes long, sorry)







[edit on 14-1-2009 by OldThinker]

Maybe I was not exciting enough....????


DO YOU ALL REALIZE HOW BIG THE UNIVERSE IS?

see...

www.youtube.com...

www.youtube.com... (the graphics at the end are mind-blowing to me)



[edit on 14-1-2009 by OldThinker]

If you're asking me what I believe.. than I'd say that I believe that there is an architect behind this massive and complex universe; because I find the contrary to be illogical even by scientific standards. Other than that, I don't presume to know anything.

In a sense I'm agnostic, and in another sense..I'm a basic kind of believer. Nothing to the extent of 'needing to believe' or fundamentalism' or 'true believer'.

Ask yourself, if the universe originated from a big bang, then who or what initiated this bang/expansion?.. Our sentience(awareness) alone can be considered proof of an essence in all of us beside the physical three-dimensional existence. Some have proposed that all our souls/essence are one.

If you go through all the sacred religious texts in almost all religions, they all seem to share and say the same thing; that there is something more than just this physical life, you don't actually disappear from existence.

Nice thread, Star and Flag OP

Maj


[edit on 14/1/09 by Majorion]

Majorion, Thank you so much, I was wondering....AM I ALONE with this? Appreciate the star and flag sir...


These videos have changed my life....or at least my appreciation of the devine....and how small we are...a speck on a golf ball compared to the size of Mt Everest.....any others, I would like to hear your take on these breif vids...thanks again Majorion!

OT



[edit on 14-1-2009 by OldThinker]

I don't think that our insignificance in the universe means that there is a God.
I think it means that the universe is huge and we are made of tiny molecules and God isn't real.

I think it's cool to question things and not know the answers to everything. It's good to boggle your mind with this stuff, but it's science, not proof of some .... conscious, functioning being. Unless you call that being "reality."

Hey ravenshadow13!

Good to hear from you...How are you? Thanks for joining in...when you have time, let me know which vid's you reviewed, and your thoughts, ok?

OT

It all depends on what you consider God really can be defined as; you just provided one possible hypothesis, that God is reality; of course.. I don't personally buy into that. I'm heavily leaning the explanation of an all surpassing, unfathomable entity. Since we can't even begin to comprehend how our own universe operates and/or how it came into existence, I think that by our own logic and knowledge it should be dictated that we can't begin to fathom what God is.

I've never personally felt worried about whether there is an afterlife or not, death is the ultimate mystery. Where do we go? what happens to our inner essence? because we know what happens to our bodies.

Never discount the more than probable existence of a God. Even if Science says otherwise.

[edit on 14/1/09 by Majorion]

reply to post by Majorion

---

I'm pretty sure when the word "God" was created, it was meant to describe something like "mystery" or "reality" or "everything" or "existence."

I just hate that it's, er, HE's personified all the time. And is supposed to actually DO stuff.

I think maybe it is a coincidence.

Majorion, very wise thoughts there!

I just attended the funeral of my Aunt J, today....and you could not believe the POSITIVE CELEBRATION that went on with about 250 believers....they certainly were trusting in an existence of the devine...it was NOT like that during my skeptic friends death...


OT is just glad to believe, hope for more and SEE the strength of those that have endured death, yet believe...

ravenshadow13, good point...also, how do you explain those who claim to have KNOWN God for decades? Have families? And demonstrate stability that all envy? real fruit, evidence, etc?

OT

reply to post by OldThinker

---

I'm sorry for your loss OldThinker, my deepest condolences.

And your welcome, I was only able to watch one of the videos because I have a crappy router, the part 2 video with the graphical illustration was pretty good, but does that guy really have to shout so loud and carry that book? lol

Majorion

I do believe in God, but not the depiction of Him as given in the Bible. I mean no disrespect to anyone who does, but I do not believe that we are made in God's image (maybe we are in "someone's" image, but it definitely ain't God's).

To me the best description of God is given by Thoth. We cannot fathom His greatness, He is everything and nothing. Not an old man looking at me from above to see if I am working on Sunday or if I eat the food that he specified.

But yes my friend, I do believe in God.

reply to post by OldThinker

---

"Why you believe? Why you don’t?"

I personally do not believe in a god, in the way that it is an omniscient, omnipotent being.
I think that is is just something that has been passed down through time, from an age where they knew no better and had a great need for control.

However, i am for some sort of creationism in some way..perhaps alien intervention, or some sort of asteroid type incident that spawned life through interacting with our own life-systems on earth... and intermixing/breeding/evolving or whatever.

As far fetched as the religious stance i admit, but just as plausible, if not more so... now we are slowly learning more about possible "life" and water on other planets.

great topic OT

Thank you very much...sorry for the delay...was watching ESPN's craziest, circus-shots (in basketball) and got distracted a bit...

???

I dunno, maybe a bad audio system? oh well, listen to the other vids, when the router is operational ... and let me know...


about the BOOK? ...google louie, bet he'lll answer you..

Again, thx for posting bro!

OldThinker I do respect the idea that you have a belief and commit to your belief.

I too do not want this to turn into an argument, but I will say my beliefs are completely differing from your own. I don't think that there is anyone that can truly give an accurate explaination on the creation of the universe.

I have a hard time seperating the idea of worshiping of God or the idea of God. As to the first part worshiping of God the videos you provide really bring to light my point here is someone before a great audiance with possilby a couple of thousand seats all with a dollar value attached to it, so here is a person/s profiting greatly from the idea of selling the word of God, and yes before I get jumped on I'm sure they do donate some to a charity of some sort possibly one they are affiliated with. Along those same lines you see pasters, preachers whatever you want to call them on there TV shows hyping up the idea of God speaking with great excitment and anticapation and ask for money and it is a world wide service they would pull in thousands upon thousands of dollars with the idea of God it really irratates me.

Then there is the idea of God itself the creation of the universe the distruction of mankind on earth through floods Adam and Eve what about the dinosaurs and the meteor that destroyed nearly all life on earth where did that come from and why would a greater being do such a thing to wild animals with no active disregard for life. The very notion of the son of God and the way he was hidden becuase of the killings of the time resembles that of the goings on of a king in the years preceeding the birth of christ.

To me there are to many question marks around the notion of a God but in a believers eyes you just need faith and beleive in something that cant be explianed.

To answer your no I dont believe and there are times my stand on this is quite strong but I do not like to minimize or belittle those who do believe, I just wish that the whole concept did'nt control society as a whole as much as it does e.g the involvment in politics and they can have something sensored because of what the bible has to say about it.

WOW I just watched all of the links on you tube and they blew me away. Honestly, Ive cried tears of humility and laughed in joy! This guys onto something combining God and science together. Whatever the truth is, its touched me tonight. I thank u.

whaaa thinks anthropomorphizing God is a silly thing.

But what do you expect from a species that insists on killing each other in the name of God.

And whaaa believes because he had a burning bush experience and it's nobody's business, how or why he has faith.

Whatever happened it is definitively 'beyond' us, right?

Great pts there blupblup...

gnothiseauton, Thanks for your thoughts...What do you think of the video's in the OP?

OT

Thoughts on the OP videos, blupblup, sir?

OT