Christian discussion

@neologist,

If we have a law unto ourself then my moral compass can be different from your moral compass?

@rrasmussen ,

Are you serious? You don't know right from wrong without a guidebook? You only have to follow one rule: Don't harm other people. That's it. It doesn't have to come from a supernatural being to be valid. Do you only refrain from murder and rape and robbery because you fear the consequences in the afterlife? In that case we law abiding atheists have one up on you.

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@TomTomBinks,

The thing that confuses me is that you decided all on your own that harming people was not right but if there is no guidebook then anything goes doesn't it?
You may have decided that murder and rape are bad but what if i decided that they weren't because i believe that, why then am i getting punished for my belief?
On another note:
(For Christian it is not the fear in the after life that refrains us from murder and rape but it is also from what God told us, the Bible gave us a guideline because of the sin that entered the world.)

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@TomTomBinks,

Quote:

Are you serious? You don't know right from wrong without a guidebook? You only have to follow one rule: Don't harm other people.

That is essentially correct. But the theist would argue that that rule was only there by virtue of it being placed within you by your creator.

But congratulations for recognizing that you have it. Not everyone does.

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@rrasmussen ,

rrasmussen wrote:

If we have a law unto ourself then my moral compass can be different from your moral compass?

Mankind started with a perfect conscience. That lasted until Adam and Eve chose to sin. Now humans still have a conscience, but collectively it is defective. If you look at societal behavior in general, however, we apparently have retained a good deal of it.

But we need direction. That is why Jeremiah was inspired to write

Quote:

. . . It does not belong to man . . . to direct his step . . . (ch 10 vs 23)

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@Leadfoot,

There is no 'creator.' That's a christian belief, and christianity is only a few thousand years old. Humans have lived on this planet for some 200,000 years, and this planet is 4.5 billion years old.
A simple rule doesn't need religion. Treat all living things with dignity and respect.

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@cicerone imposter,

Quote:

There is no 'creator.' That's a christian belief,

Well, not really. A belief in a creator goes back to before the invention of written language. Anthropologists say that many cave drawing indicate a belief in a creator.

Quote:

and christianity is only a few thousand years old.

You need to work on your accuracy. Not that it matters, but 'Christianity' is only about 2000 years old. Remember, today's DATE indicated how old it is in case you forget.

Quote:

Humans have lived on this planet for some 200,000 years,

Homo Sap dates from about that time, and you don't know that they did not believe in a creator.

So why do you bother posting on a thread entitled "Christian Discussion"?

1 Reply

@Leadfoot,

It's a discussion about one religion. Today's christians don't care about human belief before 2000 years ago. They believe in the bible and jesus christ as their savior.

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@cicerone imposter,

Quote:

The central teachings of traditional Christianity are that Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; that his life on earth, his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension into heaven are proof of God's love for humanity and God's forgiveness of human sins; ...
Christianity: Central Beliefs - Infoplease
www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/society/christianity-central-beliefs.html

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@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

. . . Today's christians don't care about human belief before 2000 years ago. . .

Probably true for most nominal christians.
Sadly.

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@cicerone imposter,

Quote:

Today's christians don't care about human belief before 2000 years ago. They believe in the bible and jesus christ as their savior.

Oh CI, you are so wrapped up in your view of Christianity that you truly cannot see.

Have you noticed how many threads Christians have started and discussed on subjects related to the Old Testament and events going back to the first man & woman? And you tell me they don't care about anything before 2000 years ago? If you want to comment on a 'Christian Discussion', come join us in the real world CI.

1 Reply

@Leadfoot,

According to bible scholars, that makes this planet 6000 years old. Nuf said.

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@rrasmussen ,

There is a scientific basis for that rule. While each individual has the instincts to protect his own life, there is also a biologic instinct to protect the life of close relatives. Less prominent but still extant is the instinct to protect other members of the species. There is a hierarchy to these instincts and it has to do with preserving and passing on of DNA. I'll protect my own life so that I can reproduce, thus passing my DNA to the next generation. I'll protect my children so that they can pass my DNA to the following generation. To a lesser extent I'll protect my brother and his children, their DNA is very close to mine. And so on. Since we are social animals this instinct is strong in us. Since we are reasoning, thinking beings, we can incorporate our instincts into our conscious actions. I don't harm other people because it is in my own interest to do so. A quote attributed to your Jesus Christ is just an expression of this. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

1 Reply

@rrasmussen ,

So you refrain from rape and murder because God told you they were wrong. And what is the punishment for disobeying God? Hell.

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@oristarA,

oristarA wrote:

If God played no role in creating human being, had He played a role in creating our Universe?

That is why Hawking's theory of 'self creating universe' comes so naturally:

"The simplest explanation is there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate." - Stephen Hawking

rrasmussen wrote:

Why would God only want to create the universe? What purpose would that serve if there were no humans and animals along with it?

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@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

According to bible scholars, that makes this planet 6000 years old. Nuf said.

Actually 6000 years since Eden. Before that, there were uncountable years. You really should read it for yourself instead of taking other folks word for it.

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@neologist,

You want him to take your word for it, though, what with your definition of the word "day" that doesn't appear anywhere in the Bible, right?

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@cicerone imposter,

Quote:

According to bible scholars, that makes this planet 6000 years old. Nuf said.

Not nearly enough. You are cherry picking your bible scholars. Would you like a list of scientists that came up with absurd ideas that turned out to be completely wrong?

Only a few 'fundamentalist' religions hold to a 6000 year old earth.

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@TomTomBinks,

Quote:

I'll protect my own life so that I can reproduce, thus passing my DNA to the next generation.

I get a good laugh every time I see this. Lots of 'evolutionary sociologists' carry this out to it's logical extreme and 'show' that every action you take is motivated by that urge.

ie, The only reason you bought that shiny car, that nice house, those new cloths, go to the gym, etc, etc, is to improve your chances of getting laid by that fertile looking chick. She goes for this only because she thinks you might be good at providing for her offspring...

What a grand view of life.

1 Reply

@Leadfoot,

I think that most of our actions and behaviors are caused by some underlying factors. We may or may not be aware of them.

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