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Post by code on Dec 11, 2021 18:49:40 GMT
As a practical principle, I stand with Pascal's Wager. Yep. I try to be good .... just in case.  "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way." |
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Post by code on Dec 11, 2021 18:58:36 GMT
A man without faith is truly alone.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger
Just me, myself and I
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
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Post by code on Dec 11, 2021 19:00:06 GMT
I used to be an agnostic. But on May 7th 2018 I got a call no dad should ever get. My wife had taken our ailing eleven year old son to the doctor for the fifth time in a couple of weeks and what we thought was a virus or mononucleosis turned out to be stage IV kidney cancer. The tumor extended from his kidney, through his inferior vena cava and into his heart. I hit my knees and started praying and have not stopped since. The prognosis was not good as we needed chemo to shrink the tumor far enough away from his tricuspid valves to have a chance at a long shot open heart surgery to remove it. I guess the old saying about an absence of atheists in foxholes is true after all. I was in need of not one but at least two miracles. Long story short after a grueling couple of years of chemo, radiation and a 15 hour open heart surgery my 11 year old boy is now 14 and cancer free. This does not prove the existence of a God but it certainly made a believer out of me. I also find that taking a few minutes a day to pray keeps me grounded and focused on the things in life that really matter. So to answer your question I am firmly in the "yes" camp. The first picture is from the recovery room after the surgery the second is from a couple months ago. That is a very moving account, and not a singular event. God is not falsifiable. Neither are miracles. Every day is a miracle from the proper perspective. The ultimate pragmatist would conclude that "miracles" are statistical outliers and that God is a crutch for the weak and ignorant. But after careful observation, I conclude that there is "good" and "evil" in the World. And their manifestation is a collective result of individual actions and intent. There is a story I like from the Battle of Gettysburg, where an individual Union soldier(s) reached out to the survivors of Pickett's (and Pettigrew's) charge and pulled them over the stone wall to safety (and confinement) with the words "Come on over to this side of the Lord". The World would be a better place if everyone adhered to the "Ten Commandments". People scoff if one invokes evil and Satan in any context. But give them whatever name you will. All you have to do is look around. As for me, I cast my lot with Christianity and Christians. My wife is a Christian and I have cast my lot with her. |
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Post by code on Dec 11, 2021 19:06:22 GMT
For me, ultimately, intelligent design wins over chance. A very simple thought…the “coincidence” that the size of our planet, moon and sun vs their relative distances just “happen” to cause mutually total eclipses seems implausible when considering all the variables involved coupled with sentient beings that can actually witness and appreciate the event. First rule of investigation…don’t believe in coincidence! To me, probability and statistics at the scale of infinite. |
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Post by code on Dec 11, 2021 19:08:11 GMT
I believe in a higher power,not organized religion. I refuse to believe existence is just a random mixing of atoms. Big Bang doesn't pass my smell test. Dark matter doesn't exist. If you live by the Golden Rule life is pretty good. I am open to more
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Post by pbfoot on Dec 12, 2021 1:04:23 GMT
I believe in a higher power,not organized religion. I refuse to believe existence is just a random mixing of atoms. Big Bang doesn't pass my smell test. Dark matter doesn't exist. If you live by the Golden Rule life is pretty good. I am open to more
Wow. Fascinating. Looks like another rabbit hole to explore. What if we are the first emerging consciousness in the Universe. Ps...I loved the idea of the brain being a quantum computer. |
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Post by pbfoot on Dec 12, 2021 1:08:23 GMT
That is a very moving account, and not a singular event. God is not falsifiable. Neither are miracles. Every day is a miracle from the proper perspective. The ultimate pragmatist would conclude that "miracles" are statistical outliers and that God is a crutch for the weak and ignorant. But after careful observation, I conclude that there is "good" and "evil" in the World. And their manifestation is a collective result of individual actions and intent. There is a story I like from the Battle of Gettysburg, where an individual Union soldier(s) reached out to the survivors of Pickett's (and Pettigrew's) charge and pulled them over the stone wall to safety (and confinement) with the words "Come on over to this side of the Lord". The World would be a better place if everyone adhered to the "Ten Commandments". People scoff if one invokes evil and Satan in any context. But give them whatever name you will. All you have to do is look around. As for me, I cast my lot with Christianity and Christians. My wife is a Christian and I have cast my lot with her. My wife is a Bhuddist,she respects Christianity, but is quite amused at the thought of God and his son Jesus. Magic, she chuckles. |
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Post by missouriboy on Dec 12, 2021 2:48:33 GMT
I believe in a higher power,not organized religion. I refuse to believe existence is just a random mixing of atoms. Big Bang doesn't pass my smell test. Dark matter doesn't exist. If you live by the Golden Rule life is pretty good. I am open to more
I translated this to my grey and red squirrels today. They concluded that he does not appear to be nuts. |
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Post by flearider on Dec 12, 2021 6:10:14 GMT
i'm with the oldest text out there .. we are slaves we were made to do a job .. now forgotten Ron Hubbard? Sumerian Sumerian King List 1-39 After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridug. In Eridug, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28800 years. Alaljar ruled for 36000 years. 2 kings; they ruled for 64800 years. Then Eridug fell and the kingship was taken to Bad-tibira. In Bad-tibira, En-men-lu-ana ruled for 43200 years. En-men-gal-ana ruled for 28800 years. Dumuzid, the shepherd, ruled for 36000 years. 3 kings; they ruled for 108000 years.   You have slaughtered a god together With his personality I have removed your heavy work I have imposed your toil on man. … In the clay, god and man Shall be bound, To a unity brought together; So that to the end of days The Flesh and the Soul Which in a god have ripened – That soul in a blood-kinship be bound. This first man was created in Eden, a Sumerian word which means ‘flat terrain’. In the Epic of Gilgamesh , Eden is mentioned as the garden of the gods and is located somewhere in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers |
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Post by missouriboy on Dec 29, 2021 6:48:50 GMT
Sumerian Sumerian King List 1-39 After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridug. In Eridug, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28800 years. Alaljar ruled for 36000 years. 2 kings; they ruled for 64800 years. Then Eridug fell and the kingship was taken to Bad-tibira. In Bad-tibira, En-men-lu-ana ruled for 43200 years. En-men-gal-ana ruled for 28800 years. Dumuzid, the shepherd, ruled for 36000 years. 3 kings; they ruled for 108000 years. You have slaughtered a god together With his personality I have removed your heavy work I have imposed your toil on man. … In the clay, god and man Shall be bound, To a unity brought together; So that to the end of days The Flesh and the Soul Which in a god have ripened – That soul in a blood-kinship be bound. This first man was created in Eden, a Sumerian word which means ‘flat terrain’. In the Epic of Gilgamesh , Eden is mentioned as the garden of the gods and is located somewhere in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers Joseph Brandon has ruled for not quite 360 days and is not very popular. Maybe there is something in there for him.  Perhaps he could sell apples in Eden. www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/12/27/poll-joe-bidens-job-approval-crashes-to-36-percent/ |
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Post by code on Aug 22, 2022 19:03:23 GMT
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Post by missouriboy on Aug 22, 2022 20:46:21 GMT
Wow! Sounds like a climate model without the gravy train. |
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Perhaps he could sell apples in Eden.