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Originally posted by meembo
Nazggul, I didn't mean to offend. But it doesn't stand to reason that just because you aren't certain about God's existence that no one else is. Believe it all you like, but you're wrong.
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I wasn’t offended at all, but apparently you were offended by my opinion so you decided to lash out at me. That is your issue to deal with, not mine.
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I do in fact think you're quite cynical... To replace a symbol of love (Santa) with a symbol of fear (the Boogieman) isn't faithful to your argument at all. I challenge you to examine your own emotions and come back to the discussion in a different frame of mind.
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It merely demonstrates why your argument against mine was so off target. It’s not about Santa or the Boogie man or whatever thing we put in that position, it is the simple fact that the act of believing in something does not make it real or provide any proof. Is that really so hard for you to understand?
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I also challenge your statement that "Most of the oldest religions imagined their God, or Gods, as vengeful, spiteful, and taking pleasure in the torment their human puppets." Do you have any reference to that, or is that just a simplistic (mis)understanding of the Old Testament?
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What does the Old Testament have to do with Norse mythology or the Greek Gods? It certainly wasn’t something I referenced. You might consider spending some time educating yourself about other religions, and perspectives. It isn’t all about your book. You have taken a simple argument, made a boatload of assumptions.
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I think gods historically bridge the gaps of understanding to world views of their contemporary cultures, but to say that gods take pleasure in spite and vengeance betrays a serious misunderstanding of good and evil, and it also betrays your own emotional biases to make such a fundamental error.
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Misunderstanding of good and evil? I am not even going to try to understand where you got that. Once again, educate yourself in something other than your religion.
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Monotheistic gods (such as in Christianity) represent the zenith of goodness and love and peace and understanding. If you're imagining polytheistic gods such as the Greek and Roman gods, you are talking about a group of gods representing good, evil, and everything in between.
I'm feisty about people discounting my faith as simply emotion. My faith and intellect are both real, and it's the tension between the two that makes life interesting.
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Oh please, I never discounted your faith. You’ve put so many words in my mouth. Let me reiterate my argument to clarify.
I do not know whether God exists or not.
Nobody has proven that God exists.
Believing in something does not make it real.
That’s all I have to say on this.