An atheist's questions

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James, an atheist, has joined our community.   He has many questions.   I have posted them on this discussion and deleted them from the discussions where he posted.

Why?  I would prefer not to interrupt the flow of Christian exchange on the topics.

However, I also wanted to give James an opportunity to hear responses from you. 

Please take a moment to respond to James if you feel you have something of benefit to share!

Thank you.

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Replies

  • I don't see why you took the time to answer me at all. For one it contains no answers. Blacks are free not from gods words but mans.Woman can vote because of manno some god.God see women as men's property like cattle.



    Joffre Vivoni said:
    In a sense you are right. God wanted to prosper this nation because it was a nation under Him. Unfortunately, we wanted to up out of God and not to follow His rules nor teachings. As a result He, being a gentleman, stepped aside an allowed us to do our own thing. He is expecting that we realize that without Him there is nothing we can do, When we return to Him, start praying and seeking His face, and turn from our wicked ways, then He will heal again our land
  • In a sense you are right. God wanted to prosper this nation because it was a nation under Him. Unfortunately, we wanted to up out of God and not to follow His rules nor teachings. As a result He, being a gentleman, stepped aside an allowed us to do our own thing. He is expecting that we realize that without Him there is nothing we can do, When we return to Him, start praying and seeking His face, and turn from our wicked ways, then He will heal again our land
  • OOPS,it still is on Judas Iscariot-a deeper look thread. I am looking forward to an answer.



    James said:
    Gee, I thought I was adding to the exchange of ideas here.

    Still no one has answered my questions, well it was on Judas Iscariot-a deeper look but now it is stuck here.
  • Gee, I thought I was adding to the exchange of ideas here.

    Still no one has answered my questions, well it was on Judas Iscariot-a deeper look but now it is stuck here.


  • Scott Larcombe said:
    I think you nailed it James. The US is suffering it's current ills on several fronts; Poor educational standards, moral vices, laziness, preoccupation with self gratification, etc, etc. The question I believe we must ask ourselves is why? The ancient Greek Empire lasted only 50 years and was marked by the same problems we in America face today. In it's latter end, the Greek culture came unwound by relentless assaults on it's political, social and religious structure by groups like the Sophists who successfully penetrated that culture with Relativism and Cynicism. Much like America today, people believe that "truth" is something you create to suit yourself. However, try jumping off a building while telling yourself that you don't believe in gravity and see if you don't hit the ground. Truth is to be discovered, not invented. The proponents of Relativism today are a re-invention of the Sophists of ancient Greece. Herein lies the problem, once you think you can create truth, then truth becomes clouded in the individual mind. Anything now goes and the tendencies of the heart of man go unchecked for the lack of a fixed and unmovable standard by which to keep it checked. Our world suffers evil because we as humans have opted to write God off and assume His divine roll in our lives. As a result, man in all his understanding and sophistication, only tends to make the world worse, not better. The next questions asked are usually; How can I know if God exists? And if He does, why doesn't He do something about this? The answers aren't that complicated. There are only two thoughts to the question one. #1. God exists and created, or #2. we evolved. Without considering religion, science regularly demonstrates it's support of Creation rather than Evolution. For the sake of brevity, consider the "Big Bang" theory, the so-called origin of all we see. All matter was compressed into a small dot, very hot and spinning very fast. Nothing outside of this dot existed but empty space. In a large "bang," the dot exploded and filled this space with the cosmos. The problem with this "theory" is the existing physical evidence clearly refutes this theory through several laws of physics. One of these laws being the "Conservation of Angular Momentum." If a spinning object breaks apart in a frictionless environment, the pieces will spin and orbit in the same direction. Even within our own solar system, there are a couple of planets and several moons that spin and orbit counter to their neighboring planets and moons. An impossibility if the Big Bang Theory were true. There are many others you can observe from which you must inevitably draw the conclusion that the cosmos and it's contents are not the result of random chance. As for the question, "Why doesn't God do something about mans ills?" He has. He has provided a way of reconciliation through Jesus Christ. Religion is man's attempt to reach God and Christianity is God's attempt to reach man. Christianity is summed up in Jesus' statement, "you must be born again." We must come to God on His terms, not ours if we are to know Him. Secondly, the vice of man is brought on by those things that were mentioned earlier, sourced in pride and arrogance, otherwise understood as a sinful nature that we all possess. Just like if you break mans law, there is consequence, if you break God's law, there is also consequence. This is why things are as they are.

    Juanita said:
    On this topic….
    https://kingdominsight.ning.com/forum/topics/top-10-reasons-why-chri...
    James asked…
    The down slide of American IMO has nothing to do with any God's but us alone. This slide is something that been long in comming as we American can't seem to learn to live within our means.
    We don't teach our kids much of anything anymore.A 6th grader from 100 years ago would trash a 6th grader from today in reading,writing, math and probably even in science as well.
    Ya know today 1 in 5 American adults thinks the sun revolves around the earth.
    The plant I work for gives a basic math test to people that want A job here to make sure they will be able to move up to harder jobs down the road. This past month we tested 154 people and had 26 pass what is basic math.
    Bottom line we spend far to much money on having fun and not near what we should be spending to help our children.


    As for your "Conservation of Angular Momentum." First I must ask where you found yourhypothesis of Conservation of Angular Momentum?

    I ask because it is full of problems from the start. First how does all the matter go bang without making any friction? Don't need air to make friction. If any two or more pieces of matter run into each other engery is going to change between them.OOPS friction. There would be mass loads of heat and movment ie more engery. As things exspanded and cooled to a point where it would be cool eough for the plasma to start forming elements(only the very light ones) need suns to make the heavery ones.

    I will skip to our solar system. What moons orbit or spin in the wrong direction? I ask because none in this solar system do.True, Venus is retrograde. And Uranus is tilted almost all the way over on its side. Who knows what happened to these over many billions of years. Science thinks Uranus was hit by an earth sized body billions of years ago.

    As for Venus (neat fact day is longer then it's year) the current theory holds that Venus initially spun in the same direction as most other planets and, in a way, still does: it simply flipped its axis 180 degrees at some point. In other words, it spins in the same direction it always has, just upside down, so that looking at it from other planets makes the spin seem backward.


    Most of the planets in our solar system do rotate counter clockwise as seen from north ecliptic pole - except for Venus (clockwise), Uranus (rotates on its side) and Pluto (which points slightly down).
  • Okay, I have my own room now. Might as well go with it.

    I came here after finding it on a science blog (can't remember what one sorry)


    As stated by Juanita I am an atheist.( Not raised as one) I truly find religion neat,all of them. I believe that religion helps many people with thier lives. I also believe it is not the answer to everything and at times hurts people. Many Christians don't even know what they believe in.What I mean by that is history of the bible,how it was put togethger,Why it has the books it does and why other books did not. Many have not even read the bible.
    A new survey of religious knowledge, shows this well. On average, Americans correctly answer 16 of the 32 religious knowledge questions on the survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. Atheists and agnostics average 20.9 correct answers. Jews and Mormons do about as well, averaging 20.5 and 20.3 correct answers, respectively. Protestants as a whole average 16 correct answers; Catholics as a whole, 14.7. Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons perform better than other groups on the survey even after controlling for differing levels of education.

    On average, Americans correctly answer 16 of the 32 religious knowledge questions on the survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. Atheists and agnostics average 20.9 correct answers. Jews and Mormons do about as well, averaging 20.5 and 20.3 correct answers, respectively. Protestants as a whole average 16 correct answers; Catholics as a whole, 14.7. Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons perform better than other groups on the survey even after controlling for differing levels of education.

    Heres the rest
    http://pewforum.org/Other-Beliefs-and-Practices/U-S-Religious-Knowl...
  • I think you nailed it James. The US is suffering it's current ills on several fronts; Poor educational standards, moral vices, laziness, preoccupation with self gratification, etc, etc. The question I believe we must ask ourselves is why? The ancient Greek Empire lasted only 50 years and was marked by the same problems we in America face today. In it's latter end, the Greek culture came unwound by relentless assaults on it's political, social and religious structure by groups like the Sophists who successfully penetrated that culture with Relativism and Cynicism. Much like America today, people believe that "truth" is something you create to suit yourself. However, try jumping off a building while telling yourself that you don't believe in gravity and see if you don't hit the ground. Truth is to be discovered, not invented. The proponents of Relativism today are a re-invention of the Sophists of ancient Greece. Herein lies the problem, once you think you can create truth, then truth becomes clouded in the individual mind. Anything now goes and the tendencies of the heart of man go unchecked for the lack of a fixed and unmovable standard by which to keep it checked. Our world suffers evil because we as humans have opted to write God off and assume His divine roll in our lives. As a result, man in all his understanding and sophistication, only tends to make the world worse, not better. The next questions asked are usually; How can I know if God exists? And if He does, why doesn't He do something about this? The answers aren't that complicated. There are only two thoughts to the question one. #1. God exists and created, or #2. we evolved. Without considering religion, science regularly demonstrates it's support of Creation rather than Evolution. For the sake of brevity, consider the "Big Bang" theory, the so-called origin of all we see. All matter was compressed into a small dot, very hot and spinning very fast. Nothing outside of this dot existed but empty space. In a large "bang," the dot exploded and filled this space with the cosmos. The problem with this "theory" is the existing physical evidence clearly refutes this theory through several laws of physics. One of these laws being the "Conservation of Angular Momentum." If a spinning object breaks apart in a frictionless environment, the pieces will spin and orbit in the same direction. Even within our own solar system, there are a couple of planets and several moons that spin and orbit counter to their neighboring planets and moons. An impossibility if the Big Bang Theory were true. There are many others you can observe from which you must inevitably draw the conclusion that the cosmos and it's contents are not the result of random chance. As for the question, "Why doesn't God do something about mans ills?" He has. He has provided a way of reconciliation through Jesus Christ. Religion is man's attempt to reach God and Christianity is God's attempt to reach man. Christianity is summed up in Jesus' statement, "you must be born again." We must come to God on His terms, not ours if we are to know Him. Secondly, the vice of man is brought on by those things that were mentioned earlier, sourced in pride and arrogance, otherwise understood as a sinful nature that we all possess. Just like if you break mans law, there is consequence, if you break God's law, there is also consequence. This is why things are as they are.

    Juanita said:
    On this topic….
    https://kingdominsight.ning.com/forum/topics/top-10-reasons-why-chri...
    James asked…
    The down slide of American IMO has nothing to do with any God's but us alone. This slide is something that been long in comming as we American can't seem to learn to live within our means.
    We don't teach our kids much of anything anymore.A 6th grader from 100 years ago would trash a 6th grader from today in reading,writing, math and probably even in science as well.
    Ya know today 1 in 5 American adults thinks the sun revolves around the earth.
    The plant I work for gives a basic math test to people that want A job here to make sure they will be able to move up to harder jobs down the road. This past month we tested 154 people and had 26 pass what is basic math.
    Bottom line we spend far to much money on having fun and not near what we should be spending to help our children.
  • JMJ

    James asked…
    The down slide of American IMO has nothing to do with any God's but us alone. This slide is something that been long in comming ...

    JAMES:
    I think you are correct in it's our fault. We have kicked "GOD" to the curb and now are on our own. This is what happens without "GOD". So in this respect, "GOD" has nothing to do with the situation we have put USa in ! Every nation that has fallen from "GOD" has fallen ! Israel is a perfect example. Throughout history in their own records, each time they left "GOD's" protection, they have suffered ! When they asked "GOD" for forgiveness and mercy, they then regained "HIS" favor and protection ! Today, I read 68% do not practice their faith in Israel !

    It appears America is in the same boat. We prospered since founded till mid 20th century at which time we started 'satan's' plan to discredit "GOD" & bring America into the 'New World Order', 'One World Government" !
    Most of our leaders in gov., education, media etc. are members of The Council on Foreign Relations ! These all are 'Globalists' and we without "GOD" are - B L I N D - to it !

    The USA is the most 'Blessed" nation on earth and we are throwing it away !

    GOD Bless,
    kd
  • When it comes to the Scriptures, there are a few things which we tend to read into what is not there, or leave out when it is actually there, if it doesn't fit in to (with) our point of view.
    Here are some points I believe need to be addressed and answered.
    When it comes to whether or not Judas actually hung himself, the answer to that is an undeniable "YES". This can be found in Matthew 27:5.
    At first, it sounds like Judas went directly out and hung himself, and this would be a fair assumption.
    The thing we need to remember is that the author (in this case Matthew), wasn't as much interested in the matter as to how much time had lapsed between the time Judas had betrayed Jesus, when he returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders (actually he threw the money down as opposed to laying it on something), and when he hung himself; as what he was/is in recording what had happened to Judas and why.
    Also in Acts 1:18-19 it gives details as to what happened to the body of Judas after he had hung himself.
    The natural deterioration of the item he used to hang himself (probably rope made from a different material than what is commonly used today), along with the sheer weight of his decomposing body hanging from it; will eventually cause the body to literally come apart. Causing anything that is contained therein to fall (burst) out of the body when it hits the ground. (a.k.a "burst asunder")
    Stated differently, Matthew summarized what had happened to Judas.

    In Acts 1:25, where it says that Judas "...turned aside that he might go to his own place"; it does not mean that he literally turned aside as in changed direction or stepped aside in a physical manner so as to go back home (his own place).
    It means that he fell from, or left what he was doing or asked to do.
    In other words, he failed to complete the task he was originally given to do.
    The phrase or term "His own place". refers to where he was destined for.
    Does this mean that God had intentionally caused Judas to betray Jesus, return the 30 pieces of silver, and then hang himself ? No. Far from it. Judas made the choice to betray Jesus, no one made that choice for him. Did Jesus already know who was going to betray Him? Yes. Why else would he have said to Judas "Thou hast (has) said" when Judas asked him "Is it I"; but He still left the choice up to Judas. (Matt. 26:25)
    So when they spoke of "his own place", it was because of the penalty of shedding innocent blood.
    Judas knew what the penalty was, death. This is also why it's recorded in Matthew 27:4 the chief priests and elders said to Judas "What is that to us? See thou to that." It was their way of protecting themselves from appearing like they had anything to do with Jesus being arrested and being guilty of shedding innocent blood; or so they thought. It's what we would call covering their tracks. Had they demanded the blood (life) of Judas for betraying innocent blood, they would not only have made it public that Jesus was indeed an innocent man, but they would have also admitted to knowing what was going on. Neither of which they were about to do.
    I think it's also wise to remember that the first four books of the New Testament, were not, and are not intended to place emphasis on anyone other than Jesus Christ, and what He had come to do.
    Which is why (I believe) only the bare essentials are mentioned when it comes to any other person or event during the time which Christ walked upon the face of the Earth. More details and information about other people and events are given after Christ's ascension, as the focus changes from what Christ did while here on Earth, to what He was, and is doing since that time. Not diminishing or taking from the work He accomplished, but rather expanding and expounding upon it. Everything else is secondary.

    Juanita said:
    On this topic…
    https://kingdominsight.ning.com/forum/topics/judas-iscariota-deeper-...
    Sierra:twitter.com/OneForerunner said:
    If the Gospel of Judas is "fact" then when would Judas have written it since He killed himself right after? He literally would have had to write that "gospel" in like 10 minutes while feeling guilty, angry, sick and half-crazed and suicidal. I doubt Judas was thinking, "Maybe before I hang myself I should write a book."
    I dont know. What do others think?

    You are not being objective.It looks like you are starting with a book from the Bible as being fact in this Judas thing. What proof you got that Judas killed himself right after? The bible? The Bible has been shown to have problems with this time line also.I showed this in my last post on this thread.
    If Judas killed himself right after then why does Mark 16:14 and Luke 24:33 state that following his resurrection Jesus appeared to "the eleven." Who was missing? After all that had transpired one would just naturally think it was Judas. Apparently not, because in John 20:24 we learn that the one missing was Thomas. Therefore the eleven had to include Judas. To further confuse things, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:5 that following his resurrection Jesus was seen by “the twelve.” This had to include Judas because it wasn't until after the ascension, some forty days after the resurrection (Acts 1:3), that another person, Matthias, was voted in to replace Judas (Acts 1:26). So, apparently Judas neither committed suicide nor died by accident. In Acts 1:25 we are told that Judas "turned aside to go to his own place."

    Well?
  • James has made some very good observations with his reply/statement.
    He states that we are the reason for the "down slide", and that "we can't seem to learn to live within our means" His point about not teaching our youth "much of anything" is also valid.
    The one Major point that I feel he should have examined and questioned is: At what time in our history did this massive "not teaching much of anything" (Which I like to call "dumbing down") really start to accelerate?
    The answer to this may or may not surprise you. It can be traced back to the court case where an avowed atheist filed suit against our school system in an effort to have prayer removed from the schools.
    She won her case, but the students and society as a whole, lost.
    Was she solely to blame for the outcome? IMHO, the answer to that is "NO". The judges that were currently seated on the S.C.O.T.U.S. failed miserably in it's ruling by not stating that prayer was voluntary and as such, could not, and should not be forced upon any individual(s); nor should it, or could it be denied to any individual(s).
    The fact that those who did not wish to pray might be viewed as outsiders or ridiculed, is a chance that we all take when we take a stand for our own beliefs and convictions. This is what sets our nation apart from most of the rest of the world. It's known as freedoms. Something which a lot of people in other countries would love to have, but their ruling government doesn't want them to have it.
    When it comes to learning to live within our means, the answer to this is both simple, yet complex at the same time.
    Common Sense has been set aside and replaced with the need for instant gratification (a.k.a Microwave mentality), the lack of the ability to think things through and the possible consequences for our actions whether they be good or bad. (Something which I believe could be traced back to the "dumbing down" of our youth), and the truth behind the statements: "If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is", and "There is no such thing as a free lunch". Both of these older sayings fall under the heading of The "entitlement" way of thinking.
    Many within our nation, have been taught that they are "entitled" to the good things in life, simply because they are/were less fortunate than others. You can find many of these people living off of the government. They have learned how to use (manipulate) the "system". I have personally met some of these people, and they see absolutely nothing wrong with what they are doing. No, they don't come right out and say it, but it's there. They don't want to have to go to work and make a living. It's not as much fun. They also seem to have another common thread which ties them together. They all have an attitude of "I don't care, or it's not my business/problem what happens to another person or if they have to work for a living, just as long as it doesn't effect me and my monthly government paycheck."
    This is a good example of what I meant when I shared that they don't stop to think things through and consider the consequences of their actions, whether they be good or bad.
    IMHO, the introduction of the credit card system is as much to blame as anything else.
    They are intentionally designed to keep people in debt. How do I know this? Simply look at a credit card statement which has a balance due on it, then look at the minimum amount due.
    Which amount is the most appealing? What if you are/were struggling with your finances, which one would be most appealing?
    If that isn't enough proof, look at what the credit limit is. What happens to the credit limit, if you make a few payments based on the minimum amount due?
    For those who may not know the answer, I'll share it with you. The credit limit (or maximum amount), is raised due to your "good payment record"; which is based on the minimum amount due payments you have been making for months on end. They know that you will spend many times more than the actual amount of the item, by the time you pay off the debt using only the minimum amount due payments. Where does this extra money go to? Well to the credit card company(s) of course. They are always more than happy to encourage someone to start using a credit card, as this means more money for them.
    The next time you see an ad for a credit card company, take a good look as to what they say are the "advantages" of using their credit card. I think it's safe to say that you will find them glorifying the use of the card and how it can be used to meet your need for "instant gratification". Whether it be an item for your home, a vacation, or maybe just a cash advance; they are there to help you! Funny thing, they forget to actually verbally say how much interest they charge, or how much you will actually end up paying for that item or your vacation, or cash advance, by the time you have repaid them using the minimum amount due.
    Question: How many people reading this realize that every time you use a credit card for a purchase, the credit card company receives a percentage of the cost of the item from the store where it was purchased? The stores need to raise their prices to off-set these losses. This is something which we all have to pay for!
    Just thought some of you might want to remember this the next time you take out your credit or debit card to pay for something.
    James "Bottom line" statement, does an excellent job summarizing his point.
    " Bottom line we spend far to much money on having fun and not near what we should be spending to help our children." I couldn't have said it any better James!

    Juanita said:
    On this topic….
    https://kingdominsight.ning.com/forum/topics/top-10-reasons-why-chri... James asked… The down slide of American IMO has nothing to do with any God's but us alone. This slide is something that been long in comming as we American can't seem to learn to live within our means. We don't teach our kids much of anything anymore.A 6th grader from 100 years ago would trash a 6th grader from today in reading,writing, math and probably even in science as well.Ya know today 1 in 5 American adults thinks the sun revolves around the earth.
    The plant I work for gives a basic math test to people that want A job here to make sure they will be able to move up to harder jobs down the road. This past month we tested 154 people and had 26 pass what is basic math.
    Bottom line we spend far to much money on having fun and not near what we should be spending to help our children.
This reply was deleted.