There is no way for me to prove my theory, and there is no way for you to prove it wrong (because you don\'t know the actual cause of Cancer, or AIDs, or diseases in general). But you win on this one -- I\'ll drop that "All diseases were put on this world because of the sinners" theory, because there really isn\'t any reason for me to believe that is the case.
Bjorn:If I hear a statement that someone says is a fact I first think about it to see if it seems logical and rational. I would also need to see evidence that support what this guy is telling me. Hard cold proof of it. If it is a theory I would need to see some facts that supports the theory that makes it reasonable.
So what exactly are you basing your
"the earliest medical records of cancer diseases date back to 2500 B.C."[/color] statistic on? Could it be the
"seven papyri, discovered and deciphered late in the 19th century"? (link) So you are willing to believe ancient documents recently found only when they work in your favor to prove your point, but you choose to ignore the findings that prove many of the stories in the Bible actually
did happen? Or did you just not know about those findings? The Smithsonian Department of Anthropology says this about the Bible:
Much of the Bible, in particular the historical books of the old testament, are as accurate historical documents as any that we have from antiquity and are in fact more accurate than many of the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, or Greek histories. These Biblical records can be and are used as are other ancient documents in archeological work. For the most part, historical events described took place and the peoples cited really existed. This is not to say that names of all peoples and places mentioned can be identified today, or that every event as reported in the historical books happened exactly as stated.
If the Bible is used in archeological work, then that means that there is at least some truth to what it says. (
link -- go here to see many findings that show the authenticity of the Bible)
So I again ask the question, are you willing to accept some ancient documents as the truth while ignoring others?
I didn\'t have this kind of thinking when I was a kid and if my parents had brainwashed me with religious teachings then I most certainly would be a believer. However, as I would come older and wiser and start using a thinking described above I would probably question what my parents told me as a child and change my mind. Atleast I hope I would.
But what if you found,
on your own, that what your parents had been teaching you your whole life was indeed the truth? Wouldn\'t you have a different opinion then? Anyways, all of this "
if I was a kid and
if I was brainwashed" stuff is pointless, because that isn\'t how it happened in your life. In order to
not believe in something, don\'t you have to have knowledge of what that "something" is first? Otherwise, wouldn\'t it just be blind faith that God
doesn\'t exist?
shockwaves:When I look at religion, I see nothing more than superstition. Religious people talk about how religion brings good to the world. I look back, and I see the Crusades, the Inquisitions, the centuries of religious persecution and senseless killing along religous lines. It seems to me that religion is not a good thing in our world, but rather a major problem. I don\'t want to contribute to this problem.
If you truely believe that religion is a bad thing, then you are being ignorant. This same thing was brought up in the other religion thread by Bossiman, and was refuted by AlteredBeast on the page after (
link). Religions have been the cause of quite a few wars, but not nearly as many wars as the non-religious disputes. What is the cause of more wars, Religion, or land, oil, money, freedom, etc?
Also, many religions bring good throughout the world with charity and service. I don\'t see how you could see this as a bad thing.
When I really thought about it though, it seemed completely absurd to think that there could be a God. It just didn\'t seem logical to me. One all powerful being that created everything, I just don\'t buy it.
So you would prefer to believe that this all started with a "big bang" that no one knows how or why it happened, that every creature evolved from one cell, and somehow the cell grew into what we are today -- probably the most complex thing on this world (if you\'ve ever really thought about it, dang, our bodies are so complex!), instead of believing that this was all created by God? I don\'t see how that\'s any less far fetched.
But to each his own.
I have, however, seen evidence that parts of the Bible, to focus on one area of religion, are wrong.
Some versions of the Bible have been altered throughout history, and others are pretty accurate (I think even Troglodyte can agree that
some of the Bibles have been altered significantly). First, which version of the Bible are you talking about. And second, what in the Bible have you found to be wrong?
