The Bible, Faith & Martial Arts

oftheherd1

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I get it. You have faith, and I respect that. But surely we can agree that there are many other potential answers.

For example, if we can conceive of an all powerful, all knowing, all loving being who created heaven and earth, then nothing is impossible. There doesn't have to be a first. Where does everything come from? What if it came from something else, which in turn came from something else, ad infinitum? Why is the idea that we are a part of an infinite, indifferent loop any less or more likely than a benevolent creator?

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When I was a child, I remember asking my father where God came from. He could not tell me. I have thought of it many times since then. There are indeed many things that we can conjure up as possibilities. Some ideas/arguments are along the same lines as others, some are contradictory. One of the problems is that if God is omnipotent, where did evil come from, and why can he not banish it? Another that seems is often brought up is if God is omnibenevolent, why would he allow people to die and go to hell?

I can only go to my faith. When I don't understand things in the Bible, or don't seem to find answers there, I must assume that God didn't think it was important for Him to comment on, or that I just don't understand. If I don't understand I must assume that is my fault/problem, because I cannot understand the mind of God. I do note that God seems to have said something similar to that to Job. I think he is saying there that He, as the creator of all things, and being all powerful, gets to set the rules, and man cannot question him.

So, I believe that God is omnibenevolent. At the end of the day, I believe that on faith. If you or anyone brings up any philosophical or logical question that does not agree with my belief, I have no problem examining it or talking about it, but at some point, I must say whatever is put forth, if it doesn't agree with my faith, I will default to my faith. So no such arguments can be won against me. I will just reach a point where I would have to say I don't have any answer to what is asked, other than I believe what I believe, on faith.

I don't know if that was the answer you were looking for, but it is what I can only humbly offer.
 

zamanbutt

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we are believe at One GoD. yup we are muslim. and i Suggest you that you should faith at one GOD and accept the Religion ISlam .
 

Touch Of Death

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A similar question; where did God come from and what was going on before the first day of creation?
If God is outside of Time and space I suppose he would have been doing exactly what he does now, then, and in the future because he doesn't exist on a timeline; so the answer is nothing, or everything, or both. :)
 

ballen0351

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A similar question; where did God come from and what was going on before the first day of creation?

I don't know. Someday I'll ask him. There are many parts of God's plan that we are not privileged to know at this time.
 

RTKDCMB

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And they came from where? And how did cosmic dust turn into living things

In a long complicated process that hasn't been completely resolved yet that has a plethora of evidence to support it across multiple disciplines. For a full explanation you would have to look it up in the textbooks. If I were religious then I would consider the stars to be God's factories where the elements were created.
 

ballen0351

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In a long complicated process that hasn't been completely resolved yet that has a plethora of evidence to support it across multiple disciplines.
Which you believe through faith to be the case. You have no proof yet it's what you believe. So if that's possible so is a grand creator. Yet your quick to dismiss that as "silly" but believe time+matter+chance all worked perfectly by chance to create humans. Who can see, touch, hear, taste, smell, love, hope, fear, ect.....
For a full explanation you would have to look it up in the textbooks. If I were religious then I would consider the stars to be God's factories where the elements were created.

I've read the books I have spent more time in my life as a non believer then I have a believe. I made the same arguments you have called believers silly, stupid, redneck, gullible, been down right rude and nasty to them. Then I woke up saw the world for what it is.
 

Steve

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The most reasonable position then is that we don't know for sure. Could be anything, really.
 

RTKDCMB

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Which you believe through faith to be the case. You have no proof yet it's what you believe.

Two things;

1) I have faith that the people (Newton, Darwin, Einstein, Hawking etc) who gathered that knowledge knew what they were doing.

2) Science does not deal in proof, it deals in evidence (being a former detective for many years I am sure you know what that is), proof is for mathematicians and makers of alcohol. The amount of evidence for evolution and the formation of stars, planets and life is enormous. So in a sense your second statement is correct in that I have no proof yet it is what I believe, I believe because the evidence points me to it. Science does not discount the presence of a deity it is just interested in how the universe works and not who may or may not have been responsible for it.

So if that's possible so is a grand creator. Yet your quick to dismiss that as "silly" but believe time+matter+chance all worked perfectly by chance to create humans. Who can see, touch, hear, taste, smell, love, hope, fear, ect.....

I made the same arguments you have called believers silly, stupid, redneck, gullible, been down right rude and nasty to them. Then I woke up saw the world for what it is.

You seem to have me confused with someone else as I have said none of those things.
 

ballen0351

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Two things;

1) I have faith that the people (Newton, Darwin, Einstein, Hawking etc) who gathered that knowledge knew what they were doing.

2) Science does not deal in proof, it deals in evidence (being a former detective for many years I am sure you know what that is), proof is for mathematicians and makers of alcohol. The amount of evidence for evolution and the formation of stars, planets and life is enormous. So in a sense your second statement is correct in that I have no proof yet it is what I believe, I believe because the evidence points me to it. Science does not discount the presence of a deity it is just interested in how the universe works and not who may or may not have been responsible for it.
And science and all these super smart guys have been wrong before. So your faith is no different then mine we just believe in different things. I also have evidence as people like Peter and Paul witnessed events that science can't explain.
You seem to have me confused with someone else as I have said none of those things.
No I didn't say you did but read through the thread and see how many times silly, magic, Jesus is a vampire, ect is used. I was speaking general terms
 

Steve

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And science and all these super smart guys have been wrong before. So your faith is no different then mine we just believe in different things. I also have evidence as people like Peter and Paul witnessed events that science can't explain.

No I didn't say you did but read through the thread and see how many times silly, magic, Jesus is a vampire, ect is used. I was speaking general terms
Why is a belief in magic any different than what you believe in?
 

RTKDCMB

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And science and all these super smart guys have been wrong before. So your faith is no different then mine we just believe in different things. I also have evidence as people like Peter and Paul witnessed events that science can't explain.

Science is an ongoing process, theories are produced based on the available evidence and when evidence that disproves part or all of the theory it admits it and refines the theory or abandons it for a theory that fits the available evidence better, which is usually done by all those smart guys. It is a fallacious argument ... science has been wrong before so all science is therefore wrong has no basis in logic.
 

RTKDCMB

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We could devote an entire forum to science versus religion and it still won't solve anything. I am reminded of an old joke:

A priest and an atheist are arguing, the priest says to the atheist "The problem with you is that you are like a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there". Then the atheist says to the priest "Well the only difference between you and me is that you found it". :)
 

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