The Book of Life

[Alabama358]

Some parts of the Bible are intended to be taken literally. Other parts are not. It is important to learn how to interpret Scripture so we don't get the wrong idea about things. (It seems to me that folks usually get the wrong idea about things when they start trying to interpret Scripture as opposed to just believing on it)

The original audiences/readers of the sacred writings would never have believed God was actually writing everything down to keep track of things or that he was sitting in a physical chair. Thrones and bookkeeping are human inventions. I don't think the idea that God does not have feathers and wings needs to be explained.

No, this information was not a direct revelation from God to me. It is not only my educated opinion, but the opinion of countless biblical scholars and Christians who understand the various methods used by the writers of the Bible to get truth across to those that need to hear it.

With full understanding that the bible uses allegories, parables, similes and such...

I choose to take what "IT" says on face value and not so much on what countless biblical scholars (so called) say it says.

Matthew 18:2-4
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

VS

Matthew 7:22-24
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:


Where do you start and stop with the "parts of the Bible are not to be taken literately stuff"
No Great White throne
No Lambs book of life
No new glorified bodies
No Book of Seven Seals
No pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb
No tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month
No Lake of Fire

and on and on and on...

On judgment day... I guess I would rather be like a child that just found out that I missed something... rather then the really smart intellectual at the gate pounding my chest about all the things that I said and did in HIS name.

It is hard for me to fathom the LORD wagging his head saying "I cant believe that you believed all that stuff I said"

Please do not get me wrong... I am not saying, that you will be one of the fellas at the gate pounding his chest but just that I don't want to be.
So I just keep it simple...
If it is there, I believe it.
If it is not there or needs to be massaged, interpreted or tortured to be there then I don't.

[HWooldridge]

Alabama358,

Your philosophy is very similar to mine - which is why I don't get wound up by the latest political firestorm or dire economic warnings. The Lord's Prayer is another example of the simplicity of the Gospel. I believe we should pray that the Lord's will be done in all things "on Earth, as it is in Heaven", because He knows what's best for everyone. God knew us before we were born and our conscious life here is just a brief blip in eternity.

With regard to predestination, there is an unfathomable difference between what we understand and what God knows (which is everything). We have no way of recognizing who is or isn't going to Heaven, nor is it our business to know - so it's up to each individual to live their lives in faith and hope of the Resurrection. Nobody on Earth, living or dead or yet to be born, will know these things until such time as the Lord wills it to happen.

People yammer on about the dinosaurs and how God destroyed them so we could prosper - but I would suggest they were simply here as part of God's holy plan. It is plain and obvious that He is a God of Life, and I imagine he thoroughly enjoyed creating all of those magnificent creatures so we could marvel at their fossils. He doesn't observe the passage of time like we do, so He can always act in accordance with His divine will.

The Earth was built for us but we are only here for a very short time and at some point, the Earth will cease to exist and all of Creation as we know it - but God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit will exist forever.

[Good Cheer]

Dinosaurs? For some reason our creator chose to make a bunch of them go away.
Really really awesome marksmanship. He casts His own you know.

[dverna]

Dinosaurs? For some reason our creator chose to make a bunch of them go away.
Really really awesome marksmanship. He casts His own you know.

Yes...another wonderful rabbit hole.

All the creatures that walk the earth were created in one day. Does God use days as we use them? Is the 'day' in Genisis a 24 hour day?

Is the new earth or old earth concept the right one?

It is a great leap of faith to believe the earth is 8000 years old. God chuckles as we try to wrap out little pea brains around the question.

"Common sense" tells me one thing, but my pastor believes something else. The bible does not have all the answers...but maybe the answers to our silly questions are not important.

[Good Cheer]

Yes...another wonderful rabbit hole.

All the creatures that walk the earth were created in one day. Does God use days as we use them? Is the 'day' in Genisis a 24 hour day?

Is the new earth or old earth concept the right one?

It is a great leap of faith to believe the earth is 8000 years old. God chuckles as we try to wrap out little pea brains around the question.

"Common sense" tells me one thing, but my pastor believes something else. The bible does not have all the answers...but maybe the answers to our silly questions are not important.

Golly, what are you calling the new earth or old earth concept?

[dverna]

Golly, what are you calling the new earth or old earth concept?

LOL...you...of all people is last one I would consider needing this explained.

Google search if you really do not know. But in a nut shell. Is the Universe 8000 years old or 14 billion years old? Was all life created on earth in two days or over millions of years?

[Jadkins87]

That is a lot to take in and a big rabbit hole that most don't want to talk about. with that said i believe God is real and is my lord and saver. i grow up with the kjv of the bible but i am have been reading on my bible app the Geneva bible that was written pre 1700 and there's a lot more in it that hasn't been reworded to today thinking.. that's just my opinion..

God Bless

JDAS

[Good Cheer]

LOL...you...of all people is last one I would consider needing this explained.

Google search if you really do not know. But in a nut shell. Is the Universe 8000 years old or 14 billion years old? Was all life created on earth in two days or over millions of years?

Hey Don, there's different versions roaming around in the churches of the land. My personal favorite and the one that seems to make the most sense with scripture is that there was a previous "Earth age" back when the rebellion against our creator happened. That because of the rebellion He wiped it and created this one. And that now we get to pass through the water and decide whether to go with Him or to go our own way, which is a very short trip indeed. There are variations to that as well, like questions on what (if anything) we were doing back during the rebellion. So any how, when somebody tosses in the fossil record and the geologic record a lot of people get all wormy feeling inside, some stuff their fingers in their ears, some kinda freeze up. As for me, I decided a long time ago that the more science catches up to what God wrote to us then the happier we'll be.

[dverna]

True words Good Cheer. I accept God on faith and hope that science "catches up". Not yet at the point I accept the Bible as 100% accurate; but He will understand when my time comes. It is not disrespect but honest questioning and searching for "truth".

I cannot sit around the campfire at night starring at all those points of light, and think it was just chance. As an atheist, it was easy to say, "Then who created God?" But I accept He was, is and will be.

Leaving the city, rat race, and corporate America opened my eyes in many ways.

[Good Cheer]

Here's some fun stuff if it's looked at as science struggling to catch up.
Hope someone watches it and has a good time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juyv...UJd2h5IGZpbGVz

[phantom22]

phantom22, I know what you mean. I came to Jesus late in life. In my younger days, I saw the "inconsistencies" in the bible and decided it was all BS.

The way I have dealt with it is to believe the bible is not 100% the divine inspired word of God. The bible was written by men and there is no assurance all of them were "inspired by God". Then throw in the "errors" in translation and it gets even muddier.

There is much in the bible that is useful in our walk with Christ and to guide our lives. I decided it was foolish to "throw the baby out with the wash water". IMO the "Book of Life" is one of those inconsistencies. Not much about it makes sense...but in the big scheme of things it does not matter.

We are taught God is a loving, vengeful, fair, and to be feared. Lots of mixes messages. It is easy to find scripture that demonstrates that is not always true.

If the bible was as perfect as some believe, we would not need 1200 Christian sects to figure it out. My red flag goes up when anyone says differently. They are either brainwashed or not critical thinkers...but they can still be "good people".

The other conclusion I have come to is God is not perfect. In fact, there is no definitive scripture that tells us He is. I do not need God to be perfect to believe in Him. I will walk with an "imperfect" God rather than run with the devil. It is not difficult to determine Satan is pure evil.

Again, it's just moving the goalposts. Is god perfect, is god not perfect. It doesn't matter, just adjust the religion to suit your needs. It's just gaslighting yourself.

Nothing makes sense, everything is vague or a metaphor depending on who you talk to, just ignore that a god just willy nilly murders the entire planet because of his love and your wrong decision of 'free will'.

I can't understand how people justify this in their minds. Is it that the supposed rewards in heaven are so awesome that you willingly overlook what your natural instinct and everyday understanding of how things actually work?

There's thousands of interpretations, hundreds of different sects all claiming the same thing means something different.

Does it ever enter the normal person's mind that just maybe, it's all invented? It certainly would explain why none of it makes sense.

The cognitive dissonance of it all is astounding to me.

[Good Cheer]

This place was set up for everyone to have to die and go home.
How do like those apples?

[ioon44]

[QUOTE=phantom22;5676989]Again, it's just moving the goalposts. Is god perfect, is god not perfect. It doesn't matter, just adjust the religion to suit your needs. It's just gaslighting yourself.

Nothing makes sense, everything is vague or a metaphor depending on who you talk to, just ignore that a god just willy nilly murders the entire planet because of his love and your wrong decision of 'free will'.

I can't understand how people justify this in their minds. Is it that the supposed rewards in heaven are so awesome that you willingly overlook what your natural instinct and everyday understanding of how things actually work?

There's thousands of interpretations, hundreds of different sects all claiming the same thing means something different.

Does it ever enter the normal person's mind that just maybe, it's all invented? It certainly would explain why none of it makes sense.

The cognitive dissonance of it all is astounding to me.[/QUO


This sounds like it came from the movie Nefarious.

[Alabama358]

Again, it's just moving the goalposts. Is god perfect, is god not perfect. It doesn't matter, just adjust the religion to suit your needs. It's just gaslighting yourself.

Nothing makes sense, everything is vague or a metaphor depending on who you talk to, just ignore that a god just willy nilly murders the entire planet because of his love and your wrong decision of 'free will'.

I can't understand how people justify this in their minds. Is it that the supposed rewards in heaven are so awesome that you willingly overlook what your natural instinct and everyday understanding of how things actually work?

There's thousands of interpretations, hundreds of different sects all claiming the same thing means something different.

Does it ever enter the normal person's mind that just maybe, it's all invented? It certainly would explain why none of it makes sense. Is this not gaslighting by definition??

The cognitive dissonance of it all is astounding to me.

I think the Pharisees (Heads of the Jewish Church/Synagogue ) had a similar opinion... How was it that Christ answered them?

John 8:43-47
43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.


I think they gaslighted themselves straight to hell.

gaslighting: manipulate (someone) using psychological methods into questioning their own sanity or powers of reasoning.

[phantom22]

I think the Pharisees (Heads of the Jewish Church/Synagogue ) had a similar opinion... How was it that Christ answered them?

John 8:43-47
43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.


I think they gaslighted themselves straight to hell.

gaslighting: manipulate (someone) using psychological methods into questioning their own sanity or powers of reasoning.

No it is not gaslighting at all. Perhaps "normal was taken out of context. By normal I mean without mental defect. Basically no condition exists that would compromise your thought process be it mental retardation or brain injury or the like. There should be no reason applying critical thinking and empathizing with different viewpoints would be difficult. It doesn't mean you have to agree with them. I've concluded that my reasoning is sound and included why.

You are doing something similar, but with a key difference. Your including scripture and referencing it as if it were commonly accepted fact. In the court of law this is a sustainable objection. In a real life conversation it is different, but perhaps it will give an insight to my train of thought.

I was once a witness in a murder trial from my Paramedic days. My role was basically that I was on scene and entered the crime scene to determine life status. During the trial, the defense objected to me saying that I saw blood. The basis for their objection was how could I know it was blood. Am I a qualified expert. I learned the defense tried this objection on other witnesses and some were sustained. The judge agreed with the prosecutor after asking how I could tell it was blood and not just a red colored stain as they made previous witnesses do. The point is that the details matter and the things referenced in the case must be established as fact before it can be referred to as such. I don't know the exact terminology for this, but that is the gist of it.

This is something I encounter almost every time I discuss any religion with someone. It is impossible to verify the truth of what is claimed in scripture. Nevertheless, the most common thing I hear is the reciting of some scripture to strengthen their case. They use the very thing that I am questioning the validity of as a building block for their argument.

You can argue that me questioning things because they don't add up to me is gaslighting. I don't see how that is manipulative. Maybe it raises uncomfortable questions in their own mind and they fall back on what they've always been taught. I remember my education in religion. The scripture was ultimate truth, undeniable and forever. Some here have expressed those very sentiments, while others have a more metaphoric take on it all. I do not know your background nor do I presume to know your train of thought.

I recall a debate between Ken Hamm and Bill Nye (the science guy) about creationism. It is a very interesting debate. One thing stood out to me the most. I'm paraphrasing,but the question was along the lines of what would change your mind. Ken Hamm remained steadfast and said something along the lines of 'nothing', that the Bible was ultimate truth and was literal. On the other side, Bill Nye simply stated, 'evidence'. I know not all people are as black and white, but I think Nye nailed what my major issue with religion is. It can be unwavering despite the knowledge of the world showing otherwise or casting huge doubts over the claims. I like to think that with evidence other than unverifiable scripture, anecdotes, etc... I would be able to change my mind.

There have been some to come up with some arguments that really made me ponder. For example, someone once said to me regarding evolution, why could that not be the way god created things. Perhaps he created life to be adaptable and change with the environment. The point of his argument is that humanity's understanding of the universe has just begun to scratch the surface of understanding creation. This was one of the most convincing arguments for religion I have heard and something I cannot dismiss without consideration.

Furthermore, much like some on this thread have commented, a literal interpretation isn't necessarily what is intended. Parables and the like make for good life lessons to apply towards circumstances you may face throughout life.

These comments made me think a lot on it. Ultimately I asked, why is religion even necessary for those things? If we are just scratching the surface of understanding the universe, why assume it is from intelligent design without knowing really anything? His answer was that is where faith enters the equation.

I can appreciate philosophy and do enjoy metaphors, poetry etc... I think that is half the reason I still find myself drawn to these discussions. As to these details, I again ask why is religion even necessary. These teaching stories have been around a long time before Christianity. Greek mythology is chocked full of examples. More modern would be Aesop's Fables. So I can appreciate the religious literature as an art form. This doesn't even mention great physical works of art inspired by religion. From Petra to the Sistine Chapel, religion has inspired many great things and I do not dismiss that fact.

I also see great works of art and literature that either has nothing to do with religion or is a completely different religion to Christianity, which is what I am familiar with as I suspect most on this forum are.

So I asked myself, what does this mean in terms of religious beliefs. I thought on it for a very long time and it piqued my interest in the subject of space and the understanding of the universe. Ultimately, the more I learned, the more I moved even further away from religion. While the points he brought up with me were reasonable and could potentially fit with our understanding of the universe, it assumed a lot of things. Why no mentions of evolution or something similar to it, but maybe called something different back then? Are the references buried in metaphor? Maybe, but that is subjective and you could perform mental gymnastics to make that kind of allusion fit a great number of scenarios. It requires a lot of personal interpretation.

If that was what it was all about, I would have no issue with religion and could possibly embrace it if for nothing more than the value it contributes to culture. But it doesn't stop there. From wars to making it so I cant buy wine to cook with before 10am on Sunday when 7am opening on Sunday is the best time to shop it meddles in our affairs and causes much suffering either directly or indirectly. Religious texts, despite their valuable life lessons, are also chocked full of murder, torture, enslavement, double dealings, betrayal and redemption with a heaping side of apocalypse and more death and suffering for dessert. I find it odd, how on one hand you have beautiful stories of people doing the right thing or trying to please God. On the other hand, god constantly needed blood to satiate his need for people to worship him. Whether he was outright killing people or tricking people into killing their own son to please him only to stop him at the last second to prove a point, it seems very sadistic and very effective. It appeals to your base instincts of survival. If one truly believes that they will be condemned to eternal suffering if they don't do god's will or that they will be eternally rewarded if they do, it can, has, and does lead to horrors inflicted upon people.

I speak mostly on Christianity because that is what I am familiar with. I've come to the same conclusions about other religions as well, although I admit I do not know nearly as much about them as I do Christianity. One positive for me that has come about my religious upbringing is my desire to make informed decisions on just about anything in my life. It has helped me derive conclusions based on actual fact, personal knowledge/experience, and intuition. Intuition, of course, being the most fallible, but a skill that gets honed when being open to facts while not ignoring experience.

Your results may vary I suppose. There are so many factors that shape one's mindset and beliefs. My experience with religion has been mostly negative. Maybe I was unlucky and had some really crappy ambassadors for god. It has had an undeniable influence on why I think the way I do. It's easy to imagine the exact opposite of my experience.

Here's something to ponder...all of your life and the experiences along the way for us have led to this moment where we are reading each others thoughts. How many things had to come together perfectly for this to happen. Is it just coincidence? Is it fate? Is it all part of a bigger plan? Is casting boolits our common ground? Is this way of thinking ultimately self destructive? Am I a lunatic and should just stick to posting nonsense in the 'how far this goes' thread? These questions and more will never be understood by us mere mortals.

[HWooldridge]

It's interesting that you mention the more you understand about the universe, the more you move away from religion. I'm the exact opposite - the more I understand the whole of creation, the more I believe in a Supreme Creator. It all works too perfectly for there not to be a conscious Mind creating structure and order from what could just as easily be chaos. I've believed this since I was a very small child and observed the natural world around me - even more now that I can watch television and see the wonders of the Earth in other places.

Perhaps it's simply our use of the word "religion" which is confusing, since it is a human concept. The abuse and negativity some folks have experienced isn't necessarily what was originally intended - but we are humans and basically screw up everything we touch. We will never pull ourselves out of the mud, which is the whole reason Christ came to Earth in human form and died for our sins.

[phantom22]

It's interesting that you mention the more you understand about the universe, the more you move away from religion. I'm the exact opposite - the more I understand the whole of creation, the more I believe in a Supreme Creator. It all works too perfectly for there not to be a conscious Mind creating structure and order from what could just as easily be chaos. I've believed this since I was a very small child and observed the natural world around me - even more now that I can watch television and see the wonders of the Earth in other places.

Perhaps it's simply our use of the word "religion" which is confusing, since it is a human concept. The abuse and negativity some folks have experienced isn't necessarily what was originally intended - but we are humans and basically screw up everything we touch. We will never pull ourselves out of the mud, which is the whole reason Christ came to Earth in human form and died for our sins.

I usually tend to say religion in general because most of the time I'm talking to people that follow Christianity. In my experience, people automatically assume I am speaking only of Christianity. I understand why since it is predominant and it's an easy assumption to make. I am not savvy as to the ins and outs of most other religions as I am Christianity, but I'm fairly certain, without devoting my life to the study of theology, that I would come to similar conclusions.

Anyway, I suppose it's all a matter of your perspective. To you the universe screams out intelligent design. To me the exact opposite. Your example of things working out perfectly is something I'm interested in.

My take on it is that the universe is vastly imperfect. Of all of the known universe at this time, we are the only life that is observable. That means that almost all of the universe is not perfect, at least for life as we know it. To me, if you understand and subscribe to the 'Big Bang' theory, it seems to follow probability. Of all the universe it seems reasonable that one chunk of rock would have to be in the absolute right position near a star with the right elements remaining in it to support life. There have been recent discoveries concerning the possibility of remains of bacteria or some single cell organisms on Mars or the Moon or both. I can't recall off the top of my head. I don't know if this was ever confirmed or not, but we are in the infancy of exploring our universe. I know that is extremely vague and there are lots of documentaries out there that explain it much better than I do.

I have heard the arguments that science can't tell you how life began or what there was before all of this happened. This is somewhat true and nobody knows for sure where or when it all started. I've always felt that the idea that there must be a creator because we can't specifically answer these questions as a logical fallacy. I can turn it around and say who created god? What was before him? If he always was, why couldn't the universe have always been? What was going on in the billions of years before humans were able to start recording history because by all accounts, we have not been here all that long....in the timeline of infinity.

Since we are in the infancy of our understanding, it doesn't make sense to me to attribute the unknown to a supernatural being with no evidence for it.

What really angers me is the state of scientific research today. I think they have completely tarnished if not irreparably damaged their credibility due to the forbidden subject and the trUsT tHe ScieNce morons. The scientific process seems to have been abandoned for political gain and the grabbing of power over people. I feel they are trying to turn science into a religion and using as a tool (to great effect) to accomplish these things. Look at your ice age/global warming/climate change nonsense. It has effected all of us and most importantly cost us a lot of money. Then you have different groups of academics saying opposite things. Most egregiously, in the medical field (another area I am highly experienced in) it suddenly turned into "this is the consensus". The exact opposite of how it is supposed to be. Science either is or isn't. It has to be observable and repeatable. Medicine has been evidence based for a very long time. Changes took a long time with extensive research and documented trials. Suddenly it was, 'we think this is the way' and they lost their minds and well....the results, in my learned opinion, was that the greatest crime against humanity was and still is being perpetrated. The ultimate cost in lives and suffering will never be able to be determined.

My distrust of religion has led me to be extra critical of science. I feel what has happened over the last 4 or so years is far worse than anything ever committed or influenced by religion. To me, that is saying a lot. I abandoned my medical career of 13 years + schooling over this. I refused to be a part of it and am ashamed that I did not abandon it sooner. Many of my colleagues felt the same as me. However, they sold out and caved in after having their jobs threatened. Fast forward and every day we are seeing more and more that the concerns over the blatant protocol deviations are being proved valid. Profiteering at the cost of destroying lives. And I'm not just talking about Covid stuff. The changes made effected all aspects of medical care. I digress, I don't want to break the rules of this site as I feel I have already likely pushed the envelope. I will freely discuss any of those things with people if they are interest through PM's or if the moderators give permission which I doubt is likely.

At this point, I don't know who you can trust anymore. My advice, and what I am working towards in my life, is to become as self sufficient as possible. Know that life as you know it can be changed with the stroke of a pen by our corrupt government. What is easily obtainable today will be impossible to obtain tomorrow. It has happened and will happen again. So I am trying to get back to basics. Be familiar and able to repair your own equipment. Be familiar with your firearms and how to make ammunition (I think most here have that one covered), practice growing your own food, etc... Just basic survival skills that will also benefit your everyday life even if not needed in an emergency.

If part of that plan involves religion, that's fine. Depending on your situation it could prove invaluable, especially if you have like minded peers that you can band together with and help one another.

I'm off on a bit of a tangent, I know, but the main takeaway is to apply critical thinking to everything. Even if that critical thinking leads to uncomfortable conclusions. Question everything, but also try and understand it. Routinely try and think of something from a different viewpoint. Even if is seems non-sensical or obviously wrong. It may turn out to be that way, but you may also discover flaws in your conclusions that you can attempt to understand better or fix. The truth does not fear the light. If you are asking questions and getting the run around, being made to feel like you shouldn't be poking your nose into things, and the worst of all, being coerced or threatened into compliance, then it should immediately raise concerns in your mind.

You mention that the negativity I experienced from religion may not have been the way it was intended to be, but here we are. Scientific research has become the same, if not worse. Vengeance is mine says the Lord, but I would certainly prefer that humanity take a more proactive approach to dealing with these monsters from shady individuals in the scientific community down to the horrors in the tunnels under our cities.

[HWooldridge]

Actually, I am an engineer who deals in critical thinking and root cause analysis on a daily basis - but I still come back to the belief that a Creator is behind it all. Your take that the universe is imperfect is a human opinion based on your life experiences developed over a relatively short time - consider if you will, that all humans could be wiped off the face of the earth and everything would still work. We are simply here for the blink of an eye but the cycles of the universe remain in their natural rhythms. Obviously, all domesticated animals would evolve into the best natural version based on their species, and some wild flora and fauna would perish but that has always been the case.

Most religions, including Christianity, began life as simple and direct philosophies of how to live among our peers and worship, but those danged old "people" got involved and made a mess, which is where we are now. We really don't need Satan rummaging around and causing havoc because we are quite skilled at causing chaos on our own.

With respect to God and the Big Bang, perhaps this is the 100th iteration of many Big Bangs and we are only a fraction of the way into many more. However, I think what may scare a lot of people is that we really are alone in this galaxy and Biblical teaching is functionally correct in stating the Lord is above all things. We tend to create everything in our image because that's our only point of reference, which is why most of your alien depictions are bipedal and more or less shaped like humans. We cannot conceive another race or Power that has no form or shape, or are amoeba sized but completely sentient, i.e., the pot cannot imagine the potter...

I agree with most of your comments and am sorry you had some bad career experiences - perhaps you will be able to get past that resentment someday.

[Good Cheer]

Oh my. Christianity is reality. Don't make the mistake of making a religion out of it.

[phantom22]

Actually, I am an engineer who deals in critical thinking and root cause analysis on a daily basis - but I still come back to the belief that a Creator is behind it all. Your take that the universe is imperfect is a human opinion based on your life experiences developed over a relatively short time - consider if you will, that all humans could be wiped off the face of the earth and everything would still work. We are simply here for the blink of an eye but the cycles of the universe remain in their natural rhythms. Obviously, all domesticated animals would evolve into the best natural version based on their species, and some wild flora and fauna would perish but that has always been the case.

Most religions, including Christianity, began life as simple and direct philosophies of how to live among our peers and worship, but those danged old "people" got involved and made a mess, which is where we are now. We really don't need Satan rummaging around and causing havoc because we are quite skilled at causing chaos on our own.

With respect to God and the Big Bang, perhaps this is the 100th iteration of many Big Bangs and we are only a fraction of the way into many more. However, I think what may scare a lot of people is that we really are alone in this galaxy and Biblical teaching is functionally correct in stating the Lord is above all things. We tend to create everything in our image because that's our only point of reference, which is why most of your alien depictions are bipedal and more or less shaped like humans. We cannot conceive another race or Power that has no form or shape, or are amoeba sized but completely sentient, i.e., the pot cannot imagine the potter...

I agree with most of your comments and am sorry you had some bad career experiences - perhaps you will be able to get past that resentment someday.

As long as we are down the rabbit hole, let's take your example of humans being wiped out. It's really not hard to imagine since we've only been around for a really short time and the universe is a bit older. It could be possible that humans could re-evolve in some shape or form. If the entire historical record is wiped out as well along with the people, would the new human race eventually reach the same conclusions on religion? Or would it simply not exist or exist in some other form? What if there are sentient beings out there somewhere. Are their societies having the same dilemmas?

As far as my career, the resentment will remain until there is a day of the rope. I cannot unsee the things I've seen nor will I ever forgive the perpetrators.