Is FAITH a good answer?

Discussion in 'Religion' started by Ted Grant II, Oct 9, 2017.

  1. Ted Grant II Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    188
    OK, so I'm guessing that most of you guys are not believers, so I think we aught to be brave and settle some questions that people have been asking for thousands of years.

    Does everything have a cause?
    Is there a meaning to life, the universe and everything?
    Is the world less than ten thousand years old?
    Does God love me?
    Does Hell exist
    Does Heaven exit?
    Does God exist?
    Is there life after death?
    Do we have a soul?
    Is the Bible the Word of God?
    Are we born in sin?
    Does morality come from God?
    Have there been any miracles?
    Was Jesus the Son of God?
    Did Jesus rise from the dead?
    Was Jesus born of a virgin?
    Is Jesus sitting on the right hand of God?
    Is there a real presence of Christ in the Eucharist?
    Is it possible to walk on water, unaided, without a plastic support just under the water?
    Does God reveal himself to certain chosen people?
    Are there Devils, Demons, Angels, Spirits, Ghosts?
    Is it possible to fly to Heaven on a winged horse?
    Is the moon made of green cheese?

    The answer to ALL these questions is NO!

    Now most believers will, at this point, demand proof.
    This is my answer, which they will accept unconditionally...

    "If we had proof, there wouldn't be any need for faith".
     
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  3. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    The real purpose of religion is to provide a guide to aid people in how to lead their lives, not to answer philosophical questions.
     
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  5. Ted Grant II Registered Senior Member

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    188
    I can pick up poisonous snakes if I have enough faith.
    I will get 72 virgins if I kill the infidels.
    I can eat the body and drink the blood of a guy that died 2000 years ago.

    All these things help me to lead my life?
     
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  7. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    18,935
    With respect, I think you are being deliberately obtuse and specious.

    I could as easily say "This Driver's Ed Manual contains instructions about how to oil and lube my car. And this is supposed to be a book about safe driving??"
     
  8. timojin Valued Senior Member

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    3,252
    You have answered all , you know all . so what are you preaching ?
     
  9. Dinosaur Rational Skeptic Valued Senior Member

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    Faith has been defined as belief in the absence of evidence.

    If this is your definition, having faith is nonsense.

    Are there other definitions which make it sensible?
     
  10. Jeeves Valued Senior Member

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    5,089
    In fact, nobody's been asking those questions, except people who question a particular religion.
    Religions aren't meant to answer questions at all. They grow out of cultures and world-views over time, to reinforce the the solidarity of a tribe through folklore and ritual. They are used by the elites of societies as a platform for the system of laws they wish to impose, or that have evolved to reinforce the social structure.
    Faith has no business with questions; it's a quite different function of a quite different human need.
     
  11. Dywyddyr Penguinaciously duckalicious. Valued Senior Member

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    19,252
    It's not only a good answer it's the only correct one [1].
    As for your other questions I suggest that the actual answer is "No, so far as we can tell from the evidence" rather than the unequivocal "No" that you gave.
    With the exception of this one: "Is it possible to walk on water, unaided, without a plastic support just under the water?" where the answer is - unequivocally - "Yes". Unless I've been misinformed and toughened glass and/ or various other materials don't really exist.

    1 Providing the question was "Who did Eliza Dushku play in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer?".
     
  12. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    12,451
    Oh dear. Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.

    Many people go to church on Sunday where, among other things, they may enact a commemoration of the Last Supper ("Do this in memory of me" - remember?), and they find doing so indeed helps them live their lives, in a variety of ways. You may consider their observances ridiculous and their beliefs misplaced, but that does not negate the function of religion for them, in their lives.
     
  13. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    54,036
    Yup. Most folks hereabouts just call it ice.
     
  14. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    And that life had better adhere to the rules the religion sets down.
     
  15. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    Most people fail to adhere completely to the rules of the religions they profess to follow. But as I'm sure you appreciate, there is a lot more to religions than a set of rules.
     
  16. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    Yeah, one or more imaginary friends.
     
  17. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    12,451
    ....and a shared culture, encompassing examples, teachings, rituals, art, music, literature, traditions, friendships and so forth.
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2017
  18. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    3,864
    And all that doesn't need religion. The imaginary friend, however...
     
  19. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    I am not arguing that it does. I am observing that religion provides adherents with a guide to living their lives, in a number of different ways.
     
  20. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    And I'm saying that they can get the same things without religion touting its own propaganda.
     
  21. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    You've lost me. Were we discussing propaganda?
     
  22. Sarkus Hippomonstrosesquippedalo phobe Valued Senior Member

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    To answer the thread title, if the question is "what was the 100th most popular name for girls born in the us in 2016?" then I'd say it is a very good answer indeed.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  23. Dinosaur Rational Skeptic Valued Senior Member

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    The Master of Sinanju walked on water. When asked how he did it, he replied
     

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