@U-know-who

I would like to counter that if that's ok?

As far as the whole blaming things on God goes, I don't do that and my religion teaches not to do that. God sent us down here to Earth to test and try us to see if we are worthy to live in his presence again. Those who do not have the oppourtunity to accept the gospel in this life will have an opportunity in the next life. I don't blame things on God at alll. When I'm going through something hard I pray for it to get better, and if it doesn't I just have to accept God's will because I know that in the end He knows what's best for me. 

As far as war and hate goes, people all have thier agency. They can chose what to do, and God can never take that away from them. If this life was supposed to be all great and happy and everything running smoothly, why did God send us down here? It's all part of a plan.

 I'm sorry if that offended anyone, I totally didn't mean it to. 

This is just a reminder to be respectful. I know ya'll are just stating your beliefs and that is what I made this thread for, but please respect one another! 🙂

I'm really really enjoying reading your beliefs and thoughts on the subject! Thank ya'll for joining in and teaching me about what you believe. 

@U-know-who

Hey, I'm gonna add to what Killim and Somone said. I hope it doesn't seem like people are ganging up on you or anything, we just want to explain some things that we believe.

First off, God gave us free will. He doesn't want us to be robots, programmed to be a certain wa and by him. He placed us here on earth because he wanted us to love him. Love is a choice, not a code written into our database. If he made everyone love him automatically, it wouldn't be love. So he gave us free will. He told Adam and Eve not to eat fruit from a certain tree in the garden of Eden. But Satan tempted them, and they ate it. That's why sin entered the world. That's why there is so much hurt and pain. It isn't God's fault, it's ours. And God isn't leaving it this way. He's going to fix it. Jesus wasn't a crazy person, and it hurts my heart that you call him that. He was the son of God, and like Admin and Killim said, Christianity wasn't something he created. It was born because of him. I know it's all very complicated and hard to believe. 

Adding to what you said about animals having souls–You know, no one really knows for sure if animals have souls, but we know that God created the animals and he values them. He put the responsibility of taking care of them on humans. Animals are definitely intelligent creatures. They definitely feel emotions. However, human souls are different in that God created them in his own image, as said in Genesis. We don't know if animals have souls and go to heaven or not. The Bible doesn't say for sure. There's a lot of debate on the subject. But personally, I have a feeling they do. 

This isn't meant in any way to be offensive or hurtful to anyone. 

Ok. Here we go. Hopefully no one gets mad at me. Whew lets do this.

-What do you believe?

I believe that God created the world in seven days >six if you don't count the day he rested< around 6,00-7,00 years ago. I also believe that Jesus came to earth to die for everyone's sins that had already happened, were happening, and will ever happen. He was crucified and three days later resurected, before appearing to more than 500 people, including his disciples. He went back to Heaven saying that he would return and that's what the book Revelation is all about-his return and the Tribulation and all of that. I also believe that if you are a Christian before the Rapture, you will not go into the Tribulation. And if you are not a Chritian before you die, then well, hell's waiting. I know this sounds horrible, and it is. Hell is not a place I or God wants anyone to go. 

– Can you prove your ideas, no matter what they are?

I believe I can. I think there are loads of ways to prove that the earth isn't billions of years old and that evolution is fake and doesn't really explain many gaps in its own story.  

-Will we ever find out what happened so long ago?

Could you possibly clarify how long you're talking?  

-What happens when you die?

As previously stated, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as you Savior, then you go to Heaven, but if you don't, well, you go to hell.  

-Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Chicken.  

-Do ideas hatch from eggs?

I need some clarification on this one…  

-Is the scientific universe in God's mind?

I don't really understand the question.  

-How do we know that science is right?

It depends what science you are talking about.  

-How do we know that the Bible is right?

There are plenty of secular books and materials that back up the Bible, many of which the authors are atheists. Well, they were anyway. There is so much historical evidence to back the Bible up that I don't know how you can say that it is not true.  

Please don't start a war or a fight over this subject, guys. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so please don't act like its scandalous for theirs to be different from yours. 

I don't yet know where I stand in this. I do think that science is correct, to an extent. And I don't believe that there is an all-powerful "God" in the sky. I think that when you die, you are judged. Not by a god, but by yourself. The truest part of yourself looks at you and decides what you should be in your next life, and you are "reborn". It could be any time at all, from an early nomad to your own mother.

Alright, I will counter everything you all said. Also, not meaning to offened anyone here. (Thought I had to say it again, just in case.)

First, I think Christainity did start before he died on the cross. He went around telling people about it, maybe he even made the bible. And I think maybe he wasnt crazy, he was just a normal guy who wanted change. Maybe he thought he saw God tell him that he was his father in a dream or hallucination. And the people who followed him also wanted change. Maybe he wasnt the one who started the rumor that God was his father. Maybe it came to be over time, as the Bible was passed down from generations and added to. But being Jewish and Christianity are soooo soooo simular. You both belive in God. You both belive that there is heven and hell after death. The only difference is what Jesus added to chnage things up. Or maybe there really was no Jesus. Maybe people created the concept of him to try and spread their new religion, and he eventually became known as God's son. Or maybe he was a guy who died because he wanted to belive something different, maybe he didnt even belive in a God and instead wanted know religion and just peace. And maybe people thought he was the son of God because he wanted peace, and then Christainity started. No one knows what really happened, it was so so long ago. Sort of like the dinosaurs and anceint civilizations, which takes me to my next topic. 

Second, the dinosaurs and other creatures did exist, even if it was before the so called 'seven days of creation'. We have proof. Old bones in stone deep down in the earth that measures how long ago they lived. Frozen creatures presevered perfectly, or ones found in amber or tar. And the gem stones and coal and fuel, they need millions of years to be set, to be made, and some are even made out of the remains of anceint creatures. And evolution, we also have proof of that. Heck, its even happing today! If you look at the coyotes, who are evolving to live in citys and other places humans have taken over. Again with the fossiles, we have proof. Look it up.

Third, I believe ANIMALS HAVE SOULS. They have more of a soul then us, matter of fact. They care more for eachother and nature and dont come up with elaberate plans to destory eachother, cause their animal species to go extinct, or destory the world around them instead of being grateful. They have mothers and fathers like us, who care deeply about their children, and care for them (most of the time). The have emotions and feelings, they make mistakes and do things they regret, just like us. Tell me, can a thing without a soul feel compasion? Can a thing without a soul love others? Take my dog, she is more loyal then any friend, she loves all of us dearly, she has fears and things that make her imperfect, just like us, and she has friends and crushes like we do. Can a souless creature feal all that? 

And if God did show you and Atheists signs that he existed, I would like to hear what signs he gave you and your family.  

First of all I just want to say, because I've been seeing this a lot… The theory is not that we evolved from monkeys! The theory is that monkeys and humans share a human ancestor!

O.K., next I'm putting out there that I don't mean to offend anyone, and if I get something wrong, please correct me.

What do you believe?: I was raised to be a Catholic and I have very religious grandparents. When I was smaller, I believed in God and Jesus. However, now I do not and am an athiest. So, I guess you could say I believe in science? -Still, I'm a normal person. My belief in this matter does not shape how kind I am, how smart I am, or anything else. No matter what your belief is in this case, it does not shape how kind or smart you are.

Can you prove your ideas? Hmm. Well, scientific theories can not be proven.  Theories will never turn into laws and vise versa. We observe that scientific laws happen under a specific set of circumstances every time, if that counts as proving. As for scientific theories, they can not really be proven. They are based off of multiple observations and repeated experienents, more complicated than laws, but often stemming out from laws. So… not exactly. However, on the internet, you can technically find evidence to 'prove' almost anything. There is definetly evidence for small scale evolution (several  experiments done with several animals, the one I learned about in class was where lizards were put on different islands with different habitats and within four lizard generations they had evolved to look different from lizards placed on other islands). But again, you could argue that something else happened. Maybe the lizards ate a weird banana and grew longer legs or something. My point is, it is extremely hard if not impossible to prove anything.

Will we ever find out what happened so long ago?:No, I don't believe we will. Again, theories can't become laws, and if the theory of Evolution were to be proven, it would become a law. However, if we figure out how to time travel (I mean into the past, I know that we can already hypothetically travel to the future by traveling at intense speeds), then maybe we would be able to travel to the beginning and see what happened.

What happens when we die?: I struggled with this for a really long time, because I didn't like the alternative. But, as of right now, I believe that when we die… we just… die. Oblivion, whatever you want to call it, but since I'm not Catholic (or any other religion with intelligent design), this is what I believe and honestly, it terrifies me.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?: Well, there were eggs before there were chickens… from other animals. Chickens aren't the only creatures that lay eggs. 

Do ideas hatch from eggs? What? Um… figuratively? Either way, I don't believe they do. That's not how I imagine ideas happening, at least.

Is the scientific universe in God's mind?: I don't believe in God.

How do we know that science is right?: How do we know that anything is correct? You could argue that we are in a simulated world, created by the future, other people controlling us. There are discussions about if we really do have any free will, or if we are just shaped by our experiences. With scientific theories, you have to examine the evidence, observations, and repeated trials and decide for yourself if it is compelling enough to believe. I don't like relying on faith, and this was one of the biggest issues for me with my struggle that caused me to become an aethiest. Even though we can't prove that scientific theories are for certain, correct, it is impossible to dismiss them because of the considerable amount of evidence, experiments, hypothesis proven correct, and observations. 

How do we know the Bible is right? : It's the same thing with scientific theories. We don't. Those who choose to believe it. However, even though this is off topic, I want to talk about an all-knowing, all powerful, omnibenevolant (completly good) God. I know that this isn't the God that defines Christian religion, but I know a lot of Christians believe in this God. There is another question, but it's more loaded so I might ask it later. Can God create a rock so heavy that he can't lift? Because if he were all powerful, he would be able to do that. But then he would also be able to lift it if he were all powerful. What are your takes on this?

Oh, and also, there's as much evidence for God being real as there is for the theory of evolution. 

I have my whole post saved and ready, I just need to make sure I back everything up with scripture, however, I saw the, "well, why did God make us, then?" discussion on page 2. Why did God make us? The answer is in scripture: for his own glory. We are His children, whom he treasures and loves, and yes, tests, so that we can grow in faith. 

More later, the computer is dying.  

Alright, first off, we didn't come from monkeys. Monkeys evolved from the same anceistor as humans, like said previously. Yes, we are a form of ape. We share the same characteristics, except we lived in different climates from them, so we evolved differently. Again, look it up.

Killim, to counter all of your so called God sightings, I will begin with the first one. On the train. He could've been dreaming, or hallusinating, because he must've been very tired from travling. Or maybe it was a statue that they were passing. Second, again your dad could've been halusinating or hearing things. This is often cause by lack of sleep (you said you were a month old?). Or maybe he was just telling you that to make you believe in God more. Don't be surprised, people do that all the time, especailly to kids.  John 3:16 could've been anything. A guy telling someone named John to meet him at 3:16 'hey John, 3:16! Don't forget!' Or someone describing a landmark or a person, or setting up a date, really anything. And for the last one, there is such thing as being persuasive. Maybe devout Christans had an impact on him and he had one of those life questioning moments, or someone could've bribed him, or talked him into beliving by themselves, not God speaking through them. And if all the Atheists you know have had God speak to them, why haven't I? Where is my life compelling sign? And please don't say he's talking through you.

GreenMango, I have actually thought about it a lot. Some theories I've had are that maybe we're all connected, in some weird way, and when we die our 'soul' goes into the soil. I called it a soul cause I don't know what else to call it. Conscious? Brain? Life? Another theory is like the circle of life, that whatever eats us we become in the next life, like a worm, then a bird, then a fox, then a wolf, then maybe even a human again before we start back at grass or bacteria or worm or fungus. And a brain unlocks how much we think, yes, but I have a feeling that everything has, well, feelings and can sense those around them and enjoy the world and be gratefull. 

Leeli, if you want me to get sciency, i will. Excuse me while I pull out my science notebook. *finds backpack. Pulls it out. Flips throught it* Alright, says here Carbon dating measures how old a creature is by how much carbon is in it. The less carbon, the older it is. It can only be used in the rocks and fossils that are less then 50,000 years old. 

For everyone else, there are other methods we use to measure the absolute age of rock and earth. The farther down rock is, the older it is. It gets packed together over time. And we know that the rock is millions of years apart because there are things in there like fossils and eroding proof, and flooding, and other things. Things to look up for more proof: Erosion, Deposition, Varve. These are all ways scientists measure the age of the earth. 

Also, evolution doesn't happen in a 'trillionth of a second' Evolution takes time, especailly with such drastic changes. For more proof, the humans around the earth are all different. Some are white skinned, and this white skin was a genetic mutation for people who migrated to caves and darker areas to live. This happened because the skin color was not needed to keep in heat or reflect sunlight, so it faded to almost see-through. The black skinned or darker skinned lived in warmer climates, and their skin helped soak up the harmful rays of sun and reflect (or keep in) heat and harmful light. Some people who live in higher places have evolved bigger lungs and shorter lenghts (as in where I live). And others have adapted to deal with life on the sea, living off of fish and self-filtering salt water. Also, explain the skulls and ruins of civilizations who are distant relitives to humans? 

Maybe you weren't made from dust? (See, to me that doesn't make any sense, like, how could dust suddenly become a person? But I looked into it and saw what you were talking about, and now I want you to do the same.) I wish parents would let kids think for themselves, or have their own fantasies of why we exist. Once kids got older parents could give them the choice of believing in God and going to Church like my parents did.