Religion

[menoname]

I just found out Jefferson wrote his own Bible. Wow. What religion was he?

 

[Truth Warrior]

I just found out Jefferson wrote his own Bible. Wow. What religion was he?

Rosicrucion, I believe that I read somewhere.

 

[amy31416]

I just found out Jefferson wrote his own Bible. Wow. What religion was he?

He was a Deist.

 

[menoname]

He was a Deist.

Just going over it now. lol, he cuts out alot of stuff.

 

[acptulsa]

I just found out Jefferson wrote his own Bible. Wow. What religion was he?

Worked for the Mormons. Of course, Jefferson was much more literate than Joseph Smith. Better writer, too.

 

[icon124]

That's an interesting question, and it's one that usually comes up from people who are skeptical of God's existence. Let me start answering your question by asking you a question. Can you draw a four-sided triangle? If you're intelligent, you'll say no. Why? Because a triangle, by nature, doesn't have four sides; otherwise, it would no longer be a triangle.

In similar reasoning, God did not come from anywhere or anyone. Why? Because God, by His own nature and character, is eternal and immutable. He's always existed, and He doesn't change in His Being. In an earlier post on this forum thread, I stated that God is "the precondition of intelligibility." In one way, this means that God, as the uncreated Creator, is the first Cause in time, space, and matter, and His existence is necessary (as an absolute standard and source of all knowledge, reasoning, wisdom, and truth) in order to make sense of anything in our universe. Without God, we could not even comprehend the notions of origins in any realm of experience and knowledge, since we as finite beings were not present at the beginning of all things in the universe.

God Himself does not require a causal explanation, and in some instances, it would seem silly to even ask if He had a cause. It would be like asking if a triangle has four sides.

I understand everything your saying...but sometimes you just don't sit down and wonder? I mean come on...I'm not knocking anything you say...but it's just me...I don't understand how he could be there for ever and ever and ever...and he is...just because...

 

[yongrel]

I just found out Jefferson wrote his own Bible. Wow. What religion was he?

He didn't write his own, per se. He went through and removed all of the items he deemed to be innaccurate. At least that's what I've always read. Don't take my word for it.

 

[menoname]

He didn't write his own, per se. He went through and removed all of the items he deemed to be innaccurate. At least that's what I've always read. Don't take my word for it.

I guess he just took the parts he agreed with and ommitted the rest. Imagine what he could of cut and paste with a computer.

 

[Corydoras]

It cracks me up when people refer to god as- he- like god has a sweaty ballsack between its legs .god has a gender ?

That is, in fact, a correct implication of the belief that Jesus Christ was both fully human and fully divine.

 

[rational thinker]

I just found out Jefferson wrote his own Bible. Wow. What religion was he?

He didn't write his own Bible, but rather ommitted the supernatural occurrences, which are, naturally, inaccurate. He was a Deist, by the way.

 

[rational thinker]

That's an interesting question, and it's one that usually comes up from people who are skeptical of God's existence. Let me start answering your question by asking you a question. Can you draw a four-sided triangle? If you're intelligent, you'll say no. Why? Because a triangle, by nature, doesn't have four sides; otherwise, it would no longer be a triangle.

In similar reasoning, God did not come from anywhere or anyone. Why? Because God, by His own nature and character, is eternal and immutable. He's always existed, and He doesn't change in His Being. In an earlier post on this forum thread, I stated that God is "the precondition of intelligibility." In one way, this means that God, as the uncreated Creator, is the first Cause in time, space, and matter, and His existence is necessary (as an absolute standard and source of all knowledge, reasoning, wisdom, and truth) in order to make sense of anything in our universe. Without God, we could not even comprehend the notions of origins in any realm of experience and knowledge, since we as finite beings were not present at the beginning of all things in the universe.

God Himself does not require a causal explanation, and in some instances, it would seem silly to even ask if He had a cause. It would be like asking if a triangle has four sides.

A.) You're assuming there is a god without providing any evidence as to why there need be one.
B.) You're definition of god is just your definition. You're making the assumption that a god must be eternal. You have provided no evidence as to why this is the case.
C.) God does require a causal explanation. If you are working on the basis of "where did the universe come from?" well then where did this god come from? If you are saying he is eternal, you are assuming that attribute. Now you must answer why his existence is necessary and why does he need to be eternal?

 

[icon124]

I don't know how or why, but for some reason I don't question the existence of God anymore. Somehow, I had my question answered. It felt like I was in an alternate reality or something, but in all honesty I got questions answered that I've been stuck on for a while now. This topic is really beyond anything on this forum (could discuss if others want to know). Anyway, to summarize, my main reason for not really believing a God could exist is because there is so much evil in the world. I often wondered why if there was an all-knowing and and all-powerful God why would this God let so much evil be in the world? Like I said somehow this answer came to me...and other answers as well...but this is the most important for this topic.

Without all of the evil in the world a God just wouldn't make sense. It came to me just like that. It's like saying without a left there wouldn't be a right. Does that make sense to you guys?

 

[amy31416]

Without all of the evil in the world a God just wouldn't make sense. It came to me just like that. It's like saying without a left there wouldn't be a right. Does that make sense to you guys?

Makes a heck of a lot more sense than all of the convoluted arguments of Descartes, Kant, Leibniz et al.

I like to think of it this way: for every proton, there's an electron. For all matter, there is anti-matter (we just don't know where it is yet.)

 

[amy31416]

A little question and answer about logic and consistency.

Here's something that I found very interesting:

http://www.philosophyquotes.net/cgi...m=0&hits=0&bullets=0&bulletcount=0&hitcount=0


Here's my analysis, I have a little work to do!:

You have been awarded the TPM medal of distinction! This is our second highest award for outstanding service on the intellectual battleground.

The fact that you progressed through this activity being hit only once and biting very few bullets suggests that your beliefs about God are well thought out and almost entirely internally consistent.

The direct hit you suffered occurred because one set of your answers implied a logical contradiction. The bitten bullets occurred because you responded in ways that required that you held views that most people would have found strange, incredible or unpalatable. At the bottom of this page, we have reproduced the analyses of your direct hit and bitten bullets.

Because you only suffered one direct hit and bit very few bullets, you qualify for our second highest award. A good achievement!

 

[icon124]

Makes a heck of a lot more sense than all of the convoluted arguments of Descartes, Kant, Leibniz et al.

I like to think of it this way: for every proton, there's an electron. For all matter, there is anti-matter (we just don't know where it is yet.)

yeah...like I said I felt like someone was connecting with me and giving me these answers. Don't know...really hard to explain...but for some reason my questions (that I've been stuck on for a while) were all answered during this period. Wierd but true haha

 

[amy31416]

yeah...like I said I felt like someone was connecting with me and giving me these answers. Don't know...really hard to explain...but for some reason my questions (that I've been stuck on for a while) were all answered during this period. Wierd but true haha

Honestly, I think that's the way it works with faith. We don't understand it, but somehow it resonates with us as truth. I haven't had that moment and remain agnostic, but I don't doubt that it happens for some people. It's, I guess, a revelation and as valid as any scientific revelation, just without all the annoying math and proving business. (No, not being sarcastic.)

What's important to me is how someone interprets that revelation into how they live their lives and treat other people.

 

[Theocrat]

My Points Reiterated

A.) You're assuming there is a god without providing any evidence as to why there need be one.

I gave a transcendental proof of God's existence in which I stated that God is the precondition of intelligibility. In other words, without God's existence, it's impossible to prove anything in any absolute or objective way.

B.) You're definition of god is just your definition. You're making the assumption that a god must be eternal. You have provided no evidence as to why this is the case.

My evidence for God's eternal nature comes from the Bible (not my own personal opinion), His own divine and specific revelation about Himself. For instance, Psalm 90:2 in the Bible says, "Before the mountains were brought forth or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God." There are many other evidences I could give, but this passage should suffice.

C.) God does require a causal explanation. If you are working on the basis of "where did the universe come from?" well then where did this god come from? If you are saying he is eternal, you are assuming that attribute. Now you must answer why his existence is necessary and why does he need to be eternal?

The assumption of your question is that God's existence requires that He also had an origin. Asking if the universe had a beginning and whether God had a beginning are two different questions because they involve two distinct entities. As I've mentioned before, God is eternal by His own nature and character, whereas the universe is not.

Let's assume that God did have a beginning. Then one might eventually ask where did that thing or being which "created" God come from. Then that would lead inevitably to the next question of where the thing or being which "created" God come from. On and on this would go unto infinity. So, rationally, it would seem to me that there has to be a point where you stop at a first and ultimate Cause, Who by nature is uncaused. That is one reason why I said God does not require a causal explanation.

The problem I believe the average naturalist has is exactly on this point of origins in their view of the universe. What was the first thing, event, or person that initiated the beginning of all things both living and non-living in the universe? Naturalists have struggled with that question for a long time, concluding one of three things:

1. The universe came from nothing, which is simply absurd.
2. The questions of origins are non-important (and even stupid to ask), which they are definitely not.
3. No one can know for sure the origin of the universe, which is a self-refuting statement.

All faith systems in the world, including "Atheism," struggle with this issue of origins, except for Christianity. The reason this is, among many, is that the Christian religion is the only one which can make sense of how an infinite and immutable Being like God can create time and finite creatures without Himself being subject to time and the finite world.

 

[sophocles07]

I gave a transcendental proof of God's existence in which I stated that God is the precondition of intelligibility. In other words, without God's existence, it's impossible to prove anything in any absolute or objective way.

This doesn't mean anything.

 

[Kotin]

i believe in Christian Spirituality and the teachings of Jesus Christ, i deplore most christian collectivism so i dont go to a church anymore. but i believe whole-heartedly in Jesus as my Saviour and Lord and my role model.

 

[Theocrat]

You've Proven My Point

This doesn't mean anything.

Assuming the presuppositions of your own belief system, you have just proven my point by this statement, sophocles07. Thanks.