The thread where I will attempt to answer questions you have regarding Christianity

[Saturn V]

Do you know that animals are homosexal too? Do they suffer "illness" or they just didnt read testament carefully? Or God's manufacturing skills are flawed? Or God really doesnt think its flaw at all?

^ Someone answer that question and quit "ignoring" it.

[DoTheFandango]

Judging by your outlook on gays, you have been raped multiple times by your father in your ass.

Also, gay couples can also be female/female, asshole.

[geekbot]

Do you know that animals are homosexal too? Do they suffer "illness" or they just didnt read testament carefully? Or God's manufacturing skills are flawed? Or God really doesnt think its flaw at all?

Animals kill each other too. I wouldn't call it a "flaw", just animals acting like animals. Some animals might be nicer than others but I recommend not using animals as role models. That's not from the Bible or anything, just my opinion.

[DoTheFandango]

Animals rarely kill those of the same species unless threatened. They aren't like humans who may kill without any reason.

I still think that this religion thing is a crock. It's just one big effort to explain things that can't be explained.

[Superted]

Isn't that what science does aswell?

[Theif of Time]

Science attempts to put explanations to things that can't (yet) be explained. Usually when the explanation is put to it though, it can be explained. (Until the explanation is proved incorrect due to new discoveries, and then modified to incorporate those discoveries) Admitedly its not very exact.
They only differ in their approach. Science looks deeper into why something happened, Religion takes the philosophical approach. Theology is no help in Engineering, and Engineering is no help in Theological study.

Two different parts of society that shouldn't clash, but are, thanks to right wing fundys (Mainly)

[DoTheFandango]

Isn't that what science does aswell?

At least science makes sense.

A big all-knowing eyeball in the sky determining wheter or not you will perish to a land of evil or a land of infinite goodness is a little wishy-washy if you really think about it.

But thinking is usually not Religion's strong point anyhow.

[Theif of Time]

At least science makes sense.

Although Quantum mechanics is strange. Has a sort of charm to it.
The flavor may be an aquired taste
+10 nerd points for whoever gets this.

[Bioture]

But thinking is usually not Religion's strong point anyhow.

so wrong.

[Chingy]

I have a question thats been plaguing me ever since I began thinking about Heaven and Hell. I apologize in advance if you have answered this in the previous 5 pages.

If we sin everyday, wouldn't that make getting into Heaven impossible? If not, what is there that we can do? If you think about it, how can a lifetime full of sins be overlooked?It makes no sense .

[Subjugation]

Science attempts to explain the natural, and religion attempts to explain the supernatural.


As far as animals of the same species killing each other, one of the biggest deterrents to animals killing each other is the danger of becoming injured themselves. If a wild animal gets into a bloody scrap, it can't check into the hospital and get patched up. Instead it has to compete for food and pussy while injured, which is a major challenge. It could even mean starving, or ending its genetic lineage. Aside from the more relavent issue of obvious anthropomorphising, assigning a moral compass to certain species of animals would not be accurate, since they don't avoid doing it for ethical reasons. They avoid it because it's in their own best interests.

As far as homo-penguin sex goes, I really haven't heard much about how the scientific community responds to the homosexual interactions we sometimes see within the animal world. I would love to read any studies that are out on the matter. (if there are any)

[Bioture]

I have a question thats been plaguing me ever since I began thinking about Heaven and Hell. I apologize in advance if you have answered this in the previous 5 pages.

If we sin everyday, wouldn't that make getting into Heaven impossible? If not, what is there that we can do? If you think about it, how can a lifetime full of sins be overlooked?It makes no sense .

Not overlooked, paid for in full. It's impossible to try to get to heaven on our own merits or efforts, which is why God sent his son.

For everything you've ever wanted to know, please read the 4 spiritual laws:
http://www.greatcom.org/laws/

as you can see in law #2, it is impossible for us to reach god based on our own good works, because He is infinitely good. I mean, even mother teresa would fall short, in a sense. But the answer to this is Jesus Christ, the only way to God.

[Saturn V]

Although Quantum mechanics is strange. Has a sort of charm to it.
The flavor may be an aquired taste

It relates to my avatar (edit: and one of my domain names, actually).

+10 nerd points for whoever gets this.

And I wasn't aware that LemonChiffon (or yellow) was an accepted quantum state? :grin:

[Bioture]

I know this thread is dead, but at retreat this weekend I went to this seminar that summed up all the very common (and difficult) questions about christianity. It was given by the Pastor's wife, and I will summarize the answers here. Please feel free to bring up any additional questions/controversies that come from these answers.

---

The three main barriers to any sort of religion, spirituality, including christianity are:

Emotional Barrier - Negative feelings based on bad experiences, or bad examples set by other christians,
Intellectual Barrier - Which is a tendency to disregard Christ based on bad info or misconceptions, and the
Volitional Barrier - The barrier of a natural predisposition to resist examining spiritual issues, or to reject Christ/spirituality based on independence, pride or stubborness.

Common questions of the Intellectual Barrier:

1) Q: How can a loving and powerful God allow evil and suffering to exist? Or how can a perfect God create an imperfect world?
A: It's not logically possible to have free will and no possibility of moral evil. We have free will because real love is only possible if there is a choice to love, or not. We're not puppets. So there is a a choice of not choosing God, where evil and suffering will ensue. Pain suffering also have redemptive value, as it brings us closer to God when we are in pain or suffering.

Additionally, this question is sometimes asked because the person asking the question experienced some sort of pain and suffering, that is inexplicable.

2) Q: How do you know that Jesus existed / or how do you know that Jesus is real?

A: Eye witnesses gave firsthand information. But besides the bible characters, writers and philosophers of the 1st century (I.E. Josephus) Also wrote about Jesus. Roman historians (I.E. Cornelius Tacitus, Seutonius, Pliny) Also refers to Jesus and the existence of Christianity in Rome.

3) Q: How do you know that Jesus was God? I need "irrefutable" proof!

A: There is no "irrefutable" proof, but we can look at the claim itself:
Jesus claimed to be God. IF he was telling the truth, then he is the Lord, and Son of Man.

IF it was false, then there could be two outcomes: He knew it was false, which would make him a liar. And he didn't know it was false, which would make him a lunatic.

But beyond the Bible, the unrecovered remains, the shroud, and the inability of the Roman empire to produce his body to crush the basis of christianity, we don't really have anything. And as C.S. Lewis puts it, "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall to his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." (From Mere Christianity, page 52)

4) Q: How do you know that the bible is true? How is it historically accurate?
A: For any ancient document, there are three tests that scholars use: The Bibilographical Test, the Internal Evidence test, and the External evidence test. Since we don't have actual documents, we rely on scribes of the time (who were very meticulous). Papyrus doesn't last that long.

a) bibliographical test: based on the reliability on the number of manuscripts, and the time interval between the original and the extant copy. The earliest copy of the New Testament was found to be from 130 A.D. It was written between 50-85 A.D. In less than 100 years, there has been over 24000 copies of the new testament manuscripts found. The works of Aristotle and Plato? Over a time span of 1200 - 1400 years, and between 5-7 copies.

b) The Internal Evidence Test: What does the document claim? The blible claims to be a record of the words and deeds of God, as words of God even though it was written by man. They were considered "God-breathed" II Tim 3:16. The internal evidence test also looks at the document for discrepencies. This is where believers and non believers argue the most. And its certainly open to examination, as New Testament writers wrote as eyewitnesses - which were meant for examinations. II Peter 1:16. This test also covers people and places that exist in history. For some less obvious examples:

Augustus (roman emperor from 27bc - 14ad) In luke 2:1
Claudius (emperor, from 41-54 ad) in acts 11:27
and the list goes on...

The bible has internal consistency in all the books. Over 1500 years, 40 generations, 40 authors and a lot of variants, the single unfolding story is God's redemption of man.

c) External evidence test: do the historical materials confirm/deny the internal testimony of the document? Do they support the bible or deny it? Supporters include Josephus, Irenaeus, etc. The bible is confirmed by archeological evidence. I.E. Joshua 6:20, The walls fell down flat when they were made to fall outwards, when Jerico was excavated. Other evidence include the cesus of Syria (luke 2:1-3) and the inscriptions from the time of Tiberius (ad 14-37) that luke has written in 3:1.