Explain the Trilobite

Well it's facts that I base my beliefs on, and the Bible has to many to ignore, and Evolution has to many errors to forget. And if a written account of past history is being proven, and we have prophecies that are equally being proven. Then it should work for all who seek the truth. I don't plan on playing Russian Roulette with my soul and embrace a Theory filled with so many unanswered questions, when I have a Bible that reveals the future in detail, and in truth. And I might add, that the species found appear the same as they appeared in the fossil record, so here again, where is the Evolution?

 

I respect your search for the truth, but the Bible has been around for as long as the first men of science, and yet, there's still so much debate between Biblical scholars on various passages and their interpretation - it's a joke.

How can you find the truth, if you don't even know what the truth is



Hotwater

 

By seeking for it without prejudice or pre-judgement. Otherwise, we'd be in a pretty fix if you were right.

 

That is why the Bible tells us to look to no man for the truth, but to the Word of God alone. It is the Holy Spirit that will guide us in our understanding not Biblical scholars. In the 1800s and before men of God believed the simple prophecies of the Bible. And they told their people that before Christ would return to this world we first would see the Jews return to the land of Israel. We would see them retake Jerusalem, and their nation would be surrounded by enemies. During the 1800s Mark Twain who had been to the ruins of Jerusalem stated, poor Jerusalem, nothing but swamp land and a city that will never rise again. How is it that we had two totally different views? Mark Twain did not believe in the Bible, yet the Christians did. And time proved that what was stated in the Bible was 100% correct, and Mark Twains human view point was 100% wrong. Those who seek God's truth will find it, we have God's promise.

 

Better yet, try explaining fossilized lifeforms of Mars?

 

But what is truth?
It seems to me there are many levels of truth. For example, it is true that 2+2=4. Nobody needs a prophet to tell them that, and in fact, the usual procedure is to learn such truths from other human beings.

Trouble with being guided by the holy spirit is that it is all to easy to imagine that one is so guided when in fact one is only using one's own imagination and creative feculties. As an xtian I'm sure you'd agree for instance that the prophet of Islam thought he was guided by god, as have many others over the centuries. That doesn't mean that a sensible person will accept such claims without some evidence that they are true.
In the case of modern xtians, I see no evidence whatsoever that the ideas they hold are true, and nothing they do or say has changed my mind on this. Others have scriptures too which they claim come from god, and yet wholly contradict the bible. Adherents of these scriptures use exactly the same line of argument as xtians - have faith in this particular book, and all will be well.
However - there are seemingly no objective grounds for acceptance of any one ancient scripture over anothether, at least in so far as western scriptures go.
Both the bible and the koran are based on fear, and portray a judgemental god whose sense of morality and compassionm falls far short of many humanists.

The future is an open book - it isn't pre-determined as you suggest. If it were, we'd be little more than robots.

 

If I speak what is of what is or what is not of what is not, then I speak truth. If I speak what is of what is not or what is not of what is, then I do not speak truth. - paraphrase of Aristotle

A statement is true if it corresponds to objective reality. So, if God exists in reality, then the statement "there is a God" is true, whether you agree or not. If, in reality, there is no God, then that same statement is false. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Nah. The hard part is figuring out reality, not whether something is true. And there are no levels of truth. It is either true or it is not (of course, taking into account things like innuendo, hyberbole, metaphor and other grammatical and colloquial means of expression).

I agree.

I don't. I look at the historical, textual, and archaeological evidence. I consider the logical implications and look for logical inconsistencies. Finally, I look for the "human" element. Is there anything in there that is out of touch or not consistent with human experience (in short, do people act like people and not like characters in a play)?

Then you have not studied the books or the cultures from which they originated. I, at least, have an open mind that the Koran may still be correct, even though I do not believe it. Should new evidence come to light, I would not be skeptical, I would be objective (and no, those terms are *not* synonomous). I would evaluate it in light of the other evidence and look for a plausible explanation. So far, the Koran and other religious texts fail in one or more of the tests. They may be historically innacurate, logically inconsistent or contradictory, or they fail the human element. Christianity has stood up to every level of higher criticism that has been brought against it. Most of the arguments are like the above, "the Christian God is vindictive" well... possibly, but that objection doesn't address the issue of whether the Christian God exists. So unless one has a stronger argument than an overly broad generalization backed with nothing more than a personal objection, I would save the criticism until after a geniune search has been done.

If time is linear, then it is absolutely set. We might not know it, but it is set. If all human thought is nothing more than chemical reactions in the brain, then those reactions will follow a pre-determined course. If there is no soul, then there is no free will. Control, free will, and randomness is simply an illusion. The history of the human race and even the universe has already been fatalistically determined by mathematics (which governs all physical relationships and interactions) and there isn't anything that we can do about it. So yes, if there is no God, no soul, if everything that exists is empirical, we are little more than robots. We can only do what we have been programmed to do... the definition, in a sense, of a machine.

 

The problem here is when you are confronted with facts you simply filter them out, or ignore them all together. You spaek of fear as if that is a bad thing, yet, if it were not for fear, we surley would have injured ourselves more often for the lack there of. Warning of the danger to come, is compassion, not warning is is the lack of compassion. It was the Bible that told us to live pure and moral lives, and it is the Humanists who have told us we need not be bound by any Old Moralistic Code. Now our generation is reaping the fruit of their advice in a cocktail of diseases that now plagues the world with endless and incurable diseases. THIS IS THE KIND OF COMPASSION WE HAVE RECEIVED FROM THE HUMANISTS. Lives that are self focused on pleasure, and void of the Biblical warnings. It is God who is watching are backs, not the Humanists. And if the future was an open Book, then the Christians of the past should not of been able to predict it. And all the other prophecies of the Bible should of failed. But God knew that the world would ignore both His prophecies, and His warnings. Because most of this world is in rebellion againts HIM. And it is because of this rebellion that the prophecies will be fulfilled. And it is because this world did not take God seriously when He told us to live pure and moral lives, that hundreds of millions of more people will die because of sexually transmitted diseases.

 

Anyone else find this ironic? :reddevil:

 

WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THE EARTH IS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS OLD?

 

I think we were talking about the accuracy of potassium argon dating, not the OBVIOUS FACT, that Trilobites would not be found in the 11 year old rock.

 

I feel pretty damn comfortable being agnostic.If he/she /it shows up,I will say"sorry about wondering if you actually existed--it's just with all the damn foolishness of my fellow humans throughout recorded history--well---I just couldn't bring myself to fall in line.You understand don't you?I mean you made us.Of course, if something of the kind never happens I'll return to stardust from whence I probably came and all will be as it should.---------Or I could say,as a friend once said when asked if he believed in god--DAMN RIGHT!and in a much quieter voice said"but that's for insurance purposes only"-------trilobites?the fuck do I know?

 

I don't believe Earth is hundreds of millions years old, it is billions of years old. If you completely disregard religion and science, and just observe, for yourself, the natural processes and how they work and how long it takes to work, the rocks, plants, stars, etc, will tell you their story and it is epicly long.

 

Well you believe that because you have your focus on the mechanics but not the Creator. You don't understand, God is not limited to the physics of this world. It's like trying to explain to a brain surgeon how to do the surgery.
From your prespective you think you might be able to understand how to preform the operation, yet if He took your advice, you might just have one dead patient. The Bible tells us, that the heavens declare God's glory, and it also tells us not to look to our own understanding, but in all ways acknowledge God. Your best thoughts are but so much foolishness to God's. God tells us that man will continue to learn, but few will ever come to the knowledge of the truth. And that knowledge can only be found in Him.

 

Well that is why the Bible tells us not to look to any man for our faith, but in all ways acknowledge God. God made us, and He gave us the Bible. The truth is there if you are searching for it. God tells us that many people may have vain religion, and some may worship God with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. And when you stand before the Throne of God, unless you are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, God will not understand. Because those who seek God will find Him, and those who do not seek will not find Him.

 

sick.

 

Beliveing has nothing to do with it. Perpetual change is the only constant, continuous creativity. Creating is all I do. I use my eyes to see what is occuring, the changes, if a person can't trust there senses, then they cannot trust their eyes to even read the bible, making it less sacred then the asphalt on the highway.

 

Of course they won't - they've been extinct for millions of years. It was your post that claimed they were found in 11 year old rock.