I don’t see scientific worldview as an absence of free will though. I do equate materialism with absence of free will though. And lack of God implies materialism. Because without God, it’s foolish to think that system just happened to support free will in beings such as humans without any thought given into it.
Neither do I, I just see free will in a world like ours, specifically in beings like us without it being designed so unlikely it’s not worth talking about.
Here we can indeed disagree because I don’t see a problem with non-physical thing operating physical thing as impossible to be built into laws of nature. And what evidence does science have about this? It’s not like I’m talking about trees flying or something catching fire for no reason.
Very well, we can have it your way, characters in comic book don’t have consciousness, they only seem to think they have it, but in my opinion, it makes no difference, they don’t exist as a people, they are simply ink on paper. No different than a rock in the same story being thrown.
You don’t need to say or believe the story is real to enjoy it, and I think most readers are aware that the stories they read are not real and their characters are made up. And even if they believed that these characters are real, that doesn’t make them liars.
Not sure where that one came from.
That’s the same as saying, we will, at least some. I can agree with that.
You could point to a specific verse instead of giving me the whole book, to make conversation easier.
I meant this:
which is the same as saying that those who will go to heaven will be morally the same as they were on earth, which is not true according to Bible. At least that’s what I understood from your response.
Is it personal? Or just because I represent a group of people you despise.
Or perhaps it is because I don’t see the world as you do. And it is not because I am particularly blessed or comfortable. But I see more good than bad. I don’t take much store in what I read in Newspapers because they only look as you do. Most pf the people I meet are good enough. They have their faults but they try. There is a minority of real evil but that is all you seem to see.
You need to live this life instead of winging about reward or punishment. For all you know all that is to come is rotting in a grave or a quick flash of heat and oblivion.
I did. I am responding to the original thread on this post.
Why are you arguing about this? He didn’t ask whether it was a belief in the God of the bible. Didn’t you know that many cultures believe in many many other gods? Hindu believes in the millions of gods. Aboriginal believed in many gods. Every tribe documented by missionary mission had their own gods.
If there is only one God, then the question would be rhetorical.
Logic would dictate that God would approach each culture according to their needs. There is no doubt that the Jewish faith started out as a tribal god who successfully dismissed both Baal and the Egyptian deities. But further afield? I see nothing blasphemous about the Native American views of Mother Earth and Father Sky. It may be crude and not ostensibly monotheistic, but the resulting behaviour corresponds to almost any Religious code of practice. I am not familiar with the faiths you mention, so can’t comment but it strikes me that primal faith will be based on the primal viewpoint with all the wonder and mysticism that comes from a lack of scientific understanding. Perhaps there is no need for a central God figure in such belief systems?
What I do find interesting is the way that Hinduism seems to be trying to rationalise its pantheon into One God with assistants rather than all on an equal or semi-equal footing.
Islam was an attempt to culturise God into Arabic. After all Judaism claims a unique relationship with God that would naturally exclude other groups (or tribes). Even though Christianity claims to supercede Judaism, the old faith remains, clinging onto the remnant loophole that Paul provides.
I do not like to box God in. Not to a single faith, nor people, My reading of the bible shows that God is more interested in results than the method of approach or ritual. The Old Testament is littered with comments about the hollow practices and insincere ritual.
Christianity has the advantage of God coming towards humanity rather than humanity trying to find or appease Him, But I am certain that God looks at human attempts to understand Him and does not just reject them because they do not include Christ.