I'm an agnostic when it comes to my atheist beliefs which means I don't believe God exists because I'm skeptical that it's possible for me to believe otherwise. The good thing is that I can be an atheist without being an agnostic in general, just skeptical and noncommittal only when it comes to my ability to believe that God exists. Because I believe what I believe in a situation where say I'm stuck in Hell with someone who's visiting from Heaven, I can honestly tell them 'Go to Hell' and mean it. If I believed God existed, I could only say 'Go back to Heaven' but I wouldn't be honest with myself as my true feelings would be 'Stay in Hell'. That's the trap people in Hell will fall into if they believe it's possible for Heaven to exist but not me.
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Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Remarriage. Why is there a limit?
I'm having this debate in my head...Why is there a limit as to how many times a person can get remarried? I don't see the reason for setting limits. Why is a limit of 3 times better than a limit of 5 or 10 times? What's the point of setting limits on human relationships? Shouldn't people be free to arrange them in any way they want?
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http://www.thinkaloo.com
Mr and Mrs. God
For me, one of the most interesting aspects of the Abrahamic religions is that all three were created by members of the male gender. I think this goes a long way toward explaining why it was written that Men are created in the image of God (who -- surprise, surprise -- also happens to be a fella) and why woman was created From a man, not independently. By utilizing the literary devise of woman's being be borne from part of the male body (his rib), it placed the fairer sex in an eternally submissive position.
I've often thought about how these three religions might have been different If Women, not men, were the drivers behind their creation. For starters, I seriously doubt there would be one singular Heavenly Father.
Women tend to be the ones in a family that try to bring everyone together (utilizing the stereotypical mothering function), so my guess is that a woman-infused religious system would have created a heavenly couple, Mr and Mrs. God or the Heavenly Father and Mother.
Since women, not men, bring new life into the world via the womb, it's hard for me to imagine a woman-infused religion creating the tragic figure of Jesus dying on the cross to save the world from sin.
Most of the mothers I know would throw themselves in front of a bus in order to save their child EVEN if that child happens to be a rapist or a murderer. It's just the maternal instinct to want to shield your child from harm.
Anyway, this is all merely my own conjecture. What's yours?
http://www.thinkaloo.com
I've often thought about how these three religions might have been different If Women, not men, were the drivers behind their creation. For starters, I seriously doubt there would be one singular Heavenly Father.
Women tend to be the ones in a family that try to bring everyone together (utilizing the stereotypical mothering function), so my guess is that a woman-infused religious system would have created a heavenly couple, Mr and Mrs. God or the Heavenly Father and Mother.
Since women, not men, bring new life into the world via the womb, it's hard for me to imagine a woman-infused religion creating the tragic figure of Jesus dying on the cross to save the world from sin.
Most of the mothers I know would throw themselves in front of a bus in order to save their child EVEN if that child happens to be a rapist or a murderer. It's just the maternal instinct to want to shield your child from harm.
Anyway, this is all merely my own conjecture. What's yours?
http://www.thinkaloo.com
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
"Near Death" experiences
Many people around the world have claimed to have "near death" experiences where they died and went to Heaven before returning to their bodies. Why is it that none of them ever visited Hell before returning to their bodies? Hearing these stories makes us imagine what it's like up there but they're all so one-sided. Just a thought..
http://www.thinkaloo.com
http://www.thinkaloo.com
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Adult toys for religious people
Don't religions implicitly ban use of adult toys in sexual intercourse? How about allowing their use for married couples who don't cheat? This is probably a very unusual thought but in an age where sexual temptations everywhere make it hard for people to stay loyal to their married partner, religions that preach monogamy and ban adultery could consider give their blessing to marital-only use of adult toys and accessories. That would certainly please the faithful and reward their loyalty, don't you think? :P
http://www.thinkaloo.com
http://www.thinkaloo.com
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Polygamy PR for Islam
This thought was posted on Thinkaloo on 26 March 2008 by member abirmouche
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Egyptian-born Italian journalist Magdi Allam was recently baptized Catholic by the Pope in Vatican. That was a great PR victory for the Catholic Church and was all over the news.
Islam could use its weapon of limited polygamy (up to 4 wives at any one time) to lure celebrities in the West to convert. I can think of a few, starting with Nicolas Sarkozy of France who is already into his 3rd marriage with Carla Bruni!
Celebrity marriages don't last long anyway, if they were closely monitored by the Islamic world, with the right kind of polygamy PR they could be enticed to convert :)
Visit www.thinkaloo.com, our new online community where you can share your thoughts and knowledge, discuss your ideas, ask questions and meet smart people
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Egyptian-born Italian journalist Magdi Allam was recently baptized Catholic by the Pope in Vatican. That was a great PR victory for the Catholic Church and was all over the news.
Islam could use its weapon of limited polygamy (up to 4 wives at any one time) to lure celebrities in the West to convert. I can think of a few, starting with Nicolas Sarkozy of France who is already into his 3rd marriage with Carla Bruni!
Celebrity marriages don't last long anyway, if they were closely monitored by the Islamic world, with the right kind of polygamy PR they could be enticed to convert :)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
On love and God
This thought was posted on Thinkaloo on 2 March 2008 by member Gaea
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---
Love, love is just a leap of faith he said.
You have to believe in it for it to exist.
If you stop believing then it dies…
It’s just like God he continued
If you don’t believe in God, then God doesn’t exist. God is dead.
So do love and God come from the same place, he asked?
It would seem so, that would explain why people say that God is love.
Visit www.thinkaloo.com, our new online community where you can share your thoughts and knowledge, discuss your ideas, ask questions and meet smart people
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Love, love is just a leap of faith he said.
You have to believe in it for it to exist.
If you stop believing then it dies…
It’s just like God he continued
If you don’t believe in God, then God doesn’t exist. God is dead.
So do love and God come from the same place, he asked?
It would seem so, that would explain why people say that God is love.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
The word of God in a comic book?
This thought was posted on Thinkaloo on 21 February 2008 by member ben
Visit www.thinkaloo.com, our new online community where you can share your thoughts and knowledge, discuss your ideas, ask questions and meet smart people
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A cartoon in Denmark on prophet Mohammed produces riots and protests among Muslims. The Catholic Church of England on the other hand uses cartoons called manga (a Japanese-style comic book) to recruit young people into priesthood. Not every Christian church uses cartoons for recruitment, but I think this might be an interesting new way to appeal to the religious sentiment of young people and bring them closer to the Church.
I think of it this way. The cover of which book would be more appealing to an 8-year old to open, take a look and read? A dark cover with a Cross and the world Bible on it? Or a colorful comic book with the Messiah in a cartoon figure on it?
If the way young people communicate has changed, shouldn't the Church also change the way it delivers God's message to them? There is certainly a lot of good argument against such kind of modernization by the Church but at the same time I think we need to be open to new ideas and ways the word of God can be delivered.
The manga might be a modern way but not the most appropriate. As long as it makes us think what the best way to deliver the message to young people is, I think it is a positive experiment. What do you think?
Visit www.thinkaloo.com, our new online community where you can share your thoughts and knowledge, discuss your ideas, ask questions and meet smart people
---
A cartoon in Denmark on prophet Mohammed produces riots and protests among Muslims. The Catholic Church of England on the other hand uses cartoons called manga (a Japanese-style comic book) to recruit young people into priesthood. Not every Christian church uses cartoons for recruitment, but I think this might be an interesting new way to appeal to the religious sentiment of young people and bring them closer to the Church.
I think of it this way. The cover of which book would be more appealing to an 8-year old to open, take a look and read? A dark cover with a Cross and the world Bible on it? Or a colorful comic book with the Messiah in a cartoon figure on it?
If the way young people communicate has changed, shouldn't the Church also change the way it delivers God's message to them? There is certainly a lot of good argument against such kind of modernization by the Church but at the same time I think we need to be open to new ideas and ways the word of God can be delivered.
The manga might be a modern way but not the most appropriate. As long as it makes us think what the best way to deliver the message to young people is, I think it is a positive experiment. What do you think?
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