Did God create the sun, the universe?

[freshprince]

I've recently started reading the bible again, all the times I've read it i failed but this time its for real, i want to finish reading the entire bible, reason being because i am kind of lost, i don't know what to believe in anymore when its comes to religion
I am a university student and study sociology (the study of society) and reading about different theorist has clouded my mind even more when i read about their opinions about religion, they don't believe in it and i wish to find peace with myself and mostly with god (if their is one). My faith is low and i wish to restore it so i think by reading the bible and abiding by its laws i will find something I've been looking for.
I was a christian when growing up but now that i am 18, i can't really call myself that anymore because i just don't know what to believe.

The bible says nothing about god creating the universe or the sun, only the heavens and the earth, i read while researching on the web that the heavens means the universe so why just not say universe instead? I am really confused here
Is religion all just a really well thought up elaborate hoax just to keep ppl inorder or give them hope, giving them something to believe in, to keep them from going to that brink of insanity.
Are the scientist right about the big bang theory? Is there more to life than just this putting ppl in social classes, limiting there creativity, not allowing them to actually become what they want/ reach their full potential because of the conditions/ environment.

I use to be an Atheist, not proud of it but i refuse to believe that my life or all of our lives are meaningless but things just don't add up here.

I am a lost, confused soul and hope that u ppl can somehow give me some answers.

P.S
sorry this post is so long

 

[^__^]

Meaning is a concept we created, so it is WE who determine what has meaning and what does not. You do not have to be religious to believe something is meaningful, especially life.

Now, religion is also man's creation. It was our first attempt to explain the phenomena of life, death, nature, etc. In the last 200 years or so, we have developed a deep, scientific understanding of various phenomena. All of this has been proven (or yet to be proven) by experimentation and observation., unlike religion, which is based completely on faith.

Unfortunately, religion still plagues the world. It has prevented many nations from progressing and is still the root of many of today's major problems.

 

[btownbuck2012]

It is of my humble opinion that true inner peace and happiness comes from having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Psalm 37:4 says "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart"

When I was younger I thought the first time I had sex my life would suddenly have meaning. When I got to college I thought if I got in the routine of going to parties and drinking my life would suddenly have meaning. I thought, etc….
But the truth is the more you chase these things the more empty you’re gonna feel.

I forget who said it but there was someone else on this site who made the observation that there have been kings who have had it all (money, women, fame) and were still miserable.

Am I saying it's easy to follow Jesus completely? No man it’s very hard to do. Especially in college. I myself struggle with it. But the more I go through life and experience all these things first hand the more I realize how important the word of God is and how applicable it is to your life. I have been amazed at some of the scripture I’ve found in the bible. Some of it is, well all of it, is directly applicable to your life. So yes to answer your question god did create the universe, sun, heaven, earth, all of it. I hope that by reading the bible you don’t feel lost anymore. I really do.

Peace

 

[freshprince]

so what do u believe in, what is your denotation or meaning of life? by reading your post it seems to me, that u value science over religion

This was meant for smiley face (^__^)

 

[Sir Psycho Sexy]

Is religion all just a really well thought up elaborate hoax just to keep ppl inorder or give them hope, giving them something to believe in, to keep them from going to that brink of insanity.

^yep

Also helps people cope with the idea of death. Isnt heaven such a nice idea that when you die you get to live forever in paradise?

 

[freshprince]

@ btownbuck2012

well dude i really hope so too because this is really messing with my head

 

[freshprince]

@ Sir Psycho Sexy

well that's not helpful but heaven is nice to think about, if there is such a place. Even if heaven exist and god, hell, Satan exist as well, heaven will be a long wait for all of us until revelation actually comes true

 

[Drum&Bass]

Watch this !

http://vimeo.com/13726978

 

[^__^]

so what do u believe in, what is your denotation or meaning of life? by reading your post it seems to me, that u value science over religion

This was meant for smiley face (^__^)

Valuing science over religion is a no-brainer.

Life has but only one meaning. And that is: to make more. We have to create a legacy that one day another civilization will look up to. My perception of the universe comes from the rules of quantum mechanics and cosmology. Sometimes our ideas seem more ridiculous than religion, but these are reality; with years of research and experimentation to back them up.

When you have an hour of free time watch this very interesting lecture by Lawrence Krauss. Skip to 2:00. Try to watch the whole thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ImvlS8PLIo

 

[Kerpal]

There's no reason to believe or disbelieve in any of this stuff since there's no evidence one way or another, so why even waste time thinking about it?

 

[Alle_Gory]

The bible says nothing about god creating the universe or the sun, only the heavens and the earth, i read while researching on the web that the heavens means the universe so why just not say universe instead? I am really confused here

People make things up. I'm not sure how accurate that statement is either because the Bible's been edited and translated many times.

Is religion all just a really well thought up elaborate hoax just to keep ppl inorder or give them hope, giving them something to believe in, to keep them from going to that brink of insanity.

Maybe.

Are the scientist right about the big bang theory? Is there more to life than just this putting ppl in social classes, limiting there creativity, not allowing them to actually become what they want/ reach their full potential because of the conditions/ environment.

Who knows? But who are you going to believe. Some guy who makes sh*t up while clearly not quoting the damn scripts correctly, or adding his own interpretation. That or a few thousand people who research and experiment to the best of their abilities and constantly discover new things. Your call. One's more accurate than the other, but we won't know for sure without a time machine.

Science is working on that.

I use to be an Atheist, not proud of it but i refuse to believe that my life or all of our lives are meaningless but things just don't add up here.

Who says your life is meaningless? There's just a good chance you're just going to die (its always sooner than you think) and you won't be "reborn" or whatever.

Do what you want with your life, but do you really need to follow some script? Why not be good because you're like that, or do good because you choose to?

I guess some people just need to be told how to do things under the guise of "a higher power". Maybe you're one of them. Freedom from this nonsense is a little unsettling at first, especially when you see other people in your life following this... so I can understand why you want to go back to this religion.

 

[Bible_Belt]

The irony of any religion is that you start with an ancient text containing many great ideas, but as soon as you assemble a group of people together to follow that text, you will look around to find yourself surrounded by morons.

I think that a core belief of Judeo-Christianity is that most people are idiots. Read the stories of the Bible, and the popular opinion is usually wrong. All of the heroes begin as outcasts. Nothing mainstream is revered, yet to further the irony, Christianity is now a mainstream religion. What happens when the religion of outcasts becomes followed by the majority? The answer is complex, but I suspect it involves tv evangelists.

Here is a link to most of the world's religious texts: http://www.ishwar.com/

I suggest that you study them all. The worst that can happen is that you become a very well-informed Atheist.

 

[horaholic]

I'll chirp in here for a minute:

I've recently started reading the bible again, all the times I've read it i failed but this time its for real, i want to finish reading the entire bible, reason being because i am kind of lost, i don't know what to believe in anymore when its comes to religion
I am a university student and study sociology (the study of society) and reading about different theorist has clouded my mind even more when i read about their opinions about religion, they don't believe in it and i wish to find peace with myself and mostly with god (if their is one). My faith is low and i wish to restore it so i think by reading the bible and abiding by its laws i will find something I've been looking for.
I was a christian when growing up but now that i am 18, i can't really call myself that anymore because i just don't know what to believe. I think that you, like me are cursed with a questioning mind, which work with religion itself, but if you look at the messages ONLY, you will find the meaning. Pay NO concern to whether the stories are true or not. It doesnt matter. Was there really a boy who cried wolf? Who knows, but it doesnt make the message of the story any less valid.

The bible says nothing about god creating the universe or the sun, only the heavens and the earth, i read while researching on the web that the heavens means the universe so why just not say universe instead? I am really confused here

Like I said, dont get hung up on that. The bible was written over two thousand or more years ago. People back then couldnt fathaom the concept of evolution, dinosaurs, the big bang, etc. They didnt know how big the world was either. Take Noah's arc: Obviously God didnt cover the entire planet with water. There is however, tons of evidence from several separate civilization, that speak of giant flooding in thier area, which they considered their whole 'world.' the science of the bible was written so people of THAT TIME PERIOD could understand it.

Is religion all just a really well thought up elaborate hoax just to keep ppl inorder or give them hope, giving them something to believe in, to keep them from going to that brink of insanity.

If you think about it, does it really matter? If finding God changes peoples life for the better (Not saying it always does) , I dont see how it would even matter if it WAS all bullshyt. Everything we know and believe is bullshyt, so whats wrong with believing in potential bullshyt, that makes people genuinely happy, and gives hope?


Are the scientist right about the big bang theory?If they are, it doesnt mean God didnt create it as well. Humans cant comprehend God, and how he works. This is what hardcore Christians wont understand. They refuse to believe that maybe, just MAYBE, God had his hand in evolution, and the Adam and Eve story is just a really simplified version so people thousands of years ago could understand. Is there more to life than just this putting ppl in social classes, limiting there creativity, not allowing them to actually become what they want/ reach their full potential because of the conditions/ environment.

I use to be an Atheist, not proud of it but i refuse to believe that my life or all of our lives are meaningless but things just don't add up here. Whether or not any of it is true or not, you cannot deny that the messages from the bible are true to life, for ALL religions for that matter. The message about how to treat people, and how to live a better life, etc. etc, are totally valid, and not even the most hardcore athiest can deny the underlying message. Quit worrying about what stories are true, cuz it doesnt matter. All beliefs are different spokes on the same wheel. They might be pointing in opposite directions, but they all lead to the same place. This is what the word FAITH means. Faith, is Gods way of saying "I know this shyt doesnt make sense, but you're gonna have to trust me that this and that are what you should do to live a happy, fulfilling life." Remember when you were little and your parents would say stuff like "You'll thank me someday," and make you do shyt you didnt understand?They knew we wouldnt understand that, but they said it anyway, just like we'll say it to our kids, and they wont understand either. God is the ultimate 'parent,' and he is infinitely more confusing than our parents, because he is everything.

I am a lost, confused soul and hope that u ppl can somehow give me some answers.

Just remember that there is something our there, and it may be opposite of what the bible explains, but there is a reason we're supposed to follow it, just liek when we followed our parents stupid rules all our lives. Our parents were all flawed, and God is not, so you should trust Gods words WAY more than your parents.

Bottom line is, it doesnt make sense, and it doesnt need to, if you just listen to what God is trying to tell you about living your life. Forget about 'heaven', and 'hell,' and worry about your LIFE right now.

Good luck.

P.S
sorry this post is so long

 

[kingsam]

wow i thought ther would be loads of brainwashed american religous retards posting about how god is true and crap.... my assumded views have been proved wrong!
awsome!

i watch ed a space program recently "through the wormhole" on the internet recently about Dark engery and Dark matter - amazing stuff - the visible part of the universie is around 5% of the total! WOW, its mindblowing!
its worth watching

religion was an explanation back in our ignorant days when we were hunter gatherers wiht stone tools and goat hearders in the desert, what could the massive big ball of fire and bringer of life in the sky be other than some kind of god...

the more scienc progresses the more religion is proved wrong, although you get all the hard line fundamentalists resisting the scientific englitenment!

--------------

If you think about it, does it really matter? If finding God changes peoples life for the better (Not saying it always does) , I dont see how it would even matter if it WAS all bullshyt. Everything we know and believe is bullshyt, so whats wrong with believing in potential bullshyt, that makes people genuinely happy, and gives hope?

its living a lie - rather than making the most of your life now, you wait for heaven...

many religous practices ag against the well being of people
- the pope tellgin people in AIDS ridden africa not to use comdoms
- kids who accidently get pregnant havign to keep a baby, even tho it will "ruin" thier lives
- relious intolerance and wars and terrorism and biggotry

- a article in the Observer newspaper in the UK - a woman in Iran is on death row (to be stoned) for taking a Sexy "indecent" picture...

 

[search1ng]

Just a little off-topic, aren't religions threads a big no-no? It's like starting a political thread.

To the OP, no amount of what other people say should sway you. What it comes down to is what you feel is right.

Personally i believe God does exist and that religion co-exists with science very well. It doesn't have to be so black and white.

 

[CaptainJ]

Rather than reading the whole bible, where you probably won't find out the answer to what you are looking for, try reading some of the arguments AGAINST religion to understand both sides of the coin. I really recommend the book Trick of the Mind by Derren Brown, as he goes into some depth on rational thought and why you shouldn't believe something because of "faith".

Some arguments I can offer are:
Religion is entirely a man made concept, and was used at a time when government and laws did not exist, in order to unify people and keep them under control, so basically as a form of government.

It's based around superstitious thinking with no evidence other than hearsay to back it up: Man sees something he can't explain, so immediately assumes it was a miracle by some higher power.

 

[Quiksilver]

Just a little off-topic, aren't religions threads a big no-no? It's like starting a political thread.

Maybe I'm a softy, but I don't close threads where people are engaging in thoughtful dialogue, regardless of topic.

When arguments debase into subjective remarks, insults, and slinging of feces, that's when I will step in.

If you don't like a post/thread and think it's gone a little too far, there is a handy report feature to let the mods know.

Keep it above the belt/respect other people's beliefs, and it won't be me who closes any thread.

 

[freshprince]

originally posted by Smiley face (^__^)

"Life has but only one meaning. And that is: to make more. We have to create a legacy that one day another civilization will look up to. My perception of the universe comes from the rules of quantum mechanics and cosmology. Sometimes our ideas seem more ridiculous than religion, but these are reality; with years of research and experimentation to back them up."

dude i use to be just like u when i was for sometime an atheist but then i came to a realization that science in terms of experimentation, observation and comparison cannot explain everything when it comes to matters of religion. Scientist themselves would tell u that, no matter how hard they try its an impossible task

@ horaholic

I was going to reply to your post but read kingsam's and his post explained what i was already going to

U said to pay NO attention to whether the stories are true or not, if it makes sense or not it doesn't matter. Well i think it has to have some truth or makes some amount of sense because like kingsam said " u will just be living a lie" and that's the kind of thing that gives ppl suicidal tendencies

maybe it was dumb of me to post this thread and to think i could somehow get answers. Your comments were very good though, but i just have to face truth that maybe there isn't any answers
I read about god speaking to ppl psychologically in the old days, then why is it stuff like that doesn't happen now, i always wished that could happen to me.

again
I think their has to be some amount of confirmation, testimony or evidence for me to truly believe but i will still keep reading the bible and hope that by abiding by its laws for sometime some good will come out of it.
If not then ??? i don't know

P.S
thanks for the links that some of u provided, i will check all of them out, just for curiosity.
@ Captain J
I'll especially check out that book u suggested. Almost all your comments were very well thoughtout

 

[Maxtro]

Whether or not God created the world is irrelevant. What's obvious now is that God has no involvement with the current world. For all we know, God could have been an alien being or society that terraformed the planet and sowed the seeds of life, then took off. It has no impact on today's world.

I was raised a Christian and went to church regularly. I believed if you were a good Christian, God would answer all your prayers and make your life better. When the son of my pastor was killed in a motorcycle accident, my whole view of God and Christianity shifted. Having my prayers go unanswered for so long and seeing how unhappy my mom is, who is a good Christian woman, helped reaffirm that God if it exists, currently has no power or just doesn't care about the people.

In general religion has been very bad for man. The really bad things happen is when men in power bend religious laws to suit themselves and other people just go along with them

 

[Rogue]

Are the scientist right about the big bang theory?

There are two types of science: experimental and historical, both of which are equally capable of forming and testing hypotheses. The smoking gun of the big bang is the cosmic background radiation, and further supported by the accelerating acceleration of distant galaxies. Why not actually educate yourself by watching lectures by astrophysicists and astronomers like Lawrence Krauss or Brian Cox? There are mountains of evidence of the big bang, but "god" isn't a viable competing explanation. Do you believe in fairies? Because there's as much evidence fairies and leprechauns created the universe than god.

I use to be an Atheist

I doubt it.

but i refuse to believe that my life or all of our lives are meaningless but things just don't add up here.

The meaning of your life is the meaning you give it by the life you build for yourself. Nothing more, nothing less. The "things just don't add up" is just the egocentric human vanity to anthropomorphize the universe. Did you know that, according to a Gallup poll, one of out five people still think the sun revolves around the earth? It's a metaphor to how people want the universe to revolve around them.