Open Religious Debate (ritual, Darwin, Earth, Torah, Buddhism)

[xAidanx]

I am basically looking for an open debate on religion. I invite any religious member(s) to debate on their religious beliefs. My usual preference is Christianity, but I guess that's cliché, everyone picks on the Christians.

So I welcome believers of any faith.

Here are the questions:
1 - Can you provide conclusive, un-biased proof that your deity, or deities, (if you worship one) exist?
2 - Does you religion refer to a scripture such as the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Torah etc? If so, do you believe every word written on its pages?
3 - Is your (personal) belief founded upon faith or upon logical proof?
4 - Have you ever broken the rules of your religion e.g. breaking one of the ten commandments set by the Christian God?
5 - Do you accept the possibility that your religion might be wrong or your faith misplaced?

If the debate gets going I'm sure more questions will pop up but we'll stick with those ones just now.

[Heneni]

Good luck on finding proof

[xAidanx]

Well now, most people would instantly assume that religious believers are totally reliant on "faith" and scoff at the idea of proving their religion through factual means. But if you think about it, most scientific discoveries were based on faith or a hunch in the first place. An idea that it might be true/right and so scientists pursue methods of experimentation to prove or disprove it's validity. As such, there is no reason why its totally implausible that religion has a factual basis.

[Storm]

Originally Posted by xAidanx

I am basically looking for an open debate on religion. I invite any religious member(s) to debate on their religious beliefs. My usual preference is Christianity, but I guess that's cliché, everyone picks on the Christians.

So I welcome believers of any faith.

Be careful what you wish for.

1 - Can you provide conclusive, un-biased proof that your deity, or deities, (if you worship one) exist?

Nope.

2 - Does you religion refer to a scripture such as the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Torah etc? If so, do you believe every word written on its pages?

No to the former, which makes the latter inapplicble.

3 - Is your (personal) belief founded upon faith or upon logical proof?

Neither. My theology is the result of trying to understand a personal experience. It has changed radically over the years.

4 - Have you ever broken the rules of your religion e.g. breaking one of the ten commandments set by the Christian God?

N/A. My theology has no such rules. However, I am also a UU, and adhere to the 7 Principles. I admit to sometimes struggling with the first, the inherent worth and dignity of all people.

5 - Do you accept the possibility that your religion might be wrong or your faith misplaced?

Hm. Two seperate questions, really. As to my theology being wrong, I actually take that as a given. Second only to my belief in God is my belief that none of us understand it. We're ALL wrong.

However, my faith that God exists is unshakeable. Indeed, I claim not faith, but knowledge.

If the debate gets going I'm sure more questions will pop up but we'll stick with those ones just now.

OK. If you want to review the particulars of my theology, there's a thread linked in my sig.

EDIT: BTW, I adore the name Aidan.

[Trey of Diamonds]

Here are the questions:

1 - Can you provide conclusive, un-biased proof that your deity, or deities, (if you worship one) exist?

No

2 - Does you religion refer to a scripture such as the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Torah etc? If so, do you believe every word written on its pages?

Yes, all of them (scriptures) but no, I don't believe every word.

3 - Is your (personal) belief founded upon faith or upon logical proof?

My personal belief is based on the search for spiritual paths.

4 - Have you ever broken the rules of your religion e.g. breaking one of the ten commandments set by the Christian God?

Probably

5 - Do you accept the possibility that your religion might be wrong or your faith misplaced?

Yes

[Heneni]

I like to think that god equips us to discover already existing scientific theories as appose to the theories discovering him.

The only proof, if you could call that, is in the life's stories of people who have these things written on their hearts. Their evidence is not scientifically provable, neither is it in anyway removable.

Do you know of any scientific theories that prove god exists? The best scientific evidence for me is energy. Which cannot be created and can not be destroyed. The big bang would have needed energy and so would evolution, and since the energy needed for both can not be created, its good enough evidence for me, that god did.

What is evidence for one person is not necessarily evidence for the next person.

The scientific evidence for evolution to me, is scetchy. Its evidence in hindsight. We came from somewhere...so lets look for clues and then there was darwin. Its like a crime has been commited and we need to solve the puzzle. The best scientific theories are those that can predict what will happen in the future, by using the models of the past and goes about testing those theories.

Evolution is a theory that can not predict what we will evolve into.

Gravity works....we can predict that if we drop something, it will come back to earth, and it does everytime. Evolution works?....but you cant be sure its still happening. There is no recordable data, or observable present evidence. Unless of course....somebody wants to solve another 'crime' and conconct some.


Heneni

[xAidanx]

Wow. I love the replies.
I was expecting one or two militant Christians to bite my head off but I'm pleased with the result of my questions.

Although, with these closed, peaceful, accepting replies comes a lack of rebate. I can't really debate on set ideals. I find it so refreshing to find others who don't seek to justify their own beliefs because they actually believe them.

As for the name praise, (Y) thanks. I used to hate my name because it was considerably unique when I was younger. But I've grown to like it.

Another question for believers in a deity: Where does your faith come from? Do you experience connection with your deity on a daily basis? Did you once experience a miraculous revelation that confirmed the existence of your deity? Share.

[Dunemeister]

Originally Posted by xAidanx

1 - Can you provide conclusive, un-biased proof that your deity, or deities, (if you worship one) exist?

I do worship one. No, I cannot provide the proof you're asking about, but then again, the standard of proof you ask for is impossible for anyone, religious or not, to attain.

Originally Posted by xAidanx

2 - Does you religion refer to a scripture such as the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Torah etc? If so, do you believe every word written on its pages?

Yes. And yes, with the caveat that context and genre determine the meanings of the words in question.

Originally Posted by xAidanx

3 - Is your (personal) belief founded upon faith or upon logical proof?

Both

Originally Posted by xAidanx

4 - Have you ever broken the rules of your religion e.g. breaking one of the ten commandments set by the Christian God?

Yes

Originally Posted by xAidanx

5 - Do you accept the possibility that your religion might be wrong or your faith misplaced?

Yes.

[Engyo]

Originally Posted by xAidanx

I am basically looking for an open debate on religion. I invite any religious member(s) to debate on their religious beliefs. My usual preference is Christianity, but I guess that's cliché, everyone picks on the Christians.

So I welcome believers of any faith.

Here are the questions:
1 - Can you provide conclusive, un-biased proof that your deity, or deities, (if you worship one) exist?

I don't believe in a deity.

2 - Does you religion refer to a scripture such as the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Torah etc? If so, do you believe every word written on its pages?

My school of Buddhism is based on the Lotus Sutra, but not on literal belief in said sutra.

3 - Is your (personal) belief founded upon faith or upon logical proof?

Neither. It is founded on proof of practice.

4 - Have you ever broken the rules of your religion e.g. breaking one of the ten commandments set by the Christian God?

No rules as such. We have guidelines (known as Precepts); I am certainly not the best at following them.

5 - Do you accept the possibility that your religion might be wrong or your faith misplaced?

Wrong how? Buddhism doesn't try to provide eternal answers or all answers; it aims to relieve suffering and help its practitioners achieve enlightenment. I not sure if you could say that faith based on proof of practice could be misplaced. If it didn't work as described, I would not have faith.

[Dunemeister]

Originally Posted by xAidanx

Although, with these closed, peaceful, accepting replies comes a lack of rebate.

As a closed question....

Originally Posted by xAidanx

Where does your faith come from? Do you experience connection with your deity on a daily basis? Did you once experience a miraculous revelation that confirmed the existence of your deity?

Yes, I'd say that I experience connection with God, but I'm not sure it's daily. I mean, I do pray and all that, but the experience (type and intensity) changes frequently. I'm not sure what you mean by "miraculous revelation." I did have a decisive experience that I call my "conversion", and that experience has convinced me about the truth of God's existence, but I like that you use the word "confirmed." For even though I would have officially denied it before my conversion, I saw glimmers and hints and echoes of God before that time. The conversion merely put it all together for me.