"A position unsupported by evidence is no more likely to be true than a random guess."

This ties into the recent discussion about how we should handle a lack of evidence supporting a claim.

Please feel free to post any thoughts or discussion below.

So we can't prove the existence of anything that is not physical, let alone the existence of a non-physical God.

Why believe in the existence of anything that is not physical?

To claim something is spiritual (non-physical) you are saying there is no way to verify that it exists.

I can believe there is a non-physical million dollars in gold in my closet.
While maybe I can convince someone to buy my non-physical gold, they ain't going to be happy when I tell them there is no way to prove...

The problem with appealing to God as the source of morality is this:

Are things moral because God says so?

Or does God say those things are moral because they're moral?

If the former, then could God say rape is moral? Or murder? Or torture? If so, then the theist has abandoned any reasonable moral ground and could be convinced anything is moral, no matter how obviously atrocious, if she was convinced God said so.

If the latter, then God is appealing to some standard outside of...

Writing some 700 years before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah provides a wonderful prophecy of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

But I'd like to begin with what the witnesses at Pentecost said about their own experience, fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus. Acts 2:1-13 tells the whole story. Verse 13 ends with the mocking words of the doubters, 'These men are full of new wine'!

At this point, Peter stood before the crowd in Jerusalem, along with the eleven other apostles, and...

If you believe in souls, what are the specific properties or qualities that you believe souls provide the organisms possessing them? For instance, is consciousness an emergent property of souls? What about emotions, sapience, etc.?

Where does biology stop being able to explain any specific quality we have and souls start doing so, in your view? Or are biology and the soul synonymous?

Are non-human animals intrinsically different from humans in your religion, or are they considered equal? For example, in mainstream Islamic thought, animals are not considered to have free will, so they don't face the same judgment in the afterlife as humans do.

What is the status of non-human animals in your religion or worldview?

Since Jesus Christ, at no time in his life, advocated the celebration of his birth, and only commanded remembrance of his death and resurrection, who, when, and why do we do so today?

In fact, xmas (CHRISTmas) has turned into a ritual of self indulgence, excess of drinking, buying things of more worthlessness than usefulness, pandering to commercialism, and creating a great deal of monetary debt.

It has now even become a time for ‘celebrating’ Pets, creatures, things…! Worshipping the...

I have been thinking a lot about Catholicism lately and what I do or do not believe. Whether or not Rome's claims are credible given that the Francis papacy has done much in my eyes to undermine said claims. Nonetheless whether or not Bergoglio himself personally holds to heretical ideas is a distraction in my view. The real point is that he has emboldened and empowered those who clearly do wish to see the Church's perennial teachings changed to align with the prevailing opinions of western...

What does your faith or belief system teach about the mechanics of death? Is there an angel of death? Is the soul estinguished or somehow removed from the body? Is there an inner light that expires? Is there perhaps "the kiss of death"? Are there ways to avoid or postpone death? Any other details are greatly appreciated.

This is in religious Q&A; So no debate. Hopefully there will be good diversity in the replies.

Thank you,

To me lack of evidence for a god doesn't mean a god doesn't exist.
It means we don't yet know if a god does or not.

100's of years ago we had lack of evidence for DNA, evolution, and even dinosaurs... Yet even though unknown to us at the time, they all existed.

While I don't accept or believe in something without evidence, I also will not rule it out or think its impossible.

PS: save your unicorn and spaghetti monster comments for the funny papers . But if you want a unicorn, google...