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  1. Matthew78

    Leaving liberal religion

    Friends, A couple of years ago I announced that I was no longer an atheist. I became a Unitarian Universalist and I started to gravitate very strongly towards "panendeism". I just couldn't let go of the idea that there were objective moral values and that they couldn't originate in human...
  2. Matthew78

    Copyrighting one's blog

    I didn't know where else to put this post. I am going to be opening up a new blog on www.blogger.com However, if I put posts on this blog, I want to find out how to copyright my blog if blogger.com doesn't do it automatically. I read, from someone who doesn't run or own blogger.com, that...
  3. Matthew78

    Free Will Skepticism

    I am becoming more and more skeptical of "libertarian free will". I have read some articles about experiments that have been done, such as one by Benjamin Libet and others. I am convinced that our will, our personalities, and our thoughts are probably completely caused by our brains. Free will...
  4. Matthew78

    Atheists on free will

    If you are an atheist, do you believe that "libertarian/contra-causal" free-will exists or do you consider yourself a skeptic of free-will? If you believe that free-will exists, what is the source of free-will? Do you believe that this universe is all that exists, all that has ever existed...
  5. Matthew78

    Mistaken about atheism

    More than a year ago, I started a thread of two on morality and atheism. I kept asking, perhaps to the annoyance of atheists here, questions like "Why be moral?" and "What does it matter?" I have been studying the topic of free-will and I have slowly began realizing over this past year that I am...
  6. Matthew78

    The Source of Worth and Dignity

    It's been a while since I was last here. I want to ask my fellow UUs a question. One of our Principles is "The inherent worth and inherent dignity of all human beings". However what is the source of this worth and dignity? Where do we derive our worth and dignity? I have been thinking, for...
  7. Matthew78

    Divine inspiration and the Torah

    I am curious about Jewish theology with regards to the Torah. Have Jews traditionally believed that the Torah is divinely inspired, both written and oral? For example, the New Testament refers to the Hebrew Bible as being "God-breathed" (Greek word is theopneustos). Is this accurate? If so, does...
  8. Matthew78

    The name of Yahweh

    There is a discrepancy that is alleged to exist in the Hebrew Bible regarding the name of Yahweh and when it was first revealed. Some skeptics will point to a text from Exodus six, is translated as follows in the New American Standard Bible: "2 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I...
  9. Matthew78

    The ban on mamzers

    I was studying two articles from a publication called The Skeptical Review. One article is here: http://www.theskepticalreview.com/tsrmag/2bast94.html The other article is here: http://www.theskepticalreview.com/tsrmag/2mamz95.html The editor, the late Farrell Till, argued for a discrepancy in...
  10. Matthew78

    The commandments of the Torah

    The last thread that I started was to discuss a discrepancy that I am convinced exists in the Torah with regards to the Ten Commandments. However, one fellow RF member, fallingblood reminded me that there are actually many, many commandments. In fact, by one count, 613. I don't disagree with him...
  11. Matthew78

    Discrepancy 5: The Real Ten Commandments

    Which are the real Ten Commandments? Well, it depends on which chapter of Exodus you read. One set is given in Exodus 20 while a completely different set is given in Exodus 34. Many people will say that Ten Commandments are given in Exodus 20: 1-17. This is how they are stated according to the...
  12. Matthew78

    Discrepancy 3: The Fighting Men of Israel

    The next example of a discrepancy I want to discuss is over whether the fighting men of Israel, who left Egypt, all died out in the desert or whether they survived. In Numbers 13, spies are sent into the promised land for a period of 40 days to take a survey of the land. The spies returned, gave...
  13. Matthew78

    Discrepancy 3: the death of Aaron

    The next alleged discrepancy I would like to discuss is the death of Aaron. Where did he die? Was it on Mt. Hor or was it in Moserah? In Numbers 33: 38-39, the location given is Mt. Hor. From the New American Standard Bible, we read: "38 Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the...
  14. Matthew78

    Discrepancy 2: The Genesis Flood

    Here is the second alleged discrepancy that I would like to discuss. It is with regards to the Genesis Flood story. According to the New American Standard Bible, the flood story of Genesis 6: 13-22 is narrated like this: 13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me...
  15. Matthew78

    Discrepancy 1: Genesis 1 vs 2

    This is the very first example of a discrepancy that I wish to discuss. The discrepancy is believed to exist between Genesis chapters 1 and 2. They seem to contradict each over whether the animals, birds, and insects were created before man, as in Genesis 1, or after man in Genesis 2. Genesis...
  16. Matthew78

    Family Emergency

    I haven't been on lately because there have been some domestic issues that I have had to take care of. However, there was a medical emergency last night. My father, Richard, suffered a major heart attack and had to be driven to a local hospital. He was transferred by ambulence to another...
  17. Matthew78

    Testing the Bible

    I am currently working on a series of articles right now on what I consider to be flaws in the Bible. These are examples of what I consider to be discrepancies, errors, and failed prophecies. I want to know if anyone is interested in going through them with me. I especially invite anyone who...
  18. Matthew78

    Islam and Civilization

    There is a question I want to ask Muslims here (others are welcome to weigh in if they choose). I think I remember taking courses in world history and learning about Islam's early years. IIRC, Muslims built schools to educate both boys and girls, they took an interest in ancient texts and...
  19. Matthew78

    I no longer consider myself an antitheist.

    A few years back, I considered myself not just a naturalist but also an antitheist. I considered pretty much all religions to be either dangerous superstitions or pointless superstitions. I considered Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baha'I religions to be dangerous superstitions because...
  20. Matthew78

    Religion and exclusion

    I was reading one book by a Christian author who sought to defend Christianity against charges of elitism. The author, interviewing a Christian scholar, got the reply that Christianity is exclusive but, then, many other religions are exclusive, too. So any critics who bring this charge against...
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