Christians. Imagine that you had no prior knowledge of jesus or christianity and were given a bible to read. Do you think the experience of reading the words alone would have caused you to become a christian?
Not if god is supposed to be all-powerful. Not if god is supposed to be all-knowing. Not if god is supposed to be benevolent. If god had the power to create any world, he knew all the possible worlds and nothing but the best possible action is compatible with his goodness. If this god is...
Did the expected value of believing and the expected value of not believing play any role in your decision to follow christianity? Since Pascal's Wager is a common argument put forth by theists to suggest to nonbelievers that christianity is a reasonable world view, I would assume that many...
Thanks for your reply. I'd suggest that the expected value of believing is greater than the expected value of not believing and that this notion has led many to define themselves as christian.
Sure.
The theory of evolution doesn't promise anything.
There's nothing a book could contain that would convince me that a god is responsible for its contents. That said, if the alleged author went on a global book signing tour and offered sufficient evidence to support his/her/its claim, I'd rethink my position.
My point is that religion didn't make Michelangelo a great painter. It was simply the subject matter of religion that became an outlet for him to express his abilities and to earn a living. Who's to say that if he hadn't been contracted to work on the Sistine Chapel that he wouldn't have been...
Is it your position that these individuals needed religion to inspire them to develop notable works-of-art and scientific theory?
I'd argue that without religion, the lady detailed in the OP would still be alive as would Andrea Yates' children. Without religion, Michelangelo would have still...
Is there a feminine aspect to the divine?
The reason I ask is because I was wondering who god (the masculine "Father") was speaking to in Genesis when he said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." if he wasn't speaking to a feminine aspect of divinity.