1.The earth is round, and it is hung in space. (Isaiah 40:22;Job 26:27 )\n\n2. For every house there is a maker. (Hebrew 3:4)\n3. From dust we came to dust we return. (Genesis 3:19)\n4. Dead ones do not feel anything, no emotions--NOTHING. ( Eccl 9:5)\n5. You can not tell the beginning nor the end of the universe, or the concept of time. (Romans 1:20)\n\n6.If there is a time machine and you are transported to the time of the apostles, people will call you crazy if you tell them that iron can fly over 1,000 miles (airplane of course)\n\n7. That there is order in the universe. That laws such as gravity, etc govern these heavenly bodies. (Job 38:32,33)\n\n8. 'Love your fellow-men as you love yourself' is a better law than this law: 'survival to the fittest'.\n\nQUESTION: If you believe in all of these, then what is it really that you don't believe? If you don't believe, then what is it really that you believe?
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1. "Hung" is an interesting word to use, but I'll go along with it.\n\n2. Well, interpreting this literally, then I suppose my house had several: at least one architect, a bunch of builders, a plumber or two, the list is endless...\n\n3. Pretty much.\n\n4. OK\n\n5. Now this one opens up a whole new can of worms, but I suppose, broadly, I can accept this.  In fact, it's an interesting one when you bear in mind that the bible was written by some of the most intelligent men of their era.  Naturally, they would have been pre-occupied with some of the same things that our present great minds think about (such as the nature of the universe and time).  Of course, they didn't have the benefit of as long a scientific and philosophical tradition as we have.\n\n6. Yup. They'd probably stone you to death.  I'm really finding it hard to see your point with this one, however. Please explain.\n\n7. Fair enough.\n\n8. Another can of worms.  It depends on your definition of "better". From our point of view, altruism - which is what you're describing - is preferable.  The best explanation for the reason for that is that altruism was a beneficial trait during our evolution.  This idea is covered by group selection theory.  So if you look at it from that point of view, "love your fellow-men as you love yourself" actually CONTRIBUTES to the survival of the fittest (have a look at the link below before you dismiss this out of hand).\n\nANSWER.\n\nI suppose I can, for the sake of argument, say that I broadly agree with all of the eight premises you've outlined.  I also believe that some of the morals encouraged by the bible and by religion in general are beneficial.  Many of the teachings of Jesus Christ (who I believe existed as a mortal man) are also compelling as a model of the values that it is a good idea to try to live your life by.\n\nWhat I don't believe in is the idea of an intelligent creator.  Nor do I believe in the existence of an afterlife, no matter how much I WISH it could be true.
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1. There is no God\n2. The universe cannot be a computer simulation running from "God's" computer
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Unfortunately the logic in that link you posted is seriously flawed. It's completely illogical to talk of the universe as "being created", as this implies that the universe exists in time. It fails to realise that time is a part of the universe, and thus the universe has necessarily existed for all time whether or not time is infinite or finite. There is no point in time that the universe didn't exist. The phrase "before the big bang" has absolutely no meaning, any more than "north of the north pole" does. Forcing "common sense" onto the universe is doomed to failure whenever you stray from the common surroundings here on earth. So much of what science has shown about the universe goes very much against common sense or logic. I don't believe in a god myself. A god may or may not exist, but i'm afraid that article certainly isn't proof of it :)
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I believe you have answered your own question.  This is my belief exactly.  The bible specifically tells us that his six days is infinately more then out days.  I believe that God put the wheels in motions and over time we evoved.  Great topic!
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So far I have found no reference in the Bible to the age of the earth or indeed the universe.\n\nTo iMi: I agree that looking at ages in the genealogies would indicate approximately 6000 years of history.\n\nHowever, the Hebrew word that is translated as "created" in Genesis 1:1 generally applies perfection, orderliness, completeness, etc. In Genesis 1:2 everything is in chaos. How much time elapsed between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2? I think there is any way for us to know.
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the bible is about philosophy and religion  and a history of a people.    It is not a science text book. it does not use empirical methods, nor does it require them to be used.  If  you believe in the Bible  it's because of your faith not your reason. \nA basic idea in science is that if light travels at  186 000 miles per second today on earth  it  also does in the rest of the universe both in the past and in the future and if oxygen has 8 electrons on earth then it also has them on Saturn.. These and many others are the building blocks for a sane reasonable universe.\nthose  who try to conform  the universe to biblical teaching  must out of sheer necessity  create a  crazy world  where a day isn't t really a day and a year isn't really a year and all of your reliable baselines are skewed.. it becomes lunacy.\nThe war is over ,Galileo Copernicus and Newton were right \nThe biblical version of the universe is wrong -give up
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That's because these people are literalists. Which means they believe that every single thing written down in the Bible is true, as is, with no room for interpretation.\nSo if it says God created the world in six days, they think it's six days, not six days and four hours; six days. The ark was 40 cubits long, not 42, not 38; 40. \nIf you ask me, that's a pretty narrow view of things and it misses the point entirely (there's nothing spiritual about it), but that's how these people think.
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Did God have a beginning?\n\nPs. 90:2: “Before the mountains themselves were born, or you proceeded to bring forth as with labor pains the earth and the productive land, even from time indefinite to time indefinite you are God.”\n\nIs that reasonable? Our minds cannot fully comprehend it. But that is not a sound reason for rejecting it. Consider examples: (1) Time. No one can point to a certain moment as the beginning of time. And it is a fact that, even though our lives end, time does not. We do not reject the idea of time because there are aspects of it that we do not fully comprehend. Rather, we regulate our lives by it. (2) Space. Astronomers find no beginning or end to space. The farther they probe into the universe, the more there is. They do not reject what the evidence shows; many refer to space as being infinite. The same principle applies to the existence of God.\n\nOther examples: (1) Astronomers tell us that the heat of the sun at its core is 27,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit (15,000,000° C.). Do we reject that idea because we cannot fully comprehend such intense heat? (2) They tell us that the size of our Milky Way is so great that a beam of light traveling at over 186,000 miles per second (300,000 km/sec) would require 100,000 years to cross it. Do our minds really comprehend such a distance? Yet we accept it because scientific evidence supports it.\n\nWhich is more reasonable—that the universe is the product of a living, intelligent Creator? or that it must have arisen simply by chance from a nonliving source without intelligent direction? Some persons adopt the latter viewpoint because to believe otherwise would mean that they would have to acknowledge the existence of a Creator whose qualities they cannot fully comprehend. But it is well known that scientists do not fully comprehend the functioning of the genes that are within living cells and that determine how these cells will grow. Nor do they fully understand the functioning of the human brain. Yet, who would deny that these exist? Should we really expect to understand everything about a Person who is so great that he could bring into existence the universe, with all its intricate design and stupendous size?\n\nInfinite, but approachable. The true God is infinite and beyond the mind of man fully to fathom. The creature could never hope to become equal to his Creator or understand all the workings of His mind. (Ro 11:33-36) But He can be found and approached, and He supplies his worshiper with all that is necessary for the worshiper’s welfare and happiness. (Ac 17:26, 27; Ps 145:16) He is ever at the zenith of his ability and willingness to give good gifts and presents to his creatures, as it is written: “Every good gift and every perfect present is from above, for it comes down from the Father of the celestial lights, and with him there is not a variation of the turning of the shadow.” (Jas 1:17) Jehovah always acts within his own righteous arrangements, doing all things on a legal basis. (Ro 3:4, 23-26) For this reason all of his creatures can have complete confidence in him, knowing that he always abides by the principles he establishes. He does not change (Mal 3:6), and there is no “variation” with him in the application of his principles. There is no partiality with him (De 10:17, 18; Ro 2:11), and it is impossible for him to lie.—Nu 23:16, 19; Tit 1:1, 2; Heb 6:17, 18.
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Quote: "You do realize that not everything in the cosmos is logical, yes?"\n\nAbsolutely. But answering these questions with "God created such and such" goes no further in explaining them. In fact, it simply muddies the waters more by pretending to know the unknowable.\n\nQuote: "Do you think it's wise to arbitrarily mythologize every faith?"\n\nLet's face it, most religions have wrapped themselves in myth far more than we could ever do by offering up fables and patently ridiculous stories. These stories, by the way, suddenly ceased to happen around the same time that science became prominent enough to refute them. \n\nQuote: "The truth is there, but it's not always elegant, and it's not always what we wish it were."\n\nJust briefly, take a look at how science approaches a problem and then how religion does it? Do you see a difference? Science STUDIES a problem, it pursues it from different angles and attempts to understand through hueristic methods. In the end, science pursues truth. Religion simply assumes that it already knows.\n\nEdit: To ChrimsonCarrots below: The Bible has credentials? What credentials? These people were NOT historians with an eye on detail and accuracy. Gospel itself means "good news". The goal was to push the idea of Christianity into a positive light and to perpetuate it. If I remember correctly, the story of the crucifiction is told within four books of the bible, Mathew, Luke, Mark, and Paul, the earliest of which was written AT LEAST forty years AFTER the crucifiction. Are you suggestiing that this is reliable and accurate information?
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The passages you cite from Ecclesiasties and Psalms are, Mr. Skeptic, poetry. Not all of the Bible is a scientific journal. Archaelogy has supported the history that is recorded in the Bible. But if you really want to think that the Bible is full of nonsense, I guess the upside is that you can take a pass when it says thou shall not steal, lie, murder, covet your neighbor's wife, etc. And the parts that say the wages of sin is death ... poof! Irrelevant, right?\n\nWhen Genesis says that God created the world in 6 days, then rested on the 7th, it is also poetry. The first day was light, but the sun moon and stars weren't created until the third "day." The Bible is the story of how God created us and how he is trying to reach out to us, even though we are fallen creatures. There are recitations of events and facts that can be checked out and proven or not through historical study. The evidence for the veracity of the scriptures is good. The more important thing is that it tells us how to live lives of virtue and peace with our neighbor. \n\nIf it is all nonsense, then life has no purpose or meaning. Heck, you have no purpose or meaning so why bother arguing with all of us who say that life does have meaning? Bertrand Russell (you can look him up in your library) was a very bright and educated man but insisted that there was no God that was the author of creation. Shortly before his death he wrote that he looked at the universe and found it convenient to believe that it happened by chance. If life has no meaning, he reasoned, he was free to indulge in the pleasures of life without moral compunction. Think about it.
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There are 3 earth ages (II Pet.3:5-7), same earth but different ages. We are now in the 2nd earth age. Between Gen.1:1 and Gen.1:2 is a vast amount of time, if time existed. Between these 2 verses is Satan’s rebellion (Rev.12:3-4) and “his tail” drew 1/3 of God’s children. Between these 2 verses also belongs all fossils and remains, such as Dinosaurs.\n\nIn Gen.1:2 we have the of the end of the 1st earth age and the beginning of the 2nd. For clarity Gen.1:2 needs to be divided (see below).\n\n(A) Gen.1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. \n\n(B) Gen.1:2 And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.\n\nIn (A) Gen.1:2 the first occurrence of the word “was” has been corrupted and is “became”. It reads “And the earth became without form, and void”. The end of the 1st earth age.\n\nIn (B) Gen.1:2 we have the beginning of 2nd earth age, the one we live in now. Man did not exist in flesh till this earth age.\n\nFLESH MAN DID NOT EXIST TILL Gen.1:26\n\nBetween (A & B) Gen.1:2 is also a vast amount of time, if time existed. Between (A & B) Gen.1:2  is; a global flood (not Noah’s which was a local flood), the destruction of Atlantis, the breakup of Gondwana Land, and the Ice Age. \n\nTime means nothing to our Father. He is very patient and loves His children. Instead of destroying Satan and 1/3 of His children, He destroyed that first earth age. Now in this 2nd earth age we all are born innocent in the flesh. Father came in the flesh Himself, Jesus Christ, and paid the price for all. Father defeated Satin, that is death, legally. So now His children have a decision, to choose life or to choose death. It’s your decision. Choose life!!\n\nSame earth, the earth age was destroyed. \n\nJer 4:22  For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. \nJer 4:23  I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. \nJer 4:24  I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. \nJer 4:25  I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. \nJer 4:26  I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. \nJer 4:27  For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. \n\nNo man floating around in a ark.\n\nIn this we can see the break up of Gondwana land, the ice age. Destruction of Atlantis. A global flood where noah's was local.\n\nListen, this not easy to document here in this text box.\n\nGen.1:3 Let there be light, not created.\nGen.1:6 Let there be a firmament, not created.\nGen.1:9 Let the waters, not created.
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I hope you are not implying from your question this wrong thinking:"if you don't understand something, then it must not exist". If that is so, then I probably do not have brains because I don't know why I am able to think. Too, I haven't seen my brain.\n\nBut, if your question is an innocently honest one, then here are my humble answers in the form of questions for you to think about:\n(a) can you tell me the beginning and the end of a circle?\n(b) can you tell me the beginning and the end of the universe?\n(c) can you tell me the beginning and the end of time?\n\nAccording to the Bible, God's creations reflect His glory. So, if you can not answer any of the above, then it is also too hard for us to answer your question. Did you get the point?\n\nBest regards,
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Ok, this is going to be a long one, so bare with me.\n\nHere's what we believe. In the Bible it says God created the Heavens and the Earth. We believe it was by the power of God all things that were created, were created. We believe that the Jehovah of the OT, aka the God of the OT, was that same God who physically created all that was created. We believe that everything that was created physically was first created spiritually, by God, aka our Heavenly Father, aka Elohim. We believe that even mankind was created spiritually before we were/are/will be created physically. We further believe that Jehovah of the OT was the spirit representation of Jesus Christ. Therefore Jesus Christ is God in that He is the God of this world, and because He led a perfect life and suffered and died for us, He is perfect even as God (the Father)is perfect. Only the perfect can be as God, therefore, Christ is God. We also believe that only on extremely rare occasions has God - the Father, come to earth. He was there in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, He visited Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove, and if there are any more instances I do not recall them. We also believe that the Nephites (a people in the BOM) knew this as well. We believe that God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are three seperate personages. God the Father has always had a body. His Son, before His mortal birth, as Jehovah, did not have a body, but with His birth, as Jesus Christ, He did gain a body. The Holy Ghost, as most know, does not have a physical body, but He is not some cloud of vapor either, His form is that of a man - yet because of His calling to testify of God and His Son Jesus Christ, He does not have a physical body. As you may know, we believe that there will be some (personal suggestion: Adam, Abraham, Joseph of Egypt, Joseph Smith) that will progress to the point that they are given the power to be gods of their own world. The scripture that points to this is God was as man is, man is that he may become like God. (I'm paraphrasing). Most of the time when we say God we mean God the Father. When we say Heavenly Father we mean God. We almost always refer to Jesus Christ as either Jesus, Christ or Jesus Christ (as is typical of all other Christians). We also almost always refer to the Holy Ghost as the Holy Ghost, although sometimes He is refered to as the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit. You are correct in saying that the BOM says They are one, but you misunderstand what is being said. They are one in thought, in deed, in spirit. Because They are perfect, They are the same. They are NOT the same physically, but are of one mind, of one heart. When you speak to one and recieve an answer you can count on the fact that an answer from one is an answer from the other. One would say the same as the other if the other were there. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (notice the capitalization of son). We also believe that all mankind are the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. While in this case God and Heavenly Father are meant as the same Person, ie Elohim, due to Jesus Christs devine nature as the only biological child of God, the term Son as it refers to Him is capitalized. We (meaning mortal man) are not the biological children of God, but only the spiritual children of God, therefore the terms son and daughter are not capitalized. \nPersonally I've always had a problem with the Protestant and Catholic definition of trinity. Even before I converted, I always thought of the Trinity as three seperate individuals who were Holy. As a child it didn't make sense to me that an individual could be three in one. It sounded more like a split personality - no disrespect intended. As a child I thought this was something I would learn more about as an adult. And sure enough I did. I learned that the Trinity (as is described in the BOM) means They (God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost) are three individuals who are perfect and who Satan ca
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Except that "Heaven" is beyond our atmosphere and therefore not subject to its properties (ie gravity/relativity). This also goes for Hell- which is believed to be contained in the center of the Earth- which scientists have confirmed is a massive ball of gaseous fire. //// This is an addition - in response to Smiley's comments below.... Heaven as described by the Apostle Paul is in the "Third Heavens" which no astronaut has ever been to.
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I believe that the bible is the true word of God.  In the first book of the bible, it tells how God created man. I know people will argue that the world could not have been created in 6 days and the Lord rested on the 7th.  To God, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day.  I don't believe in Darwin's theory, I believe in God's creation.
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I believe in the Bible.\nThe Bible says that the world was created in six literal 24 hour days, is around 6000 years old, that man and dinosaurs lived together (being created in the same week), and that there was a flood that totally covered the entire planet, killing off the vast majority of human, plant and animal life on the planet.\nThe amount of scintific evidence that supports this theory is simply staggering, but rarely given a chance to be heard or seen due to the wide-spread acceptance of the evolution theory.\n\nDid you know that the earth's rotation is slowing down? So if you back up in time a few million years, you have to speed the earth's rotation up proportionatly - you can't even go back a few million before the earths rotation becomes so fast that life on this planet is not possible anymore. - Much less 4.6 billion years.\n\nThe orbit of the moon is growing a little bit farther away from the earth every year, so if you back that one up a few million years, the moon would have been so close to the earth that the tide would have come so high it would wipe out all life on the  planet twice a day. - 4.6 billion years ago, it would have to have been touching the earth,  not oribiting the earth.\n\nI could go on for many pages like this, but follow the link below to find out more about that the Bible says about creation, and what scientific examination of these claims have shown.
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Good question! I had the same question as a child! I'm one for research, and never take an answer unless I can verify it to be true (to the extent I can!)\n\nFinding the True Sense of Biblical Passages\n\nGalileo believed the Bible to be true. When his scientific discoveries contradicted the prevailing interpretation of certain Bible verses, he reasoned that theologians were missing the true sense of the passages. After all, “two truths can never contradict one another,” he wrote.4 He suggested that the precise terms of science do not contradict the everyday words of the Bible. But theologians would not let themselves be persuaded. They insisted that all Biblical statements about the earth are to be taken literally. As a result, not only did they reject Galileo’s discoveries but they also missed the true sense of such Scriptural expressions.\n\nReally, common sense should tell us that when the Bible refers to “the four corners of the earth,” it does not mean that the Bible writers understood the earth to be literally square. (Revelation 7:1) The Bible is written in the language of ordinary people, often using vivid figures of speech. So when it speaks of the earth as having “four corners,” a durable “foundation,” “pedestals,” and a “cornerstone,” the Bible is not offering a scientific description of the earth; obviously it is speaking metaphorically, as we often do in daily speech.—Isaiah 51:13; Job 38:6.\n\nIn his book Galileo Galilei, biographer L. Geymonat noted: “Narrow-minded theologians who wanted to limit science on the basis of biblical reasoning would do nothing but cast discredit upon the Bible itself.”5 That they did. Actually, it was the theologians’ interpretation of the Bible—not the Bible itself—that put unreasonable constraints on science.\n\nSimilarly, religious fundamentalists today distort the Bible when they insist that the earth was created in six 24-hour days. (Genesis 1:3-31) Such a view agrees neither with science nor with the Bible. In the Bible, as in everyday speech, the word “day” is a flexible term, expressing units of time of varying lengths. At Genesis 2:4, all six creative days are referred to as one all-embracing “day.” The Hebrew word translated “day” in the Bible can simply mean “a long time.”6 So, there is no Biblical reason to insist that the days of creation were 24 hours each. By teaching otherwise, fundamentalists misrepresent the Bible.—See also 2 Peter 3:8.\n\nThroughout history, theologians have often distorted the Bible. \n\nMisrepresented by Religion\n\nThe actions of those who say they follow the Bible often besmear the reputation of the book they claim to revere. So-called Christians have shed one another’s blood in the name of God. Yet, the Bible admonishes followers of Christ to “love one another.”—John 13:34, 35; Matthew 26:52.\n\nSome clergymen fleece their flocks, wheedling hard-earned money from them—a far cry from the Scriptural instruction: “You received free, give free.”—Matthew 10:8; 1 Peter 5:2, 3.\n\nClearly, the Bible cannot be judged according to the words and actions of those who simply quote it or claim to live by it. An open-minded person may therefore want to discover for himself what the Bible is all about and why it is such a remarkable book.