I am just curious

[iago]

Sort of. 

I don't beleive in any sort of God that you'd get in a religious sense, but I do think that there is more to the Universe than physical substance. 

[Sidoh]

Sidoh: I see it not as a reference to a specific deity.

It is a reference to a diety.  In this particular topic, we're discussing God: an omniscient, omnipotent, benevolent being.  That is a diety.  I don't care if you don't believe in Him; we are discussing a diety.

[Joe]

No it's not. A god is as much as a proper noun as man is. "God", with a capital g, refers to the Christian god (most of the time).

Example of non-proper noun:
The head of the Christian church is a god.

Example of proper noun:
Jesus is God.

[leet_muffin]

No it's not. A god is as much as a proper noun as man is. "God", with a capital g, refers to the Christian god (most of the time).

Example of non-proper noun:
The head of the Christian church is a god.

Example of proper noun:
Jesus is God.

Or any specific god of any specific religion. I did not specify either.

[MyndFyre]

No it's not. A god is as much as a proper noun as man is. "God", with a capital g, refers to the Christian god (most of the time).

Example of non-proper noun:
The head of the Christian church is a god.

Example of proper noun:
Jesus is God.

God is capitalized in the same ways that "mom" and "dad" are capitalized.  When you are addressing them or referring to a specific deity, it is appropriate to capitalize.

"My god is Vishnu."
"Vishnu, my God...."

[Sidoh]

Sorry, my mistake.  I don't know what I was thinking.

Or any specific god of any specific religion. I did not specify either.

It doesn't matter, though.  It's evident that we're talking about a specific god.

Who here actually believes in God?

Tuberload didn't say 'a god,' he said "God," indicating that he is refering to a speicifc deity.  Judging from reading a few of Tuberloads posts and knowing that Christian deity is generally referred to as "God," I quickly concluded he was speaking of the Christian god.

I suppose you could retract and say you were making an incidental statement, but I don't think it much matters.  We're not talking about 'a god,' we're talking about "God." ;P

[ZeroX]

I personally feel that there MIGHT be a higher power out there. But until he makes himself known, I will just stick to that when I die I will come back as a tampon.

I think when someone came, raised people from the dead, cured the people with terminal illnesses, and when killed for it raised Himself from the dead and forgave us for killing him was pretty obvious that He was making himself known, but to each his own beliefs.

Yes.

There is no physical proof that Jesus Christ was a person walking on this earth. I belive that he was a person and probally was a great man but, the stuff the bible says you just got take into heart is mostly a fanasty. He turned water into wine? I mean that is the pun of every joke out there.

[Joe]

The way I believe it, the letters, gospels and prophecies(sp?) of the New Testament are all completely true. The Torah (books of Moses), and the prophecies of Isaiah are true. As for the rest, I don't know if it's history recorded or stories of how to follow God in certain situations.

Also, there is physical proof that someone was branded with a crown of thorns and crucified in the Shroud of Turin. Decide for yourself if it was Jesus or not, but all the facts (except carbon dating his body, but that ascended into heaven and disapeared) fall into place.

[iago]

Also, there is physical proof that someone was branded with a crown of thorns and crucified in the Shroud of Turin. Decide for yourself if it was Jesus or not, but all the facts (except carbon dating his body, but that ascended into heaven and disapeared) fall into place.

There is physical proof that lots of people (tens of thousands?  More?) were given the crown of thorns and crucified, then buried in a shroud (you aren't crucified in a shroud, and there's no way to identify a shroud as the "Shroud of Turin".  But big deal, the Romans crucified slaves that tried to escape, and theives, and just about everybody else who pissed them off. 

Interestingly: the Romans did NOT crucify (or even hate) people from most other religions.  If you wanted to worship your own god or God, that was fine.  The only reason they eventually started hating Christians is because Christians were running around declaring that their God was better and Rome's gods suck and everybody else was wrong.  The Romans took exception to their intolerance.  But in general, Romans loved other religions. 

And incidentally, if Jesus was destined for heaven, and his body disappeared as a result, why don't ordinary people who go to heaven have their bodies disappeared?  That doesn't seem to make sense to me.

[rabbit]

Joe, several letters have conflicting stories about Jesus' crucifiction, so they can't all be true, which means that some of them are false, which makes me doubt all of them.  Also, were you there?  There is no proof anything in the Bible is true or false.

And yes, the Romans loved everyone in their empire until the Christians came.  When the Christians came, they said "you suck" so the Romans killed them.

Anyway, I'm agnostic.

And when did Tubey turn into a fortune cookie oO?

[iago]

"You will face challenges today"

I fully believe that there was a guy named Jesus, and he probably did some good stuff.  Then he was crucified, I wouldn't doubt that, the Romans were way into crucifiction.  Besides that, I doubt much happened. 

[Tuberload]

I personally feel that there MIGHT be a higher power out there. But until he makes himself known, I will just stick to that when I die I will come back as a tampon.

Unfortunately without complete faith in that which you do not see, when he comes back it will be to late.

[Tuberload]

Yes.  However I don't believe in what many denominations teach, especially things that are clearly stated in the Bible.

You should not align yourself with any specific denomination other than that of Christ’s Ministry, often times referred to as Christianity. Factions within the Church (assembly of believers, not necessarily a building) lead to futility, and are not what has been taught to us. You will however naturally [thanks to the Spirit] start to live your life according to the divine words of wisdom found inside the Bible, if you whole heartedly devout your life to Christ. This does not however mean that you will live a boring, uneventful life, which has been portrayed by much of society. The way I dress, the types of music I listen too, the things I like to do for fun has, for the most part, stayed the same since I accepted Christ as my Lord. The only real difference is I no longer have conflict of conscious going on inside of me, and this has lead to my overall happiness and well-being.

[Tuberload]

Crappy topic title, but No.

I believe in the possiblity of being a god, I just don't believe in one specificly.  I sure hope I phrased that right, or I'm going to get semi-flamed.  =-o

As a matter of opinion, I think the topic served its purpose well. Curiosity is one of the fundamental behaviors of the flesh and it has allowed this conversation to take place without preemptive thoughts forming in your minds before you even read what it is that I have to say.

I personally will do my best to keep all flames from entering this topic. I also hope that someday God will open your eyes to that which is him.

[Tuberload]

There is physical proof that lots of people (tens of thousands?  More?) were given the crown of thorns and crucified, then buried in a shroud (you aren't crucified in a shroud, and there's no way to identify a shroud as the "Shroud of Turin".  But big deal, the Romans crucified slaves that tried to escape, and theives, and just about everybody else who pissed them off.

This was at the time, the worst, punishment one could receive for his crimes. Christ, the son of God and man, walked blamelessly in the eyes of God. He walked in righteousness, and did everything that was asked of him. He also died for our sins, in the worst way imaginable, even though he did nothing to deserve such a fate. The point is that he suffered for our sins, and all who believe in him shall be forgiven of their sins. We are no longer bound to the laws of the Old Testament, but we have entered into a new covenant with Christ.

Interestingly: the Romans did NOT crucify (or even hate) people from most other religions.  If you wanted to worship your own god or God, that was fine.  The only reason they eventually started hating Christians is because Christians were running around declaring that their God was better and Rome's gods suck and everybody else was wrong.  The Romans took exception to their intolerance.  But in general, Romans loved other religions.

And this promotes good or evil? We were all given free will, and we all (good and evil) have a role to play in this world. Christianity at its fundamental doctrines state that we are to love everyone as ourselves, believe and love the one true God, and be lowly and meek people. We are not to boast, so I do not think our ancestors went around stating that our God is the best and the rest suck. They simply went around and taught what was given to them by divine inspiration, and God did the rest. You are either meant to see Him for what he is or you are not.

And incidentally, if Jesus was destined for heaven, and his body disappeared as a result, why don't ordinary people who go to heaven have their bodies disappeared?  That doesn't seem to make sense to me.

Human bodies do not disappear because the Day of Judgment has not arrived. When Christ was raised from the dead, people from the ancient world were raised and they entered Heaven. We on the other hand have not reached our divine appointment, and thus our bodies remain in this world.