Cosmology and philosophy trace their roots to the wonder felt by the ancient Greeks as they contemplated the cosmos. According to Aristotle,
it is owing to their wonder that men both now begin and at first began to philosophize; they wondered originally at the obvious difficulties, then advanced little by little and stated difficulties about the greater matters, e.g. about the phenomena of the moon and those of the sun and the stars, and about the origin of the universe.
The question of why the universe exists remains the ultimate mystery. Derek Parfit, a contemporary philosopher, declares that "No question is more sublime than why there is a Universe: why there is anything rather than nothing."

If you haven't seen this interview, you should watch it. Regardless of your beliefs. This is easily one of the most touching interviews I've ever seen.

I don't know if this has been posted on here before, but this is an amazing woman on her deathbed not too long before she did actually die. Her last interview. This is a woman that lived a just an incredible life and did all too much, and did not believe in a god.

http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=1551

Hi,

I was wondering how atheists here in RRS respond to the life changing effects produced by following 12 step programs which acknowledges a "Higher Power" that helps the addicted recover from their addiction.

I have seen atheist versions of 12 step programs, and they seem to be a cop out that still acknowledges some kind of universal power throughout mankind in order to help them overcome their addictions.

First question is, how do you account for the change in the person that helps that person get over their addiction?

Second question is, does your theist bashing undermine the g

Lately, I've been reading "The Fabric of the Cosmos" by Brian Greene and trying to catch up on a lot of the physics that I'm interested in that I never took in college.  From reading his book and questions about the nature of information, I was wondering if anyone has used this information towards theists about communicating with their God, especially through prayer.

It takes eight minutes for light to travel from the Sun to the Earth, and the speed of light is the Universe's speed limit.  As God isn't on Earth (I mean, I've never heard from people that say he dropped by the local drive-thru for a hamburger), anyone who appeals to God audibly has that appeal go only at the speed of sound.  We have machines that travel faster than that speed.

 I dunno. 

Did God create the universe?

    Maybe. How can you create something that has always existed?

 Is God all powerful?

    I dunno. It's not a concept that makes sense to me. More powerful than me is all I can say.

Is God all knowing?

   I dunno. It's not a concept that makes sense to me. Smarter than me is all I can say.

 Was Jesus real?

    There is some evidence that he was a real individual, but nothing definitive. 

Is Jesus the Son of God?

    Not my worry. If He is, then as long as I seek truth, it will be made evident to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CIHPor_haA&mode=related&search=

Now I'm not sure if I think that this is real, but I just wanted to know what you guys think. 

I know of no historical cultures that were atheistic. Before I stick my foot in my mouth,  were  there any?  Not necessarily Judeao-Christian, but some form of theism is all I'm concerned with. I'm not sure there are any contemporary cultures that could be called atheistic. I suppose communism in Russia and China tried to be atheistic but their success isn't exactly stellar.

The name "God" is useful because it's generic.  God, which god, THE God, not just any god, not the god some nobody worships, but God.  It may seem simplistic, but you can carry the generic name across all languages, just take their word for singular "god" and make it refer to the Judeo-Christian God.  Look at Allah, who is also believed to be the Judeo-Christian God.  But by calling this deity God it conveniently does the following- it singularizes the concept as one god rather than multiple gods, it allows someone to use their idea of what one god is, and through capitalization the idea of one god becomes THE ONLY god.  It sounds too simple, but it's worked worldwide through different cultures and languages, rather than saying "subscribe to the specific name of our deity."         

http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/godfuse.html

I don't agree with all his points, or the stealing of pics from a certain imageboard, but the conclusion seems to be 'can't we all just get along" or some crap.

I've looked at dozens of videos on the blasphemy challenge, and I noticed that all the atheists have one thing in common: dark auras. If you look at them, they look dark and unhealthy. There is no light or sparkle in their eyes. It's as if they have driven the light of God out of them. Some schools of philosophy and religion assert that some people don't have souls. I don't know. But those people do not look normal. They look dark. It's hard to explain.