"God is not Man's creator...God is Man's creation."
Love, hate and survival are all instincts. God is not an instinct, God is taught. Without the human imagination, God does not exsist. Instincts are real, every living creature has them. While God is unique only to man. By this logic, God is nothing more than another fable in the ancient storybook known as The Human Imagination."

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 What is the criteria for which you can take a bible verse or passage as factual or allegory

"Doubt isn't the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith." --Paul Tillich

Is this true? I doubted because i wanted to know the truth. and i have always thought that

Faith does not give me the answers, it just stops me asking the questions.

i am confused right now.

Sorry for the late notice, but there is an online debate tonight between Michael Shermer and Richard Howe. Details are here:

http://northeast.churchforallnations.com/site/?page_id=388

You can watch for only $5, details here:

https://store.churchforallnations.com/site/?page_id=3

I looked for an announcement or link on Shermer's site but found nothing.

As background, Michael Shermer is founder of Skeptic magazine, published author and well-known speaker. He'll take the "No" side. Richard Howe is a Christian apologist, seminary professor, and author. This should be lively, as both men are well-educated on their topics.

And if anyone has any doubts, I have no financial interest in this at all, other than paying my $5 like everybody else. I just thought it would be interesting to the folks on this board.  If anyone watches, I'd be interested to know your evaluation of the debate.

My main question: The bible clearly states "thou shall worship no god's before me", yet Jesus claims the way to salvation is through him. I have heard differing idea's on who Jesus was. I have heard he is the "son" of god, and I have heard he is god personified into human form. I would argue with the latter, considering he would have been talking to himself at intervals snd talking in third peson at others, which seems quite odd even considering the time he was supposedly in. So, when they praise and worship Jesus in church, are they blaspheming? Why is the "holy spirit" talked about as if it is an entity of it's own and worshipped and praised apart from both jesus and god.

Another question, which I hit on in another post, how do theists deal with the fact that the bible has been rewritten, retranslated and many parts of it removed completely in an attempt to retain some kind of credulity in more modern times?

Next, how do theists deal with the fact that most christians have not even read the bible, very possibly even their own parents, who also most likely indoctrinated and programmed them into this religion from birth? They seem to learn bits and pieces of the bible as interpreted by a pastor. I see several theists on this forum making the bold claim that one must "study" theology to truly understand the bible. Your god did not make a book for the people, but for a select group to interpret it for these "stupid" people? baaah

There will be some reading involved. This is my first post. Athiests have the right to believe as they choose....as long as the abide by the rules of a free society like everyone else could and should. America is a free country...in fact Christianity is free...take it or leave it. The Bible never even remotely suggests that someone could or even should be forced to 'submit' to Christ. It would be a total falsehood if so. 

This doesn't mean that people claiming to be Christians have always taken that view point...far from it....but how did what they do and say stack up to what Christ said? That humans are fallible is not the test of Christianity, rather the words, teaching, and example of Christ are the standard.

"Come now, and let us REASON together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool."

Isaiah 1:18  New American Standard

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, ACCURATELY handling the word of truth."

2 Timothy 2:15 New American Standard

Atheists seem to love quote the KJV (like many Christians). While it's affect, and it's lovely archaic English have had a huge effect on the English language today it is very very easy to misread passages and take passages out of context.

 Hi, I'm a 19 year old from Fort Worth, Texas. I'm currently involved in an email debate with a Christian. I was trying to make the point to him that if God knows the future we cannot have free will because we must follow what he knows will happen or else he will be wrong. He is arguing that God doesn't know the future, he just knows what decisions we will make so he is merely a "witness" to our decisions we have already made.

Cx = x is logically conceivable

g = A pink unicorn of Truthfulness

(1) u <--> ~u
(2) u-->~<>~u
(3) ~u-->~<>u
(4) (x)(Cx == <>x)
(5) ~(~Cu)
(6) Cu   UP
(7) Cu--><>u  4; UI,Equiv,Simp
(8 ) <>u   6,7; MP
(9) ~(~<>u)  8; DN
(10) ~(~u)  3,9; MT
(11) u   10; DN
(12) Cu-->u  6-11; CP
(13) C~u  AP
(14) C~u--><>~u  4; UI,Equiv,Simp
(15) <>~u  13,14; MP
(16) ~(~<>~u)  15; DN
(17) ~u   2,16; MT
(18) C~u-->~u  13-17; CP
(19) u-->~C~u  18; Contra
(20) ~u-->~Cu  12; Contra
(21) ~Cu <--> ~C~u 1,19,20; CD
(22) ~C~u  5,21; DS
(23) <>~u-->C~u  4; UI,Equiv,Simp
(24) ~(<>~u)  22,23; MT
(25) []u  24; Modal Equiv

There you have it.  Now you know that everything I say is true.  Ha, suck on that why don't you .

 hi all, I'm a Christian; I'm not here to rant or anything, but I just have 2 quick comments regarding the blasphemy challenge:

It seems like most atheists who frequent internet discussion boards or chatrooms like to maintain a position of neutrality.  This is like a sacred cow, such that if any theist wants to tell an atheist what their position is, the atheist will automatically say "No!  You do not understand what atheism is!"  Despite this, I will attempt to make a fair generalization:

The main tenet of New Atheism is this:  We respond to evidence.  The burden of proof is on the one making the claim.  We do not have to prove that God does not exist.  You have to prove that God exists.

This is affectionately known as the myth of neutrality. 

Facts are, atheists are universally committed to a worldview.  The worldview hinges on the following principle:

Either there is a possible world where God does not exist, or there are no possible worlds where God exists.

The outright assertion that God does not exist is covered in both disjuncts.  Even if the atheist has no knowledge of modal logic (which most do not), s/he is adhering to this principle without even knowing it.  Even if you endorse one disjunct and not the other, the rules of propositional logic dictate that the entire statement is still true.  If the atheist says that he disagrees with both disjuncts, then he is no longer an atheist since the only alternative is that God exists in all possible worlds, which would entail God's existence in this world.