(SWGO)SirPepsi wrote:I accept that I'm unable to sway either of your beliefs, and I don't strive to - but I will respond just once more to Desert Eagle: Every argument you've made in support of the notion that the Bible is an infallible text, that the Earth is old, that Noah's flood transpired the way it is recounted in your Holy Book is flawed. Essentially, you bridge the gaps in evidence with faith, twisting things out of context and inventing the most irrational explanations. I'll admit that I'm anything but an expert in Evolutionary Theory, so I'm not prepared to go on arguing each one of your points without conducting some research, but I still maintain that, at its very core, your positions are not in line with mine, nor will they ever be, I suspect. I will never view Creationist contentions as viable, and I doubt you will ever embrace Evolution as the fact it is. I can't disprove the idea that God created the universe, but I can disprove the idea that the Bible is infallible - multiple contradictions exist when the text attempts to explain the nature of God: God cannot be both omnipotent and immortal, God cannot be omniscient and emotional, God cannot be all-loving and damn unbelievers.
To Homestar, I've nothing to say but that our views differ. I have no resentment towards Christians, in fact, I have the utmost respect for those who use their faith for good. I cannot argue with you, everything I need to say has been said, let's leave each other in peace?
There is no contradiction in God being omniscient, immortal, omnipotent, etc. Matter of fact, He MUST be all these things or He is not God.
Yes, God can be all loving and still send unbelievers to hell because He is holy. He gave us a choice, we chose to sin, so we all deserve Hell. However, He chose to save some of us, and somehow it is the ones who accept this (this is a mystery that no one can explain). Those who reject him have made their choice that they do not want to be with Him. God is love, love is not God. You cannot make the elements of God conflict with each other, they all must work together. Therefore, He is loving and merciful enough to offer salvation but because he is holy and just, he will punish those who do not accept what He offers. You cannot separate the elements of God, they all work together.
This is a sticking point for many people (Including Darwin), namely, that many people are going to Hell. However, realize that said people have made that decision conciously (I of course can't explain what happens if someone never has a chance, I tend to feel that everyone gets a chance). Failure to accept Christ is a decision to damn the soul. That's the way it is. We humans tend to have a false sense of being owed something, as if God owes us a chance to be saved. We all blew it (and continue to blow it), and we all deserve Hell.
It feels unfair, but it really isn't. Those who don't wish to accept salvation have made their decision, no one can change that. God could force them, but he has chosen to give us free will and let us make our own decisions.
Evolution is only a fact for those who accept the atheistic a priori assumptions. You are going from the perspective of one who does not believe in God so of course you will reject the book He wrote through human means (because it cannot make sense otherwise). The Bible is meaningless without God and God is undefined to us without the Bible. Without a prior belief in God, the whole 'I believe in God because of the Bible and the Bible because of God' turns into circular reasoning.
Accepting the Bible as a harmonious whole requires a belief in a single overarching Author, otherwise it is meaningless.
Your views are completely natural and consistent, and it is not for me to force my views (which I believe are also natural and consistent) upon you. That is your own business.
Creationism is a "fact" to those who believe it, I guess.
"Fact" is a really bad word to use in science and especially in philosophy, but it tends to describe people's strong and emotional commitment to something, so I guess it works. I still recommend against using that word because it is technically incorrect, but I understand what you mean.
This has gotten way more preachy than I intended, but I'm going to end it here. We have both said what we believe, and I think we are done.