Originally posted by Jim Colyer:
Can we believe angels exist?
I believe God is a scientist, angels are the controls against whom the variables in the experiment, we humans, are measured. All else, plant, animal are peripheral.
So much in the Bible is perceived as the fulfillment of prophecy. Can we take this stuff literally or view it as legends?
Entirely upto you, depends whether you want to or not.
I am 60 years old and have never seen a demon or evidence of a demon. Nor have I seen a miracle.
You are fortunate not having met a 'human demon' evil-doers. Similarly you are unfortunate not having witnessed a 'miracle' - Professor Kevin Warwick, nervous-system-to-nervous-system communication with his wife, during his second cyborg experiment
If Jesus is God,
Do you believe Jesus
is God?
Why does He not return now? Why not put things in order now?
Why should we humans expect someone/something else to re-order what we have disordered?????
If the universe is 15 billion years old, will it take Him another 15 billion to do so?
If we humans were not around, who would care about the 'age' of the Universe. Is age relevant!
Can we believe Jesus ascended into heaven? He floated into space? Have astronauts in the Shuttle orbited past Him? In film biographies of Jesus, he has the piercing blue eyes. The Anglo-Saxon Jesus!
Because some prefer to perceive Jesus this way, but what colour his eyes, skin hair were is irrelevant. What appears to be is that he was a charismatic figure.
He reels off vague parables which are riddles to the modern world. The surest way to confuse is to use a parable, analogy, metaphor or simile. Why do preachers preach until they are blue in the face and then ask for money? The bottom line is money.
They like preaching and like money!
Apart from imagination and art, how could Jesus have raised Lazarus from the dead? The supernatural does not exist in a natural universe. Faith can not make the impossible happen. Yet, Jesus said, "I am the Resurrection, and the Bible says all things are possible with God. Are those who speak of an empty tomb as evidence of the Resurrection not failing to distinguish between an actual tomb and a tomb of the mind?
See my comment above re miracles. Belief is another term that springs to mind.....
Indians.
Yes, I am sure those American Indians appreciate those Mormons...
If intelligent life is discovered in another part of the galaxy, a sect will arise claiming Jesus appeared to redeem lost aliens.
The age of theology lay between 3000 B.C. and 600 A.D. The age of science began 400 years ago. Carl Sagan, in his book, "The Demon-Haunted World," called science the candle in the dark.
Science is the way, evolution over creationism, observation over revelation, objectivity over subjectivity. Our eyes and ears tell us how things are. It is as we suspected when we were kids, before organized religion sapped our energy. Religion is flawed. We are physical, not spiritual. We are alive when we are alive. We are dead when we are dead. We are not dead when we are alive. We are not alive when we are dead.
Unfortunately, as a scientist, I can say, science does not feed me spiritually, but it is sure fun!
We live in a natural universe. The supernatural does not exist apart from man's imagination and his tendency toward myth. Carl Sagan left us with these words, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." Science is the candle, not mythology, not astrology, not religion.
This being said, I still subscribe to the ultimate message of the Gospels. If the Universe is 15 billion years old and middle age, Jesus Christ will return in another 15 billion years. His return will be in the nick of time to save believers at the brink of the universe's demise. He will save the souls of all believers in the cosmos. At that point, religion and science are the same. The 1% of truth in the Bible merges with the 1% of truth in science. Eternity becomes a conscious mist, 1% blissful, 99% flaming, heaven and hell.
