Isn't the whole point of science to constantly question things. The theory of Evolution has been improved and modified thousands of times since Darwin first conceived the idea, as has the theory of Relativity and just about any other scientific theory.

Anyhoo I'm still undecided about games, on the one hand they're addictive and distracting, but on the other hand they're a great escape when things are going bad. I know people say it's better to deal with issues head on rather than find something to distract you from them, but often you just need a couple of weeks away from the real world and the problems you had suddenly seem far less critical and much easier to cope with.

I think the main problem is when games become your world rather than just an escape from it, if your job as main tank is more important than your real job then it's time to quit. I've only really got to this stage once before and that was in the game World of Warcraft. It's the first and last MMO I'll ever play, MMOs are to games what Heroin is to drugs.

Um, who's saying the world is 6,000 years old?

Please teach me how to pull information out of thin air.

Traditional Christians say the world is only 6,000 years old. Thats what the bible implies. The bible also says homosexuals are an abomination to be killed, but then murder is a sin. Also, God supposedly doesn't sin according to the bible and he can't allow sin into heaven, but the bible is riddled with His wrath and destruction such as when he supposedly created the floods and spared Noaa's ark. Also, God is sinless, yet he will ultimately burn over half of all his own creations in eternal hellfire because they didn't put their trust in Jesus.

To me, traditional christianity defies all reason and logic (which God created me with did he not??), and it makes more sense to me if someone just told me they could jump 50 feet into the air.

Religion should be about god, not whatever lifestyle choices you make.

If there is a god worthy of the name it knows everyone and everything inside out. You can't justify yourself to such a being, you can only be yourself.

You can't talk about "what god wants me to do".

Well this thread has spiraled out of control

No one here knows for a "fact" what is going to happen when they die. Whether it is Heaven or Hell, or ceasing to exist. You won't know until your dead so we shouldn't spend our lives worrying about it, or trying to convince other people to believe what we believe. I hate it when people judge others based on their beliefs. God is the only one (in my opinion) who can pass out judgement of that nature. Actions and how you live your life is what is important.

I don't know what is in store for me when I die. I hope (you could call it faith) that it is Heaven and not nothingness. But I choose to live me life on earth how I feel is best and not focusing on making it into Heaven or helping others get to Heaven.

God knows what's truly in all of our hearts, minds, and souls. If there is an afterlife, then in my opinion that is what determines what happens to us. It doesn't matter what you believe in, only the person you are and how you live your life.

So, apparently you apply your own morals to the Bible and use that to judge it for yourself. This assumes, of course, that your morals are an adequate gauge for measuring the morality of the Bible. The biggest problem here isn't that the Bible is a bad book - the problem is that it teaches a different philosophy than you do, and you are uncomfortable with the philosophy it teaches.

This is also an appeal to outrage - you hope that by only looking at the "worst" parts of the Bible, you can discredit the religion as a whole.



So far, you've barely shown that you understand Christianity, other than a common stereotype. Your stereotype and poor understanding of Christianity are the only things that defy reason and logic.

You're quite right; video games are violent and anti-social.

That's what I like about them.

Being able to interact with other people (imaginary or otherwise) largely on the basis that I have several horribly be-weaponed starships helps me control my urge to interact with the people I ACTUALLY work with using a powerful battery-powered circular saw.

Mind you, I laughed like a hyena when I saw this

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/03/26

Uh, that's a huge and unsupported assumption. I like being on my own. In fact I need to spend a lot of time on my own. I get pretty stressed if I don't get at least 1 or 2 evenings a week to myself, and I prefer more.

What would you have me do meanwhile, stare at the wall?

I have been a game addict all my life... and I'm still enjoying it

The real words of god would never make anyone feel "uncomfortable".

'Talking to god' would be like having a conversation with yourself but infinitely wiser and more patient, and with no limit to understanding.

If you have a little voice asking, 'why aren't you doing this, why haven't you achieved that'... that's not god.

So, explain to me how God is good and sinless despite sending us all to hell for not believing in Jesus? What if someone is born severely mentally retarded??? Have you ever preached the good word to someone with severe Down's Syndrome? Someone who can't conceive in tying his own shoes let alone conceiving in Christ? What happens to young babies that die?? Do they go straight to hell because they didn't put their faith in Jesus? Explain to me exactly how God is not an evil bastard if this is true????? Surely, if I threw your son or daughter into an oven and burned him or her alive for a few minutes that would be extremely evil right??? Of course, burning alive for a few minutes is infintely better than burning for all eternity. I don't know - as I said I am just using the reason and logic God gave me, unless of course God didn't actually create me.

I bet you I could make a movie about Hell. It would be a movie so horrifying, it would make movies like Saw 3 look like carebears or whinnie the poo. People would have to leave the theater because they have the urge to throw up. The church would probably be in an outrage if such a movie was made which showed people and babies screaming in agony for 2 hours. Oh, but the last 10 minutes of the film, we see those who have believed in Christ. Even a person who murdered and raped women every day of his life until he turned to Jesus at the last possible moment at the age of 80. I will bet the really good hindu boy burning in Hell, would be furious to say the least. The Church would be tongue tied. THEY COULDN'T SAY ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Since this is the trash they have preached for centuries.

What was this thread about again? God? no wait, wasting my time. Video game s CAN be a bad thing, but the same logic used to discredit them can be used for any activity. My wife thinks they're just for kids, but she can stand to watch Donal Trump fire someone. i think THATS a waste of time. But we each find some enjoyment in out free time activities, so its really not a "waste". At my age i feel i'm allowed to be antisocial for a few hours here and there.

As a side note, to jump on the off-topic band wagon here... Inability to prove something doesn't mean it is untrue, science doesnt work that way. I can not prove the sun will rise tomorrow,I can predict it, but I can't prove it to you.

I can't see air but i know i can't live withoput it.

If anyone has questions about the fairness of God and His justice, please don't bring it up here, ONLY because there probably won't be any answers to your concerns, not becuse you dont have a right to express them. If you want these questions answred you should visit a bible based church and have a discussion with someone who does know.

Stanley: I wrote a whole bunch, but decided not to risk the wrath of the moderators by changing this into a full-blown discussion. If you want to continue this argument, you may by PM or email. In the meantime, here's a link to an article where similar questions are asked and answered:

http://www.christian-thinktank.com/evilgod.html

Well... on the issue of addictive personalities. There's no such thing. Anyone can get addicted to things that are addictive. On that note, anything can be addictive. It depends on where your interests are. If we were to start declaring things anti-social and dangerous on the grounds it can be addictive, then we might as well ban everything.

Also, I can't think of many things more traumatizing to a child than for their parents to rip away the thing that gave them joy in life in favor of pushing their own ideals on them. Don't expect to be thanked for it, now or later.