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by Diego Perez on December 30th, 2005

Diego Perez

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Does religion really matter, or is the important thing just belief in God?

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  • by generalhavok on January 5th, 2006

    generalhavok

    Belief in God is good. The religion you choose is irrelevant...unless, of course, that religion is untrue.

    It's important to ask tough questions about faith. Zen, for example, teaches that something can be true and untrue at the same time. This seems like nonsense to most of the rest of us. Mormonism, as another example, teaches that Jesus came to America after His resurrection...but there's no actual physical evidence that the civilization they claim He found here actually existed.

    If you're going to pick a religion, I suggest one of two choices:

    1. Pick the religion you like best. This will probably bring a sigh of relief, since such a religion will probably allow you to do whatever you want, whenever you want, with whomever you want. This is likely to leave you unsatisfied, so avoid looking at yourself in the mirror.

    2. Pick the religion that appears to be true, and never stop asking hard questions. I've chosen Christianity after years of study and asking tough questions. I'd recommend it to anyone. If you have some tough questions you have trouble getting answers to, feel free to let me know. I'll help in any way I can.


    Ismene: First, you're very wrong about the evidence for Jesus' existence. There's less evidence that Plato and Caesar existed, yet no one questions them (because they're no emotionally invested).

    Second, you're very wrong about the supposed invalidity of the New Testament based on the time frame. There are no ancient documents with more textual evidence than the New Testament. The copies we have are closer to the originals and much greater in number than any other work from anywhere close to that time.

    Third, you don't prove the "truth" of a religion. You look at the evidence, plain and simple. I can see by your response that you haven't looked at the evidence...let me encourage you to do so, if for no other reason than to not look bad on Answerbag. You may or may not choose to have faith in God, but you'll be much better informed. Let me know if I can help.

    ...continued. Ismene: try reading both sides of the issue. First, excluding Biblical texts as evidence shows bias. The Bible isn't a single book, but a collection of 66 by many authors. No matter your opinion of their truthfulness, you should recognize that fact. Like it or not, there are at least a half-dozen witnesses found there. Non-Christian references to His existence that should be considered are found in the writings of Lucian, Celsus, Tacitus, Pliny, Suetonius, Velleius Paterculus, Dio Cassius, Lucian, Galen, the Talmud, the Midrash, Mara Bar Serapion, Thallus, and YES, even Josephus. Most scholars agree that his works have been interpolated, but don't believe if of each reference to Jesus. A little homework goes a long way.

    Comments

    • I agree. Never stop asking the hard questions. Ask a Catholic to explain Proverbs 8; 22-30

      pugwashjw65

      by pugwashjw65 on January 6th, 2006

    • Do not generalize all the Catholics, that's ignorant.

      Diego Perez

      by Diego Perez on January 11th, 2006

    • Proverbs 8:12"I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence, And find out knowledge and disrection. So "I" refers to Wisdom.

      KalixAdam

      by KalixAdam on April 26th, 2006

    • Heck, there is no physical evidence that Jesus ever existed...the gospels were written at least 50 years after he died. Furthermore, how do you prove the "truth" of a religion?

      AntigoneRising

      by AntigoneRising on September 21st, 2006

    • You'll have to link to those sources, as I've watched numerous documentaries on the existence of Jesus and the dating of the New Testament (even as a question out here). http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/josephus-etal.html

      AntigoneRising

      by AntigoneRising on September 22nd, 2006

    • http://www.experts-exchange.com/Miscellaneous/Philosophy_Religion/Q_21786105.html
      http://www.whistlestopper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48403
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus

      You say the evidence is there...produce it.

      AntigoneRising

      by AntigoneRising on September 22nd, 2006

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