I'm glad to hear that you are interested in finding out about religions, and more importantly that you are not just jumping into the first one presented, but want to evaluate each on its merits.
There are many different religions, and the things taught by each are varied and contradictory.
It is important to find out which ones are true, and which are false, since if you believe there is a creator it would be important to serve him in a way that is acceptable to him.
First lets consider teh existence of a creator. If we examine the world around us, the stars and planets, chemical reactions and laws of physics we will see that they are very complex and finely tuned.
So finely tuned, in fact, that it would be logical to conclude that they have been designed to work in such unison.
Where there is an intelligent design, there is also a designer.
Another thing about this creation, it is very predictable and stable.
The laws of the universe are unchangeing, constant and inescapable. The universe is very orderly and not at all confusing or offering conflicting laws, or chaos.
It would be reasonable to assume that the one who designed all things to be orderly and logical, must also be orderly and not want confusion.
If this is true, then when telling people about himself, he would not want conflicting stories, but for all men to share common rules, for all men to be subject to the same laws, not all paths lead to the same God, for some teach things that are forbidden by other religions, a thing detestable to a God loving justice and order.
In fact the Bible says in Matthew 7:13-14 "Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; 14 whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it."
You might wonder why I would quote from the Bible?
Well, with all the different religions, the Bible is the one that stands out as being in union with scientific knowledge as well as historical accounts, and has a wealth of spiritual guidacne which has been proven to be beneficial for all mankind throughout the ages, if it is followed with accurate knowledge.
An example of the scientific accuracy is the account in Isaiah 40:22 "There is One who is dwelling above the circle of the earth."
This is not a scientific text, but hundreds or even thousnads of years before anyone even suggested the earth might not be flat, here a man is inspired by God to write as an afterthought that the earth is a "circle", the Hebrew word even translated as "sphere" in some editions.
Also the same writer later says "For just as the pouring rain descends, and the snow, from the heavens and does not return to that place. (Isaiah 55:10)
Long before theories of hydrology and chemistry explained evaporation and condensation the wroter simply states the water that falls to the ground and flows into the oceans, but they are not filled, it doesn't fall off the edge of a flat planet, the water goes back up into the heavens (sky).
This foreknowledge in itslef is amazing, similar to a man from the the seventh or eighth century explaining particle mechanics, or the movement of atoms around a nucleus and the jump from one orbit to another emitting light of varying frequencies; but that is a very small part of the bible, really insignificant.
What does the existence of the Bible tell us, if it is not a scientific text, what is its purpose?
If we were created by a God, why would he create us? Was it an act of loving kindness on his part? We know the bible says that God pronounced all of His creations as good, or very good. A loving person when they possess something of great worth want to share it with others. They seek out friends or family to show them, and let them enjoy it too.
So, too, with God. He wanted an intelligent and self determined creature with which to share all of the wonderful creations, something that could feel joy and comprehend all of the beauty around us with.
Evidence of this love can be found in the existence of the Bible. It is made for our benefit, with guidelines to help us to live meaningful and rewarding lives, and to give us hope for the future, as it explains why there is suffering in the world, that it will end, and tells us of the glorious prospects of life under God in a perfect world.
Some of the teachings of the Bible include spiritual guidance, helping us in our daily lives by examining what good qualities, from Gods perspective, we should cultivate. These are peacefulness, long suffering, patience, endurance, forgiveness and loving kindness.
The Bible also gives practical examples of how these principles should be applied.
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Well I can't post any comments again so:
You were saying the Bible can't be accurate because it says pi is 3.
The method for measuring the circumfrence was simply different; using straight lines inside the radius of a circle will from a polygon of lesser perimeter than that of a continuous arc forming a circle. Sort of like measuring a square or hexagon inside a circle, the perimeter is always less than the circumfrence of the circle enclosing it. You might note, also, that pi is unsolvable, an infinite has an infinite number of decimal places, so if you were to use the approximation of 3.14 in a math text book, it too would be innaccurate.
Even if you were to calculate it to 8 decimal places, it would still be innaccurate.
Also consider, what is pi rounded to one significant figure?
What is the statistical error of using just one significant figure, and is it acceptable to do so in this case?
3+-0.1416? Compare that to the method of measurment, the
length of someones forearm. How much statistical error is there in that measurement? 1+-0.5?
There is far more error possible in the measurment than in the calculated value of pi, therefore it is not statistically significant if pi is
calculated to one or a thousand decimal places. An error of .14 in pi produces less than 5% deviation, the length of the forearm could produce up to 50% error.
Therefore there is no need to use more than one significant figure for pi, and 3 is accurate rounding of pi to one figure.
Also on the subject of an empty set, an empty set is by definition an empty set, an equation for which there is no solution. For example, if you were to try and calculate where x=1 were to intercept the x axis, there would be an empty set, there is no solution point for the x intercept.
Any theory which states otherwise must be contrary to laws of mathematics because it is in effect trying to prove 0=1, because where x is zero is the x intercept, and 0 can not equal 1. Fancy calculations and tricky transpositions of equations, substitutions and such, are just a way to confuse people and slide an error past them without being noticed.
Comments
There is an extremely plausible explanation to the fine-tuning of nature's laws. It is that anything that could ever happen, happens at some point. There could have been eight septillion universes before ours, concurrent with ours, or after ours that ended up lifeless or nothing like ours because of different properties of physics, etc. At some point, something is going to be inexplicable. Rather than try to explain it based on the paranormal or on something suggested by a book that thought that the value of pi is three, I suggest that we accept that it is inexplicable for the time being. Some day, perhaps, the Big Bang or creation will be sorted out. Whatever your religion is, it surely does not revolve around creationism. There MUST be more to it. You, sir, aren't being a good salesman. I realize you're not done with your answer, but I'd like to know about what the individuals value, how ceremony works, and about tradition.
by EL1 2 on May 24th, 2007
If you're not really interested in learning about religion, why did you ask the question? It seems your mind is made up that the universe was not created, why would you want to learn about theories of how it was created?
by anonymous on May 24th, 2007
On the subject of mathematics, take a look at evolutionary theory and the big bang theory. Both of them revolve around the basic theory that 0+0=infinity. There is no universe, and nothing in it, and from this nothingness comes everything, all matter and energy. There is no life, and no living thing, and given enough time all living things come from this.
I would think if someone estimated the value of pi as 3 or 3.1 instead of 3.14 it is far more accurate than these theories which blatantly defy logic and reason.
by anonymous on May 24th, 2007
Where did I say that I'm not interested in religion? Sure, go ahead and alienate me. Or, you could stop insulting that in which I believe and answer the question. As for math, there is a clever proof of a way to get something from nothing mathematically. Read some Chaitin.
by EL1 2 on May 24th, 2007
There is no clever proof of getting something from nothing, rather one that ignores one of the laws of mathematics, similar to that which is used to show that 1+1=3. (division by 0)
by anonymous on May 24th, 2007
I'm not intentionally insulting your beliefs, since you have not stated your beliefs, how could I, not knowing them? What I was doing was defending my own. Since you say the Bible is inaccurate becasue it does not calculate pi beyond the first significant digit, I was showing that other "scientific" methods go far beyond that and contradict reason, not simply estimating the value of an insignificant measurement.
by anonymous on May 24th, 2007
Actually, there is. It has to do with an empty set being something. Seriously, it isn't a fraud like proving 7 = 8 or something like that based on illegal division by zero or whatever it relies on. Teaching someone about one's religion is not defending it. It is having an open mind and explaining things.
by EL1 2 on May 24th, 2007
So what exactly was your answer anonymous?
by Bohemian is back on October 5th, 2009