Harrier- I only included you because you had a post specifically about evangelism. I would probably just be pedantic in agreeing or disagreeing with you about the mechanics of evangelism, because we are reading the same instruction manual!
I know the majority out there thinks otherwise... but remember, the majority once thought the world was flat. So here goes:
If someone tells me they're a "believer", they automatically lose a lot of credibility with me. I can't take someone seriously who believes in the "supernatural". I mean, can you imagine if after Galileo proved that the Earth revolved around the Sun, that people still to this day thought otherwise??? I think science has gone far enough to show that there is not some omnipotent being out there controlling everything. Perhaps there is a greater force out there beyond comprehension, but to say there's a "God" with will and power is just plain ridiculous imop.
... as I said earlier... if you still think the world is flat or the Sun revolves around the Earth, you're just plain foolish.
I think that to imagine god as some anthropomorphic being existing somewhere watching what we do is silly. I like to think of "god" as some sort of all-encompassing energy which is uncaring to the caprices of mankind and allows to world to continue regardless of what we pray for or desire. To think that god is some dude sitting in the sky pressing a "yes" or "no" button is retarded. It is very human and small-minded to put something as huge as god into such a small box. If god truly does exist, his very being is far beyond our comprehension. The same way that gravity is mysterious and inexplicable in its basic origin and workings is how I feel that if god existed, it would be just as inexplicable (and it seems to be so). I feel god and science do not conflict at all, they are merely two different questions being asked/answered (How vs. Why).
Not a very good analogy, as there is nothing "inexplicable" about gravity. How gravity functions at the quantum level is currently not proven (there are plenty of viable theories), but it isn't any more inexplicable than magnetism was before Maxwell's laws. On the macro-scale, the properties and source of gravity are WELL understood though general relativity. On the other hand, the supernatural can not be understood scientifically by its very definition.The same way that gravity is mysterious and inexplicable in its basic origin and workings is how I feel that if god existed, it would be just as inexplicable (and it seems to be so). I feel god and science do not conflict at all, they are merely two different questions being asked/answered (How vs. Why).
Not a very good analogy, as there is nothing "inexplicable" about gravity. How gravity functions at the quantum level is currently not proven (there are plenty of viable theories), but it isn't any more inexplicable than magnetism was before Maxwell's laws. On the macro-scale, the properties and source of gravity are WELL understood though general relativity. On the other hand, the supernatural can not be understood scientifically by its very definition.
Religion and science do not conflict because the way of thinking that leads to each is incompatible with the other. I think you're on the right track when you say the two ask different questions. The conflict arises when one tries to make science or religion answer questions beyond their scope. Science will never be able to tell you the purpose (or lack thereof) of life and existence, just as "God did it" is not a scientific explanation of natural phenomena.
It was an off-the-cuff example, poor as it may be, but I think it got my point across. Gravity is only known through empirical data. Nothing can prove how or why it exists beyond conjecture. Such is the same way I think about god, or whatever all-powerful being may exist, being cold and uncaring to the world and its creatures and being utterly unfathomable in its totality.
I agree with you that people begin to have problems with science and/or religion when they try to make one answer questions beyond its scope.
At the root of it, religion holds to this idea that humans are somehow perfect and I think that leads to the false belief that we are somehow superior.
At the root of it, religion holds to this idea that humans are somehow perfect and I think that leads to the false belief that we are somehow superior.
Okay, smart guy, explain this one:To think that god is some dude sitting in the sky pressing a "yes" or "no" button is retarded.
Okay, smart guy, explain this one:
Replace that with a Manatee, and that's what happened to me.. I thought god was more of a MAC type anyways.