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Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN jesus, really? (haha, no pun intended.)

I'd consider myself a spiritual person but not necessarily a religious one. I am not a Christian by doctrine, but I do believe in a higher power of some sort.

I had a falling out with organized religion in high school, and there was definitely a period where I didn't really believe in anything... but as I've gotten a bit older, I've come to believe that there's more to life than human agency. To put it in other words, I believe in fate, and I believe that something or someone (God) ordains that fate. I don't think fate is present in all of our actions, but I do think people are set on a path, and that at times outside forces intervene in human lives. It's hard to explain, but I believe I've felt this in my own life on a few occasions.

That said, I don't give much thought to stories in the Bible about Jesus turning water into wine and the like - maybe he did, maybe he didn't. What I do believe is that he was put on Earth by God as an example to follow. Be fair, compassionate toward others, refrain from jealousy and pettiness. Most of Jesus' behavior fell in line with the Aristotelian virtues. I'll be honest to say that I struggle with the idea of him being the son of God... I don't discount the possibility, and I can't think of any human being consistently capable of the virtues he attained.

But like I said, to me, faith is a series of questions, and a personal struggle to find answers.

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im almost as speechless as when i found out shaolin was a 911 conspiracy theorist.

well, i hope your faith serves you well. i shall try and protect you when the atheist revolution comes and we're putting your kind up against the wall

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Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN well, i hope your faith serves you well. i shall try and protect you when the atheist revolution comes and we're putting your kind up against the wall

Didn't Stalin already try that?

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Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov Didn't Stalin already try that?

try? succeeded he did!

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nice Christopher Hitchens article about the Texas school board issue in Newsweek today:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/191400

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Originally posted by The17sss nice Christopher Hitchens article about the Texas school board issue in Newsweek today: http://www.newsweek.com/id/191400

I love Hitchens. Only compelling atheist left.

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Originally posted by Alex I love Hitchens. Only compelling atheist left.

He's fun to watch. Did you ever see his debate with Dinesh D'Souza? Good stuff

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Originally posted by The17sss He's fun to watch. Did you ever see his debate with Dinesh D'Souza? Good stuff

Yes. Dinesh is ok, but I actually liked Hitchens better in the debates.

I believe Hitchens is going to debate William Lane Craig soon, April 4th or something. William Lane Craig is one of the better Christian debaters on the circuit right now, should be fun to watch.

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Originally posted by Alex Yes. Dinesh is ok, but I actually liked Hitchens better in the debates. I believe Hitchens recently debated William Lane Craig, one of the best Christian debaters alive today. I really want to find out what happened.

sounds interesting. I definitely want to see that. I'll try to track it down and get back to you if I find a link

I edited my post.

The debate is set for april 4th.

Hopefully we get a transcript or someone records the damn thing. The topic is loaded in Craig's favor though, "Does God Exist". Hitchens usually prefers to debate issues such as religious integrity and the integrity of such a God that would be the God of Christians/Jews/Muslims.

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Originally posted by Alex I edited my post. The debate is set for april 4th. Hopefully we get a transcript or someone records the damn thing. The topic is loaded in Craig's favor though, "Does God Exist". Hitchens usually prefers to debate issues such as religious integrity and the integrity of such a God that would be the God of Christians/Jews/Muslims.

Ahhh. no wonder I couldn't find it. I wonder how Hitchens will react with the topic deck stacked against him. I'll have my popcorn ready.

Well Hitchens will simply have to change the topic. His rhetoric is great, and he's likeable because of how funny he is, but Craig is just an awesome debater.

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