NationStates Jolt Archive

Can He? Just wondering....

Yes. If you have an impure thought, the Lord will know, for He is all-knowing.

Oh...well, um...in that case He's probably thinking about me right now"What a strange little man" not that i believe in christianity..im just saying...if it were true...

yes god can read your mind

but more than that, since you might be deluding yourself, god can read your heart and know your true intentions.

Can He? Just wondering....

Oh yeah. Combine that with the concept that just thinking about doing something naughty is a sin and you are going to burn in hell. In fact, the better you're imagination the more likely it is that you'll burn. This is why I think Christians are committing a sin by teaching children to talk. If they didn't learn to talk, then they wouldn't be able to think abstractly and thus wouldn't be able to commit thought sins.

oh...well, most of my thoughts that im kind of embarrased about are just hypothetical...so im okay then...if that were true....not that im saying it is...

God knows everything.

Including the fact that some of us think things we truly do not desire to think.

Oh yeah. Combine that with the concept that just thinking about doing something naughty is a sin and you are going to burn in hell. In fact, the better you're imagination the more likely it is that you'll burn. This is why I think Christians are committing a sin by teaching children to talk. If they didn't learn to talk, then they wouldn't be able to think abstractly and thus wouldn't be able to commit thought sins.

Well, why don't you hit yourself on the head with a giant stick until you forget to talk? or betteryet, cut out your voice box?

I wonder what other religions say about God reading minds?

Hinduism says that God is everything and everywhere, so your thoughts are actually part of God.

God knows everything.

Oh, no, surely not everything?

Well, why don't you hit yourself on the head with a giant stick until you forget to talk? or betteryet, cut out your voice box?

I wonder what other religions say about God reading minds?

Hinduism says that God is everything and everywhere, so your thoughts are actually part of God.

I was raised Hindu but am actually agnostic...so i believe we can never know whether there's a god or not.

It's impossible to know the nature of God. Asking anybody about it will only result in an answer which suits them.

It's impossible to know the nature of God. Asking anybody about it will only result in an answer which suits them.

Tue...true..i was just wondering what some major religions believe

Well, why don't you hit yourself on the head with a giant stick until you forget to talk? or betteryet, cut out your voice box?

That's a very good plan. But cutting out your voicebox won't help as you can still think bad thoughts. But hitting yourself on the head should help. Anything that helps you avoid eternal damnation must by definition be good. I think that all children should be killed at birth so they go straight to heaven. Some say that original sin makes dead babies go to hell, but since their nervous systems are undeveloped eternal torture should hurt them less than if they went to hell as an adult.

If God can read minds, why the hell do you have to pray? Shouldnt he just know what you want without you telling him?

That's a very good plan. But cutting out your voicebox won't help as you can still think bad thoughts. But hitting yourself on the head should help. Anything that helps you avoid eternal damnation must by definition be good. I think that all children should be killed at birth so they go straight to heaven. Some say that original sin makes dead babies go to hell, but since their nervous systems are undeveloped eternal torture should hurt them less than if they went to hell as an adult.

Sounds like a plan *nodnod*

If God can read minds, why the hell do you have to pray? Shouldnt he just know what you want without you telling him?
you are confusing god with santa

prayer is our way of communicating with god. its not a wish list.

which is why religion is bullshit. I don't like the whole "tester" facet of god. Like when he told abraham to sacrifice his kid for him but then when he was about to do it he told him to kill lamb instead. WTF?!?! here goes abraham all crying and shit with his unconcious son and then god is like "actually, i just wanted to see if you'd do it".

god has this whole human-ant farm complex that needs to be dealt with :P

(the point of praying is that you sacrifice time to speak to god, rather than just talking to him randomly like I do)

I'm agnostic BTW.

If God can read minds, why the hell do you have to pray? Shouldnt he just know what you want without you telling him?
some prayers are silent and almost like a private conversation to yourself.

when I pray, It's not in a loud voice, but in a quiet whisper. most times it's just me sitting at my desk, quietly sending my thoughts to God.

you are confusing god with santa

prayer is our way of communicating with god. its not a wish list.
To me God and Santa are one in the same. They both arent real and both watch you and know when you've bad or good. The difference is Santa gives me better presents.

Communicate? Does he ever talk back, or is that mostly a one sided convo?

which is why religion is bullshit. I don't like the whole "tester" facet of god. Like when he told abraham to sacrifice his kid for him but then when he was about to do it he told him to kill lamb instead. WTF?!?! here goes abraham all crying and shit with his unconcious son and then god is like "actually, i just wanted to see if you'd do it".

god has this whole human-ant farm complex that needs to be dealt with :P

(the point of praying is that you sacrifice time to speak to god, rather than just talking to him randomly like I do)

I'm agnostic BTW.not unconcious. the Issac knew what was going to happen.

most times it's just me sitting at my desk, quietly sending my thoughts to God.
But why send your thoughts to God if he already picked them up before you sent them?

According to most Catholic Christians yes, but not all Christians believe in a self-conscious God.

To me God and Santa are one in the same. They both arent real and both watch you and know when you've bad or good. The difference is Santa gives me better presents.

Communicate? Does he ever talk back, or is that mostly a one sided convo?
no i dont think he ever talks back. but a good prayer session still leaves you feeling like you communicated with god.

no i dont think he ever talks back. but a good prayer session still leaves you feeling like you communicated with god.
really? Because I good prayer session for me leaves me feeling like I was talking to myself, or my imaginary friend.

According to most Catholic Christians yes, but not all Christians believe in a self-conscious God.
what christian denomination doesnt believe in a self conscious god?

really? Because I good prayer session for me leaves me feeling like I was talking to myself, or my imaginary friend.
well then i suggest that you speak to your spiritual advisor to see where you are going wrong.

what christian denomination doesnt believe in a self conscious god?

mine

[edit: actually I should say "doesn't have or need a denomination"]

well then i suggest that you speak to your spiritual advisor to see where you are going wrong.

I'm a spiritual advisor. How can I help?

well then i suggest that you speak to your spiritual advisor to see where you are going wrong.
actually I was kidding, I dont pray and I certainly dont have a spiritual advisor

actually I was kidding, I dont pray and I certainly dont have a spiritual advisor
you need one!

i recommend you take brains up on his offer.

Oh yeah. Combine that with the concept that just thinking about doing something naughty is a sin and you are going to burn in hell. In fact, the better you're imagination the more likely it is that you'll burn. This is why I think Christians are committing a sin by teaching children to talk. If they didn't learn to talk, then they wouldn't be able to think abstractly and thus wouldn't be able to commit thought sins.

Maybe you should learn the basic tenets of a religion before you bash it. This way you just make yourself look like an idiot to the less ignorant among us.

I liked the Hinduism perspective, whoever said that - your thoughts are a part of God.

Can He? Just wondering....

only if your not wearing your tin foil cap

or is that scientology?

Why do so many people hate/ don't believe ( To me, it's one and the same) in god? If it's about scientology/Random Religon number 90, then that's because most Scientologists are trying to either A: Stand out or B: Be able to sue somebody.If it's about how you don't think God talks to you then, well, you're one ant in 6 billion. Try listening to 6 billion people at one time.
Whatever, You guys have Freedom of Religion ( Which God seems to want seeing as we have so many prophets minus cults) So I don't disrespect that. But when you come to a public place to bash it, I try to defend it.

If God can read minds, why the hell do you have to pray? Shouldnt he just know what you want without you telling him?

you are confusing god with santa

prayer is our way of communicating with god. its not a wish list.

ROFL

According to Christianity, I would have thought so.

Maybe you should learn the basic tenets of a religion before you bash it. This way you just make yourself look like an idiot to the less ignorant among us.

I take it you didn't go to a Catholic school?

If God can read minds, why the hell do you have to pray? Shouldnt he just know what you want without you telling him?
According to Christianity, He still wants to hear you ask.
What does that tell you about the nature of the Christian god?

what christian denomination doesnt believe in a self conscious god?
None. Anyone who does not is not a Christian.

According to Christianity, He still wants to hear you ask.
What does that tell you about the nature of the Christian god?
That he is an self-absorbed ass

Why do so many people hate/ don't believe ( To me, it's one and the same) in god? If it's about scientology/Random Religon number 90, then that's because most Scientologists are trying to either A: Stand out or B: Be able to sue somebody.If it's about how you don't think God talks to you then, well, you're one ant in 6 billion. Try listening to 6 billion people at one time.Whatever, You guys have Freedom of Religion ( Which God seems to want seeing as we have so many prophets minus cults) So I don't disrespect that. But when you come to a public place to bash it, I try to defend it.
First Hating God and not believing in God are completely different, because you cannot hate something that does not exist, and you can't not believe in something because you hate it. The two simply cannot co-exist.

Maybe you can't listen to 6 billion people at once, but I'd expect that any omnipotent being who exists everywhere and knows everything to have no problem with such an endeavor. If they can't then they clearly aren't truly omnipotent. Perhaps they merely are an advanced race with a higher level of technological prowess or who have evolved beyond the need for a corporeal existence.

If someone went back in time with today's technology even back a thousand years. Lets for the heck of it say 2000 years, to the time of Jesus. They would be considered a god. Take this water *pours in some Kool-Aid crystals* and magically its a new beverage.
"Oh, My child is sick, and no one ever gets better for this." *slips kid some anti-biotics* "It's a miracle!"

I'm not trying to offend. I'm just saying that if we could make miracles happen for a sufficiently primitive culture with our technology, then couldn't another make them for us?

Yes. If you have an impure thought, the Lord will know, for He is all-knowing.
Isn't he also all feeling, too, so don't forget the reach-around?


Oh - as for the OP, no. Even "the" bible has instances as such - when i actually finish reading this thread, perhaps i'll know whether someone else bothered to post examples.

If someone went back in time with today's technology even back a thousand years. Lets for the heck of it say 2000 years, to the time of Jesus. They would be considered a god. Take this water *pours in some Kool-Aid crystals* and magically its a new beverage.
"Oh, My child is sick, and no one ever gets better for this." *slips kid some anti-biotics* "It's a miracle!"

I'm not trying to offend. I'm just saying that if we could make miracles happen for a sufficiently primitive culture with our technology, then couldn't another make them for us?

Whoops, can't let that little doozy get out... *burns United Planets c2161's post*

Whoops, can't let that little doozy get out... *burns United Planets c2161's post*
Moe: (shoving crayon up nose deeper and deeper) All right, tell me when I hit the sweet spot.
Homer: Deeper, you pusillanimous pilsner-pusher.
Moe: All right, all right.
Homer: DEFENSE! Grunt! Grunt! DEFENSE! Grunt! Grunt!
Moe: That's pretty dumb... but... uh...
Homer: Extended warranty? How can I lose?
Moe: Perfect.
;)

So god's Bulimic?

Really god does not exist.

None. Anyone who does not is not a Christian.

Funny that, I'm a Christian, I am not so sure of a self-conscious God and I'm not the only one.

For the Christians who believe that God can read your thoughts, perhaps you could all provide some scripture to support it.

And yes, I'm aware that it all comes back to "If God is omniscient, etc.", so perhaps some scripture to demonstrate that God is omnipotent, and that God consistently acts on that omnisence as well.

I havn't seen any arguments against, but if there are, I'd like to see what comes of those as well. Since Christianity is the most divided religion in the world, with over 40,000 sects, there are often radically differnet interpretations of the same Bible and opposing doctrines as a result. Its always interesting to see what comes up when it comes down to the details.

So instead of simply saying yes or no, I'd like to see some Biblical support for the arguments on both sides. :cool:

Funny that, I'm a Christian, I am not so sure of a self-conscious God and I'm not the only one.

By self-conscious are you using the term as synonymous with self-aware or as personally concerned with one's actions?

Because it would seem that God is self-aware of his own existence in a Cartian sense; they both essentially said, "I am."

For the Christians who believe that God can read your thoughts, perhaps you could all provide some scripture to support it.

And yes, I'm aware that it all comes back to "If God is omniscient, etc.", so perhaps some scripture to demonstrate that God is omnipotent, and that God consistently acts on that omnisence as well.

I havn't seen any arguments against, but if there are, I'd like to see what comes of those as well. Since Christianity is the most divided religion in the world, with over 40,000 sects, there are often radically differnet interpretations of the same Bible and opposing doctrines as a result. Its always interesting to see what comes up when it comes down to the details.

So instead of simply saying yes or no, I'd like to see some Biblical support for the arguments on both sides. :cool:
ok

matthew 5: 27-28
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

if thinking about adultery is the same as committing it, and if adultery is a sin, then thinking about adultery is a sin. how would god know that we committed that sin if he didnt read our thoughts?

ok

matthew 5: 27-28
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

if thinking about adultery is the same as committing it, and if adultery is a sin, then thinking about adultery is a sin. how would god know that we committed that sin if he didnt read our thoughts?

Sounds like a good argument to me.

Sounds like a good argument to me.
thank you

For the Christians who believe that God can read your thoughts, perhaps you could all provide some scripture to support it.

And yes, I'm aware that it all comes back to "If God is omniscient, etc.", so perhaps some scripture to demonstrate that God is omnipotent, and that God consistently acts on that omnisence as well.

I havn't seen any arguments against, but if there are, I'd like to see what comes of those as well. Since Christianity is the most divided religion in the world, with over 40,000 sects, there are often radically differnet interpretations of the same Bible and opposing doctrines as a result. Its always interesting to see what comes up when it comes down to the details.

So instead of simply saying yes or no, I'd like to see some Biblical support for the arguments on both sides. :cool:
Hey Tropical Sands, it's good to see you on again.
I suspect you're looking for an angle such as this one, for arguments' sake...

Three instances that suppose God's knowing are:
Acts 1:24
And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men.

Psalm 44:21
He knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Psalm 139:2-3
Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising; thou understands my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
-
And three equally compelling against are:
Deuteronomy 8:2
And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

Deuteronomy 13:3
For the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your soul.

2 Chronicles 32:31
God left him [Hezekiah], to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.
---
Hmm, one strong for, one strong against.
There's also the case with Job ...

1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
--
And so began another happy chapter of that happy book with happy circumstances and happy endings.

i liked this one

matthew6:6-9

6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,

no i dont think he ever talks back. but a good prayer session still leaves you feeling like you communicated with god.
I would think that what actually happens is that by putting your thoughts into words, you are exploring your own mind.

If God read minds, 9/11 wouldn't have happened.

If God read minds, 9/11 wouldn't have happened.
I guess that would depend on whose god was listening and decided to take part, wouldn't it?
:(
See again Job.

If God read minds, 9/11 wouldn't have happened.
Now you're assuming that God is benevolent. The point of this debate (as far as I know) is to find out whether this God person can read minds, just because 9/11 occured doesn't mean that God can't read minds because God could just as easily be malevolent. (But probably somewhere in between since no one is perfect)

Now you're assuming that God is benevolent. The point of this debate (as far as I know) is to find out whether this God person can read minds, just because 9/11 occured doesn't mean that God can't read minds because God could just as easily be malevolent. (But probably somewhere in between since no one is perfect)
I demand you all to stop taking me seriously.

I demand you all to stop taking me seriously.
My apologies. But to be fair the last time I thought someone wasn't being serious, I got dragged into that godawful debate with Red Tory States. (Now that its been closed let us never speak of it again.)

You're all wrong. Gods an elderly white gent with a long white beard and handlebar mustache. A guy like that would rather participate in necrophelia than read people's minds. Why do you think only dead people get into heaven? Gods not into the entire "Living" thing.

You're all wrong. Gods an elderly white gent with a long white beard and handlebar mustache. A guy like that would rather participate in necrophelia than read people's minds. Why do you think only dead people get into heaven? Gods not into the entire "Living" thing.
I think that's my favorite interpretation so far. Thanks HRian, you just made my day. :D

My apologies. But to be fair the last time I thought someone wasn't being serious, I got dragged into that godawful debate with Red Tory States. (Now that its been closed let us never speak of it again.)
Hehehe, ok ;)

i liked this one

matthew6:6-9

6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
Liked as in "haha, comic relief", or liked as in "ah this is the truth and the life"?

Can He? Just wondering....

After creating the universe, it should be a piece of cake. I think GOD can also write minds, total mind-literate!

Can He? Just wondering....
Uh ... do you understand the meaning of the word "omniscient?" Christianity describes God as being "omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent."

OK, here is one to wrap your mind around. Supposedly God gave people free choice(free will), and if God knows the future then that means by definition god already knows the results of your choice in fact millions of years before he even creates you. So how can an outcome that is already preordained and preknown since millions of years before you were even created be considered free will? Yet the bible makes it clear you always have a choice of what parth to follow. Yet in theory when God made you he already knows completly what you will already choose in the future. So any decision that you ultimatly make comes with Gods full foreknowledge no matter how screwed up or horrible you end up being. If nothing else God is a shitty engineer that knowingly has designed failure in creatures and in fact knew for 100% certainty they would fail long before he ever even made them. So whats the point. Story lacks any credibility.

OK, here is one to wrap your mind around. Supposedly God gave people free choice(free will), and if God knows the future then that means by definition god already knows the results of your choice in fact millions of years before he even creates you. So how can an outcome that is already preordained and preknown since millions of years before you were even created be considered free will? Yet the bible makes it clear you always have a choice of what parth to follow. Yet in theory when God made you he already knows completly what you will already choose in the future. So any decision that you ultimatly make comes with Gods full foreknowledge no matter how screwed up or horrible you end up being. If nothing else God is a shitty engineer that knowingly has designed failure in creatures and in fact knew for 100% certainty they would fail long before he ever even made them. So whats the point. Story lacks any credibility.
Which supports my theory that if God exists he did not create the universe, nor is he completely omnipotent. I suspect that God is perhaps a non-corporeal lifeform which is as limited in his ability to forsee the future as we are. Regardless of whether this is the case humanity is the proof that God is not perfect.

OK, here is one to wrap your mind around. Supposedly God gave people free choice(free will), and if God knows the future then that means by definition god already knows the results of your choice in fact millions of years before he even creates you. So how can an outcome that is already preordained and preknown since millions of years before you were even created be considered free will? Yet the bible makes it clear you always have a choice of what parth to follow. Yet in theory when God made you he already knows completly what you will already choose in the future. So any decision that you ultimatly make comes with Gods full foreknowledge no matter how screwed up or horrible you end up being. If nothing else God is a shitty engineer that knowingly has designed failure in creatures and in fact knew for 100% certainty they would fail long before he ever even made them. So whats the point. Story lacks any credibility.

Maybe GOD knows the future because we make future...Like future also exists as now and past. Time-space continuum and physical stuff.
Or maybe he's just waiting for a surprise?

What if the whole universe is just an experiment of some student of an "higher race"? Then we would all be labrats and the belief in any god would be just a parameter in the experiment....

Just a thought...

What if the whole universe is just an experiment of some student of an "higher race"? Then we would all be labrats and the belief in any god would be just a parameter in the experiment....

Just a thought...
True, and perhaps the mice are actually the ones running the experiment. Dying at convienient times in experiments to sway our behavior as they choose.

I suspect the "real" truth is about as comprehensible to humans as the rules of Monopoly are to house flies. We just simply dont have the ability to understand.

I suspect the "real" truth is about as comprehensible to humans as the rules of Monopoly are to house flies. We just simply dont have the ability to understand.

I suspect the "real" truth is about as comprehensible to humans as the rules of Monopoly are to house flies. We just simply dont have the ability to understand.

sorry for the multipost lag is horible tonight and getting tons of disconnects

Liked as in "haha, comic relief", or liked as in "ah this is the truth and the life"?
is there anything funny about it?

is there anything funny about it?
I don't get it..

Uh ... do you understand the meaning of the word "omniscient?" Christianity describes God as being "omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent."
..and then, bafflingly enough, completely disregards earlier issues with "god" as not really being any of those things consistently, provided in the OT.
The same god. Unless the idolatry issue skips it by worshipping Jesus/Mithra/Horus.

What if the whole universe is just an experiment of some student of an "higher race"? Then we would all be labrats and the belief in any god would be just a parameter in the experiment....

Just a thought...
And the belief in that god would be the distraction from the real manipulators.
Every now and again a test to keep us from turning full theocratic slave, given our horrifically gullible nature. Ya know, to keep the control group aspect active.

is there anything funny about it?
Depends a lot on your POV. Since you asked me specifically, i feel it's easiest to say
yes/no.
Not necessarily in that order, either.

By self-conscious are you using the term as synonymous with self-aware or as personally concerned with one's actions?

Because it would seem that God is self-aware of his own existence in a Cartian sense; they both essentially said, "I am."

I mean conscious of his own thoughts. I follow Jesus' teachings (hence I call myself Christian), but I cannot verify the existence of a self-conscious God. All I have are words written by men and it's possible these men didn't understand Jesus' message well or took some of his words too literally. So, I am sort of an Agnostic Christian.

But there are other people... In Brazil, for example, you will find plenty of devout Christians who "cannot" believe in Heaven or Hell or a self-conscious God. Some earlier Christians, the Gnostics, had similar thoughts (hence why they were burned at the stake, just what Jesus would have approved of course).

In fact, when the church persecuted the Gnostics, it wiped out the most modern thinking strain of Christianity, one that would find many more adepts in a scientifically advanced world. One that saw God as the universe, the light and matter that is, thus omnipresent and omniscient.

OK, here is one to wrap your mind around. Supposedly God gave people free choice(free will), and if God knows the future then that means by definition god already knows the results of your choice in fact millions of years before he even creates you. So how can an outcome that is already preordained and preknown since millions of years before you were even created be considered free will? Yet the bible makes it clear you always have a choice of what parth to follow. Yet in theory when God made you he already knows completly what you will already choose in the future. So any decision that you ultimatly make comes with Gods full foreknowledge no matter how screwed up or horrible you end up being.

Let me put this in my perspective, which I do not hold as being "right" but only as my perspective.

Paul and James are walking down a noisy street and they decide to cross a road. Paul chooses to cross it without looking sideways, but James stops and sees a car coming. James already knows John will get hit before John has even realised the car. James knows "the future" about John, but John's future is a consequence of his own free will (which he exercised while crossing the road without looking).

If nothing else God is a shitty engineer that knowingly has designed failure in creatures and in fact knew for 100% certainty they would fail long before he ever even made them. So whats the point. Story lacks any credibility.

Now, I'm not so sure about an "Engineer-God", since I rather see God as the universe (i.e. you, me, my cat, your dog, a tree, a planet, etc.). Still, even if I did believe in a Self-conscious Creator, if I consider that our future is a result of our free will, then our failure is our own, not God's. The only other alternative would be not having free will, but then we would be living in trees and peeling bananas. In my perspective, creatures naturally become extinct, because they cannot physically adapt to a changing world; that is God. If we cannot adapt to God (say our environment) we'll also become extinct.

The difference between us and other animals is that we are not limited by our physical ability to adapt to God. We can use our psychological abilities, our mind and free will, to move closer or farther to God.

I think that's my favorite interpretation so far. Thanks HRian, you just made my day. :D

You're welcome, and don't forget it. God never intended to read our minds and listen to prayers. Apart from the necrophelia, he has to make virgins for all the dying muslims. Thats alot of work too. And very risky, only 1 in 5 virgins actually come out virgins. So to make my point clear, gods a pervert, and hes proud of it. Keep in mind that I might be wrong, there might not even be a god, so prayings useless either way.

which is why religion is bullshit. I don't like the whole "tester" facet of god. Like when he told abraham to sacrifice his kid for him but then when he was about to do it he told him to kill lamb instead. WTF?!?! here goes abraham all crying and shit with his unconcious son and then god is like "actually, i just wanted to see if you'd do it".

god has this whole human-ant farm complex that needs to be dealt with :P

(the point of praying is that you sacrifice time to speak to god, rather than just talking to him randomly like I do)

I'm agnostic BTW.

I couldn't agree more! Also, I've never understood how my Christian friends tell me God can do anything when he can't "sin". Although I actually did found one who told me he believed God could sin but chose not to. I responded: "If you believe God can sin and break his promises, why do you trust him so much?" His response was: "Because he'll chose not to." I think that's about the time I gave up on talking to Chrisitans about religion. Most of the ones I'm around just respond by saying "you can't comprehend God!" as if that proves he exists.

I couldn't agree more! Also, I've never understood how my Christian friends tell me God can do anything when he can't "sin". Although I actually did found one who told me he believed God could sin but chose not to. I responded: "If you believe God can sin and break his promises, why do you trust him so much?" His response was: "Because he'll chose not to." I think that's about the time I gave up on talking to Chrisitans about religion. Most of the ones I'm around just respond by saying "you can't comprehend God!" as if that proves he exists.
God can't sin because as soon as he chooses to do something it is no longer a sin, and since he's all powerful he just alters everyone's memory so that no one can remember the act being a sin. After all he has to make his playthings on Earth keep thinking he's perfect. If he changed his mind he wouldn't be so he retroactivly makes things ok whenever he changes his mind.