Eighth article of faith in the LDS religion: "We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly"

Yes, some parts have been lost, or translated incorrectly, probably the closest version to the actual Bible is the King James version because it was simply translated, not changed by the translators to what they thought was right.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Sep 3 2007, 1:15 am by Falkoner.

Oh you're mormon. That explains everything!

So how many wives do you have?

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Sep 3 2007, 1:34 am by devilesk.

Yes, everyone assumes that that still happens because of that stupid South Park episode, it has been banned in the church since the 1800's

The bible is very different from the original. The churches edited it to make god a good figure and glorify coming to church and giving money. God was a dictator, almighty in the old testament. Then he suddenly turned into a peaceful moral god in the new testament. To me this is a sign that something was edited or people quit writing about the bad things god did. When I played a game called Deus Ex (arguably the greatest computer game ever) it changed my entire thought about god. You, JC Denton, carry out a conversation with a computer AI, Morpheus.

MORPHEUS: "I was a prototype for Echelon IV. My instructions are to amuse visitors with
information about themselves"

JC DENTON: "I don't see anything amusing about spying on people"

MORPHEUS: "Human beings feel pleasure when they are watched. I have recorded their smiles as I tell them who they are"

JC DENTON: "Some people just don't understand the dangers of indiscriminate surveillance"

MORPHEUS: "The need to be observed and understood was once satisfied by God. Now we can implement the same functionality with data-mining algorithms"

JC DENTON: "Electronic surveillance hardly inspired reverence. Perhaps fear and obedience, but not reverence"

MORPHEUS: "God and the gods were apparitions of observation, judgment, and punishment. Other sentiments toward them were secondary"

JC DENTON: "No one will ever worship a software entity peering at them through a camera"

MORPHEUS: "The human organism always worships. First it was the gods, then it was fame (the observation and judgment of others), next it will be the self-aware systems you have built to realize truly omnipresent observation and judgment"

JC DENTON: "You underestimate humankind's love of freedom"

MORPHEUS: "The individual desires judgment. Without that desire, the cohesion of groups
is impossible, and so is civilization. The human being created civilization not because of a willingness but because of a need to be assimilated into higher orders of structure and meaning. God was a dream of good government. You will soon have your God, and you will make it with your own hands"

This to me is an explanation to who, what, where, when, why, and how.

Source: http://colmsmyth.blogspot.com/2005/12/greatest-computer-game-ever-made.html

Oh, so you chatted with a bot and suddenly felt enlightenment?

Tell me whats wrong with my statement?

Well, suddenly changing your mind because of what a automated chat bot tells you seems strange to me.<br />I admit that the argument is interesting, but people do not like being watched, people are just trying to come up with a way that their life could have come about.

Yes, my grandmother is catholic. and I've had the bible and shoved down my throat for a long time. I've been to classes CCD (Church Catholicism development) where I learned a deeper knowledge of god. I would go to my grandmothers on easter and do the rosary. I could keep going. At a young age of 12 or 13 I questioned it all. This Convo. with Morpheus was the only thing ever answering the questions I asked myself everyday. I still attend church and give money to the poor and such because I see nice people and I believe it will teach me life lessons/morals.

EDIT: People do like being watched. It inspires and motivates people to live. Think of Santa Claus, it emphasizes the same idea of him watching you and being rewarded.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Sep 3 2007, 2:15 am by Zell..

I really think that even if there was no god, the lifestyle of most religious people is better than ones not strong in religion.

I strongly disagree. Atheists don't go off witch burning and starting wars.

Talking about present-day, and atheists do other things.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Sep 3 2007, 2:18 am by Falkoner.

thats why I still go to church. but I'm using condoms fuck that.

EDIT: awww theres lots of people reading the topic I hope I inspire somebody

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Sep 3 2007, 2:23 am by Zell..

Judgement? That is what drives man's intellectual development over the ages? I think not. That's like saying religion is responsible for humans creating governments and making scientific discoveries. Personally, i think that judgement is a hinderance to man: If nobody cared how they were seen by others, then more creative and out-of-the-box ideas would be brought forth, rather than kept inside of one's head for fear of being judged as "sinful." Religion... is the veil of hope for an afterlife that covers the harsh truth of death: There is nothing after it.

Lol, I think I hear about more crimes committed by devout religious people than "devout" atheists.

woah, i thought devilesk was extremely religious. flip-flop, much? or did you recieve a divine message that told you to disagree with falkoner's statement?

I completely lost all my faith in god in the past 24 hours.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Sep 3 2007, 3:00 am by devilesk.

This will turn into a flame war FLAME WAR!!!

That's an unnecessary comment, and no it will not.

So far there hasn't been any flaming.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Sep 3 2007, 3:02 am by devilesk.

Blah you misunderstand. Judgement as in if you are good or bad (go to heaven or hell) Obviously this doesn't drive intellectual developement we all know that. God was originally Government. Any historian will tell you how ancient people worshipped the god of... Soon after people were believed to be influenced by god. (example: Pharohs) Then evolved the idea of people governing themselves. Yes, God did evolve into modern government. Scientific discoveries?? thats off topic. After that you continue assuming judgement as in me judging you to be close-minded. Your statement ran off so many different topic/ideas im sure i didn't answer something correctly. correct me if you will.