Re: God
 

IMO this has stayed civil and isn't really showing any signs of going sour. The majority of people participating in this discussion are raising good points all around and I enjoy hearing about other people's beliefs... I think there's much more to be said before this thread grinds to a halt naturally. I was planning on posting something when I got time later this week however if this is really getting under the skin of someone, sure Brandon, do what's necessary.

Re: God
 

I don't believe in pre-emptive strikes against the first ammendment... It's been civil. If you don't want to read it, it's always a choice.

My two cents.

Matt

Re: God
 

It's not a pre-emptive strike against anything. ChiefDelphi owns and operates this website and they can do whatever they'd like with it. You have no rights here.

Re: God
 

Hey! That's my line!

:p

Re: God
 

I agree, I'm just saying that regardless of who owns this site... stopping people from talking because somebody MIGHT get offended... isn't that a bit much? Are we so afriad that during a conversation someone might be offended that it should supercede perhaps the chance for someone to expand their mind?

I wasn't refering to "rights" as much as what IS right, though I admittedly used the 1st amendment to make the point.

Matt

Re: God
 

Television. I rest my case.

Re: God
 

Shouldn't we expect this place to be something better?

I think so.

Matt

Re: God
 

I'm now thinking this really should be closed. If you'd like to keep it open it's probably not a good idea to turn it into a chat.

Re: God
 

I think this thread has merit if it stays on its original subject, allowing people to express their belief on whether or not there is a God.

I have resisted the questions and tempation to take the discussion to the next question (how do you know, or why do you believe what you believe)

but people keep bringing up interesting questions - which makes it difficult to not explain how you have come to your postion, or why.

Religion is one of those subjects that everyone has deep feelings about - and Christianity, once you delve below the surface, is both comforting and disturbing

so I agree, yes - if we go into this discussion too deeply, people will be disturbed (or offended)

the moderators of CD can choose to either avoid the risk altogether, and close the thread, or we can step back, and keep this on the surface - allowing people to address the original subject of this thread (the poll).

If the quote from my post about christianity being different from all other religions is what some people are upset about - Im not sure what aspect of that you 'hope I didnt mean' - so let me clarify. Christianity is about being reconciled to your creator - this was made possible by the free gift that Jesus offers us, its not something you can earn by being a good person, you cant earn it by doing anything, its a gift - already paid in full

and christianity IS the only faith that teaches this - others teach you must be good, the good in your life must outweigh the bad, you must work off your bad karma, you must meditate and ascend to a higher state of conscienceness, you must do noble things - some pagan religions had human sacrific as part of their rituals - Im not saying this to put down or offend other religions - its a noble thing to want to earn your way, to be moral

but the difference with christianty is, you dont have to. The debt has already been paid, so you dont have to pay it again - that should be good news, not something that offends or disturbs.

I know the politically correct thing to say these days is that all religions lead to God, all roads lead to the same place - but clearly christianity is a different path - trying to take the depth out of the subject of religion by saying that, in the end, all religions are the same anyway, really is not honest - its only an attempt to avoid the controversy, to smooth things over and avoid the real issues.

people are always passionate and emotional about their deepest held beliefs - this is true in science as well as religion - If this were a medical forum and a Dr posted his findings that accupuncture does not cure cancer, but radiation treatment and chemotherapy can stop some forms of cancer - we would not be inclinded to tell him to stop talking that way, because people who pratice accupuncture are going to be offended

and we certainly would not assert that all forms of medical treatment cure cancer - if we did that, then people would die who could have been treated and saved.

Re: God
 

there is one other reason to keep this thread open.

FIRST is about WHAT we do with our lives, and HOW we do engineering and science things

but this thread is partly about WHY we choose to do those things

and I think its very interesting, that here on a science and technology forum, you scroll up to the top of the page, and see that 55% of us believe in God

if nothing else, this thread shows that religion and science are not incompatible ways of life.

Re: God
 

That's the problem, these things have been discussed OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. It's like the PC vs. Mac debates, the Battlebots & Robot Wars threads, and MANY OTHER threads that have been done to death. These threads don't turn out good at all. People's feelings are hurt, they leave, teams are hurt, nothing good comes from a thread like this that's 3 pages long. I think every opinoin has been discussed already and I think that locking the thread is the only way for this to end on a high note.