I came across this crazy site:
www.informationageprayer.com/
apparently, you can pay a computer to pray for you…
-
My[Confined]Space
Better Than Bread
Movies Coming Soon- Star Trek Books
- Happy 2024 Birthday to Christie Golden!
- “Star Trek: Voyager: 16 Seven Of Nine” Review by Deepspacespines.com
- Nana Visitor Joins Us to Talk About Her New Book – Star Trek: Open a Channel: A Woman’s Trek!
- Out Today: “Star Trek #26”
- Star Trek Strange New Worlds Asylum Book Review
- John Jackson Miller Books Ranked!
- “Star Trek: The Next Generation: Headlong Flight” Review by Lessaccurategrandmother.blogspot.com
- Jumping into Adventure with “Into the Void”
- Happy 2024 Birthday to Jim Johnson!
- “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Asylum” Review by Trek.fm
- Movie Related Products
- “Deadpool & Wolverine” Review
- Kevin Smith Is Getting Closer and Closer to Dogma 2
- “The Garfield Movie” Review
- Disney Said to be Considering a Surprising Replacement for Bob Iger: EA CEO Andrew Wilson – IGN
- Amazon Is Shutting Down Freevee, Its Ad-Supported Video Streamer
- “Breathe” Review
- “Transformers One” Review
- Captain America: Brave New World | Official Trailer
- Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* | D23 Brazil Special Look | In Theaters May 2, 2025
- Mattel apologizes after mistakenly printing porn site on ‘Wicked’ movie dolls packaging | CNN Business
- Music Video DB
Of course.
Because the action is more important than the intent. Omnipotent beings are so easily fooled.
Wow. Someone found a way to make prayer less effective.
will the computer go to HELL and burn in eternal hellfire INSTEAD of me?? ROFLMFAO
damn, christians are brain-washed brain-dead dumb-asses…
Not all of us. Some of us are even willing to admit that evolution has its merits. But yeah… this is just sad. People just don’t get it.
@...storminator:
Why must some people constantly question the Faith of others? Personally, I’m somewhat undecided, but I am opposed to the idea that religious faith is inherently bad to others. What is wrong with living under the belief that you actions will carry consequences and rewards beyond the material posessions of the world? Unwavering belief that each individual must answer to a higher, other-worldly authority, has been the bedrock on which every single civilization has laid it’s foundation. Where would we be without religion?
@...the3g_ipwn:
In a much better world?
Your basis for that being what exactly?
@...Neg: More likely extinct. At the very most, ignorant and uncivilized. I know you would argue that, without religion, there would be no wars or conflict. I agree. Because there would be no society. We would still be aimlessly wandering the plains, struggling for survival.
What if the Greeks, and Romans had never evolved a society of rules to govern themselves? Laws based on the foundation of pleasing the Gods, that there are great rewards and consequenses to our every action. Even the Ancient Egyptians and Asian Civilizations believed in higher powers. They congregated to great leaders that they believed were indwelt with the spirit and power of gods. These societies, congregations of people with common rules and purpose, have been the root of all of mankinds great inventions and accomplishments. Whithout the influence of religion, there would never have been Great Pyrimids, Colleseums, and Parthenons. No roads, or sanitation systems.
If there never was a belief in the afterlife, there never would have been prepairations of the passage into the aforementioned afterlife. No ceremonial burial or mummification.
Imagine a landscape littered with the diseased and rotting corpses of the dead, and you will see your world without religion. Looks alot like Hell doesn’t it.
@...the3g_ipwn:
– I would have to believe in hell to imagine it 🙂
-Religion came after society.
-I would not argue that there would be no wars or conflict, that would be ignorant.
“Whithout the influence of religion, there would never have been Great Pyrimids, Colleseums, and Parthenons. No roads, or sanitation systems.”
^^^Seriously?!?! Yes they might have been influenced by religion but what importance do the great pyramids, coliseums or religious temples such as the Parthenon serve? The coliseums served to kill people that did a lot of good. Not only that but all of those were built by slave labor, most of whom probably died during or after construction. Humans are ignorant and uncivilized even with religion.
-And you don’t seriously think we wouldn’t have built roads and sanitation systems without religion?
-Even if we didn’t bury people it’s not like they wouldn’t be cleaned up by some hungry animals. I don’t believe we need religion anymore.
@...the3g_ipwn:
We’d probably still bury or burn dead bodies for health reasons.
The only way I could see us living without religion would be if there was an answer to ‘why are we here’ in which case we would still have civilization or some form of unity while we worked towards that goal. But we don’t so we just make shit up.
I used to think religion was kind of bad because of the nutters but I don’t think religion makes them nutters. They’d be annoying and stupid no matter what how they spent their days. Religious devotion just gives them something to occupy their time with instead of bothering me any further.
@...Blondie: I completely agree.
Also I found an answer to the ‘why are we here’ question while I was on shrooms one time, hence why I live without religion…
I don’t understand the assumption that society came after religion. I think it was likely the other way around. The rules were for behaving in a society w/ other men, not for pleasing this or that god. Once a society hit a given level, religion seems to always come into play. Generally religion is more about controlling other people and little to do w/ any original precepts of god(s).
What? Nomadic gatherer/hunters praying and giving offerings to the rain and sun gods? Sacrificing animals to appease the dragon that eats the Sun and Moon? None of this ring a bell?
I don’t mean organizes religion per say, but as long as there have been people, there has been the belief that there is something more powerful at work. I would imagine that the first guy to make a fire was seen as a god.
Religion is based on the belief in god. Actual existance not required.
Why is it so hard for you to believe? Is my physical existence any more improbable than your own? What about all that hoo-ha with the devil awhile ago from that movie? Nobody had any problem believing that the devil took over and existed in a little girl. All she had to do was wet the rug, throw up some pea soup and everybody believed. The devil you could believe, but not God? I work in my own way. I don’t, I don’t get inside little children; they got enough to do just being themselves. Also I’m not about to go around to every person in the world and say, ‘Look it’s me, I wanna talk to you.’ So I picked one man. One very good man. I told him God lives. I live. He had trouble believing too, in the beginning.
George Burns as God
the3g_ipwn
Do you believe that Rome was the basis of society as we know it today?
Let’s presume yes.
How and why was Rome founded?
Rome was founded around the 8th century, if you could say founded. Latin tribes, that is, tribes that were settled in the Latin territory of the Alban hills.In all likelihood, the Latins were an offshoot of the Celtic people. After moving southwards from Alban to better hunting grounds on the river Tiber, the first village of the group which would become what we know as Rome was built on the Palatine hill. As villages grew up on the hills surrounding the Palatine, it is presumed that they grew into eachother and became a single, larger settlement, with good reason; safety in numbers, wider societal growth potential, you catch my drift. From this settlement grew Rome.
Where in this tale comes belief in a god or gods? What importance does it have? What relevance to the technological and societal advances made?
We could cast our minds back further, to the founding of Egypt, but we have less information on that, it being between 9-12 thousand years BC.
From what little we know, it’s even less interesting than that of Rome; hunter-gatherers and fishers became farmers, and migrated to the Nile basin for its fertile soil. Of all the cultural types there, it would eventually be the Badari, and therefore the Naqada, who would thrive, for some reason. Separated into Upper and Lower Egypt, Lower being less fertile than upper, less suited to agriculture, they were united in… I think 3000 BC? by Menes, a local king at the time. Now, yes, it is said that he inherited his throne straight from Horus, but this is just legend. In reality, North and South were united through several years of infighting and politics. And through this unification, Egypt sprouted.
God did neither of these things. Nor did belief in god. Men did this, because it was that or die.
Simple as.
@...LukeV1-5: Now, yes, it is said that he inherited his throne straight from Horus, but this is just legend.
Do you ever ask your self why it is a legend? Maybe because alot of people believe it but it can’t be proven. I mean, there’s not much Godly DNA to compare to is there?
@...LukeV1-5: Look we all know that god played a huge role in laws of civilization. From the first civilization to our own. Why you would dispute this is beyond me.
@...the3g_ipwn: What makes you think that societies without religion are more likely to fall apart?
“I know you would argue that, without religion, there would be no wars or conflict. I agree. Because there would be no society. We would still be aimlessly wandering the plains, struggling for survival.”
Wrong. Studies have been done on societies across the world in a variety of different religious and societal states, and it turns out the exact opposite is true – the less religious a society is, the more prosperous it is. Link: moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html
Money quote: “The least theistic secular developed democracies such as Japan, France, and Scandinavia have been most successful in these regards. The non-religious, pro-evolution democracies contradict the dictum that a society cannot enjoy good conditions unless most citizens ardently believe in a moral creator. The widely held fear that a Godless citizenry must experience societal disaster is therefore refuted.”
“Look we all know that god played a huge role in laws of civilization. From the first civilization to our own. Why you would dispute this is beyond me.”
Simple. No-one’s disputing that the people of these civilizations thought that God was playing a role. People here are questioning whether or not God actually did, rather than whether people thought this.
@...the3g_ipwn: Because they wanted to glorify him. His character is similar to Aeneas. Just as Aeneas had his own counsel with the Roman gods, Menes had his. It puts them on a higher plane.
I also quite disagree with this statement
People back nin the day were capable of logical thought, you know.
@...the3g_ipwn:
You’re having problems w/ inconsistency and non-contradiction again.
Societies that become religious will decline once that religion falls apart. People will fight against perceived immorality on their part. Make homosexuality illegal and all of a sudden you’ve created a whole new group of criminals. Make someone a criminal and s/he will begin to act like one in other ways as well. So religious people will say things like, “People have become immoral and the decline of civilization always follow. Look at Rome and Sodom & Gomorrah!”. Perhaps if there is no religious made criminality then there are fewer people who feel and act like criminals.
Religious people like to think they’ve got the moral high ground. They don’t…and never did.
“Religious people like to think they’ve got the moral high ground. They don’t…and never did.”
I’m not exactly thrilled with your generalization there. I’m religious and I don’t think I’m morally superior to anyone. We’re all sinners in our own right. I try to be a good person, but it is at times a fairly difficult course of action. Which is why most religious extremists don’t even seem to bother and screw things up for those of us who just want to live a nice quiet life with the God of our choice. The religious folk that people like to talk about most are the loud ones that take things out of context, preach hate and/or blow shit up. Those are not the people I go to Mass with. Those are not the people living in communes with the homeless, genuinely trying to better the lives of the marginalized. Religion is like all of man’s works: it can be used for good or bad. It’s up to the people involved to make the choice how they’re going to use it.
@...Tychoerikson:
By what standards do you try to be a good person? Why do you think that one should be a good person? I’m not a sinner and I’d prefer you not consider me one.
@...Tychoerikson:
See, that’s the thing.
“We’re all sinners in our own right”
This is a part of Christian doctrine. It’s one of the main parts of the belief structure.
But I don’t want to be called a sinner. A sinner is inherently bad. Sinners, in fact, commit sins.
Why does the church get to judge me like that, when I don’t even believe in it? That’s like going out into the streets and shouting “ALL WOMEN ARE WHORES AND ALL MEN ARE PERVERTS, BUT IT’S OK FOR ME TO SAY THAT BECAUSE I INCLUDE MYSELF”. It’s not OK. Fuck the hell off.
By definition, I can’t sin. That would mean I am contravening God’s will. How can I act against a God I don’t believe in? If I decide not to murder someone, its not because GOD SAYS NO, or because it’s against the law, it’s because it’s not morally right.
Church is goin’ ’round castin’ ass-perjuns on my character. It don’t get tuh do that none.
I don’t try to avoid sin to make God happy. I avoid it to make life better for myself and those around me, which is likely the reason most people do good things. Because it’s pleasant for all involved. Converting to Christianity didn’t really change my actions as a person or my motivations for them. Sin is a handy catch-all phrase for the stuff people do that they shouldn’t. Yes, it means more than that to certain people, but it’s a pretty extensive list in my faith (although shorter than the Don’t Do This list that it was based on). For example, anger is a sin. Cursing is a sin. Drunkenness, pre-marital sex, theft, murder, eating meat on Fridays during certain parts of the year, and so on. There is not a person on this earth that is without sin according to my church. Saying that someone is a sinner is practically the same as calling them a person. It doesn’t mean they’re a bad person, it just means they have faults. And those faults can be overcome, not for God but for that person’s own well being. So, I would appreciate it if you didn’t attribute other people’s definitions of sin to my own.
Like all people, my standards of being a good person are based on my own beliefs. Personally, I think being a good person involves fostering understanding between people (obviously it can be tricky, and I’m not always very good at it), helping those in need (not only with one time donations, but by establishing community and infrastructure for future growth), and respect for all people. Obviously there’s more to it, but since I was asked I figured I’d throw out some guidelines.
I apologize to anyone who was offended by my comment about all of humanity being sinners. If you feel it doesn’t apply to you because of your own beliefs, that’s fine by me. Live your own life. I just ask that you don’t go around saying “Christians do X because of Y.” I don’t like being put in a box either.
@...Tychoerikson: Can you use any more qualifiers? By the time you were done typing you’d made moot any and every point you made in your previous post.
.
.
.
Congrats on over 10,000 members. That was quick.
That was @tiki.
wow… Computers can do that nowadays?!? what like pay-per-prayer? LOL
I do not believe religion is directly related to civilization or that any belief system requires consensus in order to exist. I do not consider it a chicken/egg question. I think they exist in parallel.
I think religion is inherently neither good nor bad, but both. Good people will be good and bad people will still be bad in the regardless of the presence of of religion.
Early Roman hierarchy was based on a religious pretext. Ceasar was literally, “God” to the Romans. The Egyptians even more so. Those civilizations were *based* on religious beliefs. It goes, and the society always follows suit…
@...Phyreblade:
But must society go? I think that the reason society’s fall is predicated on the fall of religion is because once you’ve declared that so many things are immoral and illegal (e.g. adultery, homosexuality, promiscuity, non-believers, certain speech) that a majority of the people are technically criminals, you really are in a downward spiral of immorality. For many, there’s little moral distinction between misdemeanors and felonies.
Can anyone of us say that they lead a crime free life? Can any religious person here say that they live free of sin? No, and it leaves you vulnerable to negative influence of the words of anyone that tells you that they can take that from you. You’re holding your own soul hostage and you’re asking someone else to pay the ransom.
@...Phyreblade: Caesar was not a god to the Romans. None of the emperors were, not even Augustus. It was an honorary term meaning “quite a good emperor, really”. No one believed he was up in the pantheon of the Gods, sipping ambrosia and tossing lightning. I mean, Octavian had to get it ratified by the Senate. If that’s divine selection, I’m the “golden boy” referred to in Virgil’s Eclogues, LOL!
@...Tychoerikson: So you don’t like being put in boxes, eh? Well, how about the box, “People don’t do bad things because doing bad things is a sin”? That’s a pretty fucking well defined box, if you ask me. You’re putting everyone in that box, and you may be happy in the box, but I AM NOT HAPPY IN THE BOX. Let me OUT OF THE BOX. I do not believe in God, FOR ME TO BE TRAPPED IN A BOX THAT I DON’T BELIEVE IN IS QUITE LOGICALLY STRENUOUS.
Do you understand?
I would appreciate it if you didn’t attribute your own definition of sin to other people’s.
@...LukeV1-5:
I disagree.
Roman gods were not viewed as the “God, siting in the heavens, throwing lightening bolts from the sky” kind of gods you describe. That way of thinking is from another belief system.
The Roman gods were earthly gods, men of great and divinely imbued power. And that belief system is just as much a religion as those who believed in heaven bound deities.
The fact that they had to go through the senate does not diminish their Godhood. Heck, even Zeus was bound by rules, in Christianity humans are given free will, and control of their own destinies, in spite of God’s omnipotence.
@...nyokki: Here’s the problem, as I see it. A society is defined by the beliefs of it’s people, regardless of the validity of those beliefs. If that belief system shatters, the society will fail, regardless of the legitimacy of the belief system.
As you suggest (and I agree) our society is presently bound by many rules, many of which are not truly logical, but rather a result of subjective moral, emotional, and traditional socio cultural influences. However in spite of this, we cannot simply remove the superfluous influences, because to do so would leave no coherent structure in it’s place, and what is left of the system would simply collapse.
It’s like George Carlins skit about the world being built on BS. It’s funny, but I think it is absolutely true. If we were to actually try to extricate the truth from the BS, and live only on the truth of things, we would find ourselves with nary a solid patch of ground upon which to stand.
@...Phyreblade: I disagree.
I was describing godhood in terms everyone could understand. Roman gods were based on elements of nature, aspects of daily Roman objects, example, the Penates and the Lares. And yes, in many representations we have, they manifest as men or women, because that’s the way things are done. But they also manifest in other ways. In the Aeneid, Jupiter manifests as an Earthquake and a voice heard in the mind. It’s said that Juturna communicated with a certain member of the Flavian dynasty through the patterns she made on the surface of a spring. The furies are commonly depicted as manifesting as blue fire.
Clearly, the gods are universal forces.
@...LukeV1-5: Your argument is deeply flawed. “Gods” can be defined as anything. And that definition depends entirely upon the belief system in question.
There is simply no such thing as a “universally recognized” description of God/Gods. Some belief systems have men who are gods. Others have animals. Other have elements. Others are spirits of the air. There are a gazillion different types of God, and they are is all specific to the beleif system within which they exist.
And most importantly wrt your argument, there are many Gods that are non-universal forces. It is a mistake to assume that every belief system has to believe that their gods must be universal forces.
@...Phyreblade: It’s 3.30am, so this will be brief. I almost completely agree. Any major gov’t system that breaks seriously threatens all of gov’t and it’s people. Today’s financial crisis is an example of this. When it’s gov’t-religion, tied together as one entity (so to speak), the breakdown and failure (once started) is nearly impossible to prevent, because it specifically deals w/ moral and virtues and ties it gov’t and justice (legality).