The world was created by God. Or was it?

In a world that has seen atrocities such as hiroshima and 'ethnic cleansing' replayed all over the world in so many different and barbaric ways, can you honestly still believe that this fine earth was created by someone who cares?

The bible says that we were created in God's image, but why then do so many of us have horribly inate tendencies towards evil?

Then we think about scientific origins of life, where was the all powerful hand in that masterful creation? Millions of years in the sea and then many more climbing trees before we became what we are today? Does that mean that when we were created in the image of God, that means that God looks like a fish?

Erm why have I been lumped instantly into the opposition?

Because,, your one of the best here, let us take a shot at you when you are off balance

Punk!

I'll definitely be arguing for Team Darwin but I don't want to be the only one.

Surely there are a few other people here who have some common sense?

Ill join the Darwin team

Im religious, but the whole bit of dirt and rib thing doesnt fit for me!

Yes.

Thats my final and complete answer. I've had enough arguing over religion and explaining myself on forums, so I'm not gonna do it anymore.

Edit: Creationism vs Deistic Evolution vs Theistic Evolution(I dont call it Intelligent Design, but its basically the same thing). One or the other, I dont really care which one is true. All I know is that we as human beings are no random occurrence. All three are basically "created by God"

Carrots actually has a point: it does feel like we've been down this road a few times before...

Personally I'm keen for something a bit different for a change: perhaps a good debate on fate/destiny (haven't seen one of those yet)? Or something on knowledge?

Dunno, starting to feel a loss of the venom from the previous debate

No worries, rusty, your choice.
Stick it up, well fight about it!

How about something else to spice it up. This only applies to Christians though. I am always very interested in how other Christians think.

Gitano, you say you dont buy the whole rib 'n dust bit. Why may I ask is that?
Is it:
a)Just what you think, no real explanation.
b)Both are possible, but current scientific facts/theories point that it was most likely not a literal account creation.
c)God may be God, but its impossible that it happened like that!

I don't think that anything is impossible for God, its just that things don't tie up.

I think that God had everything to do with the first spark of life, but I don't think that he intended us to be in his image.
From my point of view, he started life, and knew that one day we would come to be, but he didn't put us here like *poof* Humans! Evolution I believe is a real thing. How do you argue against the development of apes?

For me the part that God played wasn't specifically us, he was more life in general, and so the 'in his image' part for me, was simply the beauty and wonder of living things, as opposed to us looking like him.


Whats your take on it Carrots?

For me its not really important. I believe that we are created in God's image. Of course not physically. I dont really know how to explain that part, all I know is I heard a sermon about it or read about it somewhere and it made perfect sense.

On the whole evolution thing, while the evidence certainly points to it, very strongly, a lot of it is still circumstantial. (In my opinion)
It sortoff the classic movie scene where the cops come in and find a guy with a knife in his hand over a dead body. Meanwhile back at the ranch he was the husband or something and picked up the knife like a moron.

I see what you mean.
I would have liked to hear that sermon, but Im afraid Im sticking to my view for now

I find it very hard to find an explanation for how things came to be, no explanation exists in my religious texts and as i am skeptical about genesis and i don;t believe that the Big Bang is "THE ANSWER".

In this case i am straddling the fence completely. I don't believe that if we were created by a god, he would have expected us to turn out this way, image or no image anyone can be corrupted.

For the big bang, what started it. If their was nothingness before. what caused the explosion...

I believe that the Big Bang probably started it all.

I believe that from this, God came about.

The original Hebrew word for "God" is "Elohim", which means "those who came from the sky".

I believe that God could be what we would call an extra terrestrial.

Think about it. We use on average about 5% of our brains. Einstein, it is generally seen as, used 20% of his brain, and look at all the ideas that he came up with. Now imagine a being, or beings, that are capable of 100% brainpower. It is quite possible that this being could conjure up a world by a mere thought. After all, the universe is made up of matter and energy.

And yet the bible says that we were created in his image?

That was the idea behind about 87 of the star trek episodes....

I believe that religion is a man made concept used to keep the masses under the control of the few.

I was brought up as a christian, but lately I fail to see the point more and more.

I cant understand why god would put us here and give us free will if he didn't want us to do exactly as we please. So we are not supposed to steal etc because then we will go to hell... erm, then why allow us to feel the need to steal in the first place? Some will say its to test our love for him, but how the hell am I supposed to love someone that refuses to show himself to me? So I must live my entire life as part of a test by some being that no living soul can prove exists? I think not...

And in any case, if the so called higher power gets a kick out of playing these sick mind games with us lowly humans I'm not really interested in the whole heaven thing anyway.

So I go for the big bang -> science ->evolution thing.

And yea I am also getting gatvol of religious debates, mostly because no matter how good any argument of ours could ever be, no-one can PROVE that god exists, its all this faith thing, and faith is not something one can rationally explain. Its a feeling hammered into your skull.

god, alah bla bla bla whatever you call it, I believe in a higher being and that everyone who believes in a higher being such as God, alah etc. etc. etc. believe in the same thing.

we call it fried rice
Chinese call it flied lice

It's still the same thing FFS

everything else is candyfloss

Bullshit.

btw

Read the rest of my post.
And also, like I said in another post, the bibles word are never meant to be taken literally word for word.
In his image = His image is that of the beauty and wonder of all living things. He created living things. We evolved into Humans.

HOI, care to elaborate in another thread?

Spot On

Whenever people quote that, people assume that god will look like a humnan, people forget that we evolved into what we are now.

Changing tracks slightly, in Hinduisms our gods do no have any definitive form. It is only when they are reborn oto earth to fix problems that they assume the forms of humans. Hence it is that is the popular image of our gods.

I would always think of Nature as my first reference of god(s)

Thats of course only if you believe in evolution, which many do not.




Thats exactly what I do. Nature is way too beautiful for God not to have had a hand in it.

Yeah, it is bs (remember that figure being used by a teacher back in school)... figure us higher than that, but the gist of my argument stands though.

Personally im agnostic,call me a fence rider if your will but.....prove to me there is a god or evolution is real. I find it hard to believe that we came from apes. And for that matter if we did...why do we have monkeys today? Shouldn't they have evolved at the same rate as us? If evolution is true maybe we evolved from a totaly different creature?

I was raised in a EXTREMLY strict christian home, and when i say strict i'm talking stuff like theaters are evil, dating is evil, rock/country/jazz/blues/pop music is the devils music, women must never work outside the home,that kind of shit. And because I was exposed to all the hypocrasy and bullshit in religion, I chose a different path. If there is a god, why would he want us to restrict our lives to rules that take the joy out of life?

So, until proven otherwise,......i am agnostic (borderline athiest). And guess what?...Im pretty happy with life.