re: Do you believe in free will?

quote:

---

God knows what I'm going to do before I do it. He isn't forcing me to do it though.

---

this makes no sense.

He created you, knows what you're going to do, yet somehow didn't make it happen.

I believe in supernatural manipulation of the amygdala as an unwarranted influence on free will.

I believe in free will…the ability to make my own choices and actions as I see fit.

I also believe that God knows what I'm going to do, because God exists outside of time, and sees past, present and future simultaneously as a result of not being encumbered by time.

If I believe in free will, would that be an act of free will?

I can't really have a real debate about this issue within the context of the supernatural. I'm glad you have found comfort in religion, though.

quote:

---

the other day, my coworker and I were getting flu shots. he is always preaching religion to me. I asked if he knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that heaven is a better place to be than earth and he said "ABSOLUTELY". so, I asked him why in the frick was he getting a flu shot then. certainly catching the flu is not suicide. right? and, if you know that heaven is better, then why in the hell would you get the shot to prevent the flu?

---

You're a dick.

Read the bible. Nowhere in it will you find that life is fair. It also says of God that our thoughts are not His thoughts and our ways are not His ways.

Though some of us would like to understand God and even demand that we must before we consider placing any faith in him, it's never going to happen this side of Heaven.

It sucks for any child that is sick or in pain. It really does. It's just that God never promised or guaranteed a beautiful life here on earth. He promises an abundant (peace-filled) life if we place our trust in him and I've found him to be faithful in that regard.

ETA: If you believe what's in the bible, you believe and understand that no one is innocent. Not even the 2 year old with terminal leukemia.

quote:

---

1- have you ever heard god's voice. they always answer yes. however, when I ask what it sound like, they can't explain if it was high or low pitch.

---

It's entirely possible that we may call our own conscience and good sense "God's voice." I've never heard God audibly speak as you're describing.

quote:

---

2- what is god? is it a ghost, an old man (that once walked the earth), the wind, or an idea?

---

There's no way anyone can answer this without purely speculating and you know it. Clown question, bro. It's like asking what color the wind is.

quote:

---

since the beginning of our lives, we've been drilled to believe in god. we've been told about the bushes that talk, the snakes that talk, and the boat that held the lions, tigers, bears, that, for whatever reason, didn't devour the rabbits during their journey on the flooded earth.

however, we stopped believing in a man dressed in red that could deliver gifts to everyone's home in one single night.

think outside the box for a minute and sincerely tell me what's the difference in the two stories that I presented to you?

---

You won't like this answer but it's because we KNOW for a fact that Santa isn't real. We don't know for a FACT that the history laid out in the bible is true or false. I do know that nothing historical from the Bible has ever been proven to be false.

ETA: too late to edit, bro. I answered your smarta$$ questions.