What if .... some thoughts

by menrov 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • menrov
    menrov

    OK, to start, I no longer believe the scriptures are inspired. May be some writers were influenced but that does not mean all what they wrote was correct. As such, it is my view that none of the so-called religious scriptures (Christian, Islam etc) are inspired by a higher power. Does this mean there is no creator? Should I therefore believe in evolution?

    What if .... both is true? I mean, you have a creator and things have evolved over time? The earth is very old and plants/trees as well. So is animal life. And most likely human life.

    Religious people in general believe that humans were created in one-go, completely, no failures. Well, why would a creator leave the earth useless for so long? Pure evolution (i.e. big bang) would mean that suddenly everything was there in order to develop into a human being without failure or shortcomings and would also be able to reproduce immediately....what are the odds?
    BUT...what if a creator made various efforts to develop something that in the end became a human being? The creator had many years available to allow trial and error. And WHAT IF these efforts would have taken place on various parts of the earth? Why rely only on one human being knowing that many things can go wrong?

    In other words, WHAT IF life is the result of creation but has evolved over million years in order to become a human being as we know it? In my view, it does explain a lot, for example why we do become older but are still not capable to beat certain bacteria or viruses.

    Anyway...wanted to share... :-)

  • stan livedeath
    stan livedeath

    what if you stop worrying about what might have happened millions of years ago---and get on with enjoying your life today and tomorrow.

  • menrov
    menrov

    @stan livedeath
    Thank you for your advice. I am not worrying at all and am enjoying my life. However, for those that are struggling to make up their mind or like to hear other viewpoints, I decided to share. If I can help only one person, it was worth the effort.

  • Giordano
    Giordano

    Here's a saying that can clear the clutter:

    "The natural language of god is silence. Everything else is just a bad translation."

  • truth_b_known
    truth_b_known

    Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

    Jesus of Nazareth, Luke 17:21

    By oneself is evil done,

    by oneself defiled,

    by oneself it’s left undone,

    by self alone one purified.

    Purity, impurity on oneself depend,

    no one can purify another.

    Siddhartha Gautama (the first Buddha), The Dhammapada 12:165

    500 BC a man in Nepal by the name of Siddhartha Gautama was born. Gautama claimed to achieve enlightenment at the age of 30 and shared his enlightenment the best way he knew how - through a common ground of religion. Gautuma is the first Buddha and gave us his teachings (the Dharma), which have a Hindu tone as Gautuma and his contemporaries were raised as Hindus. However, Gautuma was a revolutionary and despised the religions class. This too was apparent in his teachings. Gautuma taught that in life we unnecessarily suffer and he showed the path that would end suffering. There is no god in Gautuma's teachings. In fact, he taught that if we are to obtain enlightenment and end our suffering it is only by our own acts of selfless love that we do so.

    Five centuries later another man in Israel by the name of Yeshua was born. By the age of 30 Yeshua gained enlightenment and shared his enlightenment the best way he knew how - through the common ground of religion. Yeshua used the teachings of Judaism as a vehicle to convey his enlightenment. Yeshua was a revolutionary who despised the religious class. He taught that through selfless love we can reach the kingdom of God which is inside each of us.

  • Searril
    Searril

    I'm a creationist who is a 100%, staunch believer in evolution. There are many of us out here. It is the only rational "solution" to the question that I have heard presented so far. I considered atheism for awhile, but found it to be simply too irrational to be acceptable so here I am.

    I think it might even be the actual official stance of the Catholic Church, although I don't keep up with their teachings enough to know if that's strictly true.

  • Sea Breeze
    Sea Breeze

    Keep Thinking!

  • waton
    waton

    mr: yours' is the definition of a deist belief.

    even energy and time do not have to be created, they are eternal.

    even the laws of nature could be "evolved": only universes with the right laws would survive.

    only planets with the righty conditions would have life started on them, or once triggered, have it survive. so,

    whatever was the process, you are here, a survivor, enjoy.

  • Half banana
    Half banana

    It's good to share ideas Menrov! The primary Christian belief of Jesus' sacrifice to atone for Adam's sin only works if you believe in the Biblical story of creation with Jesus being the "second Adam". This conflicts with the reality that billions lived before the fabled time of Adam and Eve.

    To believe creation and evolution requires Byzantine thinking. Why muddy the waters? Knowable evidential truth comes more easily than wrangling with a folk tale like Adam and Eve and trying to shoehorn it into the semblance of a fact?

    But humans clearly evolved, there exists a line of descent from Australopithecus through Homo erectus, Homo heidelburgensis etc and lots of flirting with Neanderthals giving all of us outside of Africa, a percentage of their genes. The fossil evidence is such that it is beyond question that we evolved and who our ancestral species were. So to make sense of things we have to start with a factual foundation not speculation.

    What is not beyond question is the existence of a god. Religious belief hinges on the existence of a god. Belief in a god remains purely personal, admittedly held by the mass of mankind in the past. If you disagree then please demonstrate for the sake of us non-believers, the evidence for a god. Otherwise it must be agreed that the Bible in Genesis is wrong if taken literally.

  • waton
    waton
    Belief in a god remains purely personal,

    Hb, and given the good points you make, it seems to be meant that way.

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