Oliver “Thanks. What is the connection you are making between free will and the Pre-Cambrian extinction? My point was there was a seemly meaningless path created, if the apex of the creation is humanity. Why create the other path?”

I did not think I was making one, quite the opposite.

Freewill is a topic close to my heart. I believe it is what allows man to grow as an individual and from that we can all, hopefully, evolve to experience a more worthwhile existence.

As for paths, what may presently appear as “meaningless” might simply be because we have not resolved its meaning.

Doubtless our ancestors thought some insects had a meaningless existence because they did not understand the role of the maggot in processing the detritus of the earths mammals, birds etc. (thank God for the Dung Beetle).

Alternatively, we could assume, beyond humans, the influence of chaos on the evolutionary process produced some variants and diversity.

These days, I see a danger in us surrendering that diversity to the social and genetic meddlers, who would see some future in us all being uniformly the same and eating the most efficiently produced and uniform food varieties.

Give me diversity any day, it may not be as uniformly “efficient” in the short term but if we do not fully understand the reason and implications of both Flora and Fauna existence, we cannot understand the implications of their extinction either

Dear Oliver,

You asked, "Given a loving God, why is the insect kingdom so cruel?"

Because it's part of life's cycle that God designed to maintain the balance necessary in nature.

Every kind of animal life fits into a marvellous system of nature.
Animals help build up life by serving as food for people
and for plants. But animals also destroy life. It's part of the life cycle. They hunt and kill other animals and they eat plants. As a result, animals help keep in balance the total number of plants and animals. The balance in nature is important and is often called the 'Web of Life.'

You then ask, "How was Jesus born with Mary's hymen intact?"

The New Testament itself does not give very good authority for the virgin birth: it is dealt with in only two of the four gospels, and those same two gospels give a genealogy which says that Jesus was descended from King David through his father Joseph: a complete contradiction.

Nowhere is the virgin birth mentioned in the rest of the New Testament, and, in fact, Paul says very clearly that Jesus was "of the seed of David." Many Protestants do not hold to its literal truth, preferring to invest it with a spiritual meaning. But it remains, of course, an important element in Catholic tradition.

What, then, is the real background?

Joseph was a descendant of King David. He was an Essene, living according to their rules. The woman in such marriages must have also been dedicated to a religious ideal. She must be a virgin at marriage, in accordance with the high ideal of purity.

However, the betrothal period was very long, and must have put strains on both parties. If it happened that during the betrothal period and before the wedding, a child was conceived, then it could be said by a play on words that a "Virgin had conceived." The woman was still a Virgin legally, but not physically. It would be just like the case of a young couple conceiving a child during their engagement.

Here we go again. There is no answer to the god thing, and you all know what I think on this matter. In my first post,( the big bang) its all a never ending story of create and destroyed, and it doesn't change no matter what the human thinks. Nothing is ever the same. Life here is just a once off and nothing will ever walk or crawl this way again.

Just like the moon will leave the earths orbit, nothing ever repeats its self. All life is not meant to be fully understood. Its why its beyond our comprehensions and I believe god is just a manifest of the human mind.
We can all dribble on until the cows come in, but we will get no closer. I believe this planet may of been seeded but that's as far as I've come too a god. Its usually the simple answer that is right! Its always been here!, and all we are, is just a moment in time.

Just live life and worry what happens next after you die. I will have no "body", so I guess I'll just wonder as energy( become a part of it) or I'll go shopping down entity street and look for the best heaven on sale.lol.

EVO

This is fun. Even to an atheist.

It's a bit like those newspaper columns that devote themselves to dissecting games of Bridge.

To a non-Bridge player, the individual words have meaning (trumps, lead, bid, dummy) but the sentences and paragraphs are utterly incomprehensible.

This thread is having the same effect on me, since I neither play Bridge nor believe in God.

(Maybe there's a connection. There's a thought)

But on the upside, there is clearly a competition going on here, to determine who can respond to Oliver's - quite fascinating - questions in the most abstruse and arcane fashion.

My favourite so far is:

>>believing-the-lies-we-are-all-fed as children ,only in study via practical pigion-and-plant-and chicken/fish-breeding guided by the science greats gregor-mendel, levi-hollander, darwin et-all did i realise my pigeons could never breed its nearest genetic-relitive [the-extinct-dodo]<<

Closely followed by:

>>There were times when aras of the earth was not occupied and there were open niches. Not all the parking spaces were taken. The carpark was at first empty. It was not a matter of the paths competing; these species were too highly differented. More so than deep sea crabs and eagles. Totally different.<<

And an honourable mention to:

>>The Answers in Genesis people put the incest thing quite well when they say that sex between brother and sister for children was permitted to a certain point then God said No, as in NO MORE, because it was breaking down the genetic line and would have produced retarded children. E.g. many will remember the young banjo player in the film "Deliverance"?<<

I look forward to some worthy challengers appearing.

Oliver, I explain 'god' as the answer to the question 'before the beginning was...?'. Surely by God we mean 'life', ie awareness, consciousness, will and creation, whatever?.

Christians, Moslems etc do us all a disservice by peddling what are essentially political myths by way of moralising (the ends, the means).

God, for me would not be a "complex entity". Rather god would be the simplest of states, existing, aware and all potential- nothing like the God of the Religions.

Your other questions are not for theists so much as those cultish types known locally as Christians.

I shocked many are taking this seriously.

Mary's Hymen? lol...ummm huh?. You do the inspection yourself?. Why does God, allow, do or did?. Insect kingdom cruel?. You're confusing theism for Buddhism...and asking an obviously unanswerable question. James’ legitimate birth?. You're missing the whole point with that one. Plus you're assuming the bible is unedited by kings and popes.

I guess I consider myself a 'Theist'. But treating people how I want to be treated is about the extent of it for me. The rest is faith in utter honesty of everyone who has had power for the last 2008 years...give or take. Please.

Bizarre.