@ Aidan..."No king made up his own version, but King Henry VIII's desire to divorce his first wife and the subsequent split with the Pope over that issue did enable Protestantism to come to England."

Oh yes he did! in one breath you say he didn't then in the next breath you admit he did! Talk about chewing the stick at both ends.

"And according to the Bible, God promised Abraham many descendants, but it was his wife, not God, who told him to shag her handmaiden."

I did say I was 10 , ..whatever..he shagged the handmaiden which gave him a son. Let's not split hairs over fairy tale rubbish. The whole story was totally sick to my 10yr old mind, and still is. God changed his mind about shagging handmaidens later on and called it adultery.
It's all just too stupid and Harry Potter is far more believable than the bible

Are we non-believers?

I certainly hope so.

It is high time we Australians put this superstitious nonsense behind us and focused on real problems in the real world without stressing about the possible wishes of a fictitious superior entity.

It sickens me to see our leaders in parliament still bending the knee to these farcical fairy tales before getting down to business. I want to be governed by clear-headed men and women who use logic and intelligence to approach problems, not weak-minded individuals whose thoughts are influenced by the self-interested clergy.
Posted by madmick, Wednesday, 28 June 2017 10:07:58 AM

Absolutely

yep I am sure Moonshine you luv the secular system that now teaches if you are born with a penis you can be a girl if you wake up feeling that way. I think I would rather be taught of the origins of the Arab race than the foul nonsense justified by the idiotic irrational big bang fantasy. Whatever it is that damaged your ability to be rational I doubt it was the Scriptures.

Genuine Christians recognise they have a responsibility to people and the creation as is reality. I have a niece whose husband a devout Christian a researcher scientist in Australia's leading human genetic field. More sincere and respectful about life, people and reality than many of the detractors of Christians here.

Stop comparing failed humans as a reason to abandon belief. Shows immaturity about reality.

runner,

I thought you’d like that verse, too.

However, quoting the Bible is about as effective and meaningful as quoting Harry Potter. But since you take every word of the Bible so seriously, here’s a little verse which is I think is very relevant to you, given how frequently you like to quote Psalm 14:1:

“... but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 5:22)

I sincerely hope you don’t go to hell though, runner. After all, I’ll be there, and in the company of some of the greatest minds, too. Heck, with so many scientists, they’ve probably got the place air conditioned by now.

Meanwhile, you’ll be up there in heaven with the likes of Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Cardinal Pell, and all the murderers and rapists who converted on their death beds, doing nothing but worshipping a megalomaniac for eternity.

Sounds pretty boring, actually.

<<Your denial of God helps to ease your conscience ...>>

Denial is only possible when there is something to deny, and you are yet to present any evidence for your god beyond, ‘It’s obvious’.

--

Josephus,

No-one is claiming that theists cannot be scientists.

<<I have a niece whose husband a devout Christian a researcher scientist in Australia's leading human genetic field.>>

There is a psychological technique known as ‘compartmentalisation’, which makes holding conflicting views or standards of evidence quite easy:

http://goo.gl/7qJWE2

I would note, however, that the vast majority of scientists are atheists. A far higher percentage than what is found in the general public, unsurprisingly.

<<More sincere and respectful about life, people and reality than many of the detractors of Christians here.>>

Who here has been disrespectful in any of those ways, and how?

<<Stop comparing failed humans as a reason to abandon belief.>>

No, the actions of people are not the best reason to abandon belief. Reason and evidence (or the lack thereof) are.

' Heck, with so many scientists, they’ve probably got the place air conditioned by now.'

come on AJ most of the scientist you follow would think that a wind farm could do the job.