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Hello Everyone!
Im Stella
15 Years old
Woow havn't been on FunAdvice for a verrry long time. I've been quite ill and have been in hospital quite a bit. A lot has happened over the past few months but things are looking good now.
I hope everyone is doing well 
arachnid's Advice
brland88: Who bears more responsibility for starving children: Someone nearby, who can save them with little personal sacrifice, yet watches and does nothing, or someone half a world away who can only help with substantially more personal sacrifice? ...
briand88: So to make it clear - you believe that it's not possible for your god to decrease suffering while preserving free will? Wouldn't that make him less than omnipotent? And for both of you, asserting that suffering "makes people stronger": Wha...
"god didnt make suffering. man did. god choose not to make us robot freaks that obey everything he wants. he gave us a choice he wanted us to be free to follow him." Couldn't god create a world in which there is no - or at least much less - suffer...
"He wanted us to realize the supreme price that he was paying, for our sins. So that we could be delivered from them, to live for him." Are you saying that god 'suffers'? If he's omnipotent, surely he can do anything he wants without suffering or ha...
eternallyhurt: Seriously, your criteria for "possibly" being the antichrist is: - Not being christian (though I have met many christians who believe that there may be other ways to be 'saved'). - Being nice to people. Wow. I don't know what to say...
I asked this same question recently. It does seem to me that any being that is omnipotent, and so can do anything at all with no effort on their part, must be extremely malevolent if they fail to intervene in the world as it stands. Millions of people...
For those claiming the show "ghost hunters" is "good evidence" of the existence of ghosts - you do realise it's a television program, right? Made for ratings, not for accuracy. There was a particularly classic clip lately (which I unfortunately can'...
You don't _have_ to tell her, of course. It comes down to which you're more comfortable with: Lying (implicitly or explicitly) to her about it (and possibly having to attend church etc), or her reaction when you tell her your views. Ideally, parents...
papajon: "My question is the mathematical probability of random mutaions in the genome of a single cell bacteria or organism occuring enough to leading to the complexity that we see today no matter how many billions of years" What is the problem wit...
"There's no way to deny something you've done... Even if you didn't enjoy it. I can't deny something that's tangible because of personal experience, wouldn't that be ignorance?" How do you know it is what you claim it is? The mind is very good at pl...
When Zeus starts raining down thunderbolts on all the unfaithful, would you be safe? Have you pledged yourself to Zeus lately?
For all those calling it symbolism: For Catholics, it's not symbolic. They believe that the wine and wafer are actually, really transmuted into the blood and body of christ 'in essence'. That is, they still look like wine and bread, but they believe th...
No. I strive* to only believe in things there are actual solid evidence for. And given that, even the term "believe" is a bit of a misnomer. * I think I've achieved it, but it's always possible I have unexamined, irrational beliefs. We humans tend t...
Put it this way: If there really is no god (which seems highly likely), how can it be "wrong" to not believe in it? If there is a god, what are the chances it's the particular one you're considering worshipping?
valiantpoison: I'm not being condescending. There's absolutely no reason to suppose "astral travelling" exists, since there's absolutely no evidence for it. It may seem harsh, but I'm just trying to point out reality. "How would you like it if you a...
I agree that it's depressing that a US presidential candidate's religion seems to matter so much to people. Surely a candidate who kept his religious beliefs to himself and believed in everyone else's right to do the same would be better all around? Gi...
Seriously, you could've looked this up in less time than it took to post the question.
What I find particularly amusing is when religious people (usually christians) criticize the Big Bang because of the "what caused it" issue, then blissfully assert that yes, God really has been around for all eternity, and doesn't need a cause.
Baptisms for the dead? Isn't that kind of... creepy?
I think feeling 'unfulfilled' has more to do with certainty than belief. You're feeling that way because you're not sure what's true, not because of any lack of belief. I'd suggest reading books like "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins and "The De...
Yes, but not in the 'mystical' way you're probably trying to imply.
Scientists don't, since there's no way to provide empirical evidence of any sort of life after death. In the absence of any evidence, there's no reason to suppose it even exists, either. I can't speak for what philosophers say about it, though. Rath...
I knew you were going to ask this question. That's how psychic I am. Seriously, though - I have a challenge for anyone who claims to be psychic in response to this. I'm thinking of a shape and a number. Tell me what I'm thinking of! And just so y...
While you're thinking about this, consider: Why does the bible forbid something (practicing magic) that it also claims doesn't exist?
No - read it again - "the 16% not used for energy production is converted into these other materials". Only 16% is used for pharmaceuticals, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides and plastics combined - the other 86% is used for energy production.
amblessed: How is that in any way relevant to the question at hand?
Honestly, I think very few people _do_ get offended by the term - it's mostly just the PC police. I don't believe in either the religion it's currently about or the pagan festival it used to be, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the holiday.
It's not working because it doesn't exist. Sorry.
There was a recent survey to that effect, yeah. Clearly either the wording was poor, or at least 20% of people don't understand what 'atheist' means.
I personally think about religion a lot; mostly as a social phenomena. I occasionally ponder that it'd be nice if there were some sort of afterlife or higher being - though not one described by any mainstream religion - but it's a fantasy, nothing more.