Religious Debate

Here we can debate on religions and beliefs. The object of this is not to prove that however's idea is correct, but to hold a debate and fend off all attacks... or something like that. I'm going to just say, I'm not good with debates for a start, and others might not be, either.

Anyway, I'll let the next user start us off.

*Facepalm, facepalm, facepalm*

I'm talking about REAL religions and beliefs here, @TGC. 'The Legend of Zelda' is not a religion.

Who says? It's a sin to not believe in the goddesses of Hyrule, you can get banished to the sacred realm for it. you non believers can just go to Termina with all the other non-believers and get crushed by the moon.

Ugh. Anyway, @Toz76, would you like to start?

Go ahead. I prefer rebutting.

So do I...

Okay, so, let me ask: Where did life come from if it evolved?

That's the big question. Humans evolved from apes, which evolved from rodent-like creatures, which evolved from reptiles, which evolved from amphibians, which evolved from fish-like creature, and so on down to the first life-form. That's where science gets stuck. Where did that first life form come from? Nobody knows. But, there are some hypothesis. We know that most of the ingredients for life (Animo Acids, Proteins, etc.) can be formed naturally. So many scientists believe that all of those substances were in a pool together, and somehow began changing. The leading theory is that the "primordial soup" was struck by lightning, but until we can actually create life from scratch (which might not be too far away) we won't know for sure.

Ah, but where did the 'pool' and the lightning come from?

From rain and lightning, same as any other modern storm.

How come it took God a week to make earth, but he was able to make the entire rest of the universe in under a minute? When the universe is infinite in size and contains a large amount of planets that also most likely contain life?

God did it that way to give us an example of how our week should be: We work six days, and rest on the seventh (Sunday). (God rested on the seventh day.)

But again, where did the storm come from?

The same place all other storms come from- it was probably just like a modern thunderstorm would have been.

But that still doesn't make sense: why didn't God do that for other planets with life? Couldn't he have just added that to the Ten Commandments? He could have done it as fast as the rest of the universe- why drag it out?

I'm not God, for one thing, so I don't know what he thinks, but we are, in essence, the center of the universe and his special creation, so what he does elsewhere will differ.

But still, how did the thunderstorm come about when there was nothing there to begin with?

There was something there! We're discussing the formation of life right now! The universe had existed for nearly 10 billion years when life first emerged on Earth, and Earth had been around for a while as well, so it was easy for a thunderstorm to happen.

On that note, what's so special about humans anyway? This is a big universe (maybe even infinite), why would God take such an interest in a small, backwater planet?

Because we were made in His image.

So you're saying that the universe existed forever?

No, the universe was created roughly fourteen billion years ago. It's currently unknown what caused it to form, but some theorists say it budded off another universe.

How did that universe come about? And where is it now?

It formed from a different universe, which formed from a different universe, and so on through infinity. As for where is it, it's probably outside our universe.

Question: If the earth was created 6,000 years ago, what are dinosaurs?

Dinosaurs were dinosaurs. After the Flood, the Earth's living environments were changed, and certain animals (like dinosaurs, mammoths, etc.) couldn't handle those changes, thus dying out. Of course, some animals were also hunted to extinction.

Then how come aging tests show the fossils to be millions of years old?

How do you know that aging tests actually work?

The fact that they are also corroborated by fossil evidence, rock layers, simulations, and tons of other evidence.

As long as we're doing "how do you know" questions:
How do you know that the Bible is 100% accurate?
How do you know that God exists?
How do you know that God is the right deity and not, say, Buddha?
How do you know that creationism/the Great Flood/the Tower of Babel actually happened, since there is no archaeological evidence for it?

I'll try to answer them as best I can:

How do you know that the Bible is 100% accurate? Everything that was prophecied did happen, for one thing. There is also a lot of evidence that the historical aspects are correct, too. An example would be the Hittites. The Bible talked about them, but many people didn't believe they were real. Then, it was discovered that they WERE real people, and so the Bible was proven correct.
How do you know that God exists? This is really something you have to believe, or not believe. But look at the world around you: Did the beautiful valleys and mountains come about through chance, or were they shaped and made that way by a loving hand?
How do you know that God is the right deity and not, say, Buddha? For one thing, Buddha was a man. I've never heard of any man (besides Jesus, but he was part God) who was perfect, and you could trust.
How do you know that creationism/the Great Flood/the Tower of Babel actually happened, since there is no archaeological evidence for it? You're wrong there, actually. While, we don't have any archaeological evidence for the Creation and I'm not sure about the Tower of Babel, there is some proof for the Flood. Robert Ballard actually found some evidence, and another man (whom I unfortunately forgotten his name) also found some evidence. On top of that, I actually watched a video some years ago of an archaeological site where they found something that looks a great deal like Noah's Ark, albeit in pieces after so many years. There's definitely proof for the Flood, Toz.

-How do you know Jesus was perfect/part God and not just a very influential Jewish preacher (incidentally, he never claimed to be anything more than a Jewish preacher). If you can't prove that, it's unfair to say he's the only "perfect" one.
-Can you give some more examples of prophecies in the bible that came true?
-What about Muhammad? He also believed in God and Jesus. What makes his teachings any less valid than say, the Pope's?
-Although there is archeological evidence for a large flood at around that time, it appears to have been only around a small area rather than the entire world, the boat they found could have been any boat, and while the rocks disturbed by the flood were fairly close to the top, Dinosaur fossils, which you claim were wiped out by the flood, are much lower down. If the flood had killed them, they would be in the same rock layer.

How do you know Jesus was perfect/part God and not just a very influential Jewish preacher (incidentally, he never claimed to be anything more than a Jewish preacher). If you can't prove that, it's unfair to say he's the only "perfect" one. Actually, you're wrong there. Jesus did claim to be God; he was almost stoned for it. It was because of this that he died on the cross.
Can you give some more examples of prophecies in the bible that came true? Considering that Jesus WAS a real person, and that God said that he was His Son, that is a fulfilled prophecy. Another one that hasn't happened yet is the Rapture. If it does, it will turn some people to realize the truth.
What about Muhammad? He also believed in God and Jesus. What makes his teachings any less valid than say, the Pope's? First of all, I'm not Catholic, I'm Protestant. (Though I do like the Popes that we've had recently.) The thing with Muhammad is, you either accept it, or we'll kill you. I'd rather serve a God that gives us a free choice.
Although there is archeological evidence for a large flood at around that time, it appears to have been only around a small area rather than the entire world, the boat they found could have been any boat, and while the rocks disturbed by the flood were fairly close to the top, Dinosaur fossils, which you claim were wiped out by the flood, are much lower down. If the flood had killed them, they would be in the same rock layer. I'm not an archaeologist, so I don't always know things. This is one thing I'm not sure of, but it's possible that when they died, they passed through the layer of water and ended up below. Again, that's just a guess.