English

Hello 

Create Profile

Creating your profile will enable you to submit photos and stories to get published on News24.


Please provide a username for your profile page:

This username must be unique, cannot be edited and will be used in the URL to your profile page across the entire 24.com network.

Settings

Location Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location. If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to take affect.









Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.

 
 
PLEASE NOTE:

MyNews24 is a user-generated section of News24.com. The stories here come from users.

 
sean
 
Comments: 222
Article views: 1517
 
 
Latest Badges:



 
View all sean's badges.
 

Believe in God or pure scepticism?

10 February 2012, 08:05

Believe in God, atheism, agnosticism or just pure scepticism?

Which of these aforementioned believes are best for our world? If you had to pick any of one them which one would it be?

I think its safe to say that believing in God essentially revolves around the concept of accepting that a higher entity, more powerful than humans, is responsible for the existence of all things living.

And therefore that taking in knowledge of and worshipping this entity in the right way, results in mankind's eternal welfare and continued existence. That's just my humble opinion. Someone might come up with a better definition that mine!

According to The Encyclopaedia Americana an Atheist is "a person that practical reject or ignore God" and The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines an atheist as "A person who denies God morally and a godless person."

Philosopher BERTRAND RUSSELL defines an agnostic person as:"a person who thinks that it is impossible to know the truth in the matters such as God and a future life with which the Christian religion and other religions are concerned. If not for ever impossible, at any rate impossible at present."

Atheist are said to be more dogmatic in their approach,whereas agnosticism are more reasonable in the position the take.

World English Dictionary defines scepticism as:"a person who habitually doubts the authenticity of accepted beliefs... a personal disposition toward doubt or incredulity of facts."

All four of these different viewpoints can change and one can become the other should something happen in that individuals life. But I like to zoom in on Atheist versus those that believe in the existence of God from christianity's side of things.

Science journal Nature reported that in 2002 "that more that 40 percent of all biologists, physicists, and mathematicians questioned believed in a God who not only exists but also listens to and answers prayers."How about that!

However other scientist like Dr. Herbert A. Hauptman, a Nobel laureate,strongly disagrees with that saying: "that belief in the supernatural, especially belief in God, is incompatible with good science...that this kind of belief is damaging to the well-being of the human race."

Does the Bible have any logic? Lets take just one verse for arguments sake.

HEBREWS 3:4 says this:"For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. The King James Bible."Since hat verse was written,mankind has lived through 2000 years of scientific advances,yet does anyone still think that design prevalent in nature requires belief in a Designer/Creator or God? Any industrialized and fully developed world country would say yes to that without hesitation as was mentioned above in that Nature journal.

Scientist find it extremely hard to explain design that's evident in plants and animals requires a Designer. Scientist Douglas H. Erwin, a paleobiologist at the Smithsonian Institute,wrote:"One of the rules of science is, no miracles allowed." That' the best they can come up with.

To some believing in God equates fundamentalism or extremism. For them it's about being forced or coerced into submitting to a religious code of conduct. And that these numbnuts are attempting to pressure politicians, judges, and educators into adopting laws and teachings that conform to their ideas so as to establish their own civil law.

Atheism has nothing or very little to do with science. It is faith or believe in purposeless blind chance. John Lennox,a professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford, England,wrote that "all religious faith is blind faith(including atheism)...we need to emphasize strongly that they are wrong."

Evolutionist acknowledges that the origin of life is a mystery,although they claim that there are many conflicting theories. Richard Dawkins,an atheist,says "that by virtue of the vast number of planets that must exist in the universe, life was bound to appear somewhere."

Where and how mate? Reputable scientist can't give you straight answers.

Cambridge University Professor John Barrow wrote:"The evolution of life and mind hits dead-ends at every stage. There are just so many ways in which life can fail to evolve in a complex and hostile environment that it would be sheer hubris to suppose that, simply given enough carbon and enough time, anything is possible."

Take DNA for example. Extremely complex and sophisticated form of information in that. Life is not just an assortment of chemical elements. When you talk about the origin of life,you're talking about the origin of biological information aswell.The only source of information man knows is intelligence.

Would a chance accident, i.e. the view of an atheist and evolutionist,produce complex information, such as a computer program,an algebraic formula,an encyclopaedia or even a recipe for a cake?

Not a chance! These 4 things mentioned here don't even come close when compared with the information stored in the genetic code of living organisms.

An atheist believes "that the universe is as it is, mysteriously, just happens to permit life,” explains Paul Davies,a physicist and author. Paul goes further by saying: "Had it been different,” says the atheists, "we would not be here to argue about it. The universe may or may not have a deep underlying unity, but there is no design, purpose, or point to it all—at least none that would make sense to us. The advantage of this position, notes Davies, "is that it is easy to hold—easy to the point of being a cop-out, that is, a convenient way to avoid facing the issue."

Michael Denton,a molecular biologist,wrote in his book Evolution: A Theory in Crisis:"The theory of evolution is more like a principle of medieval astrology than a serious . . . scientific theory... Darwinian evolution is one of the greatest myths of our time."

British philosopher and former atheist Antony Flew wrote in 2007:"The important point is not merely that there are regularities in nature, but that these regularities are mathematically precise, universal, and ‘tied together. Einstein spoke of them as ‘reason incarnate.’ The question we should ask is how nature came packaged in this fashion. This is certainly the question that scientists from Newton to Einstein to Heisenberg have asked—and answered. Their answer was the Mind of God."

It must have come as a great shock to many that the most profound and highly respected atheist like Anthony Flew would say that!

Most people hate belief in God and religion because of the evil that was perpetrated in his name. Hence some have come to accept that mankind would be better off without religion.

"Religion is deeply rooted in human nature and experienced at every level of economic status and educational background." This statement summed up the research that Professor Alistair Hardy presented in his book The Spiritual Nature of Man.

Recent experiments on the brain have led certain neuroscientists to suggest that humans may have been “hardwired” with the capacity for religion.

The book entitled Is God the Only Reality? observes: "The religious quest for meaning...is the common experience in every culture and every age since the emergence of humankind."

So what do you think?Believe in God,atheism,agnosticism or just pure scepticism? In the end, the fact of the matter is a person is faced with the necessity of only being either one or the other.Which is it?

References:

1.The Encyclopaedia Americana.

2.Philosopher BERTRAND RUSSELL.

3.Science journal Nature.

4.World English Dictionary.

5.Dr. Herbert A. Hauptman.

6.The King James Bible.

7.Scientist Douglas H. Erwin.

8.John Lennox,professor of mathematics.

9.Professor John Barrow.

10.Paul Davies,a physicist and author.

11.Antony Flew,British philosopher.

12. Michael Denton, molecular biologist.

13.Professor Alistair Hardy.

14.The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.

15.Richard Dawkins. 

Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
 
Share Print

Read News24’s Comments Policy

Comment on this story
222 comments
Add your comment
Comment 0 characters remaining

Read more from our Users

Submitted by
Phazzle
3 things atheists do that I wish ...

When believers call us arrogant are they wrong? I’m not sure. Many of us could afford to be more humble. Read more...

7 comments 283 views
Submitted by
Tyronehster
Another Delusion Buster

Many, many evil things have been done in the name of religion down the centuries, and will continue to be done, because man is intrinsically evil.  Read more...

12 comments 560 views
Submitted by
Henno
The Spear, The 1 Year Old and our...

I've been following the local news the last couple of weeks and wondering to myself how far will we as a society actually fall Read more...

0 comments 218 views
Submitted by
maseratifittipaldi
This land is our land.

Certainly one of the biggest problems facing our country at present, is the land issue.  Read more...

14 comments 915 views
Submitted by
ConcernedCitizen
Nothing to lose but chains

I want to see South Africa become a super power among nations where all group are equal and not pushed to the side like the current ANC leadership is hell bent on doing Read more...

1 comments 343 views
Submitted by
Ndlela
SA can learn from Lesotho

Lesotho the puny mountain kingdom encircled by gigantic South Africa is getting deserved kudos for carrying out a peaceful election. Read more...

4 comments 438 views

Jobs [change area]

Resident Engineer - Water Reticulation - KZN

South Africa. Pietermaritzburg
Hire Resolve
R650000 - R850000

Sales Engineer

JHB - Northern Suburbs
Communicate Cape Town Engineering
R300000 - R400000

Sales Engineer

Johannesburg, South Africa
CME Recruitment
Market Related

Cars[change area]

TOYOTA

Corolla 140i MY05
2007
R 109,990.00

BMW

320d E90 Dsl AT
2005
R 209,995.00

TOYOTA

Corolla 180i GSX MY02
2004
R 109,995.00

Property [change area]

Vulintaba Country Estate, Upper Drakensberg

A lifestyle estate beyond compare. Home Package Options From R990 000

HOUSES FOR SALE IN Swellendam

Houses R 1 800 000

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Casa Rex, Vilanculos

Spend 5 nights in at the magical Mozambican resort of Casa Rex from R7983 per person sharing. Includes accommodation, return flights, taxes and transfers. Book now!

Kalahari.com - shop online today

Legos

Let your child construct his own fun with only his imagination limiting his creations. Buy now.

iPad

Update the way you socialize, work and play with the latest iPad models. Buy now.

Max Payne 3

Seeking Redemption from the past, Max hopes to enter his last fight and finally put his demons to rest. Buy now.

Sins of the Father

Foul play in New York City sets the tone. Boundaries pushed, Loyalties tested and secrets unravelled in Jeffrey Archer’s, Sins of the Father. Buy now.

Nikon Camera Range

Capture and preserve your life’s precious memories with the Nikon Camera Range. Buy now.

OLX Free Classifieds [change area]

pool table

For Sale, Toys - Games - Hobbies in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date May 6

Lexus: IS

Vehicles, Cars in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date May 7

stylish bachelor furnished in sandton from 1st of june

Real Estate, Houses - Apartments for Rent in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date May 7

 

services

E-mail Alerts The latest headlines in your inbox

RSS feeds News delivered really simply.

Mobile News24 on your mobile or PDA

E-mail Newsletters You choose what you want

News24 on your iPhone Get News24 headlines on your iPhone.

SMS Alerts Get breaking news stories via SMS.

Blogs Your opinion on you, me and everyone.

Calais Website keywords automated by OpenCalais.

 
Digital Media & Marketing Association
 
© 2012 24.com. All rights reserved.
There are new stories on the homepage. Click here to see them.