I'm not trying to make a whole thing about it on a forum, but you can't seriously think that these arguments have such easy answers. These are things still debated today. I've watched plenty of debates and read arguments against them and they are always clumsy and/or based on things that haven't been observed. I've never heard anything close to refuting the cosmological and moral arguments. The anthropic principle is just another name for what i said. The ontological argument requires a lot of homework..
and you have to agree that ultimately, the universe has no meaning without a creator. Athiests agree with that premise. Sure we can "make up" rules for ourselves but that sounds like a fantasy world to me. I'm not living the way I do because I'm afraid of what will happen if I don't.. I'm striving toward a moral better because I know there is a moral best. An athiest can try to make society "better" or "fair", but he has no standard outside of himself. A man killing another man for his foil tarmogoyf would be completely justified.
And I know Hovind has made some mistakes and many people don't like him, but I'm going to stand up for him. Have you actually watched his seminars or did you just read that he is a kook and you're going along with it? I don't agree with everything he's said (and he's changed a couple of his beliefs in recent years), but I can say the same for the other gentlemen I listed earlier.
I probably shouldn't have replied.. I don't like to get into this stuff on forums (Matthew 7:6 usually happens). When this is the topic it's hard (for both parties) to focus on the argument and not the person making it from my experience. It usually turns into an emotional thing pretty fast (were there already). so im out
I blame it on people (in the west anyway) being too busy/distracted. We always have our hands full, and we have to keep ourselves occupied/entertained 24/7 or we go crazy. We don't take time to think about anything more important that what's on TV..
I know that many people claim to be athiests, but I think a very small percentage of people actually live that way. If there is no God, there is no ultimate meaning in the universe.. but many athiests still pretend that their lives have value, that what they do matters, etc. They pretend that they create their own morality, ignoring that it is already written on their heart. I believe that most people know God exists, but make themselves willfully ignorant.
There are still many smart people who can still make compelling cases for theism. I was raised a Christian, but I could have probably been talked out of it before I read William Lane Craig, Ravi Zacharias, Nouwen, Hovind, Missler, Lewis, John Lennox, and more scripture. I now have a strong reason for the hope that is in me.
A good place to start is reading arguments for creationism, morality, the fine-tuning of the universe, the ontological argument, irreducible complexity.. here's a website that breaks down some of the arguments and their premises: http://www.reasonablefaith.org/the-new-atheism-and-five-arguments-for-god
when rishadan port was printed.. that rule either didnt exist or we didnt know about it.. but that card was considered total junk haha.. they were thrown around like basic lands
ive got a casual pestilence multiplayer deck but i only pull it out when someone needs to be taught a lesson hah.. its completely uninteractive and not fun. ill try to remember the decklist
with khans being 3 color.. what if you could choose one of three colors and pay 2 life as it enters? i dont think thats crazy or anything. or even 1 life maybe.. and of course it wouldnt be basic like the shocks..
i think one of the fetches best features is shuffling brainstorm leftovers away.. this would do away with that but still be totally playable in modern/standard
most replies in this thread can be answered by simple studies of scripture or even observation of creation. Most critics of scripture have never read/studied the Bible and that's the truth. They aren't satisfied because God has never slapped them in the face and said "here i am.. your God.. worship me". And scripture tells us even if he did, they still wouldn't believe. God also won't violate our free will.. he won't make us love him.. because that wouldn't be love. God has already provided us with his word, if you want proof, look there. If your argument is "well what if I had never been introduced to scripture?" well scripture deals with that argument too. take up a study on that. and anyways.. you have been introduced to scripture by me.. just now. so now you have somewhat of a responsibility.
I believe in God for many reasons: I believe the universe (& time) was created/caused by something outside of the universe. I don't think that sufficient evidence exists that life was created by chance, and entropy makes it a physical impossibility. If everything tends toward disorder (disinformation) (it does) then DNA (very complex information) simply could not have happened without a mind orchestrating it. I believe that right and wrong exist outside of ourselves and the standard was set by the creator. The Bible tells of a being that satisfies every aspect necessary to be considered a God, or what philosophers call a "supreme being". No other faith can boast this claim. Allah of the Koran is a liar, he is unknowable, and he is capricious (as an example). I believe we are half spirit and half flesh and the immaterial (spiritual) creator desires fellowship with us, but our corrupt flesh always tends toward destruction. The Bible is never illogical. The Bible also describes man's predicament (sin) and provides us with a satisfactory means of redemption. Most other faiths either fail to acknowledge sin, or fail to deal with it appropriately. I also believe because I've never dealt with an issue that cannot be resolved by scripture. I could probably go on but i'll stop there.
And now we are faced with what most people call post-modernism.. or as C.S. Lewis called it, "post-humanism". If we take away right and wrong and objective reality.. i don't think we can call ourselves human anymore. Lying is worng, sunsets are pretty, and reality is objective. I couldn't bear to live in a world where we decided what was right, and where we weren't accountable to anyone, and nothing meant anything. If you call yourself an atheist, think about the actual ramifications of such a thing and ask yourself if that is really what you want. Then if you seek alternatives I promise you will not be disappointed.
if it is wrong to kill my son, why? where does that standard come from? if reality is subjective then i am free to decide that killing my son is perfectly fine. However if there is a standard written on my heart by my creator, then it is indeed wrong. I'm just presenting this as an argument to the original poster but i don't think it deals with the heart of the issue, which can only be resolved by a study of the story of Abraham, and a parallel study of the sacrifice of Christ.
many events in the old testament parallel future events. abraham sacrificing his son has incredible similarities with the death of christ if you study it in detail. look up a study on it..chuck missler has a good one.
God is benevolent, but he is also perfectly just. i can explain it like this: sacrifice is (was.. before christ) necessary because sin must be paid for. say you come to my house and break one of my glasses.. i would probably say "oh thats fine dont worry about it", but in the end i still have a broken glass.
im having no problems with any of the campaign so far playing ub control. just removal, bounce, counterspells etc. just got to zendikar. i dont have any extra dlc. the one where you play your own deck was tricky though hah
and you have to agree that ultimately, the universe has no meaning without a creator. Athiests agree with that premise. Sure we can "make up" rules for ourselves but that sounds like a fantasy world to me. I'm not living the way I do because I'm afraid of what will happen if I don't.. I'm striving toward a moral better because I know there is a moral best. An athiest can try to make society "better" or "fair", but he has no standard outside of himself. A man killing another man for his foil tarmogoyf would be completely justified.
And I know Hovind has made some mistakes and many people don't like him, but I'm going to stand up for him. Have you actually watched his seminars or did you just read that he is a kook and you're going along with it? I don't agree with everything he's said (and he's changed a couple of his beliefs in recent years), but I can say the same for the other gentlemen I listed earlier.
I probably shouldn't have replied.. I don't like to get into this stuff on forums (Matthew 7:6 usually happens). When this is the topic it's hard (for both parties) to focus on the argument and not the person making it from my experience. It usually turns into an emotional thing pretty fast (were there already). so im out
I know that many people claim to be athiests, but I think a very small percentage of people actually live that way. If there is no God, there is no ultimate meaning in the universe.. but many athiests still pretend that their lives have value, that what they do matters, etc. They pretend that they create their own morality, ignoring that it is already written on their heart. I believe that most people know God exists, but make themselves willfully ignorant.
There are still many smart people who can still make compelling cases for theism. I was raised a Christian, but I could have probably been talked out of it before I read William Lane Craig, Ravi Zacharias, Nouwen, Hovind, Missler, Lewis, John Lennox, and more scripture. I now have a strong reason for the hope that is in me.
A good place to start is reading arguments for creationism, morality, the fine-tuning of the universe, the ontological argument, irreducible complexity.. here's a website that breaks down some of the arguments and their premises: http://www.reasonablefaith.org/the-new-atheism-and-five-arguments-for-god
(reveka is erratad as a dwarf wizard)
warning: vertical video
3 pestilence
4 withering wisps
3 darkest hour
3 wall of light (suprised this hasnt been mentioned in this primer)
4 cemetary gate
4 darksteel myr
4 pariah
4 disenchant
1 sol ring
1 demonic tutor
4 wall of hope
2 syphon soul
snow covered swamps
snow covered plains
urborg, tomb of yawgmoth
something like that
i think one of the fetches best features is shuffling brainstorm leftovers away.. this would do away with that but still be totally playable in modern/standard
I believe in God for many reasons: I believe the universe (& time) was created/caused by something outside of the universe. I don't think that sufficient evidence exists that life was created by chance, and entropy makes it a physical impossibility. If everything tends toward disorder (disinformation) (it does) then DNA (very complex information) simply could not have happened without a mind orchestrating it. I believe that right and wrong exist outside of ourselves and the standard was set by the creator. The Bible tells of a being that satisfies every aspect necessary to be considered a God, or what philosophers call a "supreme being". No other faith can boast this claim. Allah of the Koran is a liar, he is unknowable, and he is capricious (as an example). I believe we are half spirit and half flesh and the immaterial (spiritual) creator desires fellowship with us, but our corrupt flesh always tends toward destruction. The Bible is never illogical. The Bible also describes man's predicament (sin) and provides us with a satisfactory means of redemption. Most other faiths either fail to acknowledge sin, or fail to deal with it appropriately. I also believe because I've never dealt with an issue that cannot be resolved by scripture. I could probably go on but i'll stop there.
And now we are faced with what most people call post-modernism.. or as C.S. Lewis called it, "post-humanism". If we take away right and wrong and objective reality.. i don't think we can call ourselves human anymore. Lying is worng, sunsets are pretty, and reality is objective. I couldn't bear to live in a world where we decided what was right, and where we weren't accountable to anyone, and nothing meant anything. If you call yourself an atheist, think about the actual ramifications of such a thing and ask yourself if that is really what you want. Then if you seek alternatives I promise you will not be disappointed.
if it is wrong to kill my son, why? where does that standard come from? if reality is subjective then i am free to decide that killing my son is perfectly fine. However if there is a standard written on my heart by my creator, then it is indeed wrong. I'm just presenting this as an argument to the original poster but i don't think it deals with the heart of the issue, which can only be resolved by a study of the story of Abraham, and a parallel study of the sacrifice of Christ.
God is benevolent, but he is also perfectly just. i can explain it like this: sacrifice is (was.. before christ) necessary because sin must be paid for. say you come to my house and break one of my glasses.. i would probably say "oh thats fine dont worry about it", but in the end i still have a broken glass.