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[Realmfighter]

Jesus is a zombie.

My old Pastor confirmed this fact.

[Euld]

"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

Because, of course, someone rising from the dead is far less convincing than some guy who listens to the voices in his head.

This, by the way, is the fundamental flaw in religions like Christianity that makes it impossible for me to accept them.

Moses and the Prophets being, essentially, the Old Testament, not the voices   This does make sense to me.  His five brothers are so intense in their unbelief that not even an outright miracle will convince them, they love their ungodly ways too much to even be swayed by undeniable truth.  I'd say this section is a warning to not be like those five brothers.

Yeah, that's really weird considering he convinced a prophet by raising people from the dead.

Bible verse?  Any more details about said situation so I can took it up?  Anyway, the difference would be that the prophet believed in Moses and the Prophets.  He apparently needed convincing, but since he was say, a prophet, someone who already spoke for God, then he already had a very open mind.  I doubt a person has to be a prophet to see a miracle, but it would require an open mind, otherwise you (being anyone, really) would more likely explain away the miracle rather than rearrange your entire life to follow God.

[Jude]

Oshi ya I forgot about the Lazarus and guy in hell story

Idk what the theologians say about that

Anyway, the idea of having no afterlife doesn't scare me. Why should it? By definition, I won't be conscious, so it's not like oblivion will be an unpleasant experience. It won't be any experience. The circuits and chemical reactions that make up my consciousness won't be functioning anymore, so I won't be aware. I won't BE. There's nothing to be scared of.

[Cthulhu]

Here's a pretty interesting take on the Lazarus and Rich Guy parable.  Another interpretation I read was that Hades and Abraham's Bosom weren't heaven and hell, but some kind of intermediary, similar to Purgatory.  That was more of an explanation of why they could communicate (The general consensus is that once you're in hell you're wholly severed from God and His people), taking the parable very literally, than an actual exploration of what Jesus was saying here, though.

[Andir]

I doubt a person has to be a prophet to see a miracle, but it would require an open mind, otherwise you (being anyone, really) would more likely explain away the miracle rather than rearrange your entire life to follow God.

I could actually say the opposite.  I'd say that anyone who believes can more easily write off an occurrence as a miracle and ignore any other explanation for it.  What you call an open mind here is what I call ignorance (ignoring, not the current unfavorable vernacular) of evidence/proof.  But the way you phrase it ("explain away") makes it sound as though the regular person isn't open to alternative solutions when they in fact are the one looking for an answer and don't easily explain it away as a miracle.

[chaoticag]

This is actually pretty cool, Bay12vers finally getting along (for the time being at least) on religion.

Anyway, the idea of having no afterlife doesn't scare me. Why should it? By definition, I won't be conscious, so it's not like oblivion will be an unpleasant experience. It won't be any experience. The circuits and chemical reactions that make up my consciousness won't be functioning anymore, so I won't be aware. I won't BE. There's nothing to be scared of.

Consider that, in a metaphysical sort of way, have been through something similar before, in an odd sort of way. You've spent billions of years not being before, and you can spend billions more not being after that. If that makes any sense.

[andrea]

what scares me, however, would be the "living forever" part of most afterlives.
Forever is a long, looong time... way too much for an human I think, doesn't matter if it is spent in pleasure or torture ( both being better than the boring afterlife however. Hell can give you physical pain, but an eternity of nothing, nothing and nothing is much more frightening in my opinion.).

[Leafsnail]

Oh!  I remember something.  This video helps sum up my views with regards to open mindedness and the supernatural.  It's quite a long video, but an extremely interesting one, which doesn't necessarily relate specifically to atheism/ religion.

Anyway... I don't think the idea of hell really fits in with Christianity at all.  After all, God's forgiveness is meant to be infinite, so eternal torture cannot fit in with that.  Also, what kind of free will is it if you're going to be tortured forever for not following God's commands?  It'd be like a dictator saying "Yes, you have a free choice - you can fight for me or I'll kill you".  Something more akin to purgatory would make more sense with regards to the rest of the Christian faith.

[Sergius]

I doubt a person has to be a prophet to see a miracle, but it would require an open mind, otherwise you (being anyone, really) would more likely explain away the miracle rather than rearrange your entire life to follow God.

I could actually say the opposite.  I'd say that anyone who believes can more easily write off an occurrence as a miracle and ignore any other explanation for it.  What you call an open mind here is what I call ignorance (ignoring, not the current unfavorable vernacular) of evidence/proof.  But the way you phrase it ("explain away") makes it sound as though the regular person isn't open to alternative solutions when they in fact are the one looking for an answer and don't easily explain it away as a miracle.

Open-Mindedness

EDIT: Crap, I hath been ninja'd.

[Jackrabbit]

Yeah, that's really weird considering he convinced a prophet by raising people from the dead.

Bible verse?  Any more details about said situation so I can took it up?  Anyway, the difference would be that the prophet believed in Moses and the Prophets.  He apparently needed convincing, but since he was say, a prophet, someone who already spoke for God, then he already had a very open mind.  I doubt a person has to be a prophet to see a miracle, but it would require an open mind, otherwise you (being anyone, really) would more likely explain away the miracle rather than rearrange your entire life to follow God.

Sorry. Events stick in my mind, not chapters and verses. I can't even remember the prophet. I just remember God told him to make an army of bones stand up and they knitted themselves back together into solders. I think that was a dream, but still, this was over 2000 years ago. People would have been convinced by something like that, dream or no.

[Cthulhu]

That was Ezekiel 37

[Leafsnail]

That is actually pretty disturbing.

[Jackrabbit]

I find it hilarious. I couldn't tell you why.

[Cthulhu]

Some crazy stuff in that Old Testament.

[Diablous]

That was Ezekiel 37

God seems to like to impress people. In another verse, he sics bears on a gang that insulted a prophet.