[Excelsior]

Originally Posted by The Atheist

the world population will be a crisis point in 50 years time.

I'll take two of your Malthusian hysterias sir!

Sadly, nature has a way of bringing population crises to a quick end...

[CerebralCortex]

This doesn't answer my question what I'm asking is if they actually find a way to cheat death.

[Dades]

Originally Posted by Excelsior

Sadly, nature has a way of bringing population crises to a quick end...

Pandemics such as Europe had in the past like the Black Death seem unlikely to impact hugely again. The current pandemic only seems to have poorer nations in a death grip. Of course AIDS is a huge problem globally but only an extinction scale in the third world.

Of course we can't discount man-made population levelers either like nuclear or biological weapons disasters.

Originally Posted by CerebralCortex

This doesn't answer my question what I'm asking is if they actually find a way to cheat death.

As was said though, people will always die. You can't cheat death if you're burned to ash or diced.

I guess you mean that if medical science learns to stop the degradation (or how to regenerate) living cells or something. Again this is unlikely to concern more than a tiny percentage of the population for a very long time. I'd imagine by the time such a procedure was globally available we'd be packing people off into space anyways.

In hindsight I suspect your question was on a religious level. I'll stop talking now because I'm definitely not qualified to answer in this arena.

[Excelsior]

I'm sorry for not answering your question. Proceed to "Christians have psychological crutches and can't deal with questions" stage. Collect £200.

[doctor_gonzo]

[QUOTE=Excelsior]But DrG, surely you have read in your philosophy texts that what you feel should be secondary to what your rationality leads you to?

Ah tis true. Guess you just can't force yourself to believe what you don't? And the rational part of myself doesn't point towards a God either...

But it's difficult to put into words why I don't have my faith anymore.

I always think it's a shame. My family all have a very strong faith, I have none. I always think there's a great comfort in having faith in something bigger. I'm not for one second claiming to be right either, that's why I'd never commit myself to athiesm, it's just not happening in my own head!

I'm always open to other people's ideas and beliefs and why they believe what they do, where did all of you guys get your faith in God? I often try to pinpoint where I lost my belief in God, I don't know what happened to me, maybe I just became old and cynical...

[MDTyKe]

I noticed from your nick Doctor.. are you a doctor?

If so, I want to say one thing. There is something about modern day science; especially physics, but it is still evident in chemistry and biology, where people have the idea that those truly in a science, cannot believe in God. I have to argue with that greatly. Science in fact proves a God, and it shows His glory more than anything else around us.

I found my faith, by having faith. By just simply reading, and starting to believe in something. Christianity, aside from the religious bullcrap, is very faith strong, and it is very loving. It's that, that I think attracted me. I seen Christianity outside of the barriers of a religion, or of a denomination.

In response to someone else, non-denominational just means you are not affiliated with a particular denomination. Everyone in our Church believes in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they know the basics - and we believe them in the same way as each other; that is what is fundamental. The doctrinal stuff, ie: what race was Jesus, should we do this, or do that to blah blah, the rapture, we keep to ourselves. We all believe in a Rapture of course, but we may have for example, different views on it, ie: start, middle, end tribulation theories. I personally am more inclined towards the middle.

Anyway, we're quite a lively church compared to most. Our Worship to God is heart-felt, and life-felt. It's often different too, so we can express our love and praises to God in very different ways. If you want to clap, you clap. If you want to sing, you sing. If you want to jump up and down, you jump up and down. If you want to kneel.. or stand on your head lol, you can do it. We're not there to judge each other in their practices of worship, as so many other Churches will do, as a matter of pride. We Worship how the individual worships towards God, providing it is within Biblical constraints of course.

I guess if any denomination we'd be in any way close to, would be Elim.. but we're not tied to it. I believe in the Holy Spirit and His Gifts; but I do think the Pentecostal idea can be a bit.. overdone; and especially the Charismatic idea on wealth and prosperity. But hey, that's just my 0.02


Matt

[rsynnott]

Originally Posted by Excelsior

Sadly, nature has a way of bringing population crises to a quick end...

Really? It's let its guard down lately, apparently... Assuming food production is maintained (which seems to be a safeish assumption unless global warming goes quicker than can be expected; genetic engineering is helping somewhat here) there is no particular reason for expectation of an end to the current population growth in the near future. (This is, of course, ignoring extinction level natural events on the super-volcano/large meteor/gamma ray burst scale).

[Excelsior]

I guess I just wasn't ignoring them.

[Dades]

Originally Posted by MDTyKe

... people have the idea that those truly in a science, cannot believe in God. I have to argue with that greatly. Science in fact proves a God, and it shows His glory more than anything else around us.

I found my faith, by having faith. By just simply reading, and starting to believe in something.

I'm happy you found your faith, but science does not prove (or disprove) anything about a god (and certainly not your one). Whatever your beliefs I wouldn't go throwing words like "fact" and "proof" around for fear of sounding like a crackpot.

Originally Posted by MDTyKe

Christianity, aside from the religious bullcrap, is very faith strong, and it is very loving. It's that, that I think attracted me. I seen Christianity outside of the barriers of a religion, or of a denomination.

Shouldn't the attraction be based on the simple fact that you believe it to be true? Just throwing it out there.