Harald Lesch, professor of astrophysics at Munich university, who can tell you anything about Einstein's theories and has been present on German TV with sophisticated science broadcasts for over 15 years, about the question whether a god exists.

Unfortunately there is only a German-language version.
But briefly summarized: The question hasn't been answerered yet, and natural sciences do not have the means to falsify the statement "God exists".

Still no concrete evidence that god exists.

His last statement: when there's no god, we should invent him.

Why are you christian and not muslim or whatever? Why are you with the church you're at now and not another one? How did you make those decisions? What were the deciding factors?

Of course there will never be evidence of god's existence. As there will never be evidence of his non-existence.

I especially like his last statement you quoted. He believes in the positive impacts of religion.

I was born into the traditions of my country, as everyone else. To demand that a baby be raised without any cultural and religious influence is far from feasible reality. Growing up, everybody can put his education and environment into question. Many leave church, but in our church we also have some adult's baptisms every year.

So you have a need to believe in something even if you have to invent it yourself? Sadly a lot of people have been killed in the name of this "invention" and I really can't see beauty in this religion.

The majority thinks the evidence is all around us, though. They seem to have all the proof without proving it. Atheists, on the other hand, don't pretend to know all the answers. We rely on science and our own brains.

A child can grow up to be a productive member of society without a religious upbringing. Culture is pretty much ingrained due to his/her surroundings and education but one can still choose to disregard certain cultural aspects. Believe me, I have. By the way, tradition and culture aren't the same. Even culture is rather a generalization.

In Australia the Native Australian uses their culture as their religion, and lifestyle as well as teaching traditions, similar to I think Native American. Both very spiritual and very intertwined in their daily lives.

But mostly in my understanding for western society at least, religion is a man made thing as opposed to a belief. Science is also a religion not a belief.

A belief - is an acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof; and trust, faith, or confidence in (someone or something).

Why is science a religion because you are indoctrinated as a child to believe in things your told to believe in not found out for yourself. Even in adult life with say, for example evolution it is still only a theory - never proven. But you are told it has to be true because it's logical. They say there is something else in space you can't see, other than planets and stars etc; but it MUST be there they say, so they called it DARK MATTER and DARK ENERGY, but they can't prove it - that is science for you. Belief it or not, - sounds like a show on TV years ago.

With God there is stories and a Sacred Book that dates back thousands of years that has been cross referenced to other cultures ( and religions) But you have not been there to see what it talks about nor do you understand many of the things it even says. But you as an adult need to search for yourself; do your research and believe or don't believe.

Religion/Science tells you this is what you HAVE to believe, and HOW /WHEN/WHERE/IN WHAT to belief or you are nuts or a fool or ignorant, or just too lazy. But a belief is something you alone know in your own soul ; feel, understand, grasp - is real to you because you have tested it for yourself. Then you are no fool, nor are you ignorant or nor lazy. Sure, you can go to church or belong to a group or what that has the same beliefs but that doesn't automatically make you religious, you are still an individual in a group. Going to Mc'D's once a week doesn't make you a hamburger; or just praying long winded scripts doesn't that mean nothing to you, will not save you.

A Scientologist (what ever they are) are different to Christian Scientist (what ever they are too); or a UFO follower differ to a scientist even. But how you go about your belief is your own right, and anyone who says otherwise or puts you down because they don't like your opinion or your belief, well they are just bully's and ignorant people.
They can go 'love themselves' elsewhere!


Allan

f

I have a need to invent it? We were quoting what the astrophysicist Lesch said.
I presume Lesch knows more about science than the majority of those furiously emphasizing their atheism. Most of them always speak about how logical and science-based they are, I'd like to know how many of them master theories of physics.
In turn, many of present church members have a similar view as Professor Lesch, realizing that nobody can prove whether God exists or not, but there are enough ethical values conveyed by Christ worth listening to, even if most always have doubts whether there really is a higher power.

So while you are science-based and use your brain, the astrophysicist Lesch lacks these qualities, as he thinks in case God doesn't exist, which isn't certain, he(/she/it) should be invented...
Maybe you ask the Munich University to think about getting rid of him as he lacks logical thinking?

The very same ethics that could be found in many other religions but are conveniently attributed to your god. One even doesn't need religion to know the difference between right and wrong. Societies do have rules/laws.

One doesn't have to as intelligent as Prof. Lesh to understand that the god you praise isn't a fair god. He's killed and ordered others to kill. He ordered people to get slaves, rape, murder, etc. Nothing moral about him. He committed adultery as well since he wasn't married to Mary. In those days adulterers were stoned to death.

By the way, it's usually christians trying to force their belief on others. When atheists return the favor it's called christian bashing.

Quran does not cause terrorism and is no more violent than the Bible, expert says

Anti-Islam groups have been criticised for claiming the Muslim holy book incites terrorism
....................................................................................................................................
�The source of the problem is the Quran itself�anyone who reads it either leaves it or becomes a terrorist.�

That claim, made on a Facebook page supporting Pegida, is one of countless similar allegations being circulated on the internet by anti-Islam and far-right groups.

But is the Quran actually any more violent than the Bible or Torah? Not according to Dr Ed Kessler, the founding director of the Woolf Institute of interfaith relations.

�It�s not the text itself that generates violence, there is Jewish and Christian scripture you can read into to find the same,� he told the Independent.

�You read the texts through interpretation.�

Dr Kessler, who was made an MBE in 2011 for services to interfaith relations, cited Psalm 137, which appears both in the Old Testament and Tanakh.

The well-known verse expresses the sorry of Jewish people living in exile after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem and ends with a violent revenge fantasy, telling the conquerors: �Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.�

Such gory excerpts can be found throughout the Bible and Quran, with one count putting the total of �cruel or violent passages� at 842 in the much longer Bible and 333 in the Quran.

Dr Kessler said that all three of the Abrahamic religions share similar stories and must be read through the lens of modern interpretation.

�There are violent extracts in the Quran as there are in the Old Testament and New Testament,� he added.

�It�s not the texts themselves that are the problem, it�s how you read them and interpret them.�

Isis and other Salafist groups base much of their propaganda on the idea of a �true� Islam based directly on a literal reading of the Quran and religious teachings, while the Bible has undergone at least a century of critical study that has largely dismissed or reinterpreted passages urging stoning, infanticide, massacres and burning.

�We tend to overlook those bits because we don�t like them, or interpret them to be more acceptable and relevant to the modern day,� Dr Kessler said.

�Interpretation can be used for good or evil, or fundamentalism or liberalism.�

He said that a key change in the last 15 years had also been the rise of Islam within identity politics that has not been mirrored by Christianity.

The Cambridge fellow said that many British Muslim groups were seeking to tackle fundamentalist interpretations of the Quran and highlighted the diversity of thought within the many denominations of Islam.

As fundamentalists use the texts to justify their aims, so do anti-Islam groups like Britain First and Pegida, who frequently use Crusade-inspired imagery while claiming to fight the supposed �Islamification� of Europe.

Writing for the Independent, Mariam Hakim took such groups to task by analysing Quran passages frequently cited to claim the text permits sexual slavery and rape.


�Religious illiteracy is a root cause of extremism,� she wrote, accusing both Islamophobic activists and terrorist groups of �pushing their own agendas�.

�Passages do have a life of their own, however much we reinterpret them,� Dr Kessler cautioned.

�The Christian Bible shares an intrinsic problem that is common to the Tanakh and the Quran, namely that polemic against a named other carries a weight and authority throughout history.

�Moreover, they are constantly available for use or abuse, to justify the most appalling actions in the name of God.�