KAG:

Could you explain what you mean, what evidence was proven false?

You may be familiar with the evolution progression chart (you know, the one where it shows the stages of monkey-development into modern man). The Nebraska Man was scientifically built up from one tooth, and that tooth was later found to be the tooth of an extinct pig. The Piltdown was built up from an whole jawbone and a few pieces of skull, discovered by an amateur geologist in 1912. In 1953, scientists did in depth research on the pieces and radiocarbon tests showed that the pieces of skull belonged to a 600 yr-old woman and the jawbone was that of a 300 yr-old orangutan from the East Indies. The Peking Man is the next step up in the chain but as he is estimated to be 500,000 years old, all evidence of his existence has disappeared. The Neanderthal Man, whose skeleton was discovered in France over 50 yrs ago, when being examined by the Int'l Congress of Zoology, was found to be that of an old man who suffered from arthritis. I don't really know about New Guinea Man but since 1970 this species has been spotted just north of Australia (hahahah lol jk). Cro-Magnon Man was considered one of the best and stable fossils of the evolutionary chain. He was in equal physique and brain capacity as modern man. But then scientists began to wonder what was the difference. And just another piece in this little puzzle regarding the development of humans: Platelets in the blood are what cause the clotting process to occur when a person is wounded. It has been found that platelets work in a complex 12-step process in order to cause blood to coagulate. If just a single thing went wrong in this process the whole thing would fall apart. And since evolution by definition is progression, how could man have survived without the entire process being present all at one time. Which parts came first knowing that just one SINGLE little nick or scratch could cause this person to bleed to death? There's some more stuff about evolution that was proven wrong, I'm sure. Afterall, it was just a really good theory/idea that seemed to make sense for a while but then most of the evidence that was its foundation ended up false or misunderstood or fraudulent. But that's okay, because there is still truth in this world: Christ.

~Jordan

lol I apologize APKevin for the structure of my response 

KAG:

Does that apply to GOD (to differentiate between christian God, and other Gods [thanks christians for hijacking the word])? If you posit that the Univers and all in it needed a creator, then surely GOD must need a creator too, and his creator a creator, ad infinitum.

First of all, no need to start complicating my response. I said, "I believe in God because <insert multiple reasons here> " Personally I found that an appropriate response to the question you posed: "Why do you believe in God?" But to clarify, I mean that I believe in one single God, the God that is described in the Bible. He's Who I believe. And, your conclusion is inaccurate. You see it that because God exists He must have a creator. But that's wrong. God is the sole Creator of everything. He is the beginning and the end. God has simply always existed and He always will. He needed no one to create Him nor was there anyone TO create Him. It's something that's truly hard (impossible, really) to capture and I wouldn't suggest trying to think about it too long, you may hurt yourself (jk). I really don't know how to put it but I'll try to the best of my ability: it's like a circle or a line. Neither has a beginning or end as far as discrete geometry is concerned but they still go on forever. If you can accept that, you can accept that God is eternal by His own nature. And sadly, when you try to put a man with a carnal nature to ponder upon eternal things and supernatural things, it's a trying picture to capture. But that's what this thread is about isn't it?

KAG:

Why not? Human beings and every other organism on Earth, are made up primarily of chemicals. All it takes for a human to think and infact believe he has a soul, is the firing of neurons in the brain, all the work of chemicals. The same is applicable for other intelligent animals, for example dolphins.

Good observation, however, inaccurate once again. Sure THINKING is done chemically by the firing of neurons across synapses and all that but just because that can be done doesn't mean we don't truly have souls. People do! PHYSICALLY, we're made up chemicals and all that stuff, but we're also composed of body, spirit, and soul as well. Think about this: sure, your mind is what cause you to think, but is it really your BRAIN (your physical brain, the thing sitting inside your head) that cause you to think or is it your mind (the invisible thoughts that just come up)? It's like an imaginary thing that sits above your head that causes you to think and envision and imagine, not the physical brain. Think about this too: what you are made up of is just a mixture of blood, tissue, cells, water, organs, and some other stuff. Now, how is it that all that stuff can cause a feeling or emotional pain or even an imaginary thought? It really doesn't add up and it doesn't make sense if you think about it. How can a composition of all those things cause me to fall in love or to cry when my friend rejects me or any of that? I'm not saying that those things aren't important, and that soul and spirit and physical things are independent of one another--simply that God did literally breathe a soul into every one of us and that soul and spirit is what causes us to have a conscience and emotions.

KAG:

You are right, natural selection couldn't have formed you alone, coupled with mutations on the other hand, You say nature exists because of a higher mind, I have yet to see any evidence for that.

I'm sorry, I really don't know too much about mutations and the intricacies therein. I do know though that mutations are no reason that a species should jump from one to another, no matter how many years go by. I know that mutation is an occurrence in the DNA or RNA that causes an offspring to differ from the parent in a certain trait. But because it is defined as the recombining of genetic code, there is no reason that it should bring about new creations. That is, there is no reason, by mutation, that I can come from an ape or anything like that. If I were to recombine the letters in the English alphabet, surely I'd produce some interesting and new words, but never would I start to produce Chinese words. Also, if you want evidence of a higher mind, consider these: How did matter organize itself so perfectly that it would form creation as stable as is existent? And How did hair, nails, and skin and all that stuff evolve or become created? And in the bodily systems, which evolved first, (how and how long did it go on without the others) the digestive system, the nervous system, the endochrine system, etc. Or what came first, reproduction or the drive to reproduce and how did one go on without the other? These are really rhetorical. But it just shows there is now way these things could have been formed without Someone there to form them and in His own specific and higher thinking order. Even Darwin submitted ever so pompously (to me at least), "To suppose that the eye, with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree." Now, you say that along with mutation it can all be possible, but can you even begin to think that CHANCES of that? Hand-in-hand with Darwin's quote, George Gallup stated, "I could prove God statistically; take the human body alone. The chances that all the functions of the individual would just happen is a statistical monstrosity." (I'm normally not too fond of quotes but I found these particularly meaningful here because Darwin somewhat pioneered the theory of evolution) See, there had to have been a Higher Mind dreaming us up and creating us with His own two hands. It couldn't have just happened on its own.

KAG:

Would it matter that I have had feelings like that, and believe me when I say this, it wasn't GOD?

I see what you're saying but I know you don't get what I mean. You'd have to have experienced the same thing I did in order to know what I'm talking about. But that's okay. But I see where you're coming from, I didn't really expect it to convince you or anything so it's reasonable to say that if you were to say that it wouldn't convince me either. I was just stating another reason I believe.

KAG:

Just to point out, evolution is neither theological nor is it philosophical, so evolution can't, nor should it be expected to, cahnge people.

I know. I was just making an example of how God changed my grandpa and nothing else did. It was just rhetoric, sorry.

KAG:

I have to say though interesting, I don't think it would be remiss of me to state that your reasons for belief in your God can, and I'm sure they are, be applied by any believer in another God. Also, does it matter that the reasons for your belief are anecdotal?

I understand what you mean. And you're right. I'm sure that people can use my same reasons to believe in their own god and such. But I was just adressing the question why I believe in God the Father--not why I believe in Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit (once again, They are all One and the Same) or the Bible. You see, I didn't just decide to 'jump into Christianity' as many think I would. I have reasons for what I believe and what I know is true and reasons why others should believe, too. And I'm glad you asked about the significance of personal experience for my belief. Because, yes, it is highly important. My testimony, I know is just one of the things that NO ONE would be able to take away from me. My personal experience is my own, and it is confirmation. How could I believe in God if He says He can change my life and make me new but then my life is never really truly changed? That is how I know: His Word and the fulfillment of It tells me that He is true. And if I were to have just personal experience, then I would have no one to believe in and I would have no one to give me that word. You can't have one without the other. Also, faith is experimental, much like car brakes. You never know it till you try and it works. However, my God, unlike car brakes, always works. 

~Jordan

KAG:
Why do you believe in God?

I know this question wasn't directed toward me, but I chose to answer it anyhow. Hope you don't mind.

Why do I believe in God?

I believe in God because of logic.
For every building there is a builder. For every painting there is a painter. For every creation there is a Creator. I couldn't have been here by chance. Someone had to have come before. And neither chemicals nor atoms would know how to give me a conscience or thoughts. Neither would understand what I understand. Natural selection couldn't have formed me. Nature has no mind. Nature only exists because there is Someone higher who does have a mind.

I believe in God because of instinct.
I always knew God existed. Something within me always said it. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't deny that fact.

I believe in God because of feeling.
I have FELT God before. It's unexplainable. But I knew it was Him the whole time. It's like getting butterflies in your stomach, except all over your body. But it's serenity; it's peace. Not sickness.

I believe in God because of faith.
God has given me a measure of faith. I have the ability to capture a measure of His love, His grace, His personality.

I believe in God because of experience.
I asked God to change to my life and to make me a new person. He turned my life around. He showed me a new hope. He gave me a reason to live. He gave me a purpose and I found it in Him. I believe in Him because I've actually encountered God.

I believe in God because of testimony.
The story of my grandfather's life is almost unbelievable. Long story short, my grandfather was, by people's standards, one of the world's worst people. He was a drunkard, a fighter, a killer, a cheater, you name it. The man went to church ONCE, and God turned his life around. He's a pastor now. Not any amount of drugs, hypnotism, pain, evolution, anything could have changed him. Just God. I believe in God because he saved my friend from committing suicide. He saved my family from falling apart. And more than that, He saved them all from hell. There are SO many other testimonies from other people but if I tried to fit just a portion here, I would, blow up? Is that the way to word it? Ah well.

There are so many other reasons why I believe in God. Honestly, I don't even like to word it that way. God is so real that I shouldn't have to have a REASON to believe in Him. Just like I shouldn't have to have a reason to believe that my mother exists. Or that the computer that I'm typing on exists. I just know. I believe in God, because He believes in me.  What more can I say?

~Jordan

Don't let life get the best of you. Get the best of life. Jesus said, ", Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." John 16:33b (NLT) Keep on fighting. We'll keep on prayin'! God Bless! XD

f0d:
But did you know that about 10% of Americans consider themselves to be Atheists, doubters, or religious skeptics of some kind? That's over 25,000,000 people. Millions more, the majority of the American population, are branded with the odious label of "unchurched"; they do not attend church, mosque or temple on any regular basis (except perhaps on "holy days" to keep up appearances for friends, relatives and the community), nor do they look to religion for a moral code. Their ethics stem from a secular philosophy of life.

Perhaps that's why America has been going downhill for so long. Stop to open your eyes and see that maybe the reason we see the world going down in flames is because America and the world has turned their backs on God. But that raises the question, "Why doesn't God help us in our time of need then?" Well, I know very well that God doesn't force Himself on a person who rejects Him and, we in our own pride have forced God in the other direction. Look at what happened to Pharoah in Exodus. Never did God make Pharoah believe in what He had to say. God warned Pharoah first, and then God took what belonged to Him, the Israelites.

f0d:
Atheists often know more about the precepts and origins of religious belief than believers themselves do. We study more than just the one accepted "holy book", and we like to read the parts which churches ignore, or conveniently re-write in an effort to render religious text more palpable.

Well that's very interesting about atheists. They study a lot. However, the belief of atheism is cold whether you disagree or not. If I were, say, to murder a multitude of innocent high school students and then kill myself in the end, I suppose nothing would happen to me. There would be no gain, no loss. As a matter of fact everything in this life would be pointless. If I were to create a bomb to destroy the world and wipe away humanity, well that wouldn't be very cool, but also, it wouldn't matter. Nothing would go on after. No punishment, no one to have an opinion about it. Therefore, love, hope, happiness, faith, joy-- None of would be important. Why even spend time doing it. Compassion becomes aimless and the need for mercy is on tenuous foundation. So why do it at all. As a matter of fact, why even be arguing your point to me? Why even think? It is futile. I'm sorry (not really) but I don't live in a hopeless and cold life. God gave me a desire for Him and it's intrinsic--burning within my spirit and soul. There is more than what you see here and there is more than knowledge. Besides, where were the atheists when Katrina shook the nation? Where were the atheists when the World Trade Centers came crashing down? I don't recall any Atheist Passion for Compassion groups helping any families, putting any funds together, helping find the lost. Perhaps they were too busy with their noses buried in books gaining knowledge on religious precepts.

'If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.' ~1 Corinth. 13

I completely agree. The egocentric nature of man is tell the story in FIRST person. The only view people really have in mind is their own. Not to say that I'm not interested in what people think, but when it comes to asking, 'Why did God do this?' and, 'Why did it happen this way?', we have to understand that God doesn't have the same opinions we do. His view is divine and ours is carnal. To overcome hard-heartedness (stubborness), we have to understand that God sees things in a different light than we do. For example, I know I, myself, wouldn't love a person that I didn't like. God sees EVERYONE as His own creation and loves each and every person the same. Jesus died for the person who criticized Him and the man who had peace with Him just the same, like the two people who were crucified beside Him. I know I wouldn't have taken a nail for either of them, but that's where we must understand that Christ is Christ and I am me. Big difference!

'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life.' ~John 3:16