Originally Posted by: Tonja_Renee

I beleive in God... if you logically look at the world and how it works... its definately a world by design.

And the joy and fulfillment I get from my religion is incredible... and if I go through my life.. filled with joy and fulfilled and then I turn out to be wrong (which I don't think I am) who does it hurt?... But what if I'm right?

A world by design? Or a world forged by thousands of years of trial and error on behalf of human civilizations?

I'm not here to argue religious points of view. I grew up in a strong Christian household... However, my beliefs have changed dramatically once I started taking higher level science and math classes. I've come to the conclusion that not everything in the Bible should be taken in literally. I look at Jesus as a role model more than some spiritual entity... I look at God as the beacon of hope that there is a better place beyond the Earth that we know... BUT, I don't believe that he created Earth... Science can explain why an apple falls from a tree, why the Earth revolves around the Sun, why hot water boils, why fish have gills, and why humans are so intelligent..... These are things that science can tell us... You don't deny the fact that science can measure how fast your car is going or how cold or hot the weather is outside... Why do you reject the fact that science can tell you why and how you even exist.... That's my point of view anyway...

But like Tonja... I think it's good to have hope and faith in something that you're not quite sure if it's there or not. It's like walking into a completely dark room and you reach for the light switch... you can't feel it and you can't see it... but you KNOW it's there and if you feel around long enough you're sure to find it. That hope gives a lot of people the one reason they need to turn their lives from being a crack addict into being a good christian person.... It happens all the time... And that's the reason I will never argue against a strict Christian religious perspective... Scientology?? Yeah, well that's another story...