I got a question,do all of these different gods talk to each other,like in god of war. lol

@Farmland:

1)Theoretically, if God/creator exists, that perfectly explains existence as we know it. Science can only tell us about the physical world we exist in. Something that exists outside of the material world is beyond scientific explanation, as science is limited to the material world. A theoretical God/creator easily explains existence in the theory of creation.

2)Agreed...IF, every one of these religions that you are talking about(and their roles of men and women) are man-made and not divinely inspired and directed.

@Sapphi_snake:

1)There is plenty of history in scripture. True, it should not be taken in and of itself to be an authoratative document that is beyong scrutiny for scholars of history. I dont see why the history contained in books fo the Bible should be completely dismissed, while the writings of some scribe who worked for or under a conquering king or general are acceptable for inclusion.

The people who wrote Christian scriptures, as you say, would not want to elevate Jesus to deity status, unless you are saying that they did not believe he was some sort of deity.

3)You're speaking with an awful lot of authority there. It's not what you think, it's simply an undeniable truth? On what grounds can you claim, that without a shadow of a doubt, all prophecies are false? Would you be operating on an assumption, on faith in an idea? That puts you on the same level as anyone who believes in a creator; both operating on faith, just faith in different concepts, theories, and ideas.

I'm speaking from the point of view of a pentecostal christian.

1. He gave us freewill. Even the choice to be deceived. But he also left us with a nagging need to find him, to find out the truth. We all have it. I'm sure you've noticed.

2. The only thing the Bible clearly says about women is that the man is the head of the family and the woman should submit to her husband who should also give her the due respect. It also clearly states that she should submit to the culture of her environment/homeland/country as long as it doesn't contradict God's laws. I say this becasue the only places the Bible gives specific instructions to women, the instructions are actually the rules women had to abide by in their own homeland at that moment. Sometimes, they'd stray from their culture after becoming christians and they were adviced not to do so unless their original culture was clearly in compromise to christain values.

3. The Bible says everyone is given a different set of gifts in accordance with God's mission for each person. But EVERYONE is supposed to be able to hear from God by himself. Anybody(or variation of christianity for that matter) that teaches otherwise is only manipulating people for personal gain. Making others believe they need to go through you to speak to their Father is a big lie. The Bible says Jesus is the way/door to God. The Bible also states 2 things that i'd like you to combine into one statement:

1st:"As many as accept Jesus he gave power to become sons of God"

2nd:"For they that are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God"

@quigontcb:

1)There is plenty of history in scripture. True, it should not be taken in and of itself to be an authoratative document that is beyong scrutiny for scholars of history. I dont see why the history contained in books fo the Bible should be completely dismissed, while the writings of some scribe who worked for or under a conquering king or general are acceptable for inclusion.

There is very little actual "history" in the Bible. Most of it is mythological mombo jombo. Those scribes you mentioned are better sources.

The people who wrote Christian scriptures, as you say, would not want to elevate Jesus to deity status, unless you are saying that they did not believe he was some sort of deity.

They probably wanted to believe he was a deity (the same way the followers of any such figure want to believe). People like this often make up stuff in order to elevate certain individuals and make them seem greater than they were (it's also true when you read stories about how great kings were). The point os creating a mythical figure (Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed etc.). After all, you'd be a real hypocrite to say that their followers made up all the supernatural things about the Buddha or about Mohammed, yet everything that was said about Jesus by his followers was true (it's pretty obvious it's not).

3)You're speaking with an awful lot of authority there. It's not what you think, it's simply an undeniable truth? On what grounds can you claim, that without a shadow of a doubt, all prophecies are false? Would you be operating on an assumption, on faith in an idea? That puts you on the same level as anyone who believes in a creator; both operating on faith, just faith in different concepts, theories, and ideas.

Show me a prophecy that came true (note it has to be a prophecy that gives clear detailes, not riddles, and is not one that can become self-fulfilled). I dare you!

Man this thread is already turning bad. The OP didn't address the thread towards Athiests. he wasn't asking what Athiests thought of God or the role of women etc...etc... he was asking members of organised and disorganised religions. He according to the origional post seemed to be searching for religious views on certain things. For now it is on topic for the most part but already its beginning to sway and by the end will end up just another he said God exists she said God doesn't. She thinks she's smarter then he because she doesn't believe he thinks she's being narrow minded to judge him for his beliefs. Before you know it this thread will explode.

As for me, I'm a non-denominational Christian, which means I have my own beliefs based on the Bible and the Christian faith. I don't nescessarily follow any particular denomination as I have my own interpretations and believe have many views from most different denominations.

#1. Proof, why doesn't God just prove it to us. Well God did from the early times through to Jesus coming to Earth he was constantly proving himself. Today does Saint Andre is a perfect example. A man who went around parts of Canada healing people in the name of God. Their have been various other faith healers (Legit ones and fake ones) why is it you don't hear about an Athiest conference suddenly having blind people seeing or cripples walking? Now yes their is a phony out there for every legit faith healer but if you looked and genuinely wanted to find truth you would see the miracles happening. Miracles happen every day they aren't always reported but if you search for signs of a higher power your bound to bump into a few.

#2. The Qur'an. I have read alot of the Qur'an myself about six or seven years ago. So I am not an expert on it. I don't know why a women would choose to follow Islam considering she doesn't go to heaven (From what I remember) Now in the Christian faith a women is not the head of the household, but that does not mean she is property. It says in the Bible that a man should love his wife like God loved the church and treat her as such. God sent his son Jesus to die for the church, he did everything for his people. Does that sound like a religion where women are to be treated as second class citizens? It says in the Bible that men are to respect their wives. Women according to the Bible are to valued above everything else in a mans life. The only thing the Bible says is that a man is to provide for his family and protect his family especially his wife. Thats not condesending thats what a man is supposed to do, take care of his wife.

#3. A handful of prophets? Everyone has the potential to be a prophet. I actually told several people about a tower being hit by a giant bird (Which was the vision I saw) I told pastors and a councellor and friends. After 9/11 alot of people called me a prophet, understandably It went to my head. But in the end after asking around I now know of several people who also saw similiar visions and were talked to by God to pray and fast. I wasn't the only one and if you look several other people predict events every day. People every day have conversations sometimes verbally other times in their heads with God. Another word for it is prayer, you don't always hear back from God in a verbal direct way as some have but you do occasionally get answers you want and sometimes you won't recognize the answers because you didn't want them.

In the end I bet their is another member here on VGChartz alone that has had a spiritual experiance with God. Heard a voice or talked in tongues with God. Someone who predicted an event by seeing a vision or hearing a verbal voice.

God shows himself to the people who actually seek him out. All those people who close their hearts and choose not to see will not find him. It says in the Bible that God will give them over to their evil desires and allow their hearts to be hardened.

If your open and willing to hear and see the truth and seek the truth you will find the truth.

This argument is faulty.

Why? Because "What caused god to be?"

It's called infinite descent. One famous scientist, I can't recall who, was speculating on the universe during a seminar, when someone in the audience stood up and proclaimed that none of the speculation was true, that that person knew what it really was. This person claimed that the earth was being carried on the back of a giant turtle. When the scientist responded by asking what was carrying the turtle, the person answered "Ah, I've already thought of that - it's turtles all the way down!"

You have only two ways to get around the infinite descent problem. Either you have to find some arbitrary line to draw, and declare that THIS thing has always existed, or you have to invoke an infinitude of solutions, as with the "turtles all the way down". Believers often draw the line at God. But it's an arbitrary line to draw, because the same reasoning can be applied to the universe itself - that the universe has always existed.

And just to avoid the obvious next question - no, I don't actually believe in the big bang. I'm a mathematical physicist who suspects (I wouldn't go so far as to call it a belief) that the universe has always existed, and is of infinite extent. I've yet to hear evidence for the big bang that isn't just as consistent with an infinite universe, and most of the arguments against the infinite universe fall apart for multiple reasons (which I won't get into, here, since this is about religion). Oh, and I'm a non-believer. A 'weak' atheist - I don't believe in a deity of any sort, but I'd willingly respond to decisive (even subjective) evidence to the contrary.

Oh, and Stephen Hawking is not a very good choice of person to base a statement regarding the universe on - he's well-known, but he's by no means mainstream in terms of scientific circles.

Also, regarding the tendency to believe in some sort of creator, I'd put that down to the same thing that had people believing that things like water, fire, and air had mystical properties - it results from ignorance. People are very quick to attribute anything they don't understand to "god" or "gods", or to the "devil", or to other supernatural beings. This isn't to say that such a creator doesn't actually exist, just that the tendency to believe in one as found in so many cultures isn't evidence for it in any sense.

@ OP

I don't believe in a god, but I think your questions can be answered better philosophically or culturally.

1. God created living beings with free will, so God can't force us to think one way or another. Those who want to see "proof" see it, those who don't want to see it, don't. I don't know if such evidence exists, but two different people will look at the same thing and interpret it as two different things. Some see evidence, some see coincidence.

2. Women being treated badly in religion is probably more down to the culture where these religions started and matured. No matter what the original message on the subject may have been, it will have been interpreted and massaged to fit into the culture around it at any given time.

3. I think the meaning of the word "prophet" has been misused a bit through times. "Prophecies" are fiddly as many of them can be percieved differently (see #1), so where some people see prophecies, others see fantasies or dreams. Some "prophets" are simply people who are incredibly wise. I don't think Jesus had any more to do with the divine than you or me, but he was an incredible teacher and guide non the less. Whether there are (or has been) any actual prophets out there is something I will let others argue about.

@sapphi_snake: The Bible has plenty of history within it's pages. Just because you choose to reject the Bible doesnt change the fact that there is a lot of history in it. There are plenty of scholars who agree to this(not that that necessarily means a whole lot). I would tell you to do a little research into it(as I would also say about prophecies), but I have a feeling you might be of the school of thought that denies that Jesus was even a man who existed in history. Seems like your heart has been made up. And by the way, no need to be so angry. I'd think you'd find some comfort in being so certain about things:)

@aielyn: There is nothing faulty about it. A supernatural force existing before and outside of the material world is one of the countless theories on explaining everything, and is the one that really makes the most sense in and of itself. You can reject the idea of a creator, but when we're talking in theory(as technically we all are) you cannot really reject an all-powerful creator OUT of the theory of an all-powerful creator. From this view there is no need for a "beginning" to the infinite which brought about the finite.

As far as rejecting the general concensus that there was a beginning to the universe, maybe you really are the minority who has it all figured out. It seems most scientists(which I know is very, very broad) would disagree with you, as they also seem to disagree with you on whether or not there is a "God". I'm not sure how it is all around the world, but I know every time I've saw a survery of "scientists", the majority do believe in some higher power.

And yes, many people/cultures are quick to attribute things that they dont understand to God or gods, and people also attribute things they do understand to God or gods. The tendency of pretty much every culture to believe in a creator is evidence that there is, and always has been, a nagging question in the hearts and minds of human beings around the world.

2)The quran can't be translated litterally from complex writings/poetry used. That is why all of them look exactly identical in Arabic, as its Gods true voice/message. Though it doesnt really say men can do what they wish with their women, but does mention that both men and women have different roles, not as a bad thing either just states how were made differently. I know alot of things sound weird when taking out of context. 

1. Well, just as you say it's impossible to dismiss the ideea that a deity may exist, there's also the possibility that Jesus never even existed (considering the lack of concrete historical records, and the possibility of these records being falsified by the Church). However I don't consider that the most likely scenario (too Da Vinci code to be true). Jesus most likely existed, drew followers who made up stories about him to make him seem like an amazing person (quite common, happened with most worshiped individuals, like Buddah, and even with heretic leaders in the Middle Ages). By chance an important person started favoring this religion and Chrisitanity was forced on the masses, peopel who wouldn't convert were harassed and killed etc. And of course in the 4th century teh Church declared that Jesus was a deity, to make him a more imposing figure.

Also, my "heart" isn't made up about anything, as all my heart does is pump blood. My mind (brain) however can recognise nonsense very well, and I generally go with what makes the most sense. I don't know everything, and I never will.

2. Scientists are less likely to beleive in any religion than the general public, and their likelyhood to beleive in any religion depends on the field in which they work in.