What do you good people,  who choose not to embrace creation,  think regarding books that defend faith?
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I looked at the reviews of the books you mentioned on amazon.com. From what I can tell, I am afraid they do not offer much in the way of solid technical arguments or new discussions or reasons that creationism or a young earth hypothesis must be chosen over the current dominant accepted theories. The "experts" in the book "In Six Days" offer little that has not been dismissed before as specious arguments. Unfortunately, although these 50 gentlemen have PhDs, they are offering opinions in areas well outside their areas of expertise, in most cases. Many of arguments violate well-known scientific principles and laws.  \n\nI do applaud the creationists for trying to compile books that state their arguments and reasoning. We definitely need more of these, and we need to approach this subject with more intellectual honesty and integrity than has been evidenced in the past. \n\nI myself feel I could write a far more compelling book supporting faith that would be far more careful, if I was so inclined. I feel more of a general awe of creation, somewhat similar to that of Einstein, or Thomas Jefferson, or Newton. \n\nIt is disappointing and disconcerting that so far, these kinds of products produced by the religious community have hurt more than they have helped, have discredited those of religious faith and cast them in a bad light. They have tended to lend support for the opposite point of view, and have not succeeded as intended I am sorry to say.\n\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - \n\nAddendum:\n\nYes I am being honest. I have often been struck by some of the most amazing structures in science when I have been doing scientific investigations or learning about science. Unfortunately, I did not keep notes. I think that this is where religious people should direct their attention if they want to grasp the incredible majesty of creation. And it has the advantage that it is beautiful in structure, and unassailable, and compltely scientifically rigorous. \n\nHowever, I am not sure how many people of faith want to undertake a 15+ year journey into abstruse mathematics and physics, or are willing to approach it with a completely open mind. In fact, what I would ask is, if one is absolutely sure of one's faith, then would it not make sense to allow science to continue to unravel the mysteries of nature? After all, if you are positive what the conclusion will be, let them bolster your arguments with facts. If I am not mistaken, this has been the Vatican's approach for some decades.
653940
Well, in my opinion... There's a part of them that's insecure about their faith. When anything (such as the controversial Da Vinci Code) threatens their faith, or attempts to prove it wrong, their defense mechanisms spring up. They know they could be wrong about their faith, and that's what's making them so irate. I think people are starting to forget that the bible is "just a book" too.
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Christian: Well...um, because it's all in the bible!\n\nGod: That's one religious book.  There are a lot of them, all with contradictory information (sometimes, in the same book).  Why did you pick the bible to believe in?\n\nChristian: Uh...well, because it says in the bible that it's the word of God!\n\nGod: And the other books don't say the same thing?\n\nChristian: Well...um...\n\nGod:  You never even bothered to READ the other books, did you?\n\nChristian: Um...\n\nGod: Did you even bother to read the BIBLE?  Did you ever bother to figure out what it was you actually said you believed, or did you just say, "I'm a Christian" and "I believe in the bible" because that's what your parents told you to say?\n\nChristian: Um...\n\nGod: Or was it the heaven and hell bit?  Did you just say that you were a Christian and that you believed in the bible because you were scared witless of going to hell and you really really wanted to get into heaven?  Nevermind being a good person for its own sake; you people have to be threatened and bribed like little kids...\n\nChristian: Um...so does this mean I don't get into heaven?\n\nGod: (sigh)
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I have!  I love them!  I just remember that this is a fiction series about what could/might happen!  Too many people who don't like this series, think that those of us that read the books are taking the books literally.  Personally, the Left Behind books have inspired me to read my Bible more!  What Christian can say that is a bad thing?
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That a girl, keep up the good fight. It's funny to watch people respond. They give you a link to a lying anti-mormon video, and expect that it will change your mind. Ha! People like that don't rely on faith. \n\nSome of those who make it their mission to attack the church believe that they are honest. They take the stand which they believe their conscience requires. There are many more, who feel that the Mormon church deserves their contempt. These people do not feel constrained to stick with the truth. Many misrepresentations and falsehoods are deliberately used if it achieves their objective of further discrediting the LDS church.\n\nMany people do not feel that a just God would allow some of the evils which are so prevalent. Or they may also question why a loving Father doesn't answer our questions in a more straightforward and direct manner. But they overlook the essential ingredient in the Plan of Salvation, that we need to choose for ourselves what is right. And that choice can not be too simple or we haven't actually chosen, we have simply picked the obvious. How we choose will be built upon faith that we are doing the right thing. Hugh B. Brown has said, "Man cannot live without faith, because in life's adventure the central problem is character-building--which is not a product of logic, but of faith in ideals and sacrificial devotion to them."\n\nI believe that the Lord continues to keep the information we have balanced. If the opposition is getting too strong then he will reveal additional knowledge that will build faith. If a testimony can be built only on logic, then he will allow the adversary to add some additional information to encourage study, soul searching and prayer. The type of knowledge we gain may also be geared to our level of understanding. The stronger challenges might come to those who have the stronger testimonies. There are those who have as their goal to present attacks against the church that will be stronger than the testimonies of those to whom they are speaking. It is my goal to provide an answer to those critics. Let us realize that the critics will be there, but we need to be balanced in our understanding. Many criticisms can actually build faith if they are correctly understood. With the information available we can either build faith or create doubt depending on the perspective we use to analyze the data.
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Well... I guess many people have hard feelings towards cristianity.. and the book gave them "arguments". Have you realized people who think it is a great book are not readers? I mean.., most of them have not read more than ten books in their life. but somehow they knew that there was a book "revealing" the truth about those things in the form of a novel.. and that caught their atention.\nA funny thing. I know some who don't believe in what church does... but didn't have any trouble to accept blindly right away what the book says.
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A lot of Christians believe that you HAVE to believe in the bible, or not believe at all.  Some Christians also feel that if you're seeking alternative answers, you're claiming that the bible isn't good enough.  Looking for rational answers instead of swallowing what you're told doesn't mean you can't believe in God.  Believing the first thing you're told and refusing to question isn't faith, its ignorance.
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:}\nIt might be considered irreligious to take faith and scripture so lightly.\n\nDid you check for lightning before typing this?
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I was raised catholic and taught not to question. - but never told it was a sin. When I became sort of evangelical I was encouraged to question "why do I believe what I believe". I even studied other religions over the last 15 years because it seemed like religious faith was a significant part of who many people are at their core and their cultural background. It was very fascinating. But, I also discovered there are absolute truths out there.\n\nI think some religious leaders think it is dangerous to "dabble" a little bit in a whole bunch of different religions because it's a "smorgasboard" approach. The danger lies in believing that we are all ultimately believing in the same God - (which would be very comforting) - but in fact we are not. There are fundamental beliefs in each major religion that just are not compatible with each other. For example, it is not logical to believe in BOTH reincarnation and the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. You also cannot claim to be monotheistic and accept the polytheistic religions' gods at the same time - as you may be insulting one or some of the gods by doing that. \n\nIn the end - it is good to question. Just be very thorough in your research and questioning rather than just picking and choosing based on what's easiest to believe in (or finding something "better"). Frankly, it's probably easiest to be a hedonistic atheist - than a follower of ANY religious faith because most want you to be a "self-LESS" person dedicated to a higher moral way of life. Please note that not all atheists are hedonistic.\n\nThere ARE absolute truths out there and if you are earnestly seeking the God that is historically correct and proven through thousands of documents - then you CAN find the One True God.
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None of them. \nI am not impressed with a god who forces me to believe under threats. \nI'm not impressed with the word "love" because it's used in so many contexts that how am I to know if he loves me in a caring way or if he loves me in the same way some people love marshmallows?\nI'm not impressed with the given good things stuff because both believers and non-believers alike have good things and nasty things in life. \n\nHere's what impresses me: a person who can love people and treat them good. You ask them why and they tell you that they want to be good people and believing in God has helped them to be that way. They do this without giving unasked-for sermons. It's exactly that approach that has encouraged me to believe.
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What you say just isn't true for many people.  People don't refuse faith; faith just doesn't exist for many people, especially thoughtful, rational-type people.  And you already know that it's not true that God always gives when asked; lots of times He doesn't.\n\nRE: Your Email (Yahoo wouln't let me respond directly):\n\nThanks Jenny.  I've read lots of the Bible growing up.  I have not decided "he doesn't exist."  But if He exists, he has not given me Faith.  To the contrary, He has given me a brain and a heart that do not lead me to Faith, even reading the Bible.  Who knows why, but that's the situation.  I can act like I have Faith, I can pretend I have Faith, but it would be a lie, and I can't just manufacture real Faith.  I'm sure it's very comforting to have Faith (regardless of whether it's well placed).
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First of all, I don't know what you mean by "believer".  Anyone who believes anything is a believer.  Avoid letting fundamentalists box you into their label.  That gives them power.  If you're something other than a "believer", than it makes it sound like you're just stubborn or something.  You may well believe in all sorts of values, such as an objective quest for facts and trying to be good just to make the world a better place.  Instead of calling them "believers", if you're talking about fundamentalists, call them fundamentalists or fanatics.  Be aware, however, that there are lots of religious people who are opposed to the whole notion that the only way to be good is literally following a book.\n\nThe whole point of America (I'm assuming you're American, but I realize that that may be a false assumption) is that we all have the right to believe whatever we believe.  If some people believe that the Great Kumquat is God, that's their right.\n\nSecondly, if I understand what you're saying correctly, you're asking if it's better to be good just because you think you'll get into Heaven and avoid Hell or whether you think it's better to just be good for good's sake.  That begs the question: what does it mean to be good.  With all due respect to those who follow holy books, I'd like to state my opinion about ethics.  I'm sorry if it offends anyone, but that's my opinion and we're hopefully all here to communicate.  So, any holy book devotees have now been fairly warned that they might not like what I have to say. :-)  (I still respect you guys as human beings, I simply disagree with a lot of you.)\n\nIt seems absurd and even dangerous to me to base one's ethics on literal belief in a book.  I think that ethics REQUIRES thought and reason.  We have to be able to understand how our actions affect others before we can truly be ethical people.  If we blindly follow some book or other and believe that that book is a literal communication from the Divine without any evidence that it is, and that book rationalizes doing terrible things to others, we'll do terrible things to others.  In the years of the Inquisition and the Witch Craze, the Church did exactly that!  So, I'm sick and tired of people who can use their book to rationalize torturing people to death telling me how to be a good person.\n\nHere are several reasons to be good that are totally separate from any concept of the Divine, Heaven or Hell:\n\n1. The world would be better off if we were nice to others and avoiding harm to others.  It would be worse off if we hurt others.\n2. Actions have natural consequences.  If you punch someone in the face, they're likely to punch you back, or worse, go to the police and report you for assault.  Conversely, if you're friendly and nice to others, they'll be more likely to be nice to you.  Therefore, we should be nice and avoid harming people.\n3. If one thinks literal belief in an afterlife is absurd because of lack of proof (literal belief in God, Heaven and Hell are to many of us as absurd as believing in Santa Claus and his toy shop in the North Pole), one must conclude that we only have this life to live.  If we believe that, than our only acts in life that really matter after we die are those acts that outlast us.  If we leave a legacy of pain and sorrow, then we left the world worse off for having been here.  If, on the other hand, we leave the world a better place for having been here, our life has lasting meaning.  Every person we help and every person we're kind to is a legacy.\n\nThrough a combination of empathy and logic, we can be good people, but, in my opinion, we're only really good when we liberate ourselves from blind faith in books and arbitrary rules, because, blind faith in books makes us ignorant as to what truly helps others and what truly hurts others.  On the other hand, reason and em
481543
I have often wondered about that "term" myself. I do have a belief in God, but I don't follow any religion. I was raised to believe that God was all forgiving, so I see no reason to "fear" God. I agree that we do not need a God to be told what is good and what is bad. We all know within ourselves if something is right or wrong. I do my best to follow what I believe to be right and I try to avoid anything that I know is wrong.  Great Question! \n\nA.H.
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ive read a few of them. they are good books for entertainment. but of course you shouldnt believe what it says. thats just the opinion of the authors veiw of what will happen. the holy bible is the only book anyone should believe.
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i think the bible is a good book yet fiction, religion is a money and war machine IMHO.  on the other hand people need hope and that is where many find it, we're best off never knowing
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Because those people are afraid that if you think about religion in a scientific manner then youll raise questions that cant be answered by religion.  \n\nA real person a faith shouldnt ask you to forget what you learned just because it might challenege their ideas.  Religion isnt perfect and neither is science.  They may or may not work together but as of right now we dont know the ultimate trusts about both subjects so its very hard to tell when they really do agree or disagree.\n\nLearn both sides and decide for yourself what is true. Don't let others make you think that blind faith in either is necessary or okay.
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No I don't, I am Christian and I consider it a moral guide with some truths and a good book, but it isn't the end all to end all. I consider myself Christian because I follow many of Christ teachings and lets face it I was raised to be so. Nature vs. nurture, what can I say? Oh and you don't have to follow the Bible to follow what Christ taught, even he was against being ruled by laws.  I love God, not the Bible, if I did I would be a follower of books not of Christ. Ever wonder why Jesus never wrote about himself? Think on that for awhile. Like the bible says we are all Gods. Follow your heart not a book.