Replication happens only because of reincarnation. Otherwise why would anything replicate?

being religious should preclude anyone from being in any public office . 

The problem is that you have not taken that very important first step in faith. Once you start on a journey in faith, and come to know God, you will see things from a different perspective and realise the failings of short sighted logic. And come to realise that God is ultimately responsible for whatever logic we perceive.

My awareness of my own existence is sufficient evidence for me to know that God exists, because without God I could not possibly exist.

Most genuine thinkers were philosophers first and scientists next. Their quest was never complete merely with understanding physical laws. They always sought answers beyond that.

Its in the mid 20th century that people (Dawkins.) latched on to religions like Christianity and Islam and made a big song and dance about them. This created an artificial gap and this is where hard Scientism came into the picture.

I do not know what there is to answer that I have not already answered. You seem to believe that your logic is sound and can't be refuted. But I believe that I have control over my actions. I agree that this control can't be explained by human logic, and this is why I attribute my ability to exert conscious control to the power God has given me through the gift of free will in my human soul.

I was just pointing out that it is impossible to discuss matters of spirituality with someone who can't even admit to its existence

For God not to exist, we need to assume -
1. That the universe came into being on its own without divine help
2. That the initial conditions concerning the incredibly fine tuned balance between the rate of expansion of the universe an the force of Gravity (the cosmological constant) which allowed the formation of stars and galaxies was not intentional.
3. That the first living cell came into being through the actions of random, unguided, purposeless events.
4. That a sufficient quantity and quality of beneficial mutations can be generated from random events to drive the process of evolution.
5. That the detrimental effects of harmful mutations could not wipe out life entirely.
6. That every one of the billions of discrete mutations needed to form life as we know it was able to provide sufficient survival advantage in its own right to facilitate natural selection.
7. That molecular activity alone can generate self awareness.
8. That every event needed to write this post was an inevitable consequence of previous events, because we must assume that there can be no such thing as free will.

And we must presume that all these assumptions are true because God does not exist.

Of course I understand what you are saying, but can you not discern a potential difference between physical determinism, defined entirely by the aimless nature of scientific laws and material properties, and non-physical determinism which is driven by something outside nature and is not constrained by the uncontrollable forces of nature.

The enormous creative potential within every human being offers ample evidence that the driving forces behind this potential come from a source which is not restricted to the outcome of the aimless uncontrollable forces of nature.

You can't ignore the vast amounts of evidence for the miraculous intercession of saints. I have personal experience of someone very close who has recently had a miraculous cure after asking for help to intercede from a deceased friend who was a very devout Christian.

No because justice, it could be argued, could have been to completely exclude for ever and everyone from God's presence....are you beginning to see the objections to personal ideas of justice being the benchmark?
You are conflating original sin with personal sin.
original sin is a fourth century concept. I think that my answer to this would best be summed up to one of your earlier claims that God should have made better humans. Funnily enough Christianity starts with humans in perfect communion with God and they spoilt the image. Think female Movie stars and Botox. Ah I hear you object, their spoiling of themselves is due to their human environment...In which case your excuse for them and their agency actually produces a version of original sin.

Christ of course is God's answer to the human predicament.

Evidence is only what we are able and willing to see. All of us don't believe in spiritual realities without any evidence. (That is just atheist arrogance to assume so).

Its just that you are unable to see it. That is all....and we are unable to show it to you. I keep citing the example of a stubborn blind man denying the existence of Light. Nothing can be done about it!

Let's add Acts to the gospels, since it was written by Luke.
Acts 12 contains a description of the escape of Peter from prison. Why would the author say that Rhoda the servant girl at Mark's mother's house ran back instead of opening the door when she recognized Peter's voice (v. 14)?
To make it sound more convincing? Or because it's true? To quote Jeremy Kyle, "Test says he's telling the truth"

I think you will agree the bible makes it clear that the world was absolutely moral at the start until the human decision to alienate itself from absolute morality. 
The world is therefore fallen and God then works with humanity as it is. The Old testament then forms an account of the development of a nation who have a certain revelation of God
which God wants to preserve. God navigates the isrealites through ancient peace and warfare.

Why then should the jewish religion be so imperfectly preserved in the world where everything is tainted and there is no effective absolute morality? The answer is that it is a vehicle for the eventual saviour of individuals of any and every nation Jesus Christ.

I think your mistake is not recognising the fallen imperfect state of the world where absolute morality is not exercised 

(on the subject of communion wafers and transubstantiation)

I have read that there is a value placed on the consecrated host by devil worshippers who pay for it in order to perform ritual abuse on the host. And apparently these devil worshippers can tell whether the host has been consecrated.

(And more tales of co!minion wafers)

I did hear of a prison vicar who noted a quite different reaction and reception to himself from the inmate body when he went with communion wafers and when he never and decided to experiment with hidden wafers.

Saturday was a particularly unlucky day for me, went to check on Samson my nephew's hamster and found he had escaped. Later on Sunday night heard noises coming from the airing cupboard where he had decided to climb through a hole and vanish under the floorboards. I actually had a word with God about this and God decided to send him back. He came up for food later on and I shone a torch at him before catching him.

Yes, a child before indoctrination is a sight to behold. It is exactly what Jesus meant. They are free from the trappings of the matrix of this world. This is why the 'path is narrow' because we are surrounded by Luciferian distractions and slaves to the system. If we can free ourselves from these ties then we are truly free.

Intellectual understanding is never the answer to many things.  It has its usefulness but should not be over stated.

The objective of the Robin is to fly, not to understand its own flight mechanism. 

This is where life becomes intricate. We have evolved an ability to understand things intellectually. It is useful but perhaps we are over doing it. Intellectual understanding can become an obsessive need just like other needs.  

Spirituality and religions try to wean us away from too much of intellectualism.

The implication is that our freedom can't be derived purely from the deterministically driven events in the physical material of our brain. Our freedom must come from a source which is not constrained by the uncontrollable forces of nature, so our freedom is verifiable evidence of our spiritual, God given nature.

But it is evidence which denies my power to consciously choose, therefore it must be flawed.

You are trying to have your cake and eat it too. You claim that there is no Self because our awareness and identity is affected when we sleep or in case of brain injury etc. Yet, just to get over the determination problem, you are willing to accept that the Unconscious mind drives our lives.

If you agree that the Unconscious mind is the real driver of our lives behind the conscious mind....then the issue of the Self being hidden behind the conscious mind is solved. The unconscious mind is or is part of the Soul. We (meaning... the conscious mind) have no idea what all this is or how it all works in any case. So what is the problem?

Determinism only affects the material world because it is subject to physical laws. The Unconscious mind (the soul) need not be subject to these laws. It is the element that influences and intervenes in our lives and directs not only our individual lives but all evolution itself.

(In reply to the statement that humans are animals)

You mean like a dog or pig? You want to marry an animal and have sex with them?
Thought not... seems you don't believe your really an animal at all.

You keep maintaining that the word physical is irrelevant.
But physical implies that the action or event must comply with the physical laws of science.
So to enable conscious interaction with this universe rather than simple reaction, we can't be shackled by the uncontrollable rules of physically defined reaction.  The freedom for us to consciously  interact can't be defined within the constraints of pre determined physically controlled reactions.
The material properties and physical laws of interaction within this universe can demonstrably be consciously manipulated to produce the human creativity which abounds on this planet.  We live in a universe which seems obviously designed to be manipulated by conscious interaction, but this freedom to consciously interact must come from outside the physical constraints of our material universe.

I am not scared of feminists, that is a typical feminist reaction, to claim that anybody who opposes them is "afraid".

As far as I am concerned, Feminism belongs in small rooms where those who feel aggrieved can spout their gender hatred with impunity. Feminism is just another version of the Socialist Workers Party.

(in answer to the question if a decision is neither determined or random, how would it be made?)

Well I have talked about precedence and equivalence. The decision for or against personal commitment to God is both unprecedented(what material influence could possibly help you out in that decision and is without equivalence (given that there is consequential mediocrity with all other choices).

How many times to I have to say this -
The alternative to physical determinism is spiritually determined, which releases us from the shackles of the unavoidable physically determined cause and effect scenario, allowing the power of our God given soul to wilfully interact with this world. I have never asserted that that conscious awareness and wilful interaction is random. It is driven by our conscious will, not by the unavoidable consequences to previous physical events.

(In answer to question what evidence is there for the claim that we all need to be saved and that Jesus is a the saviour)

The evidence is alienation inclusive of any non acted out nastiness in one's mind.
That things are not going as well as they could be although as far agnostic and atheists that is usually down to other people (Don't forget that all people are included in somebody's other people).
If you look at other religions they are commandment following, scales of justice or technique based.

What evidence do you have that there is no alienation, that it is down to people and that law-following or techniques can actually save or whether only God can take it upon himself.

There are many similarities between human behaviour and animal behaviour, but no animal has shown any capacity to believe, or disbelieve in a Creator.  Such an ability can only come from the God given conscious perception and willpower of the human soul.

What's all the big deal about 'double blind tests'...double blind tests'...?!

The public have been fooled for 40 years about eating saturated fats and cholesterol and atherosclerosis and all that stuff. Now its all being claimed as.... "well...not really...you know...maybe cholesterol really isn't so bad...maybe fats are ok....hee...hee". There were all kinds of tests with a whole village (Framingham) being studied over decades (starting from 1948). It still turns out to be wrong.

Double blind tests or any other are not infallible. It all depends on the assumptions being made to begin with, the way the experiments are designed and finally the vested interests of the people sponsoring the study and so on....

Its quite silly when entire communities of people experience and accept certain phenomena but some 'scientists' come along with their double blind tests and dismiss everything as nonsense. The scientist types like to believe that they are right and that the entire world is foolish and naive. But they are increasingly beginning to look foolish themselves. They no longer hold the authority they once did.

Coming to dowsing....it involves the mind and our spontaneous reactions to subtle natural phenomena. Testing (double blind or otherwise) always involves the Meta consciousness. Once the meta consciousness gets involved, all spontaneous and natural reactions and responses get blocked automatically. Self consciousness prevents spontaneous responses.

This is why most mental phenomena that require a natural, unhindered, uninhibited and non-self conscious state of mind, fail when tested under so called 'strict test conditions'. The test itself hinders the process.

Dowsing is an ancient practice that has worked successfully in finding water for hundreds of years. There is no reason why water companies should not use this method.

This article mentions what Sriram is trying to explain. It's about the biofield of 'energy'. The reason science claims dowsing doesn't work is because once the sceptics interfere through double-blind testing the energy flow is broken i.e. the procedure cannot work properly. 

You guys don't know about the biofield that surrounds all things??!! Hmm! Remarkable how you manage to keep yourselves completely insulated from true wisdom! ;)

I am sure I have written about this many times...particularly with reference to Floo's sudden frozen shoulder cure, spontaneous healing etc. Nothing 'supernatural' about it, let me add!

Here is something about it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_(esotericism)

Also see 'Auras'.

The Biofield is a field that surrounds and penetrates all life. It is like the earth's magnetic field. This biofield is fundamental in maintaining physical health and mental well being. Any major disturbances to the biofield can cause illnesses. These are especially relevant in mental and emotional issues.

It is the flow of energies in this field that ensures well being and good health. Many esoteric healing techniques such as Pranic healing, Reiki, Feng shui, acupuncture...are based on this field and the flow of the energies in and around the body.

Even Yoga and the chakra system is essentially based on the biofield.

Why hasn't Science found this field yet? Maybe because it is full of old school fogies who are more comfortable remaining insulated from such things. But I am sure sooner or later all this will get integrated with physical science to give us a more comprehensive and meaningful picture of ourselves.

About dowsing and biofield...

https://dowsers.org/product/tuning-the-human-biofield/

But the reality is that I have the conscious power to choose in how and when (and if) to satisfy my wants.  This is what makes us human and distinguishes us from the predictable pre programmed behaviour of animals.  So I will continue to employ my God given power to choose to witness to the reality of God's existence.  There is nothing incoherent about the power of our souls to consciously choose our thoughts, words and actions.  It is only incoherent if you try to make it comply with the endless physical chains of cause and effect

I'll tell you what it is all about.... 

Its probably the Biofield that makes dowsing, reiki, spontaneous healing etc. possible. Its as simple as that.

Why has science not found any biofield yet?  Well....Science has not found so many things all these years. So...what's the big deal? Secondly no one is looking for it and no one knows the right methods to detect it either. 

But you assume that human scientific investigation will discover any evidence for God if God does exist. Can you not see the limitations of what science can discover? It is by definition limited to what can be perceived by physical human senses and man made contraptions. There is much, much more to reality which our spiritual awareness can reveal if you allow it to.

Of course, Life goes on after death....even for those who think otherwise!!

We get reincarnated into other bodies and develop further...and when we are sufficiently developed, we become Free and stop reincarnating. That is real Freedom.....freedom from the sense of individuality that makes us self obsessed.

The entire Hindu, Jain and Buddhist philosophies are centered around this concept.

What evidence do we have? There are thousands of NDE's that indicate a life after death. Ian Stevenson has done significant research on reincarnation and found some evidence.

It also makes more sense than the 'food for bacteria' theory.....and ties in with our general tendency to become more and more loving, selfless and universal.

Omnipotence is linked to Omniscience and Omnipresence. They go together. We cannot separate them out.

Omniscience and Omnipresence are possible only if the relevant Agent is some sort of an inner driving force. Pantheism!

The idea of the String is unavoidable in this context. The String is postulated to be present in everything, and is said to vibrate and transform itself into different elementary particles and thereby into the whole world. That is Omnipresence, Omniscience and Omnipotence.

Of course the question arises as to what the String is and how it came about and whether there is any Intent and Will behind it. I don't think we will ever know. We are a product of it and not above it.

We are God's presence on this earth. Answers to prayer often come by motivating people to do His will. When I pray about a lost contact lens, I do not expect it to jump into my hand - I need to act in faith and allow God to guide me to find it. It is the same for many other prayers. When I pray for people in need, I will try follow what I feel God motivates me to do.

I know that the more affluent in society could do a lot more to help those less fortunate. There are many resources which could be used if people were motivated to use them more effectively to help those in need.

But there is another type of poverty which is much more difficult to deal with, and which ultimately has very dire consequences. This is the spiritual poverty which is becoming much more prevalent in the affluent west.

I learnt from an early age that the things I pray about turn out much better than the things I neglect to pray about. So I have witnessed to some personal answers to prayer - including the truly miraculous healing of my wife's father from an aortic aneurysm (after we were told he was dying with just a few minutes left to live) and the finding of a contact lens dropped on a grassy field (I did not even have to search - my finger was guided straight to it).

So whenever I feel worried or anxious about anything, I try to remember to pray about it because I know that the prayers I say in faith do get answered in wonderful ways. And I am certain that if more people in this world were able to pray with faith in the name of Jesus Christ, this whole world would be a better place.

Of course I believe that God intended us to be His creation. Common sense tells me that billions of years of random, unguided, aimless forces could produce nothing but a chaotic goo - even with the right ingredients. I see human scientific investigation as being just an an insight into God's creative genius.

Your forgetting that theists and deists were assigning the role of creator as articulated in SU centuries before. SU is not science but philosophy.
Moreover it is a latecomer.
What it is is a repudiation of the idea that there cannot be an outside of the universe, a turn round which to lessen the blow to New Atheism has rear guard action involving denial purely because people poop themselves over the word God or gods. The fundamental difference between the idea of creator inSU and theology is a courtiers reply which has naturally been detected by the person who invented courtiers reply, PZ Myers.

I for one will now not be able to see many on this board as strident macho antitheists but as bizarre deists dreading the full implications of accepting the philosophy of SU.

To them I wish them good luck in their migration.

Thank you for correctly pointing out that we do not live in a perfect world.
If we did live in a perfect world, there would be no need to search for God, because we would have found Him.
The fact is that humans can recognise that our world is not as we would like it to be. We all know that there could be a better place.
Some of us know that there is a better place

Sriram's confusion is only that cultivated by New atheists who wish to avoid identification and responsibility for their utterances by coalescing, Slime Mould like, into a single entity which ''Merely has disbelief in Gods'' when conditions get tough for them or dispersing as lone amoeboids which ever is most useful.

First thing you need to understand is that.... there is such a thing as secular spirituality independent of religion. Hmmm..difficult?! Thought so.

Once you get past that...you need to get off your rocking chair and start doing some Yoga, Pranayama and meditations. Not necessarily in the Himalayas but in you own town will do. Also, some charity work, fasting, preferably move towards vegetarianism.

After some years of that...you can take up study of Samkhya and Yoga philosophies. Maybe also Vedanta, Jainism and Buddhism while you are about it.

Once you are through with all this...you will automatically understand what I am talking about.

IMO many of the atheists (New and Old...what's the difference?) are not just repetitive bores but they also lack vision and insight. Intelligent perhaps but no wisdom. Sorry guys...no offence... :D

Britain in particular, being one of the pioneers in Science and modern thinking...seems to have gotten stuck in its own success and glory. Science is the new 'religion'. Britishers seem to be resting on their laurels and wallowing in their atheism as though it is some sort of a path breaking new find that no one has thought of before.

This is a pity because atheism is as old as the hills but lacks any true insight or comprehensive perspective. It lacks integration and a big picture view. Most recent atheists are looking out of a window that someone like Dawkins or Harris have shown them and believe that the little window gives them access to all the world, beyond which there cannot possibly be anything else.

I guess it will change in the coming decades.

You are still thinking in material terms.

My free will is adequately demonstrated by the fact that I have used my gift of free will in the way God intended - to freely accept Jesus as my Saviour and Redeemer. Can you seriously believe that this could all be done by my subconscious brain activity? Seriously?

God is love Dicky and therefore God is morality. God is the moral standard. Who'd have thought that eh, certainly not the materialists who would have us look for somekind of physical phenomenon or an element Moralanium. Legalists would have the law without the spirit of the law.
Loveists have the spirit of the law.

Morality cannot be an impersonal sort of thing we are all, on a moral day, homeostatically trying trying to achieve. Be Holy says the Bible. In terms of temporal morality we are not expert at all. Now that may not sound like out fault but it is because we are talking about moral expertise which is a different domain from knowledge or skill.

Moral irrealism is a non starter because it has no power or ability for moral arbitration and as for morality being taste, well.

(Discussing video posted by poster supposedly showing soul leaving body )

Yes....even I was sitting next to my father and FIL as they passed away....and I did not see anything leaving the body. If we could actually see the soul/spirit we wouldn't be discussing it in this manner would we?!

We cannot see or hear or feel the spirit/soul and that's the whole point. It is said that, under some special circumstances, especially if the person who died is fairly young, the soul can be felt or even seen. These are unknown phenomena...so going into intricate details is not meaningful.

In the first video the guys on the scene obviously did not 'see' anything. But one of them seems to have felt something as he extended his hand through the soul ....or so it seemed to me.

Also FYI, black souls mean not very evolved souls (more selfish) while white soul means more developed and loving. :)

Maybe the videos are fake...but since I believe in souls/spirits and life after death...I have no reason to assume so. Souls are normal!

Under the Noahic covenant the Christian God sanctions the restraint of violence using force, whereas the god of islam wants the whole world converted to itself either by persuasion or by force
Modify message

Ah, but observation of Leprechauns is observation is it not. And presumably if one has been seen another could be videoed and yet another caught and examined.
The divine is not observable in the same way. If you are going to accept the principle of interconversion from the supernatural to the natural then at some point observation in the classic sense becomes possible......and somehow that has fallen under your Radar.

These, I would have thought were the rules of engagement on this board.
That there was a method for the so called physical and arguments for the philosophical and metaphysical.

I understand that this makes things hard for the physicalist but hey you pays your money and you takes your choice.