if there were proof of god

[Mike]

Proof of God, well. What about Proof of LOVE. How can someone prove their LOVE for another? Many good things come from LOVE and there are deranged people who turn LOVE around. Many a people have been abused, torchured, brutally murdered in the name of love. What is LOVE. What is the proof of LOVE?

But this is another subject in it's entirety.

[chris]

well well well, ganimed. welcome to our little safe haven. and i'm glad you joined the conversation.

my question...and my situation, as i stated...was merely a hypothetical one. i was not trying to prove anything, personally. or disprove it. i have my views. and really, as long as my relationship with my god is good enough for me (or lack of relationship, if thats what i decide floats my boat) that should be more than enough to keep me happy. it is no one else's business to fix or repair my personal relationship, and i am not asking for help.

and i do not believe your assertion that religion (in general) is not good. the vast majority of practicing catholics, jews, muslims, hindus (well, maybe not the hindus )...whatever...are fine upstanding people. to stereotype with a wide brush about all religions is unfair to those who are just seeking guidance to live a better life. unfair to those not looking to draw a line in the sand in search of something to argue about. those that are starting wars on the basis of their religion would be doing so for some other reason, if there were no religion to fight over. if one wants to bad enough, one can always find a reason to fight.

but i do believe in the church of science you spoke of. i like empirical evidence. i just don't spend any energy on trying to change the minds of those who think differently. it's a big world out there. lots of theories and ideas. many of them, sure...are batsh!t crazy. but not all of them. as long as someone else doesn't waste your time convincing you to change your mind, who cares what they think. i, for one, have always gone by the old tibetan proverb...don't start none, don't be none.

and mike, a thread on love, what is it? does it exist? are we better off because of it? is it harmful? can you prove it is out there? is exactly my favorite kinds of threads. i just may have to start one. thanks for the idea...

[ganimed]

to stereotype with a wide brush about all religions is unfair to those who are just seeking guidance to live a better life

I agree. I think that a man is evil or good independent from his religious details. I think that believing does not make you a good person, if you are not a good person in the first place. So I guess there are many good people among believers. Not more but also not less than among non believers. I guess it's roughly the same good/evil ratio wherever you go.

And I also agree that it's got no use to try to change the minds of others. I guess, what we believe is the result of our experiences, early child imprints and so on. So it's no wonder that everyone got his own, personal, special variety of the truth.

And Mike, I guess a proof of love would include some MRI scanners and some clever scientists. Must be a feeling, a state of mind. Something you can measure inside the brain. Sounds easy compared to the proof of God.

Great to be here in this forum as a newbie. Cool that you not only talk about music but also about so far off topics. I love it. Thanks for the welcome!

[Lazarus_2]

Although Religion is one of the few things that can be used as an excuse to do evil.
As lots of Biblical books tend to endorse the massacres and murder of peoples.
No doubt the world would be better off without it.