On August 13th, 2008 at 10:53 am, zeroangel said:
Again, which “God” are we talking about…You actually believe this and don’t think your particular interpretation of God is cruel?

Well, as I am a Christian, then I an referring to the LORD, the God of the Bible.
As I pretty much already said, By choosing to reject God, you reject heaven. There is only one other option.
God does not send you to hell. You send yourself.

Again,

Sin is humanity’s way of saying to God, “Leave me alone.”
Hell is God’s way of saying, “Ok.”

See also:

Ezekiel 18:23
Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

Ezekiel 18:32
For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!

Ezekiel 33:11
Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?’

God does not want to send anyone to hell, but we leave Him no choice sometimes.

On August 12th, 2008 at 1:16 pm, ThackerAgency said: It’s not pointless, it makes Rick Warren more influential. It’s a perfect commercial for Rick Warren. He’ll probably sell a lot more books. Pointless? I think not.

I’m glad I watched. I’ve never seen that guy before, I won’t buy his book. This event revealed a lot about Obama. And McCain for that matter. It wasn’t pointless.

It’s a shame that so many people proclaimed that it was before it started, and ignored it. The loss was theirs.

atheling (oh, the irony of that handle), you’re obviously entitled to believe in whatever gets you through the day. Organized religion, yoga, meditation, exercise, Prozac, etc….whatever it takes, but save the childish ad homenem attacks on those who do not share your views. You’re not reflecting very well on your faith.

What got under your skin?

This guy is hopeless.

…said the supercilious royal who speaks for the creator of the universe.

Are you going to take your tiara and go home now? Will you be able to keep it civil next time?

You’re right. This guy is hopeless.

What a foolish, arrogant no-nothing.

such a thing would be empirically impossible to demonstrate

Hmmm… what else does that sound like?

I thought this was a waste of time, apparently you are still here.

atheling, please allow me to offer you some friendly advice – don’t let him lower you to his level.

Lower to my level? That is rich considering atheling is the one lowering the bar with insightful commentary like:

How stuck on stupid are you?

I am merely responding in kind and lowering myself to her level.

all you have to do is point out that a vacuum does not equal “nothing”

Yes, that’s right, all we have to do is start playing the semantics game and muddle the definitions of words.

No Atheling, you are ridiculous and these things don’t make sense to you because you don’t understand them. To be fair though, myself, and even quantum physicists have a hard time making sense of these things, but that’s another topic. The fact remains, things do come from nothing.

Your arrogant, pedestrian nonsense has truly gone beyond the pale at this point. Reminds me of this little gem:

Well, you better be trembling in your shoes, because if you got hit by a bus and died tomorrow, you will have a lot to answer for to your Maker.

You calling me an a-hole is so manifestly the “pot calling the kettle” I can’t help but chuckle.

Am I still wasting your time? Why are you still responding?

If it’s cartoon-porn am I exploiting poor cartoon girls? Does “God” care?

In regards to answering the quantum fluctuation objection, all you have to do is point out that a vacuum does not equal “nothing”. In a vacuum, you have the dimensions of space and time, as well as the laws of physics. Therefore a vacuum is a “something” and not a “nothing”. So there is still no example of getting something from nothing.

In fact, by the very nature of the case, such a thing would be empirically impossible to demonstrate, even if it was possible from a metaphysical standpoint.