If the universe is so grand that it requires this magical presence...why does that same rule not apply to an even more grand things that can create such a universe?
the bible never says it can't... it never tackles the concept of where God comes from. imo, it doesn't even really matter - i figure i find out after i leave this portion of my life.
and i also never think of God as being "magical", but rather technical. if he created this earth, then i imagine he must be pretty technically adept (by our definition).
as for myself, i was raised Baptist, but rejected it in my late teens. i stayed agnostic/aetheist until my mid 20's when i began to research religion on my own. now in my early 30's i see christianity in a way that makes sense to me - well, at least 90% of it makes sense. i don't have any religion vs. science problems, nor do i view God as some magical mystery being... i just figure that he created our life much the same way we create computer programs... only he came up with sentient beings to put in his mmorpg!
Can I explain the universe? Do I know what life is? Do I know what, if anything, there is before and after this "life?"
being christian doesn't answer any of those questions for me. as far as i can tell, life is many many different things for each of us. for me, it is at times a test, a school, or just a playground. as for after-life... the bible really doesn't say too much about that either. heaven is never really described, and hell is only mentioned 5 times or so... and never described either. what i get out of it is that: the soul lives on after life on earth ends, and God is benevolent, so the afterlife should be pretty darn good. while i'm here on earth i think most of christianity boils down to the simple idea of "do unto others as you'd have then do unto you". i don't get caught up in all that stuff about how old the earth *really* is, or if every story in the bible is 100% accurate fact. to me, those details don't matter much... i'm far from perfect and i don't need to know it all, i just mostly worry about myself and how i treat others.
- tron -
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"tron is big and tron is full of action... it's a hell of a ride!"
-from the Tron 2.0 box