Is it a sin to seek knowledge?

No there fears were justified... The problem is that like the Romans, the governments of Europe and the Americas realized the value of religion in controlling the ignorant masses. They support religion and they design public education to suppress true learning in the same manner that the churches did before them. The free thinker is repressed today as they were 600 years ago. They just accomplish their goal today through propaganda instead of the torture chamber. Think about that the next time you are watching a sporting event and see the prayer along with the national anthem and ask yourself what do these ceremonies have to do with a sporting event?

 

Most christians claim God is omnipotent and omniscient. And know all. God even knew you before you were born. God has planned all.

 

The problem is you only saying it's a loving God and nothing more. Lying isn't a virtue God likes.

 

LOL. Do you realize you just contradicted yourself?

The stuff atheist will say.

 

Maybe, but not many of them are posting here.

 

Gen 3;6 and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

I do not see Eve coercing Adam.

Where do you see it?

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We do know what the tree of knowledge gave Adam and Eve.

Gen 3;22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:

That is basically all the known knowledge of everything at that point in time and I think the analogy can be used even today.

Prove it to yourself. Can you think of anything that is not subject to good or evil?

I cannot think of anything.

Regards
DL

 

Nothing new under the sun. We still live for bread and circuses.

The oligarch that own us are quickly loosing control of us thanks to the media, internet and the ability of vigilantes to get at them.

[video=youtube;q2gO4DKVpa8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2gO4DKVpa8&feature=player_embedded[/video]

Regards
DL

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Quite the plan.

[video=youtube;VFx7WFVP1FI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFx7WFVP1FI[/video]

Regards
DL

 

True.

But on the other points, no where is desire mentioned or desires correlation with knowledge. I guess the only thing we know about the tree is that, supposedly, it gives knowledge of good and evil. Self-awareness isn't really applicable since Adam was aware of his own loneliness and was perceptive enough to notice he was the only creature without a partner in the beginning.

But, ultimately, we are debating the logic of the continuity of a story people claim to be true. Talking serpents and such... Mind you, this serpent isn't said to be Satan and is not indicated to be anything other than a serpent and because of the talking serpents wiles, he and all other serpents were punished. So...you can't really apply "pure logic" to this fable.

 

No, honestly, I CAN indeed be like god, as if I, say, suffered major brain damage and thought that "Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks!" http://biblehub.com/psalms/137-9.htm

Being like god is not that hard, really. I could simply have the cure for cancer in my pocket (like the all-knowing, all-powerful god would have) and out of hatred for my "children" (god calls us his "children"), I would sit by and watch children suffer, through no fault of their own, day after day after day - too uncaring to give it to humanity. So it's really not that hard to be like god.....just be as evil as you can imagine, and BINGO, you're like god.

 

You don't even know the scripture you just quoted. Let me explain it to you.
King David was prophesying about Israel's future. To be specific, he was talking about the Babylonian Siege of Israel. During that siege, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the Jews to be tortured. Men, women and children were killed during this period.

Do you understand now? In this verse, King David is talking to God. He's saying the Babylonians will be blessed to dash God's children against the rocks. In other words, their heinous acts, under any normal circumstance, would've resulted in the total destruction of Babylon at that very moment. However, since the Jews practiced evil acts against God for hundreds of years prior, God permitted them to be taken over by the Babylonians.

 

You mean evil acts like gay love.

 

No, it sounds pretty sick: http://biblehub.com/nlt/psalms/137.htm

 

Like burning babies.

Indeed. I agree.


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Let me make a small correction here. It wasn't "God's children" the verse was pointing to (but it certainly spoke about them), but it referred to Babylonia being destroyed after what it did to Israel.

 

For sure and if we tried, the talking serpent would stop us in our tracks.

Myths have messages for sure and best to let the script draw you into the fantasy and from inside, hopefully the messages become clear.

This Eden myth is tougher than most because of Christianity reversing our elevation to a fall.

The fall sticks in the mind even when we see mankind elevated to become as Gods in the knowing of good and evil.

If I was a Jew I would be livid with Christianity.

Regards
DL

 

No. If we are to emulate God then the torture and killing of innocent babies is quite ok.

Regards
DL

 

I am not Religious but this topic reminds me of Pope John Paul II who with the aid of the Vatican Science Team had the guts to come out and tell the Faithful that EVOLUTION could not be ignored and that GOD had used this process to develop Humanity and all life on Earth.

As well around this time NASA was sending Probes to Mars and the Pope also told the Faithful to not be surprised if the NASA Landers and Probes might find LIFE on Mars as the Pope was a staunch believer that our Universe held a great deal of Life and Intelligent Life.

The ROME NEWSPAPAERS the next day went CRAZY!!!

The Headline was....POPE SAY'S WE COME FROM MONKEYS!

To which the Pope replied latter....no....Humans are Apes.

AboveAlpha

 

Just like with every human, you'll die and you'll return to Odin (or Vishnu, or Zeus, or the Lizard god from Snuflox). You'll feel his/her/its love and you'll never wanna leave. At that instant, you'll become a new person and you'll look back at your life and feel guilty - but no judgement would be cast on you. Then Odin (or Vishnu, or Zeus, or the Lizard god from Snuflox) will look at you and say, "Do not worry about those things. I've already forgiven you long ago." Then you'll stand there sobbing like a baby. It'll be the happiest moment you've ever felt.

At that moment, you'll want to know what you could do to rectify your past life. You'll be assured that you need not do anything. From that point on, you'll be a child of Odin (or Vishnu, or Zeus, or the Lizard god from Snuflox) and you'll never want to leave Odin's (or Vishnu's, or Zeus', or the Lizard god from Snuflox's) presence again.

It's funny and sweet when someone talks as though their imaginary friend is everyone's imaginary friend, but it is stupendously silly. Silly enough to warrant a reminder that there are at least 300,000 imaginary friends in the form of gods on earth, and likely a trillion trillion more just in this galaxy alone.

 

Such people are just afraid of dying.

I am not but I understand how the Promise of the Proverbial Mansion In the Sky for those who believe is so appealing to those who are SCARED TO AND OF DEATH.

AboveAlpha

 

I've actually seen signboards out front of churches which say "Reason is the enemy of faith". I've had more than one Christian tell me that using our intellect (to consider their god) is bad news. Some don't even hold with the study of theology, believing that too much knowledge of the history and the culture in which Christianity started is potentially very dangerous. Curiosity kills cats AND jesus, apparently.

 

A sign like this would most likely be seen outside of a Baptist Church as the Baptists are the only sect of Christianity that refuse to accept the realities of Evolution and Basic Scientific Knowledge.

AboveAlpha

 

certainly weren't catholic

Meantime, an elderly relative by marriage once said to one of my kids "you musn't ask questions, you must just accept", in response to him asking a very innocent "why?" years ago. He's never forgotten that, because he was old enough at the time to be quite shocked by the implications.

 

The Older Generations were taught....DON'T ASK QUESTIONS AS IT IS AFRONT TO GOD!!!

This is how we know Religion is a Construct of Man which was designed as a SYSTEM OF CONTROL.

When Rome's Military Might was weak they instead developed a system of Preists, Bishops, Cardinals and a Pope and they RULED EUROPE!!

AboveAlpha

 

Studies show Christians are just as terrified of death as atheists
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-briggs/facing-death-how-religion_b_6701596.html

But then again... Atheists have the highest suicide rate between them and religious people
Source: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ajp.161.12.2303

So, I guess you're right. By these studies, atheists are more hardcore about death. That would explain why so many kill themselves.


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I thought you blocked me.

 

I wonder if they were taught that it's an affront to all gods, or only their god. I mean to say, their god could be 'satan', and as they're prevented from asking, they'd never know. also, given the nature of their holy book, you'd think the chances were considerably higher than for many other gods. so the fact that it is what it is, AND they're not allowed to think about it, suggests there are dark forces behind it all.

forces of light don't need to threaten people with torture for asking questions. light allows the full view.