are any guys of opeth satanists?

[Rekkr]

If you can prove to me there is no higher force I will believe that.

The concept of a "higher force" is a clearly human idea. In most religions, the deities are personified as human-like. They tend to have human emotions, etc.

Now, if you don't believe in a god from a religious perspective, "God" is still impossible. For a god to exist before the universe (and then create it), he would have to be infinitely more detailed and complicated than our universe. It is much more logical to believe our universe always was than to believe a god always was.

And remember, in an infinite amount of time, the infinitesimally improbable will happen an infinite number of times.

 

[AjDeath]

I dont like athiests, I don't see how you can belive in nothing.

You are delusional, get over it.

 

[Rekkr]

Ill use an example. I have a statue of the Egyptian Goddess Bastet in my room, she is a the cat godess. I have her there to protect my cats. The positive energy I use in believing in a power higher than me in turn makes the cats feel safe and at home. Having something to believe in gives my feelings towards a god or creator a home. You cant define feelings with reason.

Are you serious?

 

[AjDeath]

There is a point its my energy of feelings in a tangible (right word?) form.

EDIT: I believe in a higher form because I want to, just like I want to go and eat my tea.

Well, isn't that cute. You believe because you want to, that is why there is a war in Iraq. Just because your childlike mind and fragile ego cannot handle the fact that there is nothing and there is no meaning and death is final doesn't mean there is a God or Gods or godesses or what ever bullshit you believe because you want to so desperately have something to cling on to when you cry. Do you feel my negative energy flowing your way? Is it tangible?

 

[fuscous]

"Michael Jackson missed his calling. If he had become a Catholic priest, he could've spent thirty or forty years blowing all the little boys he wanted, and no one would've said a word."-Geoge Carlin

lol

 

[musicnerd]

I think its interesting that there's so many opinions about whether or not opeth are satanic. Especially those who are seemingly most familiar with their music. I, being a christian, steer clear of music that is satanic/evil/glorifies violence/etc. I just choose not to listen to that stuff. Opeth, however, does not fit that category. While Mikael's lyrics are dark, I think they're also intelligent. And I'd be preaching to the choir if I said how talented they are. To clarify, Opeth are not satanic. Mikael may make tongue-in-cheek comments about the devil in concert just to get a rise out of people. But that's about it.

 

[Jon Snow]

I think its interesting that there's so many opinions about whether or not opeth are satanic. Especially those who are seemingly most familiar with their music. I, being a christian, steer clear of music that is satanic/evil/glorifies violence/etc. I just choose not to listen to that stuff. Opeth, however, does not fit that category. While Mikael's lyrics are dark, I think they're also intelligent. And I'd be preaching to the choir if I said how talented they are. To clarify, Opeth are not satanic. Mikael may make tongue-in-cheek comments about the devil in concert just to get a rise out of people. But that's about it.

Wrong. They're satanic. You better stop listening to them.

 

[Black Dragon]

*sigh* the more things change....

Talk about nail+head+hammer.

 

[Black Dragon]

just because all of that evolution stuff happened, it DOESN'T MEAN there's not a god, right?

Heh.

You know, Devil's Advocate must point out there are many things which suck the wit right out of your statement.

 

[Black Dragon]

Now, if you don't believe in a god from a religious perspective, "God" is still impossible. For a god to exist before the universe (and then create it), he would have to be infinitely more detailed and complicated than our universe.

That works if there is no aspect of our universe that isn't bound by time, there very well maybe a such a place. And since we can't even detect 87% of the known universe when its sitting right in front of us, I think it's silly for anyone to draw such hard conclusions like many are doing in this thread.

 

[Black Dragon]

LOL nice pun with "Devil's advocate" <g>

but i could've easily listed more examples which show that there is no god (such as Oinkness existing), but i'd rather go with a quick one-hitter

Fire away.

Show that there is no God, you will easily the most important person to ever have existed, period.

 

[dorian gray]

I don't know about your definitions there...

Taken from American Heritage College Dictionary:

an agnostic is "One who believes that there is no proof of the existence of God but does not deny the possibility that God exists."

and atheism is the "Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods."

Both definitions include belief, not certainty. Just as a Christian can believe in God, an atheist can choose not to believe in God.

my definitions are based on the roots of the word ("a" meaning against or not) and are literal. the above definitions are pretty good and i dont see how they contradict what i came up with. agnostic as "not knowing" or "unknowing" is pretty much the same as what you posted.

 

[DE]

trey parker is the only half decent poster in this entire forum

that's kind of scary

 

[dorian gray]

^nice posting history.

 

[dorian gray]

meh, i dont see what's "wrong" with believing in Jesus. Let's face it, Christians do alot of good shit in the world. No offense, but most of you athiests don't do shit. How much money did you give away to charities this past year? None? Sounds about right. So, it's not really appropriate to bash on people like Kenneth who believe. The beef I have with Christianity is when they go on missions trips in order to change "underdeveloped" cultures and turn them into "believers", stripping away all that was pure and natural to them. Which, by the way, was pretty much what the Chrisitans did up until the 1900s when there wasn't anybody left to manipulate. The other problem is when Christians lobby to get religious ideals, like creationism, taught in tax-funded public schools.
Arguing for or against God is pretty fruitless because the super-natural is exactly that - not within the realm of natural law and thus, not open to verifiability. However, it *is* scientifically correct to study "proof" documents and historical artifacts. For example, the New Tesatament is all about Jesus. Yet, he is mentioned *twice*, dubiously, in contemporary records. So, one would question why a man who was God Incarnate would only be mentioned twice, in passing, in other documents of the same time.
@umdebaba: you forgot the problem with omnibenevolence.
The topic: like I said, Satanism isn't real. There's no documentation, no history, no verifiable church, and no artifacts. "Satanic" bands were labelled as such by ignorant Christians and it turned into a gimmick. It's childish.

 

[Jon Snow]

No offense, but most of you athiests don't do shit. How much money did you give away to charities this past year? None? Sounds about right

The topic: like I said, Satanism isn't real. There's no documentation, no history, no verifiable church, and no artifacts.

Wrong and wrong. Otherwise you make some good points.

 

[R0l0]

I doubt many christians give money away to charities either. Paying dues to your local church(so that you can go to heaven) doesn't count. Singling out atheists for being greedy is bullshit, people are subject to being greedy regardless of their beliefs.

 

[Kenneth R.]

Rekkr: Now, if you don't believe in a god from a religious perspective, "God" is still impossible. For a god to exist before the universe (and then create it), he would have to be infinitely more detailed and complicated than our universe. It is much more logical to believe our universe always was than to believe a god always was.

And remember, in an infinite amount of time, the infinitesimally improbable will happen an infinite number of times.

this is flawed. you are reasoning this on the basis that human logic is perfectly sound, and any concept that contradicts it is therefore false. incorrect. as you stated yourself, the infinitesimally improbable will happen. you believe it is infinitesimally improbable that God exists. you therefore acknoweldge in time if he does not exist, he will.

just because it is easier to believe one thing than another does NOT make that thing correct.

 

[Kenneth R.]

meh, i dont see what's "wrong" with believing in Jesus. Let's face it, Christians do alot of good shit in the world. No offense, but most of you athiests don't do shit. How much money did you give away to charities this past year? None? Sounds about right. So, it's not really appropriate to bash on people like Kenneth who believe. The beef I have with Christianity is when they go on missions trips in order to change "underdeveloped" cultures and turn them into "believers", stripping away all that was pure and natural to them. Which, by the way, was pretty much what the Chrisitans did up until the 1900s when there wasn't anybody left to manipulate. The other problem is when Christians lobby to get religious ideals, like creationism, taught in tax-funded public schools.
Arguing for or against God is pretty fruitless because the super-natural is exactly that - not within the realm of natural law and thus, not open to verifiability. However, it *is* scientifically correct to study "proof" documents and historical artifacts. For example, the New Tesatament is all about Jesus. Yet, he is mentioned *twice*, dubiously, in contemporary records. So, one would question why a man who was God Incarnate would only be mentioned twice, in passing, in other documents of the same time.
@umdebaba: you forgot the problem with omnibenevolence.
The topic: like I said, Satanism isn't real. There's no documentation, no history, no verifiable church, and no artifacts. "Satanic" bands were labelled as such by ignorant Christians and it turned into a gimmick. It's childish.

i agree with all of this. i don't believe in running around trying to convert people. if they want to know what christianity is about, i will be glad to explain what i know. but i won't go running around forcing it on people because that's not effective at all, it won't help them and it won't help me. running around forcing or coercing people into blind believers is a waste of time...

as for the school thing: i think they should present both arguments (evolution/creation) and discuss them. i don't think either one should be taught as "fact" because as you said, they can't be "verified" though both have evidence

edit: and R0l0 i agree with your last post as well.

 

[Metalloid]

I doubt many christians give money away to charities either. Paying dues to your local church(so that you can go to heaven) doesn't count. Singling out atheists for being greedy is bullshit, people are subject to being greedy regardless of their beliefs.

Exactly. Just because one doesn't believe in God, or a god, does not mean that they don't care about humanity. One's spiritual belief really has nothing to do with whether or not someone will donate money for a good cause.

And Dorian, you said "to claim one is a theist or an athiest is to say, 'i know/dont know there is a god'. yet, it's not possible to 'know' that something like god exists. his presence is not testable and verifiable. he's not open to peer-review. nothing against christians or jews or what-have-you, it's just not possible to *know* the supernatural exists."

I agree that no one can be sure whether there is or is not a supernatural power. But you said that an atheist or theist knows whether there is or is not a God. I was pointing out, through my definitions, that it is about belief not certainty.