Does God exist?
Yes.
(The proof is left as an exercise for the reader.)
Does Allah exist? Does Zeus exist? Does Odin exist?
I'm not saying that this is what I believe, or that it is the only possibility, but could these perhaps be alternative names for the same being, with the apparent differences between them perhaps being due to the limited understanding of the men who described them?
Is there more than one God? What happens when two omnipotent Gods want two different things?
If there is more than one being who holds the office of "God", why wouldn't they cooperate rather than compete?
Is there life after death?
Based on what I know, I believe so.
(Besides, there's always Pascal's wager to consider.)
Does God listen to your prayers?
Yes. If He's really busy, you'll get His voice mail and He'll get back to you.
Is God immortal, omnipotent, and omniscient?
As different people use those terms in different ways, you will have to define them more precisely before the question can be answered.
Did God create the world?
Yes. Lots of others, too.
Did God create the world in a state that makes it appear that the earth is billions of years old and that mankind evolved from single-celled organisms?
Obviously He did, as that is the way it appears. It doesn't mean that those things aren't as they appear, either.
Why?
Perhaps that is the method He used to create the world.
Is the big bang theory the best explanation for the beginning of the universe? Is evolution the best explanation for the origin of mankind?
So far as we know now, yes.
Did Christ die and come back to life?
Yes.
Have you ever eaten a part of the body of Christ or drank of his blood?
Probably, along with atoms which were once part of the bodies or blood of numerous other historical figures.
Do you have an immortal soul?
Last time I checked, I did. (So do you, FWIW.)
What are its other properties?
I don't know what the physical properties of the spirit are. About all I do know is that if I encountered the spirit of someone I had known while they were alive in mortality, I would recognize that person.
Are Christian Scientists who refuse proven medical treatment for their child's chronic illness behaving rationally?
They think so. Personally, I believe that God approves of doctors, and indeed has made it possible for some wo/men to become doctors and to learn how to care for the bodies we have while in this stage of our lives.
Do miracles (i.e., phenomena that cannot be explained scientifically) occur?
Sometimes, with the caveat that science does not claim to be able to explain everything at the current time.
Did God disapprove of Galileo?
IMO, no.
Did God order the Crusades?
If He did, I think a lot of what happened was ad-libbed by the Crusaders.
How do you know?
I don't "know": as I said, that's my opinion.
Should a woman be allowed to be a priest? A bishop? The pope?
If you are asking about the Catholic church specifically, I have no opinion, having never been a Catholic.
If you are asking whether women will ever be ordained to the Priesthood: if and when God decides that that should happen, He will inform the appropriate authorities of His wishes.
Which part(s) of the Bible are fundamental teachings of God and which (if any) are just stories?
I suspect that there are some parts which qualify as both, as Jesus often used parables to teach important truths when He was preaching while He was here in mortality.
Can you explain why a survey published in the September 1999 issue of Scientific American found that 90% of Americans believe in a personal god and life after death, but only 40% of scientists (people with at least a B.S. degree in a scientific field) believe in these phenomena?
Nope. Certainly not without the survey in front of me to study its methodology. A lot of the scientists I know personally belong to the 40% group, but of course that could be selection bias.
Hope that helps.
-- Ronn! :)
"People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them."
-- Anonymous
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