This is my personal belief so please do not attack me...I'm not trying to preach or anything, just what I honestly believe.
For me, I honestly acknowledge that the Bible isn't perfect. There are tons of contradictions that doesn't really solidify what the true nature of Christianity is, as is argued in detail by many here. I think of it in this way. The Bible was written by different people over hundreds and thousands of years. But the thing is, each person who wrote it was writing for the people of their context, unaware that sometime in the future, people will have found evidence that negates the teachings in the Bible. For things like, God creating the world in 7 days, I ask, is a day in God's life equivalent to a day in our lives? Many people seem to take the Bible literally and applying it into their modern context which I think is wrong because to be honest, the Bible wasn't written for us. It was written to early Jewish communities who later sprouted the Christian faction when Jesus came along. Saying that the elements of violence such as stoning reflect a violent, cruel, murdering God is not (I don't think anyway...) really an argument because in that context, that was how capital punishment was handed out. Many tend to be anachronistic when arguing the validity of the events in the Bible...
So that's how I justify my belief, along with the fact that the whole concept of "faith" is believing in something without material proof (which I know many will say that that is stupid and I lack common sense). I'm not a scientist. I don't know the chemical details of the Big Bang except that there was a big "bang" and nothing became everything. Nor am I a theologian so my explanation of my belief is certainly not something that will answer all the questions of the question of a divine being. But, for simple old me, my explanation is enough for me as it probably is for other Christians and their way of justifying it. I'm not saying that what we say is the absolute truth, it's just what we believe and we are entitled to that belief.
Okay so that's the end of my contribution to the original question/debate raised. The following is just an observation from reading all of your comments...
Now, although this discussion is very interesting (enough to make me waste my morning reading through this when my HSC starts next Tuesday), I think that both sides need to consider to agree to disagree. Resorting to racism, useless swearing and insulting eachother's intelligence doesn't really do much for your argument. This is beyond the question of religion. Whether or not you are religious or a non-believer, I think the common decency to be respectful to other people is seriously lacking in this forum... Many of you (not all of you of course...plenty of people aren't doing this) are also being really excessive on the stereotyping. "All religious followers are stupid and lack logic and reason" "All priests rape children" "All Christians are crazy, evangelical extremists who in the bat of an eye, will try to convert you and scream in your face YOU'LL GO TO HELL IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE RIGHT NOW!!"
Honestly...it's like saying that "All Germans are nazis" and "Americans are all stupid"...
I also find it hypocritical when non-believers complain about how the religious traditions are repressing them from their own freedom of speech through how they dominate society etc etc...yet...by attacking people who say they believe in God and treating them with derision and pitying them and thinking "Poor you...another victim of religious brainwashing", you are doing the exact same thing. Its like how women were treated horribly over thousands of years but ever since the feminist movement, women are standing up for themselves (which i think is great. I'm a girl) but this also now entails males being discriminated against in favour of the women.
