Truthabounds, //As usual Naomi you get the wrong end of the stick. I won't go down that line because whatever I say you twist the meaning.//
I don’t believe I got the wrong end of the stick. You think I’m stupid not to believe as you do. That’s plain enough. Additionally, I don’t twist anything. I look at the evidence and read what’s there - without a pre-conceived agenda.
//I read and study the Bible, not what men say.//
The fact is your religion came into existence less than 200 years ago and it is fundamentally the product of the mind of Charles Taze Russell who knew no more about a Creator God than the vicars and priests you question. Nevertheless, you read the bible and interpret it as Mr Russell would have you interpret it, so, despite your protestations, you do listen to other men. Perhaps you should put the bible aside for a while and read Sam Harris or Christopher Hitchens – or even the ancient works of the Buddhists and Hindus - and consider what they have to say too.
//….what is the purpose of life?//
Why does life need a purpose? I’ve no doubt that the universe is teeming with life, so we’re not as special as we like to think. Like all living creatures we live – we die. That’s life. What’s wrong with that?
//As to the concept of God being the creator - if he wasn't and we have just evolved….//
You miss my point entirely. You see, even before you begin your research you assume that there are only two alternatives:
1. That Jehovah is the Creator God
2. Evolution….
….. but what if there’s a third alternative? What if a creator God does exist - but it’s not Jehovah? What if it’s something we have no knowledge of? Have you ever considered that? This is why I asked the question ‘Why attribute anything to the God of Abraham?’ Looking at the evidence, it is highly unlikely that your God, with his many faults, fulfils the role of an Almighty Creator, and therefore I think that anyone who adheres to this God is barking up the wrong tree. The records show without doubt that Jehovah is not what is he claimed by the religious - of all flavours - to be, and therefore, if a Creator God does exist it has to be something far greater than him – something quite beyond man’s vividly self-obsessed imagination.