I never stated otherwise.



They are living creatures and are thus valuable but that doesn't mean they were ''intelligently'' designed.



As most Buddhists and Hindus will tell you, reincarnation is evolution of the soul and whereas Evolution is simply evolution of life. There is no contradiction at all and both go hand in hand very well as many other Buddhist will agree with.

If they and all other life are valuable, then thier design however "flawed' by our standards, has a purpose, therefore they were perfectly designed for thier enviroment by an all wise intelligent being.



How does a soul "evolve" if it goes through one incarnation, say a rat, then it returns in the next life as a horse then the next life as as human being, while in that state does all manner of inquity and then as punishment must revert back to his "original" state as a lab rat.How does that help one's soul to evolve? How does that even connect with evolution?

Your logic does not wash with me. If an intelligent designer created the world, we wouldn't have disease or the need to kill for food. Infact, the world wouldn't be as cruel or violent if an intelligent or moral being created the world.

And as a Buddhist I do not believe in a creator god and as a follower of the scientific theory, I also do not believe in a creator god.




Because the soul learns and improves over time in Buddhist, Jain and Hindu thought. All souls learn from mistakes and thus can improve...if you believe in the concept of souls, of course.

And the original form of that ''lab rat'' isn't its rat-form, but its metaphysical form. The concept of reincarnation is certainly more fluid than Evolution but roughly works on the same prinicple (e.g. creatures adapt to their enviroment and so do souls). I do not know if souls exist but I do follow Buddhist prinicples regardless as long as they do not infringe upon legitimate study.

Anyway this really doesn't matter as there is nothing in Buddhism that overrides the belief in the fact of Evolution. All I have to do is look at the skeletons of animals in the correct order (and even in an incorrect order in many cases) to see that all creatures and organisms evolved from the same primordial state.

Ah, Religion A la Carte. Very popular.

Then you simply do not understand the purpose of God's work, all creation.

But let's just stick with the purpose of this world and why we here. We are not simply here to amuse ourselves.We were put here for a reason, to prove ourselves to be able to overcome a few small things that comes with the territory of mortality, such as weaknesses/adversity/trials/tribulations and also to learn and gain wisdom and experience.

And if we prove ourselves capable of overcoming worldly appetites, overcome our desire for selfish, carnal things and also along with life's difficulties...we will prove ourselves worthy of the greatest gift God can give us, eternal life and exaltation.

In the Book of Mormon, there is a section called the Peral of Great Price which goes a little deeper into God and his relationship with Moses and Abraham.

In Abraham 3; 22-28, God explains to Abraham why the earth was created.

Now, the Lord has shown unto me, Abraham the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me, Abraham thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.

And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those that were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord thier God shall command them;

And they who keep thier first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not thier first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep thier first estate; and they who keep thier second estate shall have glory added upon thier heads forever and ever.

And the Lord said: Who m shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me.And the Lord said: I will send the first.

And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.

No, I simply don't believe in YHWH (or any creator god), therefore I do not believe in the purpose of his work. I cannot understand something I do not believe in, especially when I consider it irrational.





I never said otherwise. Buddhists believe that the purpose of life and reincarnation is to achieve a perfection of balance in the world (nirvana) by being a good person and doing good deeds.




A Buddhist would not agree with the eternal life being a gift from God, therefore your point is becoming moot.



I know, I have read the Book of Mormon, however, I disagree with it as I do not believe in a creator God.

I've never understood why Christians quote the Holy Babble as proof of what they believe. Don't they understand the logic is circular?

Those of us who look at the world around us and conclude "Hey. There's no requirement for a supernatural creator and no prima facie reason to believe in one" are hardly likely to accept Scripture as sufficient justification to believe what the Scripture itself says...

Indeed. Quoting the Bible is circular reasoning. It is ridiculous! You cannot use the Bible to prove any claims within the Bible because the Bible itself is in question.

Well, some just don't get it that in a debate, the Atheist wouldn't accept the Bible as an authority.

However, in case of giving support for beliefs to those who believe, it is of the utmost importance to show that such beliefs are in accordance to what the Bible as a whole teaches.

People who quote the bible (such as myself) are already persuaded to believe it truly is the Word of God. However, few actually have enough knowledge to support that belief or withstand criticism.

The most valuable tool to identify the value of the Bible's worth is in its prophecy, though.

Agreed, although I do not see any fulfilled Biblical prophecies. Any ''fulfilled'' prophecies are either only backed up by the Bible itself or mere coincidence due to the vagueness of the prophecies themselves.