Atheists who have converted to theism?

[Whateverist]

I think what you are really finding out is how your mind works.

I say that I seem to learning, in a more general way, how mind works.

Nevertheless, your short response seems to confirm my statement that some more reactive atheists* do not give serious consideration to the positions they reject.

[thinking]Think I'll stop for donuts.[/thinking]

While I would be unreasonable to expect anyone to immerse themselves in the Scholastic tradition like I have, I feel that dismissing it out-of-hand based demonstrates, at best, shallow reflection and, at worst, a kind of pathological contrariness.

This would be a fairer criticism if Scholasticism was any part of the OP. But honestly, given my intolerance for the genre, my best response is probably to make fart noises under my arm.

*Not so much you, although your posts do seem, as of late, less comprehensive.

Yeah, I think I'm losing interest in most of the discussions. My wife might be right about atheism .. what is there to discuss?

[Mystic]

A lot to discuss Whateverist. A lot. And we've discussed a lot.

[*Deidre*]

I left faith for a few years, and identified as an atheist/agnostic. Last year, I returned due to an experience of faith, and that was something that never occurred prior to leaving Christianity. What's changed now for me is my faith is about less dogma, and more spirituality, if you will. More prayer/meditation and less about rights and wrongs, fire and brimstone.

[robvalue]

I think that is a fantastic direction to take it in, and I'd like to see more of that!

[Jehanne]

I left faith for a few years, and identified as an atheist/agnostic. Last year, I returned due to an experience of faith, and that was something that never occurred prior to leaving Christianity. What's changed now for me is my faith is about less dogma, and more spirituality, if you will. More prayer/meditation and less about rights and wrongs, fire and brimstone.

Assuming that you believe in god, do you also believe that he/she/it answers prayers, that is, is the outcome of some particular event in the future changed as a result of someone praying versus that same individual not praying?

[Faith No More]

I've answered this question in depth before:

http://atheistforums.org/thread-22860-po...#pid570496

Interestingly enough, the deeper I dig into the philosophical traditions of the Christian faith the more astounded I am of the subtlety of thought and careful distinctions the Schoolmen and Church Doctors made. The more I study, the certainty that God exists becomes increasing confirmed in my mind. Modern philosophy has made some important contributions particularly with respect to language and sign systems. Yet so much has been lost. The flippant responses to a great intellectual tradition bother me but part of me understands. I've been there so I know well the resistance. Many atheists assume, based on modern analytic approaches, that all previous demonstrations in favor of theism have been refuted. I have seen little evidence for this. It appears to be an argument from authority and an authority that doesn't even exist, no less.  There are legitimate challenges to Scholastic philosophy, which I find wanting, but no one on AF, except perhaps Nestor, has a good grip on what those might be.

That's rich coming from someone that doesn't understand the epistemological value of mathematics. For all your pompous blustering, you fail to even grasp what constitutes knowledge. Perhaps the reason you find the responses wanting is that we see through your facade and find nothing of substance to respond to?

[Neo-Scholastic]

Sure mathematics has epistemological value as the means by which we know. That has no bearing on the ontological status of the mathematical objects about which we know. Care to opine on that question, FNM?

[Pizza]

Chad flippantly dismisses modern analytic philosophy while complaining about how atheists flippantly dismiss medieval philosophy, oh irony.

I don't see the value in appeal to medieval metaphysics given most of it is just merely asserted dogma and conflation of linguistic truths with  ontological truth.

[Faith No More]

Sure mathematics has epistemological value as the means by which we know. That has no bearing on the ontological status of the mathematical objects about which we know. Care to opine on that question, FNM?

Well, that's a question that is well beyond what little expertise I have, but I do lean towards mathematics being a fundamental property of nature as opposed to simply being a human construct. That's a really difficult question to answer, though, and there appears to be no consensus. Anything I have to say on the matter is pure speculation.

Where I take umbrage, however, is when the supernatural is applied to math. There's no need to apply magical explanations to something when nature appears to be perfectly capable of being responsible.

[*Deidre*]

I left faith for a few years, and identified as an atheist/agnostic. Last year, I returned due to an experience of faith, and that was something that never occurred prior to leaving Christianity. What's changed now for me is my faith is about less dogma, and more spirituality, if you will. More prayer/meditation and less about rights and wrongs, fire and brimstone.

Assuming that you believe in god, do you also believe that he/she/it answers prayers, that is, is the outcome of some particular event in the future changed as a result of someone praying versus that same individual not praying?

That's a good question. I've always had mixed feelings about others praying over others. For example, when I returned to faith last year, a Christian friend said to me 'I had been praying for you to come back!' And she meant well I wasn't offended or anything, but while I pray now, I view it more as a way for me to connect deeper with God. On a personal level. I don't believe prayers are a laundry list of wants and needs when as I had first viewed them before I left Christianity. I just view my return to faith as a result of a personal faith experience I had last year.