(May 5, 2023 at 7:07 pm)arewethereyet Wrote:

(May 5, 2023 at 7:05 pm)brewer Wrote: I'm wondering why you think the community here needs help?

In fairness, there are a few...though I don't think religion is the help they need.

Stop stalking me!!!

(May 2, 2023 at 9:29 am)kimberlyrose Wrote: Hi there, I used to be an atheist as well, and it wasn't until recently that I started going to church and finding some inspiration in my faith.

So what exactly was it in the church that inspired you? Was it the preaching of hate toward LGBTQ people or the denial of evolution or persecution complex or logical fallacies or moral panic or just the overall distortion of reality?

(May 5, 2023 at 9:36 am)kimberlyrose Wrote: Speaking of churches, I recently discovered a website that has some really helpful information about finding the right church and connecting with others in the community.

No church or community is "right" if the religion itself is nonsense. I'm not going to waste my time hanging out with people who believe in things like Original Sin, resurrection, heaven and hell.

(May 5, 2023 at 11:37 pm)Astreja Wrote:

(May 5, 2023 at 9:36 am)kimberlyrose Wrote: Speaking of churches, I recently discovered a website that has some really helpful information about finding the right church and connecting with others in the community.

No church or community is "right" if the religion itself is nonsense.  I'm not going to waste my time hanging out with people who believe in things like Original Sin, resurrection, heaven and hell.

Interesting.  May I ask why exactly?

(May 5, 2023 at 8:58 pm)Fake Messiah Wrote:

(May 2, 2023 at 9:29 am)kimberlyrose Wrote: Hi there, I used to be an atheist as well, and it wasn't until recently that I started going to church and finding some inspiration in my faith.

So what exactly was it in the church that inspired you? Was it the preaching of hate toward LGBTQ people or the denial of evolution or persecution complex or logical fallacies or moral panic or just the overall distortion of reality?

I wouldn't attend a church a like that either personally.

(May 2, 2023 at 9:29 am)kimberlyrose Wrote: Hi there, I used to be an atheist as well, and it wasn't until recently that I started going to church and finding some inspiration in my faith.

FWIW I also used to be an atheist of the existentialist type...Nietzsch, Sartre, etc. So while some people would like to believe it cannot happen some of us do find that our experiences of life make more sense in a world with God than without.

(May 11, 2023 at 2:59 pm)Neo-Scholastic Wrote:

(May 2, 2023 at 9:29 am)kimberlyrose Wrote: Hi there, I used to be an atheist as well, and it wasn't until recently that I started going to church and finding some inspiration in my faith.

FWIW I also used to be an atheist of the existentialist type...Nietzsch, Sartre, etc. So while some people would like to believe it cannot happen some of us do find that our experiences of life make more sense in a world with God than without.

"Making more sense" can depend as much if not more on the mind finding it so than on the reality.

(May 5, 2023 at 8:58 pm)Fake Messiah Wrote:

(May 2, 2023 at 9:29 am)kimberlyrose Wrote: Hi there, I used to be an atheist as well, and it wasn't until recently that I started going to church and finding some inspiration in my faith.

So what exactly was it in the church that inspired you? Was it the preaching of hate toward LGBTQ people or the denial of evolution or persecution complex or logical fallacies or moral panic or just the overall distortion of reality?

I'm going to go out on a limb, here...

Ummm...YES?!?

(May 5, 2023 at 11:37 pm)Astreja Wrote: No church or community is "right" if the religion itself is nonsense.  I'm not going to waste my time hanging out with people who believe in things like Original Sin, resurrection, heaven and hell.

(May 11, 2023 at 1:15 pm)Kingpin Wrote: Interesting.  May I ask why exactly?

First of all, I would feel completely out of a place in a group of people who believe things that I think are ridiculous, unless they're deliberately playing a fun game (for example, engaging in science fiction/fantasy cosplay, dressing up as their favourite characters).

Secondly, here's a breakdown of the elements of Christian belief that I find intolerable and unacceptable:

• Original Sin:  Supposedly humanity inherited bad behaviour from Adam and Eve - two obviously mythical proto-humans.  I believe strongly in original neutrality, with no bias towards good or evil until the reasoning faculties of the brain are capable of making an informed choice on how to behave.
  
• Resurrection:  From a medical point of view, utterly preposterous and totally lacking in evidence.  Discarded as obvious mythology, and not even original mythology, as "god-man comes back to life" is a very common mythological trope in ancient religions.
  
• Heaven and hell:  I believe both to be literally impossible.  I do not believe in life after death, and have no desire to live forever anywhere.  Furthermore, I am of the opinion that any god that would deliberately create a place of eternal torment is insane and cannot be trusted to do the right thing, particularly not over an eternal timespan.  If a hell did exist, not even the most devout believer would be safe for long.
  

I'd also like to add to the above the utter repugnance of substitutionary atonement.  I believe that it is craven and irresponsible to acquiesce to Jesus (or anyone else) dying in one's place, and reject "salvation" unconditionally.

(May 5, 2023 at 7:07 pm)arewethereyet Wrote:

(May 5, 2023 at 7:05 pm)brewer Wrote: I'm wondering why you think the community here needs help?

In fairness, there are a few...though I don't think religion is the help they need.

I know you're pointing at me,............ stop it!