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I do not understand former atheist's
September 26, 2013 at 1:37 pm
I'm to be honest, I go to a Christian forum every once in a while to kick the hornets nest a little, however many Christians on there claim to be former atheists. I do not understand how a atheist could covert,as the is full of logical holes and moral atrocities, and the apologetics arguments are full of logical fallacies.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
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RE: I do not understand former atheist's
September 26, 2013 at 1:42 pm
By atheist they just mean that they hadn't been raised in religion, never thought about it hardly at all, and then one day got converted.
They aren't the type of atheists that would ever register on an atheist forum.
Everything I needed to know about life I learned on Dagobah.
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RE: I do not understand former atheist's
September 26, 2013 at 1:43 pm
(September 26, 2013 at 1:42 pm)Rahul Wrote: By atheist they just mean that they hadn't been raised in religion, never thought about it hardly at all, and then one day got converted.
They aren't the type of atheists that would ever register on an atheist forum.
Possible but I still do not understand how a preacher could convince a thinking adult.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
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RE: I do not understand former atheist's
September 26, 2013 at 1:54 pm
(September 26, 2013 at 1:43 pm)Lemonvariable72 Wrote: Possible but I still do not understand how a preacher could convince a thinking adult.
Perhaps they weren't thinking adults.
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould
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RE: I do not understand former atheist's
September 26, 2013 at 1:55 pm
(This post was last modified: September 26, 2013 at 1:57 pm by Rahul.)
(September 26, 2013 at 1:43 pm)Lemonvariable72 Wrote: Possible but I still do not understand how a preacher could convince a thinking adult.
They never really learned any details about god, heaven and hell, etc. They were just in a state of not hardly any information about it.
Then one day they are confronted by some religious zealots who talk about sin and how they are headed for hell and how jesus died for them and how great heaven is and they're like...
![[Image: saywhat.jpg]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=jaredblakedicroce.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F04%2Fsaywhat.jpg)
And then they go to church where they're surrounded by believers and everyone is so happy to see them and everything seems like peaches and cream. And then they're freshly minted idjits.
Everything I needed to know about life I learned on Dagobah.
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RE: I do not understand former atheist's
September 26, 2013 at 2:00 pm
I think atheist adults aren't really converted. They just go for free food. It's easy to pretend to believe in god!
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RE: I do not understand former atheist's
September 26, 2013 at 2:11 pm
(This post was last modified: September 26, 2013 at 2:43 pm by Minimalist.)
Quote:Possible but I still do not understand how a preacher could convince a thinking adult.
The same as a used car salesman can convince you to buy a 1972 p-o-s.
Quote:Deep within the heart of every evangelist lies the wreck of a car salesman.
— H L Mencken
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RE: I do not understand former atheist's
September 26, 2013 at 2:24 pm
The ways in which humans form beliefs is quite complex, and studies have been shown that much of our beliefs are pre-determined and that we interpret the evidence to fit those beliefs. We're complicated beings with certain needs, and sometimes our current worldview doesn't meet these needs. People change beliefs to meet these needs, often times convincing themselves that they have reinterpreted the evidence.
Most of the time, however, when you hear a Christian say they used to be an atheist, it just means that they either don't understand what an atheist truly is, or they are lying. When god said, "Thou shalt not lie," he meant unless it makes Jesus look good.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
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RE: I do not understand former atheist's
September 26, 2013 at 2:25 pm
(September 26, 2013 at 1:37 pm)Lemonvariable72 Wrote: I'm to be honest, I go to a Christian forum every once in a while to kick the hornets nest a little, however many Christians on there claim to be former atheists. I do not understand how a atheist could covert,as the is full of logical holes and moral atrocities, and the apologetics arguments are full of logical fallacies.
Some of them may be. But it is most likely they think of the word "atheist" as meaning "going against God's word" or "rebel" . That is not the same meaning deeply educated atheists use.
I have met myself people who really don't believe in any god, but are not educated into the arguments of either theists or atheists. I call them easy pickings. I can say in my early days of my new found atheism, I was not on line and not as educated as I am now about my position and theists position, I certainly could have been vulnerable back then.
I cant see myself ever believing in a god. If I ever did, my best guess is that I would have suffered mental illness or disease that would cause me not to be in my current lucid state.
I don't see how anyone can go back to believing in an invisible being once they realize how absurd the claim is.
But, if you run into "former atheists" who claim to have been say fans of Hitchens or Dawkins, odds are they are simply flat out lying.
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RE: I do not understand former atheist's
September 26, 2013 at 2:26 pm
LOL @ some of the responses
Yeah well like others have mentioned... They weren't atheists, they were just confused people with no claim to religion.
Facepalm.
"I used to be a Nobel Prize winning scientist until I discovered heroin."
Ok.
“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.” - Marcus Aurelius
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