Hi folks

I just joined. First off I'm not an atheist, I'm a Christian. I wanted to introduce myself, let you know that and then see if anybody objected to me joining in on the discussions here. Does anyone mind?

Its not like I came here to try to convert anyone or try to convince you that its not possible to know that God doesn't exist. Christians have the bad reputation of going around trying to convery everybody they see to Christianity. I'm not one of those people. I believe that Jesus wanted us to spread the Word, not force it down people's throats.

You see, I belong to a Christian discussion forum. There is an atheist who joined and seems to post for the sole reason to convince Christians that God doesn't exist. I can't for the life of me figure out why he really posts there though. I figured that, at best, he might like a good discussion on the logic of the whole God exists/doesn't exist or perhaps he likes to think of himself as open minded or something along those lines. When I was thinking about all of this it occured to me that I really don't know what atheists think and perhaps it'd be useful to me to learn what their opinions are and what kinds of arguements they accept for the non-existance of God.

I also hate it when Christians give terrible arguements too. So I figured that I might even be able to contribute in that sense, i.e. I can hone my skills regarding evolution etc. I believe in evolution wholeheartedly. I'm also very into science so I think I might enjoy the conversations about science.

While I'm not here to convince anybody that God exists I wouldn't like to hide the fact that I'm a Christian.

If there are any objections to me posting here then I will respect your wishes and leave. Thank you for considering me.

Best wishes

Pete

Pete welcome aboard.

Have no fear, I'm sure we can all get along fine. There will be some people here who have had a rough time from the chruch and may be angry, but I'm sure we'll all take you as we find you. It's all anyone can ask.

Of course if you are convinced by the logic and data supporting evolution many people will argue that you're not a true christian. Including many christians

(August 31, 2008 at 2:24 pm)StewartP Wrote: Pete welcome aboard.

Have no fear, I'm sure we can all get along fine. There will be some people here who have had a rough time from the chruch and may be angry, but I'm sure we'll all take you as we find you. It's all anyone can ask.

Great. Glad to hear it!

Quote:Of course if you are convinced by the logic and data supporting evolution many people will argue that you're not a true christian. Including many christians

I dunno about that. Last year we had a bible study at my church where we discussed that kind of thing. There were about seven of us there. Most of us believe in evolution. I don't often run into Christians who don't believe in evolution. Perhaps the only Christians you've heard on this point were the really noisey ones?

Pete

Hi Pete

You're more than welcome to join in any discussion here..

May I suggest that you read This Thread before you start as it might give you a few pointers about what an atheist is and how to talk to one. Not that we are some strange new species however

Hope you enjoy your time hear and welcome to the forums..

Darwinian

Hello pete. Welcome to the forum.

I don't think anyone here would attack you for your beliefs. You have the same freedom to express yourself like all the others here.

If you want to know more about atheists, Like why were atheists and such then there is already a thread for that.

Make yourself at home

Also any problems contact either Adrian, Darwinian or me.

Hi Pete, Welcome...I'm new here myself.
Up until a month or so ago, I was an active member in a Baptist Church for almost 6 years. I was just one step away from becoming a decon when I woke up.
I say, to each his own.....
I gave it all I had, but God gave nothing back......

Welcome Pete.

Thank you everyone. Its nice to hear that I'm so welcome here.

Darwinian - Thank you for the reference. I can assure you that I'm quite far from being a theist who would say such horrible things as in that list. I find that saying things like that in the link you gave me serve only to drive people away more than anything else. So you can bet that I won't act like that and I will therefore never post anything like those comments. I pretty much think that people are being very rude when they say things like that.

I didn't come here to try to convert anyone to theism. It would silly to think that someone could approach an atheist and convince them they're wrong. I would never be so foolish to think I'd be any different.

The reason for this is because we have atheists who come to our Christian discussion group and, of course, like to tell us how illogical we are and if they only listened to them then we'd learn the truth, that there is no God. For this reason I'd like to better understand how and what atheists think. So if/when I ask questions then take note that they are only meant for me to learn.

Thanks everyone

Pete

(August 31, 2008 at 3:29 pm)Pete Wrote:

Quote:Of course if you are convinced by the logic and data supporting evolution many people will argue that you're not a true christian. Including many christians

I dunno about that. Last year we had a bible study at my church where we discussed that kind of thing. There were about seven of us there. Most of us believe in evolution. I don't often run into Christians who don't believe in evolution. Perhaps the only Christians you've heard on this point were the really noisey ones?

Pete

I agree with Pete. When I became an Atheist I was still going to Catholic school. I went to Catholic School straight from 4th grade till I graduated High School. I was taught evolution, and never met anyone who believed in creationism. So I remember in High School, after becoming Atheist, they had a channel 1 news story about this Creationism vs Evolution debate in classrooms and that was the first time I ever heard anything about that. Even with my Catholic upbringing, I always was taught evolution in science class, and creationism in religion class. And for some reason I reconciled early on that evolution was true and creationism was symbolic and when I disbelieved, a myth.

Welcome to the forums Pete. You are what the atheist community refer to as "atheist friendly", so you are indeed most welcome here (especially since you understand and accept evolution).