(May 3, 2016 at 4:41 pm)TheRocketSurgeon Wrote:I would think anyone would understand her hostility given her circumstance. I am saddened to hear that, and I wish I could right that obvious wrong. I beseech people often to not judge Christianity by it’s negative and un Christ-like practices. You yourself were convicted of a crime in which you were innocent and spent nearly a decade in prison. Do you think we should scrap the entire legal system in America because of this?(May 3, 2016 at 4:26 pm)PETE_ROSE Wrote: No question here but I do sense a bit of hostility. I cannot help but empathize with many of your points; I surely desire the evidence to me more profound at times. I will not address the fate of the billions of others on the planet, but I will note that each of us in our mind need to ask ourselves, given the information we have, and giving due diligence and more than a cursory examination, do we believe the assertions of Christ and the bible to be true. Based on that answer proceed according to one's own chosen path.
She has quite a bit of hostility. She was recently fired by a Christian who discovered she is an atheist. Hard to blame her.
If I may presume to speak for her, I think her point had more to do with the fact that the "truth of the scriptures", which each individual Christian comes here and asserts separately, is in fact myriad and diverse, with many groups thinking the other groups are going to hell and only their version being right... the other group says the same about the first, of course. What we see as nonbelievers is that all the religious people of the world think the others are all wrong (except their little clique, however big it may be), and they all make mutually-exclusive claims. The obvious conclusion is that it's all made up.
We, too, have "given due diligence and more than a cursory examination". Not only the members of the board, here, but atheists in general, tend to know significantly more than Christians do about their scriptures and the history thereof.
I started to link you to an NPR article about the study that showed this, but I decided a Christian source was better. Here y'go.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/201...s-that-bad
I see your statement about Christian groups all professing to have the correct version and condemning everyone that does not attend the Southside Baptist Apostolic Church of the Heavenly Mediator New Macedonia Deliverance Tabernacle of Prayer Faith Anointed Temple of the Living God; that they are going to roast their nuts in the fires of hell for eternity. I have not made any such exclusive claim. Yet!
I disagree that upon the examination of the evidence that the obvious answer is “it is all made up”. Also, I would contest that everyone here has given Christ and the bible due diligence and more than a cursory examination. I have little doubt that you have sir. Moreover, I would say you are smarter than myself, obviously better educated, and have good reason to have come to the place you are. I do not hold this as the case for all others here. Hardly. My experience is that most atheists and detractors to the bible hold little hard evidence to discredit it. More often I find they have had a few (or many) negative experiences with a church, or so called Christians, or other some tragedy that has befallen them that leads them to be angry with God. This anger often clouds their judgment and often times hinders them in their objectivity.
I will pray that she finds employment soon and that losing this job opens a door to a better opportunity.