(September 20, 2016 at 3:43 pm)Thena323 Wrote: Relax, Wooters. There's no shortage of speculation 'round these parts...You and your Christian brethren speculate as to the motives of atheists all of the time.That's true to some degree. I have my own theories based on personal experience that I've shared. At the same time I don't see long-time Christian members starting whole threads around atheist motivations. Occasionally, I see shit-and-run fundies do that though.
(September 20, 2016 at 3:43 pm)Thena323 Wrote: You need but ask yourself why it is you do those very things, and you'll likely gain some insight.While it is true that people are often blind to their true motivations, I would like to believe that while I may not be particularly insightful I have done a fair amount of self-reflection on the issue. None of the motivations of the OP seem primary to myself or any other believers I know personally.
I must remind you up-front that I used to be an atheist. People have many reasons for denying the existence of the Divine and I had my own. At the same time, I am the sort that seeks to understand the fundamental questions of the human condition. I came to the conclusion that, philosophically speaking, the most common atheistic approaches to those questions lead to either 1) concluding that reality was absurd or 2) denying the possibility of knowledge. Those approaches come at great cost and seem self-defeating. I have made the existential choice to consider reality intelligible and true knowledge possible. As result I feel reason compels me to acknowledge that God exists, that His Providence guides Creation, that He loves us, and that He desires that we should know and Love Him in return.
