RE: Never call other humans disbelievers!
October 29, 2018 at 7:34 pm
(This post was last modified: October 29, 2018 at 7:36 pm by Mystic.)
(October 29, 2018 at 7:27 pm)Belaqua Wrote:(October 29, 2018 at 6:47 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: often, people are heedless and don't know better.
All I'm saying is I withdraw judgment.
I think you're making two good points. I hope that lots of believers agree with you, as it would make for more tolerant relations.
1) You seem to be saying that simple lack of belief isn't the definition of this usage of "Disbeliever." For the term you're using, a Disbeliever is someone who has been offered good proof and chooses to reject it.
This reminds me of the endless Internet debates among atheists about who is really an atheist. Some people want to claim that babies are atheists because they lack belief. Others say this is silly, because it would also include rocks and lizards as atheists. Better to say that an atheist (at least of the type who posts on web sites) is someone who has heard religious claims and rejected them according to reasons.
2) If I'm reading you right, you're offering a pretty demanding standard for what constitutes proof -- a standard that most people will never receive. If it takes a demonstrable miracle to persuade someone justly, then believers can have sympathy with non-believers because solid miracles are pretty rare these days.
But this makes sense to me, because in scripture there are a lot of figures, presented as admirable people, who demand miraculous demonstration before believing. Moses, Job, the major Prophets, Jesus' disciples, etc. etc. All demanded a lot more in the way of proof than atheists hear today.
I am not saying that I believe miracles are accurately recorded in scripture, or that they are possible today. But I think the criteria you've given here, if your fellow believers will pay attention, is sympathetic to non-believers like me, and I appreciate that.
You kindle some hope in me. It really felt up to that point with the members here it was you're damned if you and you're damned if you don't... sort of thing.