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Hello
December 19, 2014 at 3:12 pm
Just thought I would introduce myself.
I'm a person who has become fed up with being tricked by a corrupt society. It seems modern society is always trying to pull some sort of scam. This being the case I am determined to modify and upgrade my personal belief system and am absolutely ruthless about tossing out any current belief in favor of whatever else may work better to improve the quality of my life.
So, I am here to test my current belief system and I'm hoping there are intelligent enough posters here who can challenge me to think more carefully about what I current believe to be true.
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RE: Hello
December 19, 2014 at 3:15 pm
(This post was last modified: December 19, 2014 at 3:15 pm by robvalue.)
Hello there, welcome to the forum  Good for you for evaluating your beliefs. Something so many people stubbornly refuse to even consider.
What are your current beliefs? I'm always up for a healthy discussion.
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RE: Hello
December 19, 2014 at 3:25 pm
As far as my religious views are concerned. According to the Bible there is a strong delusion in these "last day". It is so strong that it can trick even the "elect" of God. Supposedly, there are MANY deceiving spirits pretending to be God, or Jesus, or the Virgin Mary, or whoever else they may need to pretend to be in order to latch onto to a gullible numbnut.
So, like it or not, what does this mean? It means when you call upon the name of Jesus Christ there is no telling just what may present itself to you pretending to be Jesus Christ. Thus...obviously...the name of Jesus Christ is EXTREMELY SUSPECT.
It seems many of the most dangerous religious whackos, out there, use the Biblical Book of Revelation to justify their insane actions.
I'm no longer a prisoner of ANY BOOK and hold them ALL suspect. If I have not personally verified ANY INFORMATION I openly qualify such information when presenting it with words like, "SUPPOSEDLY", or "PURPORTEDLY", or with similar words or phrases that openly tell the reader that I do not necessarily believe the information that I am sharing.
I've been forced into a position of tremendous detachment in that I am very casual about how ruthless I have become in tossing out ANY current belief that no longer serves me.
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RE: Hello
December 19, 2014 at 3:26 pm
Well, I must say it's refreshing to hear someone is willing to challenge themselves intellectually no matter what the cost. I'm fed up with people that are all too willing to just accept a position and stick with it.
Welcome.
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: Hello
December 19, 2014 at 3:27 pm
I've got a question - Why do you think immediate "quality of life" is a good indicator of the truth value of a belief? Truth can be unpleasant.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
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RE: Hello
December 19, 2014 at 3:35 pm
Welcome!
I too came here to hear and participate in debates of my beliefs at the time (christianity). I have pretty much found religion to be useless to me and would be open to talking about specifics you have in other threads. Again, welcome
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RE: Hello
December 19, 2014 at 3:36 pm
(This post was last modified: December 19, 2014 at 3:37 pm by robvalue.)
It sounds to me like you are an atheist, all that means is that you don't believe that any of the gods claimed to exist do actually exist. It's not a statement of claiming no gods exist, that's entirely different.
I'm not trying to claim you as an atheist, just letting you know how I see your position. An agnostic atheist, same as me.
If you have any reasons that are troubling you, that make you think anything might be true, feel free to share it. My position is that all holy books are complete made up crap, and you don't seem far off that 
To me its simple: is there any credible evidence any of it is true? No.
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RE: Hello
December 19, 2014 at 3:38 pm
I recently came across the Talmud of Jmmanuel
https://archive.org/stream/TalmudOfJmman...0/mode/2up
This book really jolted me in its implications. I found myself saying, "Why should I believe you are who you say you are?" Then I stopped and thought of the Biblical Jesus and...found myself saying the same thing!!
It seemed to be the last straw that shattered the chain of Christianity which had still held me somewhat of a psychological prisoner. Quite a liberating experience. However, freedom can be a scary thing. I mean, what if I'm wrong about ALL my current views? I do not blindly dismiss this very real possibility!
It seems to me to be a dangerous gamble to blindly believe that when you die you will completely cease to exist. Personally, I can't think of a more dangerous gamble! I find it safest to strive to be ready for any possibility and not limit myself. Just in case Allah turns out to be the true God...or maybe Krishna...or maybe...that giant spaghetti monster I've heard so much about from atheists like Richard Dawkins
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RE: Hello
December 19, 2014 at 3:40 pm
 Enjoy the forum.
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RE: Hello
December 19, 2014 at 3:41 pm
(This post was last modified: December 19, 2014 at 3:43 pm by robvalue.)
Hehe well yes. There's nothing wrong with keeping an open mind, and assessing all possibilities. That is the sensible thing to do.
As you note, religion is just a load of claims. And no evidence.
You may find this interesting for your current situation:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_Wager
Basically, there is an infinite amount of possible religions. So if you pick any particular one, without any evidence, you have essentially zero chance of being right anyway.
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