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RE: Is it a good idea to be an atheist?
March 19, 2015 at 1:29 pm
(This post was last modified: March 19, 2015 at 1:32 pm by Simon Moon.)
(March 19, 2015 at 1:04 pm)Jesusislord Wrote: I have noticed that some of the atheist members on this forum state that some members were previously members of churches and then became atheists. My question is simply were any of these members Christians before - Here I mean, did any of these members have a personal relationship with Jesus and then became atheists? Anybody can 'belong to a church' but to have a relationship with God is something totally different....
Let us all know how you determined that your 'relationship with God' is an actual experience, external to your mind, or you misinterpreting natural mental processes, emotions, feelings, etc.
After all, billions of non-Christians claim to have personal relationships with their deities. Yet, I'm sure you do not accept their personal relationships with their gods as being real.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
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RE: Is it a good idea to be an atheist?
March 19, 2015 at 1:34 pm
(March 19, 2015 at 1:29 pm)Simon Moon Wrote: (March 19, 2015 at 1:04 pm)Jesusislord Wrote: I have noticed that some of the atheist members on this forum state that some members were previously members of churches and then became atheists. My question is simply were any of these members Christians before - Here I mean, did any of these members have a personal relationship with Jesus and then became atheists? Anybody can 'belong to a church' but to have a relationship with God is something totally different....
Let us all know how you determined that your 'relationship with God' is an actual experience, external to your mind, or you misinterpreting natural mental processes, emotions, feelings, etc.
After all, billions of non-Christians claim to have personal relationships with their deities. Yet, I'm sure you do not accept their personal relationships with their gods as being real.
Sure he accepts those... the people are just misguided as to which deity they're having a "personal relationship" with.
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RE: Is it a good idea to be an atheist?
March 19, 2015 at 1:39 pm
(This post was last modified: March 19, 2015 at 2:26 pm by Simon Moon.)
(March 19, 2015 at 1:34 pm)pocaracas Wrote: Sure he accepts those... the people are just misguided as to which deity they're having a "personal relationship" with.
What an inept or cruel god.
Goes through the effort to have personal relationship with non-Christian theists. Fails to inform them that he is the Christian god they are relating to.
Because of his ineptness or cruelness, guarantees they will punished in hell.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
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RE: Is it a good idea to be an atheist?
March 19, 2015 at 1:43 pm
(March 18, 2015 at 5:51 am)georgesthegreat Wrote: You see, the difference between a believer and an atheist is a believer believes and an atheist thinks he is right.
Believers use their beliefs to maintain the illusion of separateness and thinkers use their thoughts to maintain the same. Call yourself one or the other, (or even a hybrid) you try to split the wholeness of reality into pieces with judgement.
Still, reality remains what it is despite our futile attempts to create it based on our own fears and desires.
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RE: Is it a good idea to be an atheist?
March 19, 2015 at 1:44 pm
The old style biblical unchanging god wouldn't let a bunch of numpty atheists have their own forum where they call him a nob and kick jesus to the curb. He'd blow us all up, take down the server, and kill a good few thousand innocent people in the crossfire.
It's a good thing he's unchangingly changed to a more mellow god now who does fuck all no matter how many times I call him a strawberry flavoured dildo.
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RE: Is it a good idea to be an atheist?
March 19, 2015 at 1:48 pm
(March 19, 2015 at 1:04 pm)Jesusislord Wrote: I have noticed that some of the atheist members on this forum state that some members were previously members of churches and then became atheists. My question is simply were any of these members Christians before - Here I mean, did any of these members have a personal relationship with Jesus and then became atheists? Anybody can 'belong to a church' but to have a relationship with God is something totally different.... In other words, were they Christians, or True Christians™? This notion that we'd have remained Christians if we'd simply done it right makes it seem quite complicated to be a Christian. Do you find it complicated to be a Christian? Were there specific steps in specific sequence that you had to take, without which you would not have achieved that personal relationship with Jesus? And if so, what are they?
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould
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RE: Is it a good idea to be an atheist?
March 19, 2015 at 1:55 pm
(March 19, 2015 at 1:04 pm)Jesusislord Wrote: (March 18, 2015 at 5:51 am)georgesthegreat Wrote: Hello,
I just want to ask a little, simple question here, to all atheists?
If you ask a believer why he believes in God, his answer most likely will be "Because I believe" or something to that extent.
Not very convincing, huh? The thing is, next time a believer convinces an atheist into believing, please let me know. I would be curious.
Let us turn the question around. Let us ask an atheist why he doesn't believe.
Most likely, we will hear something like "I only believe what I see" or "Why would a God let little innocent children die in a natural disaster?"
So we ask the atheist again: "Why don't you believe?". Let us record the answer.
Then we ask the atheist, "you don't believe because of...[his answer]?"
Then we tell him, "you realize you can help humanity a great deal by sharing your answer with the rest of the world?". "The world will be so much better knowing somebody has found a definite proof God does not exist because [his answer]". "You will be rewarded with a Nobel Prize and all wars will stop thanks to your thoughtfulness."
You see, the difference between a believer and an atheist is a believer believes and an atheist thinks he is right.
If you are an atheist and you so damn think you are right to be one, then let the world hear how you came to that conclusion, because for sure, this will change the world.
Thank you
I have noticed that some of the atheist members on this forum state that some members were previously members of churches and then became atheists. My question is simply were any of these members Christians before - Here I mean, did any of these members have a personal relationship with Jesus and then became atheists? Anybody can 'belong to a church' but to have a relationship with God is something totally different....
Define "personal relationship with Jesus", please.
Playing Cluedo with my mum while I was at Uni:
"You did WHAT? With WHO? WHERE???"
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RE: Is it a good idea to be an atheist?
March 19, 2015 at 2:10 pm
(March 19, 2015 at 1:11 pm)robvalue Wrote: The atheist Pope Matt Dillahunty was a christian for 25 years and was studying to become a minister.
Plenty of christians were dead serious about their belief but then lost it.
Why just christians? How come Muslims don't interest you? You can have a personal relationship with that other jesus guy, and Allan.
Ok I have received my answer.
I have no reason to take credit for anything....Everything that I have today I attribute to the grace of God. Many Sunday actors perform 'TV miracles' which we all know are staged and is one of the reasons why there is so much skepticism surrounding this subject.
Around 2005 I owned a company and befriended a security guard who did work at our company. At some stage he confided in me that he had a brother (If I remember his name was Michael) who was dying of throat cancer - The cancer was very severe and he had a few days to live. The security guard was very sorrowful because this brother had 2 small kids and naturally he was concerned about their futures. I felt great compassion for him and that day when I left work I started to pray for Michael....I didn't even know his surname. The trip home was about 40 minutes and when I had travelled about 5 minutes I had what one may call an epiphany....I knew immediately that something had happened. The next day the security guard was completely elated because his brother had been miraculously healed the previous day. Well I naturally was just as happy and proceeded to tell him what happened to me on the road...His brother was discharged 2 days later and came to see me (With his wife and the 2 kids) to personally thank me for praying for him - It was one of the greatest days of my life.
This is no fairy tale and happened exactly as is stated here....I have no reason to fabricate a story like this. If it was a fabrication then my own Christian walk would be a sham and worth nothing!
This is what I mean by a personal relationship....You cannot be a Christian for 25 years and suddenly turn away. Yes there a backslidden Christians but once you are marked you can never be the same.
At the end of the day I cannot force anybody to believe that God is as real today as he was millions of years ago. I cannot fathom the mysteries of the ages and frankly I don't want to....I just cannot turn my back on a God that listened to my prayer and healed Michael. There are other miracles that came about thru my prayers...
I love God and anybody can.....
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RE: Is it a good idea to be an atheist?
March 19, 2015 at 2:12 pm
Why did God wait until you prayed for Michael's brother? Surely there were other people praying the man, why do you take credit for your prayer being the catalyst?
In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty.
- Thomas Jefferson
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RE: Is it a good idea to be an atheist?
March 19, 2015 at 2:14 pm
If it was only Christians that got spontaneous remissions from cancer, that would be interesting, but the phenomenon seems evenly-distributed.
I'm not anti-Christian. I'm anti-stupid.
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