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Current time: June 7, 2024, 7:02 pm

Poll: Does this testimonial change your belief in God?
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Yes
3.17%
2 3.17%
No
96.83%
61 96.83%
Total 63 vote(s) 100%
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Near death experience of Howard Storm
RE: Near death experience of Howard Storm
(January 30, 2016 at 5:11 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: I thought atheism just meant you don't believe in God/gods... no "basics" necessary.

You go, girl! Wink
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RE: Near death experience of Howard Storm
He may very well have been an atheist. Nobody cares. But he's not one anymore. And as far as I know he didn't present any evidence for his god belief. So as far as I'm concerned, he's a crazy person(at least on this matter). He may be a functioning crazy person, but he's still crazy.

Yes, I am calling all religious people crazy.

Yes, I am crazy about some things too. I look forward to others pointing out which things those are. (Good luck with that. I keep my craziness private.)
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RE: Near death experience of Howard Storm
-and he obviously failed to grasp that CL.  He doesn't present atheism, he presents an evangelical caricature of atheism of which atheists at-large are thoroughly aware of and intimate with.  I'll be blunt, I think it's ridiculous that you're taking people to task for doubting the specifics of a -performers- story-for-profit....and for attempting to excuse yourself while criticizing others by claiming you had no dog in the fight. It;s clear from your subsequent posts that you do..since you, like he, present yet another tired charicature of atheism in this very thread...in your usual passive aggressive way.

It was a -tad- bit more elaborate than "I didn't believe in god", and since you've identified that as what atheism is, do you think he's describing atheism in this testimonial, or a narrative -about- atheism? How about your own "would you want it to be true" narrative? I know you heard that one the same as I know he heard his. It doesn't appear to be relevant to atheists here, so how do you think it is that narratives like his and your own persist in the face of the groups which they mis-characterize in a convenient arc to their own ideological lines? Is it even remotely possible that both he and yourself are parroting narratives described to you by a group collectively called christendom, to which you both claim membership?

Perish the thought.....
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Near death experience of Howard Storm
I think the point being made is, there's the textbook definition of an atheist and then there's the practical side of it.

Yes, we are atheists. And yes, there are religious people out there who are also atheists, and all sorts of other kinds of crazies who don't believe in a God. But at least on these forums, for the most part, atheists could be better descriped as skeptics. We demand evidence for any ridiculous claims about reality(e.g. existence of deities). We value reason and we would like to be as rational as possible. We don't base our beliefs about reality on our own personal experiences or on our emotions. Or at the very least, we try.
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RE: Near death experience of Howard Storm
(January 30, 2016 at 5:49 pm)Rhythm Wrote: -and Stern obviously failed to grasp that CL.  He doesn't present atheism, he presents an evangelical caricature of atheism of which atheists at-large are thoroughly aware of and intimate with.  I'll be blunt, I think it's ridiculous that you're taking people to task for doubting the specifics of a -performers- story-for-profit....and for attempting to excuse yourself while criticizing others by claiming you had no dog in the fight.  It;s clear from your subsequent posts that you do..since you, like stern, present yet another tired charicature of atheism in this very thread...in your usual passive aggressive way.  

It was a -tad- bit more elaborate than "I didn't believe in god", and since you've identified that as what atheism is, do you think he's describing atheism in this testimonial, or a narrative -about- atheism?  How about your own "would you want it to be true" narrative?  I know you heard that one the same as I know stern heard his.  It doesn't appear to be relevant to atheists here, so how do you think it is that narratives like stern and your own persist in the face of the groups which they mis-characterize in a convenient arc to their own  ideological lines?

Emphasis mine.

I don't think she can help it. I hope she drops it someday, though.
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RE: Near death experience of Howard Storm
(January 30, 2016 at 3:31 pm)Mr.wizard Wrote: What the hell does "read the bible prayerfully" mean?

I think it means "hoping like hell some helpful angel tells him what the hell it means".
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RE: Near death experience of Howard Storm
It means "the way I read it" - more accurately. Angels don't show up for anybody.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
Reply
RE: Near death experience of Howard Storm
(January 30, 2016 at 4:18 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote:
(January 30, 2016 at 3:31 pm)Mr.wizard Wrote: What the hell does "read the bible prayerfully" mean?

Yes, this part doesn't sit very well with me either. Seems the question about the bible should have been better explained than just to say it should be read "prayerfully", whatever that means. It's a valid question that many Christians struggle with making sense of. 

Then again, this is the shortened version so maybe the book goes more in depth about it.

Lol, I bet Mr. Storm would have given me the same answer, "you'll just have to buy the book to find out".
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RE: Near death experience of Howard Storm
(January 30, 2016 at 6:53 pm)Mr.wizard Wrote:
(January 30, 2016 at 4:18 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: Yes, this part doesn't sit very well with me either. Seems the question about the bible should have been better explained than just to say it should be read "prayerfully", whatever that means. It's a valid question that many Christians struggle with making sense of. 

Then again, this is the shortened version so maybe the book goes more in depth about it.

Lol, I bet Mr. Storm would have given me the same answer, "you'll just have to buy the book to find out".

Maybe.
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly." 

-walsh
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RE: Near death experience of Howard Storm
So the time has come for homo-sapiens to know who they are... I will continue give information in multiple posts.

Humans are a species of biological beings that have evolved over time, and will continue to evolve. Humans were created through evolution to be vessels for souls to inhabit which allows us to take on a physical form to experience a world which allows us to evolve. We have all chosen to come here for a chance to experience the world and grow spiritually. A veil of ignorance is put over us so we forget where we came from, in order to get the most out of this life as possible. We are actually souls using homo-sapiens to interact with others in the physical world.

The purpose of soul growth is to grow towards God. The simple solution is LOVE. Love is all it takes to grow, and the reason we came here. Life on earth is the perfect opportunity to experience in love. We have male and female beings that can unite in love, and create children through love that guarantees the ability of more souls to inhabit human bodies in the form of procreation. The children allow the souls of the parents to nurture and love, and learn through various experiences, which can't be done in the spiritual realm from where we came from and will go back into after our experience on earth.

God is the creator and regulator. Something to keep in mind is that birds of a feather flock together. Another thing to understand is kinetic energy. We are all energy, and each of us vibrates at a different level. For example heat and light vibrates very quickly, while cold and darkness vibrates very slowly, and there is everything in between. Love vibrates fast, and hate vibrates slow. While on earth, all vibrations can coexist but in the spiritual realm, we will gravitate to where we belong based on our vibration frequency. Outside the body, you will go to where you fit in based on your vibration, almost like tuning into a radio station. You can't tune into 94.1, and listen to 88.7, for example.

God is light and love, and if you don't have the same frequency to exist in harmonious balance, you will simply not be able to go there. The key thing is that your vibrational level can change based on your thoughts. Love will change your frequency to a higher level, while hate will change it to a lower level. Once outside the body, we enter back into the spiritual realm.

I'll go into more detail about the various spiritual realms in another post. For now, I want to mention the main message of life is to love. It's the most important thing to do while we are alive, and can not only change you for the better, but also change others based on your actions towards them, which can spread and make a better world. Hate can do the same thing.
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