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What is your conversion standard?
#11
RE: What is your conversion standard?
Nothing would convince me to be a Christian. Christianity isn't supposed to be just faith; it's a commitment. One that I have no motivation for, even if the Christian God was real and the main tenets of Christianity were true.
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#12
RE: What is your conversion standard?
Something:
A) whose claims hold up to scrutiny
B) who doesn't treat marginalising people for aspects they can't control as an article of faith

would be a good place to start
Comparing the Universal Oneness of All Life to Yo Mama since 2010.

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I was born with the gift of laughter and a sense the world is mad.
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#13
RE: What is your conversion standard?
These are excellent points, things I didn't consider before. I suppose it comes from a lack of really having my views challenged yet. So, I practice by myself in my head(and here also, now that I found this place).

I was watching a GMS video today, "are atheists hopeless?" And it brought up similar things as my conclusions in the OP. How I don't care about getting assigned purpose nor a divine purpose. But I also empathized with the spiritual view, of how a life without God was scary. Because for a little bit, I had thought so too. Then it progressively peeled back the layers until I was thinking about "This is it, there's nothing else, there's just the one life and no one's watching." and it clicked. Like, when you get a new job, something you feel outmatched by, unfamiliar with, you don't know if you can do it or not. Then all of a sudden, one day, you have your desk and your space and your accomplishments and it becomes "second place home" in your head. It's not scary or depressing; this is it, this is the one and only life. I feel a tremble of exhilaration at the same time as a relaxed and comfortable ease. I just wanted to share that, hoping to add to the conversation about how the atheist experience, especially after losing a faith, is about loss but also very much gaining space, room, and independence. I am accountable for my death bed regrets because there is no sequel.

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#14
RE: What is your conversion standard?
Let's see, what could be done to turn my rational mind into an irrational, delusional fuck nut who believes unbelievable tales that are counter to all observable reality ?

That is a good question.

Let me ponder upon it for a few seconds and I'll get back to you.
Insanity - Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result
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#15
RE: What is your conversion standard?
(January 16, 2021 at 12:32 pm)onlinebiker Wrote: MM to inches = .03937.....


I use that the most.

You know what's crazy?
Even your conversion is in metric.
You're already half way there. Go full metric man... Emperial is vestigial.

It's a hard habit to break, I know.
No God, No fear.
Know God, Know fear.
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#16
RE: What is your conversion standard?
(January 16, 2021 at 11:56 am)Five Wrote: I am a simple man with simple needs, my day to day doesn't worry about what is going to happen to me after I die, and I am committed to finding my own purpose in life and finding fulfillment in my own way. If the religion I am being approached with has any rules or standards that are in any way repressive, restrictive, or weighted against looming punishment, then they need to convince me how or why those rules benefit me in this life, without trying to tell me the before- and afterlife stories.

I am a member of a UU church.  No doctrines preached and no specific rules.  Just some respect for universal rights and values.  It's not for most, though.  We don't actually give any answers.

I think it is psychology that people value things that cost more.  If a religion has no cost, how can it be valuable?  If anyone gets in to heaven, then why bother being good?  That is what the traditional religions provide -- a set of costs that promise an ultimate reward.

I think the spiritual path is far better.  When you find what you value, you will try to honor that in your actions, to be true to yourself.  Self-integrity is part of self-love and self-esteem.  And yeah, I fail at that sometimes, but slaughtering 2 doves or accepting wine from a priest won't wash away mistakes by blood-magic.  I just try to learn from them. Or, I just go have a beer Smile
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#17
RE: What is your conversion standard?
(January 18, 2021 at 11:57 pm)HappySkeptic Wrote: I am a member of a UU church.  No doctrines preached and no specific rules.  Just some respect for universal rights and values.  It's not for most, though.  We don't actually give any answers.

I think it is psychology that people value things that cost more.  If a religion has no cost, how can it be valuable?  If anyone gets in to heaven, then why bother being good?  That is what the traditional religions provide -- a set of costs that promise an ultimate reward.

I think the spiritual path is far better.  When you find what you value, you will try to honor that in your actions, to be true to yourself.  Self-integrity is part of self-love and self-esteem.  And yeah, I fail at that sometimes, but slaughtering 2 doves or accepting wine from a priest won't wash away mistakes by blood-magic.  I just try to learn from them. Or, I just go have a beer Smile

While I am posting and reading here, I'm also watching atheist content from the skeptics community on youtube. I think I am barely at the tip of the iceberg because each day, I amend my old understanding with new concepts presented to me. Like, for instance, I've only recently come to understand the difference between theist and religious and that some atheists can be religious. It's opened up a new world of nuance and possibility in how I want to examine the world and how I want to better know myself.

You bring up an excellent point. When I was Mormon, I automatically rejected the idea of going to any other church because it felt like none of them worked hard enough. To me, faith had become wrapped up in the shame and guilt cycles, the busywork, the constant self-monitoring and self-repression, as well as the rituals, the scripture study, and giving all to servicing the Lord that was demanded by the cult. Anything that asked less of me didn't mae sense, didn't feel right. Worship was defined as sacrifice. So, I can understand and empathize with that point of view. That some would feel like the struggle of this life, just the natural turmoil of humanness, the chaos of unpredictable days, doesn't mean as much if you're not doing it for deity.

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#18
RE: What is your conversion standard?
I "humorous" about mainstay biblical and latter translations is that calling "God" "Lord" puts the peasants firmly in their places, and that's doubtless why that translation exists. Fuck the uprising! Monarchy! Aristochracy!
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#19
RE: What is your conversion standard?
Testable, verifiable evidence.

A personal appearance would be nice.

If a hippy dude showed up and turned water to wine I might be a little impressed. But I can turn wine to water...
Dying to live, living to die.
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#20
RE: What is your conversion standard?
English to Binary.

01001001 00100000 01100001 01101101 00100000 01110100 01101111
01110100 01100001 01101100 01101100 01111001 00100000 01100011
01101111 01101111 01101100
"For the only way to eternal glory is a life lived in service of our Lord, FSM; Verily it is FSM who is the perfect being the name higher than all names, king of all kings and will bestow upon us all, one day, The great reclaiming"  -The Prophet Boiardi-

      Conservative trigger warning.
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