Clearing up a misconception atheists have about practicing Christians

[Turtlesoup]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but many atheists believe that “religious” people foolishly follow a book of rules, for baseless reasons. For example, because they were raised into a particular religion, or out of fear, or because they were duped into it.

In other words, they believe it’s foolish to live your life following "rules from a book" that was written thousands of years ago, by men. Some atheists also say that Christianity or other religions are simply about controlling people.

Here’s what I believe that atheists and agnostics simply don’t get.

I can't speak for all Christians, but for myself and the Christians that I know, we choose to follow Jesus not because we were raised in a Christian home (I wasn’t) or because we were duped into it (nobody tells me what to think, I have always been an independent thinker) or for other shallow, baseless reasons like that.

When it comes to either being our own boss, or living by God's ways…. the reason that born again Christians choose the latter is because we have been on both sides, and we have seen through life experience that living by God's ways is simply BETTER, wiser, and it WORKS, in a practical sense. There are other reasons as well, but this particular reason is what I wanted to focus on for this thread.

So to sum that up…. Between following the world’s ways or following God’s ways, for some of us we have learned through experience (sometimes the hard way) that the latter is absolutely BETTER and it leads to good things as opposed to bad things. It simply WORKS, even though it can be hard at times, in this fallen world.

I hope I explained that clearly. If it didn’t make sense, please let me know and feel free to share your thoughts!

You're wrong....
I'm an atheist and I and many others see religion as a social club-------everyone needs something to believe in and wants to feel like they belong. The religion one chooses is usually the one that they were born into as they imprinted on as a child. It's hard to convince people who weren't brainwashed as kids that there are talking snakes and eating a magical knowledge fruit is somehow evil while a vicious punishing vindictive god is somehow good when he smites people all over the place.

 

[sealybobo]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but many atheists believe that “religious” people foolishly follow a book of rules, for baseless reasons. For example, because they were raised into a particular religion, or out of fear, or because they were duped into it.

In other words, they believe it’s foolish to live your life following "rules from a book" that was written thousands of years ago, by men. Some atheists also say that Christianity or other religions are simply about controlling people.

Here’s what I believe that atheists and agnostics simply don’t get.

I can't speak for all Christians, but for myself and the Christians that I know, we choose to follow Jesus not because we were raised in a Christian home (I wasn’t) or because we were duped into it (nobody tells me what to think, I have always been an independent thinker) or for other shallow, baseless reasons like that.

When it comes to either being our own boss, or living by God's ways…. the reason that born again Christians choose the latter is because we have been on both sides, and we have seen through life experience that living by God's ways is simply BETTER, wiser, and it WORKS, in a practical sense. There are other reasons as well, but this particular reason is what I wanted to focus on for this thread.

So to sum that up…. Between following the world’s ways or following God’s ways, for some of us we have learned through experience (sometimes the hard way) that the latter is absolutely BETTER and it leads to good things as opposed to bad things. It simply WORKS, even though it can be hard at times, in this fallen world.

I hope I explained that clearly. If it didn’t make sense, please let me know and feel free to share your thoughts!

Those who nowadays speak the loudest that they are "Christians" actually gave up Jesus a long time ago. They practice a form of "Christianity" that doesn't have any Jesus in it. We hear quotes from paul or timothy or revelations, but nothing attributed to Jesus. He must have wasted his breath when he gave the Sermon on the Mount.

Frankly, religion is not supposed to be a competition, but it is today. This is a real turn-off, and not just for those who do not believe in a Supreme Being.

Real Christians just murdered cops in our capitol. This is why I don’t like religions or cults. They can control their sheep even as good as trump does. And they don’t even speak up when their chosen one leads an insurrection and police are murdered?

75% of republicans believe the election was rigged. What percent of republicans are Christians?

So Christians bashed that cops head in.

 

[sealybobo]

Generally speaking, atheists don't want their misconceptions about Christians corrected.

Atheists have their own dogma which they follow religiously.

It’s called common sense, logic, reason.

 

[sealybobo]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but many atheists believe that “religious” people foolishly follow a book of rules, for baseless reasons. For example, because they were raised into a particular religion, or out of fear, or because they were duped into it.

In other words, they believe it’s foolish to live your life following "rules from a book" that was written thousands of years ago, by men. Some atheists also say that Christianity or other religions are simply about controlling people.

Here’s what I believe that atheists and agnostics simply don’t get.

I can't speak for all Christians, but for myself and the Christians that I know, we choose to follow Jesus not because we were raised in a Christian home (I wasn’t) or because we were duped into it (nobody tells me what to think, I have always been an independent thinker) or for other shallow, baseless reasons like that.

When it comes to either being our own boss, or living by God's ways…. the reason that born again Christians choose the latter is because we have been on both sides, and we have seen through life experience that living by God's ways is simply BETTER, wiser, and it WORKS, in a practical sense. There are other reasons as well, but this particular reason is what I wanted to focus on for this thread.

So to sum that up…. Between following the world’s ways or following God’s ways, for some of us we have learned through experience (sometimes the hard way) that the latter is absolutely BETTER and it leads to good things as opposed to bad things. It simply WORKS, even though it can be hard at times, in this fallen world.

I hope I explained that clearly. If it didn’t make sense, please let me know and feel free to share your thoughts!

I don't think anything of the sort. I think many of us know why you choose to follow Jesus/live by God's way and we support that. You don't live in a zoo. It's not like we haven't seen you folk before. You are not strange creatures. Also, it's not our business.

I simply can stop people from being jerks on the internet.

Well that's good. But I am curious to know what you meant when you said "many of us know why you choose to follow Jesus/live by God's way"

Btw, in the opening paragraph of this thread I purposely used the word "many" which of course means not all.

many of them don’t realize the psychological reasons why they believe In the unbelievable. The ones who do admit it’s wishful thinking and they just choose to believe.

Another thing. Isn’t it funny how in Utah everyone there claims they chose to be Mormons? And everyone in the Middle East chooses to be Muslim? And in the USA where the majority of us push Christianity, people tend to chose to be Christians. No some blacks choose to be Muslims but how come no one ever chooses to be Jewish?

 

[Meriweather]

It's hard to convince people who weren't brainwashed as kids that there are talking snakes and eating a magical knowledge fruit is somehow evil while a vicious punishing vindictive god is somehow good when he smites people all over the place.

And this is exactly how those who follow and practice a faith differ. Too many atheists see the exact opposite of what people of faith see. People of faith see a way of life they choose to follow. "Good Enough" is not something for which they are willing to settle. They reach for the ideal of loving God and His law, loving their fellow man, serving God. Naturally, since we reach for the ideal and often fail to grasp it, we get labeled as hypocrites for even trying. We see God as loving, patient, forgiving, merciful, while in atheist eyes God is "vicious, punishing, vindictive". We see God's hand reaching out to us; atheists imagine God smiting this way and that. If an atheist really wishes to understand people of faith, all s/he needs to do is find the antonym of how atheists view God and His ways.

There comes a time in everyone's life where they see the value of whatever faith they were taught as children; or a time where they feel that, as a child, they were forced into something of which they can now break free. Those of us who see love, forgiveness, and a helping hand choose to stay; those who see "a vicious punishing vindictive god is somehow good when he smites people all over the place" choose to break free.

 

[Briss]

The problem with a lot of Christians is that they do not have faith that their fellow humans will come to their own truth on their own, just as they did. They appear to believe that no one will come to their own realizations concerning this reality and other planes of existence without help. There is a beast within us that insists that others share its opinions about the unseen; that would be the ego.

The ego is the only part of the beast that believes in forgiveness because it believes it is guilty by virtue of being born.

 

[irosie91]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but many atheists believe that “religious” people foolishly follow a book of rules, for baseless reasons. For example, because they were raised into a particular religion, or out of fear, or because they were duped into it.

In other words, they believe it’s foolish to live your life following "rules from a book" that was written thousands of years ago, by men. Some atheists also say that Christianity or other religions are simply about controlling people.

Here’s what I believe that atheists and agnostics simply don’t get.

I can't speak for all Christians, but for myself and the Christians that I know, we choose to follow Jesus not because we were raised in a Christian home (I wasn’t) or because we were duped into it (nobody tells me what to think, I have always been an independent thinker) or for other shallow, baseless reasons like that.

When it comes to either being our own boss, or living by God's ways…. the reason that born again Christians choose the latter is because we have been on both sides, and we have seen through life experience that living by God's ways is simply BETTER, wiser, and it WORKS, in a practical sense. There are other reasons as well, but this particular reason is what I wanted to focus on for this thread.

So to sum that up…. Between following the world’s ways or following God’s ways, for some of us we have learned through experience (sometimes the hard way) that the latter is absolutely BETTER and it leads to good things as opposed to bad things. It simply WORKS, even though it can be hard at times, in this fallen world.

I hope I explained that clearly. If it didn’t make sense, please let me know and feel free to share your thoughts!

Those who nowadays speak the loudest that they are "Christians" actually gave up Jesus a long time ago. They practice a form of "Christianity" that doesn't have any Jesus in it. We hear quotes from paul or timothy or revelations, but nothing attributed to Jesus. He must have wasted his breath when he gave the Sermon on the Mount.

I get what you're saying, I know how you feel about "right wing Christians" (you talk about that a lot) but that's not really the topic here.

I was just saying that for people who try to live by God's ways (for example, very unpopular and "old-fashioned" ideas) it's not for baseless reasons, but because God's ways truly are better and wiser, and many of us have learned that by experience. Does that make sense?

We don't actually know what "God's ways" are. Too much has been tacked onto religion by mere mortals, including mixing in social customs and prejudices. These "beliefs" attach like barnacles to a ship. Right-wing politics and policies do not mix with the teachings of Jesus. They are oil and water. There are problems with "old-fashioned" ideas." One is defining them. Another is applying them to all people, not selectively and not incorporating double standards. Another is placing too much emphasis on sex, instead of emphasizing that standards apply in all situations, in all that we do, and sex is only one part of this.

I grew up in a very SOLIDLY christian town----and very
SOLIDLY republican. On Sunday most of the town was in the many christian churches and------the local
government was solidly republican. THUS I read the NT by the time I was ten-----nice ladies gave them out and being young I could easily read the tiny type in the pocket version. Allusions to JESUS were commonplace and "hell" was a dirty word. In fact
"sex" was a dirty word. Allusions to sex do not show
up in the NT as far as I recall other than having a baby without it is considered holy. Jesus and republican were virtually THE SAME in that town

And they beat constantly and wouldn't let you drive cars or buy groceries or nothing. It was 24/7 hell yet you survived to whine incessantly about The Evil Christians and how The Jews didn't get to keep their cut of all the stuff they looted from European peasants for the kings and dukes.Not only that, but those uppity goy peasants actually had the gall to resent Jews for it.

Oh---another lesson from your catechism whore. For those who do not know-----the kings of europe used jews for minor roles requiring specific skills----like tailoring and literacy. An interesting factoid. My paternal grandfather was a tailor born in eastern europe. I was once asked how I know he was a jew and I answered "simple" "A TAILOR" -----My father enlisted in the US Navy at the start of World War II. He was put on a ship ---the only jew on the ship-----they made him the ship's bursar. The percentage of literate christians in
eastern europe was DISMAL even when my grandfather left----probably about the turn of the century. ----My maternal great grandfather was also a tailor----and served in the ARMY of Franz Josef ---as such.
Somehow these situations enrage some christians
Jewish professions----even in europe and even in shariah shitholes do require some level of literacy and
simple arithmetic

 

[irosie91]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but many atheists believe that “religious” people foolishly follow a book of rules, for baseless reasons. For example, because they were raised into a particular religion, or out of fear, or because they were duped into it.

In other words, they believe it’s foolish to live your life following "rules from a book" that was written thousands of years ago, by men. Some atheists also say that Christianity or other religions are simply about controlling people.

Here’s what I believe that atheists and agnostics simply don’t get.

I can't speak for all Christians, but for myself and the Christians that I know, we choose to follow Jesus not because we were raised in a Christian home (I wasn’t) or because we were duped into it (nobody tells me what to think, I have always been an independent thinker) or for other shallow, baseless reasons like that.

When it comes to either being our own boss, or living by God's ways…. the reason that born again Christians choose the latter is because we have been on both sides, and we have seen through life experience that living by God's ways is simply BETTER, wiser, and it WORKS, in a practical sense. There are other reasons as well, but this particular reason is what I wanted to focus on for this thread.

So to sum that up…. Between following the world’s ways or following God’s ways, for some of us we have learned through experience (sometimes the hard way) that the latter is absolutely BETTER and it leads to good things as opposed to bad things. It simply WORKS, even though it can be hard at times, in this fallen world.

I hope I explained that clearly. If it didn’t make sense, please let me know and feel free to share your thoughts!

I don't think anything of the sort. I think many of us know why you choose to follow Jesus/live by God's way and we support that. You don't live in a zoo. It's not like we haven't seen you folk before. You are not strange creatures. Also, it's not our business.

I simply can stop people from being jerks on the internet.

Well that's good. But I am curious to know what you meant when you said "many of us know why you choose to follow Jesus/live by God's way"

Btw, in the opening paragraph of this thread I purposely used the word "many" which of course means not all.

many of them don’t realize the psychological reasons why they believe In the unbelievable. The ones who do admit it’s wishful thinking and they just choose to believe.

Another thing. Isn’t it funny how in Utah everyone there claims they chose to be Mormons? And everyone in the Middle East chooses to be Muslim? And in the USA where the majority of us push Christianity, people tend to chose to be Christians. No some blacks choose to be Muslims but how come no one ever chooses to be Jewish?

I cannot provide stats----but there are lots of black converts to Judaism in my town -----they do not self ADVERTISE

 

[sealybobo]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but many atheists believe that “religious” people foolishly follow a book of rules, for baseless reasons. For example, because they were raised into a particular religion, or out of fear, or because they were duped into it.

In other words, they believe it’s foolish to live your life following "rules from a book" that was written thousands of years ago, by men. Some atheists also say that Christianity or other religions are simply about controlling people.

Here’s what I believe that atheists and agnostics simply don’t get.

I can't speak for all Christians, but for myself and the Christians that I know, we choose to follow Jesus not because we were raised in a Christian home (I wasn’t) or because we were duped into it (nobody tells me what to think, I have always been an independent thinker) or for other shallow, baseless reasons like that.

When it comes to either being our own boss, or living by God's ways…. the reason that born again Christians choose the latter is because we have been on both sides, and we have seen through life experience that living by God's ways is simply BETTER, wiser, and it WORKS, in a practical sense. There are other reasons as well, but this particular reason is what I wanted to focus on for this thread.

So to sum that up…. Between following the world’s ways or following God’s ways, for some of us we have learned through experience (sometimes the hard way) that the latter is absolutely BETTER and it leads to good things as opposed to bad things. It simply WORKS, even though it can be hard at times, in this fallen world.

I hope I explained that clearly. If it didn’t make sense, please let me know and feel free to share your thoughts!

I don't think anything of the sort. I think many of us know why you choose to follow Jesus/live by God's way and we support that. You don't live in a zoo. It's not like we haven't seen you folk before. You are not strange creatures. Also, it's not our business.

I simply can stop people from being jerks on the internet.

Well that's good. But I am curious to know what you meant when you said "many of us know why you choose to follow Jesus/live by God's way"

Btw, in the opening paragraph of this thread I purposely used the word "many" which of course means not all.

many of them don’t realize the psychological reasons why they believe In the unbelievable. The ones who do admit it’s wishful thinking and they just choose to believe.

Another thing. Isn’t it funny how in Utah everyone there claims they chose to be Mormons? And everyone in the Middle East chooses to be Muslim? And in the USA where the majority of us push Christianity, people tend to chose to be Christians. No some blacks choose to be Muslims but how come no one ever chooses to be Jewish?

I cannot provide stats----but there are lots of black converts to Judaism in my town -----they do not self ADVERTISE

You don't hear a lot about anyone white or black converting to Jewdaoism.

There are several predominantly African-American synagogues in the United States, such as Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation, which is a synagogue in Chicago, Illinois. The congregation leader of Beth Shalom is Rabbi Capers Funnye. Its assistant rabbis are Avraham Ben Israel and Joshua V. Salter.[12] The congregation, which has about 200 members, is mostly African American.[13][14] The congregation was started by Rabbi Horace Hasan from Bombay (now Mumbai), India, in 1918 as the Ethiopian Hebrew Settlement Workers Association,[15] and it was influenced by Wentworth Arthur Matthew's Commandment Keepers.[13][14]

I'll be damned

 

[irosie91]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but many atheists believe that “religious” people foolishly follow a book of rules, for baseless reasons. For example, because they were raised into a particular religion, or out of fear, or because they were duped into it.

In other words, they believe it’s foolish to live your life following "rules from a book" that was written thousands of years ago, by men. Some atheists also say that Christianity or other religions are simply about controlling people.

Here’s what I believe that atheists and agnostics simply don’t get.

I can't speak for all Christians, but for myself and the Christians that I know, we choose to follow Jesus not because we were raised in a Christian home (I wasn’t) or because we were duped into it (nobody tells me what to think, I have always been an independent thinker) or for other shallow, baseless reasons like that.

When it comes to either being our own boss, or living by God's ways…. the reason that born again Christians choose the latter is because we have been on both sides, and we have seen through life experience that living by God's ways is simply BETTER, wiser, and it WORKS, in a practical sense. There are other reasons as well, but this particular reason is what I wanted to focus on for this thread.

So to sum that up…. Between following the world’s ways or following God’s ways, for some of us we have learned through experience (sometimes the hard way) that the latter is absolutely BETTER and it leads to good things as opposed to bad things. It simply WORKS, even though it can be hard at times, in this fallen world.

I hope I explained that clearly. If it didn’t make sense, please let me know and feel free to share your thoughts!

I don't think anything of the sort. I think many of us know why you choose to follow Jesus/live by God's way and we support that. You don't live in a zoo. It's not like we haven't seen you folk before. You are not strange creatures. Also, it's not our business.

I simply can stop people from being jerks on the internet.

Well that's good. But I am curious to know what you meant when you said "many of us know why you choose to follow Jesus/live by God's way"

Btw, in the opening paragraph of this thread I purposely used the word "many" which of course means not all.

many of them don’t realize the psychological reasons why they believe In the unbelievable. The ones who do admit it’s wishful thinking and they just choose to believe.

Another thing. Isn’t it funny how in Utah everyone there claims they chose to be Mormons? And everyone in the Middle East chooses to be Muslim? And in the USA where the majority of us push Christianity, people tend to chose to be Christians. No some blacks choose to be Muslims but how come no one ever chooses to be Jewish?

I cannot provide stats----but there are lots of black converts to Judaism in my town -----they do not self ADVERTISE

You don't hear a lot about anyone white or black converting to Jewdaoism.

There are several predominantly African-American synagogues in the United States, such as Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation, which is a synagogue in Chicago, Illinois. The congregation leader of Beth Shalom is Rabbi Capers Funnye. Its assistant rabbis are Avraham Ben Israel and Joshua V. Salter.[12] The congregation, which has about 200 members, is mostly African American.[13][14] The congregation was started by Rabbi Horace Hasan from Bombay (now Mumbai), India, in 1918 as the Ethiopian Hebrew Settlement Workers Association,[15] and it was influenced by Wentworth Arthur Matthew's Commandment Keepers.[13][14]

I'll be damned

I have no idea how the "proportions" work out. There are african american converts even in Chassidic communities in New York State.-----in the general chassidic community-----not "segregated"

 

[sealybobo]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but many atheists believe that “religious” people foolishly follow a book of rules, for baseless reasons. For example, because they were raised into a particular religion, or out of fear, or because they were duped into it.

In other words, they believe it’s foolish to live your life following "rules from a book" that was written thousands of years ago, by men. Some atheists also say that Christianity or other religions are simply about controlling people.

Here’s what I believe that atheists and agnostics simply don’t get.

I can't speak for all Christians, but for myself and the Christians that I know, we choose to follow Jesus not because we were raised in a Christian home (I wasn’t) or because we were duped into it (nobody tells me what to think, I have always been an independent thinker) or for other shallow, baseless reasons like that.

When it comes to either being our own boss, or living by God's ways…. the reason that born again Christians choose the latter is because we have been on both sides, and we have seen through life experience that living by God's ways is simply BETTER, wiser, and it WORKS, in a practical sense. There are other reasons as well, but this particular reason is what I wanted to focus on for this thread.

So to sum that up…. Between following the world’s ways or following God’s ways, for some of us we have learned through experience (sometimes the hard way) that the latter is absolutely BETTER and it leads to good things as opposed to bad things. It simply WORKS, even though it can be hard at times, in this fallen world.

I hope I explained that clearly. If it didn’t make sense, please let me know and feel free to share your thoughts!

I don't think anything of the sort. I think many of us know why you choose to follow Jesus/live by God's way and we support that. You don't live in a zoo. It's not like we haven't seen you folk before. You are not strange creatures. Also, it's not our business.

I simply can stop people from being jerks on the internet.

Well that's good. But I am curious to know what you meant when you said "many of us know why you choose to follow Jesus/live by God's way"

Btw, in the opening paragraph of this thread I purposely used the word "many" which of course means not all.

many of them don’t realize the psychological reasons why they believe In the unbelievable. The ones who do admit it’s wishful thinking and they just choose to believe.

Another thing. Isn’t it funny how in Utah everyone there claims they chose to be Mormons? And everyone in the Middle East chooses to be Muslim? And in the USA where the majority of us push Christianity, people tend to chose to be Christians. No some blacks choose to be Muslims but how come no one ever chooses to be Jewish?

I cannot provide stats----but there are lots of black converts to Judaism in my town -----they do not self ADVERTISE

You don't hear a lot about anyone white or black converting to Jewdaoism.

There are several predominantly African-American synagogues in the United States, such as Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation, which is a synagogue in Chicago, Illinois. The congregation leader of Beth Shalom is Rabbi Capers Funnye. Its assistant rabbis are Avraham Ben Israel and Joshua V. Salter.[12] The congregation, which has about 200 members, is mostly African American.[13][14] The congregation was started by Rabbi Horace Hasan from Bombay (now Mumbai), India, in 1918 as the Ethiopian Hebrew Settlement Workers Association,[15] and it was influenced by Wentworth Arthur Matthew's Commandment Keepers.[13][14]

I'll be damned

I have no idea how the "proportions" work out. There are african american converts even in Chassidic communities in New York State.-----in the general chassidic community-----not "segregated"

 

[cnm]

There is only one Son of God.

Really?

The term “sons of God” occurs 10 times in the NASB. In the context of each occurrence, it means either angelic beings or people. It first occurs in Genesis 6:2 when it refers to the sons of God who took the daughters of men for wives. Their offspring were the Nephilim. So, in this context who were the sons of God? ​

What does it mean to be a child of God? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean to be a child of God? What does the Bible mean when it refers to someone as a child of God?

www.gotquestions.org

​

​

You know, I may have the misconception that Christians cherry pick as is convenient the parts of testaments they wish to believe.

 

[buttercup]

There is only one Son of God.

Really?

The term “sons of God” occurs 10 times in the NASB. In the context of each occurrence, it means either angelic beings or people. It first occurs in Genesis 6:2 when it refers to the sons of God who took the daughters of men for wives. Their offspring were the Nephilim. So, in this context who were the sons of God? ​

What does it mean to be a child of God? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean to be a child of God? What does the Bible mean when it refers to someone as a child of God?

www.gotquestions.org

​

​

You know, I may have the misconception that Christians cherry pick as is convenient the parts of testaments they wish to believe.

It appears you misunderstood his point. Those terms "son(s) of God" are used in very different contexts.

In the Old Testament, angels were called "sons of God." Why, likely because they were direct creations of God.

And in the New Testament, born again believers are called "sons (or daughters) of God" because when you come to Christ, you literally become an adopted son or daughter of God.

But in the context of what we were talking about (someone had asked "which Jesus" I follow), there is only ONE true "son of God", as daveman said, and that's Jesus, as written about in the New Testament. So yes, the term "son of God" is used in a few different ways, but the context in his post was specifically about deities, not other things.

 

[buttercup]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but many atheists believe that “religious” people foolishly follow a book of rules, for baseless reasons. For example, because they were raised into a particular religion, or out of fear, or because they were duped into it.

In other words, they believe it’s foolish to live your life following "rules from a book" that was written thousands of years ago, by men. Some atheists also say that Christianity or other religions are simply about controlling people.

Here’s what I believe that atheists and agnostics simply don’t get.

I can't speak for all Christians, but for myself and the Christians that I know, we choose to follow Jesus not because we were raised in a Christian home (I wasn’t) or because we were duped into it (nobody tells me what to think, I have always been an independent thinker) or for other shallow, baseless reasons like that.

When it comes to either being our own boss, or living by God's ways…. the reason that born again Christians choose the latter is because we have been on both sides, and we have seen through life experience that living by God's ways is simply BETTER, wiser, and it WORKS, in a practical sense. There are other reasons as well, but this particular reason is what I wanted to focus on for this thread.

So to sum that up…. Between following the world’s ways or following God’s ways, for some of us we have learned through experience (sometimes the hard way) that the latter is absolutely BETTER and it leads to good things as opposed to bad things. It simply WORKS, even though it can be hard at times, in this fallen world.

I hope I explained that clearly. If it didn’t make sense, please let me know and feel free to share your thoughts!

You're wrong....
I'm an atheist and I and many others see religion as a social club-------everyone needs something to believe in and wants to feel like they belong. The religion one chooses is usually the one that they were born into as they imprinted on as a child. It's hard to convince people who weren't brainwashed as kids that there are talking snakes and eating a magical knowledge fruit is somehow evil while a vicious punishing vindictive god is somehow good when he smites people all over the place.

You just reiterated what I said in the opening post. The only thing you said differently was that you think it's a "social club" - but that too confirms my point that many atheists think that practicing Christians live their life following rules for baseless or lame reasons (such as being born into a religion, or being "brainwashed", etc.)

So I'm not sure where you're claiming I was wrong, when you basically reiterated what I said, just in different words.

 

[buttercup]

Clearing up a misconception atheists have about practicing Christians
… we have seen through life experience that living by God's ways is simply BETTER, wiser, and it WORKS, in a practical sense

No. True Christianity is not something that requires so much "practice" or "work."

The Commandments "thou shalt not" are about not doing things that ought not to be done.

Cain was a laborer who tilled the ground and cultivated the soil, until he found opportunity when they were out in the field to murder his brother Abel.

You completely misunderstood. That's not even remotely near what I was saying.

Read the first post again. Thanks!

 

[buttercup]

The problem with a lot of Christians is that they do not have faith that their fellow humans will come to their own truth on their own, just as they did. They appear to believe that no one will come to their own realizations concerning this reality and other planes of existence without help. There is a beast within us that insists that others share its opinions about the unseen; that would be the ego.

The ego is the only part of the beast that believes in forgiveness because it believes it is guilty by virtue of being born.

If you're talking about evangelism...Please keep in mind that it was Jesus who said to go out into all the world and share the good news. We are TOLD to share our story, to anyone who's willing to listen. But He also said that if people will not listen or be welcoming, then turn around, leave and "shake the dust off your feet." (Matthew 10:14)

 

[buttercup]

Generally speaking, atheists don't want their misconceptions about Christians corrected.

Atheists have their own dogma which they follow religiously.

It’s called common sense, logic, reason.

Logic itself points to God. But that's totally off topic, so I won't even get into that here. This thread is not about atheism vs theism, it's about clearing up the reasons why many of us choose to (try to) live according to God's ways rather than the ways of this world.

 

[irosie91]

There is only one Son of God.

Really?

The term “sons of God” occurs 10 times in the NASB. In the context of each occurrence, it means either angelic beings or people. It first occurs in Genesis 6:2 when it refers to the sons of God who took the daughters of men for wives. Their offspring were the Nephilim. So, in this context who were the sons of God? ​

What does it mean to be a child of God? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean to be a child of God? What does the Bible mean when it refers to someone as a child of God?

www.gotquestions.org

​

​

You know, I may have the misconception that Christians cherry pick as is convenient the parts of testaments they wish to believe.

It appears you misunderstood his point. Those terms "son(s) of God" are used in very different contexts.

In the Old Testament, angels were called "sons of God." Why, likely because they were direct creations of God.

And in the New Testament, born again believers are called "sons (or daughters) of God" because when you come to Christ, you literally become an adopted son or daughter of God.

But in the context of what we were talking about (someone had asked "which Jesus" I follow), there is only ONE true "son of God", as daveman said, and that's Jesus, as written about in the New Testament. So yes, the term "son of God" is used in a few different ways, but the context in his post was specifically about deities, not other things.

I did not know----can you cite just WHERE in the OT
"angels" are called "sons of God" ?

 

[cnm]

there is only ONE true "son of God", as daveman said,

But he didn't say that. His post is still there.

That's another misconception I have about Christians, that they'll deliberately change text or the meaning of text to fit in with beliefs they favour.

 

[marvin martian]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but many atheists believe that “religious” people foolishly follow a book of rules, for baseless reasons. For example, because they were raised into a particular religion, or out of fear, or because they were duped into it.

In other words, they believe it’s foolish to live your life following "rules from a book" that was written thousands of years ago, by men. Some atheists also say that Christianity or other religions are simply about controlling people.

Here’s what I believe that atheists and agnostics simply don’t get.

I can't speak for all Christians, but for myself and the Christians that I know, we choose to follow Jesus not because we were raised in a Christian home (I wasn’t) or because we were duped into it (nobody tells me what to think, I have always been an independent thinker) or for other shallow, baseless reasons like that.

When it comes to either being our own boss, or living by God's ways…. the reason that born again Christians choose the latter is because we have been on both sides, and we have seen through life experience that living by God's ways is simply BETTER, wiser, and it WORKS, in a practical sense. There are other reasons as well, but this particular reason is what I wanted to focus on for this thread.

So to sum that up…. Between following the world’s ways or following God’s ways, for some of us we have learned through experience (sometimes the hard way) that the latter is absolutely BETTER and it leads to good things as opposed to bad things. It simply WORKS, even though it can be hard at times, in this fallen world.

I hope I explained that clearly. If it didn’t make sense, please let me know and feel free to share your thoughts!

Keep in mind most atheists also believe politicians have the power to change the weather by collecting more taxes. These aren't intelligent people we're dealing with, generally.