Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
The god colluded with man's lies.I don't think we have a meeting point here. For example, I believe the Beatitudes should be taken literally. I believe the Lord's Prayer should be taken literally.
I do believe not everything should be taken literally, and I do believe the Bible was written by man, but inspired by God.
None of it applies without the belief in and the acceptance of the 'creation' myth.Deism is the belief in a Supreme Being who does not intervene. That is not my experience of God. God cares deeply about each one of us. This does not mean He intervenes constantly or even consistently. Some things are what they are. Other things can use a helping hand. God is not a genii to command or use for a wish. There is so much more to the Almighty than that.
A better starting point is the account of creation which perfectly matches what science tells us now.I'll propose that to be our starting point.
Atheists aren't required to make a positive case for anything. And neither can we prove a negative.Exactly. A belief about nothing. A negation of a belief. Which is why you can't make a positive case for atheism. It's impossible to prove a negative. At least it is for you anyway.
Possibly? For me 'probably'.It's not an accident or a coincidence that life and intelligence arose. It was literally predestined to happen through the laws of nature. So, it's not a coincidence that life and intelligence arose. It was only a matter of time.
No. It wasn't intended to be taken literally. It's an allegorical account which is amazingly accurate. They correctly stated in an allegorical fashion that matter came before light 6,000 years before science confirmed it. In fact, I am willing to bet you didn't know that when the universe was created it was dark as there was no light until radiation decoupled from matter which was about 400,000 years after space and time were created.Tell me? Was 'creation' not intended to be taken literally?
Prayer and reading the Bible and anything else I could understand. I would say prayer and worship paved the way. The third thing was trying my best to be a servant of God. Another Bible verse: Discern the will of God and follow it."How did you seek? What did you do?
I'm confident of my ability to understand any explanation you can offer.
Thank you for proving my point. Atheism is an intellectual dead end for exactly those reasons. My faith isn't an intellectual dead end as it required me to investigate the claim that God created the universe from nothing.Atheists aren't required to make a positive case for anything. And neither can we prove a negative.
This discussion is definitely above your mental pay grade.
Possibly? For me 'probably'.
Probably for Richard Dawkins too.
I warned you that this is above your pay grade!
That is a textbook example of the dunning effect.This discussion is definitely above your mental pay grade.
There is no 'prayer' that can be said to be expecting nothing in return.Serving God, expecting nothing in return was a big part. Paying attention, another part.
Incorrect. You don't know the purpose of prayer. The practical application of prayer is to alter the fabric of one's identity. The structure of prayer matters. Giving thanks and giving praise puts one in a thankful state of mind which has been scientifically proven to be one of the key behaviors of reaching a state of happiness. When we are happy two things will happen; dopamine will be released which gives us that happy feeling and all of the learning centers of the brain get turned on.There is no 'prayer' that can be said to be expecting nothing in return.
All of man's needs are selfish by definition.
Do you want to take it to the next level up?
Sure. Militant Atheism is a religion. The religious nature of militant atheism explains their hostility towards traditional religions which is that of one rival religion over another. Their dogma is based on materialism, primitive instincts, atheism and the deification of man. They see no distinction between good and evil, no morality or any other kind of value, save pleasure. They practice moral relativity, indiscriminate indiscriminateness, multiculturalism, cultural Marxism and normalization of deviance. They worship science but are the first to reject it when it suits their purposes. They can be identified by an external locus of control. Their religious doctrine is abolition of private property, abolition of family, abolition of religion and equality via uniformity and communal ownership. They practice critical theory which is the Cultural Marxist theory to criticize what they do not believe to arrive at what they do believe without ever having to examine what they believe. They confuse critical theory for critical thinking. Critical thinking is the practice of challenging what one does believe to test its validity. Something militant atheists never do.All of man's needs are selfish by definition.
Do you want to take it to the next level up?
Yes, that's the gratification being sought from prayer.The structure of prayer matters. Giving thanks and giving praise puts one in a thankful state of mind which has been scientifically proven to be one of the key behaviors of reaching a state of happiness.
I came to know MANY gods as a young child, as my best friend and his family were devout Hindus.Two thoughts to address: The first is how did you come to know God, and to have faith in God?
The second: Specifically what made you decide there is no God to know? What caused you to stop exploring the possibility?
As frequent posters here may know, I first came to know about God in children's Little Golden Books. At that young age, getting to know about God made me insistent that knowing about God wasn't enough. Abraham, Noah, Moses had their experiences, and I wanted mine. Little Golden Books started me out, and my own stubbornness and persistence took it from there.
Why did you continue...or, why did you give up?
Atheists have nothing in common with each other, except refusing to believe in one god. Yahweh.Sure. Militant Atheism is a religion.
Your politics are off-topic, to which I'm forbidden to reply.The religious nature of militant atheism explains their hostility towards traditional religions which is that of one rival religion over another. Their dogma is based on materialism, primitive instincts, atheism and the deification of man. They see no distinction between good and evil, no morality or any other kind of value, save pleasure. They practice moral relativity, indiscriminate indiscriminateness, multiculturalism, cultural Marxism and normalization of deviance. They worship science but are the first to reject it when it suits their purposes. They can be identified by an external locus of control. Their religious doctrine is abolition of private property, abolition of family, abolition of religion and equality via uniformity and communal ownership. They practice critical theory which is the Cultural Marxist theory to criticize what they do not believe to arrive at what they do believe without ever having to examine what they believe. They confuse critical theory for critical thinking. Critical thinking is the practice of challenging what one does believe to test its validity. Something militant atheists never do.
You never learned ACTS as the forms of conversational prayer?There is no 'prayer' that can be said to be expecting nothing in return.
Isaiah 6:8 - Here I am Lord, send me.Do you want to take it to the next level up?
When the Bible said god ordered those genocides, nothing was said about diseases. If you have to make up unsupported excuses to justify tour religious beliefs, are those beliefs worth having? All we have to indicate what god supposedly said is the bible. It's pretty specific what he intended. Again, if you have to make up unsupported excuses to justify your religion, is it worth having? Of course the people wanted the land and and convinced themselves god was ok with them going against everything the bible said about compassion, mercy, and fair treatment. That is exactly the same way that today's Christians convince themselves that god is ok with them going against everything the bible said about compassion, mercy, and fair treatment.There are a few theories behind this. Judaism notes the serious disease and maladies (no antibiotics then) that could spread and harm other populations. The Israelites were commanded to act for the greater good of all nations.
Another: God was communicating, "End this behavior" and humans interpreted the command as "Get rid of the people."
Next: People, being what we are, wanted the goods, land, and wealth of another community, and convinced themselves God was okay with them demolishing the people and taking over their possessions.
In all interpretations, we contrast what humanity did and compare it to more loving, kind, merciful, just, and disciplined actions. We know how humanity should behave...did we reach the ideal?
Not making up a thing. This is all Biblical Commentaries that I shared with you. There is no command that you believe any Rabbi, scholar, commentator, or study.If you have to make up
So the biblical commentaries are making that shit up. All we have is the bible to describe what god does, and why. None of that other shit is in the bible.Not making up a thing. This is all Biblical Commentaries that I shared with you. There is no command that you believe any Rabbi, scholar, commentator, or study.
Biblical commentaries often use historical and anthropological information not available in the Bible. Usually, those who wish to get snarky about these things point out that the Bible "copied" from available historical and anthropological of that time. People who are interested in a particular time or event enjoy gathering material from all sources available. It is called research.So the biblical commentaries
