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if religious folk could just be more straightforward and honest.. wowzah.. Might even help solve vasuderatorrent's dilemma!
This is not a good look for you but it's your mistake to make. Behaviors are not like a light switch. They can't be turned on and off easily. But whatever consequences come from it, are for you and your family. The law of compensation never sleeps. It's very Darwinian like that.if religious folk could just be more straightforward and honest.. wowzah.. Might even help solve vasuderatorrent's dilemma!
God has called me to be an atheist and I do not plan to let Him down. My dilemma is comfortable to me. I’m not so sure that I need any help. I plan to love the Lord thy God with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind. I trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not to my own understanding. That is why God is directing my paths in the way of atheistic thought. I know it sounds contradictory and makes no sense but I trust in the Lord. I am under no obligation to understand it or even try to understand. God has a job for me and I’m going to do it. God has called me to be an atheist and I do not plan to let Him down.
You may ask me how I know this. Just because.
I do think you are are angry. You ''read'' angry toward those who don't believe in your religion. I think you make the mistake of assuming that those who don't shard your religious belief are somehow deficient. I do find some arrogance in that believers are often quick to point out that their conception of their religious belief is true and inerrant in comparison to the conceptions of others.That's just it. I am not angry--no reason for me to be. I am curious as to your demeaning manner towards those who believe.On the other hand, while you may be angry with people who don’t believe as you do, there is a clear argument to be made for others reaching a conclusion that supernaturalism lacks reason and rationality.
Fair enough. I'm now understanding better how Calvinists such as yourself tend to scare the bejesus out of other God botherers[sic] in general. It saddens me that atheism doesn't satisfy your apparent requirements because you certainly seem bright and educated enough to finally let all that silly childishness go and start living your own life for a change. Waste of a good mind, if you will.if religious folk could just be more straightforward and honest.. wowzah.. Might even help solve vasuderatorrent's dilemma!
God has called me to be an atheist and I do not plan to let Him down. My dilemma is comfortable to me. I’m not so sure that I need any help. I plan to love the Lord thy God with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind. I trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not to my own understanding. That is why God is directing my paths in the way of atheistic thought. I know it sounds contradictory and makes no sense but I trust in the Lord. I am under no obligation to understand it or even try to understand. God has a job for me and I’m going to do it. God has called me to be an atheist and I do not plan to let Him down.
You may ask me how I know this. Just because.
Letting silly childishness go and living your life by discussing God. Like that?Fair enough. I'm now understanding better how Calvinists such as yourself tend to scare the bejesus out of other God botherers[sic] in general. It saddens me that atheism doesn't satisfy your apparent requirements because you certainly seem bright and educated enough to finally let all that silly childishness go and start living your own life for a change. Waste of a good mind, if you will.if religious folk could just be more straightforward and honest.. wowzah.. Might even help solve vasuderatorrent's dilemma!
God has called me to be an atheist and I do not plan to let Him down. My dilemma is comfortable to me. I’m not so sure that I need any help. I plan to love the Lord thy God with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind. I trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not to my own understanding. That is why God is directing my paths in the way of atheistic thought. I know it sounds contradictory and makes no sense but I trust in the Lord. I am under no obligation to understand it or even try to understand. God has a job for me and I’m going to do it. God has called me to be an atheist and I do not plan to let Him down.
You may ask me how I know this. Just because.
Imo, religion simply remains an extremely lazy tool. Perfect for busy parents to quickly grab and use to easily manipulate their kids into compliance with minimal guilt, because societies have generally approved it for such usage. The cycle then naturally repeats all the way up to mutually assured destruction. Childishness. Immaturity writ large.
But it is what it is. They'll be no do overs having so thoroughly addicted ourselves to grabbing and using it willy nilly, so now what? How to make the best of this bad situation? Arguably, it does still help many with alcoholism and other drug addictions, tending to be less self-destructive. Maybe?.. I don't know. FFRF seems always ready and designed to help if you ever change your mind. I consider myself fortunate to have never needed it, having had parents who never grabbed for the religion bludgeon, but FFRF has helped me stay calm upon occasion
Christianity is about electing to enter the Kingdom of God (begins in this life, extends to the next). Hell is electing to deliberately reject God and to remain separated from Him. (Also begins in this life and extends to the next). I was taught this applies to Christians--those who have known God and His ways and then reject both. It does not apply to those who never chose Christianity to begin with. They are in the hands of a loving God, though they, too, will have a chance to reject God if that is their desire.You never heard of heaven or hell being themes in Christianity?
The majority of Christians are intent in remaining within the Kingdom of God in this life; heaven will take care of itself. It is a place of many dwelling places, and all are welcome.
Why would you use the terms ''holy ground or sacred places'' which have religious connotations? I think you’re making a break from “reasoning” when you claim that the non-religious have space dedicated as ''holy ground or sacred places''. How, exactly, would that apply to the non-religious? I'm not aware that any of the non-religious have a specific place (a ''not holy, not sacred place'') where they gather to ''not believe'' and ''not seek rewards from the gods''.You don't respect your choice? You have no wish for anyone else to respect or understand your choice?I wasn’t aware that atheists have holy ground or sacred places.
Whereas I always believed that atheism is an intellectually lazy tool. There's nothing intellectual about criticizing the beliefs of others to arrive at your beliefs without ever examining your beliefs. That's just plain lazy.Imo, religion simply remains an extremely lazy tool.
The authors of the Bible have a different opinion about who attends that eternal party in heaven. It's a rather exclusive club with identifiable requirements.Christianity is about electing to enter the Kingdom of God (begins in this life, extends to the next). Hell is electing to deliberately reject God and to remain separated from Him. (Also begins in this life and extends to the next). I was taught this applies to Christians--those who have known God and His ways and then reject both. It does not apply to those who never chose Christianity to begin with. They are in the hands of a loving God, though they, too, will have a chance to reject God if that is their desire.You never heard of heaven or hell being themes in Christianity?
The majority of Christians are intent in remaining within the Kingdom of God in this life; heaven will take care of itself. It is a place of many dwelling places, and all are welcome.
That is not forcing you to do anything. That is someone's opinion.It has happened to me in this thread. I’m supposed believe in God just because I am dumb if I don’t. It’s not strong coercion but in real life sociological forces are much stronger.
.Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Are you pretending you believe in Jesus now? Pretending a belief is not being yourself. Being accepting of ourselves as we truly are is always a freeing experience. It opens doors to opportunities to be who we truly are and what we can do to create the best possible version of that self. If you are saying you will just pretend to believe in Jesus because that will satisfy others, you might consider a quote a stumbled across a long time ago: He who whittles himself to suit others soon whittles himself away.Eventually, I know I will end up giving in and just pretending that I believe in Jesus. It would make my life 1 million times better anyways. Mind as well.
As I have mentioned before, Hollie, you project what isn't there. I know what I believe, what my own experiences are. I am interested in what others believe and why they believe it. That is how I learn, how I grow.I do think you are are angry. You ''read'' angry toward those who don't believe in your religion. I think you make the mistake of assuming that those who don't shard your religious belief are somehow deficient. I do find some arrogance in that believers are often quick to point out that their conception of their religious belief is true and inerrant in comparison to the conceptions of others.
Has anyone ever tried to make you feel less because you are an atheist? This occasionally happens to atheists in my family. Holy ground, sacred place is where they stand, who they are. No belief is not a reason to assert that by definition, something needs to be fixed, and they are just the ones to fix it. It is about simple respect. People shouldn't go to a Chinese Temple, Native American Holy Ground, Synagogue, or Mosque and begin telling people of other beliefs how wrong they are.Why would you use the terms ''holy ground or sacred places'' which have religious connotations? I think you’re making a break from “reasoning” when you claim that the non-religious have space dedicated as ''holy ground or sacred places''. How, exactly, would that apply to the non-religious? I'm not aware that any of the non-religious have a specific place (a ''not holy, not sacred place'') where they gather to ''not believe'' and ''not seek rewards from the gods''.
This seems odd. If you don't believe Christianity is true, why be a Christian? To suggest I am telling you what you believe is something of a projection on your part. When you make statements about heaven, for example, being a ''place of many dwelling places, and all are welcome.'', that is in contradiction to what can be found in the Bible. You may believe that but it is not consistent with what is in the Bible.As I have mentioned before, Hollie, you project what isn't there. I know what I believe, what my own experiences are. I am interested in what others believe and why they believe it. That is how I learn, how I grow.I do think you are are angry. You ''read'' angry toward those who don't believe in your religion. I think you make the mistake of assuming that those who don't shard your religious belief are somehow deficient. I do find some arrogance in that believers are often quick to point out that their conception of their religious belief is true and inerrant in comparison to the conceptions of others.
What quickly bores me is when others tell me what I "really" believe. I know what I believe and people who think they know what I "really" believe always get it wrong. They have created their own version of me in their own mind and are no longer even communicating with me, but someone of their own making. Since I have never pointed out my conception of religion is true and inerrant, I can never have been quick to point it out. Again, this is a projection on your part.
If someone gets something wrong (the Pope is infallible is an example), I will explain how Catholics define "infallible". No emotion involved, just facts being presented.
I do not know why you are associating me with threatening hell or making claims about a true and inerrant religion. I do neither, have never done either--not on line anywhere; not in real life. If you could clear your mind of this...
Hello, I am Meriweather. I enjoy hearing about other people's beliefs I am blessed (lucky) to come from a family of atheists, Christians, Buddhism, Judaism where we all enjoy discussing how we believe and why we came to our beliefs--and how they enrich our lives and make living more enjoyable.
When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God, he wasn't speaking of the afterlife, but a way of living this life. Remember the verse where he said sinners and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God ahead of religious leaders? Jesus often said, "The Kingdom of God is at hand", meaning within the reach of everyone, right now.John 3:3 - Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
That is ultimately the point of the faith (rewards in an afterlife) and the promise of religion in the first place! And my overwhelming experience is that believers find it very easy to believe because the dynamic of the belief system promises some future association with the god or gods and it is a soothing balm for your concerns about mortality.
That is ultimately the point of the faith (rewards in an afterlife) and the promise of religion in the first place! And my overwhelming experience is that believers find it very easy to believe because the dynamic of the belief system promises some future association with the god or gods and it is a soothing balm for your concerns about mortality.
Where are these holy grounds and sacred places where atheists stand? You have made that statement before and I am not aware of what ground is holy or sacred to a non-believer. There is an obvious religious connotation to the the terms holy and sacred so such terms seen misplaced.Has anyone ever tried to make you feel less because you are an atheist? This occasionally happens to atheists in my family. Holy ground, sacred place is where they stand, who they are. No belief is not a reason to assert that by definition, something needs to be fixed, and they are just the ones to fix it. It is about simple respect. People shouldn't go to a Chinese Temple, Native American Holy Ground, Synagogue, or Mosque and begin telling people of other beliefs how wrong they are.Why would you use the terms ''holy ground or sacred places'' which have religious connotations? I think you’re making a break from “reasoning” when you claim that the non-religious have space dedicated as ''holy ground or sacred places''. How, exactly, would that apply to the non-religious? I'm not aware that any of the non-religious have a specific place (a ''not holy, not sacred place'') where they gather to ''not believe'' and ''not seek rewards from the gods''.
Figurative speech. The same respect should be given atheists. They are not wrong.
That may be your subjective interpretation but the verse from the Bible is in contradiction to your interpretation. What is your basis for such absolute authority on the matter?When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God, he wasn't speaking of the afterlife, but a way of living this life. Remember the verse where he said sinners and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God ahead of religious leaders? Jesus often said, "The Kingdom of God is at hand", meaning within the reach of everyone, right now.John 3:3 - Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
That is ultimately the point of the faith (rewards in an afterlife) and the promise of religion in the first place! And my overwhelming experience is that believers find it very easy to believe because the dynamic of the belief system promises some future association with the god or gods and it is a soothing balm for your concerns about mortality.
The Kingdom of God is eternal (as opposed to an eternity after death). It is always present, always within reach.
