I grew up atheist for 16 years. I had always kept an open mind towards religion, but never really felt a need to believe in it. My sister started going to a Wednesday night children's program at a church. Eventually, I was dragged into a Christmas Eve service. Scoffing, I reluctantly went, assuming that this was going to be a load of crap, but when I went, I felt something. Something that I've never felt before. I felt a sense of empowerment and a sense of calling. Jesus called upon my soul, just like he did with his disciples. he wanted me to follow him. Now, my life is being lived for Christ. He died on the cross for my sins, and the sins of everyone who believes in him. He was beaten, brutalized, struck with a whip 39 times, made to carry a cross up to the stage of his death. This I believe to be true, and I can never repay him for what he has done. I still have my struggles with Christianity, but I've found this bit of information most useful. Religion is not comprehensible in the human mind, because we cannot comprehend the idea of a perfect and supreme being, a God, but we can believe it in our heart, and that's the idea of faith. Faith is, even though everything rides against me believing in Jesus, I still believe in him because I know that it's true in my heart. I invite my fellow Brothers and sisters of the LORD to talk about how Jesus has helped you in your life. No atheists and no insults please
Yes, the world could really do without all those charity groups.
I'd prefer if people were being charitable becasue they were good people who saw trouble in the world, not because they are obligated by some guy in another dimension with a riding crop and a gavel.
Nobody wants to think of not existing after they die, except for some weirdies.
I'd be perfectly fine with that to be honest. I have seen how indecent people are these days, and I can personally tell you that if there was a hell, the majority of people on earth is already sentenced there. would you rather see a bunch of people suffer around you while you are getting branded like a cattle by some demon with a flaming rod of iron, or would you rather have all of your lifes problems gone.
I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather rot in the ground now, than be sentenced to a place that punishes people for even minor lapses of human nature.
That's telling someone they're wrong, telling them what they beleive is a load of horse****, basically telling them what to believe, what NOT to believe.
No, it's not. I never once have said, "You shouldn't believe in -insert- and should instead be an Atheist."
I take a look at their argument/beliefs, and tell them (if they bring up the subject in the first place) what I find to be logically wrong with it, or unsupported.
Athiest: But what do YOU believe? I honestly care to know. ^debate.
not a debate. It's an argument.
Sorta/kinda. That's more like casually talking. You seem to be thinking talking = debate, and when you start trying to take down the other side that = argument. A debate IS an argument, it's just civil. Civil as in, you're not jumping across the table to strangle the other person, or just spitting out flagrant names. I'm not saying this hasn't occurred here, but for the most part these are debates.
Flat Earth was most definitely a religious claim. This is why the church initially opposed the findings of a spherical Earth.
Don't forget Geo-centrism either. That too was supported by the church, supposedly told to be truth from the bible. Oh wait...what church (mainstream) teaches that the earth is the center of the universe? None.
I'd prefer if people were being charitable becasue they were good people who saw trouble in the world
+1 to this. I've mentioned this before but I may as well repeat myself. This is one instance of how, on average, a non religious person has more developed morals/better morals than the average religious person. Someone who does the right thing because it is right, not because of fear or hope of an afterlife, or an obligation demanded of them by their religion, is far more virtuous.
Somehow, I couldn't take security in something I could see, and have.
So you wouldn't see if your house is locked giving you the feeling of security that it will help prevent a break in? You don't take a feeling of security in your parents or guardian being there to support you in any way? You don't take any security in that anti-virus program will prevent your computer from getting thrashed by viruses while you surf the internet? You don't take security in friends who will support you? You don't take any feeling of security that there are police officers keeping patrol for criminals that could harm you? You don't take security in knowing that if your house catches fire you are just one call away from someone who can help put that fire out?
That wouldn't secure my faith that if I was a good little ****er, I would go to a better place when i died.
Your faith shouldn't be secured, it should be let go of. Your just believing in something that is unsupported based on nothing but wishful thinking.
Which is the point, yes? Nobody wants to think of not existing after they die, except for some weirdies.
It's in the here and now we can take meaning. For it's in the here and now that we are alive and can experience this wonderful universe around us.
As for nobody wants to think life just ends I say. Tough Noogies
It's in the here and now we can take meaning. For it's in the here and now that we are alive and can experience this wonderful universe around us.
adding to that, it is the reason so many of us say "life is too short to...". it is because we have only one life, and wasting our time hoping for a 2nd one will only end with us wasting our only one.
*walks back in* Alright. What do we have here? *looks at AfterBurner's comments* ... *facedesk* *walks back out*
Stephenking, please, either add to the conversation or just don't comment. It's getting annoying to see you just do the "walks in" "walks out" thing and never saying anything.
Could someone who's religious please explain how, if there was no afterlife, that would devalue life?
Could someone who's religious please explain how, if there was no afterlife, that would devalue life?
I doubt that we will get anybody new for another while. burner didn't fare very well, what makes you think other christians will step up to take the challenge of taking you and MGW on.
What are the chances that we have come to exist in this world? Some scientests say we are really, really lucky to have existed. Some say that that the only way we could have existed is from God, because it is nearly impossible for us to have existed. People Become surprised when they find out how lucky they are to have existed in this world. Some end up believing in God and some just stay athiest.
yes, we learned that quite a while ago with your foolish notions of how god works, and what a christian really is. perhaps you can give us something better than repetion of the phrase "the bible is the absolute truth". I would really appreciate it if you can prove it, and not spout out ignorant, and outrageous claims.
who's gonna make me?
one of the many mods who run this site while the admins do their work. take your pick as to which one, but chances are, you will land with freakenstein, the one who is most likely to reprimand you for spouting spam.
Being as people are just waiting for you to say something useful, simply enough, I'm going to go on a little bit of a tangent.
How many wars or conflicts could be attributed to religion? The main two I'm thinking of is the Crusades -- a military forwarding into the Middle East, that was politically sanctioned with supposed religious purposes. Then they used their countrymen's faith to recruit them into the army, where they would spend their days learning to kill and they would be killed.
Your benevolent God said nothing about this, by the way. So either he was applauding your leaderhip's gall to be so disgustingly deceitful and amoral, or he actuall did disapprove and couldn't be bothered doing anything. Good guy.
The second is more or less greed by humans -- the Hundred Years' War. It's based on a hierarchy that highlights the King as God's Messenger. People would use their followers to eliminate the opposition, so that they could be considered such. Tell me how that makes much sense.
There are plenty of other possibilities involved -- I could mention Mytholgy at this point since it's been just as proven (as in, it hasn't been) and bares powerful figures. Funnily enough, they actually did things in the stories.
If you're going to enter a discussion, express your point and the reasons why -- valid reasons. Having the honestly pathetic attitude of "Who's going to make me?" makes you look, well, pathetic.
Some scientests say we are really, really lucky to have existed. Some say that that the only way we could have existed is from God, because it is nearly impossible for us to have existed.
You left out a group. Other scientists say that 'life is not a miracle unique to our earth, but a chemical inevitability also occuring elsewhere in the universe'.
Strikes me as weird thinking about it, that christians, who assume without questioning that there is a god and that this is perfectly probable, ask about the probability of the contrary to try to make it sound ridicule. But they'd never dare to ask the same questions about their own belief..
You left out a group. Other scientists say that 'life is not a miracle unique to our earth, but a chemical inevitability also occuring elsewhere in the universe'.
The group which was left out is by far the larger. For evolution...
