Autodidact
Intentionally Blank
And who are you?
Autodidact. Is there something specific you wanted to know?
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And who are you?
I'm afraid that would do more to confirm his current position than alter it. I'm much happier now that I'm missing out on that experience than when I wasn't.Visit a Southern Baptist church sometime. You'll see what you are missing out on.
You really don't have to...Hardened faith? Actually I am a man of little faith. I trust bridges and buildings because I have to. I trust people like the police and firemen and doctors because I have to.
You know. Wow.As for God and the universe, faith never comes into it. I know.
Tell you what.Maybe next time, instead of your tired old rant that avoids answering the question (you remember the OP don't you?) you could just say "I'd rather not answer it at this time".
I answered:What is the reason you don't believe in God?
I replied:Or the reason you're not absolutely positively sure God exists?
Again, poor projection on your part. I have no interests in constraining your views or opinions. If you are "intimidated" by strident and sustained rebuttals to those expressed opinions...that is your own personal challenge to overcome.You're not impressing anyone with your insults and you are never going to intimidate me. Ever.
And...?We all have something happening to us every millisecond of our existence? Yes we do but we don't all handle it the same way. Some men cower in battle, others charge ahead. It's the same battle.
Nope.You can measure gravity? It seems you need to be able to predict something in order to believe in it.
Maybe if your god wasn't so determinedly "unfathomable" and "surpassing all understanding" (or just conveniently invisible and omnipresent/omniscient), even low grade morons and egotistically-driven, self-ingratiating apostates like myself could prospectively shed our stubborn "denials" of such a plainly evident god. So maybe there's hope for me yet...You need to understand it to a level that you feel is acceptable. So, since you don't understand God, since you can't comprehend how or why, you refuse to believe.
My bad. I confess that I did not read though all 80 some pages of this thread before I lent my direct answer to your OP. Perhaps you would do me the courtesy of referencing your relevant post.Glaring omission? Sigh... I posted where God came from long ago in this thread.
You presume much in your enlightenment. I have made no claims of "insightful knowledge" or "truth". I have not claimed that your god does not exist. I have, point in fact, invited you (at least twice now) to better understand my own perspective (in another referenced thread), and welcomed you to comment/rebut within same. Within that thread (and OP), I detail exactly what I would require to "believe" in (either) your particularly claimed god...or any other claimed god(s). Perhaps the "answer" you seek (from me) might be found there...You make claims without even attempting to find the answers. Something made you very stubborn, so much that you have to be provided everything, you can't and won't find or discover anything yourself.
I have adequately demonstrated (with verbatim quotation) that your insistent allegation in this regard remains as repeated error on your part.Now you want me to answer questions when you refuse to answer the OP?
I think I can say, with a fair amount of certitude...that your "example" is beggared and deficient, and irrelevant to the "discourse" that has transpired between us. I have never suggested that you should "forget about" your god, which would, in and of itself, presuppose that your god is/was an existent entity.I'll give you an example instead: A mother loses her young son in a terrible accident. There is nothing she could have done to prevent it yet she still feels guilty. A year later she is still having trouble dealing with her loss and a foolish man tells her "He's gone. Just forget about the boy like he never existed". Do you think it is possible for her to forget about something she knows absolutely positively without a doubt?
Really?God promises nothing.
You misunderstand...again. Your god plays no role in my confronting personal choices and accepting accountability for the subsequent outcomes that result from those choices. I have "built my own universe"--in a manner of speaking--and your god played no part in it's "creation". If He (It?) doesn't like it...tough.If you don't like it, tough... build your own universe then.
OK...but I don't think I'll be around by then to appreciate that predicted discovery.Is there scientific method to detect spiritual energy? You're not there yet, give it another 80 years or so.
Oh, I see...because...you know.Can unbelievers experience this energy? Just as everyone else, we all experience it we just don't realize it.
Is this even remotely relevant to your previous (unfounded) claim above?Why do you think people crave power? Having control over others gives them a boost.
Cool. Three "intentional" questions...You intentionally misunderstood. God does not heal anyone, people give their energy to others when they pray for them. PEOPLE! Not God.
So...shall I infer then that illness and death result from inadequacies attributed to insufficient (or absent) prayerful transferrals of "spiritual energy"? Does modern medicine, or personal lifestyle habits, or a bazillion other randomly occurring daily events have any bearing on an individual's health or longevity?I also said you cannot always make others well and you chose to read it as saying that faith can heal all ailments.
Because the claim was inherently worthy of sardonic punctuation.Now why would you twist it around like that?
Source: Christian Science MonitorThe Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP), published online March 30 [2006] by the American Heart Journal, showed no positive effect from the use of third-party intercessory prayer on behalf of patients undergoing a specific type of heart surgery at six medical centers around the United States when compared with a control group who were not prayed for as part of the study.
Another unexpected result: Patients who knew they were being prayed for had somewhat more medical complications than another group who also had received prayer but were uncertain as to whether they had or not. Researchers had expected the reverse outcome.
Gee, thanks doc. Perhaps, if we have a few more "sessions" like this one, I'll find myself back on the path to full recovery from my condition of denial and self-deceipt. Why feel "safe" in my comforting 'denials" of your god, when I could be properly fearful instead?What would you be afraid of? You are afraid of that which you do not understand so you don't believe in those things and it makes you feel safe.
I don't know.To learn what? All there is to learn. Think of yourself as God. You are supreme in the void. Just you and nothingness. It's big and very quiet, forever. Wouldn't you create something?
Oh brother.If God did not exist then believer's promote a cheap lie? Visit a Southern Baptist church sometime. You'll see what you are missing out on.
Oh my. I'm cut to the quick, and hurt beyond repair.What standards do I require? Respect would be nice but you can't return it because you get none in life.
Not at all. I find you a poor foil in reasoned debate, but "disgust" is not an estimable conclusion that I have enjoined...not yet.You like to act toward others as your students act towards you, with disgust.
This reminds me of two Biblical proverbs...Your natural capacity for free thought is what keeps you from believing in God? Nope, you're just afraid of being a fool.
I'd guess the number one reason is because people see bad things happening all around them and can't understand why God would allow it to happen.
What you point to as evidence, and this is a common misconception by theists, is what everyone experiences no matter what they believe. We all experience this world and universe. We all experience "good" and "bad" things, etc. The difference is that you think it's evidence of something else. It's not. Just because a guy doesn't have a wife doesn't mean he's gay. It simply means he doesn't have a wife. Just because the world is here doesn't mean some intelligent force made i this way. There are plenty of other equally and more logical explanations. You see your life as evidence of God because you're conditioned to do so. A Muslim sees his life as evidence of Allah because he's conditioned to do so. Both of you start with a preconceived idea, and make everything in your life fit that idea. I, however, start without that idea, and make my ideas fit my experiences.
EDIT: Sorry, this was in response to the OP and comments directly thereafter. I had no idea how old this thread was.
I think it is more than this though as well, I believe it has a strong element for the individual, rather than just a tool of mass society. It is tool in which people can express their fears and hopes, it defers blame. Religion became a device in which to understand a world that we could not explain or harness, and I believe this is still the case for many today. It appeals to the vain side of our nature (sorry, Christianity does more so than other religions), as we dont want to believe that we 'mean nothing in the grand scheme of things'.Well, since you asked... I think the entire idea of god is just silly, a fairy tale and a tool to control people.
Well, since you asked... I think the entire idea of god is just silly, a fairy tale and a tool to control people.
Yes.
Occam's Razor.
edit: Hmm, 3 word answer. I think I win
I was conditioned. The few years I spent in church conditioned me to hate everything about them and what they represent. I saw them as controlling and narrow minded. Then I had an amazing experience, something impossible happened. It was a perfect event for me, not for anyone else, and my eyes were opened.What you point to as evidence, and this is a common misconception by theists, is what everyone experiences no matter what they believe. We all experience this world and universe. We all experience "good" and "bad" things, etc. The difference is that you think it's evidence of something else. It's not. Just because a guy doesn't have a wife doesn't mean he's gay. It simply means he doesn't have a wife. Just because the world is here doesn't mean some intelligent force made i this way. There are plenty of other equally and more logical explanations. You see your life as evidence of God because you're conditioned to do so. A Muslim sees his life as evidence of Allah because he's conditioned to do so. Both of you start with a preconceived idea, and make everything in your life fit that idea. I, however, start without that idea, and make my ideas fit my experiences.
EDIT: Sorry, this was in response to the OP and comments directly thereafter. I had no idea how old this thread was.
Agreed.
I have absolutely no reason not to believe what I believe. I ditched religion, and started over... I took everything in to explain life, the universe, and everything, and the conclusion as to what the purpose is......
42.
Just kidding... The purpose doesn't exist. (in my opinion)
just wondering to the religious peeps who says god exist, what proof do you have that god still exists?
I think it is more than this though as well, I believe it has a strong element for the individual, rather than just a tool of mass society. It is tool in which people can express their fears and hopes, it defers blame. Religion became a device in which to understand a world that we could not explain or harness, and I believe this is still the case for many today. It appeals to the vain side of our nature (sorry, Christianity does more so than other religions), as we dont want to believe that we 'mean nothing in the grand scheme of things'.