You are not open to all possibilities because I have given you a possibility and a direction to investigate and you simply reject the idea. That is not being open to all the possibilities. You do not want that possibility to be true.
Being open to possibilities in no way relates to whether they are likely. Most anything is possible from an intellectually honest position. But whether they are true or likley true depends on evidence. Your many religious claims lack evidence. So while they might be possible they are not supported by evidence, so rejected as true. That's on you. If you want critical thinkers to be convinced your claims are true, offer valid evidence.
This has nothing to do with arrogance. There is strength in knowing. Before my interaction with God, all I had were Beliefs. There is no strength in Beliefs.
You still have beliefs. What you need is evidence, and you have none.
Humility? The sky is blue. The Earth is round.
How does this demonstrate humility? These fall into the "no ****" category.
Now this is arrogance. How do you know a God exists? You offer no evidence, and you seem to expect me to just take your word for it as if you are beyond error, like a God yourself. Is it possible you could be mistaken? If you aren't oven to the possibility that you are mistaken, I suggest you read your first sentence at the top.
What purpose does humility serve stating facts? Perhaps, my delivery isn't gentle and coddling, but my nature of Math and Reason tends to lead me away from beating around the bush so to speak. I have been known to step on a few toes.
Your arrogance seems to follow you everywhere you go.
Gods are not known to exist??? Religion is mankind's attempt to understand God. In this attempt, sure there are many many errors. So often with God involved, people use feelings of what they want God to be in order to fill the gaps.
And look at the poor results in religion. Just pick one, is it true and others are not? Or are all of them true despite constradictions? It's intellectual catastrophe. Critical thinkers don't ignore the problems like believers do.
Discovery is not an easy thing and how many are really willing to do the work? It's easier to do as you have done. Create a box of beliefs, then box out all the other possibilities so you don't have to do the work Discovery takes.
That is whjat critical thinkers do. And none find any God, or gods, or supernatural. Only those who who think they have the answer will conclude a God exists, and then work to self-validate their prejudgment without any care for truth.
I know God exists. I am willing to bet there are many others in the world. Sure, very few have had the level of interaction that I have had, however other people know God exists. Perhaps, you are asking theists the wrong questions.
Yet none of them, including you, can show how you know this is true. Are you special, a God yourself, perhaps? Have extra-sensory perception? Show us facts and the explanation how you know a God exists. If you refuse, we remain unconvinced.
Since, you do not want God to exist ...
I never stated this. Can you defend your false accusation of me?
... and know their beliefs do not add up, that is all you question. Maybe, you should ask: How do you know God exists?
I have asked you how you know God exists, and thus far you don't provide any evidence, nor why I should just take your word for it as if you claimed to have eaten a ham sandwich for lunch.
Have you had any actual experience with God? In time, you will find others who will talk if you do not assume they are crazy. Listen and be open to all possibilities!!!!
I believed that a God existed as a child, but unlike other children I set about testing the claims. I discovered that what I was told wasn't true. So as I observed other believers I discovered believers were tyically idealists, but failed to live up to their ideals. That smacks of followers who don't understand the nuance of what they adopted as "truth". I was 10-11 and I didn't have intellectual chops like I do at my age, but I had a raw curiosity and intuitive intellect that sought truth beyond the the peer pressure religious ideology I was exposed to.
But look at you, you gobbled up all the God speak hook, line, and sinker without thinking if it's possible none of it is true.
I know of a couple of cases where people have heard God. One was in a tornado and a lady was running toward a bathroom for protection. God simply said go to the other end of the house. She did and discovered if she had not, the bathroom ended up in pieces. She didn't realize it was God, however where would she be otherwise.
Stories don't convince thinkers, evidence does.
Another person was in a house fire. She was sleeping. She was awakened with someone saying you have to get out of the house. She lived alone. She is alive. She too doesn't realize what happened. She just said she did not need to live alone anymore.
Trauma does strange things to the mental stability of folks.
I've had my experiences with intuition. One day many years ago I was riding my bike on a tyically busy boulevard quite fast, over 20 mph, and as I approached an intersection with a green light I had a very strong sense to slow dowmn, which I did for some reason. Within seconds a car blew through the red light, and would have likley hit me. I can't explain it, perhaps time is more fluid that our awareness tells us. It didn't suggest any angels, or gods protecting me, or anything. But I wondered about it. When I met a family that had a three year old girl that had been diagnoses with Leukemia, and after almost two years of treatment died, I realized there is no rhyme or reason to life and justice.
Discovery takes work. It doesn't come to you.
Is it possible you haven't worked hard enough? Remember what you said about possibilities.
One of the actions of God: God doesn't just give out knowledge. Wisdom is acquired on the journey to Discover knowledge. How much wisdom is acquired waiting for it all to show up so one can accept or reject it all as a Belief??
God isn't known to exist. And you seem to render God useless if it did. But I do agree that some humans are capable of learning wisdom. Those who consider themselves wise quickly show themselves a fool.
Perhaps, I too have not been open enough. Tell me about your journey. I'm sure I will learn something from it.
Well that is a long story with numerous stages. I shared a bit above, that as a child I realized the folly of belief in any gods. That opened the door to seek truth. What I learned is that truth isn't what our minds want as some ideal, but what is practical.
