Originally posted by Littlejoe9763

Yes...if you understand the analogy...which seems to have flown over your head. He isn't saying atheists don't appreciate music or have never truly been in love...He saying you obviously don't get it. It's like trying to understand why your life long friend is acting so strangely about the new girl in the office when you have never truly been head over heels in love.

I took that to mean he doesn't have any critical reason for going Christian; it feels good to him. For other people, another religion feels right for them. It's a matter of personal taste.

No much different from identifying with a particular political, technological, or artistic movement.

Originally posted by Seasanctuary

I took that to mean he doesn't have any critical reason for going Christian; it feels good to him. For other people, another religion feels right for them. It's a matter of personal taste.

No much different from identifying with a particular political, technological, or artistic movement.

of course you took that way because you don't know what critical reason is. all you know is hate the religious people say they are stupid feel Superior and pretend you know something and you never never never have to learn anything.

Originally posted by Pitchforkpat

Many atheists and agnostics (like myself) have been Christians and know the feelings very well, dummy.

no you don't. if you knew God you would not leave God. Anyone can say "I am an X" that does not make you an X. you can sleep in the garage that doesn't make you a car.

If you didn't know God in a personal relationship that involved deep abiding sense of God's presence, than you did not know God and if you did than you would not be an atheist now.

Originally posted by Metacrock

no you don't. if you knew God you would not leave God.

Scotsman.

Originally posted by Pitchforkpat

Many atheists and agnostics (like myself) have been Christians and know the feelings very well, dummy.

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" - Hosea 4:6.

The fact you start thread after thread and presume ignorance about even the basics -- theology -- something all Christians should know, it's no wonder.

It looks like he became an atheist for rather shaky reasons:

To my shame, I believe it was this that made me lose faith and heart in my youth. It felt so uncool to be religious. With the mentality of a child in the playground, I felt at some visceral level that being religious was unsexy, like having spots or wearing specs.

That's unfortunate.

I also agree with this part:

Historians of Roman and Jewish law have argued at length about the details of Jesus's trial - and just how historical the Gospel accounts are.

Anyone who believes in the truth must heed the fine points that such scholars unearth. But at this distance of time, there is never going to be historical evidence one way or the other that could dissolve or sustain faith.

Of course, only hard evidence will satisfy the secularists, but over time and after repeated readings of the story, I've been convinced without it.

I wish him the best in his renewed religious faith.

Originally posted by Kia ora

It looks like he became an atheist for rather shaky reasons:



That's unfortunate.

I also agree with this part:

Historians of Roman and Jewish law have argued at length about the details of Jesus's trial - and just how historical the Gospel accounts are.

Anyone who believes in the truth must heed the fine points that such scholars unearth. But at this distance of time, there is never going to be historical evidence one way or the other that could dissolve or sustain faith.

Of course, only hard evidence will satisfy the secularists, but over time and after repeated readings of the story, I've been convinced without it.

I wish him the best in his renewed religious faith.

How strange. It was the complete opposite for me.

Originally posted by Metacrock

no you don't. if you knew God you would not leave God. Anyone can say "I am an X" that does not make you an X. you can sleep in the garage that doesn't make you a car.

If you didn't know God in a personal relationship that involved deep abiding sense of God's presence, than you did not know God and if you did than you would not be an atheist now.

Oh please. You have no way of knowing what my faith was like. I believed with all my heart. I was as much a Christian as you are. I used to debate unbelievers vehemently. It's so funny that you need to beleve that no one who truly believed could ever lose their faith.

And you don't have a "personal relationship" with a god. No one does. You just have a spiritual experience that you intrerpret this way. Christians distort the meaning of the word to suit their ends. If you had a personal relationship with a god you would be able to know things that others don't. If I asked a bunch of you to ask God for an answer to a certain part of scripture, you'd come up with a bunch of different answers so you're not actually communicating with him at all.

Originally posted by Kia ora

It looks like he became an atheist for rather shaky reasons:

"And it is true to say that no one can ever prove - nor, indeed, disprove - the existence of an after-life or God, or answer the conundrums of honest doubters (how does a loving God allow an earthquake in Italy?)[/quote]

Sounds like a Theistic Agnostic to me.

Originally posted by Jaecp

Flim, how many people in rational control of their minds, who have been atheist for a long time, can actually honestly say that atheists are loveless? Its a rather odd thing to say.

Anyone who finds themselves compelled to use such a literary device after some honest reflection?

Originally posted by Seasanctuary

I took that to mean he doesn't have any critical reason for going Christian; it feels good to him. For other people, another religion feels right for them. It's a matter of personal taste.

I took it mean that your average atheist is about as deep as your average pocket calculator. It's right 100% of the time concerning 0.0000000000000000000000000000001% of reality.

Originally posted by Pitchforkpat

Scurrilous? Wow! Well, do you think Atheists are like people who can't really appreciate music and love properly?

Ah yes. The expected dishonest answer after a slander.

Once again, do you have any medical evidence for the innuendo? If not you are a liar.

J

Originally posted by Pitchforkpat

He appears to have gone senile which would explain this.

This sounds a lot like....faith.....

Originally posted by Pitchforkpat

Many atheists and agnostics (like myself) have been Christians and know the feelings very well, dummy.

Bingo.



I am interested in people who re-convert and think a rational person could re-convert.

But I am tired of people saying I don't know what it was like to be a christian because I was one for about 30 years.

Chris

Originally posted by Metacrock

no you don't. if you knew God you would not leave God. Anyone can say "I am an X" that does not make you an X. you can sleep in the garage that doesn't make you a car.

If you didn't know God in a personal relationship that involved deep abiding sense of God's presence, than you did not know God and if you did than you would not be an atheist now.

I think that this is perhaps wrong. You don't know me and what I felt/believed/experienced.

So how can you judge?

Chris

Originally posted by Pitchforkpat

Oh please. You have no way of knowing what my faith was like. I believed with all my heart. I was as much a Christian as you are. I used to debate unbelievers vehemently. It's so funny that you need to beleve that no one who truly believed could ever lose their faith.

And you don't have a "personal relationship" with a god. No one does. You just have a spiritual experience that you intrerpret this way. Christians distort the meaning of the word to suit their ends. If you had a personal relationship with a god you would be able to know things that others don't. If I asked a bunch of you to ask God for an answer to a certain part of scripture, you'd come up with a bunch of different answers so you're not actually communicating with him at all.

That God seems to "reveal" to certain people seemingly contradictory things seems to imply that the "revelation" or at least part of it was human based and not divine.

At the very least, there should be some rational thoughtful idea of what "evidence" we want to validate a divine revelation.

Chris