Posted on 12/18/2004 9:17:33 PM PST by CHARLITE
First, I have to confess that I never got that line about how "love is to never have to say you're sorry." I'm still married to the same woman I fell in love with when I was a teenager and if I hadn't learned early on to accept blame for mistakes, bad moods or stupid remarks, I think my rump would long ago been found sitting at the end of a skid mark between the front door and the curb. I've also received a few apologies in my life and always regarded them as thoughtful, considerate, kind and selfless.
Atheism, on the other hand, is a study in egocentricity and self-absorption. Heck, a devout atheist assumes the posture of being the highest form of intelligent life in the universe. No Creator to thank for inalienable rights nor for any other endowment - heck, not even creation. And no need to say please to for daily bread, forgiveness or the mental alertness to come up with the winning answer to a Jeopardy question.
The real danger in atheism is that at its core, it seeks to turn the clock back to a time prior to the Age of Reason. One of the fundamentals of rationality is the premise that it is not possible to prove a negative. Where a person of faith might say, "God only knows" and an agnostic can say "I don't know" the devout atheist doesn't hesitate to say, "I know what is NOT out there anywhere in the vast universe and what did NOT happen billions of years ago."
Religious Americans have long taken the "you go to your church and I'll go to mine" approach to religious tolerance, but atheists can NOT tolerate religion. In their own minds they are already at the top of the food chain and hold as self-evident that they know it all. And should they have any crisis of faith, a good shrink, a plastic surgeon and a pocket full of pills will suffice to get them past the moment.
Faithless faith and devout belief in disbelief aren't very satisfying as creative creeds. Nihilism is no foundation on which to build anything, hence the prerequisite destruction of what all others have accomplished.
Thank God, the atheists are losing and will lose. Constitutional casuistry is based on shifting sands.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei.
Sounds like someone really has it in for atheists. Maybe one day it will build up to a final solution.
yes' thank god that they are not winning but we must always be watchful that they don't manipulate us into Complacency mindset. the war's outcome is already determined but the individual fights aren't. May god bless you now and forever. amen
BTTT
LOL, since when ? Yeah, its fun to "pretend" that its a big "us Christians against them Atheists" thing, but lets face it ... the biggest bigotry against Christians of any one denomination come from Christians of other denominations in the USA.
can you be more specific.
I'm going to run with a tiny thread of this post and say what a great thing it is for people to say thank you and express gratitude. We should all think about things we are fortunate for and express thanks to everyone more often. "Thank you" are wonderful words everyone loves to hear.
Check out the Religion Forum here for a good selection of "I'm going to heaven and you're going to hell" rants of Christins v. Christians
What does it matter what atheists think? Since they claim there's no afterlife, we won't run into them anyway.:)
Losing? What country is he in?
How about the way many Christian denominations view, say, the Mormons?
I'm an atheist and I use these words frequently. I don't think there is anything wrong with taking the time to be conscious of and thankful for our blessings. In fact that is a good thing. But the concept of a "creator" who is not part of the physical universe does not seem necessary to me. There is just no evidence for this. And the idea that a creator pays attention to our individual concerns or is listening to our thanks seems even more unfounded. I'll admit that it might be advantageous if this were not true, but you can't just make stuff up to be convenient.
The real danger in atheism is that at its core, it seeks to turn the clock back to a time prior to the Age of Reason.
Isn't this backwards?
" Where a person of faith might say, "God only knows" and an agnostic can say "I don't know" the devout atheist doesn't hesitate to say, "I know what is NOT out there anywhere in the vast universe and what did NOT happen billions of years ago." "
I understand your thoughts on persons of faith and also on atheists but this brief reference to agnostics leaves me wanting more information. How do you see agnostics as fitting in with the overall theme of the post?
Atheism means 'Not' theist. Hence a baby should be considered an atheist since they aren't a theist.
What you dislike is anti-theists. However, I have never met an anti-theist. Madilyn Murray O'Hare comes to mind but she was a freak.
Most 'atheists' don't deny the existence of a god but they ask for proof. Lacking that, they choose non-existence until shown otherwise.
Atheists don't presume greater intelligence than mankind but they will await proof. Most atheists I know make an asuumption that morality is held within and that mankind is responsible for its sins.
However, your diatribe against a group is typical of pure theism. What is your remedy: burn atheists alive? Have them in camps? What's the point of the attack? Are Jews ok? Are mormans ok? Are Coptics ok? Are Scientologists ok? What's ok in YOUR religion and what is the punishment for those that don't follow?
4 billion religions on earth and yours is the only one allowed...
What does it matter what atheists think? Since they claim there's no afterlife, we won't run into them anyway.:)
You're actually pretty close to being onto something there. In fact, it doesn't matter what people believe about things which are outside the realm of possible experience as long as those beliefs don't lead their holders to do harm to those who don't share their beliefs.
It's only when beliefs about things outside of the realm of possible experience lead those who hold the beliefs to harm others that something must be done. Case in point: radical islam.
Just to add to your point, when I was a child, the two biggest church buildings in a typical West Texas town would be the Baptist and Church of Christ. We Campbellites knew the Baptists were going to Hell, they allowed instrumental music in Sunday Service. They were equally convinced they would not have to tolerate our presence in heaven. All this time and my atheist uncle didn't give a rat's as long as he got to sleep in on Sundays. By the way neither we nor the Baptists counted the Catholic church building, we both knew those mackeral-snapping Papists weren't really Christians at all, but mere puppets of the anti-Christ in Rome. Why they even let their members dance, in public even!
I grew up in Texas as well and the only things I knew as a teenage Assembly of God parishioner was that the Jews were killers of Christ and the Catholics worshiped the anti-Christ. Terrible, terrible way to think but that was what was taught...
The holocaust history convinced me that religious intolerance breeds evil. Start with 1 minority group and expand outward.
I am content to let God sort it all out in the end.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.