I may be the only Atheist on FR, and I certainly don’t want that. Just because I am not a believer doesn’t mean that I think God doesn’t have a place on Earth. When you hear of Atheists in the news, you hear of those who are loud, obnoxious, and extremely hateful. Most are like me, and don’t hate; we just don’t believe.
I have spent a lot of time around a lot of the faithful, including my own family. I was on dialysis in my twenties, and I saw how faith kept people strong and helped them persevere. I also know that religious organizations do many good things, like feeling the hungry, providing shelter and clothing to those in need, and providing counselling and resources to unwed mothers who were careless or who were raped, and aren’t sure where to turn. (I’m not pro-choice, with the exception of medical issues making the matter life and death.)
It disheartens me to see posts like this, but I understand where it comes from. I even made an attempt to remind a very prominent “Atheist” organization that they don’t speak for all Atheists everywhere, and they were very, very rude in response. I saved the emails. Maybe I’ll post them here in their entirety someday.
*feeding
Yep. Thanks, auto-correct.
Watch Stephen C. Meyer videos, and you will change your mind, if it’s open to Truth. Sorry, FRiend, a single cell, let alone a brain did not and cannot “evolve”.
Of course, you are free to believe as you wish, and ignore all evidence to the contrary.
From what I’ve seen, most atheists seem to hold their belief in response to a desire that is primary, and secondarily they try to justify it rationally.
But if one claims they thought about it carefully and thoroughly before choosing atheism, he will have to hold the logically incoherent belief that nothing created everything.
I would say ‘God bless you,’ but that would be trite and flip.
Rather, I applaud your balanced approach to life in a world where people legitimately have differing views.
‘I may be the only Atheist on FR’
you aren’t; but I consider myself agnostic; neither I, nor anybody else, can either prove or disprove the existence of deities. Thus, no one can really ‘know’ the truth of the matter, it is a case of ‘a gnossis’ Greek for ‘not knowledge’...
‘It disheartens me to see posts like this’
doesn’t bother me at all; as long as no one stops me from speaking my mind...
From what I’ve seen, most atheists seem to hold their belief in response to a desire that is primary, and secondarily they try to justify it rationally.
But if one claims they thought about it carefully and thoroughly before choosing atheism, he will have to hold the logically incoherent belief that nothing created everything.
Its not a put-down.
And God would rather you have a relationship with Him.
But He respects people, who He made as persons, like Him, if they want nothing to do with Him, He lets them have nothing to do with him. I certainly wasn’t coerced or forced against my will to believe in Him. Didn’t cost me anything either.
And they will continue to be absent from Him when they die, because being around somoene you never wanted to be around, against your will, is not what He wants.
But it’s not going to be a fun place, and we are given an idea why it’s not going to be a fun place.
My point is that if athiests think this life is hard and somehow God isn’t present doing more for us because we still get aches and pains and grow old and die, you’re probably not going to like the afterlife for those who didn’t take God’s plan of salvation thatls open and free to everyone.
Of course not all athiests hold exactly the same views, just as in any group. I address the larger demogrpahic as a whole, no one singles you out, i dont even know you. Butmi know athiests as a group for their general beliefs. That’s why we speak to a group as a group. You may be an exception in certain areas but you are under the general umbrella of athiezt by your own validation.
And your exceptions do not change at all what I said prior.
If there is no God, there are no individual rights, only what the powerful decide there is. Is that what you believe? That man decides your fate? If there is no God, right and wrong does not exist because it will simply be whatever those more powerful than you decide. Is that what you believe?
It’s a bit more than that. The problem is your existence as well as everyone else’s is based on original sin. God cannot look on sin. Because of that, he sent his only son to die as a sacrifice to forgive our sins. Think of sins as germs in an operation room (heaven) If you are being opened up in a germ filled environment, you die from infection. By accepting and turning your life over to Christ, your sins are forgiven, germ free.. Those that reject Christ out of free will, suffer the consequences of where they put thier faith. If it’s Buddha, hope Buddha had a plan. Same with Mohammad, Shinto, Hindu’s etc. The gospels are out there. No one will have a real excuse. I encourage you to read “The Case For Christ!” Written by a former atheist trying to prove that Christ was not the son of God. Fear not enlightenment, for the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Here’s your chance to cut in the line!