Is it just me or has this site become a Believer/Atheist warzone?

by BU2B 288 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Simon

  There is a lot of theism vs atheism lately but as long as people remain civil it's OK, that is what people want to discuss.

  A couple of things I find annoying are topics like:

  Hey [theist] answer this !!!

  Making it about one persons ability or inability to answer or reason is not constructive.

  Chist is real, peace and praise to you, la la la

  The blind assertions of God's existence and religious greetings are annoying and antagonistic. I think we can live without them.

  Now here's the thing - no one is ever going to convince someone who believes in God that there is no god. The reality is that their belief is not based on ANY logical reason or evidence but purely and simply blind faith in a story they heard, usually because it was the same one their parents and grand-parents heard. If they had evidence then they wouldn't need or have faith.

  Do non believers want to hear the story? No, we don't believe it and you're not going to convince anyone who thinks that God doesn't exist that he does. You have no evidence to present to people who demand evidence before belief.

  So why bother with the debate? It's a little like politics - there must be swing-voters somewhere but as the late Brian Griffin once said, they are the biggest idiots on the planet if they haven't already decided.

  But in the meantime, we sharpen our arguments and maybe at least learn how the other side think. Or don't ...
• 

  trebor

  "I don't know yet" does not require a label.
  

  Polarized thinking.
• 

  KateWild

  cofty,

  You are talking nonsense now. People are agnostic. If that's how they label themselves why is it so bad? Total nonsense cofty

  I love you to bits Kate xx
• 

  cofty

  Polarized thinking.

  Repeating that phrase endlessly doesn't constitute evidence
• 

  trebor

  "I don't know yet" does not require a label.

  ...

  Repeating that phrase endlessly doesn't constitute evidence

  Agreed.
• 

  KateWild

  Many who label thamselves agnostics, feel they have better things to do with their time than find out if God is or isn't real. They may have a religion and pray, but just want to wait until they die to find out if God is real

  They are patient and content with not knowing all the answers

  Kate xx
• 

  redvip2000

  I fear that a doubting/struggling JW may come here and see the division and angry rhetoric here and think that the "society" is correct in the way they describe "apostates".

  Perhaps.. Or it could be that they look at the open discussion and freedom of expression, and realize that they also would like to be able to disagree openly and speak their mind.

  Look, when i first came to this website i was a full believer in God after leaving the WT. But after evaluating both sides of the issue, i simply can't sustain this belief any longer. When i left the WT organization i became determined to let logic and common sense lead the way, and belief in the God of the bible is never based on those.

  At this point i'm still hanging on by a thread on the belief in a creator ( not the god of the bible), but maybe, just maybe a creator who put things in place initially but moved on has no interest in us. Even that belief is now becoming hard to sustain.
• 

  cofty

  People are agnostic

  People who are still undecided misuse a handy label rather than simply say that they are still considering the evidence.

  There is frequently a wrong assumption behind the label. It implies that because there is no ultimate PROOF, the matter hangs 50:50 in the balance. It doesn't.

  The other problem is how do you use the word agnostic unless you first define the god you are not sure you believe in?

  The word adds nothing to the conversation other than a misleading label.

  As Nic pointed out in his thread, if you are not yet convinced by the evidence for god you are an atheist.

  Many who label thamselves agnostics, feel they have better things to do with their time that find out if God is or isn't real. They may have a religion and pray, but just want to wait until they die to find out if God is real. They are patient and content with not knowing all the answers - Kate

  Thank you I rest my case.
• 

  KateWild

  they are still considering the evidence.-cofty

  Nonsense, many stop considering cofty. Like my Dad, as a child I used to ask him about God he just said he didn't know I could believe what I wanted. He is nearing the end of his earthly course. He doesn't care what lies ahead, he is intersted in getting the facts.

  If he's stays unconsious, he hasn't gone with some burning unsatisfying unanswered questions, he stopped considering the evidence years ago, he is not an atheist at all. He is a practicing Agnostic Jew. He wishes to label himself.

  Kate xx
• 

  J. Hofer

  there are believers and there are non-believers. what's in between? half-believers? that doesn't exist. you either believe or you don't, and if you haven't come to a conclusion yet, you're still in one of those camps. you're either a believing agnostic or - more probably - an atheist agnostic.