I never intended to ramble on so much and get off track. I am emotional right now and feel the need to dump my feelings. I really don’t expect anyone to read this.
Hi SNG First, I do believe that animals feel and can show compassion for other animals or to people. I believe that dogs especially, have a very keen sense when it comes to their owners, but I doubt that they have morals. Like I stated, I’ve never heard of any animals organizing and coming to the rescue of another. A monkey might have compassion for another but do you think that he stops to wonder how he could help this other monkey in stress, that he thinks to himself that the person doing the experiment is unjust.
There may be many atheists and Christians alike that would change their minds if they received new information. I also think that many people on both sides would never consider an alternative. Some people are very stubborn. I know stubborn. I’m Dutch. Likewise I think many Christians believe something because they were "told" it was true. Their families told them it was true. I’ve always been a bit concerned when someone says that they gave their heart to the Lord when they were 8 years old. Now maybe they were truly sincere, and I really shouldn’t question it. For me it has been a long struggle to come to this point.
Both my parents were agnostic. I’m not sure if they ever thought about it much. My mother swore like a truck driver, said things I would never say. She said it in Dutch; guess she thought it wasn’t as bad saying it in a different language. Conveniently she has no recollection of this now. They became witnesses because (I believe) of my mother’s desperate need for attention. I can kind of understand that. What I can never understand is how my father came to believe in this organization. He had very strange views and was very contradictory. Maybe he liked that the man was the "boss" in the family. Like my brother said, it fit their own life style. No recognizing birthdays, no sense of family togetherness; it wasn’t a priority in their lives to have any relationship with their kids; only for my mother when she needed us. She’s still that way today. I’m there for her but I know she would never have done the same for me if things were reversed. How the 3 of us (there are 4 kids) survived and turned out as decently as we did surprises us. I’m not going to say that my parents were these horrible, evil people but they had emotional problems and they couldn’t cope with 4 kids, or with life.
There was a time in my life when I rejected God. I was so angry, so frustrated. But part of me is logical. First I did wonder, is there a God? I realize that no one can absolutely prove His existence. But then nobody can positively prove that there is no God. It is a belief. I guess it’s a bit like the wind or love. We can’t see them physically but do see the effects of them. (Please don’t say that JW’s also use those comparisons) I see the effects in people’s lives when they truly believe. I also sense His presence in the universe itself. I think too many people are so blasé about it. I look around and am so awestruck. I just can’t believe that all this just happened from nothing. That to me is too illogical. I didn’t embrace everything that came my way. I did reject JW’s and Calvinism. I am on a journey and I will probably never have most of the answers but I strongly believe in God. There are things in my life that I wish I could change but for the most part I consider myself fortunate. I see the struggle of so many people, like now in the Caribbean, specially Haiti, and I think why not me. Last night I was able to sleep in a clean comfortable bed, my stomach was full, my children were fine and I think of these people struggling and I do think why. But we, who are capable, need to help others who are less fortunate. I posted about people here helping out financially and there was only one response. That breaks my heart. People who ask why is there suffering, but can only blame God. (I guess I have to believe that people will donate but are just not responding to the post. I hope that’s the case)