What kind of atheist are you?

by Narkissos 105 Replies latest jw experiences

• 

  LittleToe

  Frankie:

  If your no longer controlled by time and space then you can be in an infinite number of places all at once.

  You do have a valid hypothesis (and I agree with you - I'm just being pedantic). But on what basis do you claim losing the "time" factor. Also, I would need to ask, is it a two-way process? I don't believe in reincarnation, btw (but that doesn't mean that I believe that reincarnation doesn't exist, I just leave reasonable doubt ).HS:
  Visceral, yes, but also experiential. If it we're just a vague hunch I'd feel silly...
  Maybe I just don't spill all my guts on a public bulletin board

  I never did figure why cats don't like balancing on heads. Have more than my fair share of paws in the eye, I have experience of these things. For some strange reason they don't like being pinned to the ceiling, either
  I wonder if that's part of what was infered by catmatics

  But we're derailing the topic, and having experienced that with my "Fear" thread, I'd rather let it get back on track...
• 

  Satanus

  talk God talk

  That would be godmatics, courtesy of brenda cloutier.

  S
• 

  AlanF

  Sabrina said:

  :: I believe that the Christian God does not exist, because if he did, he'd be a monster.

  : If you are going to believe evey stupid thing you are told by religionists then yes I can see your point.

  My belief has nothing to do with what any "religionists" have told me. It has to do with what the Bible itself says about the Christian God, and what demonstrably is his complete inaction in doing anything positive for mankind today.

  What does the Bible say? That this God wiped out entire communities of people to allow the Israelites to take over their land. That this God was perfectly happy to hear the Psalmist write words encouraging Israelites to kill their enemies' babies. That this God often encouraged the Israelites to kill all the males and nonvirgin females of their enemies, and steal the young virgins. That this God is petty, jealous and often acts in a way that, if a human did the same things, he'd be viewed as a horrible criminal.

  Just look at the misery in the world. Does this Biblical God do anything about it? No. Any human who had the power to stop such misery and refused would be seen as a monster. Excusing God by saying, "He must have his reasons" answers nothing.
  
  :: So far as I can see, the universe functions precisely as if he doesn't exist.

  : So far as "you" can see. And how far do you see?

  I see what's in our little world. That's all I need.

  : Does your vision go beyond the universe?

  Sabrina, dear, you must learn to argue logically and stop emoting. I said nothing about anything beyond the universe.

  Obviously you object to my statement. The only effective way to contradict it is to give some examples of how you think the universe functions as if the Christian God does exist. But I don't think you can find any.

  AlanF
• 

  hillary_step

  LT,

  Maybe I just don't spill all my guts on a public bulletin board.

  Fair enough. I would like to hear of your experiences some-time. I would especially be interested to know how it differed from the religious experiences of people of non-Christian faiths. I tried a couple of threads once around this issue but very few biters. Perhaps I will try again.

  Best regards - HS
• 

  Greenpalmtreestillmine

  AlanF,

  My belief has nothing to do with what any "religionists" have told me. It has to do with what the Bible itself says about the Christian God, and what demonstrably is his complete inaction in doing anything positive for mankind today. What does the Bible say? That this God wiped out entire communities of people to allow the Israelites to take over their land. That this God was perfectly happy to hear the Psalmist write words encouraging Israelites to kill their enemies' babies. That this God often encouraged the Israelites to kill all the males and nonvirgin females of their enemies, and steal the young virgins. That this God is petty, jealous and often acts in a way that, if a human did the same things, he'd be viewed as a horrible criminal. Provide the quotes and the context please. You are not stupid. The context of much of what you are saying involves nation building. If you are naively thinking that God has no right to give the land to whom he wants but mankind, on the other hand, can divide the land as he pleases then you are putting your head in an ostrich hole because it pleases you to do so. Grow up please. If man can do as he pleases so can God. This the most stupidist thing on the net, this stupidity of: "why does God war? why does God kill?" lol wake up man. We kill, so does God! This is a no brainer! Just look at the misery in the world. Does this Biblical God do anything about it? No. Any human who had the power to stop such misery and refused would be seen as a monster. Excusing God by saying, "He must have his reasons" answers nothing. If mankind really, now really, wanted to eradicate hunger could he? How about war? Preventable diseases? Child abuse? Child sex trade? Please, don't give me this whining bit that God should fix what we ourselves refuse to fix. Either we are intelligent beings or we are chimps. Of the two, man has much less right to complain! Sabrina, dear, you must learn to argue logically and stop emoting. I said nothing about anything beyond the universe. AlanF, dear, you must learn the art of hyperbole. The purpose of the hyperbole was to point out that you (please sit down before reading this), do not know everything! Obviously you object to my statement. The only effective way to contradict it is to give some examples of how you think the universe functions as if the Christian God does exist. But I don't think you can find any. The universe functions according to the laws of physics and I am very sure other laws which have yet to be discovered. I am open to discovery, you are not. The very nature and essence of a "law" is in itself a declaration of a maker of that law.
• 

  Greenpalmtreestillmine

  Hillary_Step,

  Perhaps Alan is alluding to the fact that if God created the earth he seems to have designed it so that every living creature has to capture and kill other creatures in order to stay alive, and that includes you. Do you not see a disparity with the Biblical God of love and this 'design' feature?

  I presume you to be an intelligent man. Man kills, HS. Man rapes, HS. Man kills and rapes his own children, HS. Man wars for no good reason, HS. Man destroys the earth. Man is, shall we say, a demon in his own right.

  Please, don't complain to me about the rats, the insects and their creator. Until man rises above the insects he has no right to complain.
• 

  frenchbabyface

  Chief Rabbi Leon Ashkenazi said: "The difference between an atheist Christian and an atheist Jew is that an atheist Christian does not believe that God exists, while an atheist Jew believes that God does not exist."

  I'm not so sure about the Jewish-Christian borderline, but I love the nuance.

  Well I don't like the nuance (as it only says that they are different even when they are not believers : nothing more nothing less) ... cause it still means the same so what is it all about ? ... Are we Jew or Christian if we do not believe BTW ??? ...
• 

  SixofNine

  Wow. Just goes to show that trying to reconcile the ugliness of a do-nothing god (or a nation building god, lol), will eventually drive a person mad. Sad.
• 

  Max Divergent

  I thought 'I don't believe in god' = agnostic and 'I beleive there's no god' = athiest. Probably the rabbi is saying Jews are more positive in their beliefs what those wishy-washy Christians.

  Judy Davis (a Catholic) played a cheating wife in a Woody Allen movie years ago (can't remember which one) and was playing the part as a guilt ridden adultress... Woody was getting madder and madder with Judy playing the part wrong, he had to explain to her that a cheating Jewess would be pleased and happy, not ashamed and coy... mmm... which religion is better for your mental health?

  In the JW context I'm athiest, in the broard 'spiritual' context I'm an agnostic who sometimes likes to think he's an athiest...
• 

  Satanus

  Man kills, HS. Man rapes, HS. Man kills and rapes his own children, HS. Man wars for no good reason, HS. Man destroys the earth. Man is, shall we say, a demon in his own right.

  Please, don't complain to me about the rats, the insects and their creator. Until man rises above the insects he has no right to complain.

  Man does it. God does it. Hmmm. Don't complain. Don't ask. Hmmm. Perhaps your god is an animal as well, just a higher one, a spirit one. After all, even he has not risen above the insects.

  S