Atheist, why are you so offended at anothers display of faith?

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: BELIEVERpriest

I have faith in eternal reward and paradise, and I assure you I am not a killer. So faith cannot be made the scapegoat for human volition.

If your faith teaches something, it is more likely you will abide by the tenants than do the opposite. If your faith professes a specific path to your eternal reward and paradise, it is more likely you will follow it than go in the opposite direction.

True, but not all faiths teach its followers to commit atrocities.

originally posted by: BELIEVERpriest

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: BELIEVERpriest

I have faith in eternal reward and paradise, and I assure you I am not a killer. So faith cannot be made the scapegoat for human volition.

If your faith teaches something, it is more likely you will abide by the tenants than do the opposite. If your faith professes a specific path to your eternal reward and paradise, it is more likely you will follow it than go in the opposite direction.

True, but not all faiths teach its followers to commit atrocities.

Does not the concept of faith though remove the need for critical thinking?

If you have absolute trust in your faith do you not need to take away your own thought process and simply believe that it is the right thing to do?

a reply to: nonspecific

Not if you are constantly auditing your faith. Critical thinking stops when you stop asking questions. If you reach a point that there are no more questions, then you're either lazy or the object you have faith in is a dead end.

originally posted by: BELIEVERpriest
a reply to: nonspecific

Not if you are constantly auditing your faith. Critical thinking stops when you stop asking questions. If you reach a point that there are no more questions, then you're either lazy or the object you have faith in is a dead end.

Well that all sounds great..but if you keep asking questions but then look at the same source of info, the bible, for the answers, its kind of pointless no?

I mean..what? Are you gonna open it one day and it will have changed to GAYS ARE NOT SINNERS! NO, YOU CAN'T BEAT UP YOUR WIFE OR YOUR SLAVES!

originally posted by: BELIEVERpriest
a reply to: nonspecific

Not if you are constantly auditing your faith. Critical thinking stops when you stop asking questions. If you reach a point that there are no more questions, then you're either lazy or the object you have faith in is a dead end.

This is where I get confused.

How can you question faith?

Does this not somewhat contradict the idea of faith?

Or is it just a case of making it up as you go along and trying to make it fit the agenda?

Again, genuine question and not trolling.

a reply to: BELIEVERpriest

a reply to: nonspecific

Not if you are constantly auditing your faith. Critical thinking stops when you stop asking questions. If you reach a point that there are no more questions, then you're either lazy or the object you have faith in is a dead end.

Just ask some of your questions here, please. That could probably make me trust a christian more than I do now. Please let me know what some of your questions are? I'm not going to answer them...I promise.

originally posted by: nonspecific

originally posted by: BELIEVERpriest
a reply to: nonspecific

Not if you are constantly auditing your faith. Critical thinking stops when you stop asking questions. If you reach a point that there are no more questions, then you're either lazy or the object you have faith in is a dead end.

This is where I get confused.

How can you question faith?

Does this not somewhat contradict the idea of faith?

Or is it just a case of making it up as you go along and trying to make it fit the agenda?

Again, genuine question and not trolling.

Exactly. How can you question faith? The very act of questioning means you don't have faith.

originally posted by: 3danimator2014

originally posted by: nonspecific

originally posted by: BELIEVERpriest
a reply to: nonspecific

Not if you are constantly auditing your faith. Critical thinking stops when you stop asking questions. If you reach a point that there are no more questions, then you're either lazy or the object you have faith in is a dead end.

This is where I get confused.

How can you question faith?

Does this not somewhat contradict the idea of faith?

Or is it just a case of making it up as you go along and trying to make it fit the agenda?

Again, genuine question and not trolling.

Exactly. How can you question faith? The very act of questioning means you don't have faith.

I have no idea?

This is why I ask but this kind of answers the OP when all you get is self satisfying circular arguments that go no where.

It seems that to "have faith" is like playing poker but you get to choose your own cards and change the rules when it seems to suit your argument.

No wonder folks get annoyed with this shizzle.

without reading all 4 pages of comments i will jump blindly into this. I, as a person of no measurable spiritual faith, find it too convenient that the popular god of the area in which you were born just happens to be the one true god. if that fact alone doesn't make you question the legitimacy of your church then I assume you don't have a strong questioning mind. add that with how staunch and close-minded a follower of a deity can be when confronted with ANY religious fallacies that contradict their beliefs or does not go well with their particular narrative.

when i see how many people in a position of authority represent their faith more than they do their constituents it bothers me. no i cant vote for this bill because it goes against my personal beliefs even though it may help people.

maybe that was off topic. here is my response. if you want to worship in the open., cool. i don't care. if you want to have a giant nativity scene or a huge cross on your lawn or a big Satan statue go for it. but i do care when that sort of thing is displayed in a way that a governmental body is endorsing it. even if they are endorsing many different brands of imaginary friends i feel that those tax dollars funding those displays is a waste and should be considered fraud against the tax payers.

the pledge of allegiance containing "under god" and the phrase "in god we trust" are unacceptable as national statements. they do not represent me.

there may have been an intervening entity that helped mankind accomplish what it has, but a celestial watchdog that hates women learning or holding power, or one that condemns two dick touching dudes do death? not buying it. can you really imagine something so powerful it can create everything and see it all would be so petty that it will torture his own creations for the dumbest reasons? this is laughable to me but the scary part of this is laws are passed by men that affect vast amounts of people that take these fictional tales into consideration.

a reply to: crustyjuggler27

Agreed. To quote Dire Straits (yes..im old and uncool)

Two men say their jesus..One of them must be wrong

a reply to: 3danimator2014

"look at them yoyo's" i like dire straits.

and the fact that people believe the Jesus birth and Resurrection stories as gospel when it is the same story as told several times in the past is beyond me. there may be redeeming points to religions but no religion is good.

a reply to: wisvol

Discrediting religion is important to empires because truly religious people will not obey man when man's opinion contradicts religion, and that is unacceptable to dictators.

History disagrees with you. It is well known that many(if not most) empires throughout history were theocracies and/or had state sanctioned religions. However, discrediting other religions might have been important, because their own religion was important for control over the people.

ChesterJohn, I personally think those atheists offended by faith aren't the brightest of their bunch, or at least not the most distinguishing since atheism requires faith in the absence of a creator.

Actually no. Atheism requires NO faith at all. By its very definition, it is a lack of faith.

These people will claim extravagant things about the nature of religions and religious people, and believe those things sometimes.

While there is some truth to this statement, it is also true that sometimes those "extravagant claims" are based on truth.

I propose that presenting accurate descriptions of religion to these militant atheists can and should be done without attempting to challenge their atheism.

And how in your estimation would one handle militant Christians? Maybe by "presenting accurate descriptions of religion"?

God isn't a man in the sky to anyone besides atheists:

Oh really? Then why do Christians often refer to him as up? As in Mylon Lefevre's Christian song "Trains up in the sky" or "Crack the sky"?
I personally think anyone who would say this isn't the brightest of their bunch, and not very discerning either. God and Jesus have often been referred to by Christians themselves as being up, and hell being down. The bible itself says to "look up, because your redemption draws near". It also says Jesus will come back the same way he left...which would be from the sky. So in effect, God/Jesus fits the stereotype.

a reply to: 3danimator2014

Man hasn't even scratched the surface of the Bible. There are more answers held with in it than all the questions that all of man kind can even know to ask.

a reply to: nonspecific

You test faith as you would test a hypothesis. Ask God the questions, then look for the answers. If you really desire to know and you are ready, God will cause you to find it.

originally posted by: Willingly
a reply to: BELIEVERpriest

a reply to: nonspecific

Not if you are constantly auditing your faith. Critical thinking stops when you stop asking questions. If you reach a point that there are no more questions, then you're either lazy or the object you have faith in is a dead end.

Just ask some of your questions here, please. That could probably make me trust a christian more than I do now. Please let me know what some of your questions are? I'm not going to answer them...I promise.

These are some questions I have asked God:

What is the Day of the Lord? Why can no one know that day or hour?

Why was I allowed to be born a sinner?

Why is it so important to you that I believe?

Why do you put these questions in my mind when others are content with ignorance?

Why does history seem to repeat itself?

Why do we suffer?

How can I learn to love to forgive?

How can I learn to stop loving hatred?

How can I live in eternity, with the knowledge that I have done wrong in my past?

Those are just a few questions that God is progressively answering for me....especially the first one.

originally posted by: BELIEVERpriest
a reply to: nonspecific

You test faith as you would test a hypothesis. Ask God the questions, then look for the answers. If you really desire to know and you are ready, God will cause you to find it.

That is the kind of thing that makes me think some people are just looking for someone to wind up though.

You cannot ask god if you are expected to have faith in his omnipotence surely?

It has to be one way or the other.

Anything else is just making stuff up to suit your wants, needs and opinion.

Or are we moving into "What I think God meant to say was......" territory here?

a reply to: Ericthedoubter

As it was explained to me an atheist knows of no proof that there is a god therefore they do not believe their is one.

Actually I respect a few Atheist but like I said earlier there seems to be two groups one who respect other and their belief and another who are militaristic.

Like Westboro Baptist church causing all Chrsitians to be judged by non-religious people as a representative. Maybe these militaristic ones are to blame for my interpretation of how Atheist are.

However I know ones like TerryDon79. a very nice and respectful person.

so Eric, forgive me as I should have clarified that I don't judge all Atheist by just ones actions.

But now we know there are two types one group that is live and let live, and another that are the antithesis of the first. The militaristic ones are like the Westboro Baptist of Atheists.

a reply to: windwordjust so you know I don't agree with their sign nor many of their unbiblical practices.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan
Now I understand that. But seeing that if you are of higher character then you would just let it roll like water off a duck back and give it no never mind.

a reply to: TerryDon79

You know what really gets me is a cross is not forcing religion down anyone's throat, as one poster replied.

I haven't and don't remember it being forced on me. One time a campus crusader at wildwood part tried to witness to us while we were smoking pot. Turned out he was just an informant and when he left he called the cops on us. Luckily none of had any pot on us when they arrived.

I remember a church that came down and handed out burgers and dogs to us surfers in Hawaii. They gave us a meal with a track in it. But we didn't have to read the track and they never tried to force anything one us.

I had people hand me a track in the mall and sometimes I just walked by without taking it. No one forced me to take it or got mad if I didn't.

But you have a valid point it seems to be the extremist of each group that collide and then ruin it for the rest of us.

TerryDon79, You are good man Charlie Brown.