I am an atheist thread 4

[rex_clinton]

if that doesn’t work go to:

nysl.nysed.gov/uhtbin/cgisirsi/6XOWpOUpTB/NYSL/165150013/523/69493

click on the link that says “religious affiliation of …”

(be sure to unblock pop up windows in your browser)

ok, you asked for it.

see for yourself:

nysl.nysed.gov/Archimages/73449.PDF

 

[Minnie31]

miracles can be explained and if not then do some work.

Here’s an explanation to a so-called miracle.

hot923.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=&article=3562815

 

[Armor_of_God]

if that doesn’t work go to:

nysl.nysed.gov/uhtbin/cgisirsi/6XOWpOUpTB/NYSL/165150013/523/69493

click on the link that says “religious affiliation of …”

(be sure to unblock pop up windows in your browser)

Rex,

The world doesn’t stop at New York State.

Also, “religious affiliation” really has zero to do with whether or not someone is a believer, as is proven to me day after day through the people I meet. I am convinced there are many atheists who have just not come “out” yet.

 

[Ronald_E]

I have learned that making careful observations of the world around me that I can make more effective predictions about the future.
Tough question, though.

The Universe and God are tough questions. What I have wondered and been in awe of is how we as human beings are the result of a universe that has no seemingly self-awareness.
Another question I have are we somewhere along the line of evolution the product of a universe to become self-aware and then begin to attempt to make order out of chaos and begin to identify itself?

 

[Armor_of_God]

it’s a good one isn’t it? dawkins i think. or maybe hitchens.

well? surely you can explain it to me. you know most atheists would love nothing more than to know something else exists. but unless you’re willing to believe the mythology of desert hunter-gatherers, there is unfortunately no evidence.

Rex,

This would be a good question if you and I both at least believed in God, or wanted to understand. Then we could try to understand together.

At this time, the only way I have ever seen it used is as a rhetorical type question, with a canned answer on the part of the questioner.

If you are willing to venture into the waters a bit, I will say where my thoughts have gone with this question before. It will require you to try to understand the ways of the Lord I worship.
Are you game?

 

[rex_clinton]

well here’s the rub my raptured friend: new york state as we all know is a hotbed of liberal atheists. as you go further south and west what do you find? fewer atheists. so guess what? the likelihood is that there are even smaller numbers of atheists behind bars and well… let’s call the rest of america, “baptists and pentecostals gone wild!”

Rex,

The world doesn’t stop at New York State.

Also, “religious affiliation” really has zero to do with whether or not someone is a believer, as is proven to me day after day through the people I meet. I am convinced there are many atheists who have just not come “out” yet.

 

[rex_clinton]

i have no canned answer readily prepared for my question. in short there is no answer it hasn’t happened. how can you explain something that doesn’t exist? for whom no credible evidence other than a primal wish to believe has ever been presented?

the giving of weight to the supernatural is laughable. hard core believers will walk through fire for their delusions but i would rather appeal to those who are on the fence or just never gave it much thought.

are there gods? who knows? to horses we appear as gods i’m sure but i hope we taste just as bad if there are superior beings out there who are hungry.

Rex,

This would be a good question if you and I both at least believed in God, or wanted to understand. Then we could try to understand together.

At this time, the only way I have ever seen it used is as a rhetorical type question, with a canned answer on the part of the questioner.

If you are willing to venture into the waters a bit, I will say where my thoughts have gone with this question before. It will require you to try to understand the ways of the Lord I worship.
Are you game?

 

[Armor_of_God]

well here’s the rub my raptured friend: new york state as we all know is a hotbed of liberal atheists. as you go further south and west what do you find? fewer atheists. so guess what? the likelihood is that there are even smaller numbers of atheists behind bars and well… let’s call the rest of america, “baptists and pentecostals gone wild!”

Rex,

The world doesn’t stop at the United States.

Also, please refer again to my comment on “religious affiliation”.
I have met many atheists disguised as Catholics or Protestants.

 

[Ronald_E]

Christ did say He came here for the sinners, not for the righteous. Please forgive me for using the term righteous. I did not know what other term to use. I don’t like that term. Maybe good people could be used.
Christ also said that He would put his law (morality) into the hearts of those who do not know him and if they lived by that law, which can be called conscience, then they would be evaluated accordingly. I do not have a problem with anyone living a life that rejects violence and supports helping those less fortunate.
Martin Luther once said he would rather have a wise Turk than a dumb Christian for a leader.
The natural law supports life, otherwise we would not be here. If we agree on what comprises a moral life as one in which solidarity is its foundation, I do not care who you are or what you believe.
One thing I remember in the story about Noah after they exited the ark is they were told that every man would be held responsible for the killing of another man.

 

[Pier]

well here’s the rub my raptured friend: new york state as we all know is a hotbed of liberal atheists.

Methinks you have us confused with our distant brethren…

And yes, we are all well aware of the hot beds of liberal atheists. As stated before, Lucifer (for those who were wondering) must be pleased with his followers of the doctrine of self (the lukewarm being counted among them, unless they change their ways and turn to our Lord)…

As for the poor souls in prison - they are paying for their crimes here on earth. They won’t suffer eternally if they agree to follow Jesus Christ (God made Man, for those who were wondering, or just maybe forgot ) - Adhering to the Ten Commandments and a couple of golden rules is not too much to expect from us!

Please remember, there is indeed hope for everyone!

 

[rex_clinton]

wow! you folks are kind of scary.

 

[ronyodish]

Because God doesn’t exist !!

“If there were no God, there would be no Atheists” - G.K. Chesterton

God bless,

Rony

 

[Schultzz]

“If there were no God, there would be no Atheists” - G.K. Chesterton

Hey that’s a good one. See how the trolls respond to that.

 

[_A]

The Universe and God are tough questions. What I have wondered and been in awe of is how we as human beings are the result of a universe that has no seemingly self-awareness.
Another question I have are we somewhere along the line of evolution the product of a universe to become self-aware and then begin to attempt to make order out of chaos and begin to identify itself?

I don’t really understand the question.

Adhering to the Ten Commandments and a couple of golden rules is not too much to expect from us!

So should public services like the electric company and water and waste shut down for one day every week? Should hospitals close their doors and kick out the patients one day per week?
That only refers to one of the commandments which is plainly wrong.

 

[Pier]

I don’t really understand the question.

So should public services like the electric company and water and waste shut down for one day every week? Should hospitals close their doors and kick out the patients one day per week?
That only refers to one of the commandments which is plainly wrong.

Do these questions really plague you? You’re a good thinker!

Since electric grids (or whatever they’re called) were not even around in Christ’s time - Voila! We have His Church to make these rulings for us, and God’s laws do not preclude common sense…

My husband’s been caring for developmentally disabled people for over thirty years, and has missed many Thanksgiving’s, Christmases, and New Year’s with his family, including a lot of Sundays. They are adults who can not take care of themselves as they are more like children - and some of the people in his charge he’s cared for since he started there in the '70’s…

So, we celebrate later, as he’s doing work that is necessary for the welfare of others. Which has, btw, included taking them to their various places of worship if they’re so inclined.

You know, too, the Mass is celebrated every day of the week. Ok, I just thought I’d throw that in there…

 

[Pier]

wow! you folks are kind of scary.

Isn’t that interesting…

That’s exactly what I say, regarding those that adhere to the (fairly) recently accepted societal dogmas and doctrines, as dictated to us and at us by the highly elevated and esteemed proponents of the culture of death…

There isn’t a scarier or more hypocritical entity on earth.

 

[_A]

Do these questions really plague you? You’re a good thinker!

I don’t try to adhere to ancient desert-nomad fiction as divine writ, so I am not really plagued by these questions. If the morally correct choice goes against the commandments of one bible or another, no worries.

Since electric grids (or whatever they’re called) were not even around in Christ’s time - Voila! We have His Church to make these rulings for us, and God’s laws do not preclude common sense…

I don’t know what you are getting at here - aren’t all those who work on your chosen sabbath breaking a commandment?

My husband’s been caring for developmentally disabled people

What a coincidence, me too.

for over thirty years, and has missed many Thanksgiving’s, Christmases, and New Year’s with his family, including a lot of Sundays. They are adults who can not take care of themselves as they are more like children - and some of the people in his charge he’s cared for since he started there in the '70’s…

Does he refuse to work on the sabbath, as your commandments dictate?

So, we celebrate later, as he’s doing work that is necessary for the welfare of others. Which has, btw, included taking them to their various places of worship if they’re so inclined.

So he works on the sabbath…shouldn’t you stone him to death? As I understand, that is what the old testament calls for.

You know, too, the Mass is celebrated every day of the week. Ok, I just thought I’d throw that in there…

I also know that every priest I have ever seen works on the sabbath, running their business, making money. This and they tell everyone in their church to observe the sabbath…what a crock.

Isn’t that interesting…

That’s exactly what I say, regarding those that adhere to the (fairly) recently accepted societal dogmas and doctrines, as dictated to us and at us by the highly elevated and esteemed proponents of the culture of death…

There isn’t a scarier or more hypocritical entity on earth.

The RCC is pretty hypocritical. Look at how much wealth they have while preaching charity.

 

[Ronald_E]

A, I am sorry. I looked at my question and did not understand it either. Let me try again.
Are we the product of a universe that is evolving and becoming self-aware? In other words, is each of us an expression of the universe awakening into consciousness?
Does the point at which each of us become self-aware determine the path we take towards identity which seems to be an attempt to create order out of chaos?
It is still difficult to phrase these questions clearly. The four existential crises that all beings with consciousness face are death, freedom, isolation and lack of meaning. These crises would not exist without awareness. Natural law or forces of unknown origin has brought me here at this moment in time to attempt to construct a question about why I exist.
Are we the universe, in its infinite diversity, attempts of a universe to be alive and to be something that it has never been before in space and time? We begin in nothingness and awaken to chaos and attempt to create order out chaos as a way to define ourselves.
It seems that the chaos we awaken to is the chaos of other humans who are attempting to define themselves. In the process they attempt to make us into their image and likeness. The more self-aware we are the more it seems like an assault that creates more chaos which adds to the already existing chaos of our developing awareness. Instinctively, it seems, we have the knowledge that what others are attempting to order us into is wrong. We then either give up our freedom to explore our origins or we risk our annihilation and use our freedom explore the unknown.
The existential philosophers stated that there are two general reactions to the crisis of death: 1) seek a savior whether it be some unseen omnipotent being or a known entity such as a family, group, or organization; 2) try to be special as an attempt to avoid being nothing. Both of these reactions stem from fear.
I am done for now. It is early and I think I have created too much chaos in my own galaxy.

 

[_A]

A, I am sorry. I looked at my question and did not understand it either. Let me try again.
Are we the product of a universe that is evolving and becoming self-aware? In other words, is each of us an expression of the universe awakening into consciousness?

I don’t see the universe as self-aware.

Does the point at which each of us become self-aware determine the path we take towards identity which seems to be an attempt to create order out of chaos?
It is still difficult to phrase these questions clearly. The four existential crises that all beings with consciousness face are death, freedom, isolation and lack of meaning. These crises would not exist without awareness. Natural law or forces of unknown origin has brought me here at this moment in time to attempt to construct a question about why I exist.
Are we the universe, in its infinite diversity, attempts of a universe to be alive and to be something that it has never been before in space and time? We begin in nothingness and awaken to chaos and attempt to create order out chaos as a way to define ourselves.
It seems that the chaos we awaken to is the chaos of other humans who are attempting to define themselves. In the process they attempt to make us into their image and likeness. The more self-aware we are the more it seems like an assault that creates more chaos which adds to the already existing chaos of our developing awareness. Instinctively, it seems, we have the knowledge that what others are attempting to order us into is wrong. We then either give up our freedom to explore our origins or we risk our annihilation and use our freedom explore the unknown.
The existential philosophers stated that there are two general reactions to the crisis of death: 1) seek a savior whether it be some unseen omnipotent being or a known entity such as a family, group, or organization; 2) try to be special as an attempt to avoid being nothing. Both of these reactions stem from fear.
I am done for now. It is early and I think I have created too much chaos in my own galaxy.

The existential philosophers were apparently something pretty special. I have heard this many times.
I was forced to read ‘Nausea’ on a sort of bet. It, to me, had nothing to say and was a waste of print. Something about it seemed to me to be all background and no story. If there was a message, it was lost on me.
I don’t get much from any of the existentialists…except Henry Miller (if he is one of them). He at least had the good sense to load his meanderings (I am thinking of the 2 ‘Tropics’ here) with real, dirty, gritty life in the background. I don’t just mean ‘dirty’ in the sexually explicit sense (though the book certainly is that), but in the sense that it doesn’t describe a cleaned up, uncluttered world around his story.

 

[Ronald_E]

I don’t see the universe as self-aware.Yes, I agree. What I am having difficulty making clear is the idea that we as human beings are the outcome of the universe becoming self-aware. At the point that we become self-aware we are aware of chaos and in our ignorance we attempt to create order out of chaos without understanding that our attempts to create order do not really address the chaos which is experienced internally through the five senses. Since the senses are so powerful and necessary for survival and give us what we call pleasure or pain our basic relationship begins with pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain. From those primitive beginnings we may begin to develop a philosophy that attempts to create order and avoid pain.
The existential philosophers were apparently something pretty special. I have heard this many times.
I was forced to read ‘Nausea’ on a sort of bet. It, to me, had nothing to say and was a waste of print. Something about it seemed to me to be all background and no story. If there was a message, it was lost on me. I haven’t read this.
I don’t get much from any of the existentialists…except Henry Miller (if he is one of them). He at least had the good sense to load his meanderings (I am thinking of the 2 ‘Tropics’ here) with real, dirty, gritty life in the background. I don’t just mean ‘dirty’ in the sexually explicit sense (though the book certainly is that), but in the sense that it doesn’t describe a cleaned up, uncluttered world around his story.

I am from the railroad tracks and the coal mines so I did not read this either. However, what you seem to describe here is the experience of the powerful effect that uninhibited unfiltered sensual awareness has on the human being. This sensuality I am referring to is not restricted to the sexual drive because that would be extremely limited as you have already expressed. Sensuality would seem to be living in the full awareness of the five senses and as a result being fully aware of the passion that exists within us in relationship to all that we experience through the senses. In most cases we are prevented from developing a passionate relationship with self and others and are taught that to be sensual is wrong for obvious historical reasons.
If we are controlled by the senses then it would be like the tail wagging the dog or if we are afraid of the sensuality of the senses then we attempt to create a system to suppress the senses in order to prevent chaos.
I am going for a run now. This is giving me a headache. Catch you later.