I am an atheist.

[Eutychus123]

This person is just declaring what he thinks as Infallible or something He will not except truth until he seriously opens his heart and mind. Just like a protestant really…

Protestant I am. Atheist, I am not.

 

[Mamanurse]

After reading all of the posts, I don’t really feel that I will be able to give a different answer to the questions you posed. If you are a true athiest then why do you ask about hell? Isn’t hell some made up place that only religious people believe in? You said in an earlier reply that all people possess a sense of morality, since that is true, even by your standards why do you think that is? Maybe because a higher Being created us to possess that in order to know what is right and wrong so that we may someday join Him in Heaven? Or to reject him and do what is wrong and go to that place the religious people like to call hell?

 

[NotReligous]

If you really, really want answers to the questions you posted, you will need to research deeply asking the Holy Spirit for guidance. I know, you do not believe in Him but He created you and certainly believes in you so cut him some slack. “Fake it till you make it” and ask.

But once…again…I can not force my mind into believing. Just try the same with Santa Claus.

He has revealed Himself to me because I asked, and now, I believe because He is really there.

And…how did he reveal himself to you? (note that almost every single religion says the exact same thing about their god as you did know)

I believe Jesus when He said “I am the way, the truth and the life” Jn 14:6. Catholicism is the original Christian religion started by Jesus (we named it “Catholic” later which simply means universal). Catholicism has the most benefits of all Christian religions out there. Religion is my vehicle to God. It gives structure to my faith in Jesus Christ and the trinity.

I meant proof-wise.

Like I said, thru my faith, He has somehow revealed Himself to me.

And that ‘somehow’ exists in every religion…

God made us a promise. He promised that He would reveal Himself to every man at one time or another. When that happens for everyone, I do not know. When He reveals Himself to you, what you decide to do is your choice and your choice alone. No one can determine your fate but you and God.

That is just not true…a cruel way to test it; Raise a child only in your house. Don’t tell him anything about god. See what happens.

No, but I am only human. God is just, totally, he is merciful, LOVING, forgiving and did I say, God is just.

I don’t see the love and just, but ok.

not sure what you are asking

Would you send me to hell, only because I did not believe in god.

You don’t want to ask any human being that question! I work hard daily on forgiveness, a human trait that reeks havoc in my spiritual life. Only God can help me through that flaw! Thank God for God!!

Mhhm…well, god according to you catholics, does indeed send people to eternal torture.

Not sure what your moral is, your religion is “Atheist”, mine is “Christian”-

Yea…about that…atheism is not a religion…should have just written none. So if I have no religion, my morals come from…?

You see, the bible states, ‘thou shalt not kill’, yet on this and similar situations, you must use your own judgment.

Ok, I am in a hurry. The rest was pretty basic.

PS. I will not reply in about 20-50 mins.

 

[legendashmore]

NotReligious:
You do keep saying that Religion and Science are two separate things, but that is the exact opposite.
In the Middle ages, Science was considered a form of Theology. Science was considered the search for How God Works. In fact, Catholics are responsible for most of the Scientific Discoveries. For Example - A few of the Well Known Scientists who were Catholic:

Gregor Mendel - Augustinian Priest - Wikipedia says this about him: “[He] gained posthumous fame as the figurehead of the new science of genetics for his study of the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants. Mendel showed that the inheritance of these traits follows particular laws, which were later named after him. The significance of Mendel’s work was not recognized until the turn of the 20th century. The independent rediscovery of these laws formed the foundation of the modern science of genetics.[2]”

Georges Lemaître - Belgian Priest - Wikipedia says this about him: “Lemaître proposed what became known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the Universe, which he called his ‘hypothesis of the primeval atom’.”

André Marie Ampere - Attended Mass Daily - He was a French mathematician, chemist, and physicist, who’s experiments quantified the relationship of the electrical current and the magnetic field. His name says everything else.

Copernicus - Priest - Copernican Model of the Universe. (remember before this we believed in the Eart being the Center of the Universe, Now it was the suns. Thank Goodness we don’t have to deal with epicycles anymore, those were a pain in the butt)

So now for the long list of those I can think of, but don’t want to write any more explanations for:
Galileo Galilei
Louis Pasteur
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier
Erwin Schrodinger
Andreas Vesalius
Enrico Fermi
Alexander Fleming
Oh and I just found this list as I was searching:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=334105

Okay so they were Catholic, right? Let’s just look at Protestant religions:
Johannes Kepler - Lutheran
James Clerk Maxwell - Presbyterian, Anglican, Baptist
Werner Heisenberg - Lutheran
Linus Pauling - Lutheran
Tycho Brahe - Lutheran
Leonard Euler - Calvinist
Karl Friedrich Gauss - Lutheran

How About Judaism?

Albert Einstein - I admit he wasn’t a strong believer in Judaism but he is a strong believer in God he is in fact Quoted as saying, “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”

Neils Bohr
Franz Boas
William Herschel
Max Born
Murray Gell-Mann
Sheldon Glashow
Richard Feynman
Hans Bethe
Paul Ehrlich
Claude Levi-Strauss
Lynn Margulis
Karl Landsteiner
Jonas Salk

Now if all of these Scientists, many of whom, you probably try to quote to say there is no God, believe in God, where is your stance. When you say that Religion and Science are Separated, that is like saying A computer is Separate From it’s monitor. You can’t use a computer without a monitor;the monitor shows you and tells you how the computer is working. You can’t understand God without science to tell you what and how He is working. Science and Religion are one and the same.

Now I have some questions for you:
Why is it that in each prehistoric Civilization, There was a strong belief in God? (Even if they understand him as gods) If you are saying there is no such thing as God then why is there a part in every person who tries to understand him? Why is there the eternal longing for the truth about him? Even in places where there was no way for other civilizations to speak to each other, there is a belief in God, however they understand him.

Why is there a constant set of Morals in all ancient civilizations? Even though they may differ slightly. For instance, in almost every ancient civilization Rape was considered a bad thing. Why is it? Why is there always a form of Marriage between a man and a wife?

Also take a look at St. Thomas Aquinas’s 5 ways to prove there is a God.
sacred-texts.com/chr/aquinas/summa/sum005.htm

It is about 3/4 of the way down under the heading Whether God Exists?

Thanks and GOD Bless You!

 

[rinnie]

If you hadn’t noticed, I did seek. Nothing at all came to me.

Yes, if i truly put my mind on the set; “There is a god, no questions asked.” I might. (but I cant even do that )

Sorry…that didn’t convince me. That is simply love and innocence. (yes, I have looked into the eyes of a new born baby [1 day old])

Yes, I want to. But so far, once again, I have no reason to believe. My mind simply can. not. accept. things. I. don’t. have. any. proof. of. Got it?

Sigh…done that. didn’t work. now what?

There you go ! theres your problem. You are claiming you have no free will. Yes you do. You are claiming your mind won’t let you accept things. There is your proof that you have free will but refuse to use it to accept things.

You are saying your mind won’t let you. So in one statement you are saying you have no free will and your mind runs you, you do not run your mind.

But then you contradict yourself because you claim that you want to!! SO bottom line until you want to accept things you simply won’t.

You have free will to do anything you want. You cannot have one mind doing one thing, and wanting one thing so bad, and then another mind takes over and runs the other mind.

Unless of course you have a mental disorder. Then of course you must seek professional advice. We are not qualified to help you.

 

[mellowcalico]

Yes…I kind of meant why it would be more logical to be in your religion, that the others.

There is no logical reason. Logic is the realm of science and faith is the realm of religion. You can’t explain religion with logic any more than you can define science with faith. It’s like trying to come up with a logical reason to love someone.

Well…first of all, we are homo sapiens, a species. One of many. This is how science defines humans. And that also explains how we are scientifically made humans. The other possible definition falls to philosophy … And there is an evolutionary reason for love. In very short; it helps us to survive better. (also dolphins have similar feelings)

Where you are saying philosophy, I am saying religion I guess. How are they different? Buddism is considered a philosophy and a religion (as an example). And when I say what makes us human I mean what gives us morals? As far as we can prove, I don’t think animals have morals.

BTW, I like your answer about evolutionary reasons for love–that would work well with offspring (loving them and extra care). But why love a mate? Why love a friend? Or why care for a stranger? It would actually be something interesting to read (almost sounds like it could be a good NatGeo article). But other animals don’t seem to love and are successful.

Page 2, my reply… (or at page one? )

I am a little confused by what you are asking. Can you please clarify. I went back and read your replies on 1 and 2 and it seems like there is a disconnect. Thanks

 

[Kathy_W_Frye]

You are obviously very intelligent, don’t let over confidence in that gift prevent you from seeking the truth. You are seeking or you would not be on this forum. We are all praying that you will continue to pursue your quest. Maybe you have never heard the “Fake it till you make it” term. Since the early 1930’s, when AA was born, this slogan brought many thousands to sobriety and a discovery of God (they called him Higher Power). It is used in all situations and means that you can pray, pray, pray. Even if you do not believe, act like you do, asking for guidance and faith. Even today, when my faith falters, I have to ask the Lord to strengthen my faith.

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

Well, the catholic creationists are contradicting science by saying evolution is not true. Other than that, the major things lie in the history. (many things were not straightaway accepted by the catholic church, as I am sure you know)

Side note; Aah! I wasn’t supposed to reply…I really need a brake…I’ll try to have it know…

OK, let’s take evolution. You probably know that the teachings of the Catholic Church are formulated by the Bishops in communion with the Pope. Whatever is an official teaching, we Catholic laypeople must accept. In areas in which the Catholic Church did not formulate an official teaching, Catholics are free to explore various possibilities and free to disagree with each other. Thus, the question you should always ask, is not whether a Catholic layperson believes this or that, but rather what’s the official teaching of the Catholic Church, if there is any. For example, the Catholic Church never formulated any official teaching on whether Spain or the Netherlands should win the soccer world cup, or whether the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan were justified. Under these conditions, some Catholics bet on Spain, and others on the Netherlands, some agreed with the invasion of Iraq and others did not, and they were free to go either way, from the Church’s standpoint. Regarding evolution, the Catholic Church only has one official teaching: that the whole humanity descended from a single pair of man and woman, namely Adam and Eve. All Catholics must believe this, because it was divinely revealed (revealed by God to us). Beyond this one requirement, the Catholic Church imposes nothing on its believers, and all Catholics are free to believe or reject the theory of evolution. So, when a scientist rejects or doubts the theory of evolution, it really doesn’t matter whether he is Catholic or not, because the Catholic Church does not regard it as its duty to decide whether the theory of evolution, as something accounting for the origin of species, is true or not. Now, to use another example, some members of your local country club may accept, while others may doubt or reject the theory of evolution. But the country club is not concerned with taking an official position on evolution, because the country club does not regard it as its duty to take a stance on this issue.

 

[Kathy_W_Frye]

You will find Him, just relax and allow Him to work in your life. You just might be trying too hard. Are you going to view those videos? Do you get out in the wide world and see God working everywhere? Are you out there, not behind your computer? When I had my “rebirth” I made the decision to flood my life with things of “God”. I read lives of saints (The Little Flowers of St. Francis is a good place to start), listened to only Christian music, did volunteer work in soup kitchen, retreat center etc. Went to Mass as frequently as possible, went to confession after 25 years, receive sacraments as often as possible, found a good spiritual advisor, watched Brother Sun, Sister Moon, The 13th Day etc. I had to force myself to do these things because I decided that a life walking in a faith was better than where I was (not believing). I also read books like “Life after Life”, extremely important for one like yourself. Like the Nike commercial just do it. God bless you friend.

 

[NotReligous]

You do keep saying that Religion and Science are two separate things, but that is the exact opposite.

Ok then. Scientifically proving a religion correct should be easy then.

And to the rest of your post; Can you quote me saying that scientists can not be religious? But Science and religion still differ greatly. Just think about it. Does religon require proof? No. Does religion always agree with the real world (science) NO. Note that I am not only talking about Catholics here. Is religion always logical? No. Can you disproof religion? No

Now I have some questions for you:
Why is it that in each prehistoric Civilization, There was a strong belief in God? (Even if they understand him as gods) If you are saying there is no such thing as God then why is there a part in every person who tries to understand him? Why is there the eternal longing for the truth about him? Even in places where there was no way for other civilizations to speak to each other, there is a belief in God, however they understand him.

God was used to explain things, that they did not know. Very often these things were the sun, stars etc. Now religion is losing it’s meaning.

Why is there a constant set of Morals in all ancient civilizations? Even though they may differ slightly. For instance, in almost every ancient civilization Rape was considered a bad thing. Why is it? Why is there always a form of Marriage between a man and a wife?

Not true at all. In Greece (and Rome, if I am not mistaking) homosexuality was allowed, and just look at the cruel rituals of the Mayas.

That does that post.

 

[NotReligous]

There you go ! theres your problem. You are claiming you have no free will. Yes you do. You are claiming your mind won’t let you accept things. There is your proof that you have free will but refuse to use it to accept things.

Uhh…what I mean is that, I find god as likely to exist as fairies. It is as easy to believe in fairies for me as in god. You try to believe in Santa Claus! I am sure you would want to? You just can’t…the same way I feel…

 

[NotReligous]

Where you are saying philosophy, I am saying religion I guess. How are they different? Buddism is considered a philosophy and a religion (as an example). And when I say what makes us human I mean what gives us morals? As far as we can prove, I don’t think animals have morals.

They don’t differ too much, I guess…so?

BTW, I like your answer about evolutionary reasons for love–that would work well with offspring (loving them and extra care). But why love a mate? Why love a friend? Or why care for a stranger? It would actually be something interesting to read (almost sounds like it could be a good NatGeo article). But other animals don’t seem to love and are successful.

Same reason. Some of that is sympathy, some love. They help us to survive. (now that we have evolved into consciousness, it is more complex)

I am a little confused by what you are asking. Can you please clarify. I went back and read your replies on 1 and 2 and it seems like there is a disconnect. Thanks

It was to reply the “free choice of hell”

Here, let me quote; "This is basically saying; “You have millions of options (religions) here, one might be correct, if not you have wasted (depending on religion) your only bet you had, pick one! "
Seems pretty cruel to me…if you disagree tell me any proofs for god or any religion.”

Meaning, that if I have no way of knowing which religion is correct, not going to hell is pretty hard, and definitely not a free choice.

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

My guess is his problem with God and Science is science explains everythng in a way a human can understand.

God works in mysterious ways. You can prove Science wrong, but you Can’t ’ prove God wrong.

With God sometimes you have to have just good ole plain Faith. Faith can move mountains.

We know from faith that there is a cure for everything. But we just have to find it. Science is what can show that cure to a non believer.

But when God overpowers Science and provides a cure then it creates a problem for the unbeliever. Say someone has a Cancer that cannot be cured. But it is through Faith and God.

We know as believers nothing is impossible for God and call it a miracle. But to an unbeliever they will even doubt the illness even if it is showed to them in black and white how it was there but then gone.

So to a non-believe the reason they see science and God incompatible is because God can prove science wrong if he wants to. God can do anything, anywhere, anytime. Science can’t!!

Bottom line you can explain science, but you can’t explain God. No one can. But you can have God and not need science. But because of God you have science. They just cannot understand why! They feel if all you need is God you don’t need science. But what they really are saying is they don’t understand God.

Yeah, when a person (Angela Boudreaux, New Orleans, 1966) is in terminal-stage of liver cancer, and suddenly heals and lives another 35 years after praying for a holy priest’s (Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos’s) intercession, that presents a serious problem to atheists.

 

[NotReligous]

You are obviously very intelligent, don’t let over confidence in that gift prevent you from seeking the truth. You are seeking or you would not be on this forum. We are all praying that you will continue to pursue your quest. Maybe you have never heard the “Fake it till you make it” term. Since the early 1930’s, when AA was born, this slogan brought many thousands to sobriety and a discovery of God (they called him Higher Power). It is used in all situations and means that you can pray, pray, pray. Even if you do not believe, act like you do, asking for guidance and faith. Even today, when my faith falters, I have to ask the Lord to strengthen my faith.

Aactually…well…it might sound weird, but I pray every day, before I go to sleep. I am sure that it is just a habit, that I got from years and years of praying every night…it just stuck with me. I wouldn’t call it praying though, for I don’t really believe what I say. Thank you for your concern.

PS. Please don’t use this as proof for god, it is just a leftover habit, that I could stop any time I actually want to. (I ‘pray’ for about 5-20 seconds)

 

[EddieMc]

I do not believe in any gods of any religions. No, I don’t even know them all.
And how could I describe something that I don’t believe exist? Meaning, that I can only use the definitions that religions have made for god.

Then why do you care what we think? If there is no God then so what? Go on with your life and be happy.

Oh, that was just for people who think morality comes only from god. And if you meant, that why do I have moral, etc., the short answer is, every one has it! Long answer would be the evolutionary way…too long.

Why is Murder a Universal wrong? Where did that come from? Why do animals not have morals? Is it logical to have morals? Afterall most of our wrongdoing is done in private… So why worry? Why have morals. Does it really matter? If I am not caught at wrongdoing and nothing happens after I die then so what? I should be able to kill and steal and lie without consiquences right? That sounds logical to me.

Currently (for catholics); Evolution. (for some) And that was for all religions.

You are wrong, Evolution is evidence of God’s creativity. You are using Prostestant teachings which is common for former Catholics that do not know their faith.

Well, in the god issue, I’d have to say yes. In other things of course not. And naturally I still needed them. I don’t think I ever claimed not to need them when I became an atheist?

Irrelevant. Really, it is.

That answers my question better than anything you could say. You are still young and inmature. I would guess you are about 26.

Ok…(?)

Hah, I knew that would come up. I’ll do that, if you disprove the existence of fairies. Some things just can not be disproved.

Why would I want to disprove the existance of fairies? Do you not know what a fairy is?

2 first; ok… 3rd; I did that. Many, many times. (not only before 13) It just simply is boring to me. And I see no point of brainwashing myself to think it as fun.

Who has been brainwashed???

yup…

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

Oops, another problem, caused by Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos!

Baltimore Archdiocese to Probe Whether ‘Miracle’ Cancer Cure Tied to 19th-Century Priest
Wednesday, July 01, 2009

The Archdiocese of Baltimore plans to investigate whether an Annapolis woman’s cure from cancer was a miracle, a possible step toward sainthood for a 19th-Century priest.

Mary Ellen Heibel was treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2004 and early 2005 for malignant tumors in her lungs, liver, stomach and chest. After she was diagnosed, Heibel began praying to Blessed Francis X. Seelos, and urging others to pray as well.

Heibel, whose cancer was terminal, experienced a recovery her doctors did not expect and can’t explain. She continues to pray to the priest, who served in Maryland before dying in Louisiana while treating yellow fever victims.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore plans to begin investigating the case in a few weeks, marking only the fifth such investigation in its history.

foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529521,00.html

 

[NotReligous]

OK, let’s take evolution. You probably know that the teachings of the Catholic Church are formulated by the Bishops in communion with the Pope. Whatever is an official teaching, we Catholic laypeople must accept. In areas in which the Catholic Church did not formulate an official teaching, Catholics are free to explore various possibilities and free to disagree with each other. Thus, the question you should always ask, is not whether a Catholic layperson believes this or that, but rather what’s the official teaching of the Catholic Church, if there is any. For example, the Catholic Church never formulated any official teaching on whether Spain or the Netherlands should win the soccer world cup, or whether the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan were justified. Under these conditions, some Catholics bet on Spain, and others on the Netherlands, some agreed with the invasion of Iraq and others did not, and they were free to go either way, from the Church’s standpoint. Regarding evolution, the Catholic Church only has one official teaching: that the whole humanity descended from a single pair of man and woman, namely Adam and Eve. All Catholics must believe this, because it was divinely revealed (revealed by God to us). Beyond this one requirement, the Catholic Church imposes nothing on its believers, and all Catholics are free to believe or reject the theory of evolution. So, when a scientist rejects or doubts the theory of evolution, it really doesn’t matter whether he is Catholic or not, because the Catholic Church does not regard it as its duty to decide whether the theory of evolution, as something accounting for the origin of species, is true or not. Now, to use another example, some members of your local country club may accept, while others may doubt or reject the theory of evolution. But the country club is not concerned with taking an official position on evolution, because the country club does not regard it as its duty to take a stance on this issue.

What a wall of text…my eyes hurt. :compcoff: (just try to divide your text next time)

And I actually knew this. That is why I said Catholic creationists. And it is science vs religion, for the creationists naturally put religion over science.

 

[Kathy_W_Frye]

Been reading your responses, you are extremely adversarial. Many profound statements have been made and you keep bringing up faries and Santa Claus. You sound angry and not ready. There is a wall around you that you want torn down but do not know how to accomplish it. Re-read the good advise. Pay no attention to the judgmental stuff, people are only human and become frustrated. You know that and are having fun with us. When you become truly ready, we are here to help you. You have been battling us all for too long now in front of your computer. Just know that one person is praying for you always. We will meet someday in Heaven, just wait and see. God is going to grab you sooner or later to bring you to Himself because He knows deep down you really do want Him. Remember, He gave us all free will. If God revealed the magnificence of Himself to us, we would no longer have that free will. Would you want someone to love you because they were terrified or because they truly loved you? That is what God wants! He wants you to love Him because He loves you! Now, go find Him, He is waiting patiently and lovingly. Many Blessings

 

[NotReligous]

You will find Him, just relax and allow Him to work in your life. You just might be trying too hard. Are you going to view those videos? Do you get out in the wide world and see God working everywhere? Are you out there, not behind your computer? When I had my “rebirth” I made the decision to flood my life with things of “God”. I read lives of saints (The Little Flowers of St. Francis is a good place to start), listened to only Christian music, did volunteer work in soup kitchen, retreat center etc. Went to Mass as frequently as possible, went to confession after 25 years, receive sacraments as often as possible, found a good spiritual advisor, watched Brother Sun, Sister Moon, The 13th Day etc. I had to force myself to do these things because I decided that a life walking in a faith was better than where I was (not believing). I also read books like “Life after Life”, extremely important for one like yourself. Like the Nike commercial just do it.

Just letting you know, that yes, I will watch the videos (as soon as I have time, a lot of posts to reply) and I read your posts…

God bless you friend.

Hmm…what to reply…Have a good day friend? Yes, that might be good.

 

[Trishie]

I’ve been where you are though I never tried to proselyte anyone else which is effectively what you’re doing, whether or not it is your intention (which regardless of stated intention will remain unclear to me who is of a critical kind of mind despite appearances).

You honestly and sincerely believe you know it all and I wouldn’t consider trying to convince you otherwise, because I suspect that at this stage you can only recognize one kind of knowledge and one kind of truth, but there may come a time in your life when you may find there is more to reality than your incisive logic tells you. Or not…but I will remember you in prayer sometimes… certainly as I drift off to sleep, it being after 1 a.m on my continent. Regards, Trishie