I am an atheist.

[NotReligous]

This may help…groundwork

Sorry, it didn’t

 

[Lapey]

“Even for me? Then why do our morals differ? (about sex, etc.)”

This is an enormous fallacy. Morals don’t differ; abortion is intrinsically evil. This means it is ALWAYS wrong! If you think different that does not make it a moral thought. That would be immoral.

Truths don’t change, only opinion of the truths. This is what people like you see as different morals; incorrectly I might add. Right is always right, just because you believe something different does not alter the truth in the least. If this presents me as intolerant, I guess that is what I am. The compass always points north, my immortal soul always points to God. I can choose to follow my souls called to holiness by God or the world called to worldliness by Satan; it’s my choice and yours.

 

[phoooiee]

So god is the first cause for our universe. Exactly my point. You have no idea what the first cause is. “God is!” you say. God might be big bang then for me. (first cause we are aware of) if you asked who caused the big bang, and it just happens to be the first cause you are asking (according to your definition) what caused god. Your answer; he has always been…we are back at point one…you have no idea what caused this universe…

If you do, prove it, otherwise you simply are guessing.

It’s interesting to note that the Big Bang theory was first proposed by a Catholic priest- his name was Georges Lemaitre.

 

[Davidoa]

Congratulations my friend you have taken 1 small step to understanding God more now. Now that your not 100% sure God exists, you must seek… seriously and not in your own version or likeness of it, look at every opinion and way. BTW Atheism is 100% man made, this is true fact

 

[NotReligous]

1.I Believe in God because I Believe in love and he is the only one who TRULY gives peace within your heart

Well, unfortunately, every religion has this possible psychological effect, and they can’t all be correct.

1. You be the judge

Ok…

1. I’m not God

Indeed you are not, but it is not required to answer this question.

1. If you look up history DEEPLY you will be surprised on how many monks, priests have come up with many theories and so on that are used in science today.

That does not justify some other things the church has done…

1. Catholics are not sola scriptura’s ( Bible only)

Indeed.So You answer no? Oh wait…I made the question false…I was supposed to say; “god” instead of “the bible” Sorry,. I can’t fix it anymore.

1. 10 commandments can help you in your life but not by itself.

Ok, thanks.

 

[NotReligous]

“Even for me? Then why do our morals differ? (about sex, etc.)”

This is an enormous fallacy. Morals don’t differ; abortion is intrinsically evil. This means it is ALWAYS wrong! If you think different that does not make it a moral thought. That would be immoral.

Morality changes. What ever you define as morals might not. What gives you the reason to think your morals are the correct ones?
(the rest of the message was pretty much the same)

 

[NotReligous]

It’s interesting to note that the Big Bang theory was first proposed by a Catholic priest- his name was Georges Lemaitre.

It does not matter, really. The only way how it would matter, would be if the bi bang theory would proof the existence of god.

 

[Pacos_Pete]

I would rather live my life as if there is a God, die and find out there isn’t, than to live my life as if there isn’t a God, die and find out there is…

 

[Davidoa]

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…

 

[catholic-rcia]

quote=NotReligous;6870443]

1. Why do you believe in god?

*When one is with you each and every day, guiding you, loving you, even when you sin… how could you not beleive? You see God is with us at all times, he does not wait for us to come around to Him. Or to be better. He comes to us as we are. If we accept this we can be transformed by His love. Then we want to tell of thers about Him. We see Him and hear Him in Jesus. Jesus is God to us. *

1.1 How is your religion different from any others?

God comes to us in the form of a man, not to rule, rather to love us home to Him.

1.2 Do you actually have any logical reason to believe in god?

*Here is a bit of my story, how my parents led me to God through my fathers sin and my mothers suicide. It is all to logical for me. *
http://utahmission.com/pages/Forgive.html​

1. Do you believe that god will send me to hell, even if I live my life really well, but I just don’t believe in him?

God will decide and I am 100% ok with this. I think about the thief on the cross, this would be all of us. Along with the Prodigal son.

2.1 Do you think this is just?

*God makes no mistakes as He is perfect justice itself, He did not create it, He is justice. Like love, we can share it but its not ours, it is from Him. It is Him. *

2.2 Would you do the same?

*If I reached down to you to pull you from a very deep dark well would you take my hand? God will never force you to love Him. This will be your choice now, tomorrow or at the end of this life. *​

1. For what would you send a person for **eternal **torture?

God does not send one to eternal torture, one does this by rejection of Him. We are not His slaves. Do you take His hand or not?

3.1 Would you send your child, who you love, also there?

*Of course not, that would be of evil would it not? My children will choose. *

1. Why do you think religion tends to contradict science?
   I beleive science keeps un covering the how…I love science. The more I learn the more amazing it all becomes. the depth of Gods creation is endless. Eternal

4.1 Do you think science tends to be correct, in fact a lot more than religion? (if no, why not?)

*Nothing can be more correct than God, science and learning come from Him, he is their source in the end. *

Continued…

 

[catholic-rcia]

1. Do you think bible is the source of all moral?

*God is the source of all that is moral, the Church came before the Bible. It teaches us about love and about morality. (with the confessional close to center stage) It shows us that we can not follow the ten commandments. What we do as Catholics is follow Jesus who is the Ten Commandments. We go to confession when we sin, this is how we follow Him. This is how we know He loves us. *

5.1 If so, how do you explain my moral?

*Not sure what you are asking here. *-

1. Do you think the Ten Commandments are perfect, and more than enough to guide your life?
   *If we try to love others as God loves us all would be pretty good. But we are a fallen people so all we can do is try. Mass, prayer and confession get this job done. *

6.1 If so, what would you do in the following situation? "You are at a railroad track. The train is coming, and far ahead, you can see five persons in it’s way. The persons can not hear you nor the train. (they are wearing headphones, they can’t hear, I don’t know) The persons are not moving, and will soon be hit by the train. You have only one chance saving them. Next to you there is a switch. By pulling the switch, the train will change track. But on this other track is also one other person, who will be hit by the train. Will you save the five persons, but kill the other one?

*First is the single person on the track Jesus? That would make it easier to answer because I know what He would have me do, as He has already done this for me personally *

You see, the bible states, ‘thou shalt not kill’, yet on this and similar situations, you must use your own judgment.
That is just common sense. What it also says is thou shalt not hate. I don’t see where hatred comes in to your scenario with the train. You would have to make a choice fast, not beat yourself up after. Seek counseling to heal. Move on with Christ!

6.2 And what if the other person on the second track is your mother/father/child?
I see Jesus and I know He is willing to take the hit. “Love” God is far above us all.
I would choose my family as my love is measured. But God does not measure His love to you or I. He loves you just as much as me. You are just as special in His eyes even on the path you are on today. He is not like a human father.

Rich
www.utahmission.com

These are some of the very basic questions, that I will ask you. Please reply to them.

 

[Jim_Dandy]

I tried to be an atheist, but was overcome by common sense.

You paint all scientists with the same atheistic brush.

Read Anthony Rizzi’s Science Before Science, A Guide to Thinking in the 21st Century. Rizzi is a theoretical physicist who solved an 80-year problem in Einstein’s theory in 1997. He is the founder of the Institute for Advanced Physics – IAPweb.org.

Read physicist Stephen Barr’s Modern Physics - Ancient Faith:
amazon.com/Modern-Physics-Ancient-Faith-Stephen/dp/0268034710

Many scientists have become believers because of the scientific evidence for the existence of God. Check out:

Unlocking the Mystery of Life
discovery.org/a/2116

The Privileged Planet
amazon.com/Privileged-Planet-John-Rhys-Davies/dp/B0002E34C0

Google Michael Behe, a Catholic microbiologist.

I’m now reading a book by Kevin Vost, a doctor of psychology, “From Atheism to Catholicism, How Scientists and Philosophers Led Me to Truth.”

Jim Dandy, ex-Southern Baptist, ex-agnostic, ex-atheist, ecstatic to be Catholic.

 

[NotReligous]

1. God is Love, and Truth. Obviously everyone believes in love and truth despite these not being measurable, therefore it is equally reasonable to believe in God.

That only works if you actually make the very definition of god “love and truth”. Meaning, that god would be only those 2 things. They are human emotions, they exist, so I agree in that sense.

1.1. Catholicism is different from other religions because it is fuller and freer from error. According to the Church, God works through all religions, however no other religion has Jesus Christ, the fullest revelation possible- God in human form,

Yes, but every religion says they are better, and so on. My question was why is that, and not 'are you better?"

1.2. When I follow the Church’s teachings faithfully, even at times when they don’t make sense to me at first, I perceive that I become kinder and more at peace. Since others around me, even non-Catholics, also perceive this change, I know that I am not delusional.

Every religion can generate peace, etc. but this is no reason to think they are correct.

1. No. The Church does not even say this. Furthermore, the Church teaches that hell is the absence of God. So if someone actively chooses to reject God, then obviously they will be without God. It is not possible for humans to have free will without this choice being possible. If you would like more discussion on this, since it is kind of a big topic, please ask.

I just don’t see it as a free choice at all. (check one of my replies, you’ll know when you have found it)

1. I would not send a person to eternal torture. However I do believe I am bound to respect other people’s choices, and if a person chooses to do something that hurts them, I cannot prevent them without violating their human dignity (it’s quite different if a person is mentally ill and not aware of their choices, as in a suicide attempt).

Yes, but is eternal torture something that can not be prevented? (hinting to god)

1. I don’t think that Catholicism contradicts science. There may be some apparent contradictions, but these tend to be resolved over time.

Fair enough. If you do believe in evolution, I don’t see too many contradictions.

1. No. I think God is the source of all morals. The Bible is a tool which brings us closer to God. We also have the Holy Spirit, and the Church, and Sacred Tradition.

I miss wrote this question. It was indeed supposed to be ‘god’ rather than ‘bible’ …My mistake.

5.1 God works through all people. Sometimes though there is a problem of definition. If the definition of God that a person has been exposed to is distorted, then obviously a person will not believe what is obviously false.

Mhhm…kind of hard to argue with that, as I started this question with the presumption that god does exist.

1. I think that the Ten Commandments are another tool, a very important tool, to support the sentiment of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Ok.

6.1 Honestly, I don’t know. This is an abstract scenario and I am not in it, and people are not logical problems. I do believe that in the extremely unlikely event I were in this situation, the Holy Spirit would guide me and I would know what was best.

Ok…so you say you don’t know. Well, pretty hard to say anything to that.

I’m going to recommend the following to you:
op-stjoseph.vodspot.tv/
If you go there and find the video entitled “Faith and Reason: Friends or Foes” (added 27 days ago), perhaps you might find it helpful.

I’ll check it.

More importantly than this, I will recommend the following (as an ex-atheist).
phoooiee;6870594:

Do an experiment. Set the following:

1. God is Love. Do nothing that you cannot do out of love, no matter what. Follow your conscience (CCC 1782- man must not be forced to act against his conscience). This must be the most important rule, no matter what.

But I don’t believe in hiiim…it doesn’t matter if you say “fairies are love”, it won’t change my belief in them…

1. Disregard the actions of others and all previous experience. Start over. Redefine your definition of religion. A wonderful place to begin would be the Pray As You Go podcast: pray-as-you-go.org/

It does a wonderful job of asking insightful questions about one of the daily readings. Based on your post, I think you would like it.

But I still don’t have any reason to even presume god exist. Pretending he does will only feel like fooling myself.

1. Experiment. Pick a Catholic moral idea. Try following it for a little while, see if it makes you better or worse as a person. Try to follow your intution- don’t pick the absolute most difficult thing to accept. It could be something very small, like “turn the other cheek.” This seems to be very obvious, but ask yourself whether this idea would really be a part of our contemporary reality if it were not for Jesus Christ.

I have done that quite long. Now, I don’t follow all the ideas of the catholic church, but some I do. (not because I want to act as a catholic, but because of my personal morality) And trust me, I feel more free this way.

Feel free to send me a PM if you just need to talk!

Done that, I will continue there from now on!

PS, my replies are not too long, for I have replied quite a lot, and I am a bit tired…

 

[NotReligous]

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…

Err…no. If you can give me a reason to believe in god, I gladly will. If you don’t even have a good reason for your own belief, that you can share with me, then you need to think your faith a bit…

 

[NotReligous]

I would rather live my life as if there is a God, die and find out there isn’t, than to live my life as if there isn’t a God, die and find out there is…

Fair enough.

 

[NotReligous]

catholic-rcia, I just want you to acknowledge that I read your post. I didn’t find anything too special, that I would like to reply. (I have gotten similar posts before)

I would only like you to know, that I meant;
“5. Do you think god is the source of all moral?”

Sorry.

 

[Jim_Dandy]

Also recommended:

How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas E. Woods, Ph.D.

The man who proposed the Big Bang theory was a priest and an astrophysicist.

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

I don’t understand why do you see science and Catholic religion as opposed to/incompatible with each other. I’m religious, Catholic, fully accept all that my Church teaches. I’m also a scientist, have been a professional for 20 years, masters degree in pharmaceutical sciences, Ph.D. in chemistry. I don’t have a problem being a scientist and a faithful Catholic, at the same time. Could you perhaps give an example of where you think science and Catholic religion (but I do mean Catholic, not Protestant or Islam etc) contradict each other?

 

[Davidoa]

Did you come to these forums to Seek or not?

 

[NotReligous]

I tried to be an atheist, but was overcome by common sense.

Good for you. Care to share that common sense of yours? (meaning what convinced you that there was a god)

You paint all scientists with the same atheistic brush.

Not at all. It might seem so, but I was only saying that science and religion tend to disagree often. Not anything about scientists. I wasn’t saying that all scientists are atheists. (but it is a fact, that the more educated you are, the less likely you are to believe in god)

Many scientists have become believers because of the scientific evidence for the existence of God. Check out:

Unlocking the Mystery of Life
discovery.org/a/2116

I did, but the formation of DNA is not a mystery at all…it was though to me at the first year of high school on biology, which all have to attend.

So could you share me some of your proofs for god?

PS. For other posters, I will take a short 5-10minute break, before I continue replying…there is a limit for everything.