I am an atheist

[ralphinal]

Cool. I fish some here, too, but it is mostly for largemouth. How far north are you?

 

[Kitty_Chan]

I have heard of him, but have not seen his work (as far as I know).

Hmm could be several of em, James Randi magician and professional skeptic.

on that site Im one of the few christians.

Mind you we are both part of the few Canucks here,

 

[Pax]

Thank you for the reccomendations, but I think if there were really and truly a god, he would not exclude illiterates from learning.
There is no way I would try to argue against the existence of a god. If someone says there is one, it is up to them to convince me (or not).

God does not exclude illiterates from learning. The gift of faith is sometimes met with resistance and sometimes the intellectual needs intellectual materials to help overcome the obstacles.

Think about the consequences of logical argument for and against the existence of God. On one side all of the arguments fail the test of logic. On the other a certain set of the arguments are solid and have no logical failings. This should at least make you curious. Afterall, truth has intrinsic value and something this important has infinite importance if true.

I do not mean to be critical, but it seems that you are much too passive in seeking the truth. If you explore all of the possibilities and are still convinced of your position that is one thing, but not pursuing these things thoroughly strikes me as odd. Indifference to the great questions related to life and its purpose is something I just don’t understand.

 

[_A]

Cool. I fish some here, too, but it is mostly for largemouth. How far north are you?

North of sixty (degrees).

 

[Kitty_Chan]

If someone says there is one, it is up to them to convince me (or not).

Just as a note, sorta interupting, sorry Pax. but just to be clear no one is going to convince you. We can all talk about various things, but each of us make our own decisions.

 

[Kitty_Chan]

North of sixty (degrees).

we had snow as usual at halloween, sprinkle last night but gone now, probably til Christmas how you doing there??

 

[_A]

Indifference to the great questions related to life and its purpose is something I just don’t understand.

I don’t have ‘indifference to the great questions’. I have simply found different answers than you. I have pasted a favorite poem on here, I find it uplifting and empowering. I think you will find that you feel exactly the opposite about it, but have a read, and see if you can get a feel for why I feel uplifted about it.
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[_A]

we had snow as usual at halloween, sprinkle last night but gone now, probably til Christmas how you doing there??

We have a few inches. The thing here is, the snow doesn’t go away. Just about every flake that falls will be here until spring. In May.
I really like it here. The cold is very intimidating to most of the world, so most of them don’t come! ( I prefer small towns to big cities)

 

[Valke2]

I was an atheist for 40 years. Now I’m not. I don’t find anything disturbing about not believing in God. We believe what we believe.

 

[Pax]

I don’t have ‘indifference to the great questions’. I have simply found different answers than you. I have pasted a favorite poem on here, I find it uplifting and empowering. I think you will find that you feel exactly the opposite about it, but have a read, and see if you can get a feel for why I feel uplifted about it.

I accept your denial of indifference…I drew the conclusion based on my perceptions of your attitude toward seeking. I may have easily misjudged this based on the limits of our discourse.

I can appreciate why you might identify with the poem. You are right about how I see it. I find it cynical and depressing and based on what I consider to be a number of false assumptions. Even though I can see why you identify with the poem, I cannot understand why you would consider it to be uplifting or empowering. If you contend that the poem’s ideas liberate you from the fetters of religious belief then perhaps there is some reason to feel empowered. I on the other hand, find my relationship with God to be liberating and empowering. God’s grace enables me to become more fully human and to be the best possible version of myself. God’s grace releases me from the bonds of sin. I cannot accomplish any of that on my own.

 

[Kitty_Chan]

We have a few inches. The thing here is, the snow doesn’t go away. Just about every flake that falls will be here until spring. In May.
I really like it here. The cold is very intimidating to most of the world, so most of them don’t come! ( I prefer small towns to big cities)

Outside one myself although its growing Chinooks take care of the snow generally. It is funny when one blows in and the guys are out in shorts and t-shirts and its maybe 10c, one does get used to the cold somehow.

Mind you I dont get the same extended cold cause of those chinooks. I did not this but last easter get my first drive on a frozen lake at the sis in laws. This yr they moved more south, actually across from me, so no more of that. It was a experience.

Oh and yea Im talking in “canuck” hoping its coming across that way, just attempting humour with the u.

 

[_A]

I accept your denial of indifference…I drew the conclusion based on my perceptions of your attitude toward seeking. I may have easily misjudged this based on the limits of our discourse.

I can appreciate why you might identify with the poem. You are right about how I see it. I find it cynical and depressing and based on what I consider to be a number of false assumptions. Even though I can see why you identify with the poem, I cannot understand why you would consider it to be uplifting or empowering. If you contend that the poem’s ideas liberate you from the fetters of religious belief then perhaps there is some reason to feel empowered. I on the other hand, find my relationship with God to be liberating and empowering. God’s grace enables me to become more fully human and to be the best possible version of myself. God’s grace releases me from the bonds of sin. I cannot accomplish any of that on my own.

I’ll try for this, Pax, but I am not a poet.
The poem is a positive for me because it is right according to all my experiences. There is no purpose, no higher power, not one hint of a reward for doing good - and yet so many people do much good. I look at all that has been accomplished by people who knew they would not benefit from their labours (medical researchers, f’rinstance) and I feel really good about the humans around me.
Some people claim to have a faith in one god or another but few demonstrate it.
Everyone who walks into a building demonstrates faith in the tradesmen who put it together and the building inspector who examined it.

 

[_A]

Outside one myself although its growing Chinooks take care of the snow generally. It is funny when one blows in and the guys are out in shorts and t-shirts and its maybe 10c, one does get used to the cold somehow.

Mind you I dont get the same extended cold cause of those chinooks. I did not this but last easter get my first drive on a frozen lake at the sis in laws. This yr they moved more south, actually across from me, so no more of that. It was a experience.

Oh and yea Im talking in “canuck” hoping its coming across that way, just attempting humour with the u.

I lived for several years in Calgary. I found chinooks really tough to get used to. Don’t get me wrong - it’s nice when the temperature jumps 30 or more degrees in a day, but you don’t know how to dress for work…it can confuse you right into a bad night, if you are cycling.

 

[RedSoxFan]

I would not believe. Why is this valued at all?

Perhaps I worded this badly. What I meant to say was what would you do if you personally I experianced a miracle. Something that cannot be explained at all. Describe what you think your thought process would be.

 

[_A]

Perhaps I worded this badly. What I meant to say was what would you do if you *personally *

How can I answer such a specific question about such a vague event?
If you can describe an event I can offer my reactions (and they will be as accurate as your descriptions).**

 

[HailMary]

I can’t see how that could matter. Men (humans, I mean) wrote Genesis, and other men have been translating and changing it for hundreds of years. When you refer to the bible, which one particularly do you use? Did you know there are several out there to choose from? How do you know you have chosen the right one?

There is only one bible. Different translations, yes, but only one.

The whole thing about Genesis is that it was written thousands of years ago and it matches blow for blow for how the science explains the creation of the earth. Coincidence?

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

I enjoy writing (forums and the like) I like gaming, I like swapping out bits of hardware, and installing new software…most things really.

Cool. Are you thinking of making a career out of your interest in computers?

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

I am not sure I understand the question, but humans have been searching for evidence of a god for thousands of years and have nothing. Many people pretend that they know all about this or that god, while also presenting no evidence.

I’m sure you are correct that many intelligent people have found nothing. Other thoughtful people are like C.S. Lewis who was an atheist who became a Christian. He wrote that he went kicking and screaming into the family of God after he finally discovered evidence he could not ignore.

Please tell me, if it is not too much trouble, what evidence, if we could provide it, would you accept as proof that God exists?

 

[_A]

There is only one bible. Different translations, yes, but only one.

The whole thing about Genesis is that it was written thousands of years ago and it matches blow for blow for how the science explains the creation of the earth. Coincidence?

Allright, go ahead and tell me. I should warn you, though, I wasn’t present at the creation of the earth. I am unlikely to believe that you were here also.
This brings us right back to using the bible to prove the bible - hurrying about in circles is what it looks like.

 

[_A]

Cool. Are you thinking of making a career out of your interest in computers?

I have considered it, but as far as the hardware goes, I don’t follow chipset designs closely enough. I usually go ask someone what I can put in. For the software, I can usually install and update, but if you have to do some of the deeper stuff, I again need help.
I mostly end up helping friends with their computers, not doing it for a living. It is quite satisfying to clean the malware off of someones computer, or get their new video care up and running, but I don’t know how satisfying it would be doing it for a living every day…