nemesis_juggernaut writes:
The hilarious thing to me is that more atheists, arguably far smaller in number than theists, spend more time at Christian websites than Christians do. Now, why is that?
Ringo writes:
Same reason as why the monkey house at the zoo is so popular.
"They're so much like us."
"They're almost human."
I can see and appreciate logical thought. I am personally curious why some people are so resistant to belief...as if they are afraid they will look stupid or something.
Santa Claus is one thing. The idea of a Creator who interacts or has interacted personally with humanity is quite another, at least in my acceptance.
I suppose that I really should stop worrying about changing or indoctrinating people!
Jar writes:
Christians should definitely question whether "Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light" and if they do so honestly, they will find that Jesus is
not the way, the truth, and the light and that that is simply another of the soundbite nonsense phrases beloved of those who want to keep folk ignorant.
My defenses came up when I heard your assertion. I suppose that I shouldn't care what you say....
IF my faith is strong, I don't have to accept being part of some mystical
cult of ignorance either!
subbie writes:
The votes were for the position that atheism is the only rational position. That isn't a vote "against" Christianity. It's simply an acknowledgment that Christianity is based on faith, not reason.
Jesus as the Way is also based on Faith and not Reason. I agree with you that Christians who attempt to logically prove their faith are often attacking monsters instead of simply allowing windmills to move hot air! I get irritated at Jar when he mocks belief statements as
silly soundbites and then retorts with soundbites of his own.
Two of his more famous ones?
1) It's Just That Simple
2) The Christian Cult Of Ignorance
While it can be argued that much of Christian fundamentalist/charismatic belief theology is ignorant of the real world, I personally do not believe that I am
willfully ignorant by believing that Jesus is The Way, Truth, and Light.
Ringo writes:
"Who" killed God is anybody who looks at the situation rationally, who doesn't need to postulate a supernatural cause for the wind and the rain, who doesn't need to consult a "Supreme Being" for every tidbit of advice on life.
I disagree quite passionately! My Belief system encourages daily prayer and meditation. What makes you think that communing with God is in any way dysfunctional or promoting willful ignorance?
I think that people look for too many answers in test-tubes and secular psychological paradigms instead of praying and meditating and allowing the human subconscious to intermingle in Communion with the Divine and provide answers unobtainable through secular humanism and scientific empiricism.
Jar writes:
Who is the messenger in a tree ring or waves on the sea or clouds in the sky?
We are critters that look for patterns and then try to figure out why they exist. We are the messenger.
It is my belief that He (or She) had to become human in order to show us a pattern to follow. Yes, it is a personal belief. No, it is not something that I want everyone to blindly agree with.
If you disagree with the premise that Jesus is the answer, you better have a darn good reason why you can boldly proclaim your own intellect as the answer. Call me stupid, but I believe that my intellect left to its own devices inevitably disintegrates into Ego, Selfishness, and self-centered versus altruistic patterning.