I Know That God Does Not Exist

I wouldn't expect anything less from you ...I won't though - Raph

Apologies, I am right in the middle of final exam prep (among all the other life things) so pretty swamped on my end. I've really appreciated this conversation as well man! To be honest, I enjoy having friends who totally disagree with me . I'm not so arrogant to think I have all the answers. I love listening and learning the perspectives of others, and understanding why they have different views. We all have blind spots, even you (which I'm sure you would admit). How are we ever to learn anything if we only surround ourselves with/interact with people we agree with? Echo chambers help nobody imo.In retrospect, EvC is probably a large reason for all that^. If it weren't for the OG's, guys like jar, Ringo, nwr, Stile, Taz, jon back in the day who knows what sort of close minded religious zealot I would be . I had the benefit of having my beliefs challenged and totally torn apart at a very early age, and I'm grateful for it. Tbh man...your response has been on my mind this past week. I've thought through many different responses...because I don't want to just be one more person of faith who can't hang intellectually. Apologies if I appear as if I am "dodging" the question. It is frustrating to me as well, because, well, I am . It is intentional haha. I've already shared a part of the reason why, however I suppose I can elaborate.Life is not all intellectualism. The ancient Hebrews taught that humans are whole beings. I believe this view, because I have seen it demonstrated throughout life. What this meant to them was humans are made up of flesh and bone yes (body), but also heart (לֵבָב), and soul (נֶפֶשׁ). To them, the "heart" was where both the intellectualism we associate with the "mind" dwelt, as well as the emotions/intentions. And then there is soul (נֶפֶשׁ). To the Hebrew mind, the soul was not the little floaty thing people breathe out when they die in the movies. That was a later (Greek) idea. To them, the soul was your whole life. נֶפֶשׁ, or "nephesh," a word that literally means "life/neck," is a way to describe the unity of all life. To the ancients, you didn't have a soul, you are a soul.I am an intellectual, yes, a theologian, yes, amateur scholar I try to be, lol, I love this stuff. I mean, I was here debating with jar and ringo as a 14 year old LOL I'm a nerd for sources and authors and arguments and debates. But life is more than the mind. Life is more than intellectualism and logic. We are beings of the heart, beings that long for intimacy and connection and relationships and tribe, we seek to be known. And we are beings of the spiritual, often spiritualizing non-religious things without even realizing we are doing so. The American Radical Right spiritualizes Trump, for example (the Radical Left has their own sins lol). We intuitively make meaning out of life, because we intuitively sense there must be a meaning, even if we have no idea what it is. We build societies around spiritual ideas and operate as if they are actually true. The foundation of western democracy, the concept that humans have intrinsic worth and are given to them certain rights from a divine source - an idea not found in nature at all and rather absurd - is an example of this.I'm rambling at this point. Sorry lol. I guess what I'm trying to get at is. I believe in, yes (the mind) but have also known and seen the risen Christ. I have my evidences for it. But, frankly, I reject this platform as the place to try and "convince" you of any part of it. EvC is great, I love it, but it is not a place where authentic "whole person" communication or connection happens. I learned that a long time ago lol. And frankly, at the end of the day, I would throw out any argument I thought would impress you for the chance that you, or my guy Phat, or jar, or even my arch-nemesis Ringo (lol) would know I just care about y'all as people, even people I have never met on the internet. Tbh, the person that I actually am, without all the intellectual bravado...I couldn't care less about proving my positions right and yours wrong. I just care about the wellbeing (physical, mental, and spiritual) of every new friend I meet.So you don't believe like I do, ok, that doesn't change my responsibility to care for, listen to, and value you and your experience. That's what it means to be a Spiritual Care Professional, that's who I want to be, and that's the kind of wholistic communication this form of interaction bars us from having.Anyway. In conclusion, I know I have evaded your question very thoroughly I do so because, as an intellectual person myself, I know firsthand, we often use intellect as a mask behind which we hide our true selves. So, for that reason, I will continue to give you a non-answer If you want to have an actual authentic conversation though, as I said before, I'd be interested in that! Hope this makes sense!Much love bro,- RaphEdited by Raphael, : some cleanup!

Edited by Raphael, : Switched some formatting things