What's the point of this forum?

Zillah

5uspect wrote: »

Do other Christians have similar superpowers?

lmao, fantastic.

5uspect

God's mercy ends when you die and His justice takes precedence.

and you know this because...

Zillah

Noel, I would truly like if you could give a straight forward answer to the following questions. Please don't go off on a tangent about God or anything, I would really like a simple honest answer:

- Do you understand that we as Atheist do not reject God, merely that we honestly believe he is not there, just as all the other Gods of all the other religions are not there.

- Do you understand that we genuinely have not felt any connection with the God Christians worship? Be that his offer of grace, love etc. Its just not there. I know you mention how you're sure there would have been a moment where we felt it and rejected and everything but NO. Nothing. Nada. I have had no communion with any variety of spiritual being. Do you think I'm lying to you?

DublinWriter

kelly1 wrote: »

God's mercy ends when you die and His justice takes precedence.

Palsm 136:26 sayeth: "O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever"

So now you're contradicting The Bible?

I'm confused now Kelly. Please guide me onto the path of righteousness.

Scofflaw

DublinWriter wrote: »

Palsm 136:26 sayeth: "O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever"

So now you're contradicting The Bible?

I'm confused now Kelly. Please guide me onto the path of righteousness.

He's entitled to contradict the Bible, though - he's a Catholic.

Really, the Christians should sort out which of them is right before telling us we're wrong. It's just too confusing.

cordially,
Scofflaw

CerebralCortex

Zillah wrote: »

Noel, I would truly like if you could give a straight forward answer to the following questions. Please don't go off on a tangent about God or anything, I would really like a simple honest answer:

- Do you understand that we as Atheist do not reject God, merely that we honestly believe he is not there, just as all the other Gods of all the other religions are not there.

- Do you understand that we genuinely have not felt any connection with the God Christians worship? Be that his offer of grace, love etc. Its just not there. I know you mention how you're sure there would have been a moment where we felt it and rejected and everything but NO. Nothing. Nada. I have had no communion with any variety of spiritual being. Do you think I'm lying to you?

Wish I could have articulated it like that.

philologos

kelly1 wrote: »

God's mercy ends when you die and His justice takes precedence.

DublinWriter wrote:

Psalm 136:26 sayeth: "O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever"

I'd take a different view. God's mercy is availiable for all time. It's dependant on whether you choose to accept or reject it. However the concept of time is a worldly thing, who knows if there is even a concept of time in hell or heaven, they are not of this world. Time ends for humanity upon death surely? It's not that God's mercy ends, but it is that the humanly time on earth is over.

kelly1

Zillah wrote: »

Noel, I would truly like if you could give a straight forward answer to the following questions. Please don't go off on a tangent about God or anything, I would really like a simple honest answer:

- Do you understand that we as Atheist do not reject God, merely that we honestly believe he is not there, just as all the other Gods of all the other religions are not there.

I believe you.

Zillah wrote: »

- Do you understand that we genuinely have not felt any connection with the God Christians worship? Be that his offer of grace, love etc. Its just not there. I know you mention how you're sure there would have been a moment where we felt it and rejected and everything but NO. Nothing. Nada. I have had no communion with any variety of spiritual being. Do you think I'm lying to you?

I'm skeptical to be honest. Did you ever believe in God or have a relationship with Jesus no matter how tenuous? If so why did it end? I don't see how God could call one person and not another. Have you ever tried to get to know God? Have you ever made any effort at all? I really believe you must have missed something. If you say not, I'll have to accept your word for it.

kelly1

DublinWriter wrote: »

Palsm 136:26 sayeth: "O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever"

So now you're contradicting The Bible?

I'm confused now Kelly. Please guide me onto the path of righteousness.

In my bible it says "for His steadfast love endures forever". Which bible are you quoting?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

rofl
'which bible are you quoting'

kelly1

Jakkass wrote: »

I'd take a different view. God's mercy is availiable for all time. It's dependant on whether you choose to accept or reject it. However the concept of time is a worldly thing, who knows if there is even a concept of time in hell or heaven, they are not of this world. Time ends for humanity upon death surely? It's not that God's mercy ends, but it is that the humanly time on earth is over.

What I mean is there's is no mercy for the damned because there's no escape from Hell.

DublinWriter

kelly1 wrote: »

In my bible it says "for His steadfast love endures forever". Which bible are you quoting?

King James, yours?

kelly1

DublinWriter wrote: »

King James, yours?

Ignatius RSV.

Wacker

kelly1 wrote: »

In my bible it says "for His steadfast love endures forever". Which bible are you quoting?

A quick bit of googling is giving me both answers.

condra

Noel as an indoctrinated child, I prayed regularly for many years. None of my prayers had any effect on reality, and I wasn't just praying for a bmx for Christmas.

I have asked God to reveal himself many times and he has not. The only evidence I have for the supernatural is the fact that holy water burns my skin like acid.:D

When my mother was a child she saw an ice cream cone shaped UFO, flying in the sky, aswell as a black seal-like monster in the middle of the road on another occassion. She was also hit by lightning, has met Jesus, and heard the Banshee, but that hasn't a patch on her father before her, who saw the Banshee with his own eyes.

That is why I am a member of the CBBMCSU (Church of Banshees, Black Monsters and Cone Shaped UFOs)

Bottle_of_Smoke

Wacker wrote: »

A quick bit of googling is giving me both answers.

hehe, wonder how many different versions there are.

bogwalrus

A theist inquires more about why an atheist is an atheist than an athiest inquires why a theist is a theist. WHy so?

(below is not the answer)
A thiest sees the beauty of the world through a filter, called god, where they already know everything about where they came from and whats their purpose. All they need to understand is how god made everything yeah? Or do they even need to know this? Why bother with science then, i say burn your science books because knowing god is knowing the truth and that is that your religion is false.

An athiest sees the beauty of the world in a mysterious and unknowing way where they know that the universe is so complex and amazing and will probably never be understood (not by any man or woman on our planet anyway), but its this where the theist differs from the atheist. Atheists believe in the true nature of existence.....to discover the unknown, to understand the why's and why not's and to accept that they are nothing special or significant in this universe, but in accepting this there is a new revitailised person that can start to learn how to be truly compassionate thus living happier.

Kevster

kelly1 wrote: »

People, I ask you, what is the point of the A&A forum?

- To pour scorn on and poke fun at those who believe in a loving Creator?
- A place where smug people gather to clap each other on the back and wonder at the stupidity of believers while they sit back and marvel at their own superior intelligence?
- A place to discuss lack of belief in God (why bother)?
- To blame all religions including the valid ones for all the ills of the world?
- To build up one's cynicism to ever increasing heights?
- To banish all traces of God from the world?

Or is there something positive that I've failed to notice?

In a broad sense, it's a place for intellectuals.

Schuhart

Beruthiel wrote: »

The ultimate purpose of existance is to continue the species.

Apologies on being pedantic, but what did the species ever do for us? I mean there are days when I find it hard enough to see a common interest with that Fianna Fail crowd, never mind the whole species.

fairplay

kelly1 wrote: »

People, I ask you, what is the point of the A&A forum?

- To pour scorn on and poke fun at those who believe in a loving Creator?
- A place where smug people gather to clap each other on the back and wonder at the stupidity of believers while they sit back and marvel at their own superior intelligence?
- A place to discuss lack of belief in God (why bother)?
- To blame all religions including the valid ones for all the ills of the world?
- To build up one's cynicism to ever increasing heights?
- To banish all traces of God from the world?

Or is there something positive that I've failed to notice?

Re. entrenched non-belief in afterlife...I suggest contributers examine evidence of paranormal issues WITH AN OPEN MIND. If you begin from the standpoint that there cannnot be anything "out there", you are no better than than the Grand Inquisitor who wants to ram some religious belief down someone's throat.

There's massive evidence for an afterlife...google a few keywords for a start and do some research...I don't know about an actual God in the traditional sense of some "person" judging humanity and telling some old guys thousands of years ago to write the Bible, or the Koran, or any of that other "sacred" stuff...but evidence of paranormal activity is there aplenty!

I prefer to consider evidence of NDEs, astral projection, reincarnation, etc, than to go around wide-eyed preaching half-baked religious speculation at people and and shouting at them that it's the "one true faith".

Think of Iran before you go down that road.

estebancambias

Can I just clear something up here...people seem to have this idea that I am some kind of Fundamentalist...wrong...I am nothing of the sort, what I do have is a strong belief there is A God. I am Catholic, however I do rationally accept that my God may not be the God I believe in. However I am convinced a God is at work.

Also, my dad said to me yesterday, after I had an argument I had with my sister. She said 'so much for you, who never goes to mass' I replied 'yeah but have you observed the world that surrounds you?'' My dad said good boy, which I immediately turned around and snapped at him. 'Good Boy'? I replied. What makes me a good boy? Because I recognise God had to be at work creating this place we live in makes me a good boy...


Do you think I have not considered that perhaps there is no God? Actually from 13-16, I really did doubt.


Can I ask you something, if lets say you were at a funeral where a young person was killed tragically, for example they were killed beyond their control what would you say to the parents? How can you comfort them? I don't believe an Atheist posesses this ability. You can crap on about how religion has prohibted your precious science, but I'm sorry **** Science. This is not trolling, this is actually my real views. If Religion offers a person a 'comfort zone' through their life then Religion has served its purpose. When a person dies(and IF there is no afterlife) then believing in God for the time they were on the earth was irrelevant. My problem is with you is that you fail to realise that believing in something beyond what WE regard as normal is a wonderful part of humans.

stevejazzx

Schuhart wrote: »

Apologies on being pedantic, but what did the species ever do for us?

well there is the sanitation....

stevejazzx

oh and eduacation....

the aquaducts...?

stevejazzx

don't forget the roads!










[ok i'm finished]

daveirl

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Fallen Seraph

estebancambias wrote: »

Can I ask you something, if lets say you were at a funeral where a young person was killed tragically, for example they were killed beyond their control what would you say to the parents? How can you comfort them? I don't believe an Atheist posesses this ability. You can crap on about how religion has prohibted your precious science, but I'm sorry **** Science. This is not trolling, this is actually my real views. If Religion offers a person a 'comfort zone' through their life then Religion has served its purpose. When a person dies(and IF there is no afterlife) then believing in God for the time they were on the earth was irrelevant. My problem is with you is that you fail to realise that believing in something beyond what WE regard as normal is a wonderful part of humans.

How can we comfort them? You mean to suggest that convinving people that their loved one is, in essence, still alive is the only way of consoling someone?

I disagree. Simply being there is certainly the way to go. Be compassionate. One doesn't need a god to be compassionate.

I really don't think your views on the relationship between science and religion are all that well thought out. I'll not get into the argument that religion and science are dissimilar, because that tends to be fruitless, but I feel it worth remarking that you say

"If Religion offers a person a 'comfort zone' through their life then Religion has served its purpose."

To continue your example of the tragic accident, what about all the times that such accidents have occurred and thanks to scientific knowledge and the prowess of the doctors the young person in question has survived?

Does science get no kudos for that?

estebancambias

Science is a good thing, but when people say Religion exists at the expense of developments in Science it disgusts me.


Atheists have an agenda, if they did not they could simply say she's in a better place, or something along those lines. You know like a parent might do with Santa.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

you're a really bratty child, aren't you.

AngryHippie

Free stem cells for everybody !!!!!!!

daveirl

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