I would agree, beliefs are most certainly useless and believers do indeed sound really pissed off. Could be why they threaten everyone with hell all the time, most likely, because they know they're going there and want others to roast marshmallows with them.
Any atheists here who were once believers?
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I would agree, beliefs are most certainly useless and believers do indeed sound really pissed off. Could be why they threaten everyone with hell all the time, most likely, because they know they're going there and want others to roast marshmallows with them.
hello quinnsongGood luck on your journey Wegs wherever it may lead you.
I hope whatever you decide you will not be ostracized by your family or current friends. Personally I have experienced at best a cool response by now former friends and many family members. and at worst ostracizing by same. I hope this will not be your experience, but you should be prepared for this likelihood.
And thank you. I'm sorry to hear that you "lost" friendships during your own journey. Interestingly, my family doesn't practice much of any faith anymore, although I wouldn't dub them "atheists." It is a few dear Christian friends who have already expressed "concern." You know, I think about my own faith journey and I remember when a few friends over the years "became" atheists. And I never really tried to "talk them out of it," but I remember having concerns. When you are "immersed" in a faith life, for a long time, you think everyone should think like you do. Not because of arrogance, but you feel that you are somehow serving God in such a way. But, I never felt personally affronted by their choices like some of my other friends did. I've always leaned towards a "live and let live" attitude. I appreciate you writing to me here; I enjoy your point of view. I will check out that link.
lol hmmm...well, I have never "threatened" anyone with hell, in fact, the concept of a God who would send "unrepentant sinners" to an eternal pit of fire and doom, never made sense to me. And it never will. Worse than the concocted story is that many people follow God and/or religion merely to avoid hell. Fear is a powerful motivator, I suppose.
What if the "Jerry Springer Show" really represented what happy people look like? OMG! Oh, wait! I bet the people who frequent Psychic Fairs are happy. A psychic reader tells them what they want to hear, and they're happy. And then they make whatever choice is best for them. What about people who get :m:high:mAre they happy? What about people who are into reading fiction? Romance novels? Science fiction? Are they happy?
What about religious people who worship God faithfully? Who have religious/spiritual experiences? Are they happy? What about people who are into the occult and pagan rituals? Are they happy?
What about people who dedicate their lives to accumulating useless knowledge about "reality", which is mostly a bunch of things that can't be done. Are they happy? They don't sound happy. They sound really pissed off.
I want more than mere "happiness"...I want peace. Happiness is ok for a time but it is a fleeting feeling. I want peace of mind, knowing that I'm living life with purpose and authenticity. If you follow God, and live your life in that way? You probably stand a good chance of reaching peace and "happiness." But, I've learned that happiness can't be found in something or someone external. It has to grow from within.
And that comes, to me, by living life authentically.
Just my thoughts to it, anyway.
I want more than mere "happiness"...I want peace. Happiness is ok for a time but it is a fleeting feeling. I want peace of mind, knowing that I'm living life with purpose and authenticity. If you follow God, and live your life in that way? You probably stand a good chance of reaching peace and "happiness." But, I've learned that happiness can't be found in something or someone external. It has to grow from within.
And that comes, to me, by living life authentically.
Just my thoughts to it, anyway.
You are awesome and you deserve a hug.
If God exists, he won't be "explained" through physics. It's one of those things that you either have to believe on faith or let it go.
If God exists, man won't be able to measure him. Faith is evidence of things not yet seen.
If you have faith in God, Mazulu...just make sure it is for reasons that make sense to you.
(((Hugs u back)))
And if you are living authentically and at peace arauca, no one can take that from you.
We all have to follow our sense of self and well being.
The path will be different for everyone. :m:
Amen.
Just because you don't understand the world around you doesn't mean others don't.
I see you also haven't been paying attention to the number of threads here in which that is already occurring, therefore why would pay attention to anything else?
Over the past couple of years, I’ve gone from being ‘’religious’’ to being ‘’spiritual.’’ To now, questioning if any of what I’ve always held true, is real.
That said, no one knows if God exists or not. One of my friends who is a practicing Christian, doesn’t ‘understand’ why I’ve ‘turned’ from the faith. (Christianity, namely) I explained a bit to her, but the main reason for me is…I don’t want to invest anymore time in non-truths. The Bible is pretty much a book of non-truths.
To me, if God exists…he is not fathomable. But, in order for God to exist in my mind/life, I have to spend a lot of time thinking about potential ‘non-truths.’ No one knows for certain if God exists, that is true. But, in order for God to be real to you…you have to spend a lot of time in ‘’another world.’’ There’s no getting around that fact.
I’ve honestly lived my life ‘’part-time’’ in the here and now. The rest of the time, in ‘another world.’ I’ve often said that science and faith can coexist, and while I still believe that idea, it seems that often, many believers tend to inject spirituality into science, as a matter of principle. I have done this all of my life, myself. And there is nothing wrong with doing so, if you don’t try to diminish the value of scientific truths. Not saying you are doing that, but in some of your posts, you dismiss science, and that’s kind of what happens when we live part-time in the here and now. We start grasping at the ‘other world’ for answers to THIS world. (when there are already answers to this world) We could say…well, God gave us science so why bother coming up with theories and laws, if that’s what we believe?
Science has provided a pathway to truths about the universe, and the origin of mankind. Could a God be behind such science? Yes. All I’m saying is that (in my opinion) God doesn’t need us to prove him. If he exists, he doesn’t need an army of people to defend him…prove him…interject him into every conversation we have about life. As if he reveals himself only to a select few, and the ‘blind’ need to be shown the way. I’ve come to view evangelizing as insulting, frankly. If God exists, people will find him on their own. (this is a general statement, not directed at you or anyone)
That is why I’ve come to where I’m at with it all. It isn’t so much that I don’t believe God exists, I just don’t believe in living in a part-time world, based on potential and not verifiable truths, anymore.
The only example of a single being with no ancestors that I can think of was the first cell, the theoretical origin of all life on Earth. If you really need an example of a creator, why not that?And not even loosely anymore.
lol fair enough
I don't 'need' an example, frankly...it's all speculation, when we think of what God might be like. Could be like.
Could be a whole family of god like beings. That makes more sense anyway.lol fair enough
I don't 'need' an example, frankly...it's all speculation, when we think of what God might be like. Could be like.
"I AM the first and the last" sounds more powerful, especially if such a God can create universes. If God created this universe, and atheists refuse to acknowledge the existence of God, then it would appear to the atheists that "nothing" created the universe, which is exactly what cosmologists say. It would really suck for atheists if Christianity turned out to be correct.
It will also ‘’suck’’ for everyone else who is not Christian, but follows another religion, if Christianity turns out to be 'correct.'
Hmmm…
That’s the problem with religion.
Mazulu, if God exists…he exists regardless of what religion humans try to squeeze him into.
It will also ‘’suck’’ for everyone else who is not Christian, but follows another religion, if Christianity turns out to be 'correct.'mmm…
That’s the problem with religion.
Mazulu, if God exists…he exists regardless of what religion humans try to squeeze him into.
I know if I were God, and humans weren't paying any attention to me, I would start nudging very large very fast asteroids around (in my quantum fluctuation way). 7 billion buttholes would pucker as a planet killing asteroid skipped across the earth's atmosphere, and then ya'll would be thinking about me. Fortunately, I'm not God. So there's nothing to worry about.:itold: