Question for atheists..... (Christians, followers, beliefs, hell)

[HopOnPop]

Originally Posted by Harrier

...

"Faith is the evidence of things not seen..."

People who dismiss faith have a poor understanding of what it is.

...and people who defend faith in this way merely demonstrate they do not understand faith, belief, or evidence (and I might throw 'knowledge' on that list of words you don't really understand, given how you used it -- Rafius is correct above, one can only 'believe' God to be trustworthy since God's trustworthiness cannot be demonstrated in any knowledgeable way).

[infiri]

Originally Posted by personwhoisaperson

What do you have faith in? Obviously you have faith that God doesn't exist, but do you have faith in anything positive?

I don't have faith, and no is not obvious that athiest have faith that god doesnt exist.
The lack of faith is what makes me athiest. I believe in facts and only facts.

[cncracer]

Originally Posted by personwhoisaperson

What do you have faith in? Obviously you have faith that God doesn't exist, but do you have faith in anything positive?

You question overflows with the typical Christian dislike of any view but their own. My world is filled with faith. I have faith in the scientific method as correcting any mistake science makes. Faith in the laws of chemistry and physics, faith that humanity will win out over the fraud religions has and is pumping on those too afraid to see the truth. My world is filled with positive faith and hope for humanity. The faith that god does not exist; that is not faith, that is common sense. History has given us enough knowledge to know the religions of today and in the past are a bunch of bull.

[Fasaga]

Spoiler

Originally Posted by rayneinspain

^^Describes my thought process as well.

I was raised in a Lutheran family and went to Sunday school as a young child, was confirmed at age 13, then continued going to church on Sundays until I finally put my foot down in high school. The realization that I didn't buy into the religion whatsoever, or anything contained within the bible, had occurred during Sunday school around age 5 or 6. The thought hit me that "wow, all these kids and adults actually believe this is real?" I had, so to speak, seen the man behind the curtain, and for all my juvenile wishing to be like 'everyone else', especially in my family, I have never been able to will myself to believe any of it. I'm not wired for it, apparently.

The christians I knew in my childhood are vastly different than the ones I have crossed paths with in my adulthood, especially so in the last 10 years. Either they're poor spokespersons for their religion, or the religion itself has become diseased.

I have faith in science. I have faith in man to reach his highest aspirations, to show love and compassion to his fellow man...as well as his penchant for greed, cruelty, and apathy. One's faith, or lack thereof, is immaterial.

I have a similar history except Roman Catholic not Lutheran. I gave up on trying to make sense of Religions at the age of 11, 40 years ago now and have never looked back. What I did carry with me all these years is a deep understanding that there is more than the short life we have here on Earth but I never felt the need to find proof. What it is, it is, so I guess that's faith.

I don't need a Book or Sermon to tell me how to treat others, when to help the needy, how to look after the environment, what is right and what is wrong. I do the right thing because it's right, not because I'm affraid of what happens to me when I die if I don't.

I can't see reason or logic in the belief that we are born, given a soul (a brand spanking new one as there is no reincarnation), live by the lessons set by the Bibles and Scriptures written by Man and interpreted by Man which were predominantely metaphoric or symbolic, die, get Judged and go to Heaven....... for Eternity.....and then what??? Is that really it??? The Grand Plan???

What a waste of effort!

Let me propose the following, and this is where I lose half the readers - as a species, as with evolution on the physical plain - we are also assending on a spiritual plain. This gives rise to the possibility of reincarnation through which we can attain higher and higher spirital awarness, ability, and knowing, determined by our past lives, quality and quantity.

In spiritual form we can commune with the living - as a higher being - hense the voices from above. Assuming spiritual growth is through reincarnation, it would then stand to reason that there is also a Hierarchy on the Spiritual Plain that has developed over hundreds of thousands of years, carrying with it knowledge and experience from the past. At the pinnacle of the Hierarchy tree are the Oldest, Wisest Souls who have been trying to get this concept over to the Living, for thousands of years, via readily acceptable means and meanings; Prophets; Scriptures; Scribes and so on in every race and every Religion everywhere. Possible??

[mikebnllnb]

Originally Posted by Harrier

True - but you are acting with faith when you step into the elevator and trust it to take you up or down in a controlled manner. You base your decision to enter the elevator on the evidence that the elevator has a track record of being reliable. This is the same principle that is involved when people get into an airplane or sit in a chair - they have faith that the airplane will not crash and that the chair will support their weight.

"Faith is the evidence of things not seen..."

People who dismiss faith have a poor understanding of what it is. I know God is trustworthy and have absolute confidence in His promises and power. When I pray - I know I am communicating with the creator of the universe and that he hears me. I know this because I have rock solid evidence - this is faith. Just because the evidence cannot be seen does not make it invalid.

I have faith in the stupidity of theists.

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by personwhoisaperson

What do you have faith in? Obviously you have faith that God doesn't exist, but do you have faith in anything positive?

Why do people who believe in religion have such an obsession about what atheists think?

[monumentus]

Originally Posted by personwhoisaperson

What do you have faith in? Obviously you have faith that God doesn't exist, but do you have faith in anything positive?

I use a lot of forums and the 'Atheists have faith in no god' trick is played on most of them. It does not work that way.

[MaggieZ]

"I have faith in no god"...that's silly...trick questions are not gonna get atheists to turn back to religion.

[jambo101]

you have faith that God doesn't exist

Odd way of phrasing for those who either dont believe or dont know about the existence of god,As an atheist i wouldnt say i have faith in whether god exists or not,i just dont give the issue much thought, does god exist? i have no idea.

[AREQUIPA]

Originally Posted by Fasaga

Spoiler

I have a similar history except Roman Catholic not Lutheran. I gave up on trying to make sense of Religions at the age of 11, 40 years ago now and have never looked back. What I did carry with me all these years is a deep understanding that there is more than the short life we have here on Earth but I never felt the need to find proof. What it is, it is, so I guess that's faith.

I don't need a Book or Sermon to tell me how to treat others, when to help the needy, how to look after the environment, what is right and what is wrong. I do the right thing because it's right, not because I'm affraid of what happens to me when I die if I don't.

I can't see reason or logic in the belief that we are born, given a soul (a brand spanking new one as there is no reincarnation), live by the lessons set by the Bibles and Scriptures written by Man and interpreted by Man which were predominantely metaphoric or symbolic, die, get Judged and go to Heaven....... for Eternity.....and then what??? Is that really it??? The Grand Plan???

What a waste of effort!

Let me propose the following, and this is where I lose half the readers - as a species, as with evolution on the physical plain - we are also assending on a spiritual plain. This gives rise to the possibility of reincarnation through which we can attain higher and higher spirital awarness, ability, and knowing, determined by our past lives, quality and quantity.

In spiritual form we can commune with the living - as a higher being - hense the voices from above. Assuming spiritual growth is through reincarnation, it would then stand to reason that there is also a Hierarchy on the Spiritual Plain that has developed over hundreds of thousands of years, carrying with it knowledge and experience from the past. At the pinnacle of the Hierarchy tree are the Oldest, Wisest Souls who have been trying to get this concept over to the Living, for thousands of years, via readily acceptable means and meanings; Prophets; Scriptures; Scribes and so on in every race and every Religion everywhere. Possible??

I applaud your open eyes in knowing that part 2 of your talk has half the audience moving to the bar. But possible - yes. All sorts of things are possible. And it's also possible to argue that the evolution of the spirit theory is true (1), and at least point out that, even if it isn't true, since belief in it makes people behave better, that somehow makes it valid.

Well, it works with Christian apologetics, apparently.

I have to say that I have a completely different view of all that chanting, robe- wearing, prophecies from outer- space, hidden knowledge - the select are saved stuff. I see the answer in evolution...(damn...the other half have gone to the bar, now..) with ...this idea came up in the long since debate with Matrix on the Plantinga thread - that religion might actually give an evolutionary advantage in the cohesion of groups, their confidence in success and their belief that they were going to win out over the others in survival and competition for resources and females for the gene- pool.

Anyone who wants to be horrified and appalled is welcome.

(1) though it too often seems that anyone with a rational approach is flipped off as an infant spirit and the bod who believes all sorts of looney stuff is supposed to be 'spiritually mature' .