How can Atheists be "free thinkers"? (Earth, verse, philosophy)

[Arjay51]

Originally Posted by Richmonder27

Why do you call it make believe?
Thats what i dont understand

Are you trying to trick us with a self answering question?

[Spotted1]

Originally Posted by Boxcar Overkill

Because Richmonder, it is all made up. There is no God. The stories in the bible are not true. They.are.a.lie.


Do you know why you are a Christian? I bet I do - and I don't even know you. You grew up in an area where lots of other Christians live. There were probably Christians in your family.

But had you grown up in India, you would be spouting the same stuff about Hinduism. The same evidence. The same personal beliefs. The same miracles. Had you been born in the middle east, you would be going on about Allah and Mohamed. You would believe just as strongly. You never sat down and objectively tried to figure out which of all the different religions was most likely to be true. (Or none at all). You just went with the one you knew - just like everybody else.

I know you think your religiuos experience was unique. But it wasn't. Your experience fits the same abstract model that all other religious experiences fit. Religion spreads like a virus - from one carrier to the next. You didn't come up with your religious identy on your own - it was transfered to you from your community.

You are the host of the religiuos virus you carry, you got it from someone, you give it to someone, it mutates to fit the environment. Its the same for you as it is for any of the other religions.

But you can't put yourself in a wider context. You can't see how you became a Christian just like a muslim joined Islam. You think your experience is special, but it's not.

Do you understand why you don't believe in Hinduism? If you do, then you understand why we don't believe in your Christianity. The same things that make you doubt Islam's stories of miracles, make us doubt your stories of miracles.

Your religion is not special. It's a huge lie, just like everyone elses is.

Amen.

It wouldn't let me rep you for that, but kudos are certainly due.

[wade52]

Originally Posted by Richmonder27

I'm not trying to be sarcastic, I'm just curious . If they have made up their minds that God doesnt exist, then how can they be open to His love?

The problem is, a lot of what Atheists believe is not any different than what most other Atheists believe. So in a sense, they really aren't free thinkers, they think just like everyone else that thinks as they do.

So if they see a person who has spiritual convictions of any kind- how does that make them necessarily closed minded? If you have found what you believe to be true in your heart, why does that mean you cant be open to hear other points of view?

What I feel in my heart, is not limited to my mind. But I just don't see how Atheists can be free thinkers if they shut the door on our Lord. They just follow the ways and thinking patterns of our worldly Godless society.

Religious folks adhere to a set of beliefs dictated by their faith. These dicates are not to be questioned, just internalized.

Atheists are "free" to reject such notions.

[InsaneInDaMembrane]

Originally Posted by kdbrich

Most of them that I've seen around here aren't very open to free thinking. This board is more about patting each other on the back as they make fun of atheists, other unbelievers and other religions than anything else.

You're talking about those Christians again? I couldn't agree with you more.

[baranekbari]

Atheist are free thinker, because they don't afraid of God.If you frighten from something or someone, you cannot be a free thinker.because free thinker means that never negative affected which doesn't allow to think clearly. actually we should listen to science.

[Spotted1]

Originally Posted by baranekbari

Atheist are free thinker, because they don't afraid of God.If you frighten from something or someone, you cannot be a free thinker.because free thinker means that never negative affected which doesn't allow to think clearly. actually we should listen to science.

Er....no.

Free thinking means you don't just take what ever is fed to you as fact. You question it, consider it, test it, and then come to your OWN conclusion.

[cleatis]

Originally Posted by kdbrich

your problem is that your view of Christianity is a faulty one. It's a caricature of the real thing.

But isn't every view of Christianity faulty? I mean Christians can't even agree amongst themselves about what god wants them to do. with that many conflicting views, a great many Christians (And those of other branches of monotheism) have to have a faulty view.

[cleatis]

Originally Posted by Richmonder27

Why do you call it make believe?
Thats what i dont understand

The haughtyness and arrogance of a lot of Atheists who attack others simply because they seek truth and love and have found it in God's grace.

I dont go around calling Atheists fools. I think they are misguided, and I always try to offer help. But many simply won't listen.

Well, ya see Rich, Atheist have also found the truth and thus the crux of the whole thing is who is right. You of course think that you are right, Atheists of course think that they are. I give you credit for not resorting to name calling. But just because you wade in here telling us that you have found the truth in god's grace doesn't mean much. You see, the Atheist is being told from every religion that "I have found the truth" So when we see any given monotheism branch telling us, between killing each other, that they have found the truth who are we supposed to believe? Not to mention, all those little sects of "truth" under the Christian umbrella which are very inconsistant.

There are about as many different kinds of christianity as there are hairs on my head. They all call the other a liar, they all point the finger at the other and remind them of how wrong they are, they get into fistfights in holy places like they did in Jerusalem last fall. and they all look at us Atheists and say "We're the path to truth" "No. We are". So who are we even supposed to believe when the sects of Christian "truth" can't even agree on what the truth is?

It's no better than going to a market, and given the billions of dollars that religion rakes in every month it looks and smells like a market too.

[Old Gringo]

Among atheists, "free" is our favorite price.

[ParkTwain]

Originally Posted by Richmonder27

I'm not trying to be sarcastic, I'm just curious . If they have made up their minds that God doesnt exist, then how can they be open to His love?

Whether the Supreme Being's primary mode of interaction with human beings is one of Love is an OPEN QUESTION, given the history of human beings and given what human beings know today about the forces of nature and how they have shaped the Earth, its solar system, and the universe as a whole. There is a very good case to be made for the alternative point of view, that the Supreme Being does not love human beings, as evidenced by the very many forces arrayed against our success as an animal species.