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[quote=Sizzly Friddle;10047220]Speaking for myself, there is no evidence to look at.
REPLY: I see...youve decided , upfront, that there is no evidence to look at . In other words, you dont want to even look and atheism offers you the best convenience for your lifestyle choices . That may be very philosophically appealing to you, albiet very disengenuous to yourself . And dangerous too boot. Are you willing to tell us why you just dont want a personal Creator to exist regardless ?
I have not made up my mind to be an atheist. I was born one, and my parents never made an effort to brainwash me to believe otherwise.
REPLY: No one is 'born an atheist' . When you were about 5 or 6 years old, you looked around and asked your parents how did all this get here, and/or, why are we here ; from a very early age you knew that it just didnt happen naturally otherwise it wouldnt be a question in your young Mind. Sadly, your parents started you off in life having you believe youre nothing but the result of accidental Pond Scum with no meaning and no ultimate purpose other than to get needs met anyway you can. As you got older, it was reinforced by the school system who treated desperate theories as FACT because they too automatically had to rule out intelligent causes by the ciriculum or by personal philosophical bias. As you approached your late Teen years, you saw the attraction behind claiming there is no ultimate moral accountability beyond yourSELF and your lifestyle choices. Today, it is no different. The philosophical bias is still the catalyst for your life, and nothing must upset that modus operandi ; certainly not picking up a book on the evidences for special creation or doing a simple google. . Its more convenient to just say ' there is no evidence' to back up your philosophical theory that 'there is No personal Creator' . Its a catch-22 which i too was caught up in for some 10 adult years, but you can escape the bondage which comes thru Pride , if you are willing.
But please, instead of claiming youve been born an atheist, just be honest enough to say I PREFER to be a professed atheist . At least that would be honest and you can refrain from living this lie that we are ALL born atheists which is utter nonsense.
Anything that interferes with your philosophical bias , MUST be eliminated asap ; even reason and rationale that flies in the face of the high-held prestige of atheism regardless of its bankrupcy.
Do you know why you are a christian? I bet I do, and I don't even know you. You became a Christian because your family and your community were Christians. Its the same reason why people in Thailand are Buddhist, and had you been born in India, you would be Hindu. You believe you had a personal experience with God, and that's why you became a Christian, but the truth is your experience was just like everyone elses. You took the religion that your friends and your community gave you.
Thats why we are born atheist. You could have been born a person who believes that Zeus is your main god, had your parents taught you that. You could have believed in an Azetec god, had your community believed in that. But you choose Christianity because that was the dominate religion in your culture. You are born atheist, but you might take your communities religion.
THERE IS NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT YOUR RELIGION. You picked it the same way everone else did, even though you won't admit that. You took the one your friends and family told you about.
[quote=Boxcar Overkill;10051255]What evidence do you have that there is a Christain God, but allows you reject the "Zeus is God" theory? Atheist, using the same criterea and standard of proof, reject both. But you reject one and not the other.
By your standard, aren't you a polytheist?
REPLY:
No, im not a Polytheist. There can only be ONE personal Theistic Creator for our Universe and based on the fact that the Bible can be shown to be inspired of God thru fulfilled prophecy , many scientific processes mentioned in the Old Testament some 5,000 years ago which modern science has confirmed as being true, the historical evidence for Jesus Christ and his verified ressurection from the dead, and archeological evidences backing up the Old and New Testament ... it is reasonable and rational to conclude that the Universes' Creator is the Biblical one ; not based on personal philosophical appeal, but on objective scientific evidence which is the same standard for everything else. Are you willing to give the Christian Faith a real hard look and investigate the evidences with an UNBIASED heart ? If so, go to www.impactapologetics.com and get the large booklet called :'The 12 points that PROVE Christianity is true' . It is scholarly written with all the evidences for God, for Christ, for the Bible being true , and for the ressurection being a factual historical event. Are you willing ? And are you willing to go where the evidence is leading ?
'BTW I was a southern Baptist Christian before becoming an atheist, if that matters. I can tell you that I now reject a belief in your God for precisely the same reasons I reject a belief in Zeus
'
REPLY: Dont lump mythology with the Christian Faith. Instead, be willing to unbiasely investigate the Christian Faith on its own merits instead of bringing Zeus, Islam extremists , Televangelists Frauds, Peadophile Priests, Butchers/Bakers/and Candlestick Makers into the equation. I suspect when you were going to the Baptist Church, you did not get your many questions answered to your satisfaction so you concluded therefore, that the Christian Faith was unsupported and therefore untrue. Since all of eternity could be at stake for yourself, I believe it deserves another look but with a completely UNbiased heart with a willingness to bend your knee to the Creator ; if you are not willing ... then you have uncovered the real reason why so many find atheism a refuge. Email me if you want to talk more . I made the trip from atheism to agnosticism to theism to devouted follower of Christ ... and it was based on a willingness to look at the hard evidence. Regards.
Do you know why you are a christian? I bet I do, and I don't even know you. You became a Christian because your family and your community were Christians. Its the same reason why people in Thailand are Buddhist, and had you been born in India, you would be Hindu. You believe you had a personal experience with God, and that's why you became a Christian, but the truth is your experience was just like everyone elses. You took the religion that your friends and your community gave you.
Thats why we are born atheist. You could have been born a person who believes that Zeus is your main god, had your parents taught you that. You could have believed in an Azetec god, had your community believed in that. But you choose Christianity because that was the dominate religion in your culture. You are born atheist, but you might take your communities religion.
THERE IS NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT YOUR RELIGION. You picked it the same way everone else did, even though you won't admit that. You took the one your friends and family told you about.
I was born to agnostic Parents, didnt go to church till my 30's , no one influenced my decision to abandon my self proclaimed atheism as an adult, because I was willing to investigate the evidences from cosmology, teleology , and the other sciences with an unbiased Mind and Heart. I concluded with alot of kicking and screaming and struggle saying goodbye to my aberrant lifestyle choices ... that there is good proof for God and Jesus Christ . It was NOT based on what gave me the fuzzies , or how it fit in best with my philosophical bias, or my lifestyle choices ... it was based on a real objective investigation --- and frankly, all the while , I didnt really want it to be true because it was interferring with my sexual mores at the time.
The issue isnt about 'religion' ; its about whether a personal Creator of the Cosmos exists and having a real personal relationship with him that goes on into eternity spent with him. That would be our ultimate purpose in being here at this point in history .
Given enough time , chance, and if theres a strong wind blowing from the east....do you think those raw materials in the picture could ignite into a raging inferno ultimately bringing forth a higher order of Encyclopedias ?
I was born to agnostic Parents, didnt go to church till my 30's , no one influenced my decision to abandon my self proclaimed atheism as an adult, because I was willing to investigate the evidences from cosmology, teleology , and the other sciences with an unbiased Mind and Heart. I concluded with alot of kicking and screaming and struggle saying goodbye to my aberrant lifestyle choices ... that there is good proof for God and Jesus Christ . It was NOT based on what gave me the fuzzies , or how it fit in best with my philosophical bias, or my lifestyle choices ... it was based on a real objective investigation --- and frankly, all the while , I didnt really want it to be true because it was interferring with my sexual mores at the time.
Your story is practically the opposite of most on this board. I was raised in an extremely strict Christian home, and if I had had internet access a few years ago, I would have been on this board arguing against atheism just as you are. I didn't suddenly become an atheist, and I didn't do it just to excuse a lifestyle I was living. Heck, I was (and still am) living a more Christian lifestyle than most other Christians I knew. The only difference in my behavior now is that I simply no longer believe in any sort of deity, and of course I no longer go to church. When I realized I no longer believed, I didn't say, "Alright! Now I can start doing all those evil things I couldn't before!" No, my behavior in that regard has not changed a bit. But I no longer look down on those who do those things.
Speaking for myself, there is no evidence to look at.
REPLY: I see...youve decided , upfront, that there is no evidence to look at . In other words, you dont want to even look and atheism offers you the best convenience for your lifestyle choices . That may be very philosophically appealing to you, albiet very disengenuous to yourself . And dangerous too boot. Are you willing to tell us why you just dont want a personal Creator to exist regardless ?
I have not made up my mind to be an atheist. I was born one, and my parents never made an effort to brainwash me to believe otherwise.
REPLY: No one is 'born an atheist' . When you were about 5 or 6 years old, you looked around and asked your parents how did all this get here, and/or, why are we here ; from a very early age you knew that it just didnt happen naturally otherwise it wouldnt be a question in your young Mind. Sadly, your parents started you off in life having you believe youre nothing but the result of accidental Pond Scum with no meaning and no ultimate purpose other than to get needs met anyway you can. As you got older, it was reinforced by the school system who treated desperate theories as FACT because they too automatically had to rule out intelligent causes by the ciriculum or by personal philosophical bias. As you approached your late Teen years, you saw the attraction behind claiming there is no ultimate moral accountability beyond yourSELF and your lifestyle choices. Today, it is no different. The philosophical bias is still the catalyst for your life, and nothing must upset that modus operandi ; certainly not picking up a book on the evidences for special creation or doing a simple google. . Its more convenient to just say ' there is no evidence' to back up your philosophical theory that 'there is No personal Creator' . Its a catch-22 which i too was caught up in for some 10 adult years, but you can escape the bondage which comes thru Pride , if you are willing.
But please, instead of claiming youve been born an atheist, just be honest enough to say I PREFER to be a professed atheist . At least that would be honest and you can refrain from living this lie that we are ALL born atheists which is utter nonsense.
If your opinion mattered to me, I would be offended by your incredibly arrogant and condescending attitude.
You have made so many incorrect assumptions about me that instead of replying to each point individually, I will just say that everything you have said is wrong.
I am completely open to any evidence you have for the existence of your personal creator. This is your opportunity to convert me. Please, do share!
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