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Check this out. I love reggae music. I was born into that culture and I play that style of music. Do I believe in Haile Selassie as some deity? NO.
I do not believe in Jesus or god. I am not a Christian. Do I have some Christian music on my play list? Yes.
I am a student of history. A great chunk of history CANNOT be understood apart from understanding Christianity, its history and its eleventy billion belief systems. I study Christianity and religion like I do other world mythologies. Do I believe in Zeus, Ra, Odin, Krishna? NO. Adherents of such gods (outside of Krishna, perhaps) are either non existent or small. I did not grow up in societies where they were worshiped or are worshiped. I have nothing to debate with them over the fine points of their theology, etc. I was once a Christian and I still live in a Christianized society. Their beliefs are relevant to me and to some extent, affects me.
Last time I checked, this forum is not just relegated to "back patting." It is also for debate, even between Christians. Granted, much of it gets nowhere, but there are folks in the peanut gallery checking things out. I am here to discuss the bible MOST of the times.
Check this out. I love reggae music. I was born into that culture and I play that style of music. Do I believe in Haile Selassie as some deity? NO.
I do not believe in Jesus or god. I am not a Christian. Do I have some Christian music on my play list? Yes.
I am a student of history. A great chunk of history CANNOT be understood apart from understanding Christianity, its history and its eleventy billion belief systems. I study Christianity and religion like I do other world mythologies. Do I believe in Zeus, Ra, Odin, Krishna? NO. Adherents of such gods (outside of Krishna, perhaps) are either non existent or small. I did not grow up in societies where they were worshiped or are worshiped. I have nothing to debate with them over the fine points of their theology, etc. I was once a Christian and I still live in a Christianized society. Their beliefs are relevant to me and to some extent, affects me.
Last time I checked, this forum is not just relegated to "back patting." It is also for debate, even between Christians. Granted, much of it gets nowhere, but there are folks in the peanut gallery checking things out. I am here to discuss the bible MOST of the times.
Then answer this one. There exists on here an atheist and agnostic forum. Why don't you atheists and agnostics go to the forum set up for you to converse and leave the Christian forum alone? The reason is plain enough for anyone to see. You guys simply have to stick your noses into everything and anything pertaining to God and Christianity. You are simply meddlesome old women at heart else you would post on your own little forum and not be bothered with Christians. Doesn't that make sense?
Check this out. I love reggae music. I was born into that culture and I play that style of music. Do I believe in Haile Selassie as some deity? NO.
I do not believe in Jesus or god. I am not a Christian. Do I have some Christian music on my play list? Yes.
I am a student of history. A great chunk of history CANNOT be understood apart from understanding Christianity, its history and its eleventy billion belief systems. I study Christianity and religion like I do other world mythologies. Do I believe in Zeus, Ra, Odin, Krishna? NO. Adherents of such gods (outside of Krishna, perhaps) are either non existent or small. I did not grow up in societies where they were worshiped or are worshiped. I have nothing to debate with them over the fine points of their theology, etc. I was once a Christian and I still live in a Christianized society. Their beliefs are relevant to me and to some extent, affects me.
Last time I checked, this forum is not just relegated to "back patting." It is also for debate, even between Christians. Granted, much of it gets nowhere, but there are folks in the peanut gallery checking things out. I am here to discuss the bible MOST of the times.
No one is capable of coming into a realization of God until God's time for the individual to enter into that realization.
But we have the sure promise that "God will have all mankind to be saved and come into a realization of the truth" (1 Tim.2:4-6). Until then, no one can "get it" unless it is given to them. It's not insulting. It is just the way it is.
To the OP:
Can you see the authoritarianism and delusional thinking in Eusebius' post? Eusebius believes he is getting direct revelations from The All Powerful Creator of The Universe. He believes he knows the "Mind of God."
Do you want someone like Eusebius elected to congress or the presidency? Do you want someone like him to have access to the nuclear launch codes?
Can you see why some atheists actively oppose religion now? Can you see how mass delusion might be harmful to society?
What are you even talking about? I'm not trying to "convert" anyone.
Nice choice of words btw, it's almost as if you believe that Atheism is a religion. Who's taking bets?
It has to be a religion if it occupies one's mind the way it does you atheists. Even Christianity doesn't occupy a Christian's mind as much as it does yours. Christians have peace with their beliefs, you do not.
The OP asks a fair question. It deserves an answer.
Before I start, a little disclaimer is in order: I do not claim to speak for all people who might identify as atheist or agnostic. I also realize that Christianity and other religions have a wide range of beliefs within their ranks. So the following is not applicable to all Christians or all religions.
Now I will give the OP my personal take:
First of all, let's get one thing straight: there are no atheists.
Shocked? Let me elaborate.
Normal people do not believe that the universe is controlled by an invisible conscious entity with which they can telepathically communicate. Delusional people believe such things.
I don't mean that as an insult. I mean that literally.
Allow me to illustrate. If a person claimed that there was an invisible man watching his every move, and that he could communicate with this invisible man, we'd rightly say that this person was delusional. We'd also say the same thing for an adult who sincerely believed in things like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
But when many people believe in an invisible being called "God" who grants wishes via telepathic communication (called "prayer"), who punishes people with global floods and never-ending torture after they die, for some reason we don't call it delusion. We call it religion.
Now I realize that not all religious people think that way. But many do.
I think the following statement should be obvious: a society with a significant number of delusional people is not healthy. Based on what I see in these threads, it is clear that a significant portion of the population is delusional.
But it gets worse. Not only is a significant portion of the population suffering from this delusion, many of those people believe that it is their duty to spread this delusion to others, including helpless children. Children will believe whatever they are told. That's why children believe in things like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
It's probably harmless to teach children that Santa Claus knows when they are sleeping (and knows when they're awake) and knows if they've been bad or good (so they'd better be good for goodness sake). The hope of getting toys and the fear of getting a lump of coal is pretty mild. On the other hand, telling children that there's an invisible man in the sky (or wherever), watching their every move, and waiting to cast them into a lake of fire if they "sin" is psychological abuse.
To me, it is wrong to take advantage of a child's natural gullibility in order to program them with an irrational belief system. Especially one that is based on fear and guilt, such as biblical-literalist Christianity.
I realize that some branches of Christianity have "evolved" to become less barbaric and more civilized. I personally don't have a problem with Christians who treat their religion as a private, emotional, "spiritual" matter. It's the people who use Christianity as a weapon for psychological bullying and control that I take issue with. Especially when they use that weapon on defenseless children.
To me, forcing religion on a child is no different than giving a child alcohol or other psychoactive drugs that could damage them for a lifetime.
So there you have it. That's why I take issue with religion in general and Christianity in particular.
The question is: Why do you come here? If you do feel this way, why on earth would you spend your time here? Why are you motivated to come here believing as you do? What drives you? You think you are going to change anyone's mind? Fat chance. Why don't you just go to the A/A group where you can commiserate with others who feel as you do? Why do you feel you have the "right" to come into a Christian forum and berate, belittle, and argue against Christians? You have your own forum for that.
Why do you say there are no Atheists? By definition, an Atheist is one who does not believe in deities. You do not believe in deities. Therefore, you are an Atheist. Do you have a problem with the English language, too?
Do you go to the other religion forums and tell them that they are delusional? Do you tell the Jews how delusional they are or Muslims or Hindus? Are you an equal opportunity basher or is it just Christians?
You see, I feel just as sorry, if not more so, for you than you do for me. I do feel sorry for anyone who has not experienced the love of God or felt the compassion or the support I feel. It brings me great joy - a joy that you have not felt. You call it a delusion, but I believe in God and your skepticism is so sad to me. Until you have felt it, you cannot know it and you cannot relate to it. That's ok. You have a long way to travel before you reach your end. It may come to you one day.
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