This is why I can not be true to any religion, but I am not an atheist! (myth, agnostic)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am an atheist, but I'm not absolutely sure that no god exists. I simply don't believe in one (the definition of a-theism), and regard it as extremely unlikely that there is one.
I am an atheist, but I'm not absolutely sure that no god exists. I simply don't believe in one (the definition of a-theism), and regard it as extremely unlikely that there is one.
Sounds like a contradiction to me.
You are either sure that there isn't or or you just don't 'believe' there is?
IF you are not 'sure' then that would make you an agnostic.
Originally Posted by MrClose When people say that there is no proof that God exists .. I have to ask:
If you were walking in the forest and came upon a very large and very beautiful home, would you just assume that it built itself?
Did it just pop out of thin air or .. maybe it evolved from some kind of micro-biotic wood pulp?
I must say that the Earth, moon and all the stars of the universe are Much More intricate and the design of them more complete and beautiful than any home you will ever come upon!
Why would you Not assume that this Grand and Wonderful universe .. also had a designer/creator?
Why would you assume that some entity created the universe? Just because you do not know or understand how it came to be does not mean God did it...That is the age old story called "God of the gaps" Everything that early man could not explain from illness to natural disasters, was attributed to God or the supernatural. Fortunately as knowledge grew most of those gaps have faded away...In time perhaps the birth of the universe will be fully known and another gap can be done away with....There are very few remaining.
Why would you assume that some entity created the universe? Just because you do not know or understand how it came to be does not mean God did it...That is the age old story called "God of the gaps" Everything that early man could not explain from illness to natural disasters, was attributed to God or the supernatural. Fortunately as knowledge grew most of those gaps have faded away...In time perhaps the birth of the universe will be fully known and another gap can be done away with....There are very few remaining.
I'm convinced .. Houses and the universe .. built themselves!
You have valid concerns and I appreciate your honesty. You may wish to read "Mere Christianty" by C.S. Lewis, or check out the websites for Dr. Charles Stanley or Robi Zacharias. Do make the best of this life journey. Another great resource that I recently read, is the book "Who moved my Cheese" by Spencer Johnson. The book provides a few life strategies to ponder and consider when dealing with change. Continue to seek and find your cheese! Stay Gold
Most people do. However most people do not even know what that phrase even means and that link would be 10 minutes of your life well spent.
In fact most people likely suffer from the same thing as the Downing Effect in IQ when it comes to judging open mindedness.
Open Mindedness simply means being willing to hear people out when they make a claim that does not fit with your current world view or opinions, and honestly appraise their evidence and reasoning for making their claims. Open Mindedness is NOT automatically lending credence, credibility or even respect to any old idea people make up, solely because they have made it. As a person better than I once put it "Do not be so open minded that your brain falls out". To be open minded one must merely be willing to accept a new idea should sufficient reason be given to do so. NOT simply because it is a new idea.
Quote:
Originally Posted by glass_of_merlot
Who am I to doubt anybody?
I would as "who are we NOT to doubt anybody". There are so many claims being made by so many people in our society that the only workable approach IS to doubt them and accept the plausible and substantiated ones. To work the other way around and accept everything until proven wrong.... like people on this forum such as MysticPhD would have you do.... is simply unworkable given the number of claims being made in this world.... and the number of them that are entirely baseless and often outright lies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by glass_of_merlot
When I am watching pictures of earth taken by NASA and I see earth from millions of miles away I realize how little and unknown we are in the Universe and how incredibly little we know about anything.
Exactly... yet what the religious will tell you is that despite the fact we are such a massively insignificant dot in an unimaginably massive universe.... the truth is that everything there is was created with you in mind, and you are part of a massive plan for which all this was created. Such preposterous claims can only come from those who give in to the weakness of the human condition that is our human arrogance. Despite our insignificance we as a species like to imagine everything is significant to us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by glass_of_merlot
One of my closest friend swear up and down over her mothers grave that she has seen Gods angels.
Meanwhile some other people will swear with just as much commitment that they were adducted and experimented on by aliens. Others will swear on their life they are Napolean reincarnated. Others will swear that the bottle of water they are trying to sell you for a massive price is actually a cure for the very ailment you are suffering from.
As I said people make claims all the time... it is up to us to decide if any of them are in any way credible or substantiated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by glass_of_merlot
The safest bet in life is to be a good person and follow you heart.
Why is it a safe bet? Maybe the god of this universe enjoys cruelty more than kindness. It is just as valid a claim.
However why does it have to be a "bet" at all in some kind of bastardization and plagarism of Pascal? Why can being a "good" person not be something you do from reason and reason alone because it is the most intellectually honest and "right" thing to do? Why does it need to be about gambling and personal gain?
I call my self open minded, really open minded. When I hear testimonials from people of various religions or when I read books or watch movies about the "unknown" or when I on a star-studded night I look up in the sky i cannot help myself to wonder - what is the real truth?
Who am I to doubt anybody? Muslims, Hindus,Christians, Buddhists and Jews along with all the other religions in the world, who is to say one is more correct than the other.Not to mention atheists. How can they be so sure there is nothing at all! Maybe we are all wrong!? Maybe we are all in for one big surprise.
When I am watching pictures of earth taken by NASA and I see earth from millions of miles away I realize how little and unknown we are in the Universe and how incredibly little we know about anything. One of my closest friend swear up and down over her mothers grave that she has seen Gods angels. She swears that she has talked to them and that she has talked to God. She tells me that she knows for a fact that there are a God and Jesus and she tells me there are no such thing as a Hell the way most people describe it or picture it. She is a goodhearted non judgmental person and I love her dearly. I want to believe what she say, I want to be as sure as she is, but I can't do that. There are too much questions that has to be answered. There are many people like my friend who are just as convinced and sure about there faith and their religion. One thing all of these people have in common, they are all alive. Non of them are dead and have come back to tell me what is really going on. So I have come to one conclusion. The safest bet in life is to be a good person and follow you heart.
There are virtually endless possibilities for "truth," and you could drive yourself crazy trying to figure them all out. As an example, all of what we know exists could just be dirt under someone's finger nail and we'd never know the difference, any more than a single cell animal can comprehend that all of creation doesn't exist in that single drop of water he lives in, but could not cross in a lifetime. From his vantage point, that drop of water is eternal and stretches to infinity. Who can say our universe isn't similar in that we're too small to see the Big Picture?
Sounds like a contradiction to me.
You are either sure that there isn't or or you just don't 'believe' there is?
IF you are not 'sure' then that would make you an agnostic.
No, I am an agnostic atheist, as many are. Agnosticism and atheism are measures of two different things:
Gnosticism/agnosticism - a measure of whether one believes solid knowledge of a deity can be possessed or not
Theism/atheism - a measure of whether one believes in a deity or not
So you can see, mixed and matched, there are four possibilities. I am an agnostic atheist because I don't believe that solid knowledge can be had, which makes atheism the logical choice. Why should I believe in something of which solid knowledge cannot be possessed?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
