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Ones that SAY they are an atheist but believe there is something bigger then you out there?
it would be a mighty big claim to say there isn't. In fact, to claim there is not is as equally nonsensical as there is a dude that died woke up and flew away.
so again, we get twisted back to what type of personality needs less valid claims to build their lives on?
I understand why some newly-minted, freshly born-again Christians pop up from a life of drugs, or alcohol abuse often caused by incest, other child abuse, neglect etc.
Belief in Jesus is offered as a lifeline.
If you've never been drowning, you can't imagine the gift of an outstretched arm.
I have a great deal of understanding and empathy for a believer who comes to Christianity - or any other belief system - via this route.
Hope is life's dearest gift. It keeps you moving forward when life is seemingly tilted against you. I can't begrudge anyone for seizing on its light when their way is dark.
So true, Trout. That has been my experience with others who become Christians as well. I had a rocky childhood and clinging to Jesus really helped me until it didn't. Took me awhile, most of my adult life. I crash landed hard when reality set in. So did my DH. It was a paradigm shift. And we are still sifting through the rubble of what that belief system did to our souls.
I have incredible empathy for Christians who are seeking to find a way of peace and hope. Sometimes I wish life really were that simple.
Correlation does not show causation, for starters. And who's to say a higher rate of suicide couldn't simply be due to some/most outspoken atheists being treated differently (i.e., worse) for their atheism?
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoCardinals
Whatever the cause is, it doesn’t change the bottom line.
"Whatever the cause is..." So you do concede that "Way to Go, Atheists!!" is misleading? If we know we can't discern the cause, we shouldn't attribute it to something atheists are doing. We could just as easily retort with "Way to Go, Theists!!", was my point.
Of course, my view is quite different. I think people do x because of them, not because of religion or a lack thereof. And it frustrates anti-theists when I say that too, because they like to throw that "For a good person to do evil, that takes religion" nonsense at me a lot
So right... the cause. Probably everyone should get their emotions in check and not be jerks to one another
An alarming trend was revealed yesterday. Despite medical advances and lower deaths by heart disease and cancer, the US life expectancy dropped after years and years of going up. Suicide is a big part of the problem, and the suicide rate has now hit a 50 year high.
This is the world atheism and secularism as created. More division, more hopeless, more conflict, less tolerance and less empathy. People have bought into the lie that there is no God, and no purpose to live. We are merely souless flesh and bone here to consume resources then die and rot. The vast majority of us will be completely forgotten from the next generations that get their turn at living.
And the research has shown a direct link between atheism and suicide.
That's the bed you made, so now you can get to lie in it. It is just sad that atheists dedicate so much time out of the few short decades we get in life into tearing down an institution that gives hope and healing to the masses.
Personally I believe atheism is a belief system just like Christianity you believe in something you cannot prove I personally sit on the fence but I do believe we have an afterlife I have a memory of a past life so I know that we lived many lives here. But the problem with people killing themselves is not a Christian or non-Christian problem it is a problem with losing faith of any kind whether you believe in the universe or you believe in yourself you believe in God Every believe gives you hope for the future. However I would also like to say that religion has been the main cause of premature death in the history of mankind so there’s something to be said for that.
Personally I believe atheism is a belief system just like Christianity you believe in something you cannot prove I personally sit on the fence but I do believe we have an afterlife I have a memory of a past life so I know that we lived many lives here. But the problem with people killing themselves is not a Christian or non-Christian problem it is a problem with losing faith of any kind whether you believe in the universe or you believe in yourself you believe in God Every believe gives you hope for the future. However I would also like to say that religion has been the main cause of premature death in the history of mankind so there’s something to be said for that.
No, atheism is not a belief system.
Atheist is a NON-belief system. As atheists see no evidence of a god or gods, they don't believe in one.
Do you see evidence of fairies or leprechauns? If not, do you believe in them? Why? Or, why not?
This post is religiously blinded rubbish if you ask me. To connect atheism as a deciding reason for suicide rates highlights to me a major problem with religion where many who are devout are blinded to the realities of life around them. Such strong accusations from a religious standpoint are what creates conflict among people. Atheists don't break down an institution - that's done from within as much as from anywhere.
Social pressures, mental health, drugs & alcohol all are reasons for suicide. Being born into poverty, being bullied, believing you just cannot cope lead to suicide. And don't tell me that you have to believe in God in order to avoid it all. That is just wrong. Past studies don't prove out your point - they are mixed.
Social pressures, mental health, drugs & alcohol all are reasons for suicide. Being born into poverty, being bullied, believing you just cannot cope lead to suicide. And don't tell me that you have to believe in God in order to avoid it all. That is just wrong. Past studies don't prove out your point - they are mixed.
I don't think atheism is the cause either but more along the lines of what you wrote. And they may have reached out to others but didn't get the support they needed. Like when people decide to ignore possible signs of abuse at a neighbors house cause they don't want to get involved.
"Whatever the cause is..." So you do concede that "Way to Go, Atheists!!" is misleading? If we know we can't discern the cause, we shouldn't attribute it to something atheists are doing. We could just as easily retort with "Way to Go, Theists!!", was my point.
Of course, my view is quite different. I think people do x because of them, not because of religion or a lack thereof. And it frustrates anti-theists when I say that too, because they like to throw that "For a good person to do evil, that takes religion" nonsense at me a lot
So right... the cause. Probably everyone should get their emotions in check and not be jerks to one another
What you are doing is taking your former Christianity to assume it had something to do with the first Christianity and it doesn't.
Modern Christianity is not the same religion as the Christianity in the New Testament. The New Testament promises could not work for you because you were never in the original Christianity. Christians today quote all the New Testament promises assuming those promises were made for them when they were not.
New Testament Christianity teaches a progressive plan where you are literally going to go through a transformation in your spirit and soul. You were born with a fallen spirit, a fallen Adam and you needed a new spirit, a new Adam, and the New Testament teaches you how to overcome the OLD Adam.
Christians think that if you just say the name of Jesus, suddenly you are born again and filled with the spirit, and because people already assume and believe they have the spirit, and they believe they are born again, their assumption blocks them from ever recieving a new spirit or being born again.
Paul was always angry and perplexed at his own congregants because they were not studying enough to be born again, their understanding of the law and the prophets were so lacking that Christ could not be formed in them to make them born again, and he tells them this flat out, that after years of study and being personally taught by experts, they still were not born again.
Every Christian assumes that they have the power of Shavuot,'' Pentecost.''
The reason this mentality is so insane is because even though they have no gifts, and no power, they still think they have the holy spirit of Shavuot WHEN THEY DON'T EVEN BELIEVE IN SHAVUOT LOL.
The reason this mentality is so insane is that Christians assume a spirit from a religion and worship system they are not in, and one they do not practice. Christians are always speaking of the rain of the holy spirit that comes in a set cycle. The spring rain comes every year, and then it goes away and Paul told us it would end because that is simply how the rain works.
Now we wait upon the fall rain set and appointed for the second coming of Christ, and this rain is given becauee the first rain comes and goes, and the second rain is twice as powerful as the first. The first rain is a dew while the second rain is a transforming flood that will circumcise the flesh right off a person.
Those first disciples all knew that IT WAS A RACE.
They all knew that they were walking and running toward the day of the Lord in their own lifetime.
Those first Christians were all converts to Judaism, and unless one is a convert to Judaism, he has no business whatsoever to even speak of the Holy spirit of Shavuot, much less as if he would convince anyone that he had the power of the Holy spirit.
So here you are, never having been in Christianity in the first place, never having obtained the power of the Holy spirit, never having been born again, not even as a baby, you were never in the religion of Jesus but you take your former religion and say,'' SEE, I used to be a Christian, but now I am not.''
NO, You can't have a valid opinion of being in something you were never in, your former Christianity does not reflect on the Christianity of the New Testament, and because your former Christianity failed you, you can't just insinuate that you tried the New Testament Christianity and didn't like it, you have never tried it.
Personally I believe atheism is a belief system just like Christianity you believe in something you cannot prove I personally sit on the fence but I do believe we have an afterlife I have a memory of a past life so I know that we lived many lives here. But the problem with people killing themselves is not a Christian or non-Christian problem it is a problem with losing faith of any kind whether you believe in the universe or you believe in yourself you believe in God Every believe gives you hope for the future. However I would also like to say that religion has been the main cause of premature death in the history of mankind so there’s something to be said for that.
In much the same way that believing leprechauns do not exist is a 'belief system'...
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