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Love and the brotherhood of man, along with stepping out of the box and opening up to all the possibilities of God. When we start acepting others for who they are and not based on what religion, monetary value, title or anything material is placed upon them. When we start taking care of each other, religions and beliefs will be placed behind what is most important. Didn't Jesus state to Love one another? Didn't He also state that God is the Father of all? When we place ourselves above another, we can never practice either of those.
Rev, maybe you misunderstood, but i threw God in there with Religion. i wanted to know when the human race is going to wise up and realize that religions/Gods are all a bunch of BS?
When more and more parents choose to not brainwash their kids at an early age, then you'll see it slowly put to rest. This will happen, but it's gonna take some time. Get out there and multiply, you atheist
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Yeah, I agree. I exposed my two kids to all sorts of things while they were growing up, including many different types of religion, presented as differences in human opinion rather than as Truth or Fact. I told them many times that they didn't have to believe as I did, but that they should look and think and make their own decisions about what they believed.
Surprise surprise, I've got one atheist child and one agnostic child. I could certainly have done a lot worse!
Nah...in a few years people like you would forget that it happened and wonder why he hadn't appeared lately...
Ever wonder why God hasn't been heard from in the past 2000 years?
I'm guessing that 2000 years ago, people like me were asking people like you the exact same question...
So in addition to providing irrefutable proof, your god could provide said proof every 5 years. Still doesn't seem like a tall order for a GOD, does it?
Even if I try to be objective it still seems unlikely anything could.
"Religion" includes more than groups that take a narrow view of the Christian Bible. It even includes more than Christianity. The existence of certain schools of Buddhism and Positivism means it might even be possible for there to be a religion without belief in God or the supernatural at all.
Still in theory a mix of operant conditioning and pharmaceuticals could make people incapable of religion. Granted I think this would be basically evil, but good and evil are maybe religious concepts irrelevant for you.
If it makes you feel better though religions pretty rare among young people in Western Europe and Japan. It's not altogether gone, but very few things go away altogether. These examples would seem to indicate the State, secular organizations, wealth, and pop-culture can displace religion for many people. And as we all know Nation-States are much more rational and humane than religions
No, because God has spoken to people from ancient to modern times. Possibly including my relatives, maybe including me.
Schizophrenia and other mental illness in which people hear non-existent voices have always been around. Anyone who thinks they're hearing god's voice, or demon voices or angel voices or spirit guide voices, et cetera needs to see a good psychiatrist.
No, because God has spoken to people from ancient to modern times. Possibly including my relatives, maybe including me.
Maybe???? Don't you think that a god, in his infinite godliness, would speak to you in a way that you were PRETTY DARN SURE that you knew he was god????
What's up with all of this mamby-pamby, foot-shuffling, maybe-it-was-HIM-or-maybe-it-was-nothing-more-than-an-undigested-bit-of-potato BS about your god speaking to you????
You should really expect a little more from your supreme being of choice.
It's difficult to explain and rather personal. I had an experience which may have been God or may have been sleep deprivation. And to be honest the experience sounds rather strange and I wasn't sure what God, if it was God, was trying to tell me. Or if it's something I should share with others. (I think if it's real it might just be directed to me.)
Anyway the relatives I mean aren't schizophrenic or bipolar. I know both those conditions. Further some of what they say God told them was not stuff they could've known on their own. This is part of why, even when I considered atheism, it was always a pretty big leap. I'd have to assume a huge number of people throughout history, including friends and family, were deluded or liars. And what's worst once that's done I'd be left with Humanity as the only arbiter of truth and falsehood, even though I already had to dismiss much of humanity as delusional or stupid. The atheists I've seen get around this, more or less, by believing a small group of elite humans have a special method and that this method removes about all foolishness they may have as individuals. However this doesn't really do anything for me. (Agnosticism is in some ways more humble and easier)
It's difficult to explain and rather personal. I had an experience which may have been God or may have been sleep deprivation. And to be honest the experience sounds rather strange and I wasn't sure what God, if it was God, was trying to tell me. Or if it's something I should share with others. (I think if it's real it might just be directed to me.)
Anyway the relatives I mean aren't schizophrenic or bipolar. I know both those conditions. Further some of what they say God told them was not stuff they could've known on their own. This is part of why, even when I considered atheism, it was always a pretty big leap. I'd have to assume a huge number of people throughout history, including friends and family, were deluded or liars. And what's worst once that's done I'd be left with Humanity as the only arbiter of truth and falsehood, even though I already had to dismiss much of humanity as delusional or stupid. The atheists I've seen get around this, more or less, by believing a small group of elite humans have a special method and that this method removes about all foolishness they may have as individuals. However this doesn't really do anything for me. (Agnosticism is in some ways more humble and easier)
So when someone murders their whole family and their excuse is that "God told me to do it", you really think that god instructed them to kill? Or do you think they're mentally ill?
It's difficult to explain and rather personal. I had an experience which may have been God or may have been sleep deprivation. And to be honest the experience sounds rather strange and I wasn't sure what God, if it was God, was trying to tell me. Or if it's something I should share with others. (I think if it's real it might just be directed to me.)
No offense...I really don't care what you think your god may or may not have told you (and only you). Likewise, I wouldn't expect you want to hear about all of the crazy things my brain comes up with.
Heres the thing: Our brains are amazingly complex in they way the work and nobody really knows how or why the come up with HALF of the things they come up with. Peoples perception of reality is a result of stimuli being sensed by our body then the brain interpreting and processing the meaning of those stimuli. The brain has ALOT of control on how we perceive the world. I think many people underestimate the degree to which their brains play tricks on them. Because of this, it isn't hard to believe how many people think a god is talking to them, but that doesn't make god real.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomas R.
Anyway the relatives I mean aren't schizophrenic or bipolar. I know both those conditions. Further some of what they say God told them was not stuff they could've known on their own. This is part of why, even when I considered atheism, it was always a pretty big leap. I'd have to assume a huge number of people throughout history, including friends and family, were deluded or liars. And what's worst once that's done I'd be left with Humanity as the only arbiter of truth and falsehood, even though I already had to dismiss much of humanity as delusional or stupid. The atheists I've seen get around this, more or less, by believing a small group of elite humans have a special method and that this method removes about all foolishness they may have as individuals. However this doesn't really do anything for me. (Agnosticism is in some ways more humble and easier)
This is essentially an argument by numbers (i.e thay can't ALL be crazy/bipolar/schizo, can they?). Based on what I wrote above, I hope you can see how some relatively sane people can still come up with some pretty insane perceptions of reality. I include myself in this group, lest kdbrich labels me one of his "neo-atheists" who are "out-to-get" the believers on this forum.
Last edited by broadbill; 07-22-2009 at 10:04 AM..
Reason: spelling
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