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Old 12-21-2011, 09:26 AM
 
Location: San Antonio, Texas
7 posts, read 21,496 times
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But having faith has nothing to do with god, religion, or atheism! You have faith when you walk out your door every morning or when you get in your car.
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Old 12-21-2011, 09:44 AM
 
16,294 posts, read 28,430,451 times
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I doubt that civilization will be able to survive the stone cold stupidity of believing in gods.
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Old 12-21-2011, 10:07 AM
 
9,408 posts, read 13,698,202 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Theophane View Post
But you can't prove it. So there is faith involved.
Again, the burden of proof lies with the one making the claim.

I was a christian for many, many years. A faithful, prayerful, bible-believing christian involved in my churches. When I really began questioning religion I found it wanting. There was no real substance, it was all built on manipulating and mind control. As I moved out of the formal church and into a more self supporting christianity I was still finding blatant contradictions and absurdities that simply could not be reconciled with science, logic or reason. Then began my journey through agnosticism and then to atheism.

There is no faith involved, only reason and logic and my personal experience of how religion is man made and simply has no solid ground to stand on.

I am not a rebellious backslider. I am an educated, thoughtful deep thinker who looked at religion with open eyes and then rejected it for the massive failing that it is.

And now my days as an atheist freethinker are the best days I have ever had. I am free from dogma and that freedom is a beautiful thing indeed. My mental health has improved dramatically and I am the happiest I have ever been.
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Old 12-21-2011, 10:17 AM
 
Location: New York City
5,553 posts, read 7,974,284 times
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Greetings FirstBorn. I am still waiting for you to FULLY come over to the bright side. lol...I know you're getting there.

Anyway, I don't doubt. I had FAR more doubts about my Christian faith when I was a Christian. I THOUGHT I was sure but there were always those gaping holes in the process.
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Old 12-21-2011, 10:44 AM
 
Location: Ohio
24,624 posts, read 19,051,641 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by firstborn888 View Post
That is, doubts about your atheism? Ever?


Becoming an Atheist is not something I took lightly.

My path started at the Berlin Museum one day at lunch, and it took 10 years of study and research to move from christian to Agnostic to Atheist.

My position is strengthened almost daily by new evidence, so, no, I have neither doubts nor regrets.

I check out professional journals quite frequently, and have noted that Israeli scholars are hot and heavy on the hunt. It's only a matter of time before either the J Document, the E Document, or both are found, and when they are, it will rip apart the entire foundation of christianity.
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Old 12-21-2011, 10:45 AM
 
Location: Dallas, Texas
1,816 posts, read 2,502,770 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mircea View Post

Becoming an Atheist is not something I took lightly.

My path started at the Berlin Museum one day at lunch, and it took 10 years of study and research to move from christian to Agnostic to Atheist.

My position is strengthened almost daily by new evidence, so, no, I have neither doubts nor regrets.

I check out professional journals quite frequently, and have noted that Israeli scholars are hot and heavy on the hunt. It's only a matter of time before either the J Document, the E Document, or both are found, and when they are, it will rip apart the entire foundation of christianity.
Would love to hear more about this.
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Old 12-21-2011, 10:59 AM
 
Location: Golden, CO
2,108 posts, read 2,882,651 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Theophane View Post
Having doubts is what separates a believer from a fanatic.
No, what separates a fanatic from a believer is the fanatic is close-minded and cannot acknowledge that there is a possibility he or she might be wrong.

Can you see the difference between having doubts and not having doubts but acknowledging that one might be wrong?

If not, let me provide you with an example. Do you ever have doubts that your grandfather is your biological grandfather? No? OK, well, can you at least acknowledge the possibility, however remote, that he might not be your biological grandfather?

One can acknowledge the possibility that one could be wrong, while at the same time not having any doubts about it. However, evidence could surface that could raise doubts within you, but as of yet, no such evidence has come forward and you don't think it ever will, but you are not ruling out the possibility.

A fanatic on the other hand is blind with arrogance and hubris. They are incapable of fairly considering evidence that might challenge their beliefs. In their minds, there is no possibility of them being wrong.

I am not that. I just don't have any doubts, and I actively seek out evidence and/or arguments that could prove me wrong. Not a lot of people do that. You can read a post I wrote on it: //www.city-data.com/forum/relig...ical-your.html
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Old 12-21-2011, 11:23 AM
 
Location: Sitting beside Walden Pond
4,612 posts, read 4,872,048 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by firstborn888 View Post
That is, doubts about your atheism? Ever?
No, I have never had any doubts.

I have always been aware that some people believe in a god, but I was raised in a household devoid of any religious ideas and the idea of a god has never occurred to me personally.

My wife is a non-practicing Catholic and my children seem to believe in a god, but we do not discuss it. Their beliefs are their business.

In general, I really like Christians. They seem to be nice people and they have beautiful music. I used to like watching Billy Graham on TV because he was so sincere in trying to help people.

I even let my wife baptize me last year. We were driving up to Gettysburg to visit the battlefield and stopped in Emmitsburg to visit the shrive for Mary Seton, the first Catholic saint from North America. There was a fountain with some so-called 'holy water', so she baptized me and our grand-children. We had a great trip.
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Old 12-21-2011, 11:38 AM
 
Location: Katonah, NY
21,192 posts, read 25,078,423 times
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Hmmm... doubts... Well, I definitely don't believe in the Bible or the Judeo Christian God... Furthermore, I don't believe in any other religion - I think they are all made up and none of them make any sense to me. If there is a supreme being or creator of any kind - I pretty much think that it is more of a force or energy than any kind of thinking being. If it is a thinking being - then I think that he/she created us and perhaps just sits back and watches but doesn't have a hand in anything. And I definitely don't believe in some kind of omnipresent/omniscient being. Could I be wrong about all of this? Sure! But I don't think I am. I think many people want to believe that there is something out there - that someone is watching over them - that someone is helping them along - that someone loves them from afar. But all that just doesn't make sense to me. I've had an amazing life and I don't believe in God. If there is a "God" out there - why would be bless my life so much and not the lives of others who actually worship him? Just doesn't add up. And why would any being so loving and wonderful demand worship in the first place? And why would a loving being send people to Hell?

So basically - there are things that I don't doubt at all - and things that I'm not really that sure of. But the things that I'm not that sure of really don't matter all that much to me so I guess I don't spend that much time doubting them...
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Old 12-21-2011, 12:45 PM
 
Location: NC, USA
7,084 posts, read 14,804,246 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Theophane View Post
But you can't prove it. So there is faith involved.
It is the positive assertion that bears the burden of proof, i.e. those that claim a god does exist, to disbelieve a not proven assertion is the most logical course and there is absolutely no proof that any of the gods exist.
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