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 suppose I could have been more precise in the OP and said if religion made sense to me, faith would not be required.
If I may quote you from another thread when responding to a statement that Christians know God was responsible for the bible:
That belief requires faith. To me, it makes no sense to believe that an ancient collection of stories written thousands of years ago by long-dead, anonymous men who were at a kindergarten level of social, scientific, cultural - and dare I say, spiritual - development, were directly inspired by a God who then pretty much decided to stop whispering in people's ears.
Yeah, I think that the key words here are "to me." Personally, while I don't accept all of the stories in the Bible as being literal accounts of things that actually happened, I do have a very strong faith that there is a God and that we are not merely cognizant beings that happened to evolve to where we are today without any direction from a higher power. Since it makes sense "to me" that there is a God, a number of other things make sense to me, as well, among them the belief that He loves me and that my existence is not going to suddenly cease when I draw my last breath. I have faith in those things because they make sense to me, but I have never tried to tell anybody else that what I believe should make sense to them.
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 01-17-2019 at 05:18 PM..
Religion may make sense to a lot of people, but then why do people need to make irrational arguments in defense of them? Every single time I have seen someone tries to defend one, their explanation does not stand up to reason.
Some people feel a very strong need to justify what they believe or don't believe. I don't. If my beliefs aren't hurting anyone else and are helping me to live a happier life, that's all I need. (I realize that this makes debating me a lot less fun than it might otherwise be. )
And this is another area where I see religion making no sense. Separation of church and state means the religious get to follow their beliefs and practices. This is a good thing for the religious.
But there are some groups who try to introduce a theocracy one piece at a time. The problem for them is if they succeed, what if the theocracy leaders follow a different theology?
This is why I find it strange when moderate religious people attack US atheists for fighting for separation of church and state.
Can you give an example of when that happens? Not saying it doesn't, but most people I know don't want official prayer in schools or obelisks with the Ten Commandments outside of courthouses.
Can you give an example of when that happens? Not saying it doesn't, but most people I know don't want official prayer in schools or obelisks with the Ten Commandments outside of courthouses.
It's still not the "moderate" religious people who are insisting on putting them there. You are free to answer the question to Harry--give an example of why you think moderate religious people are supporting that sort of thing.
And by the way, they aren't everywhere. Some of you seem to live in primarily fundamentalist religious areas, but surely you are aware that there are parts of this country that don't look like that.
And exactly where is there official prayer in public schools?
It's still not the "moderate" religious people who are insisting on putting them there. You are free to answer the question to Harry--give an example of why you think moderate religious people are supporting that sort of thing.
And by the way, they aren't everywhere. Some of you seem to live in primarily fundamentalist religious areas, but surely you are aware that there are parts of this country that don't look like that.
And exactly where is there official prayer in public schools?
For the politicians who support these things, they have to win elections. And that requires a majority. Are you telling me that a majority of American voters are far right religious zealots?
My comments was about the obelisks you mentioned. But let's not forget that many of us are old enough where prayer was REQUIRED in public schools, and public school children were dismissed early from school to attend "weekday Sunday school".
For the politicians who support these things, they have to win elections. And that requires a majority. Are you telling me that a majority of American voters are far right religious zealots?
Not where I live, but in some places in this country, apparently so. Do you really think that if some politician announced he wanted to put a giant Ten Commandments on the lawn of a courthouse in Trenton, NJ, or Albany, NY, or Montpelier, VT, etc., that it would get him elected?
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
I haven't made any comment about prayer in school. But let's not forget that many of us are old enough where prayer was REQUIRED in public schools, and public school children were dismissed early from school to attend "weekday Sunday school".
OK, you bolded that part of my post in your quote so I thought you were including it.
What makes you think I would forget that? My older sisters remember in reality, I was a bit behind them so that it was no longer a thing when I started school in 1963.
That's my entire point. The moderate religious people do not want a return to that.
Harry claims we attack atheists who don't want it, either. I asked for an example.
Not where I live, but in some places in this country, apparently so. Do you really think that if some politician announced he wanted to put a giant Ten Commandments on the lawn of a courthouse in Trenton, NJ, or Albany, NY, or Montpelier, VT, etc., that it would get him elected?
OK, you bolded that part of my post in your quote so I thought you were including it.
What makes you think I would forget that? My older sisters remember in reality, I was a bit behind them so that it was no longer a thing when I started school in 1963.
That's my entire point. The moderate religious people do not want a return to that.
Harry claims we attack atheists who don't want it, either. I asked for an example.
Well, they may not want it, but they're awfully silent about it.
After the last two years in the country south of me, I think moderates of all stripes are motivated to make some noise next time around.
Are you talking about "moderates" in general or "religious moderates"?
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.
)
