I am an Atheist and always have been.

Status
Not open for further replies.
IrishEyes said:
I used to say that too and get so frustrated, but here I am today!
Click to expand...
IrishEyes said:
I used to say that too and get so frustrated, but here I am today!
Click to expand...
I read everything above. I tried to understand where everyone was coming from. I reread most everything and after sitting in my chair and thinking, and praying, I might add, I came to understand, or at least I think so, that people are looking for answers. Not looking to understand God, but looking for answers, solutions or relief from this God that we believe so strongly in. In other words if he is so real to you and I can pray to him, like you, then why doesn't he answer my prayers.
God is not there to remove your pain. He is not there to make your life better.
He is simply there for you. He wants you to talk to him. Not put in a series of request and then validate his existing on whether or not your prayers were answered. He wants you. He knows what you want but he knows that you don't believe in him. He wants his creation, which is you and I to bend our knees and worship Him. Then we put our worries, concerns in his hands and we rest in his arms.
There is no intelligent argument here. It is what it is.
 
rbtvgo said:
I read everything above. I tried to understand where everyone was coming from. I reread most everything and after sitting in my chair and thinking, and praying, I might add, I came to understand, or at least I think so, that people are looking for answers. Not looking to understand God, but looking for answers, solutions or relief from this God that we believe so strongly in. In other words if he is so real to you and I can pray to him, like you, then why doesn't he answer my prayer
God is not there to remove your pain. He is not there to make your life better.
He is simply there for you. He wants you to talk to him. Not put in a series of request and then validate his existing on whether or not your prayers were answered. He wants you. He knows what you want but he knows that you don't believe in him. He wants his creation, which is you and I to bend our knees and worship Him. Then we put our worries, concerns in his hands and we rest in his arms.
There is no intelligent argument here. It is what it is.
Click to expand...
You seem to spend more time than is necessary struggling to understand others. I don't think we are that big of a mystery. We are just different.
 
Warrigal said:
"Gratitude is the memory of the heart" - Sr Mary MacKillop RSJ, Australian's first and only Saint

She founded an order of apostolic nuns and Her advice to her young sisters was "There where you are you will find God".

Mary MacKillop - Sisters of Saint Joseph
Click to expand...

While the quote is self-explanatory, nevertheless I asked AI to explain it, and got this:

"When someone helps or supports you, your 'heart' remembers the feeling long after the event, transforming that past kindness into a present, enduring sense of thankfulness.
This beautiful sentiment is widely attributed to the French dramatist Jean-Baptiste Massillon, who wrote, "Gratitude is the memory of the heart."

I support that.

You were replying to my post #798 which addressed the mindset of Aristippus and / or the Cyrenaics. I seriously doubt they would subscribe to that sentiment.
 
RambleTamble said:
The display of Christian Nationalism on the National Mall today reinforces my dislike of organized religion. I think if God actually existed, he wouldn't approve of the messages they were espousing.
Click to expand...
I didn't watch it, know of it and probably wouldn't have watched it anyway so please don't lump me in with whatever it was.
For me my faith is personal not a tool for attention. I know I am not the only one who feels this way.
 
I have a hard time wrapping my head around "Treat your slaves kindly." Although I don't think that's a Jesus quote. It's from other Bible characters. But if I were prioritizing sins, owning slaves would outweigh not being kindly, and not even close on the list.
 
JustDave said:
I have a hard time wrapping my head around "Treat your slaves kindly." Although I don't think that's a Jesus quote. It's from other Bible characters. But if I were prioritizing sins, owning slaves would outweigh not being kindly, and not even close on the list.
Click to expand...
You have to realize in that time era, it was mostly bartering. The poor needed to serve others to be able to live, the term slaves really
meant "in service" or servitude. The ones lucky enough to own land most likely used what monies they got to pay taxes and bartered
also for daily needs. Now Romans were a different story. Treat your "slaves" and masters with respect and kindness follows the teachings
of Jesus.
Anyone else have anything to add, please do as I try to make it as short and simple as I can. I never read the words in the Bible and
accept them literally as we know them now.
 
JustDave said:
I have a hard time wrapping my head around "Treat your slaves kindly." Although I don't think that's a Jesus quote. It's from other Bible characters. But if I were prioritizing sins, owning slaves would outweigh not being kindly, and not even close on the list.
Click to expand...
Your post made me interested to find out when the term "Boss" began over "Master" here's what google says:

Origin of the Word "Boss"​

The term "boss" originated in American English around the year 1640.

Etymology​

  • Source Language: The word is derived from the Dutch word "baas," which means "master" or "overseer."
  • Cultural Context: Its adoption in American English was partly to avoid the connotations associated with the word "master," especially in the context of slavery.
This shift in terminology reflected a desire to distinguish between slave labor and paid labor during that period.
 
JustDave said:
Quantum Mechanics is far enough over my head that I remain in a "wait and see" mode. The same for Jungian spirituality. I just don't see an overlap. But I have noticed that when a new area of science is not understood, it is a time when men of the spirit world most often try to reconcile religion and science. Therein lies a necessary commonality, a lack of understanding of both realms, where imagination runs free with little intellectual restraint.

Twenty or thirty years ago, Deepak Chopra jumped upon Quantum Mechanics and blended it with the mysteries of the spiritual world, and authoritatively explained QM with new age doublespeak that mimicked a deeper understanding of the theory than what was actually known. But sounding authoritative is not a substitute for knowledge.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, I operate with limited knowledge and plenty of unrestrained imagination. I am okay with the unknown because that opens the door to new understanding, and I am doing all this thinking because it is fun, not because someone will die if I get it wrong.

At first, I really liked Deepak Chopra, but pulled away.

I think my thinking improves when someone gives me feedback and helps me understand what I don't know. Just reading books about quantum physics isn't working very well for me. Or my new excitement is learning more about sound waves. This was triggered by a show that explained a new hope for helping coral reefs recover by placing speakers in a dying coral reef and playing the sounds of a healthy coral reef. It turns out coral reefs are very complex, with independent parts that are attracted by the natural sounds of healthy coral reefs.

That piqued my interest because Jose Arguelles speaks of Pulsation-rays. It is a huge stretch of my imagination to think in terms of pulsation-rays.

My father said, the question about God we should ask is "how does God do it".
 
Last edited:
RambleTamble said:
I don't think I've ever heard that expression before. Did you get it from Nietzsche's writings? (AI told me that's the most common source of the expression.)
Click to expand...
My explanation of Hades comes from the ancient Greeks. At that time, I had given up on the Christian God and turned to Greek mythology, which helped me grow up and become self-reliant. That was a very positive turn for me to make.

My efforts to write a book about democracy came to a halt when I realized Christianity and its children are a serious problem for democracy.
 
Vida May said:
My explanation of Hades comes from the ancient Greeks. At that time, I had given up on the Christian God and turned to Greek mythology, which helped me grow up and become self-reliant. That was a very positive turn for me to make.

My efforts to write a book about democracy came to a halt when I realized Christianity and its children are a serious problem for democracy.
Click to expand...
Pepper said:
I find them to be threatening Sharon
Click to expand...
Vida May: The U.K.'s state religion is Christianity (Church of England) and the church and democracy have co-existed for hundreds of years. That's true of many other Western countries.

China, Cuba and North Korea are stridently anti-Christian (and other religions.) They don't have any problem with democracy because they don't bother with democracy. So, I don't really understand your statement.

Pepper, if you find those verses threatening, I suggest you stay away from the Old Testament (and the Koran) altogether. But you probably do anyway.
 
IrishEyes said:
@Trade I have a question for you on how you try to read it.
Do you read it like you would a novel, from beginning to end?
Click to expand...

I read it once. Cover to cover. Including the begats. Just to see what all the hoopla was about. And in Junior High School home room one person was forced to read a verse every day. And if the teacher thought the verse you picked was too short she would make you read another one. So every time it was my turn I tried to pick the shortest verse that would still be long enough so that I wouldn't have to read another one.
 
Trade said:
I read it once. Cover to cover. Including the begats. Just to see what all the hoopla was about. And in Junior High School home room one person was forced to read a verse every day. And if the teacher thought the verse you picked was too short she would make you read another one. So every time it was my turn I tried to pick the shortest verse that would still be long enough so that I wouldn't have to read another one.
Click to expand...
I tried several times like that beginning to end and get so far and have to go back and do it again.
I couldn't grasp it that way. I then began asking for specific verses for what I was wanting to learn about.
That worked better for me and I began to understand it better as it was personal. The language useage sunk
in then.
 
Irishdude said:
Whether you are a believer or non-believer, it's hard to argue with the moral teachings of Jesus as laid out in the New Testament.
Click to expand...


on the whole, yes.

but same goes for Conficuious or Buddha or any other moral leader - that doesn't tell me that Person X is The One - it tells me human nature and concience and morals are basically universal and s o each leader anywhere reflects that.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top