I am an Atheist and always have been.

VaughanJB said:
If I were presented with convincing evidence of a God, I'd believe. It would be crazy not to.

The problem is a lack of actual evidence. Strip away blind faith, conjecture, and assumptions, and I found nothing.
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Yeah but atheists always have such high demands. Look here's a guy who got raised from the dead with a picture from the morgue and they interview the doctor who declared him dead and the morgue guy. They don't believe it.

Or like my dad, he saw it first hand. My aunt from Australia had a brain tumor and didn't even recognize her kids anymore. My dad told me that. I threw her name in the prayer basket in church. We prayed with the whole church for all the names in the prayer basket. The next day she calls my mom that God has done a miracle. My other aunt, my dad took her to a church meeting and she got prayer and got healed from cancer.

My FIL, we prayed with church, cancer was spread and he got an xray and it was gone and the doctors said: Your God has done a miracle. Now someone who doesn't know us may think it's made up nonsense or lies or just a coincidence, but my dad knew them and was so impressed that he told the neighbour to go there, but still he did not believe in God. How on earth?

I had a dream about him once in which he said: I cannot believe like you and your mom and in the dream I asked if I could pray for him so God would reveal Himself to him. Eventually he did get saved, but for me that would have been enough proof. He was way more intelligent though. He used his brain and I don't hahahahahahaha serious I think that's why it was easier for me.
 
The guy from the church we went to was Jan Zijlstra. He always prayed for everyone. They came to his meetings also from reformed churches, cause their churches don't pray like that for the sick.

It was in the Newspaper and a doctor looked into it with a team from a university. But all they can say is: We can't explain it.

Redirect Notice

Fact or fiction? Chronically seriously ill people cured by praying

It seems like a story from the Bible: in 2007, wheelchair patient Janneke Vlot stood up after eighteen years and could suddenly walk again. By her own account, this was thanks to a prayer healing service. It intrigued general practitioner and researcher Dick Kruijthof from Bleskensgraaf, and more than twelve years ago he asked the question: is there an explanation for this type of healing or not? Now he has the answer. Or does he?

Patients who have been healed of their illness as a result of a prayer. It is a subject that most people have an opinion on, says Kruijthoff. "It is something unknown to many people, but now we know more."

After an appeal by the GP and his team, it turns out Janneke Vlot is not the only miracle. "We received 83 registrations. We investigated 27 cases, 11 of which were 'medically remarkable'. Unexpected healings were observed here."

Not just a common cold
These cases are not just about a common cold. "Usually, it is a serious chronic disease such as Parkinson's or Crohn's disease. You sometimes see a slight improvement with these diseases, but never so suddenly."

Unexpected cures
In *Het Kontakt*, the general practitioner describes miraculous stories he encountered during his research. "A woman who could walk a maximum of fifty meters on crutches due to severe multiple sclerosis had started praying more because of her illness. She planned to attend a prayer service. It didn't come to that; after an afternoon nap, all her symptoms turned out to have disappeared."

Even if the patient does not count on a cure, things can turn out well through prayer. "Another woman with various illnesses actually prayed to end her life. The next morning she walked down the stairs and suddenly realized that it went almost effortlessly. In the weeks that followed, almost all her ailments disappeared. Of the 33 pills she used to take, she now takes only 1."

Too good to be true
Kruijthoff was unable to find a genuine scientific reason for these events in his research. "There is no direct explanation. The only thing we can observe is that something special happens at these moments." Additionally, the GP says he discovered that when someone recovered from illness, it often happened after prayer.

However, he does not speak of a breakthrough for patients; that would be too good to be true. "At work, I see many people praying for healing; this much more often doesn't happen."

For Kruijthoff, not much changes regarding the way he carries out his daily work as a GP either. "As a GP, I have always based my work on science; that does not change. People expect me to work in an expert manner."


 
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I have memories of going to church and Sunday schools as a child. Boring? Not at all - I found it quite interesting and to this day I find ornate churches and cathedrals lovely to photograph. It's just a shame that all that money gets spent where it could be better spent helping people in need. Any belief in religion and it's trappings ended when my young mind started asking difficult questions and my budding scientific and enquiring mind was less than happy with the answers. Getting a clip round the ear for not being happy with "because it says so in the Bible" didn't help. I could go on :unsure:
 
-Oy- said:
I have memories of going to church and Sunday schools as a child. Boring? Not at all - I found it quite interesting and to this day I find ornate churches and cathedrals lovely to photograph. It's just a shame that all that money gets spent where it could be better spent helping people in need. Any belief in religion and it's trappings ended when my young mind started asking difficult questions and my budding scientific and enquiring mind was less than happy with the answers. Getting a clip round the ear for not being happy with "because it says so in the Bible" didn't help. I could go on :unsure:
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A clip round the ear, wow that's so bad. My son was 4 and asked me difficult questions non stop like: Why did God create satan, why are there earthquakes, stuff like that. I did so much effort to answer his questions or look it up if I didn't know. My brother was just like that as a kid and my mom said that she said: Yeah ehh what do I know? Ask the reverend. Which reverend? They didn't even go to a church.

My son was so funny when he was small. He'd ask these questions with an accusing tone, like he was accusing God. I have it on video that we're in a playground and he's filming, but the sun shines in his eyes and he says, irritated: Hè! Why did God have to make the sun? It shines in my eyes. Then you hear me. Well because otherwise it would be dark and we would see nothing. He, irritated: But I see nothing!!!!! Hilarious.
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Messy said:
A clip round the ear, wow that's so bad. My son was 4 and asked me difficult questions non stop like: Why did God create satan, why are there earthquakes, stuff like that. I did so much effort to answer his questions or look it up if I didn't know. My brother was just like that as a kid and my mom said that she said: Yeah ehh what do I know? Ask the reverend. Which reverend? They didn't even go to a church.

My son was so funny when he was small. He'd ask these questions with an accusing tone, like he was accusing God. I have it on video that we're in a playground and he's filming, but the sun shines in his eyes and he says, irritated: Hè! Why did God have to make the sun? It shines in my eyes. Then you hear me. Well because otherwise it would be dark and we would see nothing. He, irritated: But I see nothing!!!!! Hilarious.
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I had to laugh on this, when my grand daughter, aged 4 at the time, and I were in the yard she saw a bee on the deck and sat watching it. She softly said "Why did God put stingers on bees? If they wouldn't hurt me I would pick it up and feel it's fuzzy little body and be a friend to it"
 
VaughanJB said:
It's a common blind spot. Many highly religious focused "governments" and societies are demonized and even attacked. But people in the US tend to ignore that fact that their own culture is much the same. Zealots exist in every religion.

Like you, I went to church as a child, with Sunday school etc. being part of it. Religious Education was on the school curriculum until 16 years of age. Each start of the school day was an "assembly", where christian hymns were sung, prays made, and so on. Anyone not Christian were allowed to wait outside the assembly.

Yet I became a non-believer. Indoctrination was heavy, but I broke free.

I respect people of faith, I wish they respected me as much.
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If you read my posts and some others then you had to see their are some that respect whatever a person chooses to lean to.
People that want to talk calmly about their beliefs and why, and not try to push me to drop mine, I respect them for that.
If I don't respect them it's not because of their belief but the attitude.
Why do these kind of conversations have to end up a battle one way or other with many people?
I like to hear reasons people believe as they do, it's how I learn to accept and understand them
 
Messy said:
A clip round the ear, wow that's so bad. My son was 4 and asked me difficult questions non stop like: Why did God create satan, why are there earthquakes, stuff like that. I did so much effort to answer his questions or look it up if I didn't know. My brother was just like that as a kid and my mom said that she said: Yeah ehh what do I know? Ask the reverend. Which reverend? They didn't even go to a church.

My son was so funny when he was small. He'd ask these questions with an accusing tone, like he was accusing God. I have it on video that we're in a playground and he's filming, but the sun shines in his eyes and he says, irritated: Hè! Why did God have to make the sun? It shines in my eyes. Then you hear me. Well because otherwise it would be dark and we would see nothing. He, irritated: But I see nothing!!!!! Hilarious.
| Magisto Video Editor
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That's awesome!!
It is difficult sometimes for Christians to deal with really great questions from "nonbelievers" or young, inquiring minds... especially with the "accusatory tones". 😅 I try my best these days not to feel attacked or "canceled", or whatever anymore and just try have answers to the fundamentals of why I believe, what I believe... and then be totally comfortable with saying I don't have the answer to your great question, but if you give me some time, I'll do my best to find the answer. If the asker is actually interested, they'll wait and allow it... if they're just looking to argue... then they've won their victory. Yay, them! Big deal. 🥳
 
If there was a God the holocaust wouldn’t have happened. Many religious wars have killed millions of people. So some people pray and are healed and others pray and they are not worthy?

People have been killing one another over religion since the beginning of time. Religion was a way to explain morals and phenomenon to people that were highly uneducated and ignorant centuries ago. Now it’s become a great way to control people and take their money.

We now have science to explain how am things happen. You can help people and care about others and live via a moral code without believing in God. In fact, I have known people that never miss going to church on Sunday and yet would never help anyone. They didn’t seem to care about this planet and other human beings.
 
On the basis of known facts, there are obvious reasons increasing numbers of people in this modern era have become atheists or agnostics. It is also true, many older people have lived their lives, are tired and diminished, so don't care if their existence ends forever. I wish to live forever.

Went to 11am mass yesterday, that was Palm Sunday, with a lengthened gospel period reading Mathew's passion of Christ. Our church each Sunday has 4 English masses and 2 Spanish masses with a seating capacity of 1200 people. One of the most ethnically diverse groups in the nation. And it was full yesterday.

Although I choose to believe in Jesus Christ, my religious ideas as I've posted herein numbers of times, have very different aspects than that any of Christian denominations. As a strong science person, I do seek eternal life and understand scientifically how that may be possible. Jesus very clearly told those who seek eternal life to attend the church Peter was the first to lead and to consume his Bread of Life, so I do. A small weekly burden.
 
I have my own ideas about the nature of God and the Angels.

I do thank God every morning for having been graced with another day. Each breath is a gift.

This magical place was never meant to be a Disney Movie, though I really like Uncle Remus and Misterr Bluebird.
 
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