Just curious if Atheism has infiltrated MA? It's been almost 2 years since I've given up the Gods. Feels liberating. I have 2 sisters who are entrenched in the Christian faith. Thankfully my Brother is like minded. The longer I'm out the crazier it seems. Humans can be so weird to believe sch things as Scientology or in a woman called Ramtha who channels an ancient male spirit... OY!
Best,
Xeta
Who's concept of a higher power is correct? There are so many varied belief systems and they all cannot be right.
I completely agree yet, my Christian sisters believe their way is correct. That's one of the big reasons I dumped it all. That and all the horror done in it's name.
from urbandictionary:
"Christianity: The belief that a cosmic Jewish zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree...
Yeah, Christianity makes perfect sense."
i find this funny and I am from massachusetts.
I was about 4 or 5 years old when I realized god creating himself and the universe was in violation of thermodynamic law, namely that matter and energy had been created from nothing, as opposed to converting from existing material. Turning chaos into order would be a horrible entropy violation, as chaos would likely all be evenly tepid, and we now have stars (hotter than hellfire) and outer space (colder than liquid helium).
At 4 years old how could you even know what helium gas in your party balloons
was let alone liquid helium and all that other stuff you said.
USA was founded on religious freedom Thank god for that .
Some countries you cannot say nothing on your lack of beliefs.
Jesus performed 2 miracles on me saving my life/livelihood twice.
I'd love to talk more but I gotta go get ready for church.
Religious freedom looks good on paper but America is one of the most biased religious countries around. We say there's freedom but God forbid someone should express anti-christian views. Religious persecution abounds and hate to call out the Republicans (especially this year) but boy do they want to spread their beliefs on everyone.
What really pisses me off is their need to convert everyone for example some tribe in the African jungle that supposedly needs saving when they're doing their own thing- living their own lives. But still they must be saved so people try and make them see the light whether they want to or not.
A neighbor of mine said God saw him home safely from Vietnam. What about everyone else? It's very egocentric. Why spare me from a car crash when millions die? Some blame natural disasters on non-believers. And as stated above- there are other religions where they believe as strongly as the next that they are right.
If there is a 'God' he/she is not who we think and by chance if there is the biblical God of the Bible I'd want to fire him for doing such a lousy job.
Now, I just see mankind clinging to their last God. Apollo- gone, Zeus- gone. I imagine it can be a terrifying thought to let go of the last one- depending on where you live and which one you are talking about.
Fear of burning in Hell? Sounds totally man-made to keep people in line. Like Santa good or bad.
Best,
Xeta (edited)
Ya got tired of riling up the general forum, so you come here with your empty opinions? You believe something, no matter what that something is.
I'd like unbelievers to think up a good one to explain HOW all this became, and even with your "big bang" thing, means something existed before that... what was it? Let's hear your answers smarty pantses. You must know, since you already know so much.
Wow, off the bat making personal judgments. I posted here because clearly I was told previously where to post and, wanted to see if there were any like minded. What? I can't give my thoughts on the matter? Smarty pantses? Sigh. I did just say 'if' there 'is' a God I don't believe we've met him/her yet and that I'd have some issues. I do believe man has invented the God's we know- some very bad and vengeful. So what? I'm not out to insult you but you sound like you're on the attack towards me? Best, Xeta
No attack, just asking you a question that you can't answer. I'm not judging you either. I just assume since you say you don't believe that you must be so smart that you know more than most people. I saw your posts on the general forum, and I know you take delight in stirring up controversy. I think I even defended you early-on, but that was a mistake; as I have seen how you mainly just want to argue. There are actually rules for this forum. I don't care to entertain your arguing festival.
I'd consider myself a pragmatic agnostic. In other words, I've seen nothing to convince me of any supreme being. But I'm all ears. The fact that there currently is no plausible explanaition as to the origins of the universe doesn't justify the belief that it was created by a god. Maybe it was created by a scientist in a lab, or was escaping flatulence from a celestial beast. Freedom of religion is important, but when groups or individuals try to influence others , or legislate aspects of their religion into laws that affect non-believers, that becomes intolerable to me.
I agree with that Andrew... but I do like to ask that question to people who seem to know it all. So often, they seem to be very proud of their supreme wisdom. I like to give them a chance to show how smart they are.
I'm not religious, but I do believe everything you see, feel touch, or experience was created by one God who definitely wants a relationship with his creation. If ya wanna hide under leaves, that's up to you.
Okay,
"No attack, just asking you a question that you can't answer."
Because I don't know what caused Big Bang the Christian God is all there is? Not sure what you believe- a differen't God? Some invisible magical entity? The God of the Bible is just Ffffed up IMO.
"I just assume since you say you don't believe that you must be so smart that you know more than most people."
You're assuming I think I'm so smart. That's not judgment?
"I saw your posts on the general forum, and I know you take delight in stirring up controversy."
I honestly don't take delight at all. But when insults from Mars and others- calling me retarded and well, much more- I'm supposed to just slink away to another forum as some had told me to 'leave'? No, I either shouted back or LOL. I've never here attacked anyone without cause. If I see a ped I don't like I don't automatically call them idiots or the ped the ugliest I've ever seen. True, I have responded and sometimes snarky but it's always been in response. In fact my threads would easily disappear if there weren't so many trying to slam me.
I meant what I said in the original post about the lazer. I'm not allowed an opinion but everyone else is? I've gotten a lot of flack and have given some back but have never started it.
"I think I even defended you early-on, but that was a mistake; as I have seen how you mainly just want to argue. There are actually rules for this forum. I don't care to entertain your arguing festival."
I'd rather not argue at all! Some here though expect nothing back but oh, it's alright for them to dish the shit over and over! When people started hating on me I have gotten riled. I admit that. I haven't hated on anyone who didn't throw the first jab and have still tried to respond with humor when insulted.
That's how I see it, right or wrongly.
Best,
Xeta
I agree also Andrew but Deezy, you just wrote you agreed with him, then in the next sentence disagreed with him. Andrew doesn't see evidence that there has to be a God, but you just said there is one behind it all- all the while implying I'm a know it all. I promise you I have no supreme wisdom but I do have beliefs and so do you. Truth is I'm a pretty messed up human being with lots of disorders- I am by no means a smarty pants.
I asked if there were other Atheists here. That's a pretty direct question and now I'm being judged for being a know it all. Sheesh.
lest we forget...we are all just smarter ANIMALS..enough said
Ah, but some believe we have dominion over all animals. I personally don't think my life is any more valuable than a squirrels, or well, any living thing- even if I can type on a computer. Part of me feels we are like little Borg or a virus on the planet. Filling it with concrete and destroying just about everything :( Even if there are good times before the bad a comin.
No.1 Welcome to off topic ~where most anything goes~No.2 "Know thyself in a Biblical way"~No.3 Move into a haunted house sometime and you will come out of this with a different way of looking at things ~And No.4~May the Great Kahuna smite you with one of his Thunder farts !!~Thank you and Have a nice day !~Bye !(This is a test ta see if you have any grit and staying power) Well do you ~@xeta prime ?
To be Atheist, you need to fully understand Religion in all its varied forms. In effect, you need to devote your life to study Religion to be able to dismiss it with authority and conviction.
To simply say "I'm not a Christian" is not being Atheist.
I live my life trying to be positive and giving; "Be excellent to each other" isn't as daft as it sounds.
Works for me !
Hey, I loved Bill and Ted so being Excellent is a good thing.
Apparently I don't need to devote my whole life to religion in order to dismiss it. But we do have hundreds/thousands of years of records accounting religions good and bad points- many many bad points.
"To simply say "I'm not a Christian" is not being Atheist. "
True, in fact maybe I should have titled Agnostic instead but so many labels abound. It's taken me many years to arrive at this point and I am glad I did. Could there be an unseen hand in all of this? Sure, but I don't believe it's the hand of what's written in the Bible. I believe man created the gods to explain unexplainable things. As more was known we needed fewer of them- so we are essentially now down to a few.
P.S. There's a lot of good lessons in the Bible regarding human nature. Not discounting that but there's a lot of bad too.
It's a common misconception that the Big Bang is the Atheist's equivalent to creation mythos. The universe isn't a Spiderman movie with the origin story hammered out for you, not "buying into" the Big Bang implies a intellectual laziness that demands easy answers.
Do you read about Newtonian Physics and chuckle "yeah right, then where did mass come from, smarty pants? No, we observe the known and extrapolate the unknown. Eventually (last week) we worked all the way back to the source of mass. EXPLAINING THE SOURCE OF MASS ISN'T/WASN'T THE GOAL OF THEORETICAL PHYSICS, but it eventually pointed to an origin. We couldn't have gotten to that point without accepting and working from what we can perceive without the instant gratification of explanation. That's pretty much the point of all science.
Thanks to astronomical spectroscopy, notably the work of Edwin Hubble, we can perceive and KNOW the universe is expanding uniformly, from a central point. So we can now confidently operate under the knowledge that, while we may not yet have a clear understanding of why or how, the universe and everything in it originated from a singularity.
That is where Christianity gets intolerably lazy: the insular belief that we can start with an inerrant explanation for everything and work our way outward interpreting everything.
Jeepster, you call yourself an Agnostic, but saying there are "no plausible explanations" would put you closer to Mysticism.
"Jeepster, you call yourself an Agnostic, but saying there are "no plausible explanations" would put you closer to Mysticism."
You can't mean me. I have said no such thing. Where did I say that? I totally got what you said until the last line.
no, I said "currently" no plausible explanation. I'd like to believe at some point the truth will be revealed.
Ah, sorry...
Agreed.
hahaha, I agreed with much of what he said.... you should maybe get over yourself. Looks like while you picked apart every sentence I said, and responded to them each, that you LOVE to argue. I don't. I'm not telling you what to believe. I know what I believe, and I'm not shaken by people who don't know what to believe. I didn't judge you, but maybe you feel like I was.
I have experienced indeniable miracles. I hope that some day you can as well, or even believe without having to have a sign choked down your throat. No one's forcing you to believe anything. Believing is very liberating.
Yep, there's athiests here. There's also believers here. Thre's the answer to your question. I guess any more than that, and we're all judging one another.
Depends on how long you ignore the truth perhaps. The truth has always been. It is being revealed with every single breath you breathe.
Anyway... I had a great day today, praising the one who made me.
Oy. There you go again that I need to get over myself. Telling me how to be. Hoping that I'll believe same as you one day. Never said anyone is forcing me to believe anything. Don't worry about me. I'm not worried about Heaven or Hell. I'll go where all life goes- maybe a big energy pool that gets recycled. Maybe not. No worries here mate.
The miracles you speak of, since you mentioned them are most likely random pure good luck. Or are you that special that you find miracles while 5 year old kids die of cancer, people die in tsunamis or of radiation poisoning from Japan. Car crashes, air plane crashes, starving hordes of people around the world. Did they die because they were non-believers? Where were their miracles? Is it all a miracle crap shoot and only a lucky few get them? Plainly, it is egotistical to believe you have been saved while so many haven't. I don't mean this in a mean way- just a factual one. Why you and not them. One of the main reasons I don't believe in the Biblical Christian God. Would believing in Jesus have saved everyone everywhere?
Recently a woman was intervied during the fires in Colorado after losing her home and all belongings. She said on camera "God is good." because they were all alive- her family. Why couldn't God help put out the fires before she was left homeless? Maybe he just did a lot of grande stuff thousands of years ago and now we're on our own IDK. Just seems to me it's the least he could do is help put a fire out or even help save an Australian man who just yesterday was bitten in half by a shark.
Bottom line for me is believe what you wish to believe but don't hope for me to find the joy you experience. Don't hope I'll know what you know because I am happy as I am. Years ago I did my share of Bible quoting. Never again.
Peace,
Xeta
Glad you had a good day, sincerely.
Best,
Xeta
if god made adam & eve, they only had 2 boys and 1 killed the other, is all humanity the result of incest and inbreeding? no wonder we are all so fucked up. they did not like when i asked that in sunday school.
i was born catholic so i thought i was atheist by high school, now i'm more agnostic, don't know, don't care, no one will really know until they die. some questions can't be answered by science or religion. all religions have some good ideals to live by, but i really have a problem with killing and denying others personal freedoms/rights in the name of gods.
God owns me $2.50, we aint on good terms.
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