This post made me cry. I love my country and worry about her future that much.

I will not be goaded into this pointless discussion again. Suffice it to say, skeptics (and others) also cite logic, history, etc.

Goodnight all.

On November 4th, 2008 at 5:27 pm, zeroangel said:
All we do is take Send_Me’s argument in #202 and apply his rational thinking and logical skepticism to all religions. For that, as abstractmind points out, we are often vilified for no other reason then that alone.

I, for one, will not vilify you for asking questions of my faith. I invite you to ask whatever questions you have. The difference between the Christian faith and others is that Christianity is defensible using logic, history, and archaeology. For example, I know that the Bible is a compilation of 66 books that corroborate one another, written by over 40 authors, in three different languages, over a distance of three continents, over a period of 1500 years, yet we cannot find a contradiction of theme anywhere. The Bible writers, though many never knew one another, corroborated one another. That’s pretty impressive if you ask me. I could go on, but I’ve been accused of being too long-winded.

On November 4th, 2008 at 5:56 pm, frostrt said:

Amen, sister!

On November 4th, 2008 at 5:27 pm, zeroangel said:

I understand where you are coming from… some of us weren’t religious and turned to Christ for a mirade of reasons. Like I said, I think believers mean well. The charity case and defective stuff I understand firsthand. I speak from experience. It didn’t bring me any closer to Christ. I found my way (if you will) on my own.

Take care.

As I said, it is out of our hands. Remain vigilant. Do not bow down. Do not give up.

Pray.

Good advise. All is well when we Pray.

MtsEdge

___________________________________

Me, too.

MtsEdge

I am not trying to pick on you so I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but this:

So many us see people who don’t believe in God and approach them as charity cases or treat them as a project that they’ll soon win over to God.

…is precisely why so many of us “skeptics” get annoyed.

The epiphany I had that led me to become an atheist has, in my mind, been a wonderful experience and a vast improvement in my life. The idea that “this is all I have” has led me to a new found respect for life. Among the trivial results are: I quit smoking and I drive safer, the more important results include just sheer awe of the fact that I wake up every morning.

The idea that believers regard me as some kind of charity case or defective in some way is somewhat insulting. After all, many “skeptics” (myself included) were raised in some religion and regard shrugging it off as a very difficult process that took us a great deal of time to come to.

All we do is take Send_Me’s argument in #202 and apply his rational thinking and logical skepticism to all religions. For that, as abstractmind points out, we are often vilified for no other reason then that alone.

Abstractmind in #204:

Once again, very well said.

Lastly, I will be glad tomorrow when this is all over. Then we can all get on with our lives and I can turn back on talk radio. After all, they will finally have something else to talk about. Then again, I am starting to like listening to music, *smile*.

They are directed at an LDS member who posted he is a member of the LDS church. The questions are pertinent because the Mormons puport to be a Christian church, when it is not.

I still don’t get it. Why is that pertinent? So what if they claim to be Christian? That is their right, isn’t it? Freedom of religion? The Mormons believe in Jesus as the Son of God. They are also very very conservative, family-oriented, decent people. By the way, I am not a Mormon, I am Lutheran. I guess I just don’t see where all that is going. Especially on this thread, where we were giving comfort to each other and trying to avoid the invasion of the trolls.

On November 4th, 2008 at 2:59 pm, abstractmind said:

I thought we always managed to get along. I almost always feel as if I need to apologize for Christians who claim to be Christians and turn around and tell people things like you’ve experienced this past weekend and in the past. But I’m not perfect and I have made mistakes and will continue to do so as long as I draw breath… of that I am certain. I don’t think you as evil because your agnostic. I think you know this much… so I’ll keep it short. The verse you provided above cuts straight to the heart of the matter and I think if people weren’t so emotionally-charged from this election things wouldn’t have gone completely haywire.

Whether or not you believe in God is between you and Him. So many us see people who don’t believe in God and approach them as charity cases or treat them as a project that they’ll soon win over to God. Their heart is in the right place. I hope you stick around as I enjoy reading your posts.