People who were once non-believers and now believe in God...

[Anonymous]

I have been diagnosed with a serious illness. I have turned to God and he is showing me miracles every single day.

[Anonymous]

Guys stop arguing with the troll. He just argues the same points and refused to actually digest what others are saying to him.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:N.T. Wright argues that the early Christian movement could *only* have emerged if Jesus actually rose from the dead. He claims that the sudden belief in a bodily resurrection, the transformation of the disciples, and the rapid spread of the faith can’t be explained any other way. This is the basis of the evidence presented by some of the faithful posters.

Let's do a thought exercise and compare with Jediism.

We know 100% it is based entirely on a fictional story, and yet it has inspired thousands of people around the world. There are Jedi temples, codes of ethics, spiritual practices, and people who identify as Jedi as their religion.

If Jediism can become a religious movement with followers and even rituals—all without anything “historical” behind it—then why couldn’t the same have happened in the first century? Or, any other century for any other religion?

Wright insists that people wouldn't invent a resurrection story and stake their lives on it. But people today are building real belief systems around a myth they *know* is fiction.

Across history, religions have taken root and spread through factors like charismatic storytelling, community-building, shared rituals, and cultural adaptability. The rise of Christianity does not require a literal resurrection—just a compelling story that people believe in and are willing to build a community around.

It's made up - just like Jediism.

Some people just want to believe. So they do. And some of them look for good reasons to believe. I think they'd be better off just believing, instead of trying to convince people how right they are.

This should also apply to the non-believers as well...they would be better off just "not believing", instead of trying to convince believers how wrong they are.

When believers leave non-believers alone and actually respect separation of church and state, then maybe. Until then, I will preach against the harms of the brainwashed masses.

Separation of church and state is your motivation for trying to convince believers that there is no God?

As PP wrote, "(w)hen believers leave non-believers alone"... I will list out for you all the ways that the faithful keep interfering = abortion and reproductive rights, same sex marriage and LGBTQ+ rights, public education (evolution vs creationism, school prayer, religious displays, etc), healthcare policy including access to contraceptives and end-of-life decisions, Blue Laws, etc.

Then argue those things. Debating the existence of a God with a believer is a separate issue.

The underlying problem is that they believe in the first place. If you had people making public policy decisions that affect your life based on belief in Santa, the Force, or unicorns, how would you react?

Convincing someone that there is no God does not guarantee that he/she will change his/her mind on a public policy issue. There are atheists who are pro life.

Can you document that there are atheists who are pro life? I don't know of any and it seems very counterintuitive for an atheist to insist that an unwilling woman should have a baby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:N.T. Wright argues that the early Christian movement could *only* have emerged if Jesus actually rose from the dead. He claims that the sudden belief in a bodily resurrection, the transformation of the disciples, and the rapid spread of the faith can’t be explained any other way. This is the basis of the evidence presented by some of the faithful posters.

Let's do a thought exercise and compare with Jediism.

We know 100% it is based entirely on a fictional story, and yet it has inspired thousands of people around the world. There are Jedi temples, codes of ethics, spiritual practices, and people who identify as Jedi as their religion.

If Jediism can become a religious movement with followers and even rituals—all without anything “historical” behind it—then why couldn’t the same have happened in the first century? Or, any other century for any other religion?

Wright insists that people wouldn't invent a resurrection story and stake their lives on it. But people today are building real belief systems around a myth they *know* is fiction.

Across history, religions have taken root and spread through factors like charismatic storytelling, community-building, shared rituals, and cultural adaptability. The rise of Christianity does not require a literal resurrection—just a compelling story that people believe in and are willing to build a community around.

It's made up - just like Jediism.

Some people just want to believe. So they do. And some of them look for good reasons to believe. I think they'd be better off just believing, instead of trying to convince people how right they are.

This should also apply to the non-believers as well...they would be better off just "not believing", instead of trying to convince believers how wrong they are.

When believers leave non-believers alone and actually respect separation of church and state, then maybe. Until then, I will preach against the harms of the brainwashed masses.

Separation of church and state is your motivation for trying to convince believers that there is no God?

As PP wrote, "(w)hen believers leave non-believers alone"... I will list out for you all the ways that the faithful keep interfering = abortion and reproductive rights, same sex marriage and LGBTQ+ rights, public education (evolution vs creationism, school prayer, religious displays, etc), healthcare policy including access to contraceptives and end-of-life decisions, Blue Laws, etc.

Then argue those things. Debating the existence of a God with a believer is a separate issue.

The underlying problem is that they believe in the first place. If you had people making public policy decisions that affect your life based on belief in Santa, the Force, or unicorns, how would you react?

Convincing someone that there is no God does not guarantee that he/she will change his/her mind on a public policy issue. There are atheists who are pro life.

Can you document that there are atheists who are pro life? I don't know of any and it seems very counterintuitive for an atheist to insist that an unwilling woman should have a baby.

There are groups such as Secular Pro-Life that include atheists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:N.T. Wright argues that the early Christian movement could *only* have emerged if Jesus actually rose from the dead. He claims that the sudden belief in a bodily resurrection, the transformation of the disciples, and the rapid spread of the faith can’t be explained any other way. This is the basis of the evidence presented by some of the faithful posters.

Let's do a thought exercise and compare with Jediism.

We know 100% it is based entirely on a fictional story, and yet it has inspired thousands of people around the world. There are Jedi temples, codes of ethics, spiritual practices, and people who identify as Jedi as their religion.

If Jediism can become a religious movement with followers and even rituals—all without anything “historical” behind it—then why couldn’t the same have happened in the first century? Or, any other century for any other religion?

Wright insists that people wouldn't invent a resurrection story and stake their lives on it. But people today are building real belief systems around a myth they *know* is fiction.

Across history, religions have taken root and spread through factors like charismatic storytelling, community-building, shared rituals, and cultural adaptability. The rise of Christianity does not require a literal resurrection—just a compelling story that people believe in and are willing to build a community around.

It's made up - just like Jediism.

Some people just want to believe. So they do. And some of them look for good reasons to believe. I think they'd be better off just believing, instead of trying to convince people how right they are.

This should also apply to the non-believers as well...they would be better off just "not believing", instead of trying to convince believers how wrong they are.

When believers leave non-believers alone and actually respect separation of church and state, then maybe. Until then, I will preach against the harms of the brainwashed masses.

Separation of church and state is your motivation for trying to convince believers that there is no God?

As PP wrote, "(w)hen believers leave non-believers alone"... I will list out for you all the ways that the faithful keep interfering = abortion and reproductive rights, same sex marriage and LGBTQ+ rights, public education (evolution vs creationism, school prayer, religious displays, etc), healthcare policy including access to contraceptives and end-of-life decisions, Blue Laws, etc.

Then argue those things. Debating the existence of a God with a believer is a separate issue.

The underlying problem is that they believe in the first place. If you had people making public policy decisions that affect your life based on belief in Santa, the Force, or unicorns, how would you react?

Convincing someone that there is no God does not guarantee that he/she will change his/her mind on a public policy issue. There are atheists who are pro life.

Can you document that there are atheists who are pro life? I don't know of any and it seems very counterintuitive for an atheist to insist that an unwilling woman should have a baby.

There are groups such as Secular Pro-Life that include atheists.

https://secularprolife.org/team/

[Anonymous]

Atheism is a position on one and only one issue: whether or not you believe in a god.

You can not have a god belief and still hold any other position.

There are atheists who believe in aliens, homeopathy, a flat earth, and many other things. There is no broad agenda of rules and positions, as there is with many religions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been diagnosed with a serious illness. I have turned to God and he is showing me miracles every single day.

Is god keeping you alive, in your opinion? And if so, why does it matter to you, now that he is supposedly going to send you to an eternity in heaven, once you finally die, as we all will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been diagnosed with a serious illness. I have turned to God and he is showing me miracles every single day.

Is god keeping you alive, in your opinion? And if so, why does it matter to you, now that he is supposedly going to send you to an eternity in heaven, once you finally die, as we all will.

DP. You are asking someone with a serious illness "why does it matter to you"? Really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been diagnosed with a serious illness. I have turned to God and he is showing me miracles every single day.

Is god keeping you alive, in your opinion? And if so, why does it matter to you, now that he is supposedly going to send you to an eternity in heaven, once you finally die, as we all will.

DP. You are asking someone with a serious illness "why does it matter to you"? Really?

Really -- if they converted to a religion that offers eternal life, what does it matter to them? that goes for everyone in such a religion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been diagnosed with a serious illness. I have turned to God and he is showing me miracles every single day.

Is god keeping you alive, in your opinion? And if so, why does it matter to you, now that he is supposedly going to send you to an eternity in heaven, once you finally die, as we all will.

DP. You are asking someone with a serious illness "why does it matter to you"? Really?

Really -- if they converted to a religion that offers eternal life, what does it matter to them? that goes for everyone in such a religion.

You have it backwards. Religion teaches you that everything matters. It is atheism which ultimately means nothing matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been diagnosed with a serious illness. I have turned to God and he is showing me miracles every single day.

Is god keeping you alive, in your opinion? And if so, why does it matter to you, now that he is supposedly going to send you to an eternity in heaven, once you finally die, as we all will.

DP. You are asking someone with a serious illness "why does it matter to you"? Really?

Really -- if they converted to a religion that offers eternal life, what does it matter to them? that goes for everyone in such a religion.

Because believers are taught that they have a purpose on Earth...a purpose of responsibility to their Faith and to others without a concern for self-indulgence. If a believer feels that he/she has not yet fulfilled his/her purpose on Earth, then yes, it does matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been diagnosed with a serious illness. I have turned to God and he is showing me miracles every single day.

Is god keeping you alive, in your opinion? And if so, why does it matter to you, now that he is supposedly going to send you to an eternity in heaven, once you finally die, as we all will.

DP. You are asking someone with a serious illness "why does it matter to you"? Really?

Really -- if they converted to a religion that offers eternal life, what does it matter to them? that goes for everyone in such a religion.

You have it backwards. Religion teaches you that everything matters. It is atheism which ultimately means nothing matters.

That is not what atheism means.

Atheism is simply the lack of belief in a god.

You are a liar, a troll, or a fool.

Which is it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been diagnosed with a serious illness. I have turned to God and he is showing me miracles every single day.

Is god keeping you alive, in your opinion? And if so, why does it matter to you, now that he is supposedly going to send you to an eternity in heaven, once you finally die, as we all will.

DP. You are asking someone with a serious illness "why does it matter to you"? Really?

Really -- if they converted to a religion that offers eternal life, what does it matter to them? that goes for everyone in such a religion.

You have it backwards. Religion teaches you that everything matters. It is atheism which ultimately means nothing matters.

That is not what atheism means.

Atheism is simply the lack of belief in a god.

You are a liar, a troll, or a fool.

Which is it?

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been diagnosed with a serious illness. I have turned to God and he is showing me miracles every single day.

Is god keeping you alive, in your opinion? And if so, why does it matter to you, now that he is supposedly going to send you to an eternity in heaven, once you finally die, as we all will.

DP. You are asking someone with a serious illness "why does it matter to you"? Really?

Really -- if they converted to a religion that offers eternal life, what does it matter to them? that goes for everyone in such a religion.

Because believers are taught that they have a purpose on Earth...a purpose of responsibility to their Faith and to others without a concern for self-indulgence. If a believer feels that he/she has not yet fulfilled his/her purpose on Earth, then yes, it does matter.

And believers are taught that they all have the same purpose -- to worship God

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been diagnosed with a serious illness. I have turned to God and he is showing me miracles every single day.

Is god keeping you alive, in your opinion? And if so, why does it matter to you, now that he is supposedly going to send you to an eternity in heaven, once you finally die, as we all will.

DP. You are asking someone with a serious illness "why does it matter to you"? Really?

Really -- if they converted to a religion that offers eternal life, what does it matter to them? that goes for everyone in such a religion.

You have it backwards. Religion teaches you that everything matters. It is atheism which ultimately means nothing matters.

That is not what atheism means.

Atheism is simply the lack of belief in a god.

You are a liar, a troll, or a fool.

Which is it?

And what, pray tell, does anything matter when you don't believe in God?