Ex-Clergy realizing there is no god

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always wonder why atheists ask for proof of spiritual things. There isn't proof, that is why we call it "faith." If it was proven, faith would be paltry. I am not looking for proof.

They said it best in "oh brother where art thou"...everybody's looking for answers. I don't have any answers for you. I do believe the incredible complexity that is life and space is a manifestation of God, who is infinite. The cosmos only makes sense when you have some faith, because the answers just keep changing as the concept of infinite gets larger and more complex.

It's the quintessential Christian escape hatch. Their God is real and you must believe in him, but there's no proof because it's all faith, which has a much higher value than proof. Why? because Christians' say so with such determination and aplomb.

Nobody, certainly not PP, said *you* must believe.

It's a basic Christian tenet that you must believe in order to receive eternal Salvation. There is no earthly penalty for not believing, but there is an eternal one. It's the work of Christian missionaries -- to save heathens from eternal damnation.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:And when they die, they'll realize they were wrong about that.

I thought God forgave all.

Only before you die. After you die, it's too late, unless you're Catholic and a priest is nearby to give last rites.

Do you have proof?

Doubting Thomas.

Blessed are those who believe without seeing.

Because without them, religion would die and all the churches would go out of business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ex-clergy-explain-how-they-realized-there-is-no-god

Hit submit too soon...

"But what about when your faith is your livelihood? After years of study and seminary, after building an entire life around your faith, what do you do when you realize the link between you and your higher power has disappeared?"

"I do, however, think that they are wasting a lot of time, effort, and money on nonsense."

Interesting how many people from so many different faiths are coming to the same conclusion: There is no god.

I'm not ex-clergy but I am an ex-evangelical who attended an evangelical university. I feel like my entire undergraduate education is a waste of time and money. The things I was taught were ridiculous and demonstrably false. It is a hard conclusion to come to. I discovered the Clergy Project recently, but they only accept ex-clergy. I wish there was an online community for former believers like me.

Try another Christian faith. I agree that Evangelism is rather empty. The National Catholic Register recently interviewed Franklin Graham and concluded that while he may be well-meaning, his faith is built upon some shaky foundations and his bashing of Muslims and Gays is unchristian.

If pp no longer believes in God, switching to another faith is not going to help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when they die, they'll realize they were wrong about that.

I thought God forgave all.

Only before you die. After you die, it's too late, unless you're Catholic and a priest is nearby to give last rites.

Do you have proof?

Doubting Thomas.

Blessed are those who believe without seeing.

Because without them, religion would die and all the churches would go out of business.

"Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clergy are fallible human beings, just like the rest of them. And yet Satan targets them all the more just b/c he knows it will be a huge "get" if he can get a pastor to fall away from his flock. That is why we all need to pray for our clergy. They certainly need our prayers, just as much as we need theirs.

Interesting. So in your mind the clergy realizing there is no god is really "satan" targeting them?

Np. That's how I see it, yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when they die, they'll realize they were wrong about that.

Well, unfortunately no one will realize anything after they die since their consciousness will be just as it was in the millenia before they were born - not extant. Which means no one will be able to say to anyone else, "I told you there was no god/afterlife."

This is actually why I don't care whether people are believers or not. It just doesn't matter in the end. If it makes people feel happier to believe in an afterlife, then more power to them.

And you know this so certainly how? You've been dead and returned I assume?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when they die, they'll realize they were wrong about that.

I thought God forgave all.

He did. He sent His son Jesus Christ to die for your sins. All you need do is put your trust in Jesus for forgiveness and you're good to go. Why is that so hard to accept? We all know we're sinners.

Typical example of a Christian speaking authoritatively with no evidence but full confidence in unverified beliefs.

Why is it hard to accept? Because someone made it up a long time ago and have used it to guilt trip people ever since.

Typical example of atheist disrespect and sweeping claims. Yet some of you will continue to pretend this stuff never happens.

Holy double standard, batman.

Holy hypocrisy to you, batgirl.

99% of the bigotry and flames around here come from atheists. Not from all atheist posters, but from a few here.

We all know this.

Why do you even bother pretending you're so innocent?

I'm an atheist and I typically pop in when I see something interesting pop up on "recent topics". I got pulled into the Stalin one and a few more like those. I typically just comment when I see someone posting something inaccurate or disrespectful. But then my posts get lumped in with all of other atheists' posts and somehow I get called a troll. It's annoying that if you post anything at all that comes across as an atheist you are immediately called a troll. There is just so much hate on this religion board. I don't get it. I know there is some history with some atheists that you all hate, but why take that out on every single atheist that ever posts. Makes you sound like you have an issue with atheism, which I don't think is true, but it sure comes across that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when they die, they'll realize they were wrong about that.

I thought God forgave all.

He did. He sent His son Jesus Christ to die for your sins. All you need do is put your trust in Jesus for forgiveness and you're good to go. Why is that so hard to accept? We all know we're sinners.

Typical example of a Christian speaking authoritatively with no evidence but full confidence in unverified beliefs.

Why is it hard to accept? Because someone made it up a long time ago and have used it to guilt trip people ever since.

Typical example of atheist disrespect and sweeping claims. Yet some of you will continue to pretend this stuff never happens.

Holy double standard, batman.

Holy hypocrisy to you, batgirl.

99% of the bigotry and flames around here come from atheists. Not from all atheist posters, but from a few here.

We all know this.

Why do you even bother pretending you're so innocent?

Oh, it must be one of those Christian posters who speaks in absolutes and without evidence, making pronouncements like "God is real" or "Salvation is only found through Jesus Christ."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when they die, they'll realize they were wrong about that.

I thought God forgave all.

He did. He sent His son Jesus Christ to die for your sins. All you need do is put your trust in Jesus for forgiveness and you're good to go. Why is that so hard to accept? We all know we're sinners.

Typical example of a Christian speaking authoritatively with no evidence but full confidence in unverified beliefs.

Why is it hard to accept? Because someone made it up a long time ago and have used it to guilt trip people ever since.

Typical example of atheist disrespect and sweeping claims. Yet some of you will continue to pretend this stuff never happens.

Holy double standard, batman.

Holy hypocrisy to you, batgirl.

99% of the bigotry and flames around here come from atheists. Not from all atheist posters, but from a few here.

We all know this.

Why do you even bother pretending you're so innocent?

Are you referring to the atheists posting on atheist-bashing posts? Stalin, nonconformist, etc.? Why are you surprised that you get defensive atheists when you bash them left and right?

If those are not what you are referring to, please share some of the posts that make up this "99%".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Completely np to this thread.

It's fascinating to me how many people of faith call atheists offensive, name-callers, hostile, bashers, rude, mean spirited, etc... but don't see how they are behaving in the same exact way.

We're fed up. There's a long history of atheists derailing religion threads.

And when Christians get fed up, there are no holds barred.

So stop trolling Christians and venting your bigotry. Easy!

So stop trolling atheists!

[Anonymous]

As we just were reminded at Easter, by dying on the cross, Jesus has already triumphed over evil and that is why we say, "By the power of the cross." So we know that all we have to do is believe. All these little arguments and challenges you all are asking; just stop and believe; I would encourage you all to start attending Mass and just sitting in there and begin letting His words and actions open your hearts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As we just were reminded at Easter, by dying on the cross, Jesus has already triumphed over evil and that is why we say, "By the power of the cross." So we know that all we have to do is believe. All these little arguments and challenges you all are asking; just stop and believe; I would encourage you all to start attending Mass and just sitting in there and begin letting His words and actions open your hearts.

No, we all don't know that. It's something Christians are taught to believe. Even some Christians don't believe it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As we just were reminded at Easter, by dying on the cross, Jesus has already triumphed over evil and that is why we say, "By the power of the cross." So we know that all we have to do is believe. All these little arguments and challenges you all are asking; just stop and believe; I would encourage you all to start attending Mass and just sitting in there and begin letting His words and actions open your hearts.

No, we all don't know that. It's something Christians are taught to believe. Even some Christians don't believe it.

The message is there for you to accept or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always wonder why atheists ask for proof of spiritual things. There isn't proof, that is why we call it "faith." If it was proven, faith would be paltry. I am not looking for proof.

They said it best in "oh brother where art thou"...everybody's looking for answers. I don't have any answers for you. I do believe the incredible complexity that is life and space is a manifestation of God, who is infinite. The cosmos only makes sense when you have some faith, because the answers just keep changing as the concept of infinite gets larger and more complex.

For you, what part of the cosmos is only explained by faith? Because I have yet to come across anything that is so overly complex that I need some mystical way to explain it.

just think of the sheer unlikelihood of our very existence. It's pretty awe-inspiring.

But I don't think there are any conflicts between science and Christianity as I believe it.

Also, I am always puzzled as to the logic behind atheism. I deeply respect agnostics because I think the big questions are really hard but by its nature, a divine power is hard to affirmatively disprove. it seems like the scientific mind would say "it appears very unlikely, but I can't rule it out." Thus agnosticism.

I feel like atheists are buying into the anti-scientific religious paradigm by allowing them to frame the terms of the discussion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when they die, they'll realize they were wrong about that.

I thought God forgave all.

He did. He sent His son Jesus Christ to die for your sins. All you need do is put your trust in Jesus for forgiveness and you're good to go. Why is that so hard to accept? We all know we're sinners.

Typical example of a Christian speaking authoritatively with no evidence but full confidence in unverified beliefs.

Why is it hard to accept? Because someone made it up a long time ago and have used it to guilt trip people ever since.

Typical example of atheist disrespect and sweeping claims. Yet some of you will continue to pretend this stuff never happens.

Holy double standard, batman.

Holy hypocrisy to you, batgirl.

99% of the bigotry and flames around here come from atheists. Not from all atheist posters, but from a few here.

We all know this.

Why do you even bother pretending you're so innocent?

Oh, it must be one of those Christian posters who speaks in absolutes and without evidence, making pronouncements like "God is real" or "Salvation is only found through Jesus Christ."

You are confusing posters. I wrote that, but like many Christians I believe there are many ways to God and heaven.