Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think some atheists here criticize religion, but when it comes down to it they have their doubts and therefore hope that in the end they will have a chance to see for themselves that God is real and choose differently.

Doubt is a natural part of faith. People of faith are very open about that. Sometimes it's hard to believe some of the miracles of Christianity, but God rewards those who do. Atheists, who by definition have rejected (or never accepted) religion, don't have to work at taking things on faith.

How self centered.

I have faith in the ultimate good of man. I have faith every morning that I live in a society where I won't get murdered the moment I set foot out my door. I don't know this for sure. People do get murdered on a daily basis, yet I have faith that on the whole, people are good to each other.

It's hard to believe the miracles of Christianity because there is no evidence for it. There is no evidence for God, and no evidence that there will be a reward to believe. Religion is a collection of baseless assertions hiding behind "faith".

Well, then, you're a fool.

People at their base are completely self-serving. Every positive emotion/ action -- including things like empathy -- has to be taught. Have you ever raised a child? If so, you'd know that. We are not born wanting to love other people.

Yes, people have a selfish side, but people are also social animals. We survive better as a group than as individuals. Your assertion that every positive emotion/action has to be taught, even using empathy as an example, is demonstrably false. Empathy is part of human nature, people are born with it. Same with happiness, people are born knowing how to be happy. In fact, the lack of natural empathy is diagnosed as a mental disorder - they become psychopaths. Without natural empathy and the socially positive emotions/actions, humans would never have evolved complex civilizations.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think some atheists here criticize religion, but when it comes down to it they have their doubts and therefore hope that in the end they will have a chance to see for themselves that God is real and choose differently.

Doubt is a natural part of faith. People of faith are very open about that. Sometimes it's hard to believe some of the miracles of Christianity, but God rewards those who do. Atheists, who by definition have rejected (or never accepted) religion, don't have to work at taking things on faith.

How self centered.

I have faith in the ultimate good of man. I have faith every morning that I live in a society where I won't get murdered the moment I set foot out my door. I don't know this for sure. People do get murdered on a daily basis, yet I have faith that on the whole, people are good to each other.

It's hard to believe the miracles of Christianity because there is no evidence for it. There is no evidence for God, and no evidence that there will be a reward to believe. Religion is a collection of baseless assertions hiding behind "faith".

Well, then, you're a fool.

People at their base are completely self-serving. Every positive emotion/ action -- including things like empathy -- has to be taught. Have you ever raised a child? If so, you'd know that. We are not born wanting to love other people.

Children have to be taught a lot of things and children also have an innate sense of morality -- lots of living things do, including our primate cousins, who are not taught.

religion is not needed for any of this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think some atheists here criticize religion, but when it comes down to it they have their doubts and therefore hope that in the end they will have a chance to see for themselves that God is real and choose differently.

Doubt is a natural part of faith. People of faith are very open about that. Sometimes it's hard to believe some of the miracles of Christianity, but God rewards those who do. Atheists, who by definition have rejected (or never accepted) religion, don't have to work at taking things on faith.

How self centered.

I have faith in the ultimate good of man. I have faith every morning that I live in a society where I won't get murdered the moment I set foot out my door. I don't know this for sure. People do get murdered on a daily basis, yet I have faith that on the whole, people are good to each other.

It's hard to believe the miracles of Christianity because there is no evidence for it. There is no evidence for God, and no evidence that there will be a reward to believe. Religion is a collection of baseless assertions hiding behind "faith".

Well, then, you're a fool.

People at their base are completely self-serving. Every positive emotion/ action -- including things like empathy -- has to be taught. Have you ever raised a child? If so, you'd know that. We are not born wanting to love other people.

I think it behooves you to tell your child the truth that you believe. Spinning a tale, or exposing a child to religious indoctrination seems very harmful to me. If you don't have the answers, say so. Take the time explain what other people think and let her know that there are no easy answers.

My lesson to my children was that there are no easy answers and that they will have to listen and learn and see what works for them. We gave them the Golden Rule, and that was about it.

However, we did also tell them that if they met someone who told them that they have all the answers, they should run, not walk, the other way. Anyone that has all the answers has just stopped asking questions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Some of the most devout Christians through history have struggled with unbelief -- Mother Teresa experienced a long "dark night of the soul" but continued her work with the dying poor.

Mother Teresa was evil. She believed that death and suffering was the a true way to know God. She spent the later parts of her life promoting death and suffering, believing that this brought the people closer to God. She exemplifies the horrors of Christianity if you truly adheres to the belief that this life is just a test, and that death is not the end but the beginning to your eternal life in heaven.

Anonymous wrote:
Christians who are going through periods of doubt are encouraged to act as if they believe, in the hopes that belief will return. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't, but it's important to keep trying to believe. The stakes are so high.

If makes you wonder why god makes it so hard for some people to believe the one thing that will bring them salvation, but God's ways are not our ways. There are mysteries we won't understand until after we die.

How the heck do you know that? Why do you believe that there are "mysteries you won't understand until after we die"? What evidence is there that there is something after death? People stop believing in God when they realize that it is an illusion.

Some people, yes. Others never see it as an illusion and keep open the promise of eternal life when all mysteries will be revealed.

Do you keep open to the promise of the tooth fairy? If not, why not? Why does God deserve special consideration? If you are only believing "just in case" because "the stakes are too high", then you are believing out of fear and not truly believing because it is the truth.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Some of the most devout Christians through history have struggled with unbelief -- Mother Teresa experienced a long "dark night of the soul" but continued her work with the dying poor.

Mother Teresa was evil. She believed that death and suffering was the a true way to know God. She spent the later parts of her life promoting death and suffering, believing that this brought the people closer to God. She exemplifies the horrors of Christianity if you truly adheres to the belief that this life is just a test, and that death is not the end but the beginning to your eternal life in heaven.

Anonymous wrote:
Christians who are going through periods of doubt are encouraged to act as if they believe, in the hopes that belief will return. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't, but it's important to keep trying to believe. The stakes are so high.

If makes you wonder why god makes it so hard for some people to believe the one thing that will bring them salvation, but God's ways are not our ways. There are mysteries we won't understand until after we die.

How the heck do you know that? Why do you believe that there are "mysteries you won't understand until after we die"? What evidence is there that there is something after death? People stop believing in God when they realize that it is an illusion.

This is how you're choosing to live your life. Millions of us are choosing differently. And?

And they are choosing a way that cannot not lead to eternal life. That is their free will

That statement assumes: 1) there is eternal life, and 2) one can know about the existence of eternal life. There is no evidence for either one of these. Therefore not believing in eternal life or that God is the way to it takes as much free will as not believing in the Easter Bunny.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Some of the most devout Christians through history have struggled with unbelief -- Mother Teresa experienced a long "dark night of the soul" but continued her work with the dying poor.

Mother Teresa was evil. She believed that death and suffering was the a true way to know God. She spent the later parts of her life promoting death and suffering, believing that this brought the people closer to God. She exemplifies the horrors of Christianity if you truly adheres to the belief that this life is just a test, and that death is not the end but the beginning to your eternal life in heaven.

Anonymous wrote:
Christians who are going through periods of doubt are encouraged to act as if they believe, in the hopes that belief will return. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't, but it's important to keep trying to believe. The stakes are so high.

If makes you wonder why god makes it so hard for some people to believe the one thing that will bring them salvation, but God's ways are not our ways. There are mysteries we won't understand until after we die.

How the heck do you know that? Why do you believe that there are "mysteries you won't understand until after we die"? What evidence is there that there is something after death? People stop believing in God when they realize that it is an illusion.

Some people, yes. Others never see it as an illusion and keep open the promise of eternal life when all mysteries will be revealed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Some of the most devout Christians through history have struggled with unbelief -- Mother Teresa experienced a long "dark night of the soul" but continued her work with the dying poor.

Mother Teresa was evil. She believed that death and suffering was the a true way to know God. She spent the later parts of her life promoting death and suffering, believing that this brought the people closer to God. She exemplifies the horrors of Christianity if you truly adheres to the belief that this life is just a test, and that death is not the end but the beginning to your eternal life in heaven.

Anonymous wrote:
Christians who are going through periods of doubt are encouraged to act as if they believe, in the hopes that belief will return. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't, but it's important to keep trying to believe. The stakes are so high.

If makes you wonder why god makes it so hard for some people to believe the one thing that will bring them salvation, but God's ways are not our ways. There are mysteries we won't understand until after we die.

How the heck do you know that? Why do you believe that there are "mysteries you won't understand until after we die"? What evidence is there that there is something after death? People stop believing in God when they realize that it is an illusion.

This is how you're choosing to live your life. Millions of us are choosing differently. And?

And they are choosing a way that cannot not lead to eternal life. That is their free will

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think some atheists here criticize religion, but when it comes down to it they have their doubts and therefore hope that in the end they will have a chance to see for themselves that God is real and choose differently.

Doubt is a natural part of faith. People of faith are very open about that. Sometimes it's hard to believe some of the miracles of Christianity, but God rewards those who do. Atheists, who by definition have rejected (or never accepted) religion, don't have to work at taking things on faith.

How self centered.

I have faith in the ultimate good of man. I have faith every morning that I live in a society where I won't get murdered the moment I set foot out my door. I don't know this for sure. People do get murdered on a daily basis, yet I have faith that on the whole, people are good to each other.

It's hard to believe the miracles of Christianity because there is no evidence for it. There is no evidence for God, and no evidence that there will be a reward to believe. Religion is a collection of baseless assertions hiding behind "faith".

Everywhere I look I see the evidence of God. And the more I help my middle school with his science classes, and see the beauty of our natural systems, the more I have faith that a divine hand is leading it. The fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky -- these are all little works of art, not some random happening.

A work of art can be a random happening -- so can a heap of garbage -- and a tsunami that kills thousands are those also divine?

Well, that's all well and good PP - but those birds and fish are EVIDENCE of something. You can see them, feel them, observe them, and study them. Does that lead to the divine? I don't know, perhaps. But THE BIBLE is not evidence of Jesus Christ being the son of God, and it certainly isn't evidence of the divine, it was written by a group of crack pot dudes in the dark ages and if you read back through this thread your logic is... it's literally that of a mad man. It's, it's ignorant and stupid and no sense can be made of it.

You're much better off shutting the book and watching the birds.

middle school student ^^^

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think some atheists here criticize religion, but when it comes down to it they have their doubts and therefore hope that in the end they will have a chance to see for themselves that God is real and choose differently.

Doubt is a natural part of faith. People of faith are very open about that. Sometimes it's hard to believe some of the miracles of Christianity, but God rewards those who do. Atheists, who by definition have rejected (or never accepted) religion, don't have to work at taking things on faith.

How self centered.

I have faith in the ultimate good of man. I have faith every morning that I live in a society where I won't get murdered the moment I set foot out my door. I don't know this for sure. People do get murdered on a daily basis, yet I have faith that on the whole, people are good to each other.

It's hard to believe the miracles of Christianity because there is no evidence for it. There is no evidence for God, and no evidence that there will be a reward to believe. Religion is a collection of baseless assertions hiding behind "faith".

Everywhere I look I see the evidence of God. And the more I help my middle school with his science classes, and see the beauty of our natural systems, the more I have faith that a divine hand is leading it. The fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky -- these are all little works of art, not some random happening.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Some of the most devout Christians through history have struggled with unbelief -- Mother Teresa experienced a long "dark night of the soul" but continued her work with the dying poor.

Mother Teresa was evil. She believed that death and suffering was the a true way to know God. She spent the later parts of her life promoting death and suffering, believing that this brought the people closer to God. She exemplifies the horrors of Christianity if you truly adheres to the belief that this life is just a test, and that death is not the end but the beginning to your eternal life in heaven.

Anonymous wrote:
Christians who are going through periods of doubt are encouraged to act as if they believe, in the hopes that belief will return. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't, but it's important to keep trying to believe. The stakes are so high.

If makes you wonder why god makes it so hard for some people to believe the one thing that will bring them salvation, but God's ways are not our ways. There are mysteries we won't understand until after we die.

How the heck do you know that? Why do you believe that there are "mysteries you won't understand until after we die"? What evidence is there that there is something after death? People stop believing in God when they realize that it is an illusion.

This is how you're choosing to live your life. Millions of us are choosing differently. And?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think some atheists here criticize religion, but when it comes down to it they have their doubts and therefore hope that in the end they will have a chance to see for themselves that God is real and choose differently.

Doubt is a natural part of faith. People of faith are very open about that. Sometimes it's hard to believe some of the miracles of Christianity, but God rewards those who do. Atheists, who by definition have rejected (or never accepted) religion, don't have to work at taking things on faith.

How self centered.

I have faith in the ultimate good of man. I have faith every morning that I live in a society where I won't get murdered the moment I set foot out my door. I don't know this for sure. People do get murdered on a daily basis, yet I have faith that on the whole, people are good to each other.

It's hard to believe the miracles of Christianity because there is no evidence for it. There is no evidence for God, and no evidence that there will be a reward to believe. Religion is a collection of baseless assertions hiding behind "faith".

Yeah, some people need that evidence.

Anonymous wrote:
Some of the most devout Christians through history have struggled with unbelief -- Mother Teresa experienced a long "dark night of the soul" but continued her work with the dying poor.

Mother Teresa was evil. She believed that death and suffering was the a true way to know God. She spent the later parts of her life promoting death and suffering, believing that this brought the people closer to God. She exemplifies the horrors of Christianity if you truly adheres to the belief that this life is just a test, and that death is not the end but the beginning to your eternal life in heaven.

Anonymous wrote:
Christians who are going through periods of doubt are encouraged to act as if they believe, in the hopes that belief will return. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't, but it's important to keep trying to believe. The stakes are so high.

If makes you wonder why god makes it so hard for some people to believe the one thing that will bring them salvation, but God's ways are not our ways. There are mysteries we won't understand until after we die.

How the heck do you know that? Why do you believe that there are "mysteries you won't understand until after we die"? What evidence is there that there is something after death? People stop believing in God when they realize that it is an illusion.