Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You are being illogical -- or you don't understand what faith is. It is "a firm belief in something for which there is no proof." It is a fact that some people have faith. It has nothing to do with WHICH religion they believe. So, uh, it's somehow similar to thinking people of other ethnicities are inferior -- where in the world do you get that? Totally unrelated.

Yes, it is a fact that some people have faith. That doesn't mean that what they have faith in is factual because that have faith in it. Are we on the same page now?

Again -- you don't understand faith! It is NOT FACTUAL. If it were factual, IT WOULD NOT BE FAITH!! Faith does not prove the existence of God -- it just makes God's existence feel real to those who have faith.

Why do so many people believe in something there is no proof of?

Anonymous wrote:Which god are you talking about? Zeus? Zoraster? Quetzalcoatl? Amenhotep? Baal? Gaia? Ra? Horus? Inanna? Ishtar? Lakshmi? There are literally tens of thousands of gods. Please specify.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You are being illogical -- or you don't understand what faith is. It is "a firm belief in something for which there is no proof." It is a fact that some people have faith. It has nothing to do with WHICH religion they believe. So, uh, it's somehow similar to thinking people of other ethnicities are inferior -- where in the world do you get that? Totally unrelated.

Yes, it is a fact that some people have faith. That doesn't mean that what they have faith in is factual because that have faith in it. Are we on the same page now?

Again -- you don't understand faith! It is NOT FACTUAL. If it were factual, IT WOULD NOT BE FAITH!! Faith does not prove the existence of God -- it just makes God's existence feel real to those who have faith.

Why do so many people believe in something there is no proof of?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all the atheists out there.. what if it all turns out to be true? Won't you wish you had believed?

Ah, fire insurance faith. "Isn't it better to believe than risk eternal damnation."

I am not sure if athiest applies to me, but I can tell you I have a peace that passes all understanding the prevailing monotheistic deities do not exist.

Can you rephrase this?

I am no pp -- but sounds to me like pp is quite comfortable not believing in any of the God stories she/he has heard.

I'm the PP. Thanks...yes, I feel at peace with my non belief in the idea of a god as a person like in the Bible. I grew up in a Christian family and the concept of finding "a peace that passes all understanding" was used a great deal and I also struggled with that. But years down the road, after accepting that I simply didn't believe I found a deep peace.

You have found your peace. Allow others to also bask in their Godly peace. Thank you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You are being illogical -- or you don't understand what faith is. It is "a firm belief in something for which there is no proof." It is a fact that some people have faith. It has nothing to do with WHICH religion they believe. So, uh, it's somehow similar to thinking people of other ethnicities are inferior -- where in the world do you get that? Totally unrelated.

Yes, it is a fact that some people have faith. That doesn't mean that what they have faith in is factual because that have faith in it. Are we on the same page now?

Anonymous wrote:
You are being illogical -- or you don't understand what faith is. It is "a firm belief in something for which there is no proof." It is a fact that some people have faith. It has nothing to do with WHICH religion they believe. So, uh, it's somehow similar to thinking people of other ethnicities are inferior -- where in the world do you get that? Totally unrelated.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Yes, I am. I assume that God knows better than I do what is best. I have also felt "divine intervention" and I have a sense of faith, which is a real feeling, so that is why I have assumptions that God exists when it is not obvious"

So god thought it best that 6 million Jews die in a holocaust? That scores of children and adult Cambodians should have died brutally under pol pot? god thinks what Is happening in Sudan is what's best for us? God thinks it best that hundreds of thousands of children should starve to death each year?

Look, you have this idea of a personal god and a very insulated view about your own suffering and it's benefits. But as another poster said, it blithely and offensively discounts human suffering, ENORMOUS human suffering, because it is part of god's plan?

That is just so self righteous and self absorbed and myopic I cannot fathom your train of thought as real.

See my earlier response to this same train of thought. My assumption is that there are things I cannot understand about how God works and they do not discount thew ways that God works that are clear and understandable.

Frankly, it sounds like you accept the good things God supposedly does for you and just don't worry about the horrible things that good lets happen to others.

God does some really great things and some really awful things and you see this as part of a plan you are not meant to understand instead of being random. It allows you to feel special when something good happens to you and not to bother yourself with the suffering of others.

Anonymous wrote:

Typing too fast: should have said

Through the ages --- people were indoctrinated into religion and burned at the stake if they said THEY didn't believe. Luckily that has changed. Things could be better though -- you still canNOT get elected to congress stating that you're an atheist.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all the atheists out there.. what if it all turns out to be true? Won't you wish you had believed?

Ah, fire insurance faith. "Isn't it better to believe than risk eternal damnation."

I am not sure if athiest applies to me, but I can tell you I have a peace that passes all understanding the prevailing monotheistic deities do not exist.

Can you rephrase this?

I am no pp -- but sounds to me like pp is quite comfortable not believing in any of the God stories she/he has heard.

I'm the PP. Thanks...yes, I feel at peace with my non belief in the idea of a god as a person like in the Bible. I grew up in a Christian family and the concept of finding "a peace that passes all understanding" was used a great deal and I also struggled with that. But years down the road, after accepting that I simply didn't believe I found a deep peace.

You have found your peace. Allow others to also bask in their Godly peace. Thank you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Yes, I am. I assume that God knows better than I do what is best. I have also felt "divine intervention" and I have a sense of faith, which is a real feeling, so that is why I have assumptions that God exists when it is not obvious"

So god thought it best that 6 million Jews die in a holocaust? That scores of children and adult Cambodians should have died brutally under pol pot? god thinks what Is happening in Sudan is what's best for us? God thinks it best that hundreds of thousands of children should starve to death each year?

Look, you have this idea of a personal god and a very insulated view about your own suffering and it's benefits. But as another poster said, it blithely and offensively discounts human suffering, ENORMOUS human suffering, because it is part of god's plan?

That is just so self righteous and self absorbed and myopic I cannot fathom your train of thought as real.

See my earlier response to this same train of thought. My assumption is that there are things I cannot understand about how God works and they do not discount thew ways that God works that are clear and understandable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all the atheists out there.. what if it all turns out to be true? Won't you wish you had believed?

Ah, fire insurance faith. "Isn't it better to believe than risk eternal damnation."

I am not sure if athiest applies to me, but I can tell you I have a peace that passes all understanding the prevailing monotheistic deities do not exist.

Can you rephrase this?

I am no pp -- but sounds to me like pp is quite comfortable not believing in any of the God stories she/he has heard.

I'm the PP. Thanks...yes, I feel at peace with my non belief in the idea of a god as a person like in the Bible. I grew up in a Christian family and the concept of finding "a peace that passes all understanding" was used a great deal and I also struggled with that. But years down the road, after accepting that I simply didn't believe I found a deep peace.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God has blessed me, loved me, guided me in ways I can't explain. I don't need to see him to know he walks beside me.

This is an example of the kind of statement an educated person could make in a group of people and not be challenged on it and not perceive that some listeners may think it's profoundly silly.

I don't care that others may think if it is silly or stupid. I am not moved by others' opinions.

I am. Most people on this planet believe in some form of religion. How could so many people, throughout the ages, be SO STUPID?? I don't think they are.