Thread: What do you believe in?

to paraphrase (I don't have the quote on hand verbatim):

"You are inextricably bound to anything upon which you have a strong opinion." Robert Heinlein.

It's a maxim I think explains why atheists are so militant in their disbelief. It's about the "God-shaped hole" the french mathematician Blaise Pascal described so well.

Atheists spend a lot of time and energy circling that hole and screaming at others to ignore it.

Originally Posted by normbal

Atheists spend a lot of time and energy circling that hole and screaming at others to ignore it.

Sounds just a tiny bit like atheist bashing. As a matter fact, no, we don't. I could not care less what others believe as long as they don't try to restrict my actions or life based on their beliefs.

Originally Posted by normbal

Atheists spend a lot of time and energy circling that hole and screaming at others to ignore it.

I'm sorry, but I don't know of any atheists here doing that. I know I don't do that. Is there a particular post you're referring to?

Originally Posted by joesixpack

I'm sorry, but I don't know of any atheists here doing that. I know I don't do that. Is there a particular post you're referring to?

im with you guys on this on. ive never once in my life been the guy screaming at others to ignore there belifs. to each his own as long as it dosent harm restrict what i do its ok. I live in a house full of cathlics and we get along just fine so im missing something here.

Christian... By that I mean I believe in the Holy Trinity. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Salvation is through believing in Jesus Christ as my savior.

I have seen many things and believe in the super natural and have chosen to believe in God the Creator.

I hope that I give all a reasonable amount of respect, I do make the effort. Though its not always my first inclination, I tend to revert to my old nature sometimes.

God Bless
Jeff

Originally Posted by normbal

to paraphrase (I don't have the quote on hand verbatim):

"You are inextricably bound to anything upon which you have a strong opinion." Robert Heinlein.

It's a maxim I think explains why atheists are so militant in their disbelief. It's about the "God-shaped hole" the french mathematician Blaise Pascal described so well.

Atheists spend a lot of time and energy circling that hole and screaming at others to ignore it.

Atheists spend most of their energy on self defense, not a lot of time to go on the attack.

My answer has changed since we first had this discussion.

@ ogershok:
As soon as discussions call for a stance based on moral values, religious people will logically use their religion to help them come to a stance. Whether this is seen as 'forcing others' is a matter of opinion. Atheists do it too. Only they use another source for moral guidance. That is one area where there is needless friction.

That doesn't make it different from you make a moral decision, and if that decision interferes with your life, the fact that it was born out of religion instead of another moral compass does not make it wrong.

To make an extreme analogy: when slavery was abolished, the people voting for the abolishment used their moral compass (religious or otherwise) to interfere with the people who made a living out of it. That doesn't make it wrong per se.

Originally Posted by JimR

Atheists spend most of their energy on self defense, not a lot of time to go on the attack.

That depends on the majority. Recently I was in a discussion where I was seriously on the defense and the atheists were piling on me.

When I then mentioned that science will always have to rely on some leap of faith (because all theories are inevitably based on one or more axioms) I got the flame treatment, telling me that at least science was trying to explain stuff, and I was just being a sheep, and one day we might be able to explain the examples I've given on current axioms (which will just lead to other axioms), ....

On the whole, I think how people treat each other has more to do with the kind of people they are, rather than whether they are religious or not.

Somehow, some way we got here...

The choices that we make will determine the outcome in the end...

There either is or isn't something when the lights go out... I tend to believe there is...

Whether my choices in life will let me go to the place I desire... That is up to the all MIGHTY one, if you belive in one...

Follower of Jesus Christ in the Protestant, Nazarene, flavor. Holiness tradition and scientist. Happy to be a part of this community.
Romans 10:9
and
Hebrews 4:12 (gotta love the the "somewhat" reference to being sharp)