John Mortimer
New member
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Ok...........well, :wave: anyway!
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Sounds more like infatuation than faith. Faith is founded on trust and reliance. Apostasy is predicated on doubt. To quote the Bard, "You can't get there from here." That is, you can't trust and doubt. They're mutually exclusive. So if you found yourself entertaining the latter you never quite possessed the former. You reserved something in the foundation of your faith.
The most common reservation is a variation on pride. It demands that God suit and reconcile Himself to our context instead of examining life's questions within His. That sort of faith is doomed from the start. It's really only a matter of time.
I understand the individual words you are using but I can't seem to grasp what you're getting at.
No, my faith presupposes that. My criticism of your declaration exists independent of that. It functions whether or not God exists objectively.Just a quickie before bedtime(!).
Your response here presupposes that God actually exists
No, it doesn't. That God is described in masculine terms doesn't lead one, reasonably, to consider God as a sexed creature, which is an reflection of creation. Now demonstrate that rationality of yours and make an argument for your declarations when you return.and that God is male.
A sort of faith, but a stunted one. I set out why prior. You reserved your right to judge God, to question His authority and nature. That reservation isn't faith as the Christian should have it. It is more a rough enchantment with a subjective sense of probability.And it WAS faith I had - I held a belief about the Bible and Jesus for a few months.
Rather, I can rationally distinguish it from my own and what I believe is required of someone who would follow Christ. Your reservation was like unto the rich young ruler's wealth. And it cost you the full and redemptive experience of Christ.Some might try to dress it up as something else.
Faith doesn't fail. Only the men who lay claim to it do and if they do it makes a statement. And so the argument.But as far as I'm concerned, it was faith.
You had a rationally undeniable reservation, a flaw in that faith. It is from that flaw that your apostasy arose.I had no doubts initially.
No. You're still very much asleep. You just heard Christ passing and stirred for a moment.Then I woke up.
Well, there went your original theory.I understand the individual words you are using but I can't seem to grasp what you're getting at.
I heard a caller on Dennis Prager's radio program today who had an experience opposite of yours. She was an atheist but then lost her husband suddenly. After her loss, she wanted to know God. It didn't sound like she was a believer but she was open to at least attempting to know him. Maybe someday she will (Deut 4:29)."I would now consider myself either an agnostic or an atheist or an agnostic atheist depending on my mood and the definitions being used."
Being that you admit that your decisions may have been made by your mood, I am more included to believe that you will debate honestly here--until you give us reason not to believe you."I enjoy honest debate."
My name is Spectrox. I am from the UK.
I lost my Christian faith about 15 years ago.
I would now consider myself either an agnostic or an atheist or an agnostic atheist depending on my mood and the definitions being used.
I am much more skeptical about religion and spirituality than I used to be (obviously) and I reckon I am more logical and rational now than when I believed Jesus was my saviour.
I am certainly happier.
I enjoy honest debate.
Well, there went your original theory.
And it WAS faith I had - I held a belief about the Bible and Jesus for a few months. Some might try to dress it up as something else. But as far as I'm concerned, it was faith. I had no doubts initially.
Then I woke up.
Another foreigner.My name is Spectrox. I am from the UK.
I would now consider myself either an agnostic or an atheist or an agnostic atheist depending on my mood and the definitions being used.
I reckon I am more logical and rational now
Because people come here a lot with their deconversion story and about how devout they were as Christians. But then we find out they were 13 years old, so it just doesn't mean very much. But not so in your case.
You can love an idea, like marriage. In fact, before I was married, I loved the idea of it but a marriage takes two.Yes. I've heard the No True Scotsman argument more times than I care to remember. In fact I remember Christians pointing this out to me when I was going through my deconversion. At the time, I felt it was the worst lie imaginable. Now I just think it is a difference of opinion on a process that I was going through.
▲I do not question you had an experience, I question whether it was a relationship with Him. If one did, they would have a seriously hard time denying He existed.▲I loved it ... hate some of it...Defending the Bible....secretly thinking it was...wrong....
My name is Spectrox. I am from the UK.
I lost my Christian faith about 15 years ago.
I would now consider myself either an agnostic or an atheist or an agnostic atheist depending on my mood and the definitions being used.
I am much more skeptical about religion and spirituality than I used to be (obviously) and I reckon I am more logical and rational now than when I believed Jesus was my saviour.
I am certainly happier.
I enjoy honest debate.
Many people believe that our government rigged 9/11, that they imploded the buildings for their own purposes. This defies logic and reason yet people still believe it.Because Bible believers presumably believe in the miracles and other tall tales. These violate known laws of science.
Because Bible believers presumably believe in the miracles and other tall tales. These violate known laws of science.
If there is a God, then the miracles and other tall tales are completely rational.Because Bible believers presumably believe in the miracles and other tall tales. These violate known laws of science.
Anything that actually did violate physical norms or laws would be evidence of a "something else" being true, have you got any?So anything that violates known laws of science cannot possibly be true? What led you to that conclusion?
Life from non-life.Anything that actually did violate physical norms or laws would be evidence of a "something else" being true, have you got any?
I would now consider myself either an agnostic or an atheist or an agnostic atheist depending on my mood and the definitions being used.... I reckon I am more logical and rational now than when I believed Jesus was my saviour.