You sound like the last angry mailman. Hang on to that column but watch out when it gets cut down…dude.
toldailytopic: Do all atheists know in their heart that God exists yet reject Him?
- Thread starter Nathon Detroit
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You sound like the last angry mailman. Hang on to that column but watch out when it gets cut down…dude.
I visited the Grand Canyon not long ago and I knew that everyone that I saw there really thought and believed that if they were to step over the edge, they would fall.
You sound like what I suspect a man engaged in adultery would sound like. Whilst committing his crime, in his mind, at some level, his wife does not exist to him. But he knows……yes......he knows.
So, are you telling me I’m wrong?
How do you suppose you would feel if someone staunchly claimed that you don’t exist? Would you feel disrespected?
You say I can’t know what other people think, yet you say over and over what other people think. Then, you tell me what I think…wow!
Look. I didn’t go into this with the intent to offend but I have learned that when speaking the truth, offense will be taken. Jesus (who is the truth - John 14:6) said, “blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” Luke 7:23 It happens. So be it.
Everyone knows they themselves exist yet there are those who say they can’t know for sure. They are not qualified to be taken seriously.
Everyone knows there is a Higher Power. Some believe that Higher Power is the God of the Bible.
Most do not.
That’s the way it is.
I totally agree with you. I believed in and prayed to God when I was little, but I knew very little about Christianity. My dad was agnostic and my mom was Catholic by tradition only. They never talked about religion. We participated in Christmas and Easter celebrations, but I didn't really understand the meaning of either holiday. I never saw the inside of a church until one of my cousins got married. Shortly after that, I found myself attending catechism. I guess my mom felt guilty after my cousin's wedding. Talk about a fish out of water!
I have always believed in God and remained in the church I was brought up; for some reason, I am not sure, I never even considered rebelling against believing in God. I was not the rebellious type until I was almost 30 and then I rebelled over trivial things, such as style and attitudes about women, which, thinking about it, was not all that silly.
I don't know that I actually rebelled against God as much as I felt His "non-existence" made more sense to me. When I learned about evolution, it was like a special revelation to me that there must not be a God. I never discussed it with my parents. To this day, my mom refuses to believe that I was an atheist and she is very disappointed that I'm not Catholic. My dad has since become a Christian (thanks to Knight).
Tyrathca
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Well my family will agree I am stubborn and not very good at lying
I automatically go into skeptic mode, much like I do with many other things, and attempt to demolish the logic as best I can. The assumption is that if the idea cannot stand up to attacks then it is unlikely to be worth further consideration. Thankfully going into this mode is rather easy as I find it fun and enjoy doing it over a range of topics beyond just religion.
"Mock mode" is reserved for those who demonstrate a significant degree of stupidity/ignorance or are just douches.
Of course, thats inherent within the very statement of saying it has a probability > 0 . If I didn't think I could be wrong I would have said there was a 0% chance of god. Oh and the the % I was giving does not reflect how much knowledge I have just my probability assessment based on that knowledge, so the 0.0001% doesn't represent the size of any "void of knowledge".
I don't think so. If I did you would expect I'd try to profess my atheism to more people than I currently do (I generally avoid religious discussion with most people IRL). Plus if I do and I don't know about it I would expect I could get comparable ego boosts from claiming Christianity or most other religions for that matter.
The flaw here is that all those cultures existed for long periods of time and also contained adults. God is actually more of a "new" concept in human history (the concept is "only" a few thousand years old) and the further we go back the closer religions seem to be to animism etc where it agency/conciousness thought to be in unthinking objects (trees, weather, animals [they think but not akin to humans], etc).
Ergo a god concept at all similar to modern theism is a bit of a stretch to assume occurs automatically in humans at an early age.
Tyrathca
New member
Depends on the circumstances, but I doubt I would feel "disrespected". Mainly I'd either think they were an idiot, insane or just misinformed. To have hurt feelings over it seems a bit childish and petty, so are you saying your God is getting hurt feelings by me not believing in him? If I were in God's position I'd find such a claim insulting to me.
Of course you can believe that you would know the mind of an atheist, you believe there is a God. Your full of believe.
Good that you can recognize this in yourself!1. When presented with evidence for the existence of a higher power, do you stop to think about it or do you automatically go into "mock mode?"
Well my family will agree I am stubborn and not very good at lying
Sounds reasonable to me!
Fair enough. How, exactly, have you evaluated this probability? You must be pretty sure of yourself to claim a 99.999% probability that there is no god.
Based on your answer to number two, you might need to re-evaluate your underlying motives. One thing you can't know about becoming a Christian is the part where you fall on your knees and acknowledge how wrong you've been. The part where you admit you've been a fool and are now willing to humble yourself and let God lead you instead of leading yourself.
No, the point is, it is more likely to believe in supernatural forces and a creator of some kind than it is to believe that the universe came into existence by chance. Men inherently understand the laws of cause and effect. Even though some of the early beliefs concerning creation are bizarre, they are more "reasonable" than believing that everything came from nothing.
It took me into my adult years to realize that attending church and Episcopalian school was not all there was to being a Christian. One might say I was a good conformist kid. Back in those days, one could be required to reveal their Christian denomination. Not being affiliated with any church was a stigma.
I have an authentic relationship with God; however, I have not changed much in terms of doctrine. It does disappoint me when persons I kow attend church, yet cannot or will not reveal anything personal, besides, "I am a good person".
What I mean is you cannot say how others you do not know form constructs. Not unless that individually convey this to you. This is why I say I know about certain people, because it is revealed to me. Also, questionnaires have some validity, as long a the method is done properly.
As to the rest, as I understand you, I agree, most youngsters imagine higher forms of being, yet it would take specific instruction to form those tendencies in the manner one desires.
One Eyed Jack
New member
That movie showed some of the most demonic aspects of MPD that I've ever seen. Oddly enough, I think they were mostly accidental (or at least, incidental).
You could just as easily say people who've never believed all the sudden turn to God after a tragedy or calamity.
Aimiel
Well-known member
God says that they do.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
nicholsmom
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No, not all. Some, like my brother, do - otherwise why would he leave the room in a huff every time the subject is brought? He cannot argue his point because he doesn't hold it with conviction. But that's my brother.
Other atheists, I'm pretty sure, do not know and so choose the assumption that there is no god (in the absence of any way of proving it, one must assume).
Do I know the difference? Most often not. I can guess with some - most of their arguments are against the God of the Bible or against Hell, rather than just saying that they don't believe there's a god. Others don't argue about God at all, they just mention when the topic arises in other conversations that there is no god, so...
As an example, P66 is pretty consistent in not railing against God, but rather denying (sometimes in ugly ways, but without passion) the existence of any god. When it comes to Christian beliefs about homosexuality, he is upset not because God set down these rules, but that Christians try to control his life with them. So I'd say that P66 probably does not believe that there is any god.
Almost got it, as I have said many times, I have never seen any proof of the existence of any god. No proof - no god. Pretty simple.
Also, every mystery that has been solved, every discovery that has been made has turned out to be not something of the supernatural.
One Eyed Jack
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I've seen enough to convince me. Your own mileage may vary.
I don't think many people ever really expected unsolved mysteries or new discoveries to be of a supernatural bent.
Can you think of anything I may have missed?
But if they were, wouldn't they enforce the existence of supernatural stuff like a god?
Aimiel
Well-known member
You're probably right, which is why God gave such laws as He did to the Israelites. His Power and His Presence was visible to them. He demands perfection. The priests, who served God in The Holy of Holies, where the ark was kept (The Ark of The Covenant) had to wear a rope around their waist and bells on their clothing. If the bells stopped ringing, they could pull the rope and retrieve the dead priest who had displeased God. Uriah, who was helping to carry the ark one time, reached out to catch it, when it slipped on the poles it was being carried by. He was struck dead on the spot. I thank God we don't have that kind of restriction on our lives. I probably would have been dead long ago. :chuckle:
God decided to send His Son into this world, so that He could express His Love. That way He can find those who want to share His Love, rather than force people to serve Him because of His Power. Once He proves His Love to us, He can begin to entrust us with His Power. Were He to give His Power to those who only come to Him at the tip of a sword, how do you think things would be? Probably far more twisted than radical Islam is, in my humble opinion.
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