Ask the unbeliever

[neutral]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Yom:
[QB] Mek me teck time come in ya so.
I grew up in a christian home, so I adopt this lifestyle. I do respect everyone right to whatever religion they choose.

1) What made you decide not to become be a christian.


DONT BELIEVE THAT A GOD EXISTS.
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2) What were the turnoffs


THE HYPOCRISY OF CHRISTIANS,AND THEIR INSULARITY.
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3) Are there any christians in your family


NO,JUST PEOPLE WHO GOES TO CHURCH ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS,OR THOSE WHO DOESNT ATTEND BUT CONSIDERS THEMSELVES FOLLOWERS OF "GOD".
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4) Do you have friends who are christians and if so do you find it hard to communicate with then at times without bringing up religion.

YES,BUT NEVER DISCUSS RELIGION.

QUOTE]

[RollinCalf]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

"Anyways, how you explain proven miracles; e.g. someone who was diagnosed by several doctors with an illness but through prayer was totally healed, also certifiable by doctors?"

Name me one CEW.

[fOrTyLeGz]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

Originally posted by CEW:

Great topic though I hope you are "serious" about it [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] . Anyways, how you explain proven miracles; e.g. someone who was diagnosed by several doctors with an illness but through prayer was totally healed, also certifiable by doctors?

My Mom was a devout (can I say devout) Christian Scientist her entire life. I never saw her sick with even the flu. Never saw her stay a day in bed, even an hour in bed. She was a wonderful woman, of whom no one could or did ever have an unkind word. She passed on last year at 87. Anyway, miracles are central to the Scientists faith. Wondrous things happen in life, and the local medicine man, faith healer, CS practitioner, or prayer group at the local church, have been claiming that it was their POWER that causes the occasional unexpected recovery of somesick people.

Jesus never failed when he called for a miracle. Supposedly he gave that power to his believers. Unfortunately, they fail all the time. If just even one of them could heal by touch or word 100% of the time the whole world would turn Christian in a week!

James Randi at www.randi.org has had a prize outstanding for a couple of decades for anyone who can demonstrate any psychic, or magical power. Just whither up an olive tree, or throw a staff on the floor and it turns into a serpent. Easy stuff, even back then for the Pharaoh's team, and they didn't even believe in the right god!

And so many believe, yet it's all hooey. Have you seen the pet psychic yet on TV? It's amazing, yet not much different really than all of the Christian evangelicals on there, with there amazing hairdos, begging for money. They believe in unseen worlds, and that the beings over there can influence our lives for good or bad, and they want something from us before they will act on our behalf.

[rebelgirl]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

Originally posted by CEW:
[qb] I have another question or two but will ask them later. [/qb]

When ever you have the time and the inclination [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[RollinCalf]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

1) What made you decide not to become be a Christian.

My inability to resolve what my brain told me with what I was being told by Christians."


2) What were the turnoffs

See #1.

3) Are there any Christians in your family.

They all are. Me is the black sheep.

4) Do you have friends who are Christians and if so do you find it hard to communicate with then at times without bringing up religion.

Many. It's practically all we talk about. They say they are not giving up on me.

[Boricua_papi]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

1) What made you decide not to become be a christian.

I was a christian at a nondenominational church for several years. I didn't so much make a conscious decision not to become a christian but rather, my search for answers led me to the beacon of science.

2) What were the turnoffs

My old church was particularly anti-intellectual. Sermons were embarrassingly punctuated by railings against "secular education" including the presentation of the theory of evolution.

3) Are there any christians in your family

My mom was once a Methodist. Now she is a member of the "Unity" church. My dad is a nonpracticing catholic. My brothers are not religious at all.

4) Do you have friends who are christians and if so do you find it hard to communicate with then at times without bringing up religion.

I have no problem with my christian friends in discussions related to religion as long as they do not attempt to mix the dogma of religion with scientific methodologies. This becomes a particularly sticky problem when discussing human origins.

[Bandana]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

Rebel [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I love the way you think

Ok, so I rarely come in this forum, but this topic caught my eye...

I have never felt comfortable in a church with other people telling me right from wrong. I do not agree with organized religion as a whole.

However I do believe in some form of higher power...
I "pray" when I am close to nature (ocean, forest, etc.) I believe there is more to the Human spirit than the evolution theory...

My question for you "non-believers" [img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] is...

Have you ever doubted your disbelief?
Has there ever been a time in your life where you experienced something, or someone who made you think there just might be a God out there after all???

[Diplomat]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

Originally posted by mountaingal:
i'll take my turn answering YOM's questions after I've had some time to think.

A very admirable quality and one that I wish that others - including some Christians - would employ.

[Diplomat]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

Originally posted by RollinCalf:
[qb] "Anyways, how you explain proven miracles; e.g. someone who was diagnosed by several doctors with an illness but through prayer was totally healed, also certifiable by doctors?"

Name me one CEW. [/qb]

Why? In the spirit of rebel's initial post, all I am required to do is ask the question.

[mountaingal]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

Originally posted by Yom:
[qb] Mek me teck time come in ya so.
I grew up in a christian home, so I adopt this lifestyle. I do respect everyone right to whatever religion they choose.

1) What made you decide not to become be a christian.
belief in Christ as God just faded away. it was never a big part of my lifestyle. eventually, i decided Jesus was just a man with important things to say, but he wasn't a divinity. i'm still amazed that people believe in the resurrection and ascension as fact.

2) What were the turnoffs
the fear mongering about hell is my biggest turnoff. people should live good in order to make their life here pleasant for themselves and others, not because they fear hell.

3) Are there any christians in your family
lots, from the mildly to the extremely devout! i have a cousin who is a Southern Baptist missionary. when we get together, we talk mostly about her work, rather than her religion. my mother is mildly devout. i attend Easter passion service at the Anglican cathedral with her every year.

4) Do you have friends who are christians and if so do you find it hard to communicate with then at times without bringing up religion.
My friends here in Canada treat their religion as a personal thing, so we don't talk about it. My friends in Jamaica are more devout and are more likely to talk with me about their relationship with God in everyday conversation, when discussing things like jobs or relationships (e.g., they will say they were suffering from something and they prayed for so long about it and God answered their prayers or showed them something).

We have an unspoken deal that I don't challenge them on their faith, and they don't try to convert me, lol![/qb]

[Vonnie]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

Thank you for your response guys. I will return later to discuss further. Thanks!

[RollinCalf]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

Originally posted by CEW:
[qb]

Originally posted by RollinCalf:
[qb] "Anyways, how you explain proven miracles; e.g. someone who was diagnosed by several doctors with an illness but through prayer was totally healed, also certifiable by doctors?"

Name me one CEW. [/qb]

Why? In the spirit of rebel's initial post, all I am required to do is ask the question. [/qb]

CEW, this is so not like you.

Here it is, you are asking me to "explain" soemthing that you are not even willing to give me an example of ?

What ? Is the existence of "proven miracles" to be simply assumed ?

You have got to be kidding me.

[mountaingal]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

Originally posted by CEW:
[qb] Anyways, how you explain proven miracles; e.g. someone who was diagnosed by several doctors with an illness but through prayer was totally healed, also certifiable by doctors? [/qb]

i don't know personally of any proven miracles, and before i'd believe that it was a "miracle" (that is, achieved through faith), i'd have to be shown where unexplained reversals of serious illnesses does not also happen to non-believers.

i think the mind (spirit, emotions, mentality) are connected to the body at a physical level. e.g., we know about moods and "that time of the month". when doing exercise, we're told that if we focus our thoughts on a particular muscle when doing a repetition, we can work that muscle more. after I do an aerobics class, i get a sense of well-being and mental fitness that comes, in part, from the release of endorphin chemicals by the body.

so, i think that what may be perceived as miracles could be a more intense application of the mind-body connection.

[Diplomat]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

Originally posted by mountaingal:
i don't know personally of any proven miracles, and before i'd believe that it was a "miracle" (that is, achieved through faith), i'd have to be shown where unexplained reversals of serious illnesses does not also happen to non-believers.

Who said it didn't?

[Diplomat]

Re: Ask the unbeliever

RC: I do not necessarily see this specific thread as one for debating every issue, or we could just as easily continue without it. What I think is that rebel agreed to allow others to ask questions of the unbeliever, and to solicit a response, and as such my providing examples of anything is not a requirement. I know of more than one examples as mentioned in my initial question, but even if I gave you one, it would be meaningless if you did not believe it so what would be the point? From my perspective it would be a miracle, from yours it wouldn't. Both rebel and mountaingal have shared their perspectives and I fully understand and respect them. Were I an unbeliever, that is perhaps exactly what I would think too.