Believe

Originally posted by sonship
I thought that that is the reason why you tell Christians, that what they are NOW you USE to be. And though THEY have not awakened to reality, YOU have.

Do you have a link to show me where you think I have suggested that anyone should what I have done?

Originally posted by sonship
I just wanted to hear more of the details of your de-conversion.

I'm comfortable with the details I've offered over the years. You've never shown any interest and it's not a topic that I want to sit here typing posts about at the moment. If I do at some point, perhaps I'll PM you and alert you to the fact that I have. Seeing as I am not claiming to be a Christian anymore, and I don't seek to compare the strength of my faith such as it was 10, 20 or 30 years ago with the faith of current Christians here, and seeing as I do not wish to persuade anyone to give up their religious beliefs as I have done, I really don't see the need to discuss it any more than I have done so already.

Originally posted by sonship

I think I remember telling you that I myself had a period in which I had, like amnesia, had blacked out to my intimate relationship with God for some years. And I mean I really had no memory of God being real to me. I had a total black out in backsliding from around 1963 or so to 1970. BLACKOUT - I assumed strongly that that former phase of theism was totally gone with the wind.

In my case the interruption of fellowship with God intimately, personally happened because of the accumulation of offenses on my conscience. These offenses built up as I jettisoned earlier childhood moral sensibilities out of my life during adolescence.

All this time my father was a liberal leaning Presbyterian clergyman. When I strongly pursued Zen Buddhism in early college years, reading Allen Watts and meditating, his question to me included - "How do you know Zen is the answer? Have you looked at Islam ?" This was a Presbyterian theological seminary professor speaking.

The atmosphere in my home in those days was very magnanimous and fortified with religious tolerance, even militantly so.

Just to be clear, I did not invite or solicit or even inquire about any of this public retrospective self-inspection on your part.

Originally posted by FMF

Just to be clear, I did not invite or solicit or even inquire about any of this public retrospective self-inspection on your part.

So what ?
Take your own advice and ignore.

Originally posted by sonship
FMF: Just to be clear, I did not invite or solicit or even inquire about any of this public retrospective self-inspection on your part.

So what ?
Take your own advice and ignore.

It was addressed directly to me. I read it out of courtesy. I did not ask you to navel gaze in that way and certainly not so as to frame a request for me to navel gaze about what my religious ideology may have been/how it changed decades ago. If this is all about you not believing I was a Christian in this past, then it's fine. There are several Christian posters here who do not believe me and one or two who have even called me a liar. It's not something that has any real impact on discussions on this forum.

Originally posted by FMF

It was addressed directly to me. I read it out of courtesy. I did not ask you to navel gaze in that way and certainly not so as to frame a request for me to navel gaze about what my religious ideology may have been decades ago. If this is all about you not believing I was a Christian in this past, then it's fine.
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O you do ask me to so-call naval gaze. Recently you said "Just out of curiosity ..." (of course) what does thus and such mean to me.

Soliciting for public instrospection, if and when it meets your need.

If this is all about you not believing I was a Christian in this past, then it's fine
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And if not that's fine too.

Originally posted by sonship
O you do ask me to so-call naval gaze. Recently you said "Just out of curiosity ..." (of course) what does thus and such mean to me.

Perhaps I was asking you about the ideology you propagate in this discussion forum. I can't remember probing you about relationships or events in your family years ago. If you don't want non-Christians scrutinizing what you claim in public, you ought not to air your claims in a public place like this.

Originally posted by FMF
Perhaps I was asking you about the ideology you propagate in this discussion forum. I can't remember probing you about relationships or events in your family years ago. If you don't want non-Christians scrutinizing what you claim in public, you ought not to air your claims in a public place like this.

Baloney. Your scrutiny doesn't bother me. I'm just pointing out your hypocrisy in selective soliciting for introspection.

When my public introspection confirms your arguments, you're all ears. When it goes contrary to it, Oh, well then you didn't ask for any public introspective navel gazing.

Its alright. I can debunk your skepticism without either one of us getting into personal things.

Originally posted by sonship
Baloney. Your scrutiny doesn't bother me. I'm just pointing out your hypocrisy in selective soliciting for introspection.

Examples? Links? When did I ever probe you about relationships or events in your family that happened decades ago?

When my public introspection confirms your arguments, you're all ears. When it goes contrary to it, Oh, well then you didn't ask for any public introspective navel gazing.

When did I ever attempt to use details regarding things you revealed about relationships or events in your family that happened years ago or about what your ideology was decades ago to make "arguments"?