"New Age" Atheism

Originally posted by @philokalia
But it is a credible threat.

To say that it is absolutely not credible would imply that you actually have some kind of proof that it isn't.

Please, show us your proof.

Ditto. Please provide 'proof' the threat is credible.

Originally posted by @romans1009
Not sure I understand what you’re saying here

Presumably there is a temporal moment that is the last moment we can freely choose salvation..

If for each of us, if that moment has passed, the story's over.

Can that moment pass unnoticed?

At that moment, will we know it is that moment?

Can one be saved and not know it?

Can one be doomed, and not know it?

There are many questions.

Listen, learn, be open to ideas. Pray, or at least have a prayerful attitude about prayerful things.

Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
It continually amazes me how some theists fail to comprehend what it means to be an atheist. It's akin to an adult 'hedging their bets' by putting mince pies out for Santa Claus,...just in case.

It’s not for lack of clear and cogent explanation.

One has to continually remind theists that atheism is not Christianity without the God. It’s not what they believe only with a God-shaped hole in it.

Originally posted by @freakykbh

All of human history shows man has ALWAYS had a concept of God, of Heaven and of Hell--- in various iterations.

Humans all feel lonely at some point. Humans all fear death at some point. Humans all suffer rejection at some point. Humans all seek solace at some point. Humans all seek restitution for injustice at some point. These are common experiences, and they find symbolic expression in all cultures. God is the transcendent symbol of the companionship which will never abandon you, who corrects all defects and recompenses all injustice, who assuages fear and so on. The fact that all cultures have a simillar symbol simply means that humans have a common psychological need for recompense and justice and so on, not that any such Being really exists.

Is that particular symbol necessary? Evidently not. Some people get on without it, always have, always will. Probably a minority of the population. They find their solace elsewhere, or just learn to bear it stoically, without solace.

Originally posted by @moonbus
It’s not for lack of clear and cogent explanation.

One has to continually remind theists that atheism is not Christianity without the God. It’s not what they believe only with a God-shaped hole in it.

On one level I do understand their thinking process. God is such a major facet in the life of a theist that they simply can't compute the idea that a life without that facet isn't deficient in some way. It's as if you had told them that you lived a life void of oxygen. Their immediate response being, 'what have you replaced it with in order to survive?"

For a Christian, 'God' is akin to oxygen. This just isn't the case for an atheist who is perfectly happy breathing on their own.

Originally posted by @js357
Presumably there is a temporal moment that is the last moment we can freely choose salvation..

If for each of us, if that moment has passed, the story's over.

Can that moment pass unnoticed?

At that moment, will we know it is that moment?

Can one be saved and not know it?

Can one be doomed, and not know it?

There are many questions.

Listen, learn, be open to ideas. Pray, or at least have a prayerful attitude about prayerful things.

<<Presumably there is a temporal moment that is the last moment we can freely choose salvation..>>

I don’t agree with this at all. What’s the justification for it?

Originally posted by @moonbus
Humans all feel lonely at some point. Humans all fear death at some point. Humans all suffer rejection at some point. Humans all seek solace at some point. Humans all seek restitution for injustice at some point. These are common experiences, and they find symbolic expression in all cultures. God is the transcendent symbol of the companionship which will ne ...[text shortened]... opulation. They find their solace elsewhere, or just learn to bear it stoically, without solace.

Where did humans get the concept of eternity? What in the material world would give them the idea of eternity?

Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
On one level I do understand their thinking process. God is such a major facet in the life of a theist that they simply can't compute the idea that a life without that facet isn't deficient in some way. It's as if you had told them that you lived a life void of oxygen. Their immediate response being, 'what have you replaced it with in order to survi ...[text shortened]... o oxygen. This just isn't the case for an atheist who is perfectly happy breathing on their own.

Atheists always make the mistake of thinking theists believe in God to satisfy some need in their lives, instead of simply being convinced by the evidence and God’s grace that He exists.

Originally posted by @moonbus
Humans all feel lonely at some point. Humans all fear death at some point. Humans all suffer rejection at some point. Humans all seek solace at some point. Humans all seek restitution for injustice at some point. These are common experiences, and they find symbolic expression in all cultures. God is the transcendent symbol of the companionship which will ne ...[text shortened]... opulation. They find their solace elsewhere, or just learn to bear it stoically, without solace.

Name another "need" for which relief does not exist.

Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
On one level I do understand their thinking process. God is such a major facet in the life of a theist that they simply can't compute the idea that a life without that facet isn't deficient in some way. It's as if you had told them that you lived a life void of oxygen. Their immediate response being, 'what have you replaced it with in order to survi ...[text shortened]... o oxygen. This just isn't the case for an atheist who is perfectly happy breathing on their own.

<<It's as if you had told them that you lived a life void of oxygen. Their immediate response being, 'what have you replaced it with in order to survive?"

For a Christian, 'God' is akin to oxygen. This just isn't the case for an atheist who is perfectly happy breathing on their own.>>

Ouch, Heartpence. I don’t think you thought your analogy through.

What is the atheist breathing?

🙄

Originally posted by @romans1009
Where did humans get the concept of eternity? What in the material world would give them the idea of eternity?

Fishing?

Originally posted by @romans1009
<<Presumably there is a temporal moment that is the last moment we can freely choose salvation..>>

I don’t agree with this at all. What’s the justification for it?

Finally, someone disagrees with me instead of ignoring!

Tell me what you disagree with, OK?

Are we never free to choose salvation? I doubt you believe this. Aren't we , at st least some point in our mortal life. free to choose salvation?

Are we always free to choose salvation, even after our mortal death, after we have been judges?

When do we transition from free to unfree to choose salvation?

Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
On one level I do understand their thinking process. God is such a major facet in the life of a theist that they simply can't compute the idea that a life without that facet isn't deficient in some way. It's as if you had told them that you lived a life void of oxygen. Their immediate response being, 'what have you replaced it with in order to survi ...[text shortened]... o oxygen. This just isn't the case for an atheist who is perfectly happy breathing on their own.

Oh the manifold rationalizations of them that depart from Word of God for the purpose of defining the human heart and mind.

God is not a crutch, nor is He a puppet master.

Originally posted by @js357
When do we transition from free to unfree to choose salvation?

The moment of our heart's last beat. All choices cease at death. One's life is summed up at that moment.

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."

"..: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

Originally posted by @secondson
The moment of our heart's last beat. All choices cease at death. One's life is summed up at that moment.

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."

"..: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

So are y9u saying that our ability to choose salvation depends, at least in part, on whether our heart has permanently stopped beating?

Romans disagreed with me,and now, I suppose, you.