Why I am a Christian

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Your statement is illogical. As an atheist I don't believe in God. Period.

On what grounds would I seek and 'need' comfort and reassurance from something I do not believe exists?

If you are saying 'you don't need comfort from something you view as fictional', then I quite agree. If you are saying 'that I accept God exists but choose to seek my ...[text shortened]... you are incorrect.

And there was me thinking your befuddlement was confined to your politics.

You're just someone who has it all together, including your politics.

There is no need for God for you.

You should pat yourself on the back.

Originally posted by whodey
You're just someone who has it all together, including your politics.

There is no need for God for you.

You should pat yourself on the back.

You're just someone who has it all together, including your politics.

Yes. (Not a Trump in sight).

There is no need for God for you.

Agreed. (Due to his fictional nature).

You should pat yourself on the back

I will.

Originally posted by FMF
I find you to be a profoundly superstitious man who peddles what is certainly the most depraved and ugly ideology that the human imagination has ever dredged up from its ghastliest recesses. You do so in public. Expect some push back.

Can you explain a little why 'superstitious?'

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Can you explain a little why 'superstitious?'

He considers religion as nothing more than "superstition", that's why.

It's one of his "code words" he trots out when speaking to Christians, dog-whistling to his pals to come and back him up. Along with: folk tales, imagined beings, parroted ideology, depraved magic-gangsterism, fantastical notions, torturer god, misanthropic dogma, "curiosity-suffocating slew of off-pat prefabricated mythologies and nonsensical doctrines", ancient Hebrew mythology, the most depraved and ugly ideology, thoroughly parochial cultural chauvinism, etc., and that's only in the last few pages.

"Superstitious" seems mild compared to some of these.

If you don't "get it", maybe his whistle finally broke, I dunno.

Originally posted by Suzianne

It's one of his "code words" he trots out when speaking to Christians, dog-whistling to his pals to come and back him up. Along with: folk tales, imagined beings, parroted ideology, depraved magic-gangsterism, fantastical notions, torturer god, misanthropic dogma, "curiosity-suffocating slew of off-pat prefabricated mythologies and nonsensical doctrines", ancient Hebrew mythology, the most depraved and ugly ideology, thoroughly parochial cultural chauvinism, etc..

These are not "dog whistle" code words at all, Suzianne. They are frank and forthright expressions and descriptions of my views and reactions to the stuff I am being fed here by ideologues like sonship. A "dog whistle" is something that "appears to mean one thing to the general population but has an additional, different or more specific resonance for a targeted subgroup" (wiki). That's not even remotely what is going on here. Nothing is disguised. What I am saying - and what sonship is saying, for that matter - is exactly what it says. It means what it ,means. There is no "dog whistling" going on at all.

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Can you explain a little why 'superstitious?'

Because of supernatural causality. Just about everything sonship (and others) propagates - "sin", "salvation", "afterlife", "damnation", "miracles", "holy spirit" and all the rest - they are all entirely rooted in the purported actions, wishes and emotions of supernatural entities and divine beings. To me, the word "superstitious", hits the nail on the head. It describes the essential nature of these beliefs and the assertions and claims - regarding completely science-free supernatural events and causality - that sonship makes.

Originally posted by Rajk999
I dont think even Christains understand what is the will of God. I have heard some say that the will of God is to believe on the name of Jesus Christ. So they say they believe and therefore, they are doing the will of God.

So what exactly is the will of God. Clearly just proclaiming that one believes on the name of Jesus Christ will do nothing to solve the problems you spoke of.

Repent and believe the gospel. Faith without works is dead.

Originally posted by sonship
He doesn't like for people to talk with any kind of assurance on matters like this.
The confidence with which particularly Christians speak, really bothers him.

His role seems to be to patrol the Forum to counter any kind of speaking of the spiritual realm which has assurance or confidence as a characteristic.

I found this piece quite applicable here:

"G.K. Chesterton once made the proclamation that it is impossible to live without contradiction when you live without God. We live in a world where objections are made to everything under the sun. Yet, the moment any of us condemns something, we have to assume there is some standard by which to condemn it. The modern day rebel, as Chesterton refers to the skeptic, has no standard left because he has rejected everything. Thus, he lives in contradiction. Chesterton reasons:

The new rebel is a sceptic and will not entirely trust anything… The fact that he doubts everything really gets in his way when he wants to denounce anything. For all denunciation applies a moral doctrine of some kind; and the modern revolutionist doubts not only the institution he denounces but the doctrine by which he denounces it… As a politician, he will cry out that war is a waste of life, as a philosopher, that all life is a waste of time. He goes to a political meeting, where he complains that savages are treated as if they were beasts; then he takes his hat and umbrella and goes on to a scientific meeting, where he proves that they practically are beasts. In short, the modern revolutionist, being an infinite sceptic, is always engaged in undermining his own mines. In his book on politics he attacks men for trampling on morality; in his book on ethics he attacks morality for trampling on men. Therefore the modern man in revolt has become practically useless for all purposes of revolt. By rebelling against everything he has lost his right to rebel against anything.

If the whole universe has no meaning, C.S. Lewis said similarly, we should never have found out that it had no meaning. The very cry of skeptical objection often betrays the skeptic himself. And yet, I have no doubt that the peculiar act of undermining one’s own mines is hardly a skill left only to the skeptic."

http://rzim.org/a-slice-of-infinity/undermining-our-own-mines/

Originally posted by Suzianne
He considers religion as nothing more than "superstition", that's why.

It's one of his "code words" he trots out when speaking to Christians, dog-whistling to his pals to come and back him up. Along with: folk tales, imagined beings, parroted ideology, depraved magic-gangsterism, fantastical notions, torturer god, misanthropic dogma, "curiosity-suffocat ...[text shortened]... d compared to some of these.

If you don't "get it", maybe his whistle finally broke, I dunno.

FMF taken apart piece by piece again. So good. Dog whistle bwahaha 😀

Originally posted by FMF
There is no "dog whistling" going on at all.

Yet whenever you post, various stray dogs show up looking all confused.
One of them consistently thumbs down all your posts regardless of content.

Originally posted by twhitehead
Yet whenever you post, various stray dogs show up looking all confused.
One of them consistently thumbs down all your posts regardless of content.

And the lapdogs always show up when the master whistles. 😉

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
And the lapdogs always show up when the master whistles. 😉

Not always

I had a dog once that would pee on his masters leg when he whistled.

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
I found this piece quite applicable here:

"G.K. Chesterton once made the proclamation that it is impossible to live without contradiction when you live without God. We live in a world where objections are made to everything under the sun. Yet, the moment any of us condemns something, we have to assume there is some standard by which to condemn it. Th ...[text shortened]... ill left only to the skeptic."

http://rzim.org/a-slice-of-infinity/undermining-our-own-mines/

I'll take a look at the link.

Frank Turek's book Stealing From God - (Why Atheists need God to make their case) goes into that matter in-depth. If you haven't read it already, I think you'd like it.

The problem I think I have noticed though with this legitimate apologetic is that it is eventually countered with complaints that no moral code works well ultimately. In other words the skeptic counters often with proving problems with whatever moral standard in code one could arrive at.

At present I think some of these are effective complaints. But then I have to go into the fall of man, the sin nature, and the function of the Law God gave to expose man's sinful nature.

Lately, I have been exploring Romans to see how the Apostle Paul dealt with the matter of the law given by God. I do not intend to change the subject of your thread. So I'll leave it there.

Why I am a Christian ?? God had mercy on me. I can't think of another reason as good.
Somehow He gave me the ability to believe in the Son of God.

I mean I could go into logical reasons too. But when all is said, a miracle of mercy has taken place in my heart. I thank the Lord always.

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
I found this piece quite applicable here:

"G.K. Chesterton once made the proclamation that it is impossible to live without contradiction when you live without God. We live in a world where objections are made to everything under the sun. Yet, the moment any of us condemns something, we have to assume there is some standard by which to condemn it. Th ...[text shortened]... ill left only to the skeptic."

http://rzim.org/a-slice-of-infinity/undermining-our-own-mines/

What ?

Are you saying Ravi Zacharias knows of Stephen Hawking saying this ??

A friend of mine in college profoundly illustrated to me this very truth. He was born with Athetoid Cerebral Palsy, and as a result he is unable to speak or walk or feed himself. He communicates through a computerized voice by typing with his toes. Overcoming more in his lifetime than most can imagine, he was in a public speaking class when I first became acquainted with him. Though an unlikely candidate for a career in public speaking, he has become exactly that, and is now a much in-demand speaker. His message is as powerful as his will to proclaim it. “My body,” he says through the voice of a computer, “is a slow moving, twisted shell of uncontrollable muscle, and yet my life is a picture of nothing short of wholeness. This glorious contradiction I attribute entirely to Jesus Christ.”

I would be rather suprised. I do know Ravi Zacharias has a way of making friends and being invited to speak in unusual venues.

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
Repent and believe the gospel. Faith without works is dead.

You must know from discussions on this forum alone, that all Christians do not believe that that is the will of God? They believe that the will of God is to believe in the NAME Jesus and to believe that he existed. And this is the reason why instead of helping to solve the worlds problems they have contributed to worsening it, because their doctrine leads to selfishness, greed and worldliness.