What has God done in your life? on the Peoria.com Forums - Page 4

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this IS an open forum, freely available to any registered members of peoria.com. So don't get your panties in a bunch, k?

That is ****ing absurd.

Atheism and agnosticism are not religions, but that does not mean our opinions on the topic are less valid than yours.

In fact, it could be argued that because we have no God to fight for and justify belief in, we might be the only impartial voices being heard from on this topic.

And atheists typically believe in more than themselves. They believe in people, the world, the scientific reality that brought us here, and whatever we can see, touch, hear, taste, smell and generally perceive as REALITY.

The rest of you believe in something that goes beyond what you can prove, or even provide realistic evidence of.

And if you don't find that to be important, then it explains why you're so willing to believe.

By the way... an atheist would have jumped in the first boat that came along and survived. They would have thanked the captain... not the sky man.

As to the oh so mysterious complexity of the eye...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_the_eye

and

an article by Christopher Hitchens on salamanders that evolved to lose their eyes once they became a liability.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/figh

No need to cuss, Tyler, or Crod will point out how your panties are much more in a wad than mine.

Also, you aren't impartial at all! You carry around your atheism/agnosticism like a religion. One definition of religion: A pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance. Yes, atheism/agnosticism falls into that category, so welcome to religion.

You atheists and agnostics are always quick to point out how us Christians are always trying to convert you however you conveniently neglect that you do the very things you accuse us of doing--

1. You make fun of us for believing in a higher being (although I've never made fun of you once here).
2. You try to convince us of your stance regardless of our proof or personal testimonies.

I'm not nor have I been trying to convince you that God exists. I have simply been telling you why it is that *I* believe in God and making myself available to answer questions. I cannot convince anyone who is not ready to listen to become a Christian. Please feel free to continue believing what you want to believe. As for me and my house, we will gladly serve the Lord.

And Crod, this may be an open forum but you (and others) continue to interject yourself into religious conversations for the simple reason of wanting to stir the pot. Its obvious you're not a believer and you're also not here to ask questions or learn from those of us willing to share, making your reasons for being here purely selfish. If this is what atheists/agnostics believe in then count me out of ever taking your religion seriously. You've proven to me over and over again that counting on "mankind" for my happiness is not a good decision.

Kevster writes:
http://youtu.be/Fx1tXRnNbZA

Copy and paste in your browser. My old friends from down South.
This ones for Froggy. Old song by the Late Great Rich Mullins.

This is great! Thanks for sharing!

Tyler is revving his engine...can a shark jump be far off?

Froggy, you can feel free to believe whatever you want. I honestly don't care. I'm happy. Not because of god, not because of "mankind", but just because I'm content with what I am and who I am. I've said it before and I won't bother to repeat myself.

Now, as for your claim that "us" atheists are the one on the offensive, please go back and CAREFULLY read your own words. Nevermind, you won't, so I'll quote them...just for you.

I could have cared less about every single thing you said UNTIL YOU decided that YOUR religious forum was yours and yours alone. Exclusivity much? You. Are. Wrong. And if you don't believe me, ask PDCJoe. He has acknowledged in past posts that "non-believers" remarks are just as relevant as "believers", regarding the religious forum. So stuff it.

Don't be ridiculous.

I didn't read any of it.

froggy writes:

No need to cuss, Tyler, or Crod will point out how your panties are much more in a wad than mine.

Also, you aren't impartial at all! You carry around your atheism/agnosticism like a religion. One definition of religion: A pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance. Yes, atheism/agnosticism falls into that category, so welcome to religion.

You atheists and agnostics are always quick to point out how us Christians are always trying to convert you however you conveniently neglect that you do the very things you accuse us of doing--

1. You make fun of us for believing in a higher being (although I've never made fun of you once here).
2. You try to convince us of your stance regardless of our proof or personal testimonies.

I'm not nor have I been trying to convince you that God exists. I have simply been telling you why it is that *I* believe in God and making myself available to answer questions. I cannot convince anyone who is not ready to listen to become a Christian. Please feel free to continue believing what you want to believe. As for me and my house, we will gladly serve the Lord.

And Crod, this may be an open forum but you (and others) continue to interject yourself into religious conversations for the simple reason of wanting to stir the pot. Its obvious you're not a believer and you're also not here to ask questions or learn from those of us willing to share, making your reasons for being here purely selfish. If this is what atheists/agnostics believe in then count me out of ever taking your religion seriously. You've proven to me over and over again that counting on "mankind" for my happiness is not a good decision.

(Sorry if the cursing offends. It's not... like directed toward you, to upset you, it's just the way I talk/think. Yes, disgusting I know, lucky for all of us there's censorship on this board)

1. That is one definition of religion, yes. It's also the definition you'd use when people say things like "He goes running for an hour every day before work. He's religious about it."

I don't think it's really a fair comparison. I'm not betting anything on atheism, it's just the most logical answer I see. And it's not something I think about every day. It's not like I walk down the street, and I'm thinking "there is no god, there is no god, there is no god..."

I just don't attribute things to him the way some of you might. If something nice happens to me... I was probably lucky, or maybe it was the direct (and demonstrable) result of some action taken to cause my good fortune. When something bad happens, I ****ed up, or someone else did, or it was just bad luck/timing and yeah, **** happens.

2. You are trying to sell us your belief, sometimes in a passive way, other times directly. You talk about how people without god can't be complete, you speak of the risk of how we'll spend eternity, you make it sound as if we lack some mystical vision you have for the divine reality that is before you.

3. I've never hidden the fact that I think organized religion is a destructive force, and concrete religious belief, even on a personal level, can be counter-productive. It doesn't mean you should stop asking the questions.

Really, I don't mean to "make fun" of you. If I take a sarcastic tone sometimes it's because I'd like to explore the alternatives but I don't want to rip into you or your beliefs too hard. I'd just like to see people keep asking questions.

Yes, that goes for science, evolution and everything else.

If our information is incomplete, that doesn't mean "god must have done it." The lack of proof for one is not proof or even evidence of the other. They should have to stand on their own merit, and we should use our best possible methods for finding these answers so we can come as close to the truth as we can... not to justify the answer we'd like to find.

As much as I enjoy listening to EVERYONE'S personal testimony on just about anything... I mean, it's a big reason why I do what I do... I never take it as proof of anything.

We all lack the ability to perceive everything as it exists all the time... which is why I believe we invented religion in the first place (to explain the unexplainable)... but we do the best we can. And I do not fault you for that.

If my previous post was overly aggressive, I'm sorry. One sure way to piss me off is to gang up on someone, especially if I share some of their beliefs (but even if I don't, I feel the need to defend them)... and then tell me I don't have the right to contribute to a discussion.

I don't come into the religious discussion to be a turd in the punchbowl, although I know it can seem that way. I believe these discussions (even if they're heated) can be meaningful for all of us. This is the stuff we should be talking about... why are we here, where are we going (as a society), the meaning of life, how did we get to this point, etc.

I still don't know.