Zone1 do you believe in a god?

[presonorek]

Where are you on this list?

View attachment 1126707

Atheist for now.

 

[Grumblenuts]

There had to be a first cause.

Not really. In the final analysis, it's just semantics.
Why do mosquitoes suck blood?
Short answer: The females require it for reproduction.
But wait, mosquitos don't have souls, do they?
So what?
Well, the cosmological argument.
Huh?
God doesn't give a crap about mosquitos.
Why not?
Eh, they come, they go,.. tiny brains, short lived, no abstract thought, who cares?
True, mosquitos suck!

 

[presonorek]

Not really. In the final analysis, it's just semantics.
Why do mosquitoes suck blood?
Short answer: The females require it for reproduction.
But wait, mosquitos don't have souls, do they?
So what?
Well, the cosmological argument.
Huh?
God doesn't give a crap about mosquitos.
Why not?
Eh, they come, they go,.. tiny brains, short lived, no abstract thought, who cares?
True, mosquitos suck!

Good point.

 

[Grumblenuts]

A bunch of stuff you never wanted to know about mosquitos:

29 Facts

www.cumberlandcountynj.gov

 

[whutTHEYsay]

Atheist for now.

What about my vote in a coalition of 80 million Democrats who voted for Joe Biden in November 2020; is having my vote count sacred and beautiful to you too. Or can it be swept aside by lawless sitting president and the Republican party who did not like the outcome when he lost his bid for a second term?

 

[presonorek]

View attachment 1126861
What about my vote in a coalition of 80 million Democrats who voted for Joe Biden in November 2020; is having my vote count sacred and beautiful to you too. Or can it be swept aside by lawless sitting president and the Republican party who did not like the outcome when he lost his bid for a second term?

I feel that if I give you a thoughtful response then you will not respond to me. I feel that if you and I swap insult for insult then we can carry on a conversation for years. I'm interested in neither. Say your piece and move on. I cannot decipher your motives and I have decided not to try.

 

[whutTHEYsay]

I feel that if I give you a thoughtful response then you will not respond to me. I feel that if you and I swap insult for insult then we can carry on a conversation for years. I'm interested in neither. Say your piece and move on. I cannot decipher your motives and I have decided not to try.

I like what you said about the peaceful transfer of power being sacred and beautiful. As a rational theist, I am supportive of your right to be an atheist and the most sacred and beautiful piece of the United States Constitution. The first amendment.

Freedom of conscience is to me the most important right guaranteed to us in the constitution

I have no idea why you fear that I would insult you

I’m looking for honesty that’s it

I’m trying to find out why after seeing and knowing what Trump did on January 6, 2021 was wrong and in my opinion, highly criminal and highly contemptuous of the constitution; why you say you would not vote for him but you hoped he wins.

When Trump, so publicly violated his oath of office by pressuring his vice president to overturn the election that they lost based on fraudulent documents that he and other Republicans conspired to produce and use on January 6, 2021 - why would you want him to be elected again?

he would’ve canceled 80 million votes against him had Mike Pence and Donald Trump’s words “ agreed to do the right thing” and reject the certified election results of seven states that voted for Biden

That’s my question. That is all.

I’m hoping you have an explanation for why you think the way that you do

This is a discussion form

I tried to discuss everything without insults

That shit bothers me

 

[presonorek]

I’m hoping you have an explanation for why you think the way that you do

I'm sorry to disappoint you. I don't vote anymore.

 

[Zebra]

now 4 of 14 are members of a church

 

[ding]

How do you not know whether or not you believe something?

Isn’t it more important to know what is true? To see reality?

 

[pinqy]

Isn’t it more important to know what is true? To see reality?

I'm sorry, that seems a non sequitur to me...
Zebra said he was not sure if he believes in a god. I find that to be a curious statement.
Is it more important to know what is true and see reality than to believe something? I suppose, but that has nothing to do with what I was talking about.

 

[toobfreak]

Isn’t it more important to know what is true? To see reality?

Ding, God is real. God is true. You believe that to be true and I know it to be fact, but neither of us can prove a thing to someone else, especially someone hellbent on disbelief. Belief in God can only come through /personal/experience. Knowledge of God is unique to every living person and belief in him can only come through personal experience, and sadly, God, not us, chooses when that door swings open and God sees that this or that individual is ready to see.

Some people reach a point in life where they realize there must be more to life than what we see, but many people never reach that point and barely question the hand before their face.

 

[ding]

I'm sorry, that seems a non sequitur to me...
Zebra said he was not sure if he believes in a god. I find that to be a curious statement.
Is it more important to know what is true and see reality than to believe something? I suppose, but that has nothing to do with what I was talking about.

Zebra saying he wasn’t sure is him stating what he believes. Maybe I should have said that instead.

 

[ding]

Ding, God is real. God is true. You believe that to be true and I know it to be fact, but neither of us can prove a thing to someone else, especially someone hellbent on disbelief. Belief in God can only come through /personal/experience. Knowledge of God is unique to every living person and belief in him can only come through personal experience, and sadly, God, not us, chooses when that door swings open and God sees that this or that individual is ready to see.

Some people reach a point in life where they realize there must be more to life than what we see, but many people never reach that point and barely question the hand before their face.

I actually wasn’t going there. I was going towards objectivity. Being objective and not having a preference for an outcome is how one sees reality.

 

[toobfreak]

I actually wasn’t going there. I was going towards objectivity. Being objective and not having a preference for an outcome is how one sees reality.

Well, true, but all the objectivity in the world cannot make you realize God without God's willingness and intervention, and while absolute objectivity might in theory make one's mind more open to the possibilities, true objectivity is rare, most all of us carry the taint of cognitive bias or dissonance somewhere in our lives.

I say that as a logician that even pure objectivity can only take you so far. Objectivity can only open the door to possibilities, but realizing God takes divine intervention.

Even the impersonal ascetics like the Buddhists can only see to the impersonal reality of the dharma within the brahmajyoti effulgence--- it still takes divine intervention for an individual to realize the personal nature of God.

 

[ding]

Well, true, but all the objectivity in the world cannot make you realize God without God's willingness and intervention, and while absolute objectivity might in theory make one's mind more open to the possibilities, true objectivity is rare, most all of us carry the taint of cognitive bias or dissonance somewhere in our lives.

I say that as a logician that even pure objectivity can only take you so far. Objectivity can only open the door to possibilities, but realizing God takes divine intervention.

Even the impersonal ascetics like the Buddhists can only see to the impersonal reality of the dharma within the brahmajyoti effulgence--- it still takes divine intervention for an individual to realize the personal nature of God.

It wasn’t until I tried being objective about everything that I started to see how God had always been working in my life.

 

[ding]

all the objectivity in the world cannot make you realize God without God's willingness and intervention

Are you familiar with the parable of the prodigal son? It wasn’t until the son made a move towards the father that the father came rushing towards the son. That’s how it worked for me.

 

[toobfreak]

It wasn’t until I tried being objective about everything that I started to see how God had always been working in my life.

Interesting. I could probably say the same thing. I went into my teens a devout scientist, a firm believer that the universe did not need any god to explain creation. But my objectivity allowed me to consider and entertain other possibilities which eventually lead me to realizing many other things, but in hindsight, I see now that it wasn't my decision to be open-minded and objective, but his guiding finger...

 

[MarathonMike]

God, not us, chooses when that door swings open and God sees that this or that individual is ready to see.

That's the first time I've heard that. God chooses who is saved and who isn't saved?

 

[toobfreak]

Are you familiar with the parable of the prodigal son? It wasn’t until the son made a move towards the father that the father came rushing towards the son. That’s how it worked for me.

Well sure. Like I said, it takes divine intervention, but God does not waste time on people who simply are not ready yet, disinterested and unwilling to see Him.