Because I don't believe in your god? This is why I know you theists are wrong. If you are so completely off base on us atheists, what else are you dead wrong about?
Sad and Lonely? That is the kind of person that theists pray on. People who usually get real religious are usually really sad, guilty or remorse about something.
Its one of the reasons a lot of people go to church. To make friends. I don't need church to make friends and I don't think I'd want to be friends with a bunch of brainwashed idiots.
Hi sealybobo:
Can we just let the people who talk with God keep talking with God that way.
I know lots of people who work out wisdom, insights and understanding in their heads different ways.
Scientists use other methods of hashing things out, that's fine, too!
I'm sorry for all these other people who don't get it, that there is nothing wrong with being nontheistic.
Sealybobo: would you blame someone for being tone deaf, or color blind?
Some people can hear or see things that other people can't distinguish.
So what?
Just because someone is color blind, and cannot distinguish red and green because it all
looks black and white, doesn't mean colors don't exist for other people who see all kinds of things.
Some people see and experience colors outside the norm, and that has to be accounted for, too!
Why can't we be "emotionally neutral" about theist/nontheist ways of looking at LIFE
the same way we understand that a red/green colorblind person isn't going to see
the same colors as someone else.
If that's not how their eyes or brain process information, it's just not there.
Now Sealybobo, what if you ran across someone who thought colorblind people were messed up.
And they judged them for it.
Would it bother you those people are messed up and don't understand color blindness is not someone's choice?
We would KNOW that person doesn't get what's going on.
So why can't we understand that some theists are the same way.
They don't understand the reasons someone who is
just colorblind can't see these colors everyone else can see.
SB maybe someday scientists will prove from studying the brain
that there differences in perception, just like colorblindess can be explained scientifically,
where we won't panic that some people are either "theist or nontheist" in how we relate to life
and interact with the energy that flows through people and all other life in the world.
NOTE: as stated before, the real issue is not the conflict between theist/nontheist
but between forgiveness/inclusion and unforgiveness/rejection.
If you notice, if MaxGrit rejects people, he will have equal problems understanding either
you or me, regardless if we are theist or nontheist; it is the rejection that is causing problems.
if you and I can forgive and include each other as equals,
it doesn't matter if we think in theist or nontheist terms, we'll be able to work out issues logically
because we don't waste as much time insulting and backstabbing each other with blame.
That's just pure common sense, logic from experience.
People are going to be different, and see things from their angles as theist or nontheists.
Might as well embrace and work with those different ways of seeing and saying things.
The REAL issue dividing us is whether we can
forgive instead of fear our differences.
I hope this becomes more clear, so you can see how the process works.
Nobody is required to change or convert from either theism to nontheism or vice versa;
most people cannot change that anyway, like reprogramming your native language.
Most people can expand their understanding to INCLUDE the other person's ways.
but that is not the same as converting anyone to anything else.
it's about ADDING more understanding to what we already believe.
Like learning another language is ADDING vocabulary and idioms and cultural perspective.
It isn't converting people from speaking Spanish to speaking English, but ADDING
an additional language so we can communicate with more people in larger audiences.
Sorry sealybobo that this isn't taught and explained more fully to more people.
So there are both theists and atheists running around rejecting and blaming each other.
I hope this nonsense will stop, and more people will set better examples
of how we can communicate without compromising and address these other conflicts.
First step is to quit judging each other for having different systems,
and to forgive the fact people judged and blamed each other in the past.
If we can get over that, maybe we can focus on content and not freak out
that we are so different. This does not have to mean conflict!
I don't feel I have any conflicts with you or MaxGrit. I trust we can all arrive at common truths
by working out where we are clashing with how we say things, and what we think the other person means.
So if I can take those differences in stride while working through the issues,
and not see that as anything wrongful or ugly,
why can't we all learn to deal with each other's differences the same way.
Why does this have to be a negative process?
I see it as constructive and enriching that we can
share what we see going wrong and work together to correct it.
I think that is great and a credit to everyone here for seeking what is right, accurate and just.
I believe we will succeed, so of course I see this as going in a positive direction.
There is more good coming from these interactions so why not focus there?
Thanks sealybobo
please forgive the people who don't get it
and maybe they will also learn to forgive whoever they think
doesn't get it either...
Reminds me of Jesus praying, but in this case it's everyone in the same boat:
Let us agree to receive forgiveness
for we know not what we cannot understand,
and both blame each other for not understanding either.
