Christianity is a false religion

Maybe you better "readmore". This author has a broader perspective of the science than you. He addresses it quite well.

 

See.

 

C

 

Yeah, I guess that makes some sense - the all powerful God realized He made a mistake making man, so He sent a part of Himself to die on a cross to pay for that mistake and make things right. That, however, begs the question: why couldn't the almighty God, who invented everything, including the rules of the game, why couldn't He just forgive those things? That would have saved a lot of trouble.

That's more like it.

It goes without saying this is merely my opinion. I realize I am not the Supreme Court of the United States of America to give a verdict on Christianity. I don't think even they can do so.

 

I still hold that even agnostic is still belief based, although in that case, for how most people claim agnostic, it's a belief that they don't have enough information to say one way or the other, much in the same way that the religious believe they have sufficient evidence for the belief system they have.

Had I mentioned that I was an electrician in the Navy in some previous thread for you to make this example? LOL But here is a difference between a belief on whether or not a deity exists and something that can be physically shown on a reliable basis.

 

Your wording gave the implication that you were making your claim as much an absolute as some Christians make their religion to be an absolute as opposed to just their personal belief system.

 

If your house falls into disrepair and decay, with utter ruin on the horizon. Closing your eyes to it will not repair it. Jesus Christ volunteered to leave his place of glory in heaven, took upon himself flesh, and overcame the world in service to his Fathers will, because he and his Father care for us and our salvation. His forgiveness is predicated upon our repentance. Otherwise nothing is accomplished. Forgiveness alone serves nothing but decay. Salvation is work and faith, such that we have a stake in the matter and are more than idle witnesses.

 

Something that carries zero weight in any decision one makes really can't be considered a belief in the sense of a religious belief.

If you want to know what I believe, you have to ask. You can't just assume that since a belief in god is important to you, then the fact I don't share that belief is somehow important to me. It's just not. (Just an example, I don't mean to suggest I know what you believe.)

Yes, those statements of mine concerning religion missed the point about religion, since you clearly noted that atheism isn't a religion.

However once said, continued questions about atheism as a belief imply something special about a belief related to god, don't they?

Surely to be a "belief" there must be some sort of guidance that comes from that belief.

Atheism doesn't give guidance.

I would suggest that atheism is the lack of guidance from a particular source.

As such, I think it is confusing to see atheism as being a belief as we use the term on this board - recognizing that there are various social definitions. If you meet someone who says they are an atheist, all you know is ONE thing that they DON'T believe. You do not know what they DO believe.

 

Religion has no method of exploring our physical universe. So, I question your point here. I'm not going to buy this guy's books, obviously, so if you think he has a point related to this thread, you should state and defend it.

 

For some atheists it IS a religion.

 

Yes - I'm not a theologian, either. And, the various scripture on this topic does lead general readers to consider an ascetic lifestyle as likely to be seriously important.

Jesus is quoted by Matthew as saying that the penalty for Christians who fail to walk the walk is hell.

Given that hell is the penalty, I would have thought there would be focus on "the walk" that is somewhat comparable to the focus on conversion, though conversion is the first requirement, of course.

This really should be of interest to the entire world of Christianity, with insights coming from key theologians.

 

This is false.

Of course, there are those who take it upon themselves to attempt to invalidate various religions. It's not hard to find people who work to invalidate Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Taoism, Hinduism, etc., etc.

But, the fact of the matter is that NOT believing something is not a source of guidance of any kind.

 

"Not believing in something" is a little bit different from "believing that something does not exist".
If you merely did not believe in something, you would be agnostic.

 

And you specifically take it upon yourself to be one of those......but your focus is always on Christianity! What, are you afraid to take on Islam like so many?
I believe Christianity threatens you and the OP by far the most because it is Truth. Why else do you pursue something you don't believe in?

I don't believe in UFO's. Never have. I have my reasons. Do you think I am going to spend one minute of my time debunking them? Hardly. I could even start a thread, "the belief in UFO'S are a waste of time". I could probably stir up ire from those that believe in them.....but I don't. Why one might ask? Because I don't see it as a threat. Actually if they really do exist, I don't see it as a threat.

You, Willreadmore, are present on every single thread about Christianity I have seen. You are like a flea on a dog. You just can't let it go. You quote more scripture than anyone (and so does the Prince of this world) but like millions before you, you can do nothing to touch the growing faith in Jesus Christ and what he does for all of humanity!

Tell you what, Willreadmore......you start a thread on the "virtues" of being an atheist and I will promise I will not comment.

 

Yes that has been my point. Agnostics would not waste time trying to convince others. They just are indifferent. They are Amoral. Atheists have a flag to fly. They are the very epitome of "religion".

 

The line between agnostic and atheist is too narrow to worry about.

Both reject the view that there is a god.

If there were discovered serious evidence of the existence of a god, neither atheists nor agnostics would simply ignore it.

Atheism is easier, as people know what that is - it's that one doesn't accept the idea that there is a god. (And, neither do agnostics.)

 

I don't waste time trying to convince others, either!

In fact, very few Christians on this board make any effort to convince people to be Christians, either.

As an atheist, I see the New Testament as one source of philosophy.

Throughout America, we certainly do have plenty of individuals who attempt to attack other people's views concerning god when they don't correspond to their own.

 

You are playing word games.

I'm an atheist. I merely do not believe something.

 

I don't pretend to know what your exact belief is, and I admit that I worded my post such that I did. I did use the belief that is the most common. But regardless of exactly what it is you (both specifically and generalized) believe it is still a belief, and it is a belief about something dealing with religion. Is that a religious belief? I think that comes under as subjective a view of the wording as anyone's subjective view of their religious teachings. But it is still a belief.

Not necessarily, since we have already noted that a religion does not require a deity per se. Most do, but not all. But the word itself does lend towards that given that an atheist is the opposite of a theist, which indicates one who believes is some sort of deity or deities. So now I have to ask is a person who follows a religion that lacks a deity, a theists, or just simply religious? And does that mean, at least by strictest definition, that one could be an atheist religious person?

Why? There are people out there who have beliefs about magic, paranormal and psionics. Are these things giving guidance? I doubt it. They simple have a belief about something. Belief is a broad thing that covers a lot of ground. Belief can follow or go against a fact or it can be about something that can not be proven nor disproven. When it comes to anything religious, including believing that none of it is real, it is still belief.

I got no problem with that. But one can also believe in a deity or being and not seek or accept guidance from that source. I point to Christians and Satan as an example. Many Christians believe in the existence of Satan and yet do not receive guidance from him, or at least they claim not to.

The last sentence is the more accurate. But they do believe something, even if it is that they believe that another claim is not true. That is the basis by which I say that atheism is based upon belief. Because you can't be exposed to an idea without believing it to be true, believing it to be false, or believing that you don't have enough information to chose one or the other.

 

This is broad brushing. Most atheists don't have "a flag to fly". Most simply live and let live. Now there is indeed a portion of atheists who do indeed push the agenda of getting people to renounce religion of any type. I've even seen them at pagan pride events. The term "evangelical atheist" was coined for a reason. But they are a small portion of the overall population.

 

You're way off base here. I am not interested in attacking Christianity. There may be issues where I promote science and the separation of religion and government, which can conflict with some people's views.

>>> You CLEARLY don't understand what atheism is.

>>> There is NO virtue in being an atheist. Any "virtue" would need to come from a source, a philosophy, parents, military training, your church, or whatever.

Atheism does not specify ANY SOURCE.

 

You are still confusing religion/belief and philosophy.

And, I do NOT like being told that I have a belief involving god in any way or form. That is just false.

Having a belief implies a motivation. It implies a source of direction. Atheism implies NO motivation or source. to me or to anyone else.

In fact, "atheist" states that god is NOT a motivation or source. That is ALL it says. It identifies what is NOT.

Please stop trying to turn that into some sort off belief.

I have beliefs. Atheism defines what they are NOT, not what they ARE.

 

Maybe it is you who do not exactly understand what atheism is. You have to have a clear strong belief that the supernatural does not exist. This belief can often lead to activism. So clearly a strong belief would be driving a person to take some action, in that case.

So you do not believe and are not insistent on the claim God does not exist?

 

Christians believe there is a God. God Created everything in the beginning. You sure waste a lot of time trying to convince others Jesus is nothing more than a philosopher. You realize that is a slap in the face to Christians. Atheism is your religion. Embrace it.

 

Again, please try to comprehend that atheism is an indication of where someone does NOT look for philosophy, advice or motivation.

ANYONE can decide to be active in any way they want.

But, that is not part of the definition of atheism.