by cyberjesus 42 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
He got very upset and said, "I can not be wrong. If I was wrong than, that would mean I wasted the last 40+ years if life. I can not be wrong. I am not wrong!"
I understand that VERY well. I said it. I lived it.
The 'real' mistake though, is wasting the next 40 believing it, or something similar and just as foolish, isn't it?
Jeff
"Open-mindedness means agreeing with me."
I enjoyed many different thoughts on this subject. One poster on youtube named Not1delusion excellently showed how Christians turn their own shortcomings into accusations against atheists. They need to think that atheists are guilty of the same things they are guilty of in order to allow their mind to relax from the cognitive dissonance.
yeah those vids are fantastic, funny is that not many people are even interested in watching them
I agree - funny, but in a sad way.
Personaly, I am not comfortable with wearing a lable that says 'atheist' or any other lable. It would suggests that I have come to definite conclusions and closed the door to further advancement. I don't believe in a personal biblical god, but I am still open to new ideas. Sometime there can be a temptation to seek certainty, that there is a god or there is not. I am comfortable living with uncertainty.
I wouldn't want to loose my awe of the universe and its unrealised potential in eternity. I will continue to explore and seek understanding; to look for a deeper meaning in life and a desire to focus on all that is positive about life. Whether that amounts to walking a spiritual path or is just adopting a personal philosophy, is for others to decide.
Despite the advances of science, there is so much that is still unknown about our world and the vast universe. Religion has attempted to find an explanation but has not managed to satisfy everybody. I simply don't know, or have all the answers but I refuse to close my mind because the mystery of life has not revealed itself to me.
Shame about the cheesy Marvel comics graphics though!
That is unless you love Marvel comic graphics, or if you are the creator of the video :-)
I am open to all strains of thought and will consider something that is presented to me
this is I think the basis of being open minded.
We can't then conplain if we are wrong.
So making choices that lead to conviction of opinion is not a sign of lacking openmindness IMO.
Actually, we CAN complain if we made wrong choices and we CAN also change our choices, thats the beauty of it. We test our choices and analyze them everytime and either keep them or change them. Even conviction is tested in an honest and intelligent manner. When we conclude we are right with no room for error we are closing our mind.
Personaly, I am not comfortable with wearing a lable that says 'atheist' or any other lable. It would suggests that I have come to definite conclusions and closed the door to further advancemen
Where does wearing a label would suggest you closed your mind? Why do you say that saying you dont have a belief in a god (atheist) would close your door for further advancement? So if you and me are having a conversation and I say I am an atheists would you conclude that I had closed my door for further advancement? stucked? Atheism is a state, not religious belief. Saying openly you dont know because you have no evidence, thats the key word, the abscence of evidence... because when the evidence appears then we are swayed by it.
OTO: thanks for the vid
I was raised a JW. I was always taught by the org and by my father that we were being open-minded. It wasn't until my mid 20's that I realized that we were in fact NOT being open-minded.
Open-mindedness involves YOU doing the research and not some third party . It also means going way outside your comfort zone and exploring different ideas. It means not defaulting on your presuppositions.
I still entertain the idea that a supreme indifferent being might exist, but to date, there has been insufficient evidence to prove any existence on it's part. But I"m still keeping an open mind. By the way, Christian apologetics don't help, unfortunately.
The video was great too.
I think for an athiest to be "open minded" that would mean that they have no made up their mind on God since there is no way to KNOW everything and there is always the possibility that God does indeed exist.
Much like a typical believer, to be open minded, must acknowledge that atheists have valid points based on how they see things.
Open minded doesn't mean agreeing with an opposite view point, just being able to understand "where it comes from".
Understanding doesn't equal condoning.
psacramento do you consider yourself open minded?
Having a strong faith in a particular belief is the sign of someone with conviction in their choices.
For me being wishy-washy and spending your life fence-sitting is just a lack of conviction that is not open-minded.
To those who feel they are open minded atheists ... Here is an honest and sincere question ..
What part does faith play in your life... is it of any value at all in the big scheme of things (life's choices ) ?
Are you open minded about the possibility accepting things on faith ?
I appreciate your comments cyberjesus
PSacramento summed up what I was trying to say.
By the way - sitting on a fence has certain advantages.
