Who or What is God? Who Cares? (page 3)

BB

Wow, what a wonderful post! Ive been out for 28 years and couldnt have expressed those feelings in a better way. I hope that you and your four-year-old get something terrific at Christmas.

Thanks again

BB

donkey

Kant said that even if God does not exist, it would still be wrong to awaken these fools from their "philosophical slumber."

"Because," says Kant, "it would deprive them of their zest for life."

Kant believed that if we, atheist, succeeded in convincing them that there is no God. They would start committing mass suicide

But what Kant neglected to mention is that waking someone from a philosophical slumber is nearly impossible. Unless they're sleeping very lightly, chances are they just won't wake up when you hit them with sledgehammers. As a result, arguing with Christians online only seems to wake up those already willing to doubt their religon. Those who look to the Bible as the first and only truth, as a matter of course, cannot be convinced otherwise. (They're logic is wonderfully circular. The Bible says it is the Word of God, therefore it is.) Those already in doubt, however, can be 'saved' in a non-traditional sense, and brought over to agnosticism or atheism

Cicatrix

Those who have doubts can be "saved" and "brought over"? Interesting--I didn't know agnostics and atheists did such a thing! Sounds almost like trying to convert someone to a religion.

{{{{Amanda}}}} I'm newly out of the org and going through similar struggles. First, I want to reiterate there is a big difference between schooling and an education--just ask any prospective teacher who had gone through pedagogy courses and finds themselves throwing everything they learned at college out of their routine when they have a class of students to teach, or any home schooler:) The profound questions you pose and your articulate delivery convey to me that you are a very educated person.

Secondly, I wish you peace and happiness with whatever you decide. You deserve it.

SixofNine

Did you just say pedagogy?

MrMoe

Cicatrix - Actually, I DO lack an education, or at least a good one. My parents pulled me out of school in the very beginning of the 8th grade, and much of the 7th grade I spent in the hospital and was taught at home - that is self-taught. Basically I have been self-taught since the age of about 12 years. I had zero assistance in my home schooling, and I skipped the 8th grade entirely based upon testing through the School Board and directly take a high school course. My "education" therefore is flimsy at best. It does not mean I lack intelligence, wit, or a good sense of comprehension, it just means I am very much behind the "8 ball" as they would say. Glad some of you enjoyed the post. I find the more I open to the board and reveal my "true" self, the more it allows me as an individual to heal, and hopefully, those who read it. It is not always easy to form into words the complex emotions we humans have rolling around inside of us, but any attempt to convey such a message will at least bring SOME things into light.

Xander

Best bet in this case....

Go on being a good person.

If this IS a god, gods, or afterlife, by all accounts, you will be rewarded for doing 'good' in this life.

If there is NOT a god, gods, or afterlife, then going good harms no one, and is the healthiest way to live.

I would like to believe someone of us survives death - not a conscious form, maybe, but something. A feeling, an echo...something. And neither do I believe the earth and universe, as a whole, is as cold an insensitive as some would have you believe.

gumby

As a result, arguing with Christians online only seems to wake up those already willing to doubt their religon. Those who look to the Bible as the first and only truth, as a matter of course, cannot be convinced otherwise.

Say what????? Wanna bet?

There are people too numerous to mention who were solid bible believers...who believe THAT WAY no more....I'm one of em.

Who or What is God? Who Cares?

BB