Gentlesoul,
It's cool that you spelled atheist correctly! You wouldn't believe how many times it has been spelled "athiest". (I'm guilty of it too)
:After reading all your fine post I now have to ask, what happened to faith ?
I still have faith - faith in myself. However, I no longer use faith as a reliable tool for gaining accurate knowledge. Faith cannot diferentiate between false and correct beliefs. Hindus believe on faith, just like Christians and Muslims. Which one is right? You need mor than faith to make the distinction. That's where evidence comes in. Unfortunately, there is no evidence, so people like myself refuse to believe.
To put it another way, why not have faith in leprechauns? Don't you see the evidence all around you? When it rains, there are rainbows, and we know that leprechauns hide pots of god at the end of rainbows. If you understand how silly this sounds, then you should understand why your proposal of faith is unacceptable to a rational person.
:Is that not what we are to maintain in order to receive Gods Blessings in the beginning ?. Many of you that posted here said there was no proof but I have to add that if we open our eyes can we not see enough evidence ? How can anyone say there is no proof when all we have here on this planet and in the universe could not possibly just happen.
Again, this is like saying rainbows are evidence of leprechauns or lightening is evidence of Zeus. There are naturalistic explanations for the world we live in. The god-did-it theory has no evidence and no explanatory power. Your assertion that "all we have here on this planet and in the universe could not possibly just happen" is known as an "argument from ignorance". There is no evidence of this claim.
Also, there is the problem of who created god. If god is more complex than the universe that "could not possibly just happen", then obviously god could not possibly just happen either. Infinite regression ensues...
:Has anyone ever had a miracle happen in their own lives and if so can you honestly say "it happened just because" ?
I've never seen a miracle or read of any verifyable miracles. For every 'miracle' there are thousands of situations in which a miracle would have come in handy, but it never came. Things do happen 'just because'. So far, every science expirement that has ever been run has confirmed that the world is deterministic - there is no outside force guiding things and changing the laws of physics.
:There are many things in our daily lives that we use faith so why loose faith in your God ?
I think David Hume said "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". I have faith that the sun will come up tomorrow because it has done so every day of my life. To say the sun will come up tomorrow is not an extraordinary claim. To say that a super-intelligent being that we cannot detect created the universe in which intelligent design cannot be detected is an extraordinary claim. Faith does not elucidate here.
:I understand that there is a bitterness towards Jehovahs Witnesses and after reading many threads here I see that the bitterness is not just towards the religion itself but toward s those who are dupped just as yourselves were. I see a judgement towards people just as yourselves and a anger towards them also.
Some may have bitterness, but I don't think most do. I certainly don't. The JW's are just like any other religion to me - like the Mormons or Baptists, or Hari Krishnas, or whatever.
:I see that it is not until they leave the borg that they become welcome into the realm of leavers.
For most the opposite is true. If you leave the borg, you are no longer a person and are no longer welcome into the realm of believers. For many this includes their whole family and all of their friends.
:Well I see evidence of Gods existence everyday all I have to do is have an open heart and eyes to see it.
You see evidence of god's existence when you turn on the Discovery channel and watch a pack of wild dogs eat a wildebeest alive? How about when children contract diseases which kill them slowly and painfully? Or what about a loving god who creates the solar system so that it is inevitable that large meteors will crash into the earth, killing many lives - and even driving many species to extinction? Speaking of extinction, what kind of god are you referring to that has let 99% of all species of life that has ever lived on earth go extinct? The list goes on and on.
:So I guess it is easy to say that the borg has left many blinded, in their eyes as well as their hearts.
Easy to say, but many ideas without evidence are easy to say.
:I want you all to know that they will stand responsible for that at judgement day. It is not important to be religious but it is important to have spirituality and faith.
Judgement day? I think members of your religion have been waiting for that day for about 2000 years now. I'm not too worried.
:I use to think at a time in my life that the key was in a church but now through careful study a searching in myself that the key is to be spiritual and to believe that Jesus did give his life as a ransom for me.
That's good for you, but not for those of us who don't already believe.
:Some of you say that you believe that there was a man who existed in history called Jesus and so if that be so then you must believe the history written on his life, and as history tells it he did perform miracles of raising the dead and healing the sick and done without any medical equipment, have you ever heard or read of any other who has done such miraclous work ?
There are many examples of healers and miracle workers in history. Of course they are all mythical as well. Jesus is not unique.
:I have not and I have been around and studied enough to know. Not that I know all as I do not but I can say this, I have seen the miracles myself starting with myself and I have seen the work of evil also we all have, everyday of our lives.I will close with this, why are you spiting God for what the Jehovahs Witness religion has done to you, God did not do it to you but you yourselves did it as you allowed them to control your minds.
Right, god didn't do anything to me, so I'm not spitting on him. I just don't believe he/she/it/they exist. Just because I don't believe in Santa Clause doesn't mean I'm spitting on him.
:I do not say these things to be hateful towards anyone or to dismantle any of your intelligent structures but out of concern for all who have gone through what you all have. I guess I should say "Don't kick God in the butt just because someone human kicked you in the butt..May you all find peace in Gods spirit someday.....
Thanks, but your concept of what being an atheist is all about is totally incorrect. Atheists have no personal vendetta against god. We just don't believe in him. If real evidence of god's existence ever comes along I'll have no problem believing. I believe in things that have evidence to back them.
rem
