A Christian question, but applies to all thinking Christian too! (page 8)

the_classicist

Classic:I'm afraid your going to have to stop speaking for me and my alleged motivations. I don't tolerate that

To quote sademo:
Considering myself suitably chastised and soundly kicked up the backside.
I's learnin'

tetrapod.sapien

classicist,

i like the way you formulate your thoughts and arguments. i also happen to think you have a bright future in the study of classics. are you really 18?

of course, as a skeptic, the meme fits any religious system quite well, and is not really anachronistic from this paradigm. rather, it explains the phenomenon, from a skeptical standpoint.

LT,

this has been one of the debates that i have enjoyed more-so than others. i have actually walked away from it having learned something. it's not so much that the world is not divided into skeptics and believers, for this i was already well aware. but what i learned was really just self evident. it's that just because a spiritual person concedes that their experiences are subjective, does not automatically lend weight to the argument of the skeptic. that would be a non sequitur. and you have helped me click that self evident light on. also, you have said in the past that spirituality and religion are two very different things. i can appreciate this more now, as well.

a couple of thoughts.

I'll throw this at you, however. ; It's my understanding that such "power encounters" (as some portions of the Christian world labels them) have been happening on a frequent basis in the Middle East, where the individuals had little or no knowledge of Christianity, or where they have it's anathema to them. ; They claim a wide range of experiences, including being approached and taught.

this really sounds incredible. it would be interesting to see some documentation. until then, it really sounds like a christian urban myth. and why, may i ask, only in the middle east? is there something special there? what about the eskimos?

But it perhaps highlights that the spiritual community isn't just made up of a bunch of airheads

i never did think of you as an airhead. there are others on this board that impress me as well. jaffacake and classicist to name a couple.

unfortunately, i think you belong to a bit of a minority, if i may say so. i find, especially here in north america, not as many people handle their faith as rationally, or maturely, all the way to the point that in some cases, airhead is the best descriptor. but then again, as ex-dubs, we probably have done a lot of thinking regarding our chosen worldview. at any rate, as you point out, there are no cut and dry answers. and it would be boring if there were.

cheerio,

TS

hmike

i like the way you formulate your thoughts and arguments. i also happen to think you have a bright future in the study of classics. are you really 18?

18!? No wonder he doesn't know about Oh God!--before his time.

hmike

free2beme,

Looks like to take it as a form of coercion just to get you to think a certain way. Think of it as a warning. If you saw a sign that said, "ROAD CLOSED--BRIDGE OUT AHEAD," would you keep on driving while thinking, "I'm going to stay on this road because I want to be independent and not yield to anybody, and if the bridge is really out, I'll have a great thrill going down and make a wonderful splat at the bottom."

NeonMadman

My thought in this whole thread is to ask Christian's if they realize how Greek/Roman myth is just another form of the myth we read in Jesus and other Bible stories.

And the article that I embedded offered considerable evidence that your premise as stated is incorrect. How sad that your blind bias against Christianity prevents you from even considering it. If you are a former JW, it would appear that you have moved from one form of dogmatic credulity to another.

free2beme

Neon,

Your hatred has made you powerful, now give in to your anger and lash out at me again, In all seriousness though, an essay by a Christian to disprove my thought and make it appear that Christianity is correct is not up my ally. What I want to know it what you think, or are you just a puppet of another man's thoughts and have them do the speaking for you? You see, if you look at my original post, I did not ask, "what do people who do not attend this board, think about the fact that Greek/Roman myth is exactly like Christian myth?" No I asked what you think, and since leaving the the JW faith, I only care about individual thoughts and not those spoken by another. That my former Witness, is my path ... perhaps I am the dark side your mother warned you about (I require free thought) As for the "ROAD CLOSED" issue. I can see a sign on the road and know it is there because I can touch it, go to the local sheriff and ask about it and even go to the town hall and see when it was put in place and maybe even meet the man who put it up. That is not Christianity, there is no "hard" proof out there and there is no one on earth that can be trusted enough to give you a hard answer that is able to stand up. Plus, there is to much evidence that Greek/Roman myth evolved into Christ-myth and other Old Testiment stories. Can't swallow that pill, I took the one that sent me way down the rabbit hole and have no plan to re-enter the Matrix.

the_classicist

classicist,
i like the way you formulate your thoughts and arguments. i also happen to think you have a bright future in the study of classics. are you really 18?
of course, as a skeptic, the meme fits any religious system quite well, and is not really anachronistic from this paradigm. rather, it explains the phenomenon, from a skeptical standpoint.

Hey, I like your arguments too and, yes, I'm 18.

It may not sound like it, but I'm a skeptic too, in between atheism and theism. No one can prove either, unfortunately. And so we are left with decisions that none of us are qualified to make.

Is belief in God about nothing more than filling a psychological void? Did humans develop this need for God through evolution? etc. etc.

Sad emo

Your hatred has made you powerful, now give in to your anger and lash out at me again,

Forgive me for saying this but you're starting to sound like SOmeone on a thread not far from here...

In all seriousness though, an essay by a Christian to disprove my thought and make it appear that Christianity is correct is not up my ally.

We only really learn by studying everything thats out there. Where did you get your 'knowledge' about the Greek/Roman myth/Jesus myth? You must have studied it in depth - including articles purely out to disprove Christianity.

Your comment cuts both ways - if you're not prepared to look at the Christian perspective, why should a Christian (or anyone else) look at the non-christian perspective. Perhaps I should ignore all the things in Sironas posts that originally prompted me to take part on this thread...

Classicist:

No one can prove either, unfortunately. And so we are left with decisions that none of us are qualified to make.

Sound reasoning. Much appreciated.

se (of the trying hard to be more tactful class )

LittleToe

Tetra:I've enjoyed the thread, too. If I didn't enjoy debating with you, I probably wouldn't bother. I like the way you think

...and why, may i ask, only in the middle east?

I never said that - I just gave one example. Another would be China. These are areas that have had little interaction with Christianity. Perhaps God has given up on the West, somewhat, given that we've had several hundred years of opportunity.

...all the way to the point that in some cases, airhead is the best descriptor.

Sadly I have to concur. When I was in Seattle Washington, at Xmas, I went to a church service and was mightily disappointed

free2beme

Your comment cuts both ways - if you're not prepared to look at the Christian perspective, why should a Christian

Perhaps I am assuming a bit here, but that is life. I would think that the fact that I used to be a Witness would show I spent some time already trying to read and understand Christianity. At least a little bit in 25 years of being a Witness ... might have touched on something here and there. As a non-Witness I read plenty on the other Christian religions, as well. Did not turn away from Christianity over night. So that should be common knowledge with the label "former Witness" .. would you agree?

Second, just because people have different views and say quotes from movies ... could people on this board (I know it is a small amount) stop trying to label people trolls and make it sound like we are double posters. I am not, and find the fact that I have seen the example of both on this thread, WIERDx10!

Now as to "why should a Christian" ... why shouldn't they? Wouldn't make sense that if you are a former Witness and felt mislead enough to leave or at least see you were in a wrong religion, to start some sort of life path where you read and question everything. Maybe being open minded enough to think, "maybe it's not just the JW's that are wrong, perhaps it is Christianity all together?" Don't hand me a pamplet, offer a Bible study or send me to some Christian link. I just want to know if you noticed that Greek/Roman myth is like Christian myth. Some answered that, they don't. Okay! I see you don't share my point of view and have not read some of the books I read. Maybe in time you will and you will see why I brought the subject up.

A Christian question, but applies to all thinking Christian too!

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