Posts by leavingwt

54

A quick Saturday Morning Survey - To believe or not to believe

by likeabird in

jw
friends

i don't know about you, but i love saturday mornings...now that crawling out of bed on a cold november morning to go and knock on doors is no longer on the agenda.

does that sense of being free ever grow old?

i hope not any time soon at least.. this week we've had quite a few atheist vs believer threads along with speculation on what the actual numbers are on jwn :.

Survey: Who here is an atheist? Who here still believes in God?

by Christ Alone in

jw
friends

i just wanted to take a survey.

let's not let this get into the same old same old debate of atheism vs belief.

just respond with "atheist" or "believer" or "maybe god exists".

leavingwt

Christ Alone: Imagine a god with such poor communication skills that the people standing right before him were not convinced.

295

Survey: Who here is an atheist? Who here still believes in God?

by Christ Alone in

jw
friends

i just wanted to take a survey.

let's not let this get into the same old same old debate of atheism vs belief.

just respond with "atheist" or "believer" or "maybe god exists".

leavingwt

"No. Just like the singularity could not have come from nothing. There has to be a place for "eternal" whether it is the universe or God."

Hence, my membership in the Church of I Don't Know(sprinkled with a dash of I don't care)

295

Survey: Who here is an atheist? Who here still believes in God?

by Christ Alone in

jw
friends

i just wanted to take a survey.

let's not let this get into the same old same old debate of atheism vs belief.

just respond with "atheist" or "believer" or "maybe god exists".

leavingwt

"What I would LIKE is to know who, after leaving the WT, still believes in an intelligent creator, and who does not."

Can an intelligent Creator come from nothing?

295

Survey: Who here is an atheist? Who here still believes in God?

by Christ Alone in

jw
friends

i just wanted to take a survey.

let's not let this get into the same old same old debate of atheism vs belief.

just respond with "atheist" or "believer" or "maybe god exists".

Christ Alone: Good questions. Fair enough. Let's get a little more specific. When I look around the world, from my limited vantage point, I see no evidence of an all-powerful god who has a personal interest in me. (The flipside of this is that I also see no persuasive evidence of there being a negative consequence for getting this wrong. If, for even a brief moment I could fathom an eternal punishment, I would begin attending church services immediately. I'm a pragmatist.) The way everything has unfolded -- so far -- leads me to conclude that I'm lucky to have been born in the first place. Further, if god is out there, she (1) delights in my suffering, (2) is deliberately hiding herself from me, and (3) the worst communicator the universe has ever known.

So, when I say, "not much", it's because when I weigh my evidence, the god basket is completely empty and the Naturalism basket is running over.

Admittedly, none of that explains why the Universe is here. I have no idea why the Universe is here.

295

Survey: Who here is an atheist? Who here still believes in God?

by Christ Alone in

jw
friends

i just wanted to take a survey.

let's not let this get into the same old same old debate of atheism vs belief.

just respond with "atheist" or "believer" or "maybe god exists".

leavingwt

Chariklo: For me personally, having been 100% duped for 23 years, I must leave the possibility open. Further, this seems to be the only intelletcually honest position. Many people of faith surely feel the same way. If they commit to a certain faith or theology, without the possibilty of being wrong, etc, how is that intellectually honest?

Regarding the term "agnostic atheist", it seems to be technically correct, as one descriptor refers to belief and the other to knowledge. However, as you've pointed out, the term is almost wholly without value when speaking to 'the man on the street' or when writing for a general audience. Given your definitions and feelings on the matter, I would be compelled to self-identify as an agnostic -- which is true, even though I currently hold no beliefs in god(s), which also makes me an atheist.

295

Survey: Who here is an atheist? Who here still believes in God?

by Christ Alone in

jw
friends

i just wanted to take a survey.

let's not let this get into the same old same old debate of atheism vs belief.

just respond with "atheist" or "believer" or "maybe god exists".

leavingwt

Christ Alone: It wouldn't take very much. The answer would (probably) be exactly as if I were to ask you, 'What would it take for you to believe in the FSM?'

295