paul from cleveland

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Posts by paul from cleveland

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  29

  Who do you pray when you feel the need to pray if you dont believe in God?

  by cyberjesus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  sometimes when we face difficult situations i feel the need to pray to god for help, and i know that plenty of times the sole act of praying makes you feel hope and have a better outcome of the situation.

  you can call it suggestive or that you prepare a positive scenario by using faith.

  the outcome is that regardless if there is someone who listens or not to your prayers oftentimes you feel better afterwards and have more positive attitude.. the problem is that i dont believe in god anymore.

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  paul from cleveland

  I think the best part of growing old is that you lose your fear of death.

  Is that really true?
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  37

  Were You Afraid To Talk Out Loud For Fear The Demons Might Hear You?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know of many witnesses that were petrified that if they spoke about something out loud, the demons.

  i swear jws think the demons.

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  paul from cleveland

  I remember being told that but where did that belief come from? Is it in the literature somewhere?
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  128

  The upside of atheism

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i realize whether you believe in god or the non-existence of god it has to be taken on faith since both positions are unknowable and unprovable.

  however, i can understand faith in god as basically a hope for something better.

  i can also understand agnosticism; admitting it's unknowable but still leaving the door open (perhaps the only intellectually honest option).

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  paul from cleveland

  I've realized that hope and faith don't equal truth.

  I know, and again, I'm not questioning the validity of my position. I'm not asking if it's "true". I'm just asking, if there really is no God, no hope, why does that make you happy? What's so good about it? How does it bring you peace knowing this "truth"?
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  128

  The upside of atheism

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i realize whether you believe in god or the non-existence of god it has to be taken on faith since both positions are unknowable and unprovable.

  however, i can understand faith in god as basically a hope for something better.

  i can also understand agnosticism; admitting it's unknowable but still leaving the door open (perhaps the only intellectually honest option).

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  paul from cleveland

  I do feel loved by many people but the thought of eternal death fills me with terror. The fact that we can die at any moment is terrifying to me. When I hear about things like the Haiti earthquake I feel terror. This world terrifies me. If I didn't have any hope for something better I don't think I'd make it through. That's why I'm trying to understand the mindset of an atheist. How can you be an atheist and still be at peace? Even though I believe in God, there are always those times of doubt. If I could be okay with atheism too, I'd have everything covered.
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  128

  The upside of atheism

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i realize whether you believe in god or the non-existence of god it has to be taken on faith since both positions are unknowable and unprovable.

  however, i can understand faith in god as basically a hope for something better.

  i can also understand agnosticism; admitting it's unknowable but still leaving the door open (perhaps the only intellectually honest option).

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  paul from cleveland

  PAUL - Love DOES exist.

  Hi Flipper, I do believe that too. Without it, there is no meaning to life (for me).
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  128

  The upside of atheism

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i realize whether you believe in god or the non-existence of god it has to be taken on faith since both positions are unknowable and unprovable.

  however, i can understand faith in god as basically a hope for something better.

  i can also understand agnosticism; admitting it's unknowable but still leaving the door open (perhaps the only intellectually honest option).

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  paul from cleveland

  Nathan, Like I said in my last few posts, let's just say you're right. What makes you happy about it? Why does it make you happy to believe that nobody loves you and all that awaits you is a cold dark grave? Like I said, I'm not asking about the validity of the position, I'm asking how you live with knowing this "truth". If I believed that, I would just want to die now and get it over with. Like I said in the first post: "what's the upside of atheism?"
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  128

  The upside of atheism

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i realize whether you believe in god or the non-existence of god it has to be taken on faith since both positions are unknowable and unprovable.

  however, i can understand faith in god as basically a hope for something better.

  i can also understand agnosticism; admitting it's unknowable but still leaving the door open (perhaps the only intellectually honest option).

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  paul from cleveland

  Also, the only thing that I enjoy about life is connection. Those brief moments when I feel connected to someone that cares about me and that I care about. Also those moments that when I contemplate that there may really be a God that loves us and has something better in store than this torture I experience now. If it's all not true, if love doesn't exist and is just a "neuro-chemical part of our survival mechanism" what's the point of living? Why not just die now? I don't understand.
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  128

  The upside of atheism

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i realize whether you believe in god or the non-existence of god it has to be taken on faith since both positions are unknowable and unprovable.

  however, i can understand faith in god as basically a hope for something better.

  i can also understand agnosticism; admitting it's unknowable but still leaving the door open (perhaps the only intellectually honest option).

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  paul from cleveland

  This is because you do not understand atheism.

  Exactly!

  I'm not asking about the validity of theism or atheism. Let me put it another way. Let's say you're right. There is no God. No one really loves me because love is just a "a neuro-chemical part of our survival mechanism". There is really nothing to look forward to except old age then eternal death. No hope of anything more. Basically "Life sucks and then you die". How am I supposed to feel good about that? Is it supposed to bring me peace because it's "true"? It might also be true that I have an inoperable brain tumor but knowing that truth doesn't make me happy. I'm just saying that I don't get it. If it's true how are we supposed to feel happy about it? What perspective can I have about it that can bring me peace?
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  128

  The upside of atheism

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i realize whether you believe in god or the non-existence of god it has to be taken on faith since both positions are unknowable and unprovable.

  however, i can understand faith in god as basically a hope for something better.

  i can also understand agnosticism; admitting it's unknowable but still leaving the door open (perhaps the only intellectually honest option).

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  paul from cleveland

  your feelings, as important as they are, have nothing to do with a logical argument.

  I've had logical arguments made to me that are pretty convincing both ways. Both for atheism and theism. I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything. I can see both points of view. I was just more or less curious as to what is it about atheism that people find comforting. So many people say that atheism "set them free" in a sense. I'm just trying to understand why that is. It seems so cold to me. I'm just hoping that it's not true.

  I'm not using my feelings as any kind of proof for anyone else. Agnostic Theism is just my intuition, not a provable fact of course. Just like Agnostic Atheism ,I believe, is an intuition. Gnostic Atheism, however, is another story. Is anyone here a Gnostic Atheist?
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  128

  The upside of atheism

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i realize whether you believe in god or the non-existence of god it has to be taken on faith since both positions are unknowable and unprovable.

  however, i can understand faith in god as basically a hope for something better.

  i can also understand agnosticism; admitting it's unknowable but still leaving the door open (perhaps the only intellectually honest option).

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  paul from cleveland

  Do you consider it a matter of faith that the Invisible Pink Unicorn on Pluto does not exist?

  Please read my previous post (toward the bottom of page 4) as to why the "santa claus" argument is nonsensical to me.

  What you call "love" is a neuro-chemical part of our survival mechanism.

  Are you saying that you don't believe that anyone loves you?