i was pondering this today during lunch, and to me it seems that it comes down to whether or not you can accept that you will one day be permanantly gone and anyone you have lost in death will never be alive again.
once a person becomes comfortable with these two ideas, there isn't really any incentive to believe.
maybe it's an over simplification, but it seems to me that this is the heart of the matter.
Hey DPL,
I believe that you've pointed out that singular moment when one can let go of belief. In my experience, I came to see that the 'gaps' have become too small for god to fit in, and then I had a moment like the one that you describe.
Now, let's see if this thread can be hijacked by our resident theists (they do a wonderful job of telling atheists what atheists believe) and get to 100 pages or more.
i don't and am very unlikely to after seeing my father dying of a smoking related lung disease (even though i would like to try a high quality cigar).. but i am curious to see how many people take up smoking after leaving the org.. .
A fine cigar, from time to time. No cigarettes, though.
greetings my fellow fans of the frozen pond and old-time hockey.. it's time for the playoffs beard!.
so let's pick 'em.
who will be drinking from lord stanley's mug this year?
You are welcome, sir. I now boldly predict that Falcon will end up torching a car regardless of the winner.
for those of you on facebook there is a fan page for the wizard https://www.facebook.com/sparlockthewizard.
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Excellent! A new thing to like.
i've been in the vale of deep shadows, but am feeling more and more like myself.. i'm grateful to my doctors and modern medicine.. sylvia.
It's really great to see you posting here again, Sylvia.
tomorrow the 22nd i will be 85 years old .
good wishes only please,remember if you say something nasty i will cry.
and my mum told me it is a sin to cry on your birthday .
Sorry that missed this earlier. Happy belated birthday, Grace!
one recent afternoon, me and a buddy were taking a trek around a nearby neighborhood and made our way past a delapidated house that had all the familiar symptoms of being haunted.
he suggested we check it out so, of course, we did.
it looked like it had been abandoned probably 30-40 years earlier but the previous owners had left behind a small coffee table.
I'm fairly certain that the demons gave you that dream.
do any of you use medical marijuana?
i go to aa and there are a few who believe medical marijuana is an "outside issue" and they are ok with it.
i don't know... alcohol doesn't work for me but if it did, i would use it... i wish i could find a "new drug" that works lol.
I am all for its medical use by those who can benefit from it. And SBC's neighbor who burns one down on occasion? I have no problem with that either.
To answer your question, Greybeard, I personally find the occasional wee bit to be relaxing and enjoyable, and I in no way endorse or recommend it. But for someone with alcohol issues, I'm not so sure. It can impair judgment just like any intoxicant. An alcoholic may find his/herself to be more likely to give in to the urge to drink after smoking. I don't know that for certain...but I have seen people get seriously stupid with weed and alcohol together.
my mother lives a plane trip away from me, so does not get to spend very much time with zac.
however, she is in sydney for 3 weeks and has been babysitting.
i knew that she would be talking about jehovah, but was very annoyed yesterday when zac said my mother was speaking all day about jehovah, such as how he made the stars.. in the past, i was not overly concerned if zac learnt about jehovah's witnesses, as i thought it would help with critical thinking skills to understand different points of view.
Hi Paul,
This is a tough situation and one that I am all too familiar with. I think that your note to your mom is good. I have just one comment about the following line:
I do not feel it is appropriate that you force your opinions upon him at this stage, particularly as he is too young to be able to identify the rhetorical fallacies in your arguments.
The second part of this comes off as a bit of a dig at your mom's beliefs, which she may take personally and use to play the victim and make you into the bad guy. Your mom knows exactly how you feel about her beliefs, but any percieved attack on them might trigger the persecution complex and encourage her to find ways to secretly preach to him.
If it were me, I might instead turn it around and highlight that her attempts at forcing her opinions upon him speak of a lack of respect for your rights and duties as a father to raise your child.
Just a suggestion. I hope that you're able to nip this before it becomes a real problem.
as some of you know, i started college 5 years ago for the first time at age 27. i had been out of the "truth" for 9 years at that time, but had just broken free of the mentality.
well, on saturday i walked across the stage with the 130th graduating class at rocky mountain college!.
after 5 years of working several jobs, taking care of two little boys as a single mom, and trying to get the most out of my college experience, i earned my master of accountancy, bachelor of science in business management, and minors in writing and organizational leadership.
Congratulations and well done!
