Atheists are not created by anybody. They are people who have found insufficient evidence to accept the existence of a personal god. They can can objectively consider other opinions and change their mind at any time. In short atheism is a state of mind not a creation.
Posts by trevor
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103How the WTBTS creates atheists
by Nickolas ini am an atheist.
i arrived at this juncture in my life despite not wanting to.
when i first met the witnesses at 22 i was a seeker looking for answers to the question of life - in other words, prime cult target material.
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66
Men are Adorable!
by Robdar inthis afternoon i had the pleasure of listening to my dad, husband and son discuss timing belts, the teeth they rest on, camshafts, and other car parts that i cant recall at such a late hour.
they were totally engrossed in the conversation and it was fun listening to them talk.
the air was thick with testosterone and they were so manly that i just had to smile about it.
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trevor
What a wonderful thread! It is nice to be appreciated. My wife once wrote on an anniversary card, 'You've rescued me so many times.'
It still moves me to think that she chose to spend her life with me, when my entire family shuns me. She could have had anyone she wanted. She tells me she did. It has been 29 years now.
It is a privilege and a responsibility to share love. I gambled on love and won. She is the only person, apart from my older brother, who never let me down.
Just wanted to share.
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111
FAITH, the biggest excuse for IGNORANCE.
by nicolaou inwhen you claim that some impossible account from the bible is true are you doing so because of evidence and honest reasons or simply because you want it to be true?
if the evidence your claim is based upon ends up being proven false would you stop making the claim?.
if your claim is based only on wishful thinking then you are being dishonest with yourself.
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trevor
This is a long and interesting debate. The difficulty is that all the logical arguments apply only to corporality. Religion is based on the notion that an invisible spiritual world exists that underlines this one. No acceptable proof can be offered as yet. We either dismiss a spiritual world as fantasy or embrace it on the basis of faith.
If we were able to nail it down and show physical evidence of its existence it would cease to be spiritual. This applies not just to belief in Jesus but to all spiritual leanings.
Even a vague idea that the universe is aware of itself through an unseen and as yet unknowable power, amounts to spirituality. The idea cannot be dismissed because it has not yet been proved. Nor should it be dismissed, because all discovery starts with an unproven premise.
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111
FAITH, the biggest excuse for IGNORANCE.
by nicolaou inwhen you claim that some impossible account from the bible is true are you doing so because of evidence and honest reasons or simply because you want it to be true?
if the evidence your claim is based upon ends up being proven false would you stop making the claim?.
if your claim is based only on wishful thinking then you are being dishonest with yourself.
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trevor
I maintain that religious faith in particular is a monstrous excuse for ignorance.
A little harsh?
Perhaps it is just wish fulfilment – the stuff of dreams.
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A polite way to ask someone to keep their hands to themselves...
by White Dove inwhat's a polite way to ask a man to keep his hands to himself while conversing in a group with you?.
this neighbor of mine and i were sitting in chairs on the deck with other people.. he always touched me whenever he said anything to me or i said anything to him.. it was as if he was using touch like an antenna to send and receive signals.. i didn't know what to do, so instead of risking embarrassment for us both, i did nothing but stand up and step away.. i stepped away after he attempted to caress my hamstrings on one leg.. *shudder*.
wonder why 60+ year old men think that a woman being nice to him means she's hot for him.. also wonders why it's only the smoking, beer guzzling, scrawny, bony, and smelly old men who do that.. .
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trevor
In my experience women are also very touchy towards men - when it suits them.
Can we assume that this apparent acceptance of amputation as a response, applies equally to woman who like to touch men that they desire? Perhaps I should carry a knife in future?
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Two possible reasons why some elders stay in the organization.
by Iamallcool indo you think some elders stay in the organization just because of prestige and getting horny at some judicial committee meetings?
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trevor
BluesBrother your post summed it up for me. Beyond the power struggle, elders stay because they believe they have a relationship with god through his son via the Watchtower society.
All Christians of various denominations believe their chosen path leads them to god/christ everlasting life. At the end of the day it's all the same deal; give or take a few doctrinal issues and a different slant on whether the bible is a holy book or just an interesting novel.
The elders are just people trying to build their lives on a network of invisible beings that they have never conversed with. They stay because they believe - they have faith. This is what all religions and people of faith do.
Either invisible beings control our destiny or we do - it really is that simple.
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LETS TALK JESUS.....
by Quentin inwas jesus a real living being?
or, was he a myth, made up 60 to 70 years after the fact.. i for one believe he did exist.
was the epicenter of oral traditions and overblown hype.
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trevor
Opinion should never be passed off as "fact".
The world as we know it, along with all organized religion, would cease to be if we followed this rule.
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149
Exactly how many different views of Jesus are there on the Board and doesn't that kind of tell Believers the obvious problem...
by designs in -
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trevor
Philadelphia Ponos
Regardless of how many views random people have about Jesus. The view that matter's is the one and only view that the Bible gives about Jesus.
This illustrates the problem. Most modern Christians would not agree with this view.
Terry has hit the torture stake nail on the head again with his 'folder' explanation. The contents of the Jesus folder have become a personal matter rather than a unified consensus guided by holy spirit.
And the bible is no longer considered to be the inspired word of god. It has been relegated to a collection of opinions which are inspired or not, depending on whether the particular chapter fits neatly into the folder of the Christian reading it.
This is why I spend so little time nowadays debating with Christians. Nice as the Christians on this board are, I cannot find any evidence that this disorganized and varying collection of differing beliefs and opinions, is anything more than an attempt to find a purpose for the Christian Club to continue existing. My apologies to all Christians. You may call me Thomas if you wish.
Peace to you all - a slave of life who won his freedom
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Christian Beliefs Concerning Post Death Existence
by Band on the Run inim reading the meaning of jesus by n.t.
wright and marcus borg.
they are nt and early christianity scholars who studied under the same prof. both are active believers.
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trevor
My view of life after death or non-life after death is a much larger muddle.
It's not just you - Band on the Run.
Despite the millions of worldwide opinions, spanning many thousands of years, nobody actually actually has a clue. Despite the tapestry of faiths, innuendo, hope, suggestion and sometimes for the brave, certain belief, we are no nearer knowing what the hell we are doing on this planet than the average chimpanzee.
We may pass this way more than once or be on our way to heaven, but I wouldn't put money on it!
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What say you Christians ???
by wobble init seems to me that most, if not all christians are really hung up on sin and redemption from sin and how naturally evil we all are.. my question, and observation is this : i had nothing to do with whatever you say adam and eve did wrong, i have always, throughout my life, treated whoever i came into contact with compassion, respect and love.. i have lived by the golden rule.. not many people, hand on heart, can say that, i can.. so, is your god going to judge me for the "sin" of some mythical forebears of mine ?
is he going to say that , because i did not believe in him, i willl be judged adversely, even though i lived by the precepts he is supposed to support ?.
all i can say is, if your god is like that, i refuse to worship or acknowledge him.. and i certainly do not want to get to know him.
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trevor
The Rubayyat of Omar Khayyam
LXXVIII:
"Why," said another, "Some there are who tell
Of one who threatens he will toss to Hell
The luckless Pots he marred in making -- Pish!
He's a Good Fellow, and 'twill all be well."Well worth reading the whole 105 verses if you are inclined towards philosophical poetry.