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I'm trying to focus more on individuals and character than personal religious beliefs.
I think I understood the rest of your post but this part, I didn't. ^^ Can you elaborate a little more with a couple of examples?
Labeling you as an Atheist or an Agnostic does not appeal to me as much as I would like to know how do you live your life?
What principles do you follow BESIDES obeying law of the land? How do you differentiate between whats right and whats not right that YOU do in day to day life, and also what OTHERS do in their day to day life that may effect you or other people?
This is one part I would like to know.
Second part,
What intrigues me to ask you is that, suppose there is a God that you may meet after life.
What would you think the purpose of your life is now, in relation to meeting God after death?
Of course it is. You function according to what you believe. It's why you act as you do--it's why you come here to tell all of us rubes we're wrong.
When I watch a Popeye cartoon I do not have a belief system that convinces me there is no Popeye. I simply don't for a minute suppose that Popeye is or ever was real.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BaptistFundie
He was also inspired and his writing was "God-breathed".
Sez who? Christians believe that they can simply make up answers and declare them to be true because they say so. Christians have been declaring for 2,000 years that Jesus is just about to come back at any moment now. Christians have a very poor record at having their made up declarations proving to have any connection to anything valid and true.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BaptistFundie
OK? Good for you.
It's interesting that you used the word "creation", by saying that it revolved around the earth. Obviously they had part of it wrong, but they do realize that there is a Creator.
The universe was created by the big bang. Or so our current best observation indicates. Both religion and science suppose that the big bang was the "creation" of something that occurred prior to the big bang. There is a great difference of opinion over just what that was however. Christians are convinced that they can make up an answer and that that answer is necessarily true. Christians have an ongoing track record of being proven to be correct that currently stands at zero for 2,000 years, however. Science has made incredible strides in understanding how the universe works over the last century. At this point science prefers to be patient and wait as the hard information becomes available.
Last edited by mensaguy; 08-29-2017 at 05:27 PM..
Reason: Fixed first quote tag
Of course it is. You function according to what you believe. It's why you act as you do--it's why you come here to tell all of us rubes we're wrong.
He was also inspired and his writing was "God-breathed".
OK? Good for you.
It's interesting that you used the word "creation", by saying that it revolved around the earth. Obviously they had part of it wrong, but they do realize that there is a Creator.
Is Christianity the belief that there is no reason to believe in Napi, Zeus, Odin, and this and of other gods and goddesses?
Why do you insist on defining others for them regardless of what they actually think? This person is not a real Christian, that person must believe in X because they are Y even if they state otherwise? In so many threads you have stated that you are learning and now you have closed your mind about others and wish to impose your own labels and definitions to suit your own purposes. Judging from some of your past posts you are better than that.
I think I understood the rest of your post but this part, I didn't. ^^ Can you elaborate a little more with a couple of examples?
Labeling you as an Atheist or an Agnostic does not appeal to me as much as I would like to know how do you live your life?
What principles do you follow BESIDES obeying law of the land? How do you differentiate between whats right and whats not right that YOU do in day to day life, and also what OTHERS do in their day to day life that may effect you or other people?
This is one part I would like to know.
Second part,
What intrigues me to ask you is that, suppose there is a God that you may meet after life.
What would you think the purpose of your life is now, in relation to meeting God after death?
what we would do if we met him does not determine how the the universe works for some of us.
I have trouble believing in other people's God and the concept of a single creator and ruler. Seems more psychologically driven to me (which I can understand) and I'm trying to focus more on individuals and character than personal religious beliefs.
I believe there is something greater than human life but accept that humans will never know. I don't believe in an exclusive heaven and I'm not sure about any sort of afterlife, since as far as I know I haven't died yet Hopefully there is an afterlife, but the thought that there isn't actually makes life more precious and meaningful to me.
I don't feel very spiritual but believe in the human soul and feel there are blessed and troubled souls and we can all work to improve our souls.
Seems like a lot of theists stereotype atheists as not at all spiritual and being 100% certain there is no God or any sort of afterlife.
So how would you label me? Feel free to poke fun too, especially if it makes you feel better - just don't do it in a prejudice way
Honestly, that's tough to say. I'm going to go with 'agnostic.' You seem to think there could be a god, but don't necessarily believe yourself. You also claim that it's unknowable. The thing is, since you don't believe in a god (but are open to the possibility) this might still make you an atheist. Atheism is the just the opposite of theism, which is the belief in gods. It's the absence of belief in gods.
So... maybe some space between atheism and agnosticism.
To note, you can be an atheist and believe in an afterlife. Buddhists do it all the time.
I have trouble believing in other people's God and the concept of a single creator and ruler. Seems more psychologically driven to me (which I can understand) and I'm trying to focus more on individuals and character than personal religious beliefs.
I believe there is something greater than human life but accept that humans will never know. I don't believe in an exclusive heaven and I'm not sure about any sort of afterlife, since as far as I know I haven't died yet Hopefully there is an afterlife, but the thought that there isn't actually makes life more precious and meaningful to me.
I don't feel very spiritual but believe in the human soul and feel there are blessed and troubled souls and we can all work to improve our souls.
Seems like a lot of theists stereotype atheists as not at all spiritual and being 100% certain there is no God or any sort of afterlife.
So how would you label me? Feel free to poke fun too, especially if it makes you feel better - just don't do it in a prejudice way
Theists only claim that atheist are certain that no God exists to make it easier to either debate or dismiss us. You are certainly agnostic in terms of the afterlife, for everything else I would say you are uncertain and undecided. I don't think it will do you any good to wear a label. Keep thinking, searching , guestioning and experience your life and the world. A pigeonhole to be placed in can follow later.
I have trouble believing in other people's God and the concept of a single creator and ruler. Seems more psychologically driven to me (which I can understand) and I'm trying to focus more on individuals and character than personal religious beliefs.
I believe there is something greater than human life but accept that humans will never know. I don't believe in an exclusive heaven and I'm not sure about any sort of afterlife, since as far as I know I haven't died yet Hopefully there is an afterlife, but the thought that there isn't actually makes life more precious and meaningful to me.
I don't feel very spiritual but believe in the human soul and feel there are blessed and troubled souls and we can all work to improve our souls.
Seems like a lot of theists stereotype atheists as not at all spiritual and being 100% certain there is no God or any sort of afterlife.
So how would you label me? Feel free to poke fun too, especially if it makes you feel better - just don't do it in a prejudice way
How would I label you? I hate labels, but if I had to, here goes: Intellectual, deeply thoughtful and thought provoking, pretty funny, easy to dialogue with, interesting, entertaining.
I don't think "atheist/theist/agnostic" is a direction for you to look for a label. It doesn't appear to be your major concern. I'd say to pick up on "humanist" and let the rest develop as it will while you pursue the expression of what IS important to you.
Contrary to others who have responded, I think that agnosticism doesn't mean that one is uncertain about whether or not there is a god, rather the word can be broken down as "a-" (without) and "-gnostic" (knowledge). Roughly analogous to uncertainty and inability to know.
Moving on, I would consider you as an atheist because you do not believe in a god. Your tentative belief in a soul and/or afterlife has nothing to do with atheism, although I admit that most atheists also do not believe in souls/afterlife.
You aren't a typical agnostic atheist, as your views on souls/afterlives don't necessarily match the majority of agnostic atheists, but those are peripheral beliefs, not core.
For the Christians reading, I think an analogy might be the trinity and resurrection of Christ as a sacrifice redeeming sin. Those beliefs are core to Christianity, and you cannot really claim to be Christian unless you believe them. After that core doctrine, Christians differ on pre-trib vs post-trib rapture, once saved always saved or not, speaking in tongues or not, transubstantiation or not, etc
Jumbo doesn't believe in god, therefore atheist. He doesn't claim certain knowledge, therefore agnostic. He believes in a soul, which I personally find a bit weird, but that isn't relevant to the original question.
Last edited by fishbrains; 08-29-2017 at 07:58 PM..
what we would do if we met him does not determine how the the universe works for some of us.
Do you have an example of this?
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Hopefully there is an afterlife, but the thought that there isn't actually makes life more precious and meaningful to me. 
