Why are christians so desperate to deny those who became Atheists were ever christians? [Spirituality & Religion]

@CookieLuvsBunny You do know who those guys were right? Too funny that you would cite them as any kind of expert. Now have you heard of the Septuagint?

@hippyjoe1955
The Septuagint was written in Greek therefore The Disciples knew Greek.
How stupid are you?

@CookieLuvsBunny Why was it written in Greek and who used it?

@suzie1960 @Harriet03 [quote]R'amen sister, R'amen[/quote]

What are you two doing, playing pirates now?

@GodSpeed63 We're praising the our Creator, The Flying Spaghetti Monster, of course. Unless you can prove Quob doesn't live, you better get used to having Quob around. R'amen.

@suzie1960 [image deleted]R'amen sister ✌

@suzie1960 That's not too bad a thing. Think of all the endorphins you're releasing lol.

@Bushranger Yes but I need to get some serious work done sometimes.

@suzie1960 Fair enough. That's the benefit of being retired, plenty of free time lol.

@Wraithorn Books written by Bart D. Ehrman are an interesting read... He discusses this topic.

@walabby I think he quit the church didn't he?

@Tastyfrzz Yes, but he is a professor of Bible studies... speaks/writes ancient Greek and Latin and is held in high esteem by his peers...

@Melpomene [quote]If you have faith it means you still believe, even though you know there are risks it might not be real. [/quote]

Faith means believing, regardless of any and all evidence to the contrary.

@Melpomene [quote]I don't think you need much knowledge[/quote]

That's my point... pretence is the antithesis of knowledge.

@suzie1960 That was exactly my point.
@newjaninev2 What are you trying to say?

@suzie1960 My intent wasnt to shut you out or be mean. Its just a subject that is pointless for you and I to discuss.

Oh my word! Y’all are STILL doing this???? 🙄

@Pinkstarburst It's eternal🙏

@suzie1960Yes, the main difference was that for pagans their Gods and Goddesses were everywhere and accessible to anyone.
With Christians you had to find them through the church and the priests and had you had to obey and be judged and could be denied heaven.

@OldHippie Yes, the christian priests turned deities into commercial goods.

@suzie1960 yes, charged people to see holy relics, a nail, splinter from the cross, a saints finger bone. You could be absolved of sin for a hefty contribution to the church.

@ShadowSister If there's a God (there's not). It would definitely be a man, no woman would screw things up like this!!! ✌

@Harriet03 Marry me. LOL.

@ShadowSister [image deleted]

@Harriet03 that's cute

@JoeyFoxx It's not cute. It's fact!!

@Harriet03 it's a cute way to represent a fact. :)

I couldn’t agree more.@Heretodaygonetomorrow

@Harriet03 ? huh?

[quote]Lightening conductors on church roofs......... WHY?
[/quote]

I think you mean "lightning rods"...the rods are meant to
give atmospheric charges an easy path to ground, not make their local area lighter ("lightening").

Since part of creation is electromagnetism, lightning is a natural phenomenon...we don't think it is caused by Thor...

I guess you wonder why believers would think they would need lightning rods, bc God shouldn't strike their church with lightning...? I don't know what others believe, but I do NOT think God acts with lightning as Nixon did with airstrikes in Viet Nam (personally choosing targets).

I guess you should also fault believers for having windows, doors, roofs, heating/air conditioning, because you think God should just keep all weather--a natural consequence of His laws--away from each church of true believers...?

@GodSpeed63 There is plenty of evidence to support The Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. @newjaninev2 has posted some of it.

We're still waiting for you to present your evidence. Just saying you have isn't the same as actually doing it. The only logical conclusion is that you don't have any and you're just whistling in the wind.

@SomeMichGuy [quote]I think you mean "lightning rods"...[/quote]
In the UK, we say "lightning conductors", just a different term for the same thing.

The point is, this "god" thing is supposed to be master of all so why would it strike its own house with lightning? If it did choose to do so (because it works in mysterious ways), true christians ought not attempt to thwart its plans by installing lightning conductors/rods.

@JP1119 I highly doubt the bible is full of moral truths.

@AnonymousJSS Why do you doubt that? I think a lot of people forget about the moral truths because they’re so focused on whether or not it’s historically and scientifically true, but I think most people of other religions or of “no religion” would acknowledge that the Bible is a book of morality.

@JP1119 Its [i]supposed [/i]to be about morality, unfortunately it has a lot of other bs in it that outweigh that LOL. Whoever wrote it didn't try hard enough.

@sarahcupcake [quote] The point is we don't have to do what they say.[/quote]

Read Matthew 23, Jesus said a similar thing concerning the religious lot at that time.

@sarahcupcake [quote]I am sure lots of people will tell me I am talking nonsense[/quote]

Many fewer than you think...

@suzie1960 You haven't offered reasoned argument from the get go. You rest on weary bromides like 'evolution explains' when in fact there is no scientific evidence to back up your assertion. You read a book in high school and think your know something when it is painfully obvious you are a flat earther and a science denier. Kind of sad.

@hippyjoe1955 You're quite entertaining when you play the fool, but you seem to run out of steam pretty quickly and just become boring. Yawn. 😴

@suzie1960 Funny how you never provide anything beyond your uninformed opinion. Unfortunately your are not informed enough to realize you should keep uninformed opinions to yourself. Maybe they never told you that in dish washing school? How many years did it take you to graduate?

@hippyjoe1955 Thank you for the clarification. That was not clear to me in the initial context.

Question for you: Should we hold a belief system accountable for everything anyone does it its name?

@ShadowSister Obviously not because few people are purists in their belief system. You can have a broad spectrum of beliefs within a particular belief system. However one needs to be aware of the products of the belief system. You will find a similarities in every country that is majority Buddhist. That is very different than what you find in a muslim country or a Christian nation or an atheist nation. You really want to live in a Christian country. You really don't want to live in an atheist country or a muslim country or a buddhist country.

One observation that I have made here on SW is that Christians are much more rude, obnoxious and arrogant than atheists... just sayin'....
... not ALL Christians, though, just a predominance...

@canusernamebemyusername [quote] I find it ironic in the extreme that those who believe don't actually know how belief works.[/quote]

Really?

[quote]To believe in something you have to be convinced it is true.[/quote]

You got that right so far. Belief follows truth.

[quote]You can't just choose to believe or not believe. [/quote]

You seem to be doing that very well.

[quote]A fundamentalist can't choose not to be one unless convinced and another person can't believe in God by choice.[/quote]

You're partially right. God, Yahweh, has revealed Himself to mankind, the evidence of His work is all around us. Yet, He gives us the freedom to choose to believe the truth, that He does live, or believe the lie, that He doesn't live.

[quote]Also I hate the word faith.[/quote]

Why do you hate faith?

@GodSpeed63 🤦‍♀️

@canusernamebemyusername Well?

@GeniUs It's because she's experienced It!! 🤷‍♀️

@Randy777 is gone left SW the COWARD! sure he just changed his name and came back to troll... SW people post their opinions crawl back under the ignorant rock you hatched from...

@ScabbyHeart

[quote]is gone left SW[/quote]

Nah, i got his account banned lololol

@Reverend Your rare!

@Harriet03 Im not sure if thats good or bad..but thanks?!

@Reverend Good.
The less preaching "at" people the better.

@suzie1960 👍️

@kodiac I agree with you I want to gain I cannot speak for all of those who behave poorly. I hope that you will always understand that I will never treat you that way. Have a great day

@suzie1960 I want to be very clear I cannot speak for the behaviors of others I can only tell you what I understand or what I don't understand. I do not know where you live or how old you are so I am not sure what you have experienced. I can only speak from what I have experienced. Sometimes we get so caught up or wanting to debate and prove our point that we do not take time to understand the intent and motivation of a message. I think if you read any post that I have posted regarding this subject I have never judged I have never pointed the finger and I have never been disrespectful. You do not know what my religious affiliation is. I am simply stating what I have observed.

I wish to understand the motivation behind your comment. Are you trying to prove that some people have been unfair cruel or not polite? We already established that. When you take a quote from somebody and then you say that is not the case it almost seems like you are attacking their statement. Then you say let's change one word. It does not make sense what you are trying to say.

I understand that most people want to categorize others and put them in a group. I am not trying to do that I realize tha people act poorly not just a certain group of people. By putting that title or categorizing them it almost seems like you make the whole entire group a certain way. So in conclusion is someone acted poorly towards friends of yours that is unfortunate. It should not be tolerated and it was disrespectful. I am still curious how that makes my statement or my previous post not valid or true?

@acpguy [quote]WRONG![/quote]

Why's that?

@GodSpeed63 There is no discussing with the brainwashed.

@acpguy [quote]There is no discussing with the brainwashed.[/quote]

Since when is learning the truth, brainwashing?

[quote]@GeniUs, 2000 years from now we'll be in heaven with Jesus and other brothers and sisters in Christ. Where will you be?[/quote]

Exactly the same place wherever it is!

@GeniUs
[quote]Just thing if you were born 2000 years from now, you could believe the Harry Potter stories as the truth of these times![/quote]

To my knowledge, no one has ever claimed that Harry Potter stories--which are openly acknowledged as fiction--represent anyone's real experiences.

Apples & oranges.

They may well do in 2000 years time just like the stories of old which are totally unverifiable. Now we're talking apples and apples.

@JamesHanes [image deleted]It's easier to fool someone, than convince them they've been fooled!

@JamesHanes [quote]Atheists are some of the most miserable and empty people in the world. [/quote]
You ought to see some of the christians. Misery personified.

Not perfect, that is for sure.@suzie1960

@GodSpeed63 You're avoiding the question as usual. Why are you so desperate to deny I was a christian? Simply claiming I wasn't when I know very well I was, merely highlights your desperation thus proving my point.

@suzie1960 [quote]You're avoiding the question as usual.[/quote]

I don't think so. You'll say anything just to try to make yourself look good in front others.

@GodSpeed63 The question is, "Why are christians so desperate to deny those who became Atheists were ever christians?" You've demonstrated that desperation many times but you have never answered the question by explaining why.

@GodSpeed63 Not really. There's no elaboration. It's pretty simple.

@JoeyFoxx Why do you think salvation through Jesus Christ is a cult?

Why do you think so many others also think the same?

@GodSpeed63

@Lostpoet the reliable sort?

@Dolimyte I don't know.

@Lostpoet Maybe you should look into that?

*smh*

There are few things more frustrating than when people intentionally distort the meanings of words.

“Believe” in the context of religion requires faith.

“Believe” in the context of science requires evidence. In science, we may hypothesize about something and if our validation efforts pass, we may end up with a theory.

“Believe” in this context is roughly equivalent to having a preponderance of evidence to support something.

When something is not believed, it is NOT a lack of faith. There is simply not sufficient evidence.

You’re welcome.

@Theseus

@Theseus What do you mean by "the creator of the universe"? The Flying Spaghetti Monster perhaps? There is no evidence I'm aware of that such a being exists but I admit I can't prove Quob doesn't.

@acpguy before jesus there was no after life in the jewish religion. now it comes down to was jesus telling the truth? were the disciples telling the truth about what happened? did the miracles happen as described or not?? the dead sea scrolls were written down less then 100 years later. locking in what the reports had said to that point. becoming a check on the bible that was written again and again centuries later. so if there was a lie it had to be from jesus and his disciples. or the writers of new testament with the lifetimes of people that knew jesus and the disciples. that is where fraud would have to have happened. no real independent record other then that jesus existed in Pontius Pilates journal. if that was even his journal and not a forgery written later on. the old testament is so old its likely just collection of various fables that were passed down many generations before being written down. then we have the near death experiences. are they really look at a after life. or just a drug trip our brain goes on when dying. some drugs induce the same experience. then you have various guests on coast to coast am. are they telling the truth or lying. 😺

@Harriet03 👍️

@Quizzical ✌

@SomeMichGuy Not entirely accurate. I was brought up nominally as a christian, much like most British people at the time. In my teens I got taken in by christian propaganda and became more of a practising christian. As such, I studied the bible believing it to be "the word of god".

My studies showed that, not only did the bible not match with what I'd been told, it wasn't even internally consistent. It also became obvious, from wider study, that almost everything in christianity had been copied from older belief systems. I found the older (Pagan) were more scientific in that they were based on observing nature. When christians tried to copy the Pagan systems, they did so without understanding the basics so, not to put too fine a point on it, screwed it all up.

As a result of what I found, I broke away from christianity. That's when I found the christians I had thought of as friends were not "all sweetness and light". On the contrary, they were among the most arrogant, evil creatures one could ever have the misfortune to encounter. I was subjected to abuse, threats and even physical violence. That really only convinced I was doing the right thing ans I did, eventually, break free.

I'm an Atheist in that I do not believe in gods. That said, I do like the Pagan view of them.

@SW-User I have no idea why you think a metronome measures love...lmao

@MarmeeMarch Thank you, That makes a pleasant change from the attitude of some here. :)

@MarmeeMarch I'm glad that you do not feel the need to prostlatize, but I think you have the wrong idea about what an atheist is.
[quote]prove to me that he does not exist.[/quote]
Believing god does not exist is not what makes someone an atheist. It's the lack of the belief in a god or gods. It may sound the same but its not. As an atheist, I find no convincing evidence that a god exists. The claim is that there is no good reason to believe in any god, let alone the Christian god. It's a rejection of a claim that a god exists, not a claim that one does not exist. As you pointed out, there is no way to prove that there is not a god. Making such a claim is just as silly to me as claiming there is a god. Neither position has any convincing evidence, nor as far as I can tell, even could have any kind of verifiable evidence.

@Dolimyte Thats fine but that is your outlook - my evidence is all around me.