Thread: Atheists Unite
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Old 05-14-2011, 12:40 PM   #5
xoxoxoBruce
The future is unwritten
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 71,105
The, I-am-because-my-parents-are-and-my-grandparents-were, crowd. Yes, they should know what Christ was teaching if they claim to be followers. I don't think they have to be able to quote chapter and verse of the New Testament, and certainly not the Old Testament, but should know the concepts.
Of course since the Bible was probably written, and certainly compiled/edited long after Jesus was dead, I have to take it on faith(no pun) that it really describes what Jesus was about.

I don't belong to any denomination, don't attend any church, but consider myself a Christian. Why? Because I've no reason to doubt Jesus proscribed the "Love thy neighbor as thy self" philosophy, and that resonates with me personally. I try, I often fail, but I keep trying.

I'm not saying there aren't people doing that better than I do, who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, or some religion. I'm just saying that's my path, and Jesus (at least what I've been taught were his teachings), is the reason I'm on it.

I'm equally repulsed by people who beat me over the head with their religion, and people who do the same with their lack of religion. You know, Jehovah's Witnesses/Mormons, that ring the doorbell, zealots who will kill me for not believing like them, and atheists who mock, "Oh, you believe in an old man in the sky with a beard and robe". If you're one of them, fuck you.

While I'm on my soapbox... God. Yeah I'm comfortable with that concept. The heaven/hell, life after death, steam bath attendant with the video game controlling everything/everybody, not so much. All that stuff is derived from the various man made religions. I figure if God is omnipotent and controlling everything remotely, why would there be more than one religion? Well maybe two, one for 'em and one agin 'em, but that's it.

I think for anybody to be absolutely sure there is, or is not, a God, is pretty silly. To be absolutely sure of something you can't prove, and can't Google up anyone who can prove it, makes no sense.
Agnostics I can fully understand. They aren't hedging bets, they're saying they don't have faith, but admit they can't prove anything one way or the other. I do have faith, but can't prove anything one way or the other, either.

Unicorns? Why not, we're finding new critters all the time, that have been right under our noses all along. Now magical Unicorns, described in children's books and fables? That's pretty hard to take seriously, but it would explain Skittles.
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