Atheists with Autism

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I get that. I asked the question because you see evangelists running up and down the streets all the time trying to convert people. Most of the techniques, questions, and arguments they use wouldn't have an effect on me if I was in the position the non-Christian was in. For instance, I wouldn't become a Muslim because of a few apologetic arguments or because someone threw a Qur'an at me. I've heard the arguments and I own a Qur'an. The evangelists obviously think they've accomplished something, but the non-Christian usually walks away irritated, with very rare exceptions.

since no one has truly answered spock from norway......i will. i'll do it for a bugatti veyron.

HEY FUZZY: you are just too funny.

I would actually argue that rational people will search for specific, objective truths about the world, even if they sound ridiculous. There was a doctor from the 18th or 19th century (don't remember which) who was laughed at and locked up in an insane asylum for suggesting that doctors should wash their hands between examining patients.

any person who has the good sense he (or she) was born with knows that spirituality is crap.

Here and Now. Solid and Specific. Usable and in hand. All of the things spirit is not.

ruveyn

lulz

I'm not sure I see the contradictions. I stand by what I wrote.

No one can know that mind of God. That much is written even in the OT.

HOWEVER, we DO have a glimpse into God's mind. We know God is logical because He created us as logical beings. God has a sense of morality, which we know because He passed morality on to us. We also know that God desires a relationship with His creation (human beings). We have a written record of what it was that God demanded of His people in the past, further we have a written record of what God desires of ALL people under a new promise. By reading the Bible, we CAN ascertain SOME of what God intends for us in a broad, general way. And by the same means we can determine specifically what few things are most important for us to know (e.g. plan of salvation). So-called "feelings," revelation through prayer, requests made through prayer, dreams, "signs," and so forth help reveal and confirm what God wishes for us. Any such messages, of course, ought to be checked against Biblical truth for consistency (God would not lead someone into sinful behavior). Though I'm a firm believer in personal revelation, I do believe that the knowledge and experience of Christians who have been in the faith for a long time, not to mention preachers and scholars are helpful in difficulties relating to God and the Bible. I don't necessarily follow any particular famous "theologian" of the past--my beliefs and opinions have a lot in common with Luther and Calvin, I've also been influenced by guys like Lee Strobel, C.S. Lewis, Adrian Rogers, van Til, and others. I do not believe that any one person has a claim to perfect understanding, but I do believe that some Christians and scholars can have better knowledge and understanding than others. Knowledge and understanding do not save, however, and I think that for MOST Christians discussing, debating, and questioning their faith--which I liken to "loving the Lord with all" one's "mind"--tends to take a backseat to other aspects of Christian life.

God, however, never intended that human beings would ever have a need for ALL of God's knowledge--the consequences of possessing such knowledge is eternal punishment for foolishly attempting to elevate one's self to the same level and status of God Himself. Such behavior is arrogance. God provided us with what we needed. We made the decision that wasn't enough. Hence we are condemned. The knowledge, the glimpse into God's mind that we DO have, is an incomplete knowledge that was never intended for the finite mind. God, on the other hand, is infinite. We CANNOT have a complete knowledge of God's mind--His logic and wisdom. God's will in it's entirety must forever remain a mystery. Our concern must only be on that which God HAS provided for us. The commands of Jesus are the Bible's final words on what God directly revealed (I say "directly"; the actual foundation of Christian theology in practice is contained within the Letters, none of which are inconsistent or incompatible with the actual words of Christ). It's a simple truth that more people can readily accept rather than the entirety of the Law and the Prophets. Trust me, I just finished reading the entire OT. The way more people, namely priests and other religious leaders, presented God's message from the OT twisted it to be such a recondite tradition reserved for only certain classes of society and ONLY a certain people group demanded that some kind of provision be made to free those people from the Law they were prohibited from following by corrupt priests and lawyers.

Further: Human logic serves a human purpose which does not include God. Divine logic, however, accomplishes a divine purpose that may involve human beings and yet not require human understanding for its application. So while God is logical and created us to be logical beings, it does not follow that God can simply allow Himself to be reduced by the finitude of human logic. To use a Biblical image, the pot cannot ask the potter why it was made. It simply IS. If a pot had a mind, it might think that its purpose is to contain some kind of material, such as liquid or food. However, the potter may simply wish the pot to be a table decoration and hold nothing at all. The potter is not concerned whether the pot understands its purpose. The pot may conclude that there is no logic beyond its own, yet the decision of the maker is based upon the maker's logic: The pot or vase is a work of art intended to beautify the interior of a home, nothing more, nothing less.

We may allow ourselves to understand God's logic if we choose to. But we also have to understand and accept that the decisions God makes may not necessarily correspond to the same decisions we'd make in identical circumstances based on our own limited understanding. Many of the experiences I've had didn't seem to come as a result of decisions I'd normally make on my own, yet only in retrospect do the circumstances of my life even make sense. And because God has never concealed the order and organization of events in my life, I have evidence to base my faith on the hope that future events in my life will follow the same pattern in a logical and organic way.

What remains is that we will continue understanding what we want to understand. We will either affirm or deny God in our lives. Some of us will quote-mine out of order and context and deconstruct text to mean whatever we want it to mean and show others as irrational, illogical, and fallacious when the truth is we don't want to accept God. OK. If you don't want to accept God, that's your business. But don't resort to such foolishness. I think that most of us value fairness, something too many Christians themselves often forget. Don't be so eager to be unfair; it doesn't prove that you are any better.

The point being that nothing is going to convince an atheist to believe in any god unless sufficient, logical proof is provided. I was visiting my mother recently - she is an atheist too, but has devoted a large amount of her life to helping others within the local community. There was a knock on the door, which she answered.

Man With Bible - Hi, I just wanted to talk to you today about some of the horrible things that are going on in the world today.
My Mother - I'm sorry but I'm really not interested in--
MWB - you mean you don't care about other people?
My Mother - I mean I don't care for strangers knocking on my door and harassing me when I have guests over. Get off my property.

She shut the door in his face at this point.

Now most door-to-door theists (it's usually Christians or Jehovah's Witnesses here) tend to be more polite than this, yet also seem to be equally judgemental of non-believers. If an atheist carried a few choice science texts around, and behaved in the same way, I'm certain the police would be involved sooner or later.



How about we start with "Who wrote the Bible?". Now let us move onto "Which version of the Bible are you referring to?". Moses allegdly penned the original version of the Torah whilst in seclusion atop Mount Sinai. This gives the original text as much validity as the spurious claims of Joseph Adams. If we then consider the multiple additions to the Hebrew Bible, followed by multiple reproductions and retellings - often by word of mouth, followed again by an impossible number of translations and rewrites, the modern day Bible is the most drawn-out game of Chinese Whispers that has ever been played.

Before we even get into the 'logic' of the Bible, we really need to establish whether or not the book can be considered an infallible source of reference. I suggest that it is not.

Maybe. But I cannot tell if you are being sarcastic or not.

Link: http://www.trueorigin.org/tablet.asp

As for the authorship of Genesis in particular, this is the theory which I lean toward although slightly modified since the toledoth phrase seems to indicate a beginning of sections somewhat more than it seems to denote the ending of sections. However, where the toledoth phrase occurs it seems to delineate discrete accounts. Please actually read the link though, as I'm not going to waste more words than necessary. Complain that the link is biased, please, make my day and let me show that I give a flying fart.

I think it's genuine, dude. That's pretty funny. I'd love to be able to buy myself some A.S.S. that didn't come from a street corner.

Sorry, I am a proud Atheist.

I was depressed/anxious to the point of mild auditory hallucinations, and praying to God didn't help me.
CBT and SSRIs (specifically Zoloft) helped me. I might as well say modern neuroscience made the difference for me.

God might help you through depressive phases, although he won't save you from a panic attack, or worse, a heart attack.

TO FUZZY........no sarcasm, that was truly humorous.

i generally like canadians, specifically because a maple leaf tee-shirt once saved my A.S.S. i once was an adventurer, a wanderer and learned quickly that americans were not to popular in the middle east/east asia areas.
canadians were generally accepted, as if canada was a big switzerland. always carried a shirt with the big red canada on the back. bad situation, a quick change of shirts, problem solved. thank you very much.

exception: i know there are those who live in canada and follow glenn beck and sarah palin as messiahs. i must then say to them.........bbbbooooooooooo hhhiiiiisssssssssssssssssss.

STILL WAITING FOR MY VEYRON SPOCK

"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man."

The only thing that could convert me would be hard empirical evidence (like for example dying then seeing god infront of me saying "welcome to heaven!")

Or as a non-believer, ending up before Satan where he says "See this trident? Guess where that's going."

fixed.