SlashCrowley Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 First of all I feel I should say I’m an Atheist. I’m not an Atheist because I am mad at god or religious people (although some religious people hold views I find deplorable). I am an Atheist because I want to believe things that can be supported by evidence. I have never been able to accept things on faith; I need evidence to justify my beliefs. I have a few reasons for joining this forum: 1. It is nice to be able to have civil conversations with religious people. Knowing that we can freely exchange ideas without having the religious side of the argument tell me I’m going to hell, quote scripture at me like it’s something I haven’t heard before and will be the “magic bullet” that “cures” me of my atheism, and not being called a liar by being told that I know god exists I am simply denying what the almighty “wrote on my heart”. 2. I have a friend who is religious and in search of a faith that works for her. She was raised by fundamentalist parents who taught her all about hell and scared her so bad as a child, that even though she doesn’t necessarily believe in a literal hell anymore, she still fears it today. I also am quite comforted that there are religious people out there who do accept all of science. Not just the parts that they believe support their theology. Well, I don’t know what else to say, I am open to questions or beginning a dialog. Hope to talk to you all soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romansh Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 (edited) Welcome Slash As a part time resident agnostic let me say hi. Atheist is one of those funny words ... technically I suppose I am one, but the concept of god is not that important to me, so it would be odd for me to define myself in terms of something that is of little interest. Now how we handle knowledge is far more interesting and more relevant to our everyday lives. (At least to me). Can I recommend Karen Armstrong's The Case for God to your friend. It won't convince any non-believer but it has some interesting views about religion. (Armstrong describes herself as a Christian). Anyway ... welcome again. rom Edited July 10, 2014 by romansh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soma Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Slash, I don't have any questions and I am glad you are here to grow with us. I am a Christian, but I like the atheist with your attitude more than the obnoxious Christians that you mentioned. I see a thread running through scientist, phropets, sages, physcologist, philosopers and the different disciplines throughout history and the world. I like putting the puzzle pieces together to try to describe the thread and love the feed back from many view points and I think you will be a great teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulS Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Welcome Slash, I myself would probably label as an agnostic who sees a lot of merit in some of the teachings of Jesus, or as attributed to him anyway. That's not to say there isn't just as much merit in the teachings of other leaders of religions such as Buddhism and Islam, it's just that I'm not very familiar with those and don't have a burning desire to research them. I'm glad you have joined this forum and I think you will enjoy the participation here. It's nice to know that TCPC is viewed as approachable from atheists and Christians alike (well, some of them both anyway). Cheers Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephM Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Welcome toi the community SLASH, Seems to me from your post that you will fit in quite well. Joseph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORM Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Hello Slash, Rest assured, you are among friends. I call myself a non-theist, and have been informed by moderators on other Christian fori that a non-theist is another term for Atheist. I don't prefer that sobriquet, because it implies that I am Against-Theism, and that is simply not the case. One can disbelieve miracles while embracing the people who believe in such things. As you state in your opening post, you are not against religious people; per se, but against certain harmful ideas and dogma some theists hold (bet I can guess which ones!) I think there should be a category for those of us who think there is room for inspirational philosophy without resorting to suspension of rational thought and the laws of physics. Regardless, welcome to the forum, Slash. NORM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.