Any atheists here who were once believers?

Why would one think the Bible was to be taken literally? It's a man written book. You take it literally only because someone told you to. That person was a man/woman. There is no more reason to take it literally than to not take it literally.
 
Balerion said:
Why is it that the most stubborn ones are always the one who don't have the first clue what they're talking about? I mean, wegs, you're really out of your depth, and instead of searching for a better understanding, you're insisting on a particular opinion. Why? Is saying "I don't know" too humbling?

.
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And of course, you must resort to insulting me. :/ I'm done with this discussion. Think as you wish.

There is a lot that I don't know, it is you that can never admit such a thing.
 
Seattle said:
Why would one think the Bible was to be taken literally? It's a man written book. You take it literally only because someone told you to. That person was a man/woman. There is no more reason to take it literally than to not take it literally.
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Well, there are many who believe it to be the literal "word of God."
 
Pope Francis: It's OK Not to Believe in God if You Have Clean Conscience

GetFile.aspx


Just throwing it in. Since there is so many threads/posts with various meanings. Don't know if it was posted before.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Pope-Francis-atheist-conscience/2013/09/12/id/525304
 
Beer w/Straw said:
Pope Francis: It's OK Not to Believe in God if You Have Clean Conscience

GetFile.aspx


Just throwing it in. Since there is so many threads/posts with various meanings. Don't know if it was posted before.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Pope-Francis-atheist-conscience/2013/09/12/id/525304
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Awesome! We all go to heaven! Wheeeee! :D

Thanks for posting this, Beer w/Straw...quite an interesting read. While I get what he's saying, didn't Jesus tell his followers to "love God with all their heart" and "love their neighbors as themselves?" (That those were his two most important commands?)

Ah well, the Pope knows best. Just shows that the Catholic Church wants to be popular, even if that means undermining the faith. I'm all for olive branches, but this is why I find no value in what the Catholic Church states because it seems willing to "say anything" these days to gain secular acceptance.
 
GetFile.aspx

Here is what was being said:

Pope: Don't strip for me little girl - I'm wed to God.
Lady with camera: Leave her alone, you pedophile!
 
wegs said:
And of course, you must resort to insulting me. :/ I'm done with this discussion. Think as you wish.

There is a lot that I don't know, it is you that can never admit such a thing.
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Hat's off to you for seeing through the shite psychology, and not feeling pressured to give up your mind.

:bravo:

jan.
 
Jan Ardena said:
Hat's off to you for seeing through the shite psychology, and not feeling pressured to give up your mind.

:bravo:

jan.
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Thing is, there will be points we agree on and some we will disagree on. I can understand why some respect the Catholic Church's position on evolution. But, I don't respect its position. If some feel the need to take the discussion down a path of insults, so be it. We can't control people, only how we choose to respond to them, Jan. :)
 
wegs said:
Awesome! We all go to heaven! Wheeeee! :D

Thanks for posting this, Beer w/Straw...quite an interesting read. While I get what he's saying, didn't Jesus tell his followers to "love God with all their heart" and "love their neighbors as themselves?" (That those were his two most important commands?)

Ah well, the Pope knows best. Just shows that the Catholic Church wants to be popular, even if that means undermining the faith. I'm all for olive branches, but this is why I find no value in what the Catholic Church states because it seems willing to "say anything" these days to gain secular acceptance.
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You know, I found that by Googling "belief in god superego" trying to find an unconscious reasoning behind why people need to equate religion with morality. Thinking that they just don't understand or trust themselves, but fail to be able to put it into words. They're neurotic?

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/8f/5c/63/8f5c6397a66131a1a025d5831b544ed0.jpg
 
Beer w/Straw said:
You know, I found that by Googling "belief in god superego" trying to find an unconscious reasoning behind why people need to equate religion with morality. Thinking that they just don't understand or trust themselves, but fail to be able to put it into words. They're neurotic?

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/8f/5c/63/8f5c6397a66131a1a025d5831b544ed0.jpg
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http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/25/catholic-schools-fires-gay-teachers

But, hey...the Catholic Church supports the theory of evolution.
 
wegs said:
Thing is, there will be points we agree on and some we will disagree on. I can understand why some respect the Catholic Church's position on evolution. But, I don't respect its position. If some feel the need to take the discussion down a path of insults, so be it. We can't control people, only how we choose to respond to them, Jan. :)
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Nobody insulted you. Stop making accusations you can't support just because your feelings are hurt.
 
Beer w/Straw said:
You know, I found that by Googling "belief in god superego" trying to find an unconscious reasoning behind why people need to equate religion with morality. Thinking that they just don't understand or trust themselves, but fail to be able to put it into words. They're neurotic?

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/8f/5c/63/8f5c6397a66131a1a025d5831b544ed0.jpg
Click to expand...

I was raised in a religious household, and during my childhood, I lived in a predominately Jewish and Christian town. Morality was often seen as something defined by one’s religion. There wasn’t a lot of independent ‘thinking’ on the matter, looking back. And, if you look at morality as presented from a Biblical perspective, for example—putting aside the religious component—there is much to glean that is positive from it. The majority of the Ten Commandments, for example, seem suitable for anyone to follow, if we strip away the religious and/or spiritual aspects of them. To your point, Beer--when you've been 'indoctrinated' from a young age to following a particular religion, you tend to view the world through that lens, morally and otherwise. When you are old enough to use logic and reasoning, you may or may not adhere to the faith that your family of origin passed down to you. But, the question then becomes...can you ever forget where your sense of morality came from? :eek:

I have a few close friends who have been atheists all of their lives, however, and they lead what could be viewed as ‘moral’ lives. They tend to define morality as behaviors that support society in the best way possible, and that ‘’loving our neighbors as ourselves,’’ shouldn’t be viewed as strictly a Christian doctrine, but rather a common sense approach to life.

So, just some general questions:

Since atheists don’t believe in ‘a god,’ how do they determine what is objectively moral? Is the belief in a Deity, the only ‘model’ we have for objective morality, or can humanity decide for itself what is morally objective?

Finally, is there a little bit of moral relativism in us all?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_relativism
 
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