Sometimes you hear of people who leave their faith (be it Christianity, Islam or anything else), come to the conclusion that God is not real and become atheists.
I cannot imagne that anybody, having once believed in God, can suddenly not believe in him any more!
I can imagine that people may get angry with God, or disillusioned with other believers - but not that they can genuinely not believe in his existence any more.
My husband disagrees, and says he has read many testamonies of people who did just that - stopped believing that God was real!
What do you think?
Is it possible?
Do you know people who have done this?
Peace.
Peace glo
Here I stand.
I can do no other.
May God help me.
Amen.
Come, let us worship and bow down •
and kneel before the Lord our Maker
[Psalm 95]
what did your husband think about religion now? is he still atheits or...now he is agnostic?
No. I'm afraid he started off as an agnostic.
It was me becoming a Christian that turned him into an atheist!
I guess it prompted him to seriously think what he thought of God - and he came to the conclusion that he didn't believe in him!
Peace glo
Here I stand.
I can do no other.
May God help me.
Amen.
Come, let us worship and bow down •
and kneel before the Lord our Maker
[Psalm 95]
Loose faith in Godbecauseone religious person rejected your love...??
What should i say then... that's his answer to me.... maybe because the girl he love is soooo committed to religion ... and rejected his love .... so he became hostile to religion.....
No. I'm afraid he started off as an agnostic.
It was me becoming a Christian that turned him into an atheist!
I guess it prompted him to seriously think what he thought of God - and he came to the conclusion that he didn't believe in him!
Do you ever try to ask him to study other religion?
25:36 And the true servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk the earth with humility and when the ignorant address them, they respond with words of peace.
I personally think that no one can truly and sincerely from the bottom of their hearts not believe in God at all-------there is alwasy something even though they might not understand the feeling or interpret it in the right way
"Indeed in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest"
Do you ever try to ask him to study other religion?
Syilla, my husband knows more about the different religions than I do ... including my own!
He has both theoretical knowledge and intellectual understanding - God just doesn't have any meaning to him. I mean, he doesn't have a particular problem with my Christian faith, but with people believing in God or any divinity in any shape or form per se.
peace.
Last edited by glo; 09-20-2006 at 11:39 AM.
Peace glo
Here I stand.
I can do no other.
May God help me.
Amen.
Come, let us worship and bow down •
and kneel before the Lord our Maker
[Psalm 95]
How can God not have any meaning? unless people REFUSE to see Him, I mean if someone doesn't want to listen you can't force them no matter what-
I mean how can you get water into an upside down glass?
"Indeed in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest"
How can God not have any meaning? unless people REFUSE to see Him, I mean if someone doesn't want to listen you can't force them no matter what-
I mean how can you get water into an upside down glass?
I know what you mean, Marya.
It doesn't make sense to me either.
But just as bizarre as you and I may find the idea of not believing in God, my husband finds the idea of believing in him!
It's as simple as that.
peace.
Peace glo
Here I stand.
I can do no other.
May God help me.
Amen.
Come, let us worship and bow down •
and kneel before the Lord our Maker
[Psalm 95]
hmm...I suppose...
Islamically i know that God has given us three things to find Him-our senses, our intellect (pondering and reflecting) and revelation.
When a person refuses to see the truth then God puts a covering over their hearts because they don't deserve to see it after that and so they are spiritually blind, deaf and dumb...
All Guidance is in God's hands....He Guides whom He wills----Insha allah I hope we are all of the Guided and remain so till the end....
"Indeed in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest"
All Guidance is in God's hands....He Guides whom He wills----Insha allah I hope we are all of the Guided and remain so till the end....
Amen to that.
You see, my husband has both this senses and his intellect ... I am just waiting for the revelation!
Like the car sticker said: Relax! God is in control.
Peace glo
Here I stand.
I can do no other.
May God help me.
Amen.
Come, let us worship and bow down •
and kneel before the Lord our Maker
[Psalm 95]
Atheism is a logical way to live one's life. It compels a person to take responsibility for his own actions and not to blame it on God, the devil or other spiritual forces. Since an atheist believes that this physical life is all there is he will try to make the best of it and not suffer insufferable conditions in the hope of some imagined afterlife. If all peoples were atheists there would be none of the conflicts we see today that are fueled by different belief systems. Atheists are as upstanding in general as any Christian, Jew or Buddhist. You don't have to believe in God to be a moral person.
Having said all those nice things it is now time to take a shot at the smug atheist worldview. The atheist thinks he has it all figured out. Atheists can point to the contradictions in the Bible, the track record of the Christian church, the conflicts produced by competing religions in the world, and of course science is on their side when it comes to evolution - the fossil record will prove evolution except to the most enthusiastic creationist. Science also suports the view of a very old universe - no surprise there.
Now here is the challenge: Does becoming an atheist make a person a better human being? Does not believing in God prompt or inspire a person to positive actions. Christianity (and other religions) can point to many, many people whose lives were changed for the better by adopting the faith. Can atheism make the same claim? Can atheists point to examples of people who have had their lives positively changed? Have any drug addicts given up their addictions as a result of discarding religion? Have any thieves stopped stealing and started earning an honest living as a result of becoming infidels? Have any abusive husbands stopped beating their wives as a result of abandoning a belief in God? In short, if atheism is such a positive way to live what real good has it done? Can it even be called a "belief-system"? (After all it is really about a lack of belief - isn't it?) If you would like to comment on the positive effects of atheism (if they indeed do exist) then E-mail me your views and I will post them below.
Proving that the Bible is flawed only proves that either the Christian God does not exist or that he has a high tolerance for incompetance and error in his sacred book. Pointing to the performance of the Christian church and other religions over the ages only proves that those organized religions were flawed and perhaps do not actually represent the Creator. Pointing to the evil in this world, the pointless deaths, the triumph of evil men, the violence in nature - this does not prove that God does not exist - only that he is absent from the scene or that he does not wish to intervene. Evolution does not necessarily pre-empt God - he could easily have used that method to produce the life diversity that we see on this earth. It could easily be argued that life is designed to evolve on its own most of the time and yet be subject to intervention as God desires. Debunking or criticizing religion is mostly a negative activity. It is a positive effort only when it frees people from a strangle-hold placed on them by too-authoritarian beliefs. After the chains have been broken - then what? A void has been created. Is the person really any better off than before?
An interesting article which manages to challenge atheists and cleverly stab Christianity at the same time ...
Proving that the Bible is flawed only proves that either the Christian God does not exist or that he has a high tolerance for incompetance and error in his sacred book. Pointing to the performance of the Christian church and other religions over the ages only proves that those organized religions were flawed and perhaps do not actually represent the Creator.
Is it your own writing?
I cannot help but think that there is an additional text to this ... pointing squarely at Islam being the only true religion!
(Am I wrong??)
peace.
Last edited by glo; 09-20-2006 at 05:10 PM.
Reason: To correct spelling mistake (Just one letter - but it made all the difference!)
Peace glo
Here I stand.
I can do no other.
May God help me.
Amen.
Come, let us worship and bow down •
and kneel before the Lord our Maker
[Psalm 95]
Atheism is a logical way to live one's life. It compels a person to take responsibility for his own actions and not to blame it on God, the devil or other spiritual forces. Since an atheist believes that this physical life is all there is he will try to make the best of it and not suffer insufferable conditions in the hope of some imagined afterlife. If all peoples were atheists there would be none of the conflicts we see today that are fueled by different belief systems. Atheists are as upstanding in general as any Christian, Jew or Buddhist. You don't have to believe in God to be a moral person.
Having said all those nice things it is now time to take a shot at the smug atheist worldview. The atheist thinks he has it all figured out. Atheists can point to the contradictions in the Bible, the track record of the Christian church, the conflicts produced by competing religions in the world, and of course science is on their side when it comes to evolution - the fossil record will prove evolution except to the most enthusiastic creationist. Science also suports the view of a very old universe - no surprise there.
A few remarks. Firstly, I don't think atheists think 'they have it all figured out'. Clearly, having it all figured out, knowing the Truth (with a capital T) is something religions profess. Secondly, I am an atheist but I still think we would fight wars even if everyone was an atheist. Religions are not the only ideologies humans are willing to fight about.
Now here is the challenge: Does becoming an atheist make a person a better human being? Does not believing in God prompt or inspire a person to positive actions. Christianity (and other religions) can point to many, many people whose lives were changed for the better by adopting the faith. Can atheism make the same claim? Can atheists point to examples of people who have had their lives positively changed? Have any drug addicts given up their addictions as a result of discarding religion? Have any thieves stopped stealing and started earning an honest living as a result of becoming infidels? Have any abusive husbands stopped beating their wives as a result of abandoning a belief in God? In short, if atheism is such a positive way to live what real good has it done? Can it even be called a "belief-system"? (After all it is really about a lack of belief - isn't it?) If you would like to comment on the positive effects of atheism (if they indeed do exist) then E-mail me your views and I will post them below.
Proving that the Bible is flawed only proves that either the Christian God does not exist or that he has a high tolerance for incompetance and error in his sacred book. Pointing to the performance of the Christian church and other religions over the ages only proves that those organized religions were flawed and perhaps do not actually represent the Creator. Pointing to the evil in this world, the pointless deaths, the triumph of evil men, the violence in nature - this does not prove that God does not exist - only that he is absent from the scene or that he does not wish to intervene. Evolution does not necessarily pre-empt God - he could easily have used that method to produce the life diversity that we see on this earth. It could easily be argued that life is designed to evolve on its own most of the time and yet be subject to intervention as God desires. Debunking or criticizing religion is mostly a negative activity. It is a positive effort only when it frees people from a strangle-hold placed on them by too-authoritarian beliefs. After the chains have been broken - then what? A void has been created. Is the person really any better off than before?
It depends on the person, and the exact religious 'strangle-hold' which was placed on them. My position always is that it must be a personal choice. For some being an atheist might mean liberation, for others becoming a Muslim might mean liberation. To each his own. In my opinion it is a mistake to assume one way of life is perfect for all these billions of unique individuals.
Can religion make an individual a better human being? Of course. But it can also make an individual a worse human being. All ideologies are dangerous if pushed to the extremes IMHO, regardless if they are secular or religious.
And thats only on the personal level, at the level of society there are other dangers. Some ideologies are easier to abuse than others obviously. While I believe Christianity can make someone a better human, I also believe institutionalized Christianity can be a threat to our freedom and, yes, well-being. One only has to look at history to see that. I personally believe it is no different with Islam. IMHO both religions provide enough opportunities for abuse, abuse that can easily lead to totalitarian forms of government and an attempt to push everyone into that 'one True' way of life.
So to answer your question. Atheism does not in itself make for better human beings, since it is indeed a negative, merely a denial of God. But IMHO it has led the way for new ideas, like the idea that sovereignty lies with the people (ie. democracy) and not with God. And that people must find their own way too happiness, instead of being force-fed one way of life (ie. liberty).
Well actually I used to believe in God (in the Christian sense of worshipping Jesus)...then I deserted that and became sort of an agnostic. I completely just threw God out of my life. Never even thought about God...I just went about my daily business, living my empty life.
Untill of course I found Islam (after so many religious journeys down a few other religious paths like Buddhism, Paganism, New Age crap, etcetera). Thank God!
Don't develop religious tunnel vision. Investigate.
...A decline into moral degeneracy hurts many people... too many allowances that you may deem un-hurtful that are not allowed by religious laws may in facr hurt people directly or indirectly......... a simple example would be sperm and egg donation.... harmless enough... you might even be helping some barren couple become parents... but too many anons donate... one Anon can donate more than once .....many would be siblings might end up marrying each other in that not too distant future......... Everything has ramification if ungoverned... we need not just laws but ethics with which to conduct our life.........
Text without context is pretext If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him
You and others like you, NEED this stuff! That’s why you were searching.
It is people like yourself who invented religion in the first place!
I think that as a atheist you would believe that man's behavior is an evolutionary development, and the widespread existance of religion among mankind would show that it has a benefit to the survival of the species.
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Don't develop religious tunnel vision. Investigate. 
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