User Comments

1. 

   7/04/09

   Eruesso

   What I like about Atheists is that they relentlessly question EVERYTHING. This is not "rebelling" against the Creator that we can not see, but they question why we need to worship or even acknowledge the invisible Puppet Master in the sky. As humans, with a limited mental capacity, it almost seems unfair for a Divine Being to jealously strike down anyone who does not believe in His existence. That's like kicking a 6 month old puppy for chewing on your shoes. If anything, God would send Atheist to heaven for reasoning out how to be moral without using Him as a crutch. I see Atheist as the Children of God who grew up and learned to take care of themselves.
   
   The ability to question our beliefs I believe is fundamental to our spirituality. I believe without this there is little to no growth. This does not mean we can not come to a personal conclusion about a specific topic but that by leaving ourselves open we may learn more about the Reality that surrounds us. In my humble opinion Atheists have questioned themselves into a corner. But I may be 100% wrong since I have yet to study Atheism in depth.

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2. 

   7/06/09

   cseab

   I agree, although I've encountered elements within Atheism that are as intolerant and adamant about their beliefs as religious fundamentalists. It also seems to me that this element more readily uses ridicule and belligerence to argue their points whereas Christian fundamentalists argue from scripture. Of the two, I prefer the latter. It is the “between” people, those who question their faith who learn and mature. Absolute belief or non-belief in God is not a requirement. Belief in the goodness and love associated with our vision of God, however, is. In my opinion, neither extreme qualifies.

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3. 

   7/07/09

   Eruesso

   "...those who question their faith who learn and mature."
   
   This is at the heart of what I believe but I can envision people asking who decides in which direction should our faith be maturing? Is it OK, is it enough to believe in goodness and love even if we are Atheist? I believe as long as we are guided towards becoming better more loving people that our individual paths are acceptable. I think I remember reading a similar post you wrote on the path OF God instead of the multiple paths TO God if I'm not mistaken.
   
   Do we hold the reins to our own spiritual growth or is it held by the group or even the Divine?

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   1. 

      7/08/09

      cseab

      >>Do we hold the reins to our own spiritual growth or is it held by the group or even the Divine?
      
      This has the flavor of a key concept. How do we judge? Christians tell us that the Bible is our moral standard. Islam uses the Koran. Atheists either say that morality is a myth, or it is evolution (social survival of the fittest), or perhaps some idealized vision of humanism.
      
      I believe that there is a universal moral reality (Path OF God) and that most religions have captured some notion of what that is as expressed in their theology and scripture. The question remains, however, how do we judge? The answer can get confusing when we move into morally ambiguous areas such as euthanasia, capital punishment, abortion, etc.
      
      All that said, however, I don't think God so much requires that we make perfect decisions but that we TRY to make perfect decisions, learn from our successes and failures, and do a better job next time. We (society) are still growing. We only fail God when we decide we already know all the RIGHT answers and refuse to listen, dialogue, and learn.
      
      Tentatively, then, I'll say yes, we hold the reins to our own spiritual growth. And, yes, they are held by the group (society). And, yes, they are held by the Divine.
4. 

   22 days ago

   Larro

   As I have no "theistic beliefs" I am unable to answer this question as it is targeted towards theists. This is inter-faith dialog?

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5. 

   10 days ago

   Eruesso

   The group, although stagnant, is an inter-faith dialog group yet the question is a specific question targeted to the theists within the group. If you have any topics you want to converse about please feel free to post. Peace and blessings.

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