What Do The Faithful Have That The Rest Of Us Don’T?

[naomi24]

With no explanation, Goodlife is constantly telling the ‘poor’ atheists here that they have nothing – and today Khandro said exactly the same. I'm curious. Just what is it that these chaps think they have that the rest of us lack?

[jomifl]

Ta again Naomi, I think the religious would have self identified as such rather than spiritual which is something completely different and nothing really to do with religion.
Cg. I don't think there is anything to apologise for :o)

[naomi24]

Indeed.

[Cannedgranny]

Thanks for the link Naomi.
Oxford English Dictionary: Definition of spiritual - there are 3 meanings, one of them being " relating to religion or religious beliefs. "
If you both believe I am wrong then I do apologise but to my mind, if you are spiritual you believe in God, not necessarily attending a Church etc.

[naomi24]

Cannedgranny, as Jom says had the 'spiritual' considered themselves to be religious they would have ticked that box. Spirituality does not necessarily equate to a belief in God. However, no need to apologise.

[andy-hughes]

goodlife - "Andy first you have to understand what the fear of God means in the Bible, and how this type of fear forms a fundamental part of a relationship with God."

As per usual, you adopt a stance that infers that you understand the Bible, and I do not, although you have no basis whatever for that position.

I am fully aware of the concept of loving and fearing God - but the notion that such love and fear equates with earthly parenting is way wide of the mark of what i understand the concept of loving parenting to be.

How you can equate the love of a father for his children with the constantly moving boundaries of a nebulous religious concept demonstrates once again that your beliefs are incompatable with real life here on Planet Earth.

[goodlife]

For many, the answer to those questions is no. They hold that spirituality means to believe without belonging,that is, to believe in a god or a deity without belonging to a church.

Others feel that spirituality refers, not to a religious experience, but to a desire for inner peace and for meaning in life. They assert that those seeking spirituality need not look to religion at all. Rather, they need only to look inwardly, to their innermost feelings.

I see Clearly, people differ greatly in their ideas about spirituality. Thousands of books claim to show the way to a spiritual life, yet all too often readers are left feeling unfulfilled and confused, that how atheism came about.

There is one book, however, that does contain reliable guidance on spiritual matters. It is the book that shows evidence of being inspired word of God. (2 Timothy 3:16) so simple for some.

[jomifl]

/readers are left feeling unfulfilled and confused, that how atheism came about. /

Wrong again GL, I became an atheist because religion seemed so ridiculously silly and completely unjustifiable if a modicum of reason was applied to it. 60 + years of seeing people being misled by it has only strengthend my view.

[modeller]

//modeller, same old, same old. You go on about God being evil but you don't believe in Him. //

It's not me saying God's evil ! It's You , Your bible describes all his evil.
You accept all the vengeance, jealousy , spite , vindictiveness as attributed to God, in Your bible.
What is more it is held up as a virtue.

You keep telling me the bible is true. The truth is in the bible. OK if that's what you believe so be it. Your God killed millions including hundreds of thousands of infants and babies, and you don't think that is Evil.

[pixie373]

//Thousands of books claim to show the way to a spiritual life, yet all too often readers are left feeling unfulfilled and confused, that how atheism came about. //

goodlife, you have that exactly the wrong way around. Humans are naturally atheist, it has been around as long as humans (and animals) have. No baby is born religious. You have just described why people invented religion.

[Peter Pedant]

....O God I just wish he wouldnt do this.

GL writes: There is one book, however, that does contain reliable guidance on spiritual matters. It is the book that shows evidence of being inspired word of God. (2 Timothy 3:16) so simple for some.

2 Tim 3 16 is
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.


and to my mind does NOT show evidence of being inspired.


IF Einstein said: I am a brilliant man.
Is there good evidence Einstein was brillaint ? well I say no....

"Picasso could paint like Raphael at age 15"
is that evidence that Picasso really was as good (as he said he was)
No, this is picasso describing er himself

[ferlew]

I was forced to go thrice daily, thank goodness I discovered apaetheism.

[pixie373]

I agree, peter, religious people using religious books to prove a point, clearly makes no sense whatsoever. I would like just one to explain it in "my language"...
What is God made of?
Where is he?
what's the point of the afterlife?

I either cannot get a direct answer, or get contradictory answers, so my conclusion is nobody knows.

[Khandro]

'Driven by hunger, a fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on the vine but was unable to, although he leaped with all his strength. As he went away, the fox remarked 'Oh, you aren't even ripe yet! I don't need any sour grapes.'

[jim360]

Yeah, and a dog dropped some meat in a pond because he wanted to grasp its reflection too. What does a fox and grapes have to do with anything much, really?

[vulcan42]

goodlife, you do not and will never understand Atheism, please stop trying to define it.

[ludwig]

// What does a fox and grapes have to do with anything much, really? //

Khandro jumped high and got the grapes. What he doesn't realise is they're plastic.

[redman41]

The Church says the earth is flat. But I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more Faith in a shadow than in the Church.--- Ferdinand Magellan

[Khandro]

//What he doesn't realise is they're plastic.// But you wouldn't know whether they are or not, would you?

[jomifl]

//What he doesn't realise is they're plastic.// But you wouldn't know whether they are or not, would you?
If the intelligent magpies have left them then they can't be worth eating.
just to continue the metaphor...