• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

Creationism is Inappropriate for Children

Cromulent

Well-Known Member
Sep 1, 2011
1,248
51
The Midlands
✟1,763.00
Faith
Agnostic
Marital Status
Private
Pictured: Living Peaceably

711px-Witch-scene4.JPG
 
Upvote 0

keith99

sola dosis facit venenum
Jan 16, 2008
23,123
6,813
72
✟383,603.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Single
Since when has Christianity ever shown us how to live peaceably?!?

I would say The Society of Friends has done a pretty good job of showing how to live peaceably and they are one of the largest denominations out there!

Dang the devil made me say largest, I meant smallest.
 
Upvote 0

Git

Newbie
Jun 22, 2012
73
5
✟22,737.00
Faith
Atheist
If seeking for peace, I think that you can just throw religion out of the calculations.

Actually, just throw everything else too. Humans are naturally opportunistic and violence is just one of the languages we use to send a message or to gain something. We are just war-mongerers who will end up corrupting all idealogies.
 
Upvote 0

TheyCallMeDave

At your service....
Jun 19, 2012
2,854
150
Northern Florida
✟26,541.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Protestant
Marital Status
Single
Politics
US-Republican
Well I don't think I don't want him to be real. I used to love God not too long ago.

.............

Well, what happened ? What caused you to desire to distance yourself from God , now and for all of eternity ? Do u believe this is a wise decision considering the big picture ? Id really like to know .
 
Upvote 0

selfinflikted

Under Deck
Jul 13, 2006
11,441
786
46
✟39,014.00
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
In Relationship
Politics
US-Democrat
Well, what happened ? What caused you to desire to distance yourself from God , now and for all of eternity ? Do u believe this is a wise decision considering the big picture ? Id really like to know .

You know how, when you were little, you used to believe in Santa Claus? But then, when you got old enough, you realized it was just something parents told their kids for something fun to do around the holidays, and it also helped them behave throughout the whole year because the parents would say, "You better act right, or Santa will only bring you a bag of switches this year!"

Imgaine that, but replace Santa with "God." I can't speak for Paradoxum, but I imagine this is probably how she lost her faith. It's kinda how I lost mine.
 
Upvote 0

Fenny the Fox

Well-Known Member
Apr 21, 2009
4,147
315
Rock Hill, SC
Visit site
✟38,619.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Legal Union (Other)
You cannot believe in the true God and believe that he lied in His Word.
That would assume one is a literalist when it comes to the Word, which many people are not. One could, if not believing the entirety of the Bible to be a literal exposition, take the Genesis story of creation as a metaphor for the start of life and generation of the Earth.
 
Upvote 0

leo J

Newbie
Aug 31, 2012
32
0
✟22,661.00
Faith
Baptist
Marital Status
Married
Fenny the Fox said:
That would assume one is a literalist when it comes to the Word, which many people are not. One could, if not believing the entirety of the Bible to be a literal exposition, take the Genesis story of creation as a metaphor for the start of life and generation of the Earth.

So do you believe that Genesis 1 & 2 is a make believe story?
 
Upvote 0

Fenny the Fox

Well-Known Member
Apr 21, 2009
4,147
315
Rock Hill, SC
Visit site
✟38,619.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Legal Union (Other)
So do you believe that Genesis 1 & 2 is a make believe story?

You don't understand the word "metaphor" do you? 'Make believe' is not the same as 'metaphorical'.

(Also, you make a leap in logic, as I did not say which side of the argument I fell to at all. Since it makes no difference to the discussion.)
 
Upvote 0

OldWiseGuy

Wake me when it's soup.
Site Supporter
Feb 4, 2006
46,773
10,977
Wisconsin
Visit site
✟1,005,242.00
Country
United States
Gender
Male
Faith
Protestant
Marital Status
Single
Politics
US-Others
If seeking for peace, I think that you can just throw religion out of the calculations.

Actually, just throw everything else too. Humans are naturally opportunistic and violence is just one of the languages we use to send a message or to gain something. We are just war-mongerers who will end up corrupting all idealogies.

Bullseye. We have also corrupted the Christian religion, as far back as the days of the apostles.

We are taught to love our neighbors by our religion. Then we go out and hate our neighbors, making a big mess of our society, then declare that Christianity doesn't work. :confused:

This may be another definition of insanity.
 
Upvote 0

leo J

Newbie
Aug 31, 2012
32
0
✟22,661.00
Faith
Baptist
Marital Status
Married
Fenny the Fox said:
You don't understand the word "metaphor" do you? 'Make believe' is not the same as 'metaphorical'.

(Also, you make a leap in logic, as I did not say which side of the argument I fell to at all. Since it makes no difference to the discussion.)

What about Genesis 1 would cause any one to think it's a "metaphor" (unless they are just trying to deny God's Word)?
 
Upvote 0

selfinflikted

Under Deck
Jul 13, 2006
11,441
786
46
✟39,014.00
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
In Relationship
Politics
US-Democrat
What about Genesis 1 would cause any one to think it's a "metaphor" (unless they are just trying to deny God's Word)?

Basically, everything. For starters, we know the age of the universe and the earth. They weren't made in 7 days.
 
Upvote 0

TheyCallMeDave

At your service....
Jun 19, 2012
2,854
150
Northern Florida
✟26,541.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Protestant
Marital Status
Single
Politics
US-Republican
You know how, when you were little, you used to believe in Santa Claus? But then, when you got old enough, you realized it was just something parents told their kids for something fun to do around the holidays, and it also helped them behave throughout the whole year because the parents would say, "You better act right, or Santa will only bring you a bag of switches this year!"

Imgaine that, but replace Santa with "God." I can't speak for Paradoxum, but I imagine this is probably how she lost her faith. It's kinda how I lost mine.

Well, we will have to wait for Paradoxum to reply as to her own case.

I remember when i believed in Santa Claus as a young child , but if someone had told me when i was 6 years old that ALL of creation including my own human body , all animal life, all plant life, etc...'just happened' by accidents upon accidents with no intended purpose and without any intelligent input .... I would have said : 'Why are you trying to kid me ?' 'How can an accidental pond scum protozoa have the ability to eventually make everything that lives ?' Of course, some kids will believe in any ol kind of wild imagination and even do so when they turn into adults...but by then, they do it because it FITS IN well with their lifestyle choices which should we say are...not quite up to the moral mark yet does offer temporary pleasure before requiring a refill.
 
Upvote 0

TheyCallMeDave

At your service....
Jun 19, 2012
2,854
150
Northern Florida
✟26,541.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Protestant
Marital Status
Single
Politics
US-Republican
Originally Posted by selfinflikted As a whole, Christianity's history is littered with... well, not peace. lol



REPLY: Im glad youre only referring to psuedo-Christianity and not the real genuine thing .

Real Atheism will always lead the way of great unrest and many millions of murders according to history....based on the precise ideologies of Atheism put into practice.
 
Upvote 0

Paradoxum

Liberty, Equality, Solidarity!
Sep 16, 2011
10,712
654
✟35,688.00
Gender
Female
Faith
Humanist
Marital Status
Private
Politics
UK-Liberal-Democrats
Well, what happened?

I questioned. I was lied to about creationism being true and after that I realised that other beliefs of mine might be false too. I realised I trusted scientists more than the opinion of one group of Christians. I read more about different types of Christianity and tried to understand things like the Trinity and Incarnation as best I could. My faith slowly became more reasonable and based on evidence, but further from common evangelical beliefs. I could no longer wave away the contradictions in the Bible and realised morality is deeper than the rules of the Bible. Heaven and hell became confused concepts that I couldn't understand. One if the biggest things was realising that the religious experiences I had felt could just be me making them up in my mind. Slowly, very slowly, I lost it... I tried to hold on.

There are still two things I know I don't properly understand: how Christianity started, and healings.

What caused you to desire to distance yourself from God , now and for all of eternity?

When did you stop beating your wife?

There are of course emotional elements to the deconversion, but I'm not sure who wont try to turn it against me. If I am going to be open about my feelings I don't want you to delegitimize my intellectual position because of my feelings.

Do u believe this is a wise decision considering the big picture? Id really like to know .

What bigger picture? I don't think I believe in God... how am I meant to fear a non-existent hell? Half of me wishes there is a God; I want to feel loved forever for who I am, but I don't feel right trying to brainwash myself, however good it feels.

You cannot believe in the true God and believe that he lied in His Word.

Revelation isn't literal either. I'm sure you don't believe there will be a real ten headed dragon. Both are non-literal ways of expressing a truth.
 
Upvote 0