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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.
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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.
Caliban
I am including this mini spiritual bio because it is often assumed, that because I am an unbeliever, I must be unfamiliar with the Bible and the theological traditions which have deeply considered the meaning and implications of the text. I am now an agnostic atheist at the age of 43, But I was a Christian three years ago.
I grew up in the church. I Joined the Navy after 9/11. In the Navy I got serious about studying theology—mostly Reformed theology. I loved J.I. Packer, John Calvin, R.C. Sproul, Sinclair Ferguson—and too many more to list. My wife and I were members of the RCUS (reformed Church in the United States. Our daughters were baptized, I served as a Deacon, and I taught Sunday School.
I attended University on the G.I. Bill. My undergraduate degrees include English (emphasis on the Novel since 1945) and Religious Studies (Emphasis on Mark and the NT). I graduated university and attained advanced degrees in Literature, and Education. I teach writing and literature for a living.
For most of my life, I considered my walk with Christ to be the foundation of everything I did and loved. I took 2 Corinthians 2:5 wholeheartedly—to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. But I began to read more scholarship that caused me to question my presuppositions about inerrancy, the historical reliability of the Bible, and the way I formed my opinions.
The end of my faith happened when I studied epistemology. I knew the term from college and even knew of Alvin Plantinga’s ideas about it. But I just never studied it myself. Those mornings and evenings, before and after work were intense. I lost my faith by sitting on a couch reading books—but my heart was racing. I realized there was an entire world I had not considered because I previously had a version of reality that differed from a new vision full of possibility and curiosity. I was beautiful and freeing.
I continue to study and the way I remain engaged with theology is by interacting with Christians on this forum. We probably don’t agree—but we might have a few years ago.
What I currently think: The fact that we cannot detect a god or the supernatural is not evidence there is no god; but, it is a reason to withhold believe.
“The truth shall make you free, but first it shall make you angry.”
― Robert Green Ingersoll
“There’s simply no polite way to tell people they’ve dedicated their lives to an illusion.”
― Daniel Dennett
I grew up in the church. I Joined the Navy after 9/11. In the Navy I got serious about studying theology—mostly Reformed theology. I loved J.I. Packer, John Calvin, R.C. Sproul, Sinclair Ferguson—and too many more to list. My wife and I were members of the RCUS (reformed Church in the United States. Our daughters were baptized, I served as a Deacon, and I taught Sunday School.
I attended University on the G.I. Bill. My undergraduate degrees include English (emphasis on the Novel since 1945) and Religious Studies (Emphasis on Mark and the NT). I graduated university and attained advanced degrees in Literature, and Education. I teach writing and literature for a living.
For most of my life, I considered my walk with Christ to be the foundation of everything I did and loved. I took 2 Corinthians 2:5 wholeheartedly—to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. But I began to read more scholarship that caused me to question my presuppositions about inerrancy, the historical reliability of the Bible, and the way I formed my opinions.
The end of my faith happened when I studied epistemology. I knew the term from college and even knew of Alvin Plantinga’s ideas about it. But I just never studied it myself. Those mornings and evenings, before and after work were intense. I lost my faith by sitting on a couch reading books—but my heart was racing. I realized there was an entire world I had not considered because I previously had a version of reality that differed from a new vision full of possibility and curiosity. I was beautiful and freeing.
I continue to study and the way I remain engaged with theology is by interacting with Christians on this forum. We probably don’t agree—but we might have a few years ago.
What I currently think: The fact that we cannot detect a god or the supernatural is not evidence there is no god; but, it is a reason to withhold believe.
“The truth shall make you free, but first it shall make you angry.”
― Robert Green Ingersoll
“There’s simply no polite way to tell people they’ve dedicated their lives to an illusion.”
― Daniel Dennett
Member statistics
- Region or City
- California
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Skeptic
- Occupation
- Educator--I teach literature and writing
- Marital Status
- Married
Signature
I'm going to proportion my beliefs to the evidence.
-- Peter Boghossian
-- Peter Boghossian