Go one year without attending church or praying. I'll explain...
Another poster on this forum made a similar thread where he challenged all non-believers to attend church one Sunday. I think that he thought it important for everyone to step out of their comfort zone and test their beliefs. What he didn't anticipate, me course, is that most non-believers have been to church and in some cases...they still do. It made me wonder just how many believers would be willing to try something similar?
Something I used to see a lot on other forums where flaming and personal attacks are more common, is a situation where atheists and christians will end up accusing each other of being "close-minded". The christians will claim that the atheists are unable to comprehend some aspect of christianity (faith, miracles, prayer, god, etc.) because they are too close minded. Likewise, the atheists will accuse the christians of being too close-minded to understand evolution or the big bang, or a system of morality without god.
To me, "close-minded" means that someone has literally closed their mind to understanding an idea or concept. That person chooses to remain ignorant about something, the reasons "why" may vary, but ultimately they will not challenge a belief they hold with the possibility it may be wrong or at least not entirely correct.
So obviously, I cannot ask a believer to try to not believe in god for awhile and see how it goes. It's not as if belief is a switch you can merely turn off at the moment of your choosing. So instead, I'm going to ask you to challenge the notion that prayer and/or worship genuinely affect your life. It's quite simple really...stop going to church and praying for a year and see if your life changes in any significant way. Why a whole year? You get better results that way...a week or a month may not be sufficient time to notice any change (if there is a change)...I figure a year would be enough time.
Now keep in mind, I have no doubt that prayer/church does affect you in some way. I just happen to believe that the ways they affect you are entirely in your head. An example would be a good feeling you get after a Sunday morning at church. Another example would be you pray for something (say a solution to money problems) and three days later you get a callback about a job. IMO the callback would've happened regardless of whether you prayed or not...but the believer may well believe their prayer was answered. You, as the believer, will simply have to do your best to make sure that any changes are actual changes...not some perceived result of not praying or attending church. It could help to look up the term "self fulfilling prophecy" if you're not already familiar with the idea.
So what do you think? Any takers?
Another poster on this forum made a similar thread where he challenged all non-believers to attend church one Sunday. I think that he thought it important for everyone to step out of their comfort zone and test their beliefs. What he didn't anticipate, me course, is that most non-believers have been to church and in some cases...they still do. It made me wonder just how many believers would be willing to try something similar?
Something I used to see a lot on other forums where flaming and personal attacks are more common, is a situation where atheists and christians will end up accusing each other of being "close-minded". The christians will claim that the atheists are unable to comprehend some aspect of christianity (faith, miracles, prayer, god, etc.) because they are too close minded. Likewise, the atheists will accuse the christians of being too close-minded to understand evolution or the big bang, or a system of morality without god.
To me, "close-minded" means that someone has literally closed their mind to understanding an idea or concept. That person chooses to remain ignorant about something, the reasons "why" may vary, but ultimately they will not challenge a belief they hold with the possibility it may be wrong or at least not entirely correct.
So obviously, I cannot ask a believer to try to not believe in god for awhile and see how it goes. It's not as if belief is a switch you can merely turn off at the moment of your choosing. So instead, I'm going to ask you to challenge the notion that prayer and/or worship genuinely affect your life. It's quite simple really...stop going to church and praying for a year and see if your life changes in any significant way. Why a whole year? You get better results that way...a week or a month may not be sufficient time to notice any change (if there is a change)...I figure a year would be enough time.
Now keep in mind, I have no doubt that prayer/church does affect you in some way. I just happen to believe that the ways they affect you are entirely in your head. An example would be a good feeling you get after a Sunday morning at church. Another example would be you pray for something (say a solution to money problems) and three days later you get a callback about a job. IMO the callback would've happened regardless of whether you prayed or not...but the believer may well believe their prayer was answered. You, as the believer, will simply have to do your best to make sure that any changes are actual changes...not some perceived result of not praying or attending church. It could help to look up the term "self fulfilling prophecy" if you're not already familiar with the idea.
So what do you think? Any takers?
