Atheists "Hijack" Nativity in Santa Monica

#176
#176
nbakerld said:
I was actually talking about your side conversation, and not the thread as a whole. If you've been talking for the last 15 posts about why a term is not needed, I don't know what to tell you. A term is needed just to distinguish what kind of non-believer you are. Agnostic vs Atheist. There is value in that. Non-believers identify more with one or the other. /ridiculously wasteful side conversation
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Trade belief in God for belief in Astrology and your point is absurd.
 
#177
#177
rjd970 said:
Trade belief in God for belief in Astrology and your point is absurd.
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Maybe in the abstract, but in the real world (a real world that includes many many atheistic and agnostic organizations, and probably 0 non-astrology organizations) it's not absurd. It's useful. Your point that it isn't needed is what's absurd.
 
#178
#178
BigPapaVol said:
I don't have the faith or need to move mountains. Jesus clearly made the point that man doesn't. So be it.

Literal use of that passage only serves to prove that you have no interest in the passage, but rather want to show your brilliant philosophical approach to the world because you don't buy it. Congrats, you did it.
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Jesus made the point to show that they did not have enough faith. Interesting that Christians find it absurd that one should expect them to be able to move mountains if they had more faith; yet, they find no such absurdity in a virgin birth, the resurrection of Lazarus, walking on water, turning water into wine, the resurrection of Jesus, and the ascension.

You are correct, believing that a person could move mountains is absurd; it is as absurd as saying you believe any of the other miracles in the Bible.
 
#179
#179
bamawriter said:
It's not this ^ context that you have wrong. It's the suggestion that as long as Christians are weak, and thus unable to purge themselves of doubt, that they should not be preaching the Gospel to others.
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They most definitely should not be telling others to believe when they themselves do not.
 
#181
#181
nbakerld said:
Maybe in the abstract, but in the real world (a real world that includes many many atheistic and agnostic organizations, and probably 0 non-astrology organizations) it's not absurd. It's useful. Your point that it isn't needed is what's absurd.
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Which is exactly why I said in the end I don't really care, but philosophically it makes no sense and isn't needed.

Not so dumb, IMO. Sorry this didn't live up to your expecatations of a side conversation.
 
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#182
#182
therealUT said:
Jesus made the point to show that they did not have enough faith. Interesting that Christians find it absurd that one should expect them to be able to move mountains if they had more faith; yet, they find no such absurdity in a virgin birth, the resurrection of Lazarus, walking on water, turning water into wine, the resurrection of Jesus, and the ascension.

You are correct, believing that a person could move mountains is absurd; it is as absurd as saying you believe any of the other miracles in the Bible.
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This Christian (and you know I don't like that label) recognizes there is a difference in what Christ can do and what I can.
 
#185
#185
orangeslice13 said:
This Christian (and you know I don't like that label) recognizes there is a difference in what Christ can do and what I can.
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But, given the testimony of the author of the Gospel of Matthew, Christ says that you can move a mountain. Same author says Christ raised himself from the dead. Why accept the latter on 'human testimony' but not the former?
 
#187
#187
VOLatile said:
So... Christians vandalized the atheist displays, but you guys are b*tching about atheists?
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The atheists' display was hostile, antagonistic, and demeaning. That doesn't justify vandalism, but I definitely have a problem with the content of the display.
 
#189
#189
rjd970 said:
Which is exactly why I said in the end I don't really care, but philosophically it makes no sense and isn't needed.

Not so dumb, IMO. Sorry this didn't live up to your expecatations of a side conversation.
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apology accepted
 
#190
#190
bamawriter said:
You're equating doubt with unbelief, and that's not what Jesus was talking about.
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The example of a mustard seed is specifically invoked; it is one of the tiniest plant seeds in the world. Jesus is specifically talking about a belief that is hardly above unbelief. So, if you have any belief at all, you could move a mountain. Or, is this too absurd (yet, all the other hocus-pocus of the NT is not too absurd...)?
 
#193
#193
bamawriter said:
The atheists' display was hostile, antagonistic, and demeaning. That doesn't justify vandalism, but I definitely have a problem with the content of the display.
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But, they fairly won the right to put up the display, no? Their message can be whatever they want. Since when was thought-provoking considered antagonistic? Since when was a banner hostile? The whole idea of displaying religious/non-religious text is demeaning to those that don't share the same belief.
 
#197
#197
therealUT said:
The example of a mustard seed is specifically invoked; it is one of the tiniest plant seeds in the world. Jesus is specifically talking about a belief that is hardly above unbelief. So, if you have any belief at all, you could move a mountain. Or, is this too absurd (yet, all the other hocus-pocus of the NT is not too absurd...)?
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Again, it's not about belief versus unbelief, it's about the purging of doubt.
 
#199
#199
therealUT said:
But, given the testimony of the author of the Gospel of Matthew, Christ says that you can move a mountain. Same author says Christ raised himself from the dead. Why accept the latter on 'human testimony' but not the former?
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I accept the former. Sounds crazy I know. But I don't discount the possibility just because none have.
 
#200
#200
Why are you uncomfortable with the content? It does not affect you, unless you begin questioning your beliefs. Are you afraid that some people may stop and start to question?
 
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