"Cary Kittrell" <cary@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:fhfqg6$lss$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> In article <1195074898.691540.92220@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> skyeyes
> <skyeyes@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes:
>> On Nov 14, 12:27 pm, "rockymt" <rock...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> > When a Believer, a follower of Christ is faced with a crisis in
>> > his/her
>> > life; when he/she has just experience a grave disappointment or has
>> > just
>> > received news of a tragedy, a job loss, a spouse has broken the
>> > news.,"
>> > its over, I want a divorce". A teenage child is hanging on by a
thread
>> > to
>> > life due to a drug over-dose - the list goes on - they ask this
similar
>> > question to the God they believe: "where are you! How could you let
>> > this
>> > happen. if you're an all powerful deity, then do something" We
>> > believers cry
>> > out, even shake our fist at an image of Christ, a cross or crucifix.
"
>> > and
>> > say,"God where are You - do something!" God understands this
response.
>> >
>> > This is the fallen condition all humanity is in. We believers and
>> > non-believers alike are in the same boat. We are like 'doubting
Thomas'
>> > wanting answers, and saying to ourselves, "where, are the answers
then.
>> > Show
>> > me! Unless I have specific proof, I will not believe."
>> > Even Christians, who have trusted in God doubt, shake our fist and
grow
>> > weary serving in this God that promises, " I will never leave you nor
>> > forsake you."
>> >
>> > We Christians have to keep going on despite the clouds of darkness
and
>> > doubt
>> > that gather about and brood over us. Yet we dare to keep the faith.
We
>> > get
>> > angry because we don't have answers, and in that moment of extreme
>> > darkness
>> > in our journey of life, we fail, but somehow recover and believe in
our
>> > heart God will walk us through this.
>> >
>> > Non -believers say, "go on and show me. Where, where is this god."
>> > Show me
>> > a thread of proof, show me the evidence. Where was your god when ....
>> > ": so
>> > similar really.
>> > I sense they hurt almost the same as Christians do. They shake
their
>> > fist,
>> > say things in the heat of that moment. However they say it to those
>> > Christians (Christ -bearers) who are being made more and more in the
>> > image
>> > and likeness of God. It is like down deep in their heart they want
to,
>> > really want to believe... without demanding answers first. It's like
>> > they
>> > hurt in just the same way as we Christians do
>> >
>> > My conclusion:
>> >
>> > I am not here to here to pass judgement on anyone . Nor am I here to
>> > convert
>> > anyone: that is not my job. I don't have the mind of a scientists or
a
>> > naturalist. I am here to encourage all unbelievers to ponder this
>> > existence
>> > and
>> > maybe look within ourselves.
>> > take care .. you'll,
>> > rockymt
>>
>> You are *so* misinformed. Please try to wrap your head around what we
>> actually say, rather than what your fundy handlers tell you we think,
>> 'kay?
>>
>> I have had quite a few crises in my adult life - people I love have
>> died, I have gotten divorced, etc., etc., but *never* have I squalled
>> "WHY??" That's because there *is* no "why." People die.
>> Relation****ps fail. Illnesses strike. That's called "life." There's
>> nothing causing these things to happen "for a reason." Things have
>> always been like this, and they always *will* be like this. Looking
>> for a supernatural cause is just emotional masturbation - and it's a
>> symptom of extreme ego.
>>
>> Atheists are atheists because *there's no evidence that ANY god
>> exists.* Including yours. It has nothing to do with being "mad at
>> god," or disappointed, or hurt, or in any kind of psychic distress.
>> It's a matter of evidence - of which there is *none*. It's not a
>> matter of "wanting" to believe or not believe. It's more a matter of
>> inability to believe given the lack of evidence. Some of us value our
>> intellectual integrity enough that we can't make ourselves believe in
>> things that aren't real. You obviously don't have this problem.
>>
>> Brenda Nelson, A.A.#34
>> EAC Professor of Feline Thermometrics and Cat-Herding
>> skyeyes at dakotacom dot net
>>
>
> I'm always powerfully struck, when some tragedy occurs --
> and life, inevitably, is tragedy -- how many people
> genuinely suffer the most from having their sense
> of "why" upset. Such great pain and loss cries
> out for an explanation. Why did this happen? How
> could this have happened to her?
Anthropomorphizing cir***stance allows one to convert dispair into anger
by
providing a target for that anger.
> I do not have this reaction myself, but I certainly
> cannot deny the hurt I see this
> bewilderment inflicting on others. And
> so I wonder: are atheists as a group not subject
> to this particular torment?
Well, I'm not immune. I certainly feel a big temptation to ascribe events
to
some conscious causal entity when tragedy strikes, but not the god named
god. Actually, I often curse "the fates" for what befalls me. I sometimes
roll my eyes in a kind of sarcastic "Happy now?" response offered to the
universe at large. I do this even though I know perfectly well there's no
such thing as "the fates".
> And if they are
> somewhat immune, is it their atheism which allows
> them not to anguish over what seems to others
> a sudden and treacherous change of rules?
In my case, there's a decided lack of dogma or detail associated with my
anthropomorphism-of-op****tunity. It's just a target for my anger, or
rueful
annoyance.
> Or
> was this already their inherent nature, to not see life
> as a story that must play out according to
> the conventions of children's stories, and thus
> it was this trait which made them uninterested
> in belief systems in which everything happens
> for some human-centered reason?
It's not my nature, sadly. My cursing of fate happens before I have time
to
apply reason. It's something I wish I could change about myself. If we
ever
get to the point where we can edit our own brains, that's one of the first
things I'll click and drag to the trash bin.
--
Denis Loubet
dloubet@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
|
