Ya know, it's amazing how _human_ atheists can wind up being to people once you get to know them. Just as human, moral, caring, willing to fight for their country, and even downright friendly as anybody who believes in any god.
That's one big hurdle I got over once I got to meet and get to know them. ... Hurdle of ignorance, that is.
I once heard a minister say (I know, shocking, that I didn't melt like the witch in The Wizard of Oz), You can't be so spiritually minded that you're no earthly good.
I could say more, but then I would have to............well, you know the rest.
Actually, I was just referring to your post where you said you appreciated an atheist's common sense approach to life. While I don't consider myself an atheist (i prefer agnostic), I think people who aren't viewing the world with 'spiritually colored glasses' are usually more pragmatic than those who don't have that particular filter on their lenses.
It is a matter of seeing the world as it is, as opposed how it should be.
"The Loyal Opposition. Atheists are the loyal opposition to theists. It is difficult to see the fallacies in one's own thinking. Atheists serve as a corrective to invalid theistic reasoning. Their arguments against theism should give pause to dogmatism and temper the zeal with which many believers glibly dismiss unbelief. In fact, atheists serve a significant corrective role for theistic thinking. Monologues seldom produce refined thought. Without atheists, theists would lack significant opposition with which to dialogue and clarify their concepts of God."
My apologies, Dancing, I wasn't trying to be that 'deep'.
What I meant by pragmatic was, practical. Not leave a deformed kid in the wilderness to die practical (like the old Greeks and others). But, put the seat back down and a guy will have a greater chance of, shall we say, 'loving', practical.
I have one atheist friend -- He has rejected the religion he was raised with.
He knows where the churches are (He told me how to get to two different Catholic churches I couldn't find), he knows holy dates (and reminds me) better than I do.
He is a treasure of a friend.
(But, of course, I never stop praying for him because I want to spend all eternity with him, and so do his parents.)
12-2-06: I received my first Christmas card, and it was from this precious friend.
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GarthP2000
Ya know, it's amazing how _human_ atheists can wind up being to people once you get to know them. Just as human, moral, caring, willing to fight for their country, and even downright friendly as anybody who believes in any god.
That's one big hurdle I got over once I got to meet and get to know them. ... Hurdle of ignorance, that is.
Just amazing.
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dancing
hi Garth,
yeah they can be just like anyone else
i've learned a lot of bible from them too
they ask questions that many bible students never thought of
which i'm very interested in
and the common sense approach to life in general
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Sushi
I once heard a minister say (I know, shocking, that I didn't melt like the witch in The Wizard of Oz), You can't be so spiritually minded that you're no earthly good.
Just an aside....
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dancing
ok sushi, i don't get it.
though i agree with the statement
i thought it would say 'can be'.
can you say more?
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Sushi
I could say more, but then I would have to............well, you know the rest.
Actually, I was just referring to your post where you said you appreciated an atheist's common sense approach to life. While I don't consider myself an atheist (i prefer agnostic), I think people who aren't viewing the world with 'spiritually colored glasses' are usually more pragmatic than those who don't have that particular filter on their lenses.
It is a matter of seeing the world as it is, as opposed how it should be.
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dancing
touche' on the first line...:)
had to look up pragmatic...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmatic
personally i think life is very spiritual
even from an atheist perspective
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism
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dancing
and i don't think common sense and spiritual need to clash
but they will flow together
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T-Bone
The world would be a boring place if we all thought alike. Here's a another interesting site – I think GeorgeAar mentioned this on another thread:
http://skepdic.com/
and I found this one great too:
http://www.skeptic.com/index.html
I for one have found what Garth said to be true – atheists are normal human beings like everyone else. I got over that hurdle of ignorance after leaving TWI. I love the freedom to associate with whomever I want and not being caught up in using some religious groups' criteria for choosing relationships…And I'm not being Pollyannaish when it comes to open forums like Grease Spot Café. Of course there's times we all get a little crazy and vicious [just mentioning Pineapple Pizza can tick some people off in a heartbeat! :) ]. But for the most part I've found discussions with atheists a tremendous learning experience – reminds me of something I read in The Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics by Norman Geisler, on Atheism:
"The Loyal Opposition. Atheists are the loyal opposition to theists. It is difficult to see the fallacies in one's own thinking. Atheists serve as a corrective to invalid theistic reasoning. Their arguments against theism should give pause to dogmatism and temper the zeal with which many believers glibly dismiss unbelief. In fact, atheists serve a significant corrective role for theistic thinking. Monologues seldom produce refined thought. Without atheists, theists would lack significant opposition with which to dialogue and clarify their concepts of God."
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dancing
Good Points T-Bone
I've found a few good questions myself.
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Sushi
My apologies, Dancing, I wasn't trying to be that 'deep'.
What I meant by pragmatic was, practical. Not leave a deformed kid in the wilderness to die practical (like the old Greeks and others). But, put the seat back down and a guy will have a greater chance of, shall we say, 'loving', practical.
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Kit Sober
I have one atheist friend -- He has rejected the religion he was raised with.
He knows where the churches are (He told me how to get to two different Catholic churches I couldn't find), he knows holy dates (and reminds me) better than I do.
He is a treasure of a friend.
(But, of course, I never stop praying for him because I want to spend all eternity with him, and so do his parents.)
12-2-06: I received my first Christmas card, and it was from this precious friend.
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