Yes, most definitely true, Ken. But this also means one of the following: 1. All religions are completely wrong, or; 2. All religions are completely wrong, apart from one, which is 100% right, or ; 3. All religions are wrong, except for one which has some things right. 4. Some religions have some things right. 5. All religions have some things right. Apart from adding one or two categories modifying some of the statements, I think this must logically cover all the possibilities. This is why my position is mostly atheistic, but with the acceptance that I don't know.
I agree - and that is what SR Marie-Thérèse taught me. Left to my grandmother (who loved me and I loved her - we were very close in many ways) - I could well have developed a bigoted opinion against religious beliefs. But I know that a god or gods exist in the many world views of other people and that he/she or they don't exist for many other people. And that the majority of people follow the Golden Rule to some extent.
I'd have to say that I was pretty much a non-practicing Christian before I met my wife. She really helped me become the "Christian" husband she always wanted, but never got. We don't live the Christian life that we probably should, but then again, how many Christians do? Wife and I are simply proud of what we believe in.
Funny thing about being a Christian. Often, some nonbelievers will point out your mistakes, as if being a Christian means you are also supposed to be perfect.
I hope I didn't say anything along those lines @Ike Willis ? If I implied such it wasn't intentional.
My post was just something I observed from people I associate with. It wasn't aimed at any poster here.
There is a huge difference between believing in the existence of God, and believing that any particular religion is right, or even partially right. The Bible says that now we see as though we were looking through a dark glass; which means what we can see or understand is pretty foggy at best. Add to that the fact that pretty much everyone has their own interpretations of what just about everything in the Bible actually means, and there is bound to be confusion. Additionally, God is a spiritual being, and you can't find spirituality by reading a book, or studying laws of nature. So, when people try to determine whether a god exists by using intellectual studies; it just does not work, and people will naturally come to the conclusion that no god exists because they cannot prove it. However, if you will search for God in a spiritual way, and just ask Him to show you that he exists, then He will come into your heart, and you will feel his presence. Each person must discover God for himself, and it can only be done by opening your spiritual self, and not by studying the Bible, or any other religious book, to prove whether God exists.
@Yvonne Smith That truth was beautifully said. As hard as I have tried to understand how someone could be an Atheist...I just honestly could not understand. But now I do. Atheists heads are filled with so much secular knowledge that they cannot hear God speaking spiritual knowledge to their hearts. Even when they might "think" they hear someone speaking in their hearts...that head knowledge jumps right in and drowns out "heart voices" with their "head voices" and tells them "that's would be crazy...don't even go there!" Head knowledge only believes what it can see, feel, taste, touch, or hear (as long as that hearing isn't coming from their hearts) It is our hearts that hear God softly calling our names and it is our hearts that hear Him tell us that He is our Creator Father who loves us and wants His best for us. It is our hearts that He speaks all His Truth to. The Bible does tell us who God is, but it is our hearts that recognize the voice of our heavenly Father when His Spirit speaks to us. And it is Faith that fills our hearts and minds with the Truth that God does exist and that He alone is God. And Faith is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. Faith is confident trust that God is who He says He is and that He will fulfill all that He has promised His children in His Word the Bible. Spiritual knowledge is based on Faith, Hope, and Trust....not in our fleshly body's five senses. Knowledge is not a bad thing, but opening your head to fill with secular knowledge without opening your heart to fill with spiritual knowledge will lead only to an earthly existence and not an eternal one.
Both belief and unbelief require faith so, either way, both the atheist and the Christian has to accept a leap of faith.
I disagree. The atheist has to accept at least as much that is unproven as does the Christian. It is the agnostic who lacks faith.
And I disagree. The Biblical concept of faith does not fit with an atheist's belief that there is no God. It is not faith that makes them believe that way, it is lack of proof.
That's fine. You are free to do so, but it doesn't make sense. You just made reference to the atheist's BELIEF that there is no God. Since he surely cannot prove that there is no God or any of the theories that he may have accepted in lieu of believing in God's creation, the atheist has a belief in something that he is accepting on faith. The agnostic, on the other hand, may lean one way or another, but he lacks the faith either to believe in God or in the non-existence of God.