Is there such a thing as an atheist?

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Elin

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phil112 said:
59 years old. Raised on a farm and raised hogs and cows. Ran a truck patch. Never heard such a thing.

Because you may have heard it means I am lying if I say I haven't? You should think about what you're saying.
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I've always heard it as boar hog.
 
Jimbone

Jimbone

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phil112 said:
59 years old. Raised on a farm and raised hogs and cows. Ran a truck patch. Never heard such a thing.

Because you may have heard it means I am lying if I say I haven't? You should think about what you're saying.
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Wow, it was just a very light hearted joke man. Boar tits don't talk. I wasn't trying to say you were lying. Truce farmer man.
 
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Elin

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Jimbone said:
Wow, it was just a very light hearted joke man. Boar tits don't talk. I wasn't trying to say you were lying. Truce farmer man.
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His use of the phrase shows he is not familiar with it.

It's usually used as a comparison showing how ridiculous something is, as in "as ridiculous as . . ."
 
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Jimbone

Jimbone

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Elin said:
His use of the phrase shows he is not familiar with it.

It's usually used to show how ridiculous something is, as in
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I guessed that, and I do feel bad that he took it like that. I guess the "LOL" flew over his head as well, but it was just a joke. No beef! (beef is slang for conflict just FYI, I'm not a vegetarian)

And Phil just so you know I also really like chainsaws. <-- just an olive branch
 
Cycel

Cycel

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Elin said:
His use of the phrase shows he is not familiar with it.

It's usually used as a comparison showing how ridiculous something is, as in "as ridiculous as . . ."
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This is the first I've heard it as well. I am more familiar with the expression when it relates to a nun. :)
 
Jimbone

Jimbone

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Cycel said:
This is the first I've heard it as well. I am more familiar with the expression when it relates to a nun. :)
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LOL, that's the first time I heard a nun involved, but that's funny.
 
oldhermit

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Elin said:
I've always heard it as boar hog.
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We have always used the expression "worthless as tits on a boar hog" to speak of some cowboy who just couldn't be depended on to get the job done.
 
blue_ladybug

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oldhermit said:
We have always used the expression "worthless as tits on a boar hog" to speak of some cowboy who just couldn't be depended on to get the job done.
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there shall be no more talk of tits on a boar hog..I forbid it..lol.. So the blue lady has said, so shall it be decreed.. :eek: ​LOL!! JK JK.. Carry on with...uhhhhmmm whatever.. :)
 
Cycel

Cycel

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phil112 said:
You know, Cycel, I totally understand what you're saying. I think the problem is that the god that people claim to worship allows them to do things that we can see aren't right, so we reject God instead of realizing that people that are abasing Him and His name are the problem. There has been more damage done to God in His name than any other way.
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In my own experience I don't believe this was the case. It's interesting that my father-in-law quite regularly complained of Christians who went to church on Sunday and stabbed you in the back on Monday. I thought he was an atheist, and after some years we had a discussion in which I called him one; but to my great surprise he was incensed. I'd misunderstood. He was not an unbeliever at all, but he was very bitter toward so-called Christians (people who talked the talk, but who didn't walk the walk). This turned him from Sunday worship but not from God.

I don't know anyone who became an atheist for the rationale you've identified, but I wouldn't be surprised that this sometimes happens. What I've learned is that there are many reasons for losing belief in God.
 
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Elin

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Cycel said:
In my own experience I don't believe this was the case. It's interesting that my father-in-law quite regularly complained of Christians who went to church on Sunday and stabbed you in the back on Monday. I thought he was an atheist, and after some years we had a discussion in which I called him one; but to my great surprise he was incensed. I'd misunderstood. He was not an unbeliever at all, but he was very bitter toward so-called Christians (people who talked the talk, but who didn't walk the walk). This turned him from Sunday worship but not from God.

I don't know anyone who became an atheist for the rationale you've identified, but I wouldn't be surprised that this sometimes happens. What I've learned is that
there are many reasons for losing belief in God.
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Many reasons, but only one cause (Lk 8:13).
 
Cycel

Cycel

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Leannaix said:
I realized I was an atheist after doing a lot of research on the Bible, and on different religions. Eventually, when I saw some things that shook my faith and I had no answer for, I asked myself if my beliefs were justified. So I prayed, and searched, and read the bible. But in the end I found there was no evidence or justification for my beilef in a deity, so I remain unconvinced. I was a devoted Christian before this point, but relied on faith instead of reason, and faith is not a reliable pathway for finding the truth. I care about knowing as many true things as possible, while believing as few false things as I can. Faith is an insufficient way for me to achieve this.
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I don't have a specific memory of the moment I lost belief in God and yet I am often told by believers that I chose not to believe. They don't understand that a person can simply lose belief without being aware it's happened, which is what I think happened to me. Do you have a specific memory of the moment you lost belief? Did it come upon you gradually? Did you one day simply choose not to believe in God?
 
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Elin

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Cycel said:
I don't have a specific memory of the moment I lost belief in God and yet I am often told by believers that I chose not to believe. They don't understand that a person can simply lose belief without being aware it's happened, which is what I think happened to me. Do you have a specific memory of the moment you lost belief? Did it come upon you gradually? Did you one day simply choose not to believe in God?
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One cannot make themselves believe what they do not believe, if they're intellectually honest.
 
Cycel

Cycel

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Elin said:
Many reasons, but only one cause (Lk 8:13).
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"The seed sown on rock stands for those who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but have no root; they are believers for a while, but in the time of testing they desert." (Luke 8:13)
Luke is not talking about those born into Christianity, he is referencing those individuals who came to the faith from paganism. They don't have deep roots in the belief. In times of persecution they fall away.

I had roots (though not as deep as some). Everyone I knew was a Christian. That doesn't mean I couldn't become an atheist. I would point you to two individuals with very deep roots in Christian belief: Dan Barker and Jerry DeWitt. Both are former Christian preachers. Both are now atheists. They both have books and both can be found on YouTube.
 
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phil112

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Cycel said:
In my own experience I don't believe this was the case. It's interesting that my father-in-law quite regularly complained of Christians who went to church on Sunday and stabbed you in the back on Monday. I thought he was an atheist, and after some years we had a discussion in which I called him one; but to my great surprise he was incensed. I'd misunderstood. He was not an unbeliever at all, but he was very bitter toward so-called Christians (people who talked the talk, but who didn't walk the walk). This turned him from Sunday worship but not from God.

I don't know anyone who became an atheist for the rationale you've identified, but I wouldn't be surprised that this sometimes happens. What I've learned is that there are many reasons for losing belief in God.
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I am not bitter, but otherwise I commiserate with your dad. Those people disgust me because they are where they are willingly.
 
Cycel

Cycel

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Elin said:
One cannot make themselves believe what they do not believe, if they're intellectually honest.
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You are correct. Many believers seem to think that atheists simply decided not to believe in God, and so they should be able to reverse the decision. I have tried many times to explain it is not that simple. You seem to understand what many others do not. That is, if I properly understand you. :)
 
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Elin

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Cycel said:
"The seed sown on rock stands for those who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but have no root; they are believers for a while, but in the time of testing they desert." (Luke 8:13)
Luke is not talking about those born into Christianity, he is referencing those individuals who came to the faith from paganism. They don't have deep roots in the belief. In times of persecution they fall away.
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No one is born into saving faith.

It comes only in the rebirth of our spirit into eternal life (Jn 3:5).

The root is the rebirth.

The only cause of not perservering is "no root" of rebirth.
 
J

JesusIsAll

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Faith is not believing there's a God, believing about God, believing who Jesus Christ is. Sure, these things are square one, but faith is coming to Christ, broken in our sin and wanting to change, coming out of darkness and self, responding to the light and God, responding like a child to the Lord drawing us and convicting our hearts, to a place of accepting Jesus Christ not only as our Savior, but as our Lord, our Master over our lives. Faith is having the Holy Spirit in you, Who opens your eyes and ears to the things of God. Faith is loving and trusting God, seeking the things of the Lord Jesus, not your own ways, your own thoughts. Christianity is not knowing about, but KNOWING God. I doubt anybody reverted to atheism, from this place.
 
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Elin

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JesusIsAll said:
Faith is not believing there's a God, believing about God, believing who Jesus Christ is. Sure, these things are square one, but faith is coming to Christ, broken in our sin and wanting to change, coming out of darkness and self, responding to the light and God, responding like a child to the Lord drawing us and convicting our hearts, to a place of accepting Jesus Christ not only as our Savior, but as our Lord, our Master over our lives. Faith is having the Holy Spirit in you, Who opens your eyes and ears to the things of God. Faith is loving and trusting God, seeking the things of the Lord Jesus, not your own ways, your own thoughts. Christianity is not knowing about, but KNOWING God. I doubt anybody reverted to atheism, from this place.
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Yep, because you just described what the root is like.
 
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