Brandon,
If you think I am deluded, then you think I am deluded. I know I am not deluded. I know God works in my life.
If you cannot accept that, well, then you just don't accept it. You don't have to and I am not asking you to.
But, just because you do not believe what I believe, does that make me deluded?
Because I have faith and I accept what I accept on faith, that makes me deluded?
Should I think you deluded because you don't have faith in God? I don't.
I just think it makes us different.
I agree with Brandon 100%.
Re this whole discussion: My brother has asked me why Christians proselytize, something not done in our religion. I told him that, because they believe that Jesus is the path to salvation, some Christians believe they're doing us all a favor by trying to convert us.
And that, at the end of the day, is what I truly believe Momma Angel is all about. All this "I just want to understand..." is a lot of malarkey, IMHO.
It's cool, Momma Angel, but a little disingenuous...
Brandon,
We will just have to agree to disagree. No harm, no foul.
Brandon,
We will just have to agree to disagree. No harm, no foul.
I said something similar to what nimh did, actually... it's just not something that concerns me much. I brought up the Green Bay Packers analogy to illustrate that, though you were too enthusiastic about them for it to work properly. Insert anything that you just find irrelevant and not really worth spending mental energy on instead (like unicorns).
Glad you weren't offended sozobe. I can't imagine not being a Green Bay Packer fan. That would be like blasphme to my mom!
As for "You don't see any reason (?) for a power greater than man?", continuing my streak of answering questions directed to others, no.
Okay, I can accept that. If you don't, then you don't.
Meanwhile, I *did* ask you some questions that haven't been answered yet (you responded to the first part of the post, but not the second), and I'm curious about your response.
sozobe wrote:
You say "I could better communicate to you why I believe, why I have faith, my experiences with God, etc. then there wouldn't be the miscommunication." On the one hand, sure, if you communicate more clearly, there wouldn't be the miscommunication-based antipathy. On the other hand, this sentence seems to imply the assumption that if you could merely communicate your faith well enough, everyone else would share it. Is that true? If not, what IS your goal in explaining your faith?
Hmmm. I had to really think on this. What I mean is if I could actually get you to feel what I feel when I am explaining it, perhaps it would be easier for you to understand. Perhaps if you felt what I felt (not literal you) then it might not be thought irrational, ludicrous, deluded, etc. I, in no way, think that if you actually felt those feelings it might actually make you change your mind. I don't believe it works like that, sozobe. You can tell someone you are happy and they can see you are happy, but they can't feel you happy. I do not believe a person can convert another person. God is the only one that can do that. I honestly want to understand those that don't believe.
sozobe, when I first happened onto A2K I was quite shocked. I had never heard some of the things I had seen posted about God. I didn't understand it. I am starting to understand why some of those things have been said. I don't believe in bashing anyone over the head and scaring them into heaven. That is not the way it works! Maybe I try too hard to be the opposite of that, I don't know. I felt if I understood those that don't believe then maybe I could learn something about others as well as myself.
