Pete

Yes, I miss our Pagan membership of the forum.

I came across agnostics that are agnostic in everything except they believe Jesus existed and the stories about him. Odd I know.

Death is just the circle of life. We do not live forever. I just hope it won't be painful and those I leave behind are okay. The rest I just feel "whatever".

Maybe it is lockdown fever. Due to health risks I have had to isolate since March and had to avoid everyone. Just tired of it all.

I do not want to be banned. Neither do I want Dan removed from the forum. I just wish we could talk sometimes without the constant interjection of my bronze age collection of myths says this and therefore you are wrong and I am so right and you need to accept this too or some nasty thing will happen you in the unproven afterlife brought about by some imaginary deity who he speaks for. Respect has to go two ways. So far I do not see this.

No disagreement on any of that. The only reason Dan is acknowledged at all is because of this forum. If he preached this in the street I would just walk by and consider it another nutter. Here we cannot be that rude and we are being forced to listen to it. No wonder it is uncomfortable and especially if he has permission to attack our beliefs and we are asked to respect his as he does it. hey ho!

I have no concern with him believing what he does. It's the constant riding comments that attempt to put us in some little box like "atheists/agnostics believe in nothing" and " I have a belief that gives me eternal life" . It said as though these are qualified fact rather than an unsubstantiated belief. It maybe a belief but there is no proof of that. He still does not get that atheists/agnostics although see no evidence for a deity or see the bible as evidence, we are not all the same. Any one who reads bronze age stories from differing cultures knows our ancestors believed in some pretty wacky stuff and very little of it holds true in todays light. It is hardly something that can put down or dismiss modern day science. Yet here we are being berated by such ignorance and dismissed without a shred of evidence. It is wearing after a while.

I should know better. It has happened many times with someone being a pain and then when you challenge them they run for a moderator. If this was facebook you could just block them so they could not see each others comments. Hey Ho! That is life.

😥

I used to defend him as having every right as any other belief but it gets so invasive till every conversation is about him and his judgements on the beliefs of others. It got to me in the end. We get a lot of condemning beliefs in the UK too. People trying to burn down mosques and destroying Jewish and Islamic grave stones. it would be nice to have a conversation on agnostic/atheist posts without evangelical intervention. He has of course every right to believe as he does but we also should have every right not to believe the same. Why not just accept we are different and leave it there but as he said it is part of his faith to continue to preach his view. That is when it becomes wearing after a while. It is the reason I don't come on here as often as I used too. I don't want to continually talk about his view of christianity and the bible every time. Surely there is more to talk about than this. I don't want to offend but it is so hard at times and especially when you feel bullied by his faith. Sorry about this but there are two sides to this.

Your in the Atheist/Agnostic section of the forum. Yet, you come here to proclaim your god without any consideration for the views of people here. You are the bully. Your the one attacking. You just cannot accept that someone cannot see things your way and here you are persisting again. I would say take a look at yourself but insight ain't your strong point.

I beg to differ. We have said many times we do not want to hear your dogma but you still persist. If anyone disagrees with you are constantly trying to justify it. It cannot be related to because it does not fit our view of reality. However, here you are on an atheist/agnostic section of the board constantly arguing. You make an unfounded comments and then try to.justify it with more unfounded comments. I would say you are the most argumentative person on the board. If you say something and another disagrees with you, do you leave it there. No. You will argue till everyone is frustrated by you.

I am aware of this. There are a lot beliefs around the season. The Goddess is sleeping. There is a lot around paganism in Christianity. Many miracles were first proclaimed about other gods and then blended into the narrative.. Then around most old UK churches they have grotesques and Gargoyles to ward off the evil spirits. Some are the craftsmanship trade marks but most are not.

True.I think mainly because it takes them to childhood memories. I can still remember believing in Father Christmas and even convinced my self as a four year old I saw his sledge in the shy. Belief is a powerful thing.

For many it is philosophical rather than a belief in everything as is written. It is only the fundamentalists who insist all that is written is true. I know Jews who also relate to it being a way of life rather than an assertion all is true. I remember as a child attending church 4 times on a sunday and bible study during the week. I then trusted that ministers knew more than me and had all the answers. Today, I certainly do not. I had a strict religious up bringing. I learned that church goers were the good people and the rest as rebellious against god. Now I see that is not true and most just do not understand this god belief or see any point to it.

I know. I was brought up on this stuff. 😁

He has in cased his mind in a scrap book of texts. A man made scrap book of texts.

Whatever Dan. 😂😅 Goodnight to you. 🤣

Yet, having been brought up a fundamental christian it was analysing what people like Dan said that helped me to shed it. Good will or not, I am grateful to Dan. He is annoying and a pest at times and I am sure he is frustrated with me but it was educational. Not in the way he hoped I know but all dues where they belong. It helped sort out any doubts for me.

Equally I went from fundamentalist to liberal Christian to agnostic. I am closer to Atheist nowadays. I owe it to talking to people like Dan. He makes me question my thoughts and in doing so I can now see it as all nonesense and unfounded myth. Thanks Dan.

Yes but they did not claim magical things happened which not only goes against science. It also goes against reality and therefore not reliable as history. Most of the things you mentioned are supported by other reporters to the events. The bible stands alone in its report. It is just not credible.

It is not a question of like and it is you that is making an assertion. All I am saying is you have no proof and that is correct is it not. You cannot show me god. You cannot show me heaven. You cannot show me that the bible is anything but the words of men. All I am saying is that is the case.

Dan you quote from your bronze age collection of writings. You have no proof there is a god, no proof the bible has anything to do with this god, no proof belief gets you eternal life and no proof there is eternal life. You can call it faith, spiritual or whatever words you want to use but you have nothing conclusive or evidence based proof to support it. It is all myth based supported by further myth.. No wonder people don't take you seriously.

That is the point. There are no miracles or evidence. We just have a collection of very dubious bronze age scripts that have been highly edited and synthesized through the ages. Beyond that there is nothing. Nothing that distinguishes it from other scripts from the time. I put it to you, it is you that believes in nothing but an old myth. You say I believe in nothing but I do. I believe in science and humanity. I believe that far from original sin as you say mankind is centrally good but that goodness is distorted by the hardships and experiences of this life. I don't believe that only a few go to some mystical heaven. For me if there was another life I would want everyone to get the chance. However, I see no evidence of a second life and therefore that belief is based on a myth. I believe we and the rest of animal kind is all there is to this life and we make the most of that because one day it and this earth will be no more.

The more I talk to Dan the more mad he appears. We go over the same ground over and over again. Quoting a book we don't believe in is not going to convince anyone of anything. There is no evidence that god exists, no evidence that if Jesus existed or that he was god, no evidence that the bible is anything but a bronze age collection of myths and no evidence of anything miraculous or a god inspired influence is going on. We live on the earth but this planet is no more than a speck of dust in a massive ocean of space. It is not all about us. That said I just don't give a damn for your religion Dan. End of.