schmuckley has to be trolling us.
No one could be that stupid and still comprehend that the letter you press on the keyboard puts the same letter on the screen.
As Alan Watts (Watts was a well respected philosopher/theologian) observed, consciousness (human consciousness) is "the universe being aware of itself." Before consciousness-capable life forms there was no awareness intrinsic in the universe. "God," well that's a pretty worn out word, plenty of detritus hanging off it. Slimey in fact, best to handle with gloves.Would you believe in God if... it is proven that consciousness is a fundamental feature of reality, like space-time, gravity, mass, charge etc? This would mean that consciousness came first and was here from the start, something being seriously considered by people who aren't crackpots in today's scientific studies of consciousness.
Consciousness existing before biological life would go against the materialist world view directly.
Well, no, since you asked.
I stumbled upon the forum when I was much younger when I was googling around for articles on the Evangelical Christian objections to the Mormon religion. I was nominally Christian back in those days myself. It didn't take long after diving into the debates on the forums to find myself an atheist, however. They were actually pretty welcoming and hospitable to atheists back in the early days.
Sounds like they deconverted you. That was my experience when I moved to a small midwestern town that had a bible college. Arrived as a parochial-school educated german catholic, left an atheist.
You know, I don't get the whole "convert/deconvert" thing. I grew up religious, stopped being such for close to ten years, and started back up again. This was all based on my choice, regardless of the efforts of well-meaning people on either side of the isle.
People who claim to be deconverted already had strong leanings in that direction anyway as that process normally takes years for a full-grown adult, and nothing would have stopped them once they made up their minds. The reverse is also true.
In the end, there is no such thing as a person being either converted or deconverted -- we all believe/disbelieve what we want to.
What?
You know, I don't get the whole "convert/deconvert" thing. I grew up religious, stopped being such for close to ten years, and started back up again. This was all based on my choice, regardless of the efforts of well-meaning people on either side of the isle.
People who claim to be deconverted already had strong leanings in that direction anyway as that process normally takes years for a full-grown adult, and nothing would have stopped them once they made up their minds. The reverse is also true.
In the end, there is no such thing as a person being either converted or deconverted -- we all believe/disbelieve what we want to.
No one is deconverted, or converted by outsiders...we only concert/deconvert oursevles, period.
So people raised Pentecostal can't convert to Catholicism or vice versa?
I was raised Episcopal, I've been agnostic for 40 years; I converted.
You know, I don't get the whole "convert/deconvert" thing. I grew up religious, stopped being such for close to ten years, and started back up again. This was all based on my choice, regardless of the efforts of well-meaning people on either side of the isle.
People who claim to be deconverted already had strong leanings in that direction anyway as that process normally takes years for a full-grown adult, and nothing would have stopped them once they made up their minds. The reverse is also true.
In the end, there is no such thing as a person being either converted or deconverted -- we all believe/disbelieve what we want to.
Analyze it if you like, but with respect to "deconvert" I was just trying to be funny. It means "repelled you so much you never listened to them again."
Why?
If people "can't" be converted by outsiders then why do various street preachers attempt to convert people? You yourself have claimed to give people the good word so that they might convert to your belief system. If you think people can't be converted then you've saved yourself and others a whole bunch of time.
If people can't be converted than you should have no problem with Richard Dawkins et al giving talks or writing "best sellers".
People are converted to different ways of thinking by external sources all the time whether it's belief systems, historical perspectives, different cooking methods, etc.
Then this means that you misunderstand the purpose of street preachers -- converting you isn't the goal...giving you information to make the choice yourself is.
It's like leading a horse to water, so to speak, while not forcing it to drink
Exactly, I don't. I'm sure Dawkins isn't necessarily trying to convert people, but his goal is to educate you, and you make the choice on your own.
...but in the end, you're chosing to believe, or not, which is my point.
I guess what I'm saying is that the conversion part lies totally with the individual -- no one can convert you, you always do that yourself.
schmuckley has to be trolling us.
No one could be that stupid and still comprehend that the letter you press on the keyboard puts the same letter on the screen.
Name one organism that has been physically observed evolving.
Then this means that you misunderstand the purpose of street preachers -- converting you isn't the goal...giving you information to make the choice yourself is.
It's like leading a horse to water, so to speak, while not forcing it to drink
Exactly, I don't. I'm sure Dawkins isn't necessarily trying to convert people, but his goal is to educate you, and you make the choice on your own.
...but in the end, you're chosing to believe, or not, which is my point.
I guess what I'm saying is that the conversion part lies totally with the individual -- no one can convert you, you always do that yourself.
The choice to convert or not, at least for most adults, is theirs to make.
Name one organism that has been physically observed evolving.
Name one organism that has been physically observed evolving.
Now was that hard? All that circling the wagons, just to agree anyway.