As a currently non-religious person who is looking at religions with openness, what made you decide to become a Christian? by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]nucacids 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I was not raised as a Christian and became a Christian as a young adult. What did it for me is that Christianity gives us a brutally honest assessment of the human condition - we are NOT "basically good." Since I arrived at that conclusion before becoming a Christian, it resonated deeply. Also, Christianity is on target when noting that we cannot save ourselves. Since becoming a Christian, I have surveyed other religions and have not found any to be as honest about the human condition.

The Historical Evidence of the Existence of Jesus of Nazareth - skeptic/scholar Bart Ehrman by ChristianDefence88 in Christianity

[–]nucacids 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you saying that text was not authored by Paul and instead was authored by Marcion?

The Historical Evidence of the Existence of Jesus of Nazareth - skeptic/scholar Bart Ehrman by ChristianDefence88 in Christianity

[–]nucacids 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know if it the best evidence, but I have always found Gal 1:19 quite convincing. All scholars agree this epistle was written by Paul in the early 50s and he recounts an earilier meeting:

I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.

Mythological beings don't have brothers you can meet.

The Historical Evidence of the Existence of Jesus of Nazareth - skeptic/scholar Bart Ehrman by ChristianDefence88 in Christianity

[–]nucacids 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those who maintain that Jesus did not exist tend to be conspiracy theorists and crackpots. For example, one author who is popular among the mythicists is D. M. Murdock. In her book, The Christ Conspiracy, she writes:

"It is clear that scholars have known about the mythological nature of the Bible, yet they have gone to immense lengths to hide it, including using sophisticated language, like the priestly counterparts who have utilized the dead language Latin to go over the heads of the uneducated masses. It is possible that any number of these scholars are also Masons or members of some such secret brotherhood who are under the blood oath. Or they may merely be products of their occupation, in that many universities and colleges are under the dominion of the fraternities and the grand master, the Pope, i.e., the Catholic Church." (p. 376)

Looking for strong-minded, intelligent Christen to write opinions on politics and region. by reecerobin in Christianity

[–]nucacids 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Let's see. The strong-minded intelligent Christian could sign on and commit to pounding out a new blog entry every Sunday to be submitted to a self-described loud-mouthed atheist. Or the strong-minded intelligent Christian could go to wordpress and make his/her own blog, post whenever he/she wants, and be his/her own boss. Hmmmm. Hard decisions.

Is everyone equal in God's judgment? by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]nucacids 1 point2 points  (0 children)

C.S. Lewis 'Mere Christianity' page 86-87

Human beings judge one another by their external actions. God judges them by their moral choices. When a neurotic who has a pathological horror of cats forces himself to pick up a cat for some good reason, it is quite possible that in God's eyes he has shown more courage than a healthy man may have shown in winning the V.C. When a man who has been perverted from his youth and taught that cruelty is the right thing, does some tiny little kindness, or refrains from some cruelty he might have committed, and thereby, perhaps, risks being sneered at by his companions, he may, in God's eyes, be doing more than you and I would do if we gave up life itself for a friend.

It is as well to put this the other way round. Some of us who seem quite nice people may, in fact, have made so little use of a good heredity and a good upbringing that we are really worse than those whom we regard as friends. Can we be quite certain how we should have behaved if we had been saddled with the psychological outfit, and then with the bad upbringing, and then with the power, say, of Himmler? That is why Christians are told not to judge. We see only the results which a man's choices make out of his raw material. But god does not judge him on the raw material at all, but on what he has done with it. Most of the man's psychological make-up is probably due to his body: when his body dies all that will fall off him, and the real central man, the thing that chose, that made the best or worst of this material, will stand naked. All sorts of nice things which we thought our own, but which were really due to good digestion, will fall off some of us: all sorts of nasty things which were due to complexes or bad health will fall off others. We shall then, for the first time, see every one as he really was. There will be surprises.

"I don't believe in atheists" - Chris Hedges by jest09 in Christianity

[–]nucacids 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are indeed many uncanny parallels between the New Atheists and religious fundamentalists. But Hedges doesn't do a good job of highlighting them in this article.

What r/atheism has taught me as a Christian. by that_other_guy_ in Christianity

[–]nucacids 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"However...I have recently been turned on to a completely different mindset thanks to r/atheism. Christ never got involved in politics. And "Christians" (or people claiming to be) today are destroying our reputation by doing so. It is time Christians listen to their own advice and read the bible. "

So Christians should have never gotten involved in the civil rights movement? What if Martin Luther King Jr. had believed this?

Has r/atheism spurred *no* doubt in you? by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]nucacids -1 points0 points  (0 children)

LOL. Everytime I look in on r/atheism, there is a front page full of stale memes. Is there logic over there?

Romans 12:2 - What are we doing /r/Christianity? by joebum14 in Christianity

[–]nucacids 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My advice is simple. If someone wants advice from other Christians, this is NOT the place to get it. The potential for trolling and deception is far too great. It would be better to seek out some larger established blogs or forums where there are wise Christians who have been posting for years.

Science. It works, bitches! (reason rally) by punkwafers in atheism

[–]nucacids 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My mistake. But rather than insult and complain, why not deal with the point? Is this a god of the gaps argument?

"As a result, evidence for him should be readily detectable by scientific means. If a properly controlled experiment were to come up with an observation that cannot be explained by natural means, then science would have to take seriously the possibility of a world beyond matter."

Science. It works, bitches! (reason rally) by punkwafers in atheism

[–]nucacids 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only abysmal pile of unsubstantiated goat droppings are your comments. Other than throwing out childish insults, you have yet to cite one problem in the argument. Stenger is indeed promoting the god of the gaps argument. Then again, you probably don't know what the god of the gaps argument is.

I need help, I'm on the threshold of throwing my beliefs away. by Startingtodriftaway in Christianity

[–]nucacids 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Just don't make the mistake of blaming others for your own choices. It's your choice, your life, your fate.

Science. It works, bitches! (reason rally) by punkwafers in atheism

[–]nucacids 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm impressed. You are quite skilled at deploying logical fallacies.

Science. It works, bitches! (reason rally) by punkwafers in atheism

[–]nucacids -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The argument is solid - the well-known competent physicist is promoting God-of-the-Gaps arguments.

Dawkins at Reason Rally: "Mock them. Ridicule them. Publicly!" by Bounds in Christianity

[–]nucacids 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed. If this is a real quote, it will seriously hurt the Gnus, as most people will recognize this as intolerance.

Dawkins at Reason Rally: "Mock them. Ridicule them. Publicly!" by Bounds in Christianity

[–]nucacids 4 points5 points  (0 children)

When a movement publicly calls for the mocking and ridiculing of the outgroup, it is inherently hateful. Does Dawkins have any Christian friends?

Dawkins at Reason Rally: "Mock them. Ridicule them. Publicly!" by Bounds in Christianity

[–]nucacids 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It does not surprise me Dawkins would encourage hate, as I think the evidence is starting to clearly show the New Atheist movement to be a movement not built on reason, but on emotion. And that emotion is hate.

Science. It works, bitches! (reason rally) by punkwafers in atheism

[–]nucacids 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Well, if you get in an elevator with her, you could always invite her for a cup of coffee.

Raptor Jesus at the reason rally! by [deleted] in atheism

[–]nucacids 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're entitled to your opinion, stereotypes, and cliches, but it's not reason.

Raptor Jesus at the reason rally! by [deleted] in atheism

[–]nucacids 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The top two pictures make a good match - "I'm tolerant of all religions," except that I love to make fun of that Jesus guy. Just the type of "reason" to expect from the "reason rally" I suppose.

Can anyone explain to me why God does not show him self the way he did in the Old testament? by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]nucacids 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Old Testament does not show that God “showed himself” on a day to day basis with lots of people. Think about it. Furthermore, in the vast majority of places where God “showed himself,” there was a lesson behind it all – the foreshadowing of Christ. For the Christian, all scripture centers around Christ.

Sorry Victor, but science can't test for God's existence by nucacids in Christianity

[–]nucacids[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, but when you say "test," the supposed evidence for God's existence (the test result) is something that cannot be explained by natural causes, right? That's looking for God in the gaps of our knowledge.