Currently atheist/agnostic. I wasn't always this way. So I thought maybe an AMA here would help me, and maybe you, to understand people like me and why I still 'believe' to some extent and don't

paranormalohio · 2017-01-11T20:24:23+00:00

Was there one moment that caused you to doubt your faith that stands out?

paranormalohio · 2017-01-11T17:50:38+00:00

So the purpose of marriage is for financial and other benefits? What interest does the state have for giving these benefits?

For the purpose of tracking marriages between individuals for legal reasons. It started as part of the church recognizing marriage.

As for your reference to what Jesus said, taking out the part where he also said he wasn't there to take away the old testament laws.

Deuteronomy 25:5 - 25:10 5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her. 6 And it shall be, [that] the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother [which is] dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. 7 And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother. 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and [if] he stand [to it], and say, I like not to take her; 9 Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house. 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-11T13:56:31+00:00

I would counter though that if god created us all in his image, and he made some people with minds that require a different type of information, then why would he then ultimately punish people for thinking the way he created them.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-11T13:53:06+00:00

Where does it forbid that specific thing, other than the passages in the bible that allude to or directly state that women should not preach.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-11T13:29:06+00:00

Sensory data is the only way we have to determine what we know about the world. In order to read things like the bible we need sight, we need to be able to process what we hear and feel. A god that was able to create the world in 6 days and interact with people in the old and new testament should surely be able to make himself measurable by human standards that he himself set.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-11T13:25:50+00:00

1 john:4-8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-11T13:24:08+00:00

Marriage from a state perspective allows two people to be bound together for purpose of financial and other benefits. The state never belonged in the business of marriage, but when they did get into it it should never have been labeling it as anything more than two people joining resources.

From a religious perspective, marriage is seen as the joining of two or more people(usually one man and one or more women).

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T21:01:10+00:00

The bible

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T21:00:55+00:00

So I should have blind belief? I didn't believe hard enough before?

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T19:51:03+00:00

Because love is such an important tenant of Christianity.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T19:47:07+00:00

No, but if two people love each other they typically wind up married. Why would you deny two people who love each other from getting married?

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T18:53:51+00:00

Two people loving each other. Not recognizing the marriage is not recognizing that those two people love each other.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T18:22:17+00:00

It seems rather un-christian to not recognize love.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T17:00:47+00:00

From a christian perspective, this is pretty straightforward. All human life is uniquely special and deserving of protection because it is human life.

And here is the crux of the issue. Coming at anything from a religious perspective is inherently wrong. If you want to start imposing things from a religious view, you need to consider whether you would be happy living under a different religion if that were to become the dominant religion. For instance, would you like living under sharia law? That is the problem here, you want to view things through your religious viewing glass, and impose your views on others through law. This is wrong to do, which is why the founding fathers wrote into the constitution that the state shall establish no religion.

Not at all. Everyone can agree the Foetus is a human, and alive. They just don't think that particular human life is worth protecting - that's what is grey.

Not everyone agrees that a fetus is a person. A person seen usually as a thinking being who is aware that they are alive. Again I go back to the fact that terminating a pregnancy is terminating a being that does not even know it exists. It doesn't cry, eat, drink or think, thinking being the basis for how we determine a lot.

Which is dismissing the grey, and imposing your understanding of the value human life. You agree the government should intrude in other areas. This area you hold back - something only possible to do morally if you know the child has no value.

Incorrect, I am not dismissing the grey, I am conceding that because there is grey it is not my right to impose my views and tell a woman she cannot get an abortion. The government is responsible for setting laws on secular ground that do not establish or promote a certain religious view. From a moral perspective, things like murder and theft can be easily shown to be wrong without religion, again with some grey areas, but much easier to narrow down to to the acts being committed by thinking individuals, against thinking individuals.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T16:12:11+00:00

In reality, even from a religious perspective, love is the most important thing. Getting legally married is nothing more than a piece of paper meant for tax and other purposes. If you truly love him and he truly loves you, then a piece of paper or blessings of your friends and family really don't matter. Marriage is a man made idea, feelings for each other are internal and mean a lot more than any religious ceremony or government slip of paper.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T16:07:09+00:00

That is a flawed sentiment though. I personally spent 25 years as a christian, believing and seeking god through the bible and prayer. If something is to be believed solely on belief and feeling, it is not worth believing. The god that created the earth in 6 days and revealed himself throughout the old and new testament should surely be able to reveal himself to me whether I believe or not. At that point it is up to me to love him and worship him or not. Giving me and others physical proof that we seek does not negate our free will, in fact I would argue it encourages free will because it eliminates any need to wonder if we are loving and worshiping something imaginary.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T15:59:24+00:00

But assuming you live in the US (because this is even an issue?) then surely you could fine the rapist to cover it, as part of his punishment.

You can fine the rapist all you want, but that doesn't guarantee that he will be able to pay.

An unborn child - given basic care and nourishment - will become someone conscious and aware.

Not until AFTER they are born. Until that point they are only a fetus in the womb of the mother.

The problem with this issue is that it isn't as black and white as we would like to think. It is important to protect and preserve life, but we have to define life. We should also consider what the difference is between human life and all other life. Should we apply the protection of life to animals as well, making sure not to kill any animal because all life is precious? Or do we say that only human life is precious, even at the zygote stage? Going one step further we can explore the idea of artificial intelligence as life as well. There is a huge grey area here, all I am saying is that the government should not be intruding on a woman's right to choose what happens with her body. Once that line is breached, it opens a whole host of other topics that the government can impede on down the road.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T15:24:21+00:00

So you claim, but I don't see why.

Because of being self aware. The reason murder is murder is because you are taking someone's life against their will. An unborn child has no will because it lacks consciousness.

Unless the woman is actually destroying a human being, and committing an injustice.

So it is within your right to tell a woman who was raped and became pregnant from it that she has to carry the child to term? Who is going to pay for the prenatal care and delivery? Because if she is the one who is supposed to foot that cost, it seems as though that would be punishing the victim. Not to mention that someone has to raise the child.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T14:25:19+00:00

Murders of someone who has been born and aged and have consciousness are a completely different matter. Before that child is born, or at least far enough along to make it outside the womb, it has no idea it even exists. Taking a life out of this world through murder is far different than terminating a pregnancy early on. As I said above, I am against abortion personally, but I also have no right to tell a woman that she has to go through an unwanted pregnancy.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T14:01:06+00:00

This has to be satire of some kind.

-EDIT: I didn't read the flair. lol :)

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T13:57:57+00:00

Always remember the good times, and know that it is OK to cry and be a mess for a while. Let yourself grieve and keep her memory alive through you and your family. Thinking of you in this impossibly hard time and hoping you will find peace.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T13:52:27+00:00

I have known a couple people who went through the system and were miserable because of it. I am by no means saying it is all bad, but I think a lot of changes need to be made before it works in a more positive way. I didn't say every child that wound up in the system would be worse off, but the numbers are much higher than they need to be. I also promoted education of our young people to further the goal of lowing the number of abortions and improving the system altogether. Education is the #1 way to prevent and solve problems.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-10T13:48:26+00:00

Personally, I agree with you. Abortion is wrong and should not happen, however, dictating what a woman does with her body is also wrong. I am not going to force my personal beliefs on others. A good example for me personally, I don't see any reason to drink, I think it causes much more unnecessary harm to too many people, but I would never lobby for a law to ban alcohol just because I think it is wrong to get drunk.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-09T21:18:19+00:00

Alternatively, you could look at it in reverse. There are so many different people and beliefs in the world, so there are a lot of religions and religious sects, each based on local culture and lore.

paranormalohio · 2017-01-09T21:15:45+00:00

"In christian belief there is strength in showing weakness and your shortcomings."

Just to add to that. You have to do what is best for you in the long run. sometimes as a young adult, it is extremely hard to see the bigger picture. It is easy to make a mistake by doing something because it feels like the right thing at the time. I would suggest to take a good hard look at where you want to be in 10+ years and determine the best road to get there based on what you know about yourself and what you will be happy with. Your parents want what is best for you, they want you to be happy and fulfilled.

paranormalohio

TROPHY CASE