I know that you do not believe for whatever reasons, that there is a God, that you were created by a heavenly creator, & that those who claim to be believers have been unkind & in your opinion unthinking. I respect this. Truly I do. You can leave it as you probably will, but I wish you would take this; the comfort that I feel in my mind, my heart, my spirit and my breath is real. Because I was blessed & taught in the way unique to me & many believers, I feel such love & sweet peace. You cannot know what I know simply because I share it with you. I just wish that you could feel it, taste it & find the rest & comfort that I have through knowing my precious creator & father God. He's real to me, you don't agree this is possible, but oh, the overwhelming peace...I WISH IT FOR YOU. In love, respect & human understanding, I really do. The only question I am asking is can you just accept my extension of love & hope to you, without berating my beliefs? There's no ego or mocking in it.
2006-07-20 01:42:19 · 12 answers · asked by Sleek 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Do not tell me what I can and cannot feel, you do not know me. Do not tell me what I can and cannot know, you do not know where I come from or why I became an Atheist. I have great comfort in my belief. It is real as well. Who says I do not have overwhelming peace?
You have your belief, and that is fine. I do not accept your extension of love and hope. I do not need it. I will not berate your belief, and you need to stop making assumptions of mine.
2006-07-20 02:08:29 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's the nicest proselytizing I've ever had. Really... you are very sweet.
But I already had love and hope. It did not come from the Bible, from the God of the Bible, or from the Jesus of the Bible, or from Allah or Muhammad for that matter.
My love and hope comes from within. Maybe there is a thin line of connection between what you are seeking in your God of the Bible and what I feel inside. But I really don't need all the trappings, all the mythology, all the conventions and all the falsehoods of organized religion to be a spiritual person.
Thank you though. Again, you are very sweet and kind in comparison to some of the religious Nazis I have encountered who will bang you over the head with their Bible.
2006-07-20 09:01:24 · answer #2 · answered by idspudnik 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can lead a horse to water............ but you cant make it drink.
are you saying that you cant have inner peace without god? you cant have respect and human understanding?.
from an atheists point of view, i am very happy with my own life. i dont need god to be able to have all the things you have mentioned. and to be quite honest with you, some of the things that are preached under the name of god i feel are offensive to me because i know in my heart that i cannot change the fact that the was i was born is referred to is bad and wrong and im going to hell for it.
if you really had inner peace and respect and understanding you would realise that EVERYONE is different and no matter how much you would love it if everyone became at one with god, you would RESPECT and UNDERSTAND that not everyone shares the same opinions as you. i think its great that you have decided your path and have been enlightened by your choice. the last thing this world needs is grumpy people.
Now. do i want to accept your extension of love and hope? of course because there is no reason to exist without it.
what do you mean by blessed and taught? I think love and understanding and respect are core values of any belief even to atheists.
My mother did the best thing for me growing up.. she let me choose what path i wanted to take. i could have followed god or become buddhist, but i decided just to do what my mother taught me from birth. that is to love and respect people, be honest and caring and do what I want to do. now if i had grown up in a religious household, i would not have been strong enough to accept that i am different and that is ok. and in turn through seeing how some ignorant people disrespect and treat me, i have realised what it is like to be on the other end of the stick. under your religion i would be feeling disgusted at my self even more, would not have the same rights as heteros and would be constantly shamed of being myself. the very term understanding is a joke. you only get inner peace when you know that people will accept you for who you are and not try to change you.
let me make this clear. IT IS WRITTEN IN THE BIBLE, THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE GAY WILL GO TO HELL UNLESS THEY BEG FOR FORGIVENESS. how is that respect?
i have heaps of respect for people who believe in god. however, when god chooses to accept me for who i am, i will accept god.
2006-07-20 09:20:19 · answer #3 · answered by elmoishiding 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are simply asking to be allowed to reach out to others...who would be cruel enough to ridicule you?
One thing though-while I'm neither and atheist nor agnostic- you shouldn't lump the two together. They are not one in the same and agnostics would not deny the existance of God. They would simply say, "I dunno, maybe."
Because I tend to defend people of all faiths, I've been asked if I'm Muslim (a far far cry), a witch (no comment), or exactly what religion I am. I won't reveal who or I what I am. I can only tell you that the only way to logically reach out to others is through compassion and empathy. You seem to have that ability.
Good for you. Carry on my friend.
2006-07-20 08:51:00 · answer #4 · answered by lilly 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Then I hope you will accept that I have peace and love and understanding already and don't need a invisible teddy bear substitute. But its not really about what makes you feel good, or what you want to believe. It is about what is real and true. Pretend friends make a lot of people feel good but that doesn't make them true.
2006-07-20 08:54:30 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thank you.
In return, I would like to share with you these things:
- the love, faith and trust I feel in humanity's ability to solve the problems of this world.
- the conviction I feel to do my part in just that.
- the humility I feel in being just a small part of this huge machine that is the universe, as opposed to a certain species 'singled out'.
- the awe I feel in that same thing.
- the hope I have that one day the plague of conflicting religions will be taken from this earth.
I wish all of these things for you as well.
2006-07-20 08:51:11 · answer #6 · answered by XYZ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
WOW, that was great, and sincere, I hope it is accepted in the spirit that it is given. A perfect example of God's love for us all.
God Bless You
2006-07-20 08:48:20 · answer #7 · answered by Deborah 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh dear ...the "bullsh!t before the but" device followed up by even more pious and mawkish bullsh!t.
"You cannot know what I know" you say!!!...no ego!!!...how dishonest and how conceited.
But sincerely ...you know better than atheists!!!...you have the answer!!!....you have the blind belief!!!
Well good for you theist, I don't share your blind belief and I don't want to.
2006-07-20 09:00:30 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Then, please refrain from being hypercrticial about our everlasting souls. I don't mean you personally but this is why we're generally defensive and egotistical when it comes to dealing with people of faith.
2006-07-20 08:46:31 · answer #9 · answered by molex77 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'll accept your love and hope. Thank you.
2006-07-20 08:45:37 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋