Atheists: Have you ever read guideposts magazine?

Question

http://www.guideposts.com/
seriously, it's been around for a number of years, maybe even 50 years I'm not certain. So many People testify to their experiences Personally with the Christian God. Have you studied this? Are your studies about whether God is real or not truly complete without this evidence? And what purpose would these people have to lie? they don't get offerings and are not supported financially for preaching, they just testify to what they have seen and heard? Are you willing to keep an open mind like you ask us to do?

Well the testimonies of people who have studied artifacts, did scientific experiments, and so on and so on are all considered evidence Paul. Why should Christiantiy be any different? Unless of course we really are persecuted as Jesus predicted we would be. and hated for no reason?

Answer 1

I need more than "testimonies". And there you go with your persecution complex. How quaint.

Answer 2

Testimonies aren't evidence.

If you can't see the obvious benefit these people get from lying, you're not looking very hard.

I'm quite open-minded about the possibility of there being a god. If any evidence ever appears, I'll give it serious consideration. If you had any, you'd be presenting it, instead of talking about people's testimonials and lying about atheists like Elaine below just did.
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"Well the testimonies of people who have studied artifacts, did scientific experiments, and so on and so on are all considered evidence Paul. "

Nope. When you do a scientific experiment, and publish your results, you include something called a "methods section" as well as a "results section". Science is not just testimonial, and the inability to replicate a result is routinely accepted as reason to throw out the original result.

As far as that constant whining that Christians are "hated for no reason", that's just a lie on your part. When Christians are hated, it's because they lie so much about others, and then play the "we're so persecuted" card when they're called out on it.

If you really want people to consider Christianity, you should try being honest. No-one wants to hang out with the whiny liars.

Answer 3

a) please point me in the direction of a single scientific experiment finding evidence for the christian god. Please articles in peer-reviewed journals only.

b) have you looked at all the testimonies of the experiences of people with other gods? I guess the Koran is the testimony of Muhammad's experience with god. There are testimonies of Buddhist experiences, testimonies of animalist experiences, testimonies of satanist experiences. If I accept the Christian ones without questioning I have to accept all others too. If you claim to keep an open mind so do you.
I don't know what it does to you, it would leave me completely confused...

Answer 4

I have read Guideposts, quite often actually. My mom had got it at her church for years and it was usually in the bathroom (LOL!) so yep, I read it a lot.

My search for god is for a verifiable deity, one whom I can hear, see, touch, smell. That is not possible.

All religions have followers who testify to what the deity has done in their lives. A good friend of mine started a scrapbooking business and when she won an award through the company after 2 months, she said, "Look what the Lord has done through me." I'm sorry, but SHE is the one who did the work, not the Lord. She made the cold calls, she sold the goods, she held the demos. She used her own phone, her own car, her own funds. She worked her butt off. SHE did it all, not the Lord. It bugged me that she was incapable of being proud of her accomplishment, but pawned it off on a being who doesn't exist!

I think because they are taught that pride is not a good thing (OVERLY proud is not a good thing... BRAGGING is not a good thing... pride is fine), they can't take ownership of their good deeds. And if they do something wrong, it's because the devil made them do it, not because they were weak themselves and just plain did a bad thing. Religions discourage ownership of both good deeds and bad deeds, which bugs me.

Religion encourages people to believe in invisible beings who do things with and for us. I don't subscribe to that. I know that I'm Santa for my son... I'm the Tooth Fairy for my son. There is no unseen deity that is helping him get through school or tough, frustrating times. HE must do that himself.

So... I don't believe the testimonies by anyone who believes in a god. They feel that INSIDE themselves and attribute it to a deity because they are discouraged (and sometimes, forbidden) to feel they are responsible for their own actions.

Answer 5

I have seen it and although you may find this insulting or hurtful I do not mean it to be. My opinion is that people in desperate situations or people that devote enough time and thought toward convincing themselves that something is true will have experiences that will back up their beliefs. It's a matter of interpretation, if the only tools they have to interpret by are those that point to a god then that is what they will believe to be true.

Edit: It's ironic that sisterzeal, of all people, would accuse others of not having open minds. (see below)

Answer 6

Nope, have you ever read Science or Nature? They have both been around a lot longer.

Testimony is the worst type of evidence. You ask two people who saw the same thing and you will get two different stories. There isn't really much to be gained by listening to it. You can find the same tripe about Zeus, Odin and anything else you care to name.

Answer 7

My grandmother used to subscribe to it, and I used to read her copies all the time. I've never seen anything in there that couldn't be explained through reasons other than "God".

I am perfectly willing to keep an open mind...but I'm not going to keep it SO open that I'm going to be accepting of something that makes no sense to me, and has no evidence for being true. And I don't consider it open-minded to only accept the ONE explanation that you WANT it to be, and ignoring everything that contradicts that.

Answer 8

thats like demanding journalists rad the National Enquirer.

Loony people imagine all sorts of things. Doesnt change the fact that there is a difference between the real world and fantasy (hint - Jesus the magic zombie and talking mules are fantasy)

Answer 9

i like Goofus and Gallant! i'm now in my 40's and that i've got no longer concept approximately that for the time of an prolonged time! Goofus replaced into my famous one. i presumed he replaced into truly humorous! I also have a terrific buddy named Francis who's brother replaced into like Goofus and use to get punished continuously. Francis wasn't a goody 2 shoes like Gallant, yet he wasn't as undesirable as Goofus the two. while i seem returned on my formative years suggestions of analyzing Highlights magazine, Goofus replaced into my famous. I laughed on the undesirable stuff that he did.

Answer 10

I've read it; it's the saccharine, Christian version of "Reader's Digest."

As far as your comments about "evidence", why hasn't all the evidence for the positive experiences of millions following other religions caused you to consider converting? Are you willing to keep an open mind like you ask us to do?

Answer 11

My question is: how would you, per se, happen to know that it was, in fact, the Christian God that you were experiencing (I mean, it is enough of a stretch to attribute any random feeling and occurence to A god, but to a specific god? That just seems presumptious).