Hi guys.
Unhelpful.
I don't understand how you can't grasp this fact. Christianity, as a whole, has several negative attributes associated with it. It stands to reason that people would automatically recall these attributes when considering Christianity.
I can't understand this -- and it certainly isn't a fact, because you have created the explanation out of thin air -- because the negative aspects of Christianity pale in comparison to those of other organisations and individuals. Further, he is considering 'hate' and recalling 'Christianity',
not the other way round.
And furthermore, I said that V5 was most likely exaggerating. Therefore, he didn't literally mean what he said.
Yes, I understand what exaggeration is, although your second sentence suggests that you don't.
Should I simply write off whatever V5 says in future as not serious with no evidence? I had thought the post I quoted was a self-explanatory refutation. There isn't even a shred of irony or humour in his post.
I seek finality.
I'm going to hit enter a few times and start typing again down here because that line seems kind of profound and important so I think it should stand on its own. In a way, yes, I do seek finality.
Heaven is a permanent concept. What of it is not final?
I honestly don't know what atheists you're referring to, because I don't know them. The atheists I know think as I do, and have not reached their beliefs due to some tragic events in their lives but rather simply through critical thinking. <biography snipped>
Yes, I would think it's a very common trend. I was ten or eleven and decided not to believe because adults could not answer even simple theological questions satisfactorily.
Again, let's not put the cart before the horse: I am saying that people exposed to tragedy and negative life experiences are more likely to struggle with their faith and subsequently lose it,
not that nonbelievers have had tragic lives.
I feel hesitant at times to acknowledge that those who lose their faith due to horrible life experiences are genuinely atheist because they have reached their beliefs not through reason, but through feeling, through emotion, and that's no better than believing in a higher power. If you lose your faith in a higher power simply because the world doesn't unfold as you think the higher power would want it to unfold, then your faith probably wasn't very strong to begin with, and the integrity of your current belief is most likely lacking as well.
Emotion and intuition are both potentially just as valid as pure reason.
If everything around you suggested that your current way of thinking was wrong, would you not change it? If a person who at the age of fourteen loses both parents in a car crash after praying every day and not consciously committing any sins, do you not think it's reasonable for them to reconsider their faith?
If the unfolding of life doesn't change your beliefs at least now and again then you are probably very shut down and arrogant in your way of thinking. I know humans are obsessed with consistency but being open to change is an essential aspect of pesonal growth.