I’m new to the forum and would like to share my story.
I was a devout Christian for over 40yrs. It wasn’t until I started working in Pediatric Oncology that I started to question my faith. How could an all knowing super entity allow such suffering amongst these beautiful children?
After years of research I now identify as athiest.
The following videos were influential in my transition. (Primarily athiest biblical scholars)
I’ve read Bart Ehrman’s “Misquoting Jesus”, but am not familiar with the others. I’ll look at them. Thanks
On the face of it, what Sam Harris is saying sounds a lot like Epicurus;
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
Epicurus
Me? A recovering Catholic for 50 years, atheist for only about 25 years. Today I call myself an agnostic atheist; I don’t believe due to lack of proof, but don’t claim to know.
My basic position is that existence of god is unfalsifiable. God cannot be argued into or out of existence. Of course, we can still tear apologist’s claims to pieces on historicity.
You might be interested in:
“The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts, a book published in 2001, discusses the archaeology of Israel and its relationship to the origins and content of the Hebrew Bible. The authors are Israel Finkelstein, Professor of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, and Neil Asher Silberman, an archaeologist, historian and contributing editor to Archaeology Magazine.”
ADDENDUM: The notion of an eternal hell is a Christian invention. It doesn’t exist in Judaism. See various Youtube videos by Bishop John Spong. One quote: “Religions are in the guilt control business”
Love the quote: Religions are in the guilt control business.
Interesting fact: Our parish priest was one of the thousands convicted of child molestation. He was also charged with theft. Between 2 parishes, he stole over $500,000 and surveillance footage in Vegas showed him frequenting the high stakes poker table.
You’re welcome. Your parish priest sounds like a doozy. Sadly, not surprising. I’m surprised that so few have been caught world wide. I’m also surprised that it’s been mainly the Catholic church. I’ve heard rumours about other religions, including Amish and Hasidic Jews.
It it is my opinion that abuse of children occurs in a great many organisations, not just churches. Potentially anywhere adults have power over children.
Great links. I listened to a bit of Ehrman, but I actually prefer his writing style. Usually it’s the other way around. But he does more story telling in writing, blending just enough of it in with history and technical explanations to keep your interest.
Hi, Blaire. I’m new here too–just started a few days ago. I’ve been an atheist for 13 years but was agnostic for a few years before. I like Bart Ehrman and Sam Harris, too. I’ve read a few of their books, and they’re great. I haven’t been studying atheism much for several years. I started to focus on philosophy to expand my horizons instead of studying religion. It gives me more ground to stand on. Anyway, nice to meet you!
I’ve read a little Nietzsche but have read about him more. When I study philosophy, it’s usually by courses from The Teaching Company. I like to walk when I listen to audiobooks so I can get some exercise while I learn. It works pretty good.
