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I misread your post. I would be glad to share. Once an Atheist doesn't mean, always an Atheist. And finding curiosity in a subject matter does not mean you are no longer atheist either, it simply means its studied. You may always be an atheist. Could there really be something to this crazy notion?
I can not speak for anyone else but I can only speak for myself. Reading Old testament scarey stories for myself was not the way to start, my studies I found through trial and error, were best of studying simple words. Looking up words such as love through out the Bible, every verse or just a few depending on my time and focus level at the time. Once I began to do that it was like a small spark in my body, and the more I read the more inspired I became to find out more. Only after doing this did those stories I found terrible and deplorable start to form an understanding. That's just part of it, I use other resources. God doesn't care if your a genius or thick as a brick.
I am not a scientist, I have no knowledge or studies to be one. But I can confidently say a God driven scientist, would have the upper hand to finding the cure to cancer. Not in mans speed but Gods speed.

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ORIGINAL: vincentML

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I misread your post. I would be glad to share. Once an Atheist doesn't mean, always an Atheist. And finding curiosity in a subject matter does not mean you are no longer atheist either, it simply means its studied. You may always be an atheist. Could there really be something to this crazy notion?
I can not speak for anyone else but I can only speak for myself. Reading Old testament scarey stories for myself was not the way to start, my studies I found through trial and error, were best of studying simple words. Looking up words such as love through out the Bible, every verse or just a few depending on my time and focus level at the time. Once I began to do that it was like a small spark in my body, and the more I read the more inspired I became to find out more. Only after doing this did those stories I found terrible and deplorable start to form an understanding. That's just part of it, I use other resources. God doesn't care if your a genius or thick as a brick.
I am not a scientist, I have no knowledge or studies to be one. But I can confidently say a God driven scientist, would have the upper hand to finding the cure to cancer. Not in mans speed but Gods speed.

Thank you for your forthright answer, cb. I was raised Catholic and took bible studies at a Lutheran affiliated college but I subsequently found oppositional sources to read. I am happy for your comfort within your band of search.

There are some scientists who attest to their belief in Jesus as their personal savior. About 7% of the members of the American Academy of Sciences. They have not helped speed the cures for cancers however. The greater question is why does a merciful god inflict mankind with such agony? He subjects even innocent children with dread disease and suffering. Makes me doubt his beneficence. Do you wonder about that?

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ORIGINAL: chatterbox24
Why, what, when, where, how all questioned that fueled my anger. I have a furious temper that has always had to be kept in check. It blocked everything for me because I am not suppose to ask those questions. It blocks my understanding.

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ORIGINAL: BenevolentM

A word of caution. There is soft and there is too soft. Our Lord was soft, yet also as hard as nails and expected the same of His followers. The Devil speaks in half truths. If you accept what he says as true, he sold you a bill of goods and you went along with it. If you reject what he says as true, you will have rejected the truth.

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ORIGINAL: GotSteel

When you hear atheists make comments like robot, zombie or lobotomy for Jesus it's generally this sort of damage to one's mental processes that they're talking about.

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ORIGINAL: BenevolentM

People who are dysfunctional will not miraculously cease to be dysfunctional if they turn atheist. Your complaint against Christianity seems not to be that it causes damage, but it corrals the zombies in your direction.

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ORIGINAL: GotSteel

I think you're misunderstanding me, people have one thought process for answering questions about their own worldview and a different thought process for answering questions about someone elses worldview. An exception to this is that when theists are asked about gods worldview their brains respond as though they were asked about themselves not as though they were asked about someone else.

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ORIGINAL: GotSteel

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ORIGINAL: chatterbox24
Why, what, when, where, how all questioned that fueled my anger. I have a furious temper that has always had to be kept in check. It blocked everything for me because I am not suppose to ask those questions. It blocks my understanding.

When you hear atheists make comments like robot, zombie or lobotomy for Jesus it's generally this sort of damage to one's mental processes that they're talking about.

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ORIGINAL: Kirata

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ORIGINAL: GotSteel

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ORIGINAL: chatterbox24

Why, what, when, where, how all questioned that fueled my anger. I have a furious temper that has always had to be kept in check. It blocked everything for me because I am not suppose to ask those questions. It blocks my understanding.

When you hear atheists make comments like robot, zombie or lobotomy for Jesus it's generally this sort of damage to one's mental processes that they're talking about.

Much as it may please you to invoke damaged mental processes, those questions are unanswerable when the subject is god. Therefore, they are "unskillful" in such a context and an impediment to understanding. No matter who asks them.

K.

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ORIGINAL: BenevolentM

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ORIGINAL: BenevolentM

People who are dysfunctional will not miraculously cease to be dysfunctional if they turn atheist. Your complaint against Christianity seems not to be that it causes damage, but it corrals the zombies in your direction.

Sounds like a border dispute, but I reckon that the problem you are having is with Protestants, not Catholics.

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ORIGINAL: BenevolentM

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ORIGINAL: GotSteel

When you hear atheists make comments like robot, zombie or lobotomy for Jesus it's generally this sort of damage to one's mental processes that they're talking about.

The Catholic Church tries to address this problem by creating a ruling elite which the Protestants don't have. The Church will insist that the brain dead stuff needs to be benign, otherwise the Church will drop its hammer.

People who are dysfunctional will not miraculously cease to be dysfunctional if they turn atheist. Your complaint against Christianity seems not to be that it causes damage, but it corrals the zombies in your direction.

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ORIGINAL: BenevolentM

It is usually considered unwise to be so plain spoken. Why is that? atheists often wallow in it like pigs in mud. Perhaps my willingness to engage in such language indicates a lack of understanding in me and the Holy Spirit chooses to permit this imperfection to remain. I do not know the answer to this at this time.

By referring to some people as zombies can through individual occurrences or collectively create a spiritual vulnerability. Is the Sin an emergent property like that of a product of a chemical reaction or is it an accumulation of microscopic fractures? The Church appears to take the position that it is an accumulation of microscopic fractures. Thus such things should be avoided.

Awhile back I came by a forum by accident where they were talking about angelic interference. The Church prefers the term intercession, but even then I do not hear the Church speaking of angelic intercession. The Church will speak of the intercession of God or the intercession of a Saint. There are rooms in the Internet where a Christian will not usually want to find themselves in because there are demons waiting there at the door who will try to attach themselves to you. I know this from experience.

One solution to the problem is to create a guard as I have just done. My initial reaction was, What's the difference? I am familiar with symbiotics. From the stand point of denotation angelic interference and angelic intercession are the same. The difference lies in the difference in connotation. In logic connotation is usually ignored and regarded as insignificant. In Catholicism on the other hand connotation is not ignored and is regarded as significant.

It is clear that if you speak of people in a derogatory fashion too often you will become infected. Again, returning to Genesis, man was noble born. It is a perception that can be lost if not nurtured.