He/him. Reluctant atheist. "One does not need to deny what is troubling in order to pay respect to what is heartening." - Richard Elliot Friedman on the Bible
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world" (James 1:27, NRSV).
Don't like it when people say theism is a mental illness. Don't like it when people say atheism is a mental illness.
Don't like the rhetorical weaponing of mental illness.
Also, it's lazy.
@RightWingWatch
"Yes, brave Sir Eric turned about
And gallantly he chickened out.
Swiftly taking to his feet,
He beat a very brave retreat.
Bravest of the brave, Sir Eric!
The Bible is not a book. It is an anthology. It is equal parts troubling and inspiring, horrifying and exhilterating. But as far as I can tell, there is no divine authority standing behind it.
I'm an atheist who has read the Bible cover-to-cover well over 30x in his life. I'm (almost) daily in my Greek New Testament as well as the NRSV. I'm an atheist who *loves* reading the biblical texts and thinking about them.
It's often Christians who haven't read their Bible.
Here is my review of SJ Thomason's book 'Why Christianity Matters.'
(Yes, I read it so you wouldn't have to. I'm like Jesus, suffering on your behalf.)
My 13 year old told me today that at school a couple of students told her that they hated Jews. When she asked why, one of them responded, "Because they killed Jesus." Anti-semitism is alive and well. And these kids learned it from somewhere.
@realDonaldTrump
Those are some big words there: "whereupon," "redacted," "of." We can be sure Trump himself didn't write this tweet. Even the grammar is not very Trumpesque.
I am begging you, Christians, to please stop with this asinine and eisegetical nonsense. Jesus isn't in Genesis 1:1. He isn't in the Hebrew Bible at all.
@HeSelectedMe
@mitchellchase
He existed in the " OT " . He was spoken of in the beginning in Genesis 1:1 " In the beginning " translated into Hebrew " Bereshit and pictorial as " from the House of the Father will come the Son whom the Father will gladly destroy by the STICK " . ❤️🔥👍
The Venn Diagram of people who don't think David raped Bathsheba because you can't "find it in the text" and those who think the Trinity appears in Genesis 1 is a circle.
Gave my 14 year old a couple of reasons how we know the earth isn't flat so she could relay them to her science teacher who thinks the earth is flat, if you want to know the quality of Louisiana education.
Can't we just be sad about the Notre Dame fire without resorting to taking cheap shots at religion or peddling anti-Christian conspiracy theories FOR FIVE FREAKIN' MINUTES!
Christians are only Christians because they are too stupid to live life without belief in a magical sky-daddy.
See that, Ray? See how TALKING ABOUT OTHERS IN CARICATURES AND IN BAD FAITH CONTRIBUTES NOTHING TO THE DISCUSSION?!?
Watch me expose why it is that atheists are really atheists. The answer may surprise you...even if you're an atheist. This is from this week's episode of Way of the Master. For channels & times:
Holy shit! Here is
@MenWhoSawJesus
trying to make the case that
@DJHammurabi1
is now an atheist because he is in a "same-sex" relationship with "a male that identifies as transgender" (i.e.,
@digi_hammurabi
).
You can't make this stuff up, people.
A woman at CVS wished me a Merry Christmas today. Do you know what I said in return?
“Merry Christmas to you too!”
Wanna know why?
Cuz THERE IS NO FORKING WAR ON CHRISTMAS YOU ATTENTION SEEKING CHARLATAN.
Secularists want to do everything they can to take Christ out of everything in this country—even His birthday. Hear what I had to say about this on
#FoxNation
.
@ToddStarnes
Drag queens mock Christianity during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics in Paris as they attempt to recreate da Vinci’s painting of Jesus’ Last Supper.
Not only are Christians the only people that it is socially acceptable to mock… it’s actually celebrated and put front and
I finished rereading Lee Strobel's 'The Case for Christ' this morning. What a journey! It has convinced me that Jesus is exactly who he says he is in the New Testament!
The prodigal son has returned!
Reading
@lead1225
's book 'Why Christianity Matters' but can only digest a few pages at a time. No, it's not because it is so deep and profound; rather, it is because it is absolutely atrocious writing and thoroughly eisegetical.
I honestly think this is how Mark understood Jesus's baptism. He had come to be baptized by John and John's baptism was one of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
@foreverfree1231
Try a little Flavius Josephus,the famed 1st century Jewish historian who converted to Christianity after studying the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Jews love everything about him but the fact that he understood his need for a savior from sin through Christ.
When my brother died in October, I went through a range of emotions. With his lifeless body in the casket next to me at his wake, I laughed with old friends and even goofed around. It was how I coped. Yes, I wept. Uncontrollably at times.
Fuck off, James Woods.
I remember standing in front of a group of 14-16 year olds at a juvenile detention center where I ministered once a week and was asked, "Could anything shake your faith in God?" "No," I said confidently.
That was 9 years ago. I've been an atheist for 7.
Not one thing any atheist or skeptic has ever said has made me doubt my core beliefs. Not even a little. Partly b/c it took me 6 years of serious study to become Christian, and nothing they say rises to that level. But also because I'm comfortable with not knowing everything.
Just watched an interview on CNN of a grandfather who was on the phone with his four and five year old grandchildren as they asked him to come save them as wildfire surrounded them. He listened to them die as he rushed to them.
If God exists, he isn’t good.
Atheists don’t need more evidence.
In Luke 16:30-31, Jesus said in a parable that if someone isn’t convinced after reading the Bible, they won’t be convinced even if someone was raised from the dead before their eyes.
Atheism is a heart issue, not an evidence issue.
The older I get, the less interested I am in debate. Not because I think I know it all but because I don't. There's a confidence that comes with youth that should diminish the more you learn. It's why the "Debate me, bro!" crowd is often either made of juveniles or is juvenile.
"He is so serious about your joy that he threatens hell if you refuse to find it in him."
I care so much about my son having a full belly at dinner time that I threaten to starve him for a month if he doesn't clean his plate.
The word "thug" is racially charged.
Not everyone who uses "thug" is doing so in a racially discriminatory manner.
Use of the word "thug" should be discontinued due to its racially inflammatory connotations.
All these things can be true.
I am begging my fellow atheists: please stop posting this bullshit. It makes the rest of us look stupid and we don’t need any more help in that department.
Learning apologetics is a practical step within anyone’s reach. If, however, you want to pursue a career in apologetics, here are eight suggestions that will put you on the right path.
"Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; let them drink and forget their poverty, and remember their misery no more" (Proverbs 31:6-7).
Dinesh is the Andy Bernard of "historians."
Both attended Ivy League schools.
Both were bad at their jobs and had to leave.
Both found accidental success by being cry babies.
Does that make
@KevinMKruse
Jim Halpert?
@TheTattooedProf
Kevin you are a professor at a university no one has heard of. You might show a little intellectual humility. At least try to address the issue at hand. Pigeon jokes are not a way to win arguments, at least not in the Ivy League where I was educated
To all the atheists who say "Bless you" after someone sneezes.
What's the point of requesting a blessing for someone when as an atheist you believe there is no one to bestow such a blessing?
𝗧𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗜𝗣:
What's the point of wishing for a person to rest "in peace", when as an atheist you believe his consciousness has disintegrated into total nothingness? ◼️
Is it that you 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺
I love Christmas: the carols (especially "O, Come, O Come Emmanuel"), the nativity stories, and so on. There's something magical and - at the risk of losing my atheist card - sacred about this time of year, even for this unbeliever. And I know I'm not alone in this.
Atheist converts to Christianity after suffering a traumatic experience (i.e. a stroke) and many Christians applaud.
Christian becomes an atheist after suffering a traumatic experience and many Christians tell him he's being unreasonable.
I love the subtle implication that one cannot both love the biblical texts *and* be an atheist. But it isn't really that hard, I promise. I love reading and learning about the Bible *and* I do not believe any god exists.
Look at me, all nuanced and shit!
Reason # 7,453 why I bill myself a “reluctant atheist.” Doyle is a frequent shit-poster on my videos and it’s clear from his copy-paste method of engagement that he 1) has nothing original to contribute and 2) hasn’t watched the videos he’s commenting on.
Atheists, be better.
Isn't Paul the guy who deliberately misreads Genesis 17 so that he can turn the reference to Abraham's seed into Jesus? (Cf. Galatians 3:15-18. Seriously, it's clever contorting.) Maybe Paul isn't our best guide in how to read the book of Genesis.
if you don’t believe that paul can illuminate genesis then you cannot credibly call yourself a christian. that’s fine—many wise and virtuous people have not been christians—but you also should not profess to be a christian theologian
There are a lot of reasons I could never be a Catholic but a pretty big reason is, well, Catholics. Like, there are a few pretty cool Catholics I know but invariably when I see “trad Cath” or “Thomist” in the profile I just know the timeline is gonna be appalling.
The OP is (probably) true, but the responses underneath are just…wow. Mythicism may not be making inroads with biblical scholars and historians, but the atheist community just seems to be eating that garbage up.
Lydia McGrew: "If the disciples risked their lives to attest that Jesus was risen, not in some vague, spiritual sense but in the robust, bodily sense described in the Gospels, what does this tell us about the truth of those claims."
That's easy: it tells us nothing.
We should be grateful that the former president is alive, grieve that anyone was killed in the attack, and never forget that Donald Trump remains a threat to American democracy.
"[N]o religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." - Article VI of the US Constitution
Christians are not interested in proof. They claim to be, but they're not, because every time they're presented with truth, they dismiss it. They're intellectually dishonest, to the core.
SEE HOW THAT DOES NOTHING TO ADVANCE CONVERSATION AND IS ITSELF INTELLECTUALLY DISHONEST?!
Atheists are not interested in proof. they claim to be , but they're not, because every time they're presented with truth, they dismiss it. They're intellectually dishonest, to the core.
I did it! I have finished SJ Thomason's 'Why Christianity Matters.' Yes, it was every bit as horrible as you might imagine. But now I can offer a legitimate review of it.
I grew up a Young Earth Creationist, attended a college where YEC was taught in the biology and astonomy classes I took, and promoted it personally. Then I spent time reading the other side in depth. Changed my view completely.
This is a two-way street. If NT scholars who are Christians can't be trusted because they are biased toward belief then Mythicists can't be trusted because they are biased against it.
@GarettJones
Two-thirds of New Testament scholars are under contract to confess the divinity of Christ. None of them have any training as historians. Scholarly opinion here has no professional neutrality or any special competency as historians on the question at hand. It's not what they do.
I honestly have no idea why this would be compelling. At best it would confirm that even a divine being is incapable of escaping suffering. At worst, it would suggest that it can conceive of no other way of existing apart from it. Either way, not "compelling" at all.
Problem of evil is complex, but one of the most compelling Christian responses is that Jesus is divine and has suffered for us and understands our pain.
@Sean_McDowell
Why does anybody care what the Bible says? It’s a book of nonsense and myths. Stop referring to it as though it’s some bastion of wisdom. And I assure you, no atheist gives a shit what it has to say about not believing the bullshit in the rest of the book.
If you've only read the Bible to find fault with the Bible, you haven't really read the Bible.
If you've only read the Bible to prove the Bible, you haven't really read the Bible.