Through Jesus, I am defined by being God's child.

[GVC]

Doubt is not our friend.

Oh my.

 

[GVC]

I haven't read this thread, but God doesn't really like people who gamble.

or smoke weed.

 

[Gyp Rosetti]

or smoke weed.

You don't think JC ever smoked up?

Dude seems like he was all into nature and ****.

 

[Jazz Spazz]

In my experience, the more dogmatic someone is, the less likely they are to step out of their comfort zone. It's far easier to allow yourself to be fed "eternal truth" and "everlasting salvation" than to try to figure things out, with the knowledge that you have a very short amount of time to do so.

Do you even know me enough to claim I am being spoon fed something and that I don't take the time to think or figure things out for myself.
I passed on some of what I personally know, as a part of a conversation.
Thank you for judging who I am though.
By the way, how do you know it's easier if you don't "allow yourself to be fed eternal truth and everlasting salvation" yourself.

 

[Jazz Spazz]

Oh my.

In anything you are doing, doubt will not help you succeed in that thing.
Once you decide to do something, doubt will only make that thing more difficult.
For someone to claims to be thoughtful about things, you seem to take the "easy road" in assuming the worst about people.

 

[babe]

In this I find my greatest objection to faith. To me, at it's foundation faith is an act of denying and avoiding reality. You must first accept the fact that reality is not really real by accepting a supernatural and intelligent role in creating reality. That essentially means that the same supernatural entity (God) can change reality at any moment. That it is impossible to really know anything, because after all, you cannot know the mind of God. You must also accept that your perception, your ability to think and reason based on actual reality, is flawed. You have to already accept that God can be real before you can find out that He is real. Then, the way in which you find out that God is real is just that you know, or have a feeling in your bosom, or some other self-reassuring sensation that allows you not to actually know, but to feel good about your effort to actively deceive yourself and evade reality.

So in essence faith is the rejection of one's own mind. Rejection that the way in which we, as intelligent beings, interact with the world should be the result of thinking and reasoning. Rejection of our individual responsibility to understand this world as it is, rather than the way we wish, hope or desire that it is.

Anyone can convince them self of any fantasy they desire if they try hard enough and actively evade the facts that contradict their fantasy.

That's my take, anyway.

My personal answer to this possibility is that faith is actually an exercise of our mind, something akin to imagination perhaps, and is something that helps overall in our thinking and reasoning. If we only accept fact/logic as we have already defined it, we are limiting the universe of possibilities. . . . . and --- maybe---will simply not be using all our intellectual tools and may thus fail to ever cross the threshold to understand things we cannot prove conclusively with our present skills.

Axiomatic to my "answer" is a type of "faith" that is not simply "conformity to orthodox religious dogma".

 

[franklin]

Hitler tried to stamp out religion. Does that put him in your camp?



Not every bad thing happens in the name of religion.

Yeah, but you'll say anything if you're an anti-religious bigot. How dare you ask for actual thought and reason?

 

[babe]

In anything you are doing, doubt will not help you succeed in that thing.
Once you decide to do something, doubt will only make that thing more difficult.
For someone to claims to be thoughtful about things, you seem to take the "easy road" in assuming the worst about people.

I would agree with your assessment if you are speaking of "doubt" as something akin to lack of determination, confusion, uncertainty inherent in the will to achieve a desired end. . . . . but not if we are discussing doubt as being a reasoned calculation or estimate of our lack of understanding that we realize will impact our plans. . . . . The second class of doubt is essential to actually solving the problems we face.

 

[LogGrad98]

Yeah, but you'll say anything if you're an anti-religious bigot. How dare you ask for actual thought and reason?

I know right?

 

[GVC]

Do you even know me enough to claim I am being spoon fed something and that I don't take the time to think or figure things out for myself.
I passed on some of what I personally know, as a part of a conversation.
Thank you for judging who I am though.
By the way, how do you know it's easier if you don't "allow yourself to be fed eternal truth and everlasting salvation" yourself.

I said nothing about you personally. Feel free to re-read my post.

As for your question (it looks like a question, anyway), I was Mormon, received my endowment, served an honorable mission, attended BYU, worked at the MTC.

Who's judging?

 

[GVC]

In anything you are doing, doubt will not help you succeed in that thing.
Once you decide to do something, doubt will only make that thing more difficult.

Not if you're trying to learn. In that endeavor, doubt is indispensable.

 

[Beantown]

I said nothing about you personally. Feel free to re-read my post.

As for your question (it looks like a question, anyway), I was Mormon, received my endowment, served an honorable mission, attended BYU, worked at the MTC.

Who's judging?

Probably could have helped if you lived outside the bubble while within the church.