I have to say that the commenter - Brian - is being very civil & I appreciate that. I appreciate being able to ask questions and have an intelligent conversation with someone who has such different beliefs from my own. If nothing else, this shows that people can differ and be respectful. A lot more of us could take a lesson from this.
(So, Brian - I'm going to be deleting some of our old comments as we add new ones, but they will be shown and updated in blog posts.)
Here are the comments so far:
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"If it could be proved to you that God is, would you be glad?"
Depends entirely what kind of god exists.
"Do you believe you are without a soul?"
Depends on what you define as a soul. If you have one, I hope it's testable. - ***
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Brian:
You really haven't answered either question. I still don't know whether you be glad of God's existence, and I still don't know whether you think of yourself as having a soul.
As far as my soul being "testable," I believe my salvation eliminates the testing. I have been accepted and redeemed by the Creator.
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"You really haven't answered either question."
Because your questions don't have enough information.
You replied, yet you STILL haven't given me enough information.
Describe what kind of god. Describe what a soul is.
THEN I might be able to answer your questions.
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My statement "If you have one, I hope it's testable" was ambiguous. I didn't mean "If you have a soul, I hope it's testable" -- I meant "If you have a definition of 'soul,' I hope your definition is testable."
That is, if you define what a 'soul' is so I can answer your second question, it would be very helpful if your definition of 'soul' is clear enough so I can do some sort of test to see if I have a soul. Even better if I can do a test to see if other people or animals have souls, too.
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I believe my soul is what I am. Many people think of themselves as a body with a soul. I believe I am a soul with a body.
You probably know that, as a Christian, I believe that. I'm not familiar with what the atheist defines as a soul. That's why I am asking for your definition of these things. (And, no, I don't believe that animals have souls.)
Since my belief of what the soul is ties to God, I am trying to understand what the atheist definition of "soul" is. Do you understand what I mean there?
Brian Westley has left a new comment on your post "To The Atheists":
"If the atheist is wrong OR right, he has lost eternity."
Nonsense.
If the atheist is right, THERE WAS NO ETERNITY TO "LOSE".
"The Jews, like a lot of other ppl, don't believe that Jesus is the Messiah. If they believed Jesus is the Messiah (the one they have waited for), they would worship him as God too. Idolatry is worship of FALSE gods."
But now you're ignoring the possibility that YOU are wrong.
Like I said, suppose BOTH of us are wrong, and the Jews are RIGHT.
In THAT case, YOU are practicing idolatry. I am not. I am better off than you, because I'm an atheist.
But you aren't even addressing this as a possibility. If Christianity is false, worshipping Jesus is worshipping a FALSE god.
Posted by Brian Westley to Free & Faith at August 28, 2009 6:05 AM
Brian - You say "If Christianity is false," but my whole point all along has been that you and I know what I believe (that Christianity is NOT false).Yes, if I am wrong, then I am worshipping a false god & I would have lost all. I understand that. The belief that I am NOT wrong is where my faith comes in. But my questions to you are all based on my curiosity about "What if" I am right & you are wrong.
In the case of you & I both being wrong & the Jews being right, I am in the same position as I would be if the Hindus are right, or any other non-Christian belief system is right. Lost. But, again, this is where my faith comes in.
