Re: Rationalizing God

aholland@imap3.asu.edu
Sun, 11 May 1997 20:53:11 -0700 (MST)

I know of few people who leave christianity as the result of debate.
I think that it is those who are intellectually honest will see the
absurdities if they become aware of them in a nonconfrontational manner.
I left because I discovered biblical difficulties on my own in addition
to repulsive theological doctrines (predestination). I couldn't make
sense of them on my own and I found that neither could my christian
friends, adults, nor even pastors. All I found was "mental pretzel"
answers and was warned to stay away from religion classes at the
university. This influenced me to take the classes and then eventually
major in religious studies.

I have also encountered a judgemental response to my inquiries.
Most of the fundamentalists I asked difficult questions to gave me a
response that didn't answer the question but rather asked if I was
stuggling with sin at the moment. The general assumption was that there
can't possibly be genuine reasons for doubt so this person must be
sinning in some form or another and is the real reason of doubt. In
other words, I want to sin and not feel guilty so I find an excuse to
not believe. Has anyone else enountered this?

Ian Dorion wrote:

> (Ian 5/11) I was raised as an atheist but after I left home I searched
> fot God in many churches. I was baptised inthe Episcopal Church but soon
> drifted out and in and went to many other churches. I guess I was a
> wishy-washy christian who never really read the Bible. When I finally
> did start reading the Bible, all it took was Genesis to convince me it
> was false.
>
> We may not convince anybody on this list that there is no God or that
> there is no Judeo-Christian God. We may convince a few but I have doubts
> about that also. What I think we can do and what I think we are doing is
> planting that seed of truth that in a few years or many years will
> come into the right conditions that will allow it to bloom.
>
> Ian
>