Happy Easter!

The Church Inquisitions were a response to the abuses of the state run tribunals that were disasters and led to all kinds of abuses. State run Inquisitions were corrupt places where peoples rights were trampled upon often for political or revenge motives. Of course you know this because you have read about the Inquisitions. This makes me question why if you know this historical fact you continue to either ignore it or lie about it? Maybe a better explanation is you really don't much at all about the Inquisitions except the myths you have been fed for so long. Yeah, I think that is it.

Quote: Evenbob

You specifically, do not. You're locked
into your beliefs because of the way
you were raised. If you think you have
a choice, you're deceiving yourself.

I'm offended by this. Perhaps you see this closed mindedness in yourself and are thinking that I am the same. You are wrong.

Quote: FrGamble

I'm offended by this. .

Good grief, as well you should be.
You're an intelligent guy, you should
be offended that adults took away
your choices at an early age. I was
lucky, my parents let me learn
religion as an adult.

You still haven't asked about the
people I know whose lives were
ruined by being taught Catholicism
at an early age. But I don't really
expect you to ask.

Quote: Evenbob

Good grief, as well you should be.
You're an intelligent guy, you should
be offended that adults took away
your choices at an early age.

No, I'm offended that you don't think I can think for myself. That you think whatever we are taught as kids, whether you were taught there is no God or me that there is a God determines your adult beliefs is offensive to me and should be to you too. I believe we can learn and change our minds when confronted with truth.

Quote:

You still haven't asked about the
people I know whose lives were
ruined by being taught Catholicism
at an early age. But I don't really
expect you to ask.

How did Catholicism ruin someone's life?

Quote: FrGamble

No, I'm offended that you don't think I can think for myself.

You can think for yourself, it's just
that the result is a foregone
conclusion. You're aren't a scientist
looking for the truth. You think you
already know the truth and are
just looking for verification, and
you reject the rest.

For myself, like Sagan and Einstein
and Hitchens and Asimov, I'm just
holding my ground waiting for proof
of a god to be presented. Until the
proof arrives, god does not exist.

See this represents a big change in your thinking. You are saying here that you are waiting for proof and that God may exist. That is very different from the statement of truth when you claim that without a doubt there is no God.

Quote: FrGamble

See this represents a big change in your thinking. You are saying here that you are waiting for proof and that God may exist. That is very different from the statement of truth when you claim that without a doubt there is no God.

I can't speak for EB, but I can speak for myself. Let me use this analogy. I have no definitive proof that leprechauns exist or don't exist. In the absence of evidence on either side, I assume the negative position. I'm open minded to evidence they do exist, but until I see it, I assume they don't.

Sorry to interrupt.

Quote: FrGamble

you claim that without a doubt there is no God.

As it stands, there is no god. That's
the litmus secular historians use
when reading ancient texts. If they
come across something that can't be
verified or duplicated today, like 10'
tall humans lived in the next county,
or shaman could turn rocks into gold,
they mark it as myth and not history.

God is marked as myth for that reason.
All the things ancient texts claim god did
cannot be proven or duplicated today,
so it's myth. If Jesus walked on water in
the text, but it's physically not possible
today, it wasn't possible then either
and is a myth.

Quote: Wizard

I have no definitive proof that leprechauns exist or don't exist. In the absence of evidence on either side, I assume the negative position. I'm open minded to evidence they do exist, but until I see it, I assume they don't.

Yes, that's how rational thinking works.
But religion isn't based on rationality,
it's based on emotion. Go to any church
service if you doubt this. It's all about
emotional pleas to save them, or protect
them, or make them happy.

Imagine that before every flight people
gathered on the tarmac and pleaded
and sang to the plane to get them
there safely. They swore allegiance
to the plane, claimed they loved it,
if only it would do what they wanted.

That's what religion does with god, because
god is a myth, you can't see feel or hear him.
You don't know what he'll do, so you plead
your emotional case. This is done every
Sunday, go and see if you doubt it.

There is for sure some rationality behind the idea that we should never believe in something without evidence. That is essential.

You go into the realm of irrationality when without any evidence you claim there is for sure no God. I'm glad to hear you strike a much more agnostic tone as of late that is a much more intellectually tenable position.

You also go,into the realm of irrationality when you reject or don't recognize the evidence for Christianity and then you claim they are irrational. You claiming billions of people are stupid and deluded is just well...stupid and deluded.

Remember you were just saying your selfish life was about doing what made you feel good so maybe you should slow down and think before condemning others who make the mistake of being led by their emotions. Please do go to Mass this Sunday and report what you see there. I dare you to go this Sunday and see what you will experience. God is real and at Mass I'm confident you will see, feel, and hear Him.