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These are good questions, Farrell. I have several additional questions/comments to make sure that I understand your beliefs. Thanks for responding.
>>It "matters," first of all, because truth matters. I can't see any
advantage to
>>be gained from believing falsehood. Does a Moslem or a Hindu gain
anything
>>from believing in their god(s) and their sacred scriptures? If I succeed
in
>>showing a Moslem or a Hindu that he has accepted false premises, have I
not
>>improved his life? If not, why not? Show me how or why error is to be
>>considered better than truth.
Is the 'truth' that you describe absolute or relative? If relative, my 'truth' is meaningless to you and vice versa and we'll get nowhere. Is that an important starting point? I would hope that by showing a person that their worldview is based on false premises does have value. That is my impression of some of the content of forums like this - we attempt to show the false premises of each other's worldviews. Once a person accepts that his/her current worldview rests on false premises, is his/her life improved? I suppose that depends on how we define 'improved' and on how the person responds. Do you have specific examples that you may share about the Moslem and Hindu situation that you describe above?
I have heard plenty of stories of how people's lives have been 'improved' by coming to faith in Christ, including my own life's experience. These come from a variety of backgrounds (Hindu, Moslem, Atheist, Agnostic, scientist, lawyer, etc..) I am quite interested to learn about the experiences of Atheists, though.
What were the improvements after leaving one worldview (I am particularly interested in the Christian-to-Atheist experience) for the Atheistic? My only exposure to this is an introductory reading to a book titled 'The Atheist Syndrome,' which describes the lives of well-known Atheists (Darwin, Huxley, etc.) and I find it difficult to understand the sources of joy in their lives. Similarly, hearing the story of Stalin's dying moments (any confirmation/contradiction of this story are welcome), raising his clenched fist toward the sky, seems to tell me that something was drastically missing from his life. I even have that question for several Atheistic friends.
But again, I would like to hear from Atheists within this forum to learn more. What brings you joy in life? How has life improved?
>>It "matters," secondly, because this country is dominated by an element
that
>>wants to impose its biblical beliefs on society in general. Without going
>>into detail, I will simply say that I consider this a threat to me and
ideas
>>that I consider important. Christianity has left in its historical wake
an
>>appalling record of intolerance, persecution, and ignorance. It matters
to
>>me that people in this country apparently want to return to those "good
old
>>days."
I believe that it is important to understand the details of why you consider it a threat to yourself and your ideas. I don't understand the 'appalling record of intolerance, persecution, and ignorance.' Is this a reference to the 'Inquisition,' prohibition, censorship laws, abortion, homosexuality, or what? Please provide more details. If we examine the outworkings of Christian cultures, it is also important to examine those of Atheistic cultures and compare.
>>So this is my question to you. Since I am just as sincere in my concerns
as
>>you probably are, doesn't that entitle me to speak out on the issue of
God's
>>existence, which Xians in this society are using as an excuse to try to
>>impose their views on me?
Yes, your are certainly entitled to speak out. But I disagree that the Christian motive is as an excuse to impose Christian views on you. If that is being communicated to you, I believe that is wrong - if I communicate in that manner, please let me know. If you feel that way because some of the Christian content makes you uncomfortable/angry, then that's another issue.
The underlying motive should be to have you recognize the Truth in Christ, thereby glorifying God, not to try to make this a better more palatable place for Christians to live.
Best regards, Adam Dixon