Can a Christian be atheist?

[Pyrotex]

One way it is possible...

For example, say someone started out an atheist, slowly acquired what they thought was "faith", became a christian, and then eventually lost their original faith--in the context of their life they were both. At one point they were both at the same time.

 

At an unconscious level, one may never have believed at all. Their fanaticism, while being a christian, could have been an over compensation for what they could never really believe. After learning important lessons about spirituality and morality, their mind returns to reality.

 

mirror mirror on the wall :(

[rockytriton]

one this is absolutely certain, no matter what someone believes, if they call themselves a christian, there will always be someone else who says "he's not a TRUE christian".

[Hill]

Richard Dawkins puts it this way:

 

We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.

Probably not what you meant, but I like the quote anyway.

[Inter.spem.et.metum]

I am a believer in all the gods created by humans. I try not to leave our past behind me. Dont' let it die, just evolve.

[Buffy]

I am a believer in all the gods created by humans.

Never thought about it, but "thou shalt have no other Gods before me," has a *huge* loophole in it! Just make 'em all equal and your nose is clean as far as Commandment I (II if you're Jewish) goes...

 

In any case, this is a bit off topic.

 

DECALOGUE, n. A series of commandments, ten in number -- just enough to permit an intelligent selection for observance, but not enough to embarrass the choice,

Buffy

[palmtreepathos]

Who said that Christianity must include the Nameless God?

 

Jesus Christ weighs in with this recorded prayer to his God and Father....

John 17 vss 3 & 6

"This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ..... 6 “I have made your name(the fathers's) manifest to the men you gave me out of the world. vs 26 "I have made your name known to them and will make it known"

 

Of course the "free will" thing allows all sorts of game playing....

[Pyrotex]

This begs the question: what does it mean for a god to be "true" or "false".

 

To the ancient Hebrews, a "true" god was one with a reputation for keeping promises.

A "false" god was one with a reputation for failing to keep promises.

 

Baal was a "false" god, but a god nontheless.

:eek_big:

[palmtreepathos]

I enjoy the reasoning used by Elijah in this account. Cracks me up... :lol:

(1 Kings 18:25-29) . . .E·li′jah now said to the prophets of Ba′al: “Choose for yourselves one young bull and dress it first, because YOU are the majority; and call upon the name of YOUR god, but YOU must not put fire to it.” Accordingly they took the young bull that he gave them. Then they dressed it, and they kept calling upon the name of Ba′al from morning till noon, saying: “O Ba′al, answer us!” But there was no voice, and there was no one answering. And they kept limping around the altar that they had made. And it came about at noon that E·li′jah began to mock them and say: “Call at the top of YOUR voice, for he is a god. ; for he must be concerned with a matter, and he has excrement and has to go to the privy. Or maybe he is asleep and ought to wake up!” And they began calling at the top of their voice and cutting themselves according to their custom with daggers and with lances, until they caused blood to flow out upon them. And it came about that, as soon as noon was past and they continued behaving as prophets until the going up of the grain offering, there was no voice, and there was no one answering. .

 

This one is good too...

(Psalm 115:2-8) Why should the nations say: “Where, now, is their God?”

Our God is in the heavens; Everything that he delighted [to do] he has done.

Their IDOLS are silver and gold,

The work of the hands of earthling man.

A mouth they have, but they cannot speak;

Eyes they have, but they cannot see;

Ears they have, but they cannot hear.

A nose they have, but they cannot smell.

Hands are theirs..they cannot feel.

Feet are theirs, but they cannot walk;

They utter no sound with their throat.

Those making them will become just like them...

 

Almost forgot this one....

(Philippians 3:19) . . .and their god is their belly...!!

[Garry Denke]

Jesus was a hippy :eek:

 

Jesus Christ is an atheist, so all Christians are atheists.

 

The Catholic Church is a rock shop like this.

 

:)

[Pyrotex]

Garry,

off-the-wall, bizarred humor is funny--but only in small doses, and separated by significant periods of time. Even a little too much of it is WAY too much of it. Please settle down and try to contribute some meaning for a change.

 

:/ Pyro [i mean it]

[C1ay]

The Catholic Church

 

It looks like you got that certificate about 10 days late. April 1^st would have been more appropriate...

[Lancaster]

No.

 

 

 

Well, that's a little too simple. But, yes it is an oxymoron. You could label yourself a philosophical Christian ideologist, but I fail to understand why such focus should be placed on a name instead of the idea itself.

[Garry Denke]

Garry, off-the-wall, bizarred humor is funny--but only in small doses, and separated by significant periods of time. Even a little too much of it is WAY too much of it. Please settle down and try to contribute some meaning for a change. :/ Pyro [i mean it]

 

Rock shop Sole Proprietor of The Catholic Church makes no joke,

every Rock customer satisfied, and all saying, He is the Rock.

 

We make no discrimination of Hypography; Science for Everyone,

why do you discriminate the Founder of The Catholic Church?

 

Whatever, Bye

 

 

It looks like you got that certificate about 10 days late.

April 1^st would have been more appropriate...

 

Yes shale is a fissile Rock composed of layers of claylike,

fine-grained sediments; Mineralogically, clay minerals.

 

The Catholic Church Barnett Shale plentiful.

 

Whatever, Bye

 

[theblackalchemist]

Well the term's stupid acc to me,

 

but the idea,, for example in vietnam, the people followed a variety of syncretic religion(s)- a religion with all the pro's of many other religion.

well that person could be like that(with one religion ) or something like that

 

well there is one supreme being which many of us worship to in the name of Buddha, Mahavira, Brahma, Jesus Christ,Allah,etc..

under the name of the procedures like Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism,Christianity,islam etc..

 

but directly or indirectly we are worshipping nature.

 

TBA

[InfiniteNow]

Following the moral codes of Jesus whilst not believing in the supernatural qualities ascribed to any deity, would probably make such an animal a Bhuddist.

 

It must be spread around first. Take it virtual. Awesome post B. I agree whole heartedly.

[Inter.spem.et.metum]

As a believer in all religions there is no conflict in saying Jesus was a buddhist. If one believes in the oneness of the universe, the debate over the existance of God is pointless. It exists as all things, and it doesn't exist because nothing is seperate from everything else. Buddhists do not believe in a personal God, and therefore choose not to mention God because it is not necessary. But their belief system does not rule out God, it only allows that a belief in such a force is not pertinent, and even destructive.

 

There is no problem with not believing in a personal God because it doesn't exist as a human. But one must have a set of guidelines to live by lest that person follow the path of ego. And that path is destructive to not only them, but also those around them.

[C1ay]

As a believer in all religions there is no conflict in saying Jesus was a buddhist.

 

Technically that would be incorrect. As a believer in Christianity you would believe that Jesus is God himself, the father, the son and the holy ghost all rolled into one. This would not be consistent with Buddhist beliefs.

 

BTW, the basic tenets of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are so disparate that one could not truly "believe" in all three.