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Hello!

Started by SisterAgatha, September 23, 2017, 09:53:45 PM

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SisterAgatha

Hi everyone.

For purposes of this forum my name is Sister Agatha!

I am a sister and teacher at a Catholic grade school/middle school somewhere in the midwest.

Forgive me for saying so, but I was intrigued by atheism and athesits, because at some level I don't really understand them.

Now now. I know Im just a little bit biased being a nun and all, but I almost find it impossible to believe that anyone coudl really live "without God".

God is love. God is smiling at a child's fingerpainting, playing a guitar and singing a lovely song, and quite frankly just being there with for someone when the've had a rotten day, and them being there for you. In my mind God is love itself, and for me living without God would be pretty lonesome!  :-[

I suppose some of the bible stories sound a little wild, but I could never imagine living without Jesus. Honestly when I've had a bad day at school and am ready to jsut call it quits, I say a little prayer to Jesus..and I can't explain it..He always gives me the strength I need to get through the day.

I am so happy you agreed to let me post here, and Im really looking forward to some  productive discussions!

Dave

Greetings Sister Agatha, I hope you find some understanding here.

As a life-long atheist I see your perception of your god as being entirely through one-way rose tinted glasses. If your god truly exists and, as we are told is omniscient, omnipotent etc then it would seem he is just as responsible for rabies, leprosy, syphillus, floods, earthquakes, and do forth, as he is for the beauty that this Earth truly possesses.

Your god is thanked by the sole survivor of a natural disaster - was "he" not also responsible for all those who died in the same event? I cannot understand how the person that has just lost their family can believe in such an entity. My only thought is that it is through inculcation, indoctrination,  conditioning, brain-washing.
Tomorrow is precious, don't ruin it by fouling up today.
Passed Monday 10th Dec 2018 age 74

No one

I left this god character behind when I was 8. There is nothing that would ever make be believe, unless it came straight to me and announced itself. I would then believe, but nothing, absolutely nothing, would ever make me respect such an immuture, back stabbing, cowardly, egotistical, worthless piece of shit!

Arturo

That OP sounds familiar...
It's Okay To Say You're Welcome
     Just let people be themselves.
     Arturo The1  リ壱

xSilverPhinx

Hello.

Before we jump into the same tired old reasons why we should believe and yadda, yadda, yadda why don't you tell us a little more about yourself? For instance, what do you teach?

I think it's great that you say that you don't understand atheism, most religious people I know don't (but think they do), and even less admit to it!

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


jumbojak

Welcome to the board! I will ask you to excuse what is at times coarse language on my part. I'll try to keep it in check because, for some strange reason, I feel uncomfortable uttering expletives in the presence of an actual nun with bona fides and pedigree papers.

"Amazing what chimney sweeping can teach us, no? Keep your fire hot and
your flue clean."  - Ecurb Noselrub

"I'd be incensed by your impudence were I not so impressed by your memory." - Siz

Arturo

It's Okay To Say You're Welcome
     Just let people be themselves.
     Arturo The1  リ壱

Magdalena

Welcome, SisterAgatha,

This post could use a little incense.

"I've had several "spiritual" or numinous experiences over the years, but never felt that they were the product of anything but the workings of my own mind in reaction to the universe." ~Recusant

Recusant

#8
Hello and welcome to HAF, SisterAgatha. As somebody who experienced Catholic schools, I've had very mixed experiences with sisters in the field of education.

I hope that we will be able to help you gain some understanding, and that you enjoy your time reading and posting here.

:animwelcome:
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


hermes2015

#9
Welcome, Sister. I am sure you will find us quite amusing.

I am really glad to hear that god was there with all my relatives who were having a rotten day in Belsen.
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

Tank

Quote from: Arturo on September 24, 2017, 01:41:10 AM
That OP sounds familiar...
I agree. I'm sure I've seen almost the exact post before.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Tank

Hello 'SisterAgatha'.

At this point I'll give you a 0.01% probability of a) being female and b) being a nun.

I'm sceptical that way.

If you do turn out to be real it'll be great fun debating with you.

Regards
Chris
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Dave

Had I seen the Trump post first I would have been a tad more cautious.
Tomorrow is precious, don't ruin it by fouling up today.
Passed Monday 10th Dec 2018 age 74

Dave

Well, Sister Agatha, if you are genuine, you seem to be, like many "true believers," unwilling to challenge slights on your religion. Is this because, say, it is so indoctrinated into your mindset that you are honestly unable to find any adequate response? "Oh, dear, how can you say such things?" being the gist of your thoughts?

Not being able to even begin to understand the basis of the "attack", lacking that insight into either your own or another's mindset, your main defence is to either ignore or reply with the "standard",  phraseology. This, of course, does nothing to advance the discussion or the understanding of anyone's stance and, inevitably, makes all such discussions pointless, repetitive loops.

So, why, in your personal understanding of such things, does your god allow some good people to die young, often in terrible pain and distress, whilst saving others who, maybe, have never done a good thing in their lives?

If you have no answer you probably have no true understanding, are blindly following a fantasy taught to you at an impressionable age or impressed on you during a time of mental illness. Thus you suffer a cognitive and  intellectual disability not necessarily of your own making. What a pity, I feel sorry for you.
Tomorrow is precious, don't ruin it by fouling up today.
Passed Monday 10th Dec 2018 age 74

SisterAgatha

Quote from: Dave on September 26, 2017, 08:07:18 AM
Well, Sister Agatha, if you are genuine, you seem to be, like many "true believers," unwilling to challenge slights on your religion. Is this because, say, it is so indoctrinated into your mindset that you are honestly unable to find any adequate response? "Oh, dear, how can you say such things?" being the gist of your thoughts?

Not being able to even begin to understand the basis of the "attack", lacking that insight into either your own or another's mindset, your main defence is to either ignore or reply with the "standard",  phraseology. This, of course, does nothing to advance the discussion or the understanding of anyone's stance and, inevitably, makes all such discussions pointless, repetitive loops.

So, why, in your personal understanding of such things, does your god allow some good people to die young, often in terrible pain and distress, whilst saving others who, maybe, have never done a good thing in their lives?

If you have no answer you probably have no true understanding, are blindly following a fantasy taught to you at an impressionable age or impressed on you during a time of mental illness. Thus you suffer a cognitive and  intellectual disability not necessarily of your own making. What a pity, I feel sorry for you.

We live in a broken and flawed world, where bad things often can and do happen.

Sometimes I have thought just as you did. Why does God allow so many lovely people to die? The majority of people's funerals I've been to, and the majority of people Ive known who have died well before their time always seem to be such good and decent people.

Catholicism is no fantasy and it certainly isn't blind. All I do is think about it and question it  and wonder what parts of it really do make sense.

I don't claim to know all the answers. But what I do know is that I and everybody else is supposed to love and respect all our fellow creatures to the extent we can.