tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8840695227917041221.post5719712964427400864..comments2024-01-31T07:38:40.980-06:00Comments on The Whore of All the Earth: Eradication or reform for religion? False dichotomy.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129509609170344883noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8840695227917041221.post-77726956992717205462011-04-13T13:27:20.869-05:002011-04-13T13:27:20.869-05:00Since you are specifically referencing my comments...Since you are specifically referencing my comments in this post I guess I'll comment. <br><br>Why do I read your blog? For a few reasons. One, you are my friend and I am interested in you having a relationship with your Creator. I remember having discussions with you in high school about God, only then you were still a mormon. I was elated to get reconnected with you after many years and found out that you had left the mormon church only to find out later that you had become an atheist. I believe that mormonism is a false path to Christ and you seemed to be expressing doubt back in high school so I participated in discussions with you. And now, you are an atheist, which I also believe to be wrong. Therefore, I participate in this blog for your sake. My second reason, I believe that your view on religion is wrong, and that you are an intelligent person who seeks after the truth, and so I seek to put in my two cents worth in in the hopes of showing either you or your readers that maybe the atheistic viewpoint is not so bullet proof after all. And thirdly, I find that my faith in Christ is actually strengthened by reading books and having discussions with people whose world view is different than mine.Patrikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08377136363913919018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8840695227917041221.post-48120992534100126582011-04-13T13:27:20.539-05:002011-04-13T13:27:20.539-05:00Patrik, I truly am touched at your concern, and I ...Patrik, I truly am touched at your concern, and I mean that. I know that your concern is genuine, because I once had the same concern for your soul, back when I thought there were Two Churches Only, and anything but Mormonism was not the Church of the Lamb of God and thus was the Church of the Devil. You weren't Mormon and I was concerned about your eternal progression. Not that I thought you'd end up in hell, but you weren't on the Ultimately Awesome Path to the Celestial Kingdom. I do recall our conversations in high school, and for the record, I was not a doubter at that point, but any means. You would sometimes ask me questions that I didn't have answers for right away, but my reaction was never doubt. I "knew" it was all true, so just because I couldn't answer didn't mean that there wasn't an answer, just that I needed to study or ask my seminary teacher and find the answer. Learning how to refute an opposing viewpoint strengthened my faith, probably in much the same way you feel more firm in your faith after reading Dawkins or Hitchens and finding that you still disagree.<br><br>I find it fascinating that you're so adept at pointing out the fallacies in Mormonism, but you can't see them in your own faith. How do you <a href="http://whoreofalltheearth.blogspot.com/2009/12/think-about-it-thursday-justifying.html" rel="nofollow">justify your specific god?</a> I was not an atheist when we first reconnected, almost three years ago. I was attending a Presbyterian church at that time, still really wanting to believe in Christ, still really trying. In the end, I found that the foundation of mainstream Christianity was just as rickety as the foundation of Mormonism. I sincerely wanted to believe, but I just couldn't. <br><br>I'm not out to save anyone's soul anymore. My goal is simply to help people be happier in this life, because all the evidence points to this life being the only one we get. If you're happy in your religion, I still think you're wrong, but so long as you keep your faith in the private sphere, I really don't have a problem with it. For those who want out, I hope I can help point the way.Leah Elliott Haugehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129509609170344883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8840695227917041221.post-75937197141720116982009-12-19T23:07:25.679-06:002009-12-19T23:07:25.679-06:00Patrik, I truly am touched at your concern, and I ...Patrik, I truly am touched at your concern, and I mean that. I know that your concern is genuine, because I once had the same concern for your soul, back when I thought there were Two Churches Only, and anything but Mormonism was not the Church of the Lamb of God and thus was the Church of the Devil. You weren't Mormon and I was concerned about your eternal progression. Not that I thought you'd end up in hell, but you weren't on the Ultimately Awesome Path to the Celestial Kingdom. I do recall our conversations in high school, and for the record, I was not a doubter at that point, but any means. You would sometimes ask me questions that I didn't have answers for right away, but my reaction was never doubt. I "knew" it was all true, so just because I couldn't answer didn't mean that there wasn't an answer, just that I needed to study or ask my seminary teacher and find the answer. Learning how to refute an opposing viewpoint strengthened my faith, probably in much the same way you feel more firm in your faith after reading Dawkins or Hitchens and finding that you still disagree.<br /><br />I find it fascinating that you're so adept at pointing out the fallacies in Mormonism, but you can't see them in your own faith. How do you <a href="http://whoreofalltheearth.blogspot.com/2009/12/think-about-it-thursday-justifying.html" rel="nofollow">justify your specific god?</a> I was not an atheist when we first reconnected, almost three years ago. I was attending a Presbyterian church at that time, still really wanting to believe in Christ, still really trying. In the end, I found that the foundation of mainstream Christianity was just as rickety as the foundation of Mormonism. I sincerely wanted to believe, but I just couldn't. <br /><br />I'm not out to save anyone's soul anymore. My goal is simply to help people be happier in this life, because all the evidence points to this life being the only one we get. If you're happy in your religion, I still think you're wrong, but so long as you keep your faith in the private sphere, I really don't have a problem with it. For those who want out, I hope I can help point the way.Leahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08129509609170344883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8840695227917041221.post-45670541219694879372009-12-19T19:40:44.313-06:002009-12-19T19:40:44.313-06:00Since you are specifically referencing my comments...Since you are specifically referencing my comments in this post I guess I'll comment. <br /><br />Why do I read your blog? For a few reasons. One, you are my friend and I am interested in you having a relationship with your Creator. I remember having discussions with you in high school about God, only then you were still a mormon. I was elated to get reconnected with you after many years and found out that you had left the mormon church only to find out later that you had become an atheist. I believe that mormonism is a false path to Christ and you seemed to be expressing doubt back in high school so I participated in discussions with you. And now, you are an atheist, which I also believe to be wrong. Therefore, I participate in this blog for your sake. My second reason, I believe that your view on religion is wrong, and that you are an intelligent person who seeks after the truth, and so I seek to put in my two cents worth in in the hopes of showing either you or your readers that maybe the atheistic viewpoint is not so bullet proof after all. And thirdly, I find that my faith in Christ is actually strengthened by reading books and having discussions with people whose world view is different than mine.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com