RIOTS! in Keene St College....and yet, why so little coverage from the mainstream?

[gsj68]

Sounds a lot more like "Apatheism".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apatheism

^Basically an "Apetheist" literally does not care one way or the other, he considers these questions about god absolutely irrelevant to his life.

you might be right there,another label for my collection

[ajcorleone]

Funny Alex is a closet left winger from Florida.

No problem, a little humility and effort is all it takes. These boards are fun and I like all the free expression on here even though I am a right winger from Florida!

[JustAlex]

Ugh....why the hell would I be "closeted" about anything?

You think I'm ashamed of what I believe?

I probably would be ashamed If I was a no good conservative or a brainwashed Christian (like I once was)...

Since AJ likes to play this game of talking about my positions as if he actually genuinely knows, I think I'm also going to play the game.

Let me introduce AJ, he's a conservative.....because conservatives like authority, AJ constantly likes to defend cops....no matter what.

He's also a theist....because to AJ it might be just a LITTLE scary to think that MAYBE....just MAYBE there is no god, so it's much more comforting and "safe" to believe in god.

[beachbum]

Ugh....why the hell would I be "closeted" about anything?

You think I'm ashamed of what I believe?

I probably would be ashamed If I was a no good conservative or a brainwashed Christian (like I once was)...

Since AJ likes to play this game of talking about my positions as if he actually genuinely knows, I think I'm also going to play the game.

Let me introduce AJ, he's a conservative.....because conservatives like authority, AJ constantly likes to defend cops....no matter what.

He's also a theist....because to AJ it might be just a LITTLE scary to think that MAYBE....just MAYBE there is no god, so it's much more comforting and "safe" to believe in god.

Alex - where in Florida due you live? Are you sure you were once a Christian, I'm not being rude, I thought I was a Christian my entire childhood and even into my 20s but I wasn't until Christ confronted me in person that I truly gave my life to Him. Just growing up in a christian household doesn't make someone a Christian, I know this personally and from loads of friends.

[shrewsbury]

Alex and AJ, don't start.

[JustAlex]

Alex - where in Florida due you live? Are you sure you were once a Christian, I'm not being rude, I thought I was a Christian my entire childhood and even into my 20s but I wasn't until Christ confronted me in person that I truly gave my life to Him. Just growing up in a christian household doesn't make someone a Christian, I know this personally and from loads of friends.

I live in South Florida, was born and raised here, and I'm a hardcore Heat, Dolphins, Hurricanes and YES even Marlins fan, because I feel a deep sense of loyalty to these teams which I literally grew up with.

Yes, I was once a Christian, and not just any regular Christian, I was a DEVOUT Evangelical who believed with all his heart that the Lord Jesus Christ was born from a virgin, came to earth to die for the sins of ALL humanity and that if I confessed my sins to him and let him enter into my heart I would be saved and have everlasting life.

John 3:16 was my guide and I actually learned how to say that full verse in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian at one time.

To this day my entire family remains Christian.

Anyway, to be perfectly fair.....I started to "stray from the path" by the time I was in my final year in High school and could only think about having sex with girls or doing something sexual, because like any other horny teenager this fully occupied my mind.

HOWEVER, I never questioned my belief in god in HS, I might have been a sinner and maybe even a hypocrite by claiming I was Christian and being "righteous" while doing all these things which I knew were very much against the word of God......but I NEVER for one second thought that God wasn't real.

So, I know what you and others might be thinking when I say this...."Did Alex become an atheist so he can "sin"?"

No.

By the time I reached my second year of college I quickly matured, and my eagerness to learn had reached an all time high.

It was about this point where I finally decided to learn about Evolution.....back in HS they DID teach us about it, but as an Evangelical Christian I dismissed it 100% and didn't want to really learn about it.

Now as a College student, I immersed myself into all types of scientific models which I had previously denied.....and the scary part was when it started making a lot of sense.

Little by little I gained an appreciation for the very thing I once believed to be 100% false and even evil.

As my thirst for knowledge continued, I could no longer keep running from the inevitability......what about my faith in god?

I decided to put it to the test....and it failed miserably.

Imagine my reaction when the thing I believed to be undeniably true, was defeated so thoroughly.

And yet, I STILL believed in god....I refused to accept my findings, I refused to call myself the "A word".

I felt lost, and I'm not gonna lie, I started to pray to god to show me the way, to make me once again believe.....but it was too late, I had come to understand too much, and the second I tried to get back into believing in god all the tests I had preformed on my faith reared it's ugly head, at this point I finally admitted that I was an atheist, I did not believe that god was real.

However, at the same time I could also not prove that god didn't exists, which was part of my early frustration, and it made me feel like I was somewhere in the middle.

Thus, I am an "Agnostic-Atheist".

An Agnotic-Atheist is simply someone who does NOT believe in god, but also can not PROVE that god exists and thus remains in the middle when it comes to knowledge.


Sorry to make this SOOO long....but I wanted to give a proper response.

[beachbum]

Well we can agree on one thing, GO MARLINS! I tried forever to be a Rays fan, but it just wouldn't stick (I'm originally from St. Pete) but all the fibers of my being pull for the marlins, not the rays. I've started to try to collect Stanton but will never reach SC level I'm sure. I watched that infamous Brewers game live and was completely flabbergasted at how all that went down.

I have similarities to you on your faith, you were probably more devout as a young person in the faith than me. I was raised in a liberal christian home where we avoided the major sins but didn't really practice the faith. I got into tons of "soft" trouble as a teenager and early 20s adult. I actually was a Leader in my church's single ministry during the week and doing quite the opposite on weekends, that all changed when I was personally confronted by God himself. That's where my testimony starts but I will leave it there for this forum.

Thanks for sharing, let the debates continue!

[ajcorleone]

I will keep it friendly Alex who ever said I believed in god. You assume but you show me a post where I stated that and I will eat crow.And I will defend cops who are in the right.I have always been against anybody who abuses authority (cops,politicians,world leaders,Obama). That can been proven in many posts. So like you I am not ashamed either.Now feel free to use your logic and reason to prove me wrong but I am sure of what I have posted.

Ugh....why the hell would I be "closeted" about anything?

You think I'm ashamed of what I believe?

I probably would be ashamed If I was a no good conservative or a brainwashed Christian (like I once was)...

Since AJ likes to play this game of talking about my positions as if he actually genuinely knows, I think I'm also going to play the game.

Let me introduce AJ, he's a conservative.....because conservatives like authority, AJ constantly likes to defend cops....no matter what.

He's also a theist....because to AJ it might be just a LITTLE scary to think that MAYBE....just MAYBE there is no god, so it's much more comforting and "safe" to believe in god.

[JustAlex]

^AJ, give me a break man....now you're implying that you DON'T believe in god? You really think I'm going to believe that?

@Beachbum, despite being an Evangelical Christian, believe it or not, I was always more on the liberal side.....and the reason for that is because for the majority of my childhood and teen years my family was poor, and I had a deep empathy with others because I knew how it felt.

But not only that.....Jesus is the biggest SOCIALIST I have ever read about, and you know what? I like Jesus a lot.

Jesus constantly preached AGAINST being rich, he was AGAINST the establishment, and he literally did everything possible to help the poor, the sick, the needy, the abandoned, the unfortunate, etc.

Even now as an atheist I still like Jesus a lot, I don't think he was perfect and he did say various things I'm very much against, but his overall message was that of LOVE and COMPASSION.

How can anyone not agree with that message?

The problem I see with Christianity and especially fundamentalist Christianity today is that they are more focused on things like Gay Marriage and trying to put god back in public schools then actually going out there and doing what they're SUPPOSED to be doing.

So what are Christians supposed to be doing? Helping others, feeding the hungry, showing that you TRULY care for your fellow human being.

Jesus said that as Christians, you are the salt of the earth and light to the world.....

I may no longer believe in God or that Jesus was the son of god, but that doesn't mean I don't believe in his message.....because I do.

I would STOP being so harsh on Christianity if it simply did what it's SUPPOSED to be doing.

Stop the attacks on your gay brothers and accept them for who they are, work together to make this country better, and live the life the Jesus wanted....to love others (even your enemies) and to show compassion to those that need it the most.

[ajcorleone]

Alex you can believe whatever you want fella. Like I said you show me a post where i said I believe in god and I will eat crow.Obviously you cannot so all you can do is assume. You post all your thoughts here so folks can make the assumption because you shout it out here.And I agree 100% on one of your stances and that is not accepting the gay community as equal. That is a subject that hits close to home with a dear relative of mine.But again I CHALLENGE YOU to show me where I said I believe in god.Not by defending something I might agree with but the actual quote. A simple I was wrong on this one AJ would be the gentleman thing to do.

And I see this Keene college thing is not in the news just like the Mike Brown autopsy.The media is as corrupt as politicians.

^AJ, give me a break man....now you're implying that you DON'T believe in god? You really think I'm going to believe that?

@Beachbum, despite being an Evangelical Christian, believe it or not, I was always more on the liberal side.....and the reason for that is because for the majority of my childhood and teen years my family was poor, and I had a deep empathy with others because I knew how it felt.

But not only that.....Jesus is the biggest SOCIALIST I have ever read about, and you know what? I like Jesus a lot.

Jesus constantly preached AGAINST being rich, he was AGAINST the establishment, and he literally did everything possible to help the poor, the sick, the needy, the abandoned, the unfortunate, etc.

Even now as an atheist I still like Jesus a lot, I don't think he was perfect and he did say various things I'm very much against, but his overall message was that of LOVE and COMPASSION.

How can anyone not agree with that message?

The problem I see with Christianity and especially fundamentalist Christianity today is that they are more focused on things like Gay Marriage and trying to put god back in public schools then actually going out there and doing what they're SUPPOSED to be doing.

So what are Christians supposed to be doing? Helping others, feeding the hungry, showing that you TRULY care for your fellow human being.

Jesus said that as Christians, you are the salt of the earth and light to the world.....

I may no longer believe in God or that Jesus was the son of god, but that doesn't mean I don't believe in his message.....because I do.

I would STOP being so harsh on Christianity if it simply did what it's SUPPOSED to be doing.

Stop the attacks on your gay brothers and accept them for who they are, work together to make this country better, and live the life the Jesus wanted....to love others (even your enemies) and to show compassion to those that need it the most.