Today...

[The_Gabe]

Is this just real life?

[Assume Nothing]

I've been reading through reddit, and a particular post from r/atheism seemed rather inspiring to me. I want to propose a similar challenge for OTers, but it's going to be a silly challenge to do the opposite of what I already do.

 

So, I'm asking /ot/ - what'll be a good challenge not too dissimilar from the one above for everyone to participate in? Bonus points for something potentially life-changing.

 

[hide=For your information, if you don't like to click links.]UPDATE EDIT: Here is my one week update. I thank you all for your interest. It's humbling.

 

It's just what it sounds like. I was born and raised as a devout Christian. It is all I have ever known and believed in, and still do. However, I'm presenting a challenge to myself. I am going to "abandon" my faith for a week and try to objectively study the bible. I am going to question the existence of God. I am going to critically think about any arguments I read against God. And I am not going to use a bible except for these purposes, not to justify my faith. I am not doing this to change my belief system, but to understand Atheism better. It may prove entirely futile, but I like to constantly improve and learn so this seems like an interesting exercise. I'm not even sure how this will go. I know it's going to be difficult to even abandon my thought process and suddenly think opposite as I always have for a week. I'm going to give it an honest effort though.

 

Now, I have thought about the 2 outcomes of this. (1) "Best Case" Scenario: My faith is now stronger because I have not found a good enough basis to think otherwise. (2) Worst Case Scenario Two: I am now an Atheist. I'm accepting those because for 1 of those to happen I would have had a pretty good reason. Like I said before though, I'm not doing this to become an Atheist.

 

Here are some of the reasons why I am doing this:

 

• I want to understand why someone would become an Atheist.
  
• Since this is a default subreddit, I have been exposed to a few valid points that (while I may not agree with them entirely) seem rational and warrant further explanation.
  
• I don't think this will change my faith, but it may very well strengthen it.
  
• I have always had to understand the other side of an issue in order to fully understand the issue itself. I have done this with most everything in my life except for religion. It's kind of a taboo thing to do as a Christian.

 

Also, I am posting this not for some sweet Karma (clearly it's a self post), but just because I thought /r/atheism may have some good suggestions for me this week or good places to start. ALSO also, as you can see this is on a Throwaway account. I promise this isn't an attempt to "troll" or anything. I'm only using a TA because my actual user account is known by too many IRL redditors that may not approve of this, although I don't see anything wrong with it, that's just the way it is!

 

Of course, at the end of this week I will provide an update. Regardless of the outcome, I hope the reaction to be judgment free.

 

So, here's what i'm starting with:

 

It seems the book "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins is a favorite among Atheists, so I am going to be reading a copy. I do a lot of reading and this book doesn't look like it would take me longer than a week.

 

I have found some YouTube channels from proclaimed Atheists (TheoreticalBullshit being one) that I'm going to watch, with my guard down of course.

 

I'm not sure what would be the best source for this (like The God Delusion seems to be an overall simple and easy to read counter to the existence of God), but I am still looking for a good book that proves Evolution. I know there are many, but like I said I want one similar to God Delusion that I can easily digest in a weeks time. For the time being all I can do is internet research.

 

I decided to look into the origin of all religions. I think this is important to understand if I want to claim mine is correct.

 

That's all I really have for now. I know it's not some major breakthrough and I'm not doing anything that wild, I just thought /r/atheism might enjoy the journey with me. And if you have anything to add to my lists or suggestions for reading material or how to successfully do all of this with the objective and critical thought process I would like, then I'm all ears! I don't presume that to be easy and i'm sure I will catch myself many times faithfully shaking my head.

Off I go.

 

EDIT: Already! It was brought to my attention that my phrasing of "worst case scenario" as becoming an Atheist already didn't seem open and honest. I completely agree and that was an honest mistake. You have to see from my current Christian perspective how easily something like that could slip because let's face it, as a Christian, becoming an Atheist is the worst possible outcome haha. I meant no offense and assure you I am going to do my best to be neutral and "deprogrammed" for a week.

 

EDIT: I guess I need to explain myself a little more. I should have worked on my phrasing before posting apparently. When I say "become" an Atheist I mean in the context of someone changing their belief. I know we are all born "Atheist", but I meant nothing deeper than someone becoming something different. That's all.

 

Also, as far as "the week" is concerned. It may prove at the end of this week that I am still very curious and not satisfied and carry on with this learning experiment. At the point it will be no more than a symbol. I assure you though that if I still want to do some reading, I won't just stop because of a self-imposed time restraint.

 

Hope that clears up my intentions a little. And thank you all for so many great suggestions and thoughts, as well as encouragement. Very cool.

 

ANOTHER EDIT: Final edit for the night. I just want to say this was an overwhelming response, literally, I can't keep up. I was not expecting this. I expected maybe a couple helpful suggestions and tips and that's all. I especially want to thank everyone for being just as open-minded in their responses to me and understanding my current perspective and how it is difficult to throw it all aside, but that is the idea and I promise you all I will try my best. I have read every single comment and am doing my best to respond. If I haven't responded though, just know I now have this archived for me this whole week and this is going to prove to be a greater reference guide than I could have imagined. I have a lot more to look at than I imagined too. Things escalated quickly...

 

Thank you all again for the advice as well as the wishes of wellness and good science! I will be updating, especially at the end of this week.

 

And i'm sorry for capitalizing "athiest"!" Won't happen again.

 

Also, considering this is getting far more attention than I originally thought, it would be very cool for other Christians to take up this challenge with me, should you be currently reading this and think it's a neat idea.

 

EDIT 4/21/12: For anyone that is checking back on this post for any updates I just wanted to provide a quick one before I head to bed. The past 24 hours have been exhausting. I can feel an emotional tax taking its toll. It has been scary, fascinating, and entertaining all in one. Obviously I have reached no conclusion, nor is the purpose of this to reach a conclusion after a week. You atheists may be excited to know that I had an experience today where a few things just made good sense. PUT YOUR BABIES BACK DOWN and let me finish. I was having trouble really thinking as someone who does not believe in God up until a few hours ago and suddenly my heart jumped a little and my eyes lit up and I realized I can really dig in now and get what I want out of this week. Not saying I fully grasp the thought process, but an absolute step in the right direction for this experiment and I was happy because I knew I would be able to report back honestly now. That is all for now. Don't worry too much about checking back here if you even are. I'm going to make a new post at the end of this week as an update. No need to pile on any more edits to this post than there already are.[/hide]

[The_Gabe]

This is a pretty cool read.

[Distracted]

Is this just real life?

Is this just fantasy?

 

I'll be leaving on a two-day adventure trip into the hills tomorrow, should be awesome. I'm excited for it.

[RpgGamer]

atheism is a god-less religion in itself, though I encourage the ambiguity of knowledge in spirituality, so good for him [her?].

 

today I ate my weight in burgers. I tried a beef patty smothered in chocolate covered bacon served on a sliced in half donut. It was fantastic.

[The_Gabe]

atheism is a god-less religion in itself, though I encourage the ambiguity of knowledge in spirituality, so good for him [her?].

 

today I ate my weight in burgers. I tried a beef patty smothered in chocolate covered bacon served on a sliced in half donut. It was fantastic.

It seems most Jewish people outside Israel don't keep Kosher. I do but it's tough in the U.S to do it. Kind of random but your post made me think of it.

[Assume Nothing]

atheism is a god-less religion in itself, though I encourage the ambiguity of knowledge in spirituality, so good for him [her?].

 

today I ate my weight in burgers. I tried a beef patty smothered in chocolate covered bacon served on a sliced in half donut. It was fantastic.

 

It's not even close to a religion in and of itself, but its organizational aspects might be similar if you're talking about new-atheistic groups.

 

Somehow, your ideal burger sounds like a terrible mess. Hmm :/

[RpgGamer]

atheism is a god-less religion in itself, though I encourage the ambiguity of knowledge in spirituality, so good for him [her?].

 

today I ate my weight in burgers. I tried a beef patty smothered in chocolate covered bacon served on a sliced in half donut. It was fantastic.

It seems most Jewish people outside Israel don't keep Kosher. I do but it's tough in the U.S to do it. Kind of random but your post made me think of it.

 

yeah its real rough. My grandparents on my dad side keep kosher, but my mom was practically raised by a nun, so my family is all about ambiguous spirituality. I identify most with Judaism as far as labeling goes, but I'm a huge fan of all religions really.

[Giordano]

So what do you call a person who never thinks about God and doesn't care for spirituality?

[Assume Nothing]

I think it would be classed under apatheism, or pragmatic atheism - if I'm interpreting you correctly.

[RpgGamer]

So what do you call a person who never thinks about God and doesn't care for spirituality?

 

Agnostic/Apathetic

 

which is fine too, if that's what makes them happy.

[Askthedude]

I had a strange thought today during a break. Was pretty much on the roof of the university eating and I wondered why I didn't just jump off, would make mine and everyone esle's life easier. Was just a passing thought though, not sure what to make of it.

[The_Gabe]

I had a strange thought today during a break. Was pretty much on the roof of the university eating and I wondered why I didn't just jump off, would make mine and everyone esle's life easier. Was just a passing thought though, not sure what to make of it.

 

Won't make the janitor's job easier.

[champion]

I've been reading through reddit, and a particular post from r/atheism seemed rather inspiring to me.

r/atheism has to be one of the worst places on the internet. Honestly. I can't fathom how anyone could enjoy browsing there.

[Distracted]

I had a strange thought today during a break. Was pretty much on the roof of the university eating and I wondered why I didn't just jump off, would make mine and everyone esle's life easier. Was just a passing thought though, not sure what to make of it.

I had the same kind of thought while driving today. For just a second I felt like speeding and crashing into oncoming traffic for no reason at all. I think it's just natural to have those kind of "what if" thoughts from time to time.

[Duff]

So what do you call a person who never thinks about God and doesn't care for spirituality?

Lol, I took a spirituality class this semester and the dude defined spirituality as 'how we channel our inner energy (eros/passion)'. A big emphasis was that everyone has a spirituality. Spirituality doesn't imply religion. I guess it's all about how you define it, though.

 

I had a strange thought today during a break. Was pretty much on the roof of the university eating and I wondered why I didn't just jump off, would make mine and everyone esle's life easier. Was just a passing thought though, not sure what to make of it.

I had the same kind of thought while driving today. For just a second I felt like speeding and crashing into oncoming traffic for no reason at all. I think it's just natural to have those kind of "what if" thoughts from time to time.

I always think about that kinda stuff (driving and crashing). I'm never serious about it, though.

[Assume Nothing]

I do pretty much the same, but I dwell on the butterfly effect of how it impacts the world. It's fascinating.

[Randox]

Back, since I've not been on this thread for a while. As a personal request, could we not turn every thread into a religious discussion?

 

In fact, perhaps assume would like to make a religion three of his own (since he keeps bringing it up on every thread he posts on), so that people who want to talk about it can, and then we can be free to talk about other things on other threads. As it ties into the previous topic here, it is certainly a topic that drives people away from posting here (personal experience). IT has always been intimidating for me, even when I returned here and started posting on this thread, though I think by now I must have established myself here.

 

Today my dad gave me a blackberry PlayBook. Stupid thing is, it browses faster than my laptop ev not when using my phone as a relay between tablet and router. Also the screen is big enough that I don't mind touch screen typing. Now I just need tablet sized pockets to carry the damn thing around. I would also like the ability to transfer files between the tablet and phone via bluetooth.

[RpgGamer]

Would someone like to explain to me why thepirate bay isn't working anymore?

 

Makes it real hard to download all the music I want at the moment. Or if any of you could pass me an invite to demonoid, that'd be super, too.

[Randox]

A thought. I wonder if the European ban on the site affected the actual European backbone servers. The transatlantic cables that feed north american internet all run through Europe, so they might have effectively blocked our entire continent. Glad my BF knows a different site, I'll have to ask him what he uses tomorrow. Every time one of these sites has trouble I get the urge to start stockpiling.

 

I don't think that should have happened though. I don't think the ISP's normally control the backbone servers (I'm not sure which companies take care of those). It's also possible that if you can specifiy a route, and this is what happened to us, some of the cables might still be landing in unblocked areas and you might be able to route around them.

[The_Gabe]

Would someone like to explain to me why thepirate bay isn't working anymore?

 

Makes it real hard to download all the music I want at the moment. Or if any of you could pass me an invite to demonoid, that'd be super, too.

 

mp3boo.com allows to dl full albums

 

(Remove link if I'm not allowed to post)

[The_Gabe]

Also AP Language and Composition exam tomorrow morning.

[My_Eggs]

We're moving to a new house about 30 minutes south of where I'm at on the 24th of this month. It's about two blocks away from the lake, I believe I posted a picture of the view from the deck in this thread some time ago. We went to the house today to do some work (painting the deck, putting up lattice, etc.), we got there at 9 a.m. and got home at about 7 p.m.... Long day, I'm very tired now and apparently we might be going back tomorrow.

 

As some of you may know, I'm terrified of spiders. Well guess what, spiders everywhere at that house. We made the mistake of leaving the windows of the car down and on the ride home I looked over and noticed a huge spider on the back of the driver's headrest. My brother was driving and I was in the passenger seat. I freaked out, the thing was nearly the size of my fist. Since it was only him and I in the car it was up to me to get rid of the bastard... I grabbed one of the shitty frisbees that I never use when discing and attempted to smash it. The damn spider used some sort of magic and managed to change places when I tried killing it. It went from on the headrest to on the disc I was holding... Very calmly I brought the disc across my body, screamed like hell, and flung it out the window, effectively getting rid of the spider and giving him the ride of his life. Holy hell I hate spiders... :thumbdown:

[Vezon Dash]

Hey! I have a pet spider. What do you find so repulsive about them?

[My_Eggs]

I don't know what it is, but they just creep me out like crazy. I'm terrified of them, if I come across one I must either kill it, or run away if possible lol.