Comments on The Beautiful Heresy- Christian Universalism: Finding an Unseen God- Book Review

Yeah, Jeff. I understand what you mean about dipp...

2009-06-25T16:47:12.725-04:00

Yeah, Jeff. I understand what you mean about dipping into the "debate". IMO, it's not a debate to be scored with points and one side wins and the other loses. It should be a discussion and the goal should be to get to the truth, not to win.

I like the way you phrased that. Beliefs should be justified, not necessarily proven. I'm more than happy to give reasons

I'm not saying you should be forced to prove it. ...

2009-06-25T16:29:28.807-04:00

I'm not saying you should be forced to prove it. I think proving something is different than justifying it. All beliefs should be justified, but not necessarily proven. I don't need to prove my wife loves me, but I should have good reasons for believing so.

As far as the burden of proof for controversial claims, I think theism prevents a viewpoint that's far more

In my limited experience with atheists, I've run a...

2009-06-25T16:20:05.331-04:00

In my limited experience with atheists, I've run across all types (as I would expect). Many do seem to be angry and bent on destroying religion and faith wherever possible. They were usually pretty intelligent. And, I've met several arrogant atheists who think only fools could possibly believe in God and if people were just more educated, the whole idea of God would go away. They

Jeff, Atheists are free to assert whatever they l...

2009-06-25T16:16:35.697-04:00

Jeff,

Atheists are free to assert whatever they like. My decision to believe in G-d and however I choose to define what G-d is is ultimately mine. I am not interested in trying to prove it to anyone. Likewise, I am not about to fall into the trap of being forced to prove something in order to believe it.

However, for those interested in the atheist/theist wars, I

It's logically impossible to prove a negative, so ...

2009-06-25T16:10:06.165-04:00

It's logically impossible to prove a negative, so I don't think that's a strike against atheism. (It's impossible because one can always raise an objection that would render something impossible to be possible. You can't prove there are no unicorns because maybe they're ethereal and invisible, etc. The best you can do is debunk positive claims for the existence of

Jeff, Personally, I steer clear of the "burden of...

2009-06-25T15:42:22.483-04:00

Jeff,

Personally, I steer clear of the "burden of proof" discussions. I make no claim to be able to prove the existence of G-d, although I would argue that the existence of a First Cause is pretty obvious from just looking around.

Atheists cannot prove the negative and theists cannot prove the positive. If one wants to take that as a "victory" for his

The burden of proof always lies on the person maki...

2009-06-25T14:39:32.405-04:00

The burden of proof always lies on the person making a positive claim about reality. The popularity of the idea has nothing to with it.

Actually, I find that anyone who abandons the beli...

2009-06-25T09:45:48.015-04:00

Actually, I find that anyone who abandons the belief of a God that lacks compassion a good step on spiritual evolution. I had to choke to death that view of God - atheism was cleansing and exhilirating and really improved my view of life.

God says to the Atheist - why did you not believe in me?
Atheist to God says - you were mean and hateful and uncompassionate and cruel - no

Thanks for your thoughts, Donna. I completely agr...

2009-06-25T07:59:17.558-04:00

Thanks for your thoughts, Donna. I completely agree. If I had to choose between the god of my youth and atheism, I too would choose atheism. Unfortunately, I have a very good friend who has done that very thing. He was not raised as a Christian. But, when he became a Christian, he was in a very fundamentalist and literal segment of Christianity. When he "outgrew" that (my word),

I an a universalist - but the word Christians stil...

2009-06-25T07:47:28.257-04:00

I an a universalist - but the word Christians still stings my tongue - I call myself a monothiest Jesusonian feminist Quaker - I ache for his compassion and look forward to the adventure after this life - and I fully understand where an atheist comes from - when you make no exceptions to a God that creates a hell, who intends to send 2/3rds of the worlds population there in a raptured moment in

Hmmm - well, this is interesting - only from the p...

2009-06-25T07:43:39.094-04:00

Hmmm - well, this is interesting - only from the point of view that when I left the Assembly of God church I left as a raging "There never was a God" athiest. Jim Bakker was on his way to jail, Jimmy Swaggart had been caught with prostitutes, the very church I was attending was teaching prosperity even though it was a belief that caused another minister of the very same faith to kick