A Conversation about Faith: Objectivity or Subjectivity of Christianity view by an Atheist

No longer in college and waiting to go to Basic Training for the Air Force, I need to have a conversation about faith (or lack there of). I'm an Atheist but use to be a strong christian and I'm constantly seeking intellectual conversation on this said subject but as I'm now living at home (in the Bible Belt) I'm a little isolated and have been lacking an intellectual conversation. So feel free to reply by video, everyone is welcome (Christians, Atheist, Agnostics, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews etc.) Just please keep it academic in nature and leave the hate. I just want to talk. I will be posting this both on r/atheism and r/christianity on reddit too.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Atheism
• Atheist
• Christian
• Christinity
• Faith
• Conversation
• talking
• debate
• intellectual
• academic
• Chat
• Jesus
• God
• reddit
• college
• USAF

[TakeshiKeiken]

And you either stand on a bridge you didn’t see or plummet to your death. Call me a scaredy-cat if you will but I’d hate to do anything like that in reality or my beliefs. So I started this dialog with youtube, reddit, the internet, to try to find what’s missing, to gently lob pebbles out into a canyon and see if they hit a bridge I can’t see. Sorry for being long winded and taking 4 posts to reply

[TakeshiKeiken]

If I can doubt whether the option even exists, then the option hasn’t been clearly presented to me, thereby preventing me from being able to make that choice. As such, faith is where you circumnavigate that lack of evidence. Such explains the phase “a leap of faith”. You don’t see anything in front of you (take Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with the “invisible” bridge scene) but you choose to ignore the lack of evidence and proceed forward anyways.

[TakeshiKeiken]

It would prevent so much discrimination, pain, and confusion that would is caused by not being part of the religion of the majority. I am compelled though to believe what I think is true, whether I like it or not, because desirability is not a requisite of “truth”. It takes honest introspection on my part, its why I lost faith, in my faith. To truly make a choice I must clearly be given the options.

[TakeshiKeiken]

Thanks for being the 1st to respond & get the conversation started. I made the video in 1 take without a script so if you don’t mind I’d like to further flesh out how I view faith & how it differs from belief. Belief is not a choice. It's a compulsion beyond the realm of choice, achieved through convincing arguments, evidence, and trust. As such, I do not choose what I believe because I perceive it as the more attractive option. If that were the case I’d choose to be a Christian in a heartbeat.

[alx3610]

What kind of church did you go to? Just curious?? I think it's awesome that you use to have faith and believed in Jesus. Brother, Jesus is real and he is looking at you with fire in his eyes, longing to have a relationship with you again. Let go and let God. Jesus is a real real real real real man, you know this! We will all go through our ups and downs in life, it's guaranteed. But it is what makes our faith so strong.. we should skype this out dude.. God bless. Jesus loves you:)) <3

[belegulo]

I's like everyone to be or religious or atheist, but the fact is that most people are Chritians just for cultural reasons, and many atheists are atheists for rebellion. However, there are many books of philosophy of religion, written by atheists and Christians. I don't know if you know the book Mere Christianity, from CS Lewis (the writer or Narnia books). Anyway, you have a friend in r/Christianity when everyone that comes in peace, is welcome.

[belegulo]

@TakeshiKeiken Have you considered an Unitarian Universalist church? It's a church that is based on Christian teaching and structure, but it allows atheists, deists, theists and even politheists. I mean, I recommend it to you because you say that you would like to choose to be Christian.

[BillsFan716]

@belegulo

Really, I was always taught that faith is belief without evidence. I remember being told that jesus said to a disciple that the people born without knowing him are more blessed since they don't have the evidence that they do.

[belegulo]

Most theologicians think that the Bible is a book inspired by God, but not written by God. It includes human laws and divine laws as well. Jesus summarized the law of God: Love God over everything and others as ourselves. As a Christian, I don't care if mkracles are or nit literal, i mean, they are truth in the sense they teach us wisdom. For example, water means people (because its sound), so we can undestand what mean to transform water in wine, or to walk on water, or to appart water, and so

[belegulo]

I think you are a very respectful and educated atheist. I am Christian and I disagree with you about the definition of faith. I think that faith is not necessarily to believe without evidence in the christian sense. We have faith in other, in services and so. Christianity is about a relationship with God, so it need faith as any other relationship.