Thugpreacha

[mod note.. this thread is a split from HERE -Krosis GRD mod]

How can an atheist even define theology?

BadBadBad

We don't define theology. We just re-iterate how it's defined to us. If you think about theology as re-iterated through us, no wonder you question whether we have defined anything.

Muad'Dib

"That which theologians write" seems to work pretty well.

ObiKenobi

Its quite easy for us to do so, we use the dictionary definition.

Main Entry: the·ol·o·gy
Pronunciation: thE-'ä-l&-jE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -gies
Etymology: Middle English theologie, from Latin theologia, from Greek, from the- + -logia -logy
1 : the study of religious faith, practice, and experience; especially : the study of God and of God's relation to the world
2 a : a theological theory or system <Thomist theology> <a theology of atonement> b : a distinctive body of theological opinion <Catholic theology>
3 : a usually 4-year course of specialized religious training in a Roman Catholic major seminary

Biff the unclean

Ya know Thugpreacha the reason most of us do not believe it is because we studied it in depth. Most of us started out as Theists and the more we learned about religion and God in general the clearer it became that it was false.

braces_for_impact

An atheist can study theology ( or a certain theology in particular) and dissagree with it in the same way that a Christian can study Islam and dissagree with it, or the same way a leftist can dissagree with right wing politics.

Thug, can you understand why someone might rob a bank? Could it be greed and the lack of empathy and respect for others that would cause one to cheat the rules? Yet you don't agree with it, correct?

When someone dissagrees with politics, or hotbutton issues, people do not usually claim that their opponent doesn't understand the issue. The opponent is given a cetain amount of charity. It is accepted that the opponent understands the complexities of the situation, but dissagrees with the solution or assesment of their counterpart on the topic.

Many times, it has been my experience that in religious matters, this is not the case. Those in the religion are often told that those that hold a different view are "blinded", have had their heart "hardened", or that they are "spiritually dead". It occurs to me that they are told this so that their opponents' reasoning falls on deaf ears. A poisoning of the well, if you will.

In my opinion, unless one is willing to concede that those with different views were able to come to their conclusions through honest and reasonable inquiry, they shall never be able to understand each other. This applies regardless of which side of the fence you happen to reside.

Another reason I believe this gulf exists is that people underestimate the power of their own ego. Giving the other side charity sometimes means you must put yourself in the awkward position of examining the motivations for your own beliefs (or lack thereof) and admitting to the possibility that you are dead wrong, or have had the wool pulled over your eyes by people you considered a good authority on certain issues and trusted in regards to those issues.

Admitting your wrong doesn't mean that when your argument fails, you retreat to find another argument to support your position. It means that you examine what that means to your beliefs if that erronius argument was a motivating factor in those beliefs.

Ah well, it's 2:45 A.M. and I'm rambling. Take it for what it's worth.

BadBadBad

They are often told? No, they are systematically told. It's part and parcel to their entire belief system. I've It's a brilliant plan to fool the guillable, and it's effectiveness can't be denied. Excellent point.

Give yourself more credit!

Thugpreacha

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biff the unclean Ya know Thugpreacha the reason most of us do not believe it is because we studied it in depth. Most of us started out as Theists and the more we learned about religion and God in general the clearer it became that it was false.

Theistic Biblical response:Rom 1:20-23
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools

Mageth

Yes indeed, that's an example of Christian theology that many of us have found false after serious consideration. And a good example at that.

Thugpreacha

Good point. I suppose that a theist can never suppose that an atheist will understand the urgency of an absolute in the belief paradigm. I respect atheists with an open mind and an open heart. You gotta admit that if God is real as we theists claim, the sacrifice is worth the effort.