Diogenes the Cynic

I've "seared my conscience?" What does that mean and how is it my fault?

If I can't trust my conscience then how can I know what's right or wrong? If I can't tell what's right or wrong then how can I be culpable for my actions?

Your advice to "spend time with Jesus" (where is he, by the way?) is rather useless since my "seared conscience" cannot tell me whether your advice is good or evil? How can I know that Jesus is "good" without consulting my own conscience?

Do you see that any decision to trust an external moral authority still has to start with an autonomous moral decision that it is "right" to do so?

Diogenes the Cynic

Doug answered this pretty well. My mind (and your mind) can be changed by new information (or perhaps by a reevaluation of old information) but beliefs cannot be altered by simple force of will and nothing else. Volition comes into play when it comes to seeking information, and that information can alter belief, but the change of belief per se is not volitional, it's just an involuntary result of acquired data which may or may not have been acquired by personal volition.

aChristian

You have seared your conscience by refusing to do what is right when you clearly recognized that you should do it. This applies to your actions and beliefs. God's existence and divine nature are obvious from the creation, but you have so far refused to acknowledge the obvious. The more you refuse to believe the truth and cling to lies, the worse you become. When we do this, it is because we love our sin and want to remain in darkness rather than be honest about our sin, confess it to God, and ask for his forgiveness.
Just because your conscience is seared, does not mean there is no conscience left. You still have an idea of right and wrong. If you honestly follow what you recognize as true, inspite of the consequences, you will be starting in the right direction. As I said before, if you commit you life to Jesus, he will clean you in ways you didn't think possible and be eternally thankful for it. I have found this to be true in my own life.

aChristian

It sure ain't functioning right in that area.

Diogenes the Cynic

When was that? What exactly did I "refuse to do" that I "clearly recognized I should?"
Beliefs are involuntary and I clearly recognize that any God who would punish people for not being able to believe something without a shred of evidence is a malignant, evil entity to whom it would be immoral for me to offer any fealty.
Um...evidence? It sure as hell never been clear to me.
The obvious what? You can't just spout this kind of nonsense without backing it up. Show me the proof, man. Your God has never shown me a damn thing. It's logically impossible to "refuse to believe" something you know is true. I don't believe in your mythos because I am utterly and sincerely unconvinced. If your God wants me to believe in him, it's his responsibility to make himself known. If God is "good" then he cannot logically punish people for not believing something for which he has steadfastly refused to offer the slightest sliver of evidence.

The rest of your post is just pointless witnessing. Proselytizing is out of place in this forum, off topic in this thread and generally frowned upon on this board. This whole digression probably needs to be sent to another forum as it is.

Julian

Wow, this is priceless. This post is about as ignorant as anything I have ever seen. Good job! It is also dangerously close to preaching which is not allowed here.

I especially like this howler: "God's existence and divine nature are obvious from the creation..." What a truly absurd statement, when we all know that creation clearly shows the existence of the Invisible Pink Unicorn. Why do you refuse to acknowledge the obvious? Tsk, tsk, tsk...

BTW, I don't know what 'seared conscience' is but it's great with some A-1...

Julian

Doug Shaver

Shall I believe that just on your say-so?

Tigers!

Hmm.
So, if a change of belief is just an involuntary result of acquired data does that mean that any acquired data will change any belief without any conscious thought or effort on your part? If that is the case then your beliefs would change rather easily.
I don't think that in practice your beliefs change that easily now do they?

Diogenes the Cynic

No. The data has to be sufficiently persuasive.

Sven

Tell this to my fiance. She was raised without religion (former Eastern Germany) and simply can not understand why people believe in a god. The concept of god-belief is completely alien to her.