Mikal

I have a meeting today (saturday) with a christian priest. I recently was in a relationship with a fundi Xian that disolved. We decided that she would meet with one of my philosophy teachers and i would have a pow wow with her priest. This is not really an attempt to convert her one way or the other, just for her to have a better sense of where i was coming from.

I am going to get commentary straight from the horses mouth on the PoE, omnipotence paradoxes, issues of what is god, and some of usual issues. I've really done my homework and believe that it will be very interesting. Is there anything else i should ask him about?

I have a feeling this post will come off different than i want it to. The meeting is not going to be a heated debate, i just want to see if an educated theist is aware of these issues and what stances he will take in the real world. Also to hopefully to show the Ex GF that Xianity may not be as stable as she thinks.

Thanks,
-Mike

(gonna post in secular support forum too, sorry to double post)

Sleepy

This is an upper forum. If you simply must make social commentary concerning the sexual tastes of clergy, do it ~~Elsewhere~~.

Albert Cipriani

Dear Mikal,
Ask the priest why he believes. Expect a lame answer.

Then ask yourself why you'd let the intellectual lameness of another affect your decision-making process.

Most people don't think. Ditto that for most priests, who are remarkably like most people.

Ask him what he would do differently if he were convinced that God did not exist. Ask yourself what you'd do differently if you were convinced that God did exist.

If his answer and yours are the same, that you'd do nothing differently, then it doesn't matter one whit what either of you believe. The answer to that question reveals Christians to be functional atheists and atheists to be functional Christians. -- Sincerely, Albert the Traditional Catholic

keyser_soze

In addition to the comment I made to Sleepy, above, I ask in addition that if you simply must offer sexual speculation about priests, when you take it ~~Elsewhere~~, please read all the comments offered in the thread prior so you may refrain from repeating the same witticism another poster just made two posts earlier. Thank you for your cooperation.

sandlewood

If she is meeting with your philosophy teacher to get a better sense of where you are coming from, then isn’t the purpose of your meeting with the priest to get a better idea of where she is coming from? If that’s the case, then I wouldn’t bother to argue with the priest. I don’t believe you are going to convert him or prove anything to him or your ex-girlfriend. If you want to show your ex-girlfriend that Christianity is not as stable as she thought, then that is what the meeting with you philosophy is for, right?

You might take advantage of the opportunity to ask him questions that relate to your ex-girlfriend’s motivations. Tell him up front that you are an atheist and that you are unlikely to be converted, so don’t proselytize. But let him know you are talking with him in order to understand your ex-girlfriend’s perspective better.

Although I know very little if anything about priests, I’d guess that they are not well-versed in theism vs. atheism arguments. I imagine they mostly deal with people who already believe. Their job is to educate those people about Christianity.

Jobar

Hello, Mikal- you say "christian priest" but not Catholic priest; if you are meeting with a Protestant, you would call him a minister, preacher, or reverend. 'Priest' is normally used for Catholicism, in English anyway.

This is a big factor in the advice you will get; if it's a Catholic priest, then you will probably have a much easier and more enjoyable conversation than if it's some bible thumper from some fundamentalist church.

Anyway, good luck.

Mikal

a very interesting talk with the priest.

It can be summed up by one of his responses:

"My answers don't fit your questions."

I was so glad I wasnt him after the 1.5 hour chat.

=)

Mike

Jobar

"My answers don't fit your questions."

Heh. What a... tactful... way to say "I don't know the answers."

Have you spoken with your gf about her conversation with your prof?

Beetle

Wasn't he suppossed to answer your questions? Sounds like he came with prepared sound bites to deal with what he'd thought you'd ask, and couldn't handle your deeper questions.

Albert Cipriani

Yes Beetle,
You are right. The priest performed as I predicted, demonstrating the dismal decline of the Catholic Church these past 50 years.

I suspect that the next pope will be worse than the last and the Church as we know it will cease to be functional, returning to its underground catacomb status of the first two centuries. I'm alread there, celebrating the Latin Mass in a converted garage by an outlaw priest in poor health. Things will only get worse. -- Albert the Traditional Catholic