What would it take to convert you?

MadCat360

MadCat360

Forum Addict
Joined
Apr 15, 2008
Messages
7,569
Location
Mazda Raceway
Car(s)
*Carless* Waaahhh
Simple question. If this is better suited for Political Discussion or not appropriate at all that's fine. Mods just do yer thing.

What would it take for you to convert either from your religion to another, become an agnostic/atheist from your current form of theism, or join a religion from an agnostic/atheist viewpoint?

A few weeks ago, I was a mild Christian. I subscribed to Christianity because that's how I was brought up. I wasn't exactly devout. I studied evolution for a while (as well as other scientific theory pertaining to prehistory), and now that I grasp it I'm firmly agnostic (the stance that the existence of a higher being of some kind is a possibility, though not proven to me). Probably a little bit more towards the atheism side of things - I think it highly unlikely.

I'm pretty thrilled with my new world view. I seem to appreciate the intricacies and complexities of life more, and I find that my moral compass is easier to read.

Anyway, subjective stuff aside, as far as finding religion again, a few things would need to be proven to me about the potential religion (not all, any combination really):

* Legitimate, verifiable miracles. Stuff I can see with my own eyes. Incurable afflictions cured with legitimate, impartial witnesses.

* A peer-reviewed and approved scientific paper disproving the whole or significant sections of evolution and/or proving multiple fundamental, "magical" truths specific to said religion.

* A truly peaceful, unified theology with a minimization of sects, varying interpretations and corruption.

* Theology which indisputably improves my mental well being and a moral compass which matches the clarity (but is not necessarily identical to) the moral compass I have in agnosticism.

So far, pure science has offered me a good majority of these points. A better percentage than I feel I got with Christianity, which is highly segregated and full of corruption in my eyes. I honestly don't even know which sect I belonged to.

I'm not looking to get into a versus debate - no need to get all up in arms to defend your faith, I honestly mean no harm. If you really do believe your religion to be true then you have nothing to fear from science! Please do talk about what attracts you to your current belief, and what might need to happen for you to change it, or your experiences in converting if you already have done.
 
5eff246e7ac4ba2c7785bed9d0214848.jpg


Does this answer your question?
 
Proof denies faith, what's the point of proving a religion, it removes the point of it, and is thus useless to covert to.


Also, i wouldn't change for anything
 
MadCat360 said:
What would it take for you to convert either from your religion to another, become an agnostic/atheist from your current form of theism, or join a religion from an agnostic/atheist viewpoint?
Click to expand...

Probably something involving a lobotomy. :p

(I'm a total athiest and think religion is something left over from the middle ages..)
 
If you proved to me God existed, I'd believe in him, but still wouldn't love or worship. Read Preacher.
 
When the existence of God is proven, belief is no longer necessary, since you know it exists. Knowledge and belief are mutually exclusive. And I'm firmly rooted as agnostic, because of that notion.
 
Last edited:
If someone showed me a "proof of God" via some miracle happening before my eyes, I would first start to question my sanity, I guess.

In other words: probably nothing.
 
A lot. The Catholic Church has a lot to answer for to its members (sex abuse by priests, the AIDS/condoms issue, becoming more "with the times", I could go on for hours), and even then I'm not one to restrict myself to one train of thought. I'm pretty much so aethist/agnostic, depending on my mood/state of mind at the time.
 
Adunaphel said:
When the existence of God is proven, belief is no longer necessary, since you know it exists.
Click to expand...

This.

It is not even possible to prove that God exist by scientific methods. By its definitions Science can only investigate things that can be reproduced. Also because of that miracles cannot be proven by scientific methods. Miracle by its definitions is, well, a miracle, something that is not possible. How can science prove that something that is not possible has happened? God that can affect things the way he wants is outside the world that science can investigate. You cannot put God in a bottle and then poke the bottle to see how God reacts.

But for me, knowledge and belief are not mutually exclusive. That is because I need to know what to believe, this is why I need knowledge to believe. Believing to something is purely rational for me. But on the other hand, belief cannot totally be based on knowledge, otherwise it would not be a belief. I think everyone has to believe a bit on something. Science is not able to prove everything undoubtedly, for example, you may need to believe that there is enough evidence to back up the Big Bang theory.

To the question, what would it take to convert me? That is actually very hard question to answer.
I am a very rational person. I choose to believe what I think is the most rational explanation to everything. For me to abandon Christianity, it would probably need something else to seem more rational than it.
 
Last edited:
Congratulations on your conversion, MadCat! Welcome to the rational viewpoint.

I don't think anything could steer me back to being religious at this point. I was raised Christian and tried Buddhism and pagan faiths after I left Christianity. I found, once I stopped believing in superstitious myths, life was better. I agree with MXM: if I saw undeniable proof of the supernatural (some sort of god or miracle) I'd believe I had lost touch with reality. And I feel certain I'd be correct.
 
I guess I'd be classed as an athiest but I probably wouldn't say so in a large group because I just don't care enough.
 
I'd say I'm agnostic, and as others have said before me, conversion would be useless if a God or Gods were proven to exist. Right now, live your life as best as possible just in the off chance that once it's over, it's over and besides, when the time comes, you'll know it.
 
I believe in a God, but I don't follow any religion.

My belief is that religion and politics are basically the same thing, and both are tools used by a select few to sway the masses. I find it to be an "easy way out" answer to everything, which is why it is such a powerful tool.

Anyway, I also don't deny that a lot of aspects of religious history (though probably not all of it), may be true, and I also think that a lot of what religion tries to teach is either misinterpreted, or downright abused.

As far as I am concerned, I don't need any proof for the existence of God (and, therefore, wouldn't categorize myself as being agnostic), however, I am extremely disillusioned by the way people ignore or abuse the positive things that their religion could teach.

Anyway, I can't believe anyone that tells me that everyone who is not of "their religion" is going to be punished or go to some sort of hell or whatever. That's ridiculous, imo. To be fair, I'm not even sure if I believe in the concept of heaven and hell. Just God. Whatever happens before we are born, or after we die, doesn't concern me.
 
If you know what it takes to divert you from your faith, you already have doubts about your faith.
 
Who does not ever have any doubts on anything?

I would classify myself as a person that doubts everything. And by doubting things I can find evidence for them and agaist them, and then decide if I still have enough proof to think that something is true.

If you do not know what would convert you, it would mean that you have just blindly chosen to believe to something. No matter what you see, hear or feel.
 
Last edited:
villej said:
If you do not know what would convert you, it would mean that you have just blindly chosen to believe to something. No matter what you see, hear or feel.
Click to expand...
That's what being religious means in my opinion. Believing in something despite there's nothing rational to support your view at all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top