"Cult of Mary"

Quote: FrGamble

I can see why an atheist would want to not have his or her rejection of God to be considered a thing, but that does not make it so.

How can lack of something be something?
Listen to what you're saying. What state
of mind is the non Loch Ness believer in?
No state at all, for him Loch Ness doesn't
exist, he gives no energy to it one way
or the other. Like an atheist does with god.

The lack of light is darkness.

To make the decision to not believe in the Loch Ness Monster don't you have to put some energy into looking into it? It seems foolish to not believe in something without first examining and looking at the evidence. It also seems foolish to make up your mind about something so completely that you don't put any energy into it at all. What happens if new evidence appears that would convince you or if you go back to the old evidence and take another look. Not that belief in the Loch Ness Monster would deserve another look, but surely the fundamental question of whether there is a God or not, deserves some energy and a regular examination of the evidence.

Quote: FrGamble

deserves some energy and a regular examination of the evidence.

If they ever come up with scientific
evidence that a personal creator god
exists, I'm sure I will examine it. At
the moment I'm not aware of any,
all I see is speculation and wishful
thinking. That he exists for you and
makes your life happy and meaningful
should be enough. I'm wondering,
why isn't it.

I've mentioned many times that my presence here is not evangelical or trying to convert. However, imagine for a moment you had discovered a TV show that really changed your life for the better, made your life happy and meaningful - would you not try to get people to watch it?

Quote: FrGamble

I've mentioned many times that my presence here is not evangelical or trying to convert. However, imagine for a moment you had discovered a TV show that really changed your life for the better, made your life happy and meaningful - would you not try to get people to watch it?

If you meditated just for the sake of
meditating, you would get exactly the
same peace and satisfaction that you
get from praying to god. You just think
you need god in the middle, and you
don't. God is imaginary.

This is absolute nonsense and not true. Faith in Jesus Christ is a real relationship with another person as real as you or I and who is different than ourselves. Christian prayer is not just meditation for the sake of meditating, nor is it just trying to empty yourself of all desires, thoughts, or emotions. Prayer is encountering and responding to a God who loves you unconditionally and wants to be part of your life.

Quote: FrGamble

This is absolute nonsense and not true.

Actually, it's not. There are many books and
articles written by people who moved on
from Christianity and found just as much peace,
in fact more, in meditation. I'm sure you're
aware of this.

Surely you are aware that many more people have done the opposite and found Christ and it has changed their lives.

Quote: FrGamble

Surely you are aware that many more people have done the opposite and found Christ and it has changed their lives.

But that's irrelevant. If you can find the
same thing by meditating, what do you
need all the gimmickry of Christianity
for.

It's like name brand products and store
brand. If cheaper store brands taste and
are exactly the same as name brands,
why waste money on name brands. But
many people aren't very bright, and
you'll find the ranks of Christianity has
it's share of slow learners. A large share..

I will refrain from the demeaning slow minded jokes, but just three posts up I said that you can never get what Christians receive from prayer by simply meditating.

Also here is a really excellent article about those studies on prayer you've mentioned a couple times, please read it. Prayer Experiments