“I left because it isn’t my truth.” (Whose “truth” is a lie?)
“I knew all along about Joseph Smith’s wives.”
“They give a lot to charity.” (After I corrected him on news from Mormon Leaks about their lackluster charity, he responds, “Well, I know 100% of [some type of donation I’m forgetting’s name] goes to help people.”
I Usually respond casually, "Yeah. The Mormons love to say that about themselves, don't they."
Although I never remain calm when someone uses the phrase, "My truth" Who are you anyway? Kellyanne Conway? You got your very own set of custom made facts?
I like this guy outside of this conversation. He’s a pretty decent guy.
But he calls himself an agnostic like a lot of people so he’s trying to not judge a faith and just say that he doesn’t know the answer about the after life.
Well, I think you can be agnostic and still call bull on a religion.
Being agnostic just means you don't know about no god. But religion is here in your face and we know exactly what it is. Specifically we know what Mormonism is and pretending it is anything "praiseworthy and of good report" is disingenuous.
Also, I have issues with the whole agnostic thing. Nothing wrong with the word, but I don't see atheism as much different. I don't know what is out there in the great beyond. I just don't feel like believing in anything that doesn't register on my senses.
If there is a God though, I would be very disappointed in said creature if he finds any of man's religions acceptable. If a supreme being is willing to accept that kind of money oriented nonsense in order to get his worship fix, then I'm not impressed and would suspect he really didn't create the heavens and the earth or even an asteroid and turns out to be Emperor Ming after all.
Agnosticism says, “I don’t know if there is a god but my mind is open if there is.” Some agnostics have taken this to also mean “I shall not pass judgment on religion, no matter how silly.”
The other thing that is annoying are those who claim atheism is saying there is no God.
Atheism is defined as a lack of belief in a god and ends there. No atheist I know, claims there is no God, including me. As I said in my post above, there could be one out there and who knows what it will turn out to be. And that is why I said atheism and agnosticism are not that far apart.
I guess you could say Atheists lack a belief in a god, and Agnostics aren't sure what to believe.
Atheism and agnosticism each have a range of meanings that overlap extensively.
In my mind, and for my own purposes, the difference is that most atheists are committed to the proposition that there is no God whereas an agnostic is someone who reckons that humans lack the capacity to answer the question. The latter seems obvious to me insofar as it's impossible even to define God since so many people disagree and the definitions are constantly evolving. How can one believe or disbelieve in a concept with no set meaning?
What I can say with certitude is that I cannot reconcile the facts of this existence with the notion of a God who is omniscient, omnipotent, and universally loving. Subject to the limitations of human cognition, I am an atheist with regard to such a being.
I don't believe that I'm a part of a something created by a someone.
I don't know if that makes me agnostic or atheist. A being in a universe is not greater than it by some metaphysical twist of reality. My existence has made it apparent to me that I can't be my own grandfather.
After all the options, I now identify as caustic agnostic atheistic diagnostic exhaustic and prognostic, AND, just to keep the bases covered, ornery old man as well.
A friend once told me he was 'diagnostic' ... he wasn't sure which belief was wrong. I liked the spin on trying to think you know what is after this life... Who cares and some belief os wrong. Let's focus on that.
Only the last one sounds like defending and given that many charities give a fraction of their donations to their causes I'd say it is a week defense at that.
And then after the evidence of things not right in Morridor then they say "well the GAs are only doing the best they can" judge not lest ye be judged, etc, to which I respond they're not doing their best, and someone's got to say something
So you're saying the church's management structure breeds incompetence? The church is paid, by members, to manage the future direction of the church. The inmates have taken over the asylum. Good luck taking it back. Uchtdorf tried, and look where that got him.