TheSkepticChristian Posted June 28, 2016 Posted June 28, 2016 (edited) 15 minutes ago, The Nehor said: Do you often indulge in self-pity like that? Yuck. What would Jesus say? and why are you judging me? You don't know anything about me It is not my fault that God doesn't give extraordinary revelations like your incredible revelations. I did everything for God. Are you proud of your amazing Revelations? Edited June 28, 2016 by TheSkepticChristian
The Nehor Posted June 28, 2016 Posted June 28, 2016 9 hours ago, TheSkepticChristian said: What would Jesus say? and why are you judging me? You don't know anything about me It is not my fault that God doesn't give extraordinary revelations like your incredible revelations. I did everything for God. Are you proud of your amazing Revelations? And now the silly rationalizations fade and the real reason you left comes out. You have cast yourself as the tragic figure who did everything for God (fat chance) and then he supposedly spurned you. A childish fantasy. 1
TheSkepticChristian Posted June 28, 2016 Posted June 28, 2016 (edited) 31 minutes ago, The Nehor said: And now the silly rationalizations fade and the real reason you left comes out. what? STOP MAKING FALSE ACCUSATIONS! I am a worthy LDS that goes to church every Sunday, I still do my prayers. I still keep the commandments. You are judging me too much. Now I am the devil because I am not convinced. wow 31 minutes ago, The Nehor said: You have cast yourself as the tragic figure who did everything for God (fat chance) and then he supposedly spurned you. A childish fantasy. Why are you attacking my feelings? What is wrong with you? Oh, you also insulted other people, You said on page one of this thread, "Those people are called superstitious idiots" I though you were a real Christian. You have no idea how it feels to think of the idea that there may be no life after death. It's not a good feeling! It's not cool! Edited June 28, 2016 by TheSkepticChristian
The Nehor Posted June 28, 2016 Posted June 28, 2016 17 minutes ago, TheSkepticChristian said: what? I am an worthy LDS that goes to church every Sunday, I still do my prayers. I still keep the commandments. You are judging me too much. Now I am the devil because I am not convinced. wow Why are you attacking my feelings? What is wrong with you? Oh, you also insulted other people, You said on page one of this thread, "Those people are called superstitious idiots" I though you were a real Christian. You have no idea how it feels to think of the idea that there may be no life after death. It's not a good feeling! It's not cool! I did not mean that you physically left.
TheSkepticChristian Posted June 28, 2016 Posted June 28, 2016 (edited) 58 minutes ago, The Nehor said: I did not mean that you physically left. What do you mean? I still have some hope, that is why I don't visit Strip Clubs! I am tempted, sometimes I want to go see some ladies, but I don't do it because I still feel some hope in God and the LDS church. 1 hour ago, The Nehor said: the real reason you left comes out I never told you (or anyone else here in the MDDB) the real reasons I am doubting! I read MormonThink and many other websites critical of the LDS church, but none of them affected me. Others things affected me, not anti-mormon websites. In fact I used to be an apologist, I used to love defending the LDS church. I used to be a fan of FairMormon. 1 hour ago, The Nehor said: (fat chance) So we are suppose to believe that you have impressive revelations, but no one is suppose to believe what I am saying? Edited June 28, 2016 by TheSkepticChristian
Eek! Posted June 29, 2016 Author Posted June 29, 2016 (edited) 17 hours ago, TheSkepticChristian said: I never told you (or anyone else here in the MDDB) the real reasons I am doubting! I read MormonThink and many other websites critical of the LDS church, but none of them affected me. Others things affected me, not anti-mormon websites. In fact I used to be an apologist, I used to love defending the LDS church. I used to be a fan of FairMormon. Okay this is probably none of my beeswax, but I'm not letting that stop me... From where you are right now it probably looks really frustrating, but I think you're totally safe and doing just fine. Let me try to explain: Psychiatrist and thinker Scott Peck writes about four stages of human spiritual development. Those four stages are: Stage One: Chaotic and anti-social. Stage Two: Formal and institutional. Stage Three: Skeptical and individual. Stage Four: Mystical and communal. (This is going to be something of an over-simplification, as we can be at different stages in different areas of our lives, but I think it's still useful.) Children start out in Stage One, and about one in five adults are still in Stage One, selfish and immature and often struggling with addictions or otherwise lurching from one disaster to another. These people need to find Jesus or find a 12-step program or something like that. These people need to "get saved". Stage Two comes from embracing that religion or institution or whatever that "saves" the person (for many young men, it's the military). With that institution comes the inclusion and support of a close-knit like-minded group, a set of healthy core values and the development of self-discipline, and a comforting belief system. As the person lives life fully in Stage Two, he or she begins to see inconsistencies. For instance the core value may be "love your neighbor", but the actual practice the person observes is something else. Or maybe this or that dogmatic teaching is contradicted by something that is demonstrably true. The person cannot deny their doubts any longer, and moves into Stage Three, skeptical and individual. This is a lonely place. There is no strong support group. The person is largely on their own, with maybe a few core principles as guidance. But there is no road-map laid out, no "plan of salvation". Many people in Stage Three stop believing in God... that's right, imo many atheist are actually further along than most of the believers in the church they left. If the person continues seeking honestly and avoids embarking on a war against their former institution, they will begin to have little "aha!" moments, little insights, that will start to coalesce into a pattern. As they continue seeking, they will at some point (maybe gradually, maybe quickly) transition to Stage Four, mystical and communal. They will see through a different lens, one they could not have seen through before. In some cases they may even return to their Stage Two religion, but their focus will be different. Unfortunately very few Western religions embrace the skeptic, the guy in Stage Three. Most religions see him as "falling away", when actually he is advancing rapidly. My impression is that Judaism embraces the skeptic, and so Judaism retains its best and brightest, whereas most Christian religions (including Mormonism) lose many if not most of theirs. I came across a simple idea that imo works for anyone in any of these stages, and probably still works for people who are beyond Stage Four. Credit to a thinker named JJ Dewey for this idea: Always follow the highest you know. The idea being that, as you conscientiously follow the highest you know, at some point something higher will come along, and that will be the next step. And so, my skeptic friend, I think you're doing great, and in my opinion you really have nothing to fear. Just follow the highest principles or ideas or ideals that you know, and be open to whatever comes along and rings true to your mind and to your soul. Edited June 29, 2016 by Eek!
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