Being a deist

@pb1022 said
So what’s the point in a deist reading the Holy Bible in terms of knowing the creator entity?

I haven't said there is "a point" in them doing that.

@fmf said
It doesn't have to have been "the same". It may have been stronger or more sincere and more permeating than yours. It may have been weaker, not as sincere, and less permeating than yours. It doesn't really matter.

My experience doesn't have to have been exactly "the same" as yours for me to be able to understand the Christian belief in a "relationship with God".

You’re assuming you were interested in a relationship with God to the same degree I was and that God interacted with you in the same way and to the same degree that He interacted with me.

As I said previously, if you know (or think you know) the relationship between your best friend and his wife, does that mean you know the relationship between every married couple?

@pb1022 said
If you know (or think you know) the relationship between your best friend and his wife, does that mean you know the relationship between every married couple?

The fact that I don't "know" about the relationship between "every married couple" does not mean that I "lack the ability" to understand married life.

The fact that I am now an agnostic atheist does not mean I "lack the ability" to understand what Christians mean when they talk about their "relationship with God".

@fmf said
I haven't said there is "a point" in them doing that.

Then why do it?

@pb1022 said
You’re assuming you were interested in a relationship with God to the same degree I was and that God interacted with you in the same way and to the same degree that He interacted with me.

It doesn't matter whether I was more interested or less interested than you. It doesn't matter whether I "interacted" with God "in the same way" or in a different way from you. Or even if it was almost "the same" or almost "the same" or quite "the same". It simply does not matter. My ability to understand the Christian notion of a "relationship with God" does not rely on my witnessing the details of your life.

@pb1022 said
Then why do it?

If you are asking me why a deist might want to read the Bible, I have already answered that.

@fmf said
The fact that I don't "know" about the relationship between "every married couple" does not mean that I "lack the ability" to understand married life.

The fact that I am now an agnostic atheist does not mean I "lack the ability" to understand what Christians mean when they talk about their "relationship with God".

You’re dishonestly shifting positions here.

You previously claimed you knew about my relationship with God when you said this.

<<Having had strong Christian faith for more than 25 years of my adult life, I can say that I do understand what you claim about your "relationship with God" and I certainly don't "lack the ability to understand it">>

You’re now using the generic “Christians” relationship with God.

You know nothing about me and my relationship with God, and I’m really no longer interested in talking with you.

Have a good night.

@pb1022 said
You previously claimed you knew about my relationship with God when you said this.

I said "I fully understand the claims you make about yourself and why you make them" in the framework of me having no "lack of ability" to understand what Christians mean when they say they have "a relationship with God".

You said: "I don’t think atheists can understand what I’m saying because not only do they have to imagine God exists but they have to discern Him on a spiritual level, which I think is impossible for them." I think someone like me does not find it "impossible... on a spiritual level" to understand what you were saying.

@pb1022 said
You’re now using the generic “Christians” relationship with God.

Of course. The notion that an atheist like me cannot comprehend the belief that Christians have about themselves - that they have a "relationship with God" - is a non-starter. I am well able to understand what you - as a Christian - are claiming about yourself when you cite your "relationship" with God.

@pb1022 said
You previously claimed you knew about my relationship with God when you said this.

<<Having had strong Christian faith for more than 25 years of my adult life, I can say that I do understand what you claim about your "relationship with God" and I certainly don't "lack the ability to understand it">>

Yes. And it's true. WIth my life experience and knowledge, I can say that I do understand what you mean when you claim you have a "relationship with God" and I certainly don't "lack the ability to understand" the tenets of Christian beliefs that this perceived "relationship with God" is founded on.

@pb1022 said
You know nothing about me and my relationship with God, and I’m really no longer interested in talking with you.

You've talked about it extensively and talked about it a lot back in 2018 as well. Someone who posts maybe 20,000 times on a Spirituality Forum can't really claim that the people he interacts with "know nothing" about him and his beliefs.

@pb1022 said
I don’t think atheists can understand what I’m saying because not only do they have to imagine God exists but they have to discern Him on a spiritual level, which I think is impossible for them.

I think your "relationship with God" means that you believe God can be a tremendous resource and help to you in difficult times.

You’re dishonestly shifting positions here.

I don't think I am. Did you not claim earlier on [page 3?] that I lack the ability to understand what "a relationship with God" is like?

@fmf said
I can't just decide to be one, obviously. But maybe one day I will realize that a deist is what I am. It'd be the result of a process, not a decision.

What would theists make of this if it happened? And what would atheists make of it?

I think this might be a reasonable position to take.

-Removed-

Was just trying to agree upon definitions