What would it take to change a theist's mind?

[prleone]

@nd_n8

There is nothing in this world that could change my mind. War, pestilance, the rape of children, the death of loved ones, all of these do serve some purpose when they are looked into and not just judged on the surface.

When we judge things on the surface we are being lazy, selfish and pridefull. We are too lazy to look for all of the facts, too selfish to try and empathize with someone elses point of view, and too pridefull not to admit that we might not already know all of the answers.

Do I feign to understand the purpose and plan behind all evil and unspeakable acts? Certainly not, there are a lot of sick and twisted people out there. God does not stop them for a reason, faith in His plan tells me that. I don’t need to understand it, I just need the faith to accept that 1. This too shall pass and 2. All things will work themselves out in the end.

Finally, a poem I found that kind of sums it up for me:
Of course YMMV - N8

NB,

Life gave you problems for you to solve, not god.

When you asked god for strength, and he gave it to you,
would you consider the possibility that you simply meditated
and gave yourself the strength?

If the death of small children, rape of women, are somehow a part
“of His plan,” what does “He” really think of you?
If you are raped, or your child dies, would you feel closer to this being
that you were chosen for a sacrifice? Or would you feel resilient?

Simple: A belief in god is a cop-out. “I don’t have to know
things, because god will tell me things I need to know”, is what
too many blind followers believe.

Theists like to say, “And a child shall lead them.”
Well, next time at church, take a look at the kid with a deathgrip
on the car door as his parents coax him to go to mass, screaming for freedom. That’s the child we SHOULD follow.

Best, -----