I think it won't happen

<<You seem okay with discussion, Travis, but why not say "I'm not religious," or "Spiritual things don't interest me.">>

Just because someone is not religious doesn't mean he isn't interested in spiritual things.

<<If you are SURE beyond a doubt (i.e. You can say if you died, there would be no God (for the big 3) and not "Well, I'd be surprised."), then I would say you are an atheist.>>

No-one can be sure. You can't prove that God exists and you cannot prove the opposite, either.

They can be sure in the sense that they can be completely and utterly convinced. They just can't have logical proof that completely backs up their claim.

I have thought it would be interesting to write a book on people who have spontaneously been healed after intercessory prayer. I imagine that those who have experienced this would tell you that this proves God exists. I hear about this throughout the Catholic and other Christian commmunities (I am not Catholic, btw); Spontaneous healings are not unknown in the medical community, but how do you explain the tumour on the film that has disappeared? I'm not interested in carnival-like claims. I'm interested in interviewing doctors and patients.

If there is a God, is "He" logical? There is order in the universe. Even if you only say something like "The law of nature is the law of God" then you recognize that there is "something" orderly.

I think people can be sure in their own minds about God. Perhaps this is the basis of furrykef's comment.

>>You seem okay with discussion, Travis, but why not say "I'm not religious," or "Spiritual things don't interest me."<<

The thing is that such is not merely a lack of interest, but rather not recognizing the validity of the spiritual as a concept to begin with.

>>Just because someone is not religious doesn't mean he isn't interested in spiritual things.<<

I'm not merely nonreligious but completely nonspiritual altogether...

I don't like the word "religious", but I was just suggesting a way to swerve the conversation. I recognized that you (personally) did not consider yourself to be spiritual. ( Liz took that suggestion and thought how it wouldn't work with other people. Of course, I recognize that some people are not "religious", but like to describe themselves as "spiritual"...)

I wonder if along with "no belief/no recognition" there is also no curiosity about it.

So far it sounds like you are a bonafide atheist and furrykef is an agnostic. Those would be the easy ways to describe things to other people, imo.

At the very least, the two of you examine ideas and write decently. Please take that as a compliment.

<No-one can be sure. You can't prove that God exists and you cannot prove the opposite, either. >

If you want to see whether God exists or not, look around yourself. Not everything is logic and scientific.

I think the universe is very orderly. That's some of the best evidence for a greater intelligence imo.

Some cultures don't value logic like Americans do.

Can we just get back to the topic? It's not that I don't like discussing religion (I don't mind at all), but this thread has been seriously derailed.

<Some cultures don't value logic like Americans do. >

Yet they prefer to choose non-scientific fields as their majors at university.

"Can we just get back to the topic? It's not that I don't like discussing religion (I don't mind at all), but this thread has been seriously derailed"


The original poster posed a question concerning English and Portuguese (a language I like quite a lot, btw), then you shared your example which was both interesting and revealing, but not exactly simple ( and quite unlike your usual easy-to-understand explanations.)

If you have something "on-topic" why not add it in here?

We are on the cusp of discussing religion, but...

Anyway I thought of this for Travis, but anyone can join in...

Do you accept the idea of a conscience?

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For "guest" I don't understand your comment. Do you mean Americans, the posters here or ?

I realize that this is my fault for writing that comment about logic in vague response to both Travis and furrykef. Logic isn't valued in all cultures. Japanese seem to value it less than Americans.

As for scientific degrees-I have one, LOL! I don't have a degree in linguistics, but I learn something almost every day here. So keep the big words coming! I love it! No sarcasm intended.

Let's make it clear , God does exist. He's communicating to you right now, so you ought to feel blessed. He's , me.