Earlier tonight a guy came in and stole an entire case of lighters

I think I'm gonna research it a bit more and try going to church in a couple weeks.

>>140058276
If you're looking for non-meme intellectual arguments in favor of God, check out Alvin Plantinga. As far as I can tell, the arguments for the existence of God converge in a compelling way, though I found the first mover/Kalam cosmological argument, the argument from consciousness, the moral argument, and the modal ontological argument to be most compelling. For arguments wrt Catholicism, check out Catholic answers https://www.catholic.com/ they have helped me a lot.

I have been agnostic for a long time, but have started going to a latin mass (even though I was raised Protestant). I would say I am still agnostic from a very technical, philosophical/epistemological point of view, but I have seen enough and read enough and experienced enough to know that there is more to life than merely matter arranged in complicated patterns. What that 'is' exactly is hard to say, but I think that any organization which has been around for 2000 years is worth listening to and taking their advice seriously.

>>140059168
admittedly I haven't went too much into religion, just meme videos on youtube about reincarnation, but they made sense to me. the last bit of learning I did about Catholicism put me off of it because it was learning about the schism and uprooting of tradition because of Vatican II. I want to give it another shot though, I'm tired of feeling spiritually empty. I don't know a lot about religion as I'm not a theologian, but the Idea of an all loving father sending us to Hell for less than a century of sin always threw me off.

>>140059906
Had a similar conversation with a guy who had had a series of mystical experiences induced by ayahuasca in South America. He was quite distressed by the idea that God (all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing etc.) could send people to hell. It's an emotional reaction (and that isn't always a bad thing) but I have meditated quite a bit on the ideas that
a) God doesn't send people to hell, people send themselves to hell
b) Heaven and hell are both the same place, merely different experiences of being in the presence of God. For the one who loves God, bliss. For those who hate God, agony. I don't know how theologically correct that is, so take it with a grain of salt, but I think it is a sobering idea.

If Vatican II has you down, check out an FSSP or SSPX parish. I'm going to a Latin mass tomorrow, and most projections show that the traditionalists are growing far faster than the modernists are.

>>140059168
Platinga's reformed epistemology is fantastic. The Kalam/William Lane Craig, however, is retarded. Also, Plantinga is too emotionally devoted to theistic personalism and Protestantism. I don't see how any reasonable theist can not be a classical theist. But I digress.

OP, familiarize yourself with the history of philosophy, both secular and religious. I recommend The New History of Philosophy by Anthony Kenny. Fuck Bertrand Russell's History of Philosophy, he's an atheist cuck.

Furthermore, check out:

Ed Feser
G.K. Chesterton (specifically Orthodoxy)
N.T. Wright (for contemporary biblical stuff)

I'm drunk and I can't remember more. That's a good rudimentary start to contemporary stuff, especially Plantinga as mentioned. That'll let you scratch the surface. There's a wealth of wisdom in the history of Christian thought, and most of the shit today is worthless. Work your way into the past. I wish we were in the Scholastic period. Also, Pascal's Pensees. Read Wittgenstein too, because fuck it.

Don't get wrapped up in contemporary apologetics, btw. It all sucks. Contemporary "experts" are trash. Read dead people.

Oh and Augustine how'd I forget, that's crucial. And the Church Fathers, obviously. I haven't thought about this shit in years, I'm a lukewarm alcoholic

>>140061318

I have none in my city and the closest SSXP or FSSP churches are on the other side of the state. I'm still thinking of attending this church still.

Also I like your train of thought. I like it a lot.

>>140058276
>stole an entire case of lighters off the counter
What a story, Greg.

Also OP you could be a normie and just start with Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. It's hella normie, but since you're not already from a Christian background, it might be good for you.

That's pretty faggy indeed, but with that cuck mentality of yours christianity is definitely for you.

>>140058276
>another gay blog thread, this time it's the LARP variant