Post your tough questions for an Atheist/Agnostic.

Is there something in the "Atheist Handbook" that prevents us from doing the obvious in this situation?

I DON'T KNOW!

Nor do I pretend to. Indications thus far point to a singularity being the beginning of our observable universe but, something could very well have come before that and may come about afterward. This also begs the next unanswerable question....where did the singularity come from...guess what...I DO NOT KNOW.

 

God and Jesus Christ are two atheists in heaven there they are. But they promises believers to heaven after life if they haven't sin in their life. Or every how sin have new alert next time we live How I think about. Not every how lisen voices in their life. Aren't that a sin when Jesus Christ and God let voices to a little majority in human life by this two pieces??? A little percents have trouble in life and from distance they alert against this human how never sin against Gods before a human have sin from only a distance they reaction and in final moment it is God and Jesus Christ how sin. This Gods do nothing with voices.

 

I can understand and respect a person who says, "I DO NOT KNOW". But, the atheist says, with great resolve and rock-solid conviction -- I DO know that there is no such thing as God!

. "Ah, hell, they think we're both just figments of somebody's imagination. But how do they explain the Universe...?"

 

You are obviously not Atheist...I AM.

I have never stated no god can exist but have very clearly stated that none of the manmade things could possible be it. You will probably now say I am Agnostic...Go ahead. As an Atheist I do not believe in God...yet am not stupid enough to pretend I know there is not something, somewhere.

 

It appears that the Atheist's belief that there is no God requires as much faith as the Theists belief in God. QED

 

I'd prefer basing my opinion on reason than on a book that advocates slavery, advocates infanticide, forbids freedom of speech and religion, etc. etc. Several theists, particularly deists, feel the saem way, so please don't pretend to speak for all of them.

 

I believe that there is no intellectually honest way to use the terms 'god' or 'gods' without the clarifications that immediately debunk many definitions. However, to clarify further...

If we put all definitions or instances of gods into a set called 'gods' then we have a mess, they can't all exist for reasons of logic therefore I consider that using the term 'god' or 'gods' on it's own in any kind of general way is very problematic. If you go in any direction from here, theists end up with a problem.

If you go specific such as, 'god is exactly as described as the Norse god Thor' then there is the obvious problem that we know that thunder is not caused by a huge hammer; Thor cannot exist as defined. To make specific 'gods' meaningful you have to assign meaningful attributes to them and these attributes tend to mean an interaction with the Universe or a logical contradiction that we can debunk. The sub-set of 'impossible gods' increases in direct proportion to the number of 'gods' you can imagine and describe which is apparently infinite and will keep theists and atheists busy for some time; this is where the apologetics business tends to ply most of it's trade.

If you go general such as, 'god' is simply a 'creator' or worse a 'creative force' then you as a minimum have the prime mover problem but more than that, I am not aware of any single advocate for 'gods' that stops at this proposition. There are people who will stop at this definition for purposes of argument but, all they are doing is defining 'gods' to win an argument, it has no real meaning beyond that.

 

Why do atheists think anybody cares about them being atheist? They are like the vegans of the religion & philosophy forum.

 

The VAST majority of the commentary produced by Atheists is in reply to comments by Theists ...generally we do not much care about such things until we feel a need to either defend ourselves or correct things seen as obviously flawed when looked at through the lens of logical reality.

 

I wouldn't care but, people keep asserting things without evidence and they need to be told.

Why do theists care?

 

If someone writes in a book that universe creating pixies made the universe, are you and I obligated to believe it? I don't believe they did, despite there being a universe, because I see no evidence they did.

Now, I can't say with certainty they didn't, but I am apixie.

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If someone writes in a book that universe creating pixies made the universe, are you and I obligated to believe it? I don't believe they did, despite there being a universe, because I see no evidence they did.

Now, I can't say with certainty they didn't, but I am apixie.

 

Even though this thread picked up after a while, I think this warrants a further question to the non-religious (from someone non-religious).

What do you do in order to make conversations about religion have an impact on people's beliefs, instead of just them thinking you're mean and thoughtless?

Aimed at any non-religious people.

 

That doesn't explain why atheists think anybody cares about them being atheist.

So tough questions for atheists are going to be avoided?

 

So this in the context of the question I asked, your response means that you think people care that others are atheist because they assert things?

I either don't understand your point or why you responded to my post.

Care about what?

 

As it seems your intention here is to make claims to derail....I will simply answer your question again.

As an Atheist I do not care if anyone cares, but when questions are asked or erroneous claims made I tend to reply....case in point. Hopefully that answers your question and lessens your need to dwell in negativity, if not I bid you good day

 

I didn't. I asked you a direct question about atheism. You told me that most threads in the religon form aren't posted by atheists.

Still not answering my question.

Negativity? That's in your head.

 

The priests and Romans certainly hassled Christians, but they never actually said "Baloney, the Jesus story is just a myth", because they knew there were too many eyewitnesses who saw him strutting his stuff..
Even the Koran 600 years later admits Jesus was a "miracle man"-
[Koran 2.253]- "We have made some of these apostles to excel the others, among them are they to whom Allah spoke, and some of them He exalted by many degrees of rank; and He gave clear miracles to Isa [Jesus] son of Marium [Mary], and strengthened him with the holy spirit.."

 

Right, which is why all Jews believe Jesus is the messiah.

Are you seriously this ignorant?

 

Only hardcore fundies are obsessed with the Old T, but Jesus gave us the NEW T (the clue is in the name), and people quickly cottoned on-
"The covenant of which Jesus is mediator is superior to the old one" (Heb 8:6)
"Through Jesus we are saved,and not through Moses" (Acts 13:39)
"Jesus saved you from the empty way of life handed you by your forefathers" (1 Peter 1:18 )

PS- As for crackpot theists/deists, I don't give a rat's ass what they say because I don't need them to do my thinking for me, in fact I have great fun on the internet debating circuit busting their asses..

 

The NT isn't exactly free from the same sort of issues, and the OT was supposedly the Word of the same "perfect" God. Yeah, I'd much rather choose reason. As for "doing my thinking for me" goes . . . that's the exact point of Biblical fundamentalism.

 

It's fine with me if you're an atheist. I only asked, in essence, how you explain the presence of the Universe. You said, "I DON'T KNOW!" My only remaining question is, "...if you can't explain the presence of the Universe, how is it that you are so rock-solid certain that there is no such thing as God?"'

Don't misunderstand... I'm not berating you. I went through several phases myself, many years ago, in which I was an agnostic, and then something of a 'polytheist', including a lengthy study of both Buddhism and Hinduism. Very intriguing, and I still believe that in a number of circumstances, the souls of living creatures can be reincarnated -- routinely! Today I am a different sort of Christian than you are probably used to, but never once in my life was I ever an atheist.

Don't worry... if I'm right, you'll probably have plenty more opportunities to reconsider your beliefs, in a new incarnation, or perhaps later in the current one.... All the best!

 

If they thought he was their long-awaited Messiah, why did they kill him?..

 

You know, if one studies the entire universe, one discovers new things fairly often.

Starting with the Big Bang, why are there such a wide variety of objects in the universe?

It might take up to a day just to list all the various and wonderful things in the universe.

I believe were there no GOD at all, the universe would not exist. The wide variety of life might not exist. Life would come in some forms that would be far more scarce.

I don't personally mind one bit when posters announce they reject GOD since that would be up to GOD if it matters or not.

It may turn out that upon death on earth, the intangible part of humans, eg. the soul, ends up with GOD even if that soul came from an evil person.

If any atheist is correct, they die forever. If we are correct, again you may die forever. I don't believe in GOD as a ladder to eternal life. To me it is rather pure science. It might turn out that over time, the soul changes a lot. I am not saying eternal life is not possible, but my motive for believing in GOD has nothing to do with that at all.

A child knows nothing. Over time as they attain the age of 1, they do know something. It is likely to be the beginning of language skills. By 3, the child has made advances. By 8 they are far more advanced.

I have been thinking that atheists are at a particular stage that they think they know everything worth knowing, but in reality they are lagging those of us who accept GOD.

 

In Old T times God was paving the way for the arrival of Jesus, so he had to slap the primitives and heathens around, or Jesus wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes.
As it was he lasted 3 years after his arrival because there were still enough primitives around to go gunning for him.
It's an occupational hazard for visitors to our planet-

'The Day the Earth stood Still" (1951)

 

If one investigates further, one learns Jesus converted thousands of Jews. Jews rejected Jesus as Atheists reject GOD