Before you comment on this, keep in mind that: 1. Prepare to read a loooong wall of text. No summaries are availible, and I would consider this post worth reading. 2. Please put some thought into your posts. No one-line responses. 3. In this topic I will not be using facts, but instead philosophy. I'm giving science and statistics a break, for now.
Lately, Ive been seeing a lot of arguments that go like this: Christian: God exists Atheist: Oh yeah? Creationism is the stupidist idea I've heard of. Christian: I believe god made the Big Bang. Atheist: The Big Bang had no cause. YouTube says so. Christian: But I know a story where someone was protected by God! Search it on google! *cue flamewar*
Those kinds of topics usually go on and on, but to no avail. Both sides never give up, and keep arguing. Has anyone actually switched religions after reading those topics? Since I've decided it's useless debating over Gods existence, in this topic I will try to shed light on Christianity from an atheists point of view.
First off, I would like to point out some misconceptions about Christians. We do not all believe in creationism. I agree that creationism is flawed. But you athists take the Bible too literally. The first part of Genesis is basically trying to say that God created everything. Also, not all Christians believe you have to be Christian to go to heaven. I do not, I believe it all depends on having good morals. However, it is harder for atheists to go to heaven because they have no one to ask for forgiveness. Along with that, keep in mind that not every Christian is like GodsHolyKnight. He was more like your typical 15th century Christian, taking every passage in the bible literally.
But is Christianity really that bad? Yes, it has started many a war, but every religion occaisionally goes awry. And while it is easy to find the death toll of a war, it is hard to find how many lives something has saved. Religions have spurred the inspiration behind civilizations, which not only kept people together, but lead to progress and inventions. After all, the Rennesaince (sorry for the bad spelling) was caused in part by a boost in Christian faith. In comparison, wars have only been a small setback. And even if Christianity has had a rough history, keep in mind that 99% of Christians did not support Adolf Hitler or control troops in the Crusades or chop the heads of non-believers, keep in mind that some of the least talked about Christians had the best morals and had a good heart. And those who tried to convert may have killed, but they converted people from more barbaric and less moral-based beliefs. The philosophy and lessons of Jesus are good, and that's what really matters. Admit it, some of your morals are derived from the Bible.
And why do I believe in God, with science stacked up against me? Truth be told, I admit science is on your side. And the universe is made up of science, so in theory God doesn't exist, right? Wrong. God created the universe, thus He is outside of it. So, universal laws do not apply to Him (He is, after all, GOD). And while there is no proof of God, I am somehow still sure He exists. I respect the fact that you are atheist (if you are), but I think you focus too much on science.
Finally, I have seen that most atheists think religious people are gullible. While most people do not think their religion over enough, I have of late. After reading all of the arguments in this forum, I have dug deeper for reasons to believe, and come out an even stronger Catholic. Ironically, some of my worst enimies on this site have helped me the most. However, I have gotten more tense in my arguments, which is why I will be taking a break from this forum.
In conclusion, most of you are too focused on science, and need to learn how Christianity is good, whether you are Christian or not.
Discuss your opinon on my post and Christianity in general.Â
i also have ideas, but most people would call me insane.
Well then embrace the some who don't think your insane and tell us your ideas! We could use more smart people like Alt and Kirby.
I wish I were smart...ah the dreams.
Science is proofed, god was created by drunk people.
I can't say I don't agree, but these statements are what start a heated arguments. Unless you have cold hard evidence (which is hard to come by mind you) you won't get very far with that argument.
We could use more smart people like Alt, Manta and Kirby.
Why thank you.
Science is proofed, god was created by drunk people.
I have to say, that's a fairly ignorant statement. Agreeing with Valk, an argument is nothing without backup and evidence. Which you really don't have here. Plus, that's... that's the kind of thing that will get you jumped where I live.
I'm not technically Christian myself. Well, I guess I'm Agnostic, leaning towards Christian. I accept that there's no proof of God, but I choose to believe in the possibility that He's there because He gives me hope in bad times (which come often for me).
To argue with the OP, brutality isn't something created or halted by beliefs. It's kid of just there, more or less. ALL humans have the capacity to be brutal or do what is wrong, it is what one is raised on that inhibits that. For example, I have a strictly Atheist family, but I wouldn't dare do something wrong.
Manta is right, saying God was created by drunk people is very ignorant. I can understand you strongly don't believe in God, but resorting to ignorant statements is a desperate call for unwanted attention. And yes, you probably could get jumped in some places with that statement in mind.
I think everyone without a religion should be agnostic. It makes so much more sense, you don't have to believe anything and at the same time you won't hurt anyone's feelings! Talk about a win-win scenario.
Anyways, just keep an open mind and keep your more bold opinions to yourself and you'll be fine.
Yeah, I said something similar to that to Riou 1321 when he told me to die in a car crash after I made a joke. Those were my last words before I got banned for a week.
Well Kirby, that n00b probably has the troll psychosis that I did a study on (see my profile for full study.)
Please prepare for a long reply. Christianity has many flaws. For example, some Christians that I have met completely refuse to listen to my preaching (atheist preaching, that is). That makes me mad. In fact, here's a little tale for you. It was a lovely Wednesday afternoon at my school. We were at a debating club, and the topic was Christmas. We were arguing over whether it is a good thing that Christmas has lost its religious meanings and become commercial or not. So, a big kid called Oliver Marshall came along (not saying any names... hehehe). He was a 'devoted' Roman Catholic, a sub-type of Chrisianity along with Protestantism and (i think) Orthodoxy. So he walked up to my good friend Christopher, a young Canadian boy, also Christian but only in general. I then saw the inevitable yet horrible happen. Christopher told Oliver that Atheists make a good point in their beliefs (or rather, lack of beliefs) and Oliver grabbed him, pushed him up against the wall and said, "you smell bad". He was smiling. But there's more. Later on, Oliver told a teacher that me and my friend Liam were teasing his beliefs. We were doing so lightly and NOT OFFENSIVELY. The point shows here. Physical pain and emotional stress isn't something Oliver should be dishing out like that. I think he's broken about five of the seven deadly sins, and he still threatens to tell God to send us to hell. But I just reply, "I believe in reincarnation" which I do. So there you have a terrible tale of twisted friendship and horrible hatred burning within me for that repulsive little boy that ignores the ball during sports. Thank you, and goodnight.
[quote]I am going to go all out to prove you wrong you stupid ignorant noob.
~
You ignorant, idiotic statement is useless here. You waste your time throwing blind remarks, not even thinking someone would be offended by that. You might as well cower in a hole while people shoot back at you. Maybe you will find that being a **** on the internet is the same as being a **** in real life. Don't throw a blind ignorant stupid remark like that or I will troll you until I am banned from AG. Believe me. Do you have any consideration for people's beliefs? Would you say that to your best friend, your wife, your boss, your mother? Of course not, because if anyone in there right mind heard you say that WITHOUT joking they would sock you in the jugular so hard you would have no neck. Seriously, try saying something like that again and see what happens.
Don't EVER say something like that again or you will regret it, I will MAKE you regret it.
/troll
[/quote]
So you trolled him, for having his own thoughts on the subject? (and possibly a messed up paradigm).
Oh, and thanks for at least defending your religion.
FYI: Every single argument about religion goes SOMETHING like this:
Atheist: God isn't real Religious: YES HE IS! Atheist: Prove it. Religious: You have to have faith.
You waste your time throwing blind remarks, not even thinking someone would be offended by that.
Kirby... You should take your own advice. He made a small joke about religion, which, though a little offense, was extremely small in it's trollishness. And you respond with such a sentence and then troll wall filled with threats? Kirby man, not cool. *Disappointed head shake*
I'd say it's more like this.
Atheist: God isn't real Religious: YES HE IS! Atheist: NO HE ISN'T! Religious: What about *blah blah blah*? Atheist: Yeah well what about *blah blah blah*? Troll: Something offensive to one of more parties. Both atheist and religious: YOU IGNORANT atheist/religious BASTARD! Mod: Locked.
i ment i don't believe either science or religion. so why the hell did i get flamed for that.
Atheist: God isn't real Religious: YES HE IS! Atheist: NO HE ISN'T! Religious: What about *blah blah blah*? Atheist: Yeah well what about *blah blah blah*? Troll: Something offensive to one of more parties. Both atheist and religious: YOU IGNORANT atheist/religious *******! Mod: Locked.
more like the 2 before the mod repeats about 5 times, then mod interfers and locks the thread. but other wise, pretty spot on.
I was trying to start a topic on the basic idea of being religious, the philosophies of religions, and if being religious. is a good thing.
Would you like to know where you went wrong?
My view on Christianity (Atheists read)
As soon as you said those last two words, your thread was screwethed. I'm sorry, but you were just asking for a flame-war. As for me, I am not a Christian mainly because for the first 7 years of my life, the idea of Christianity and trying to be perfect in God's image was beaten into me during school, at home, and even on the weekends. That is why I don't support Catholicism, because it was MEAN TO ME!!! Also, I find you can't be really lazy if you want to support science. With religion, you can just come over and say, "I believe in X, Y, and Z because I can, and no one will stop me. With science, you come over and say"I believe in A, B, and C because after having studied A, I found out that 1, 2, and 3 all help to explain it. B has even more factors, but C is something I haven't researched yet. I plan on doing so, and I will continue to ask questions about A, B, and C to provide further data on these points."
Then don't! Your contradictions are starting to hurt my face after having put my palm on it so many times. If you don't want a part of this, don't take a part, its simple. This isn't rocket science, if you want to stay out then no one will stop you.
This thread is nearing critical mass and its going to get locked soon. Almost all religious debates end up this way.
I'm pretty sure it wasn't a joke.
If it was a joke, it was awful. You should know better than to make jokes like those, your just asking for it.
