Debate Forum

I've been looking for the place where I, as an agnostic, can debate with Christians concerning their beliefs. I'm looking for a serious discussion, but the only place where it seems I can find one, is in the section marked Christians only. Can anyone tell me where to go?

Hi Bartus,

Presently we don't have an apologetics forum for both believers and unbelievers. The one that we used to have was closed because it was a battlefield. Other ideas are being discussed by the administration but nothing yet. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you have questions I would suggest posting them in the Exploring Christianity forum.

Welcome to CF.

__________________
If two friends ask you to judge a dispute, don't accept, because you will lose one friend; on the other hand, if two strangers come with the same request, accept because you will gain one friend.
Augustine

You can go find God and then know for sure that God is really
there. That way you won't need to debate with us Christians.

Oh Lord God/Jesus, please help Bartus find you and know that
you are really there, in Jesus name amen.

An Agnostic is one who is not sure if God is really there. But a
Christian knows in their heart that God is there, without debate.
Debating is for politicians not Christians.

__________________
I am taking a real timeout due to illness.
I may be back someday God willing.

I think religion is always up for debate, as long as it influences people's opinions and morals. My reason for wanting to debate is the fact that I want to hear the arguments from all sides. I think everyone should do this.

I appreciate the fact that you want me to find God, but don't count on it. I am not an agnostic because I am unsure, but because I think you can't rule out the possibility of the existence of a God-like entity, in whatever form, even though chances are slim.

That being said, I will regularly check this forum in the future to see if a solutions has been brought up. Thank you both for your help.

Ok Bro God bless you and I hope to see you here again.

__________________
I am taking a real timeout due to illness.
I may be back someday God willing.

Hi Bartus88, First of all no one wants you to turn to God, God wants you to turn to Him, you see you don't chose God, God chooses you, God chooses all of us but we decline His invitasion, for all you know He may have already chosen you but you don't know it yet. Does this help you? If you realy want to know if God is real ask Him. Kind regards Brian

I've been a member of a discussion board where they do debate the very kind of thing you're talking about here. Like Biker said, it is a battleground. It's on another system, and to be perfectly honest it's not terribly friendly territory for Christians. We hold out there, but it's no secret that Atheists and Agnostics run rough there. I came here initially because I recommended to another Christian that a Google search might turn up a Christian forum--- and this system came up top on the first page of results. After lurking for a bit--- always lurk before joining--- I joined this system.

Debates seem to break down to shouting matches pretty quickly and I'm not at all sure it's worth it. Even if you win, do you really win? "A person convinced against his will is of the same opinion still".

A bit of honesty here: Nothing I or anybody here can do or say will convince you that there is a God and that He is good. The only thing that can do that is when you seek Him honestly, and He shows Himself to you as he has promised. On the flip side of that coin, nothing you can say or do will convince me or other believers that there is no god and that if there is, that god might not be good. Walking with Him and talking with Him produces certain convictions that way.

I don't want to debate to turn people (partly because most people have been religious for too long to be able to change mentally, they're simply not able), but because I was wondering why people are religious and how they let it affect their personality. I'm not looking for a fight, unlike many other non-believers, who only want to insult believers.

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Since you'd like to know why people believe in God, I'd like to share a little bit of why I Believe. Please notice that we (Christians) don't have all the answers to the questions you might have, as we can't provide or present all the facts in a logical or material way. Neither have we received from science all answers to our questions. I was not raised in church, but I chose to turn my life to God at age 23. Since then I have experienced a relationship with Him. By relationship I mean that I can communicate with God. No, I don't receive emails or phone calls from Him, but He finds ways to respond me and I'm completely convinced it's Him, otherwise It'd be impossible or too much of a coincidence too many different times. This relationship was the original plan of God when He first created mankind, just as the Bible tells us. I know you might not believe in the Bible, I didn't believe all of it neither, it was after I started to experienced Him and the supernatural (un-natural, unbelievable) things He has let me experienced. If you'd like to know the answer to His existence I encourage you to ask Him to come to your life, and to let you know that he is real. If you do, you still might not get all the details, but you'll be more than satisfy.[/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif'] [/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']May God Bless you abundantly...[/font]

Thank you for sharing that, may I ask what exactly made you become religious? Your story is more interesting to me than those of people who were raised as Christians, since you made a well considered choice.

My story is actually the opposite of yours. I was raised as a Catholic, but became a atheist at age 10 or 11 (can't remember exactly). My mother is a Catholic and my father an atheist, so although I was raised with Catholic ideas, it was never a very big part of our lives. I did go to the church and was part of a choir. At a young age, I developed an interest in science. At first palaeontology (because it had to do with dinosaurs) and at around the age of 9-10 in became more interested in physics (I was very intrigued in the structure of atoms). I started to become educated about the history of Earth (in contrast to Biblical history) and rejected the stories of the Bible as true events. This started a process in which I began to question the possibility of the existence of a God. Finally it was two things that made me become an atheist. First of all, the lack of any physical evidence of God. Second, I never had an experience that confirmed the existence of anything supernatural, including God. Many people here speak of God as a feeling or presence, but I never felt it. This was despite the fact I was some-what devoted to my religion.

A few years later I realized it was close-minded to be an atheist. Since there also isn't any evidence for the fact that there is no God, it should still be a possibility. That is why I am agnostic. I believe that the likelihood of the existence of a supernatural entity is directly linked to our understanding of this universe. In my opinion, new scientific discoveries will either increase or decrease the possibility. So far, I have to say it has been primarily decreasing. But who knows what else there is to explore for us, beyond the stars or even in the possible structures of elementary particles. The way our universe (and every subcategory of it) works is quite miraculous. If we may ever stumble upon a direct confirmation of the existence of God, I wouldn't be surprised. But, like I said before, the odds have been decreasing and I think that trend will continue. Which let's me conclude that there probably isn't a God.

If the rate of scientific progress continues at this rate, it will take thousands and thousands of years before we can finally make a correct assumption. That is the reason why I'm now studying physics; to try too unravel some of the many mysteries that are still present. In the mean time, all we can do is guess. Some people found proof in personal experience. Others, like me, haven't. Which makes it hard to believe in a God. (For me personally especially since I think the human mind is weak and can easily be fooled. Maybe I'm the one being fooled, who knows?) Because I realize my opinion differs from a lot of other people, I came to this forum. To hear what others have to say about this matter. This way, I try to maintain a certain open-mindedness, in stead of ignoring the other answers.

Some of you have been saying that I should look for God myself, instead of waiting for Him to show up. I can't do that. You see, if I look for God, I'm not going to be honest to myself. There are a lot of subconscious processes going on in my mind. I can't trust myself, for I will be subjective on the matter. Which will lead me to think something because I am leading myself there. However, I am consciously partly aware of these thinking patterns, which will in turn make me doubt the result. As you can tell, I am extremely sceptical and will settle for nothing but the entire truth. Therefore, I appreciate any feedback on my personal findings.

I hope this post allows Christians to not only understand me, but other atheists/agnostics as well.

Also sorry for the long post, I wasn't my intention when I started :p