Outnumbered, Outgunned

Beastt said:

He's all-powerful, all-knowing, creator of all... but without credible evidence of his existence. I'll never understand why that doesn't ring untrue to so many.

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"Knock, and the door shall be opened to you"

What people seek as evidence of God's existance, many forget to include in their search what is inside their very own self.

What I have found in my heart when I was searching for God solidifies His proof beyond any other incredulous aura that may surround Him.

Not only are we outgunned and outnumbered, we are apparently least liked:

Hostility to Atheists: As I noted below, the hostility to atheism in America seems remarkable, and quite troubling. A July 7, 2005 Pew Research Center poll, for instance, asked people several questions about their views of various religious and political grounds, and whether "your overall opinion of [the group] is very favorable, mostly favorable, mostly unfavorable, or very unfavorable?" Here are the numbers for various groups:

Group
"Catholics"
Very favorable 24
Mostly favorable 49
Mostly unfavorable 10
Very unfavorable 4

"Jews"
Very favorable 23
Mostly favorable 54
Mostly unfavorable 5
Very unfavorable 2

"Evangelical Christians"
Very favorable 17
Mostly favorable 40
Mostly unfavorable 14
Very unfavorable 5

"Muslim Americans"
Very favorable 9
Mostly favorable 46
Mostly unfavorable 16
Very unfavorable 9

"Atheists, that is, people who don't believe in God"
Very favorable 7
Mostly favorable 28
Mostly unfavorable 22
Very unfavorable 28

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http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_12_11-2005_12_17.shtml#1134415292

"Atheists, that is, people who don't believe in God"
Very favorable 7
Mostly favorable 28
Mostly unfavorable 22
Very unfavorable 28

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wooow
nice

why must nerds always be so persecuted?
-cries in the corner-

sallystrothers said:

"Knock, and the door shall be opened to you"

What people seek as evidence of God's existance, many forget to include in their search what is inside their very own self.

What I have found in my heart when I was searching for God solidifies His proof beyond any other incredulous aura that may surround Him.

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Endocardium, valves and atherosclerosis prove the existence of God?

On a more serious note, my point is this: God is said to have created everything that is physical as well as all that is not physical. As animals, were are able to sense that which is physical in a number of different ways. We know of no situation where the physical is affected that evidence of interaction is not left behind. Yet the claim is that the most powerful and intelligent force ever conceived has left no solid, physical evidence. The story goes that all physical matter arose from that which is not physical at all. It's simply not a credible story. What you "feel", in your "heart" is as poor a line of evidence as humans can conjure. People feel in their heart that their spouse-to-be loves them. Six months later they're being murdered by their spouse for the insurance money. People feel in their heart that God will save them from the impending peril. People die everyday from impending peril. If you found out your heart were weakened to such a point that it would likely give out altogether in the next month, would you seek the assistence of the most powerful entity ever conceived, the assistence of a qualified doctor, or both? And if you would seek both, what is the point of looking for help from a mere human when you have the most powerful entity claimed to exist in all of the universe and beyond working on your side?

benjdm said:

Not only are we outgunned and outnumbered, we are apparently least liked:

http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_12_11-2005_12_17.shtml#1134415292

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Such is the beauty of being an atheist my friends.

May we continue to unite Christians, Jews and Muslims together in their common hatred of us.

Surprisingly, some 61% of those who seldom or never attend church are nevertheless convinced that God exists.

God is a nice little concept to hold when you don't have to think about Him; precisely the paradigmatic solution to all potential worries. He's in heaven, and I don't have to worry now, or later, because that means something positive. But it really means nothing at all.

hordeprime said:

Such is the beauty of being an atheist my friends.

May we continue to unite Christians, Jews and Muslims together in their common hatred of us.

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Well, to be fair, I am trying to break out the Pew poll demographically to see what the atheists thought of the theist groups. 'Our' favorable / unfavorable opinion of 'them' may be just as bad.

I'm pretty sure this is the Pew Research poll in question : http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=252

Maybe someone else can find more, but the closest I can come is this bit:

"Question: Would you say you have a generally favorable or unfavorable opinion of Islam (... the Muslim religion)?
Is your overall opinion of Muslim Americans very favorable, mostly favorable, mostly unfavorable, or very unfavorable?

Secular:
42% favorable opinion of Islam
29% unfavorable opinion of Islam
50% favorable opinion of Muslim Americans
22% unfavorable opinion of Muslim Americans"

hordeprime said:

Such is the beauty of being an atheist my friends.

May we continue to unite Christians, Jews and Muslims together in their common hatred of us.

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Nice try. Pity is the emotion to associate with y'all, not hatred. None is so blind as he that will not see.

Received said:

Surprisingly, some 61% of those who seldom or never attend church are nevertheless convinced that God exists.

God is a nice little concept to hold when you don't have to think about Him; precisely the paradigmatic solution to all potential worries. He's in heaven, and I don't have to worry now, or later, because that means something positive. But it really means nothing at all.

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You don't need to go to church, to trully follow Christ. The church simply exists so that certain denominations can tell you what their interpretation of the bible is. That doesn't make their interpretation any more right than Joe Shmoe on the street who reads the bible and interprets it his own way.

rosenherman said:

Nice try. Pity is the emotion to associate with y'all, not hatred. None is so blind as he that will not see.

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Perhaps you're not aware of this. Some people find your pity offensive.

AirPo said:

Perhaps you're not aware of this. Some people find your pity offensive.

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I'm sorry if you are offended by my response to your situation.

rosenherman said:

I'm sorry if you are offended by my response to your situation.

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Well then I'm sure in the future you'll be more considerate.

AirPo said:

Well then I'm sure in the future you'll be more considerate.

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My/our pity remains for your execrable situation, but I'll endeavor to keep from offending your very tender sensibilities by telling you how deeply you and your ilk are pitied.

Did this get moved to Philosophy? I didn't think I came in here.

Odd.

rosenherman said:

My/our pity remains for your execrable situation, but I'll endeavor to keep from offending your very tender sensibilities by telling you how deeply you and your ilk are pitied.

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Thank you for your respect.

Natro said:

Those stories are either true or not true based on which is better.

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well they were all juicy...better is sort of relative isnt it?

rosenherman said:

My/our pity remains for your execrable situation, but I'll endeavor to keep from offending your very tender sensibilities by telling you how deeply you and your ilk are pitied.

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ease up

justcallmejamie said:

well they were all juicy...better is sort of relative isnt it?

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I bet that time I invented the complete meal gum was the juiciest. Never could get the desert right.

franklin said:

You obviously haven't been hanging out with to many thiests then elman.

As I said, there isn't anything for the atheist/non-believer to prove.

The burden is left with the believer to prove Gods existence.

If you say you cannot prove Gods existence but continue to believe it does exist why do you continue to believe it?

Doesn't make much sense on your part elman. As usual. so what else is new with elman.

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I don't think you have talked to many people who said they could prove the existence of God. I continue to believe it because it makes sense and because I have seen things that support the idea. I have no burden to prove anything. You continue to believe God does not exist because you believe if you cannot see something it does not exist. You accept that as evidence to support your belief. I use my evidence to support my belief, but neither of us can prove it either way and since neither of us claim to have the proof to prove our belief to be true, neither of us have any burden of proof.