Are non-believers fools?

The non believer this verse is referring to, is probably someone that rejects God. There is a difference in someone who rejects God, and someone who has never heard of God or been witnessed to before. I think the verse is saying if you are a non-believer (rejecting God) that you are a fool.

Wow, those are a lot of questions. Take a book to answer, and, unfortunately, I'm under bigtime deadline pressure in my work today.

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Sorry, but they're all sort of the same question. At least, I was trying to make the same point with all of them.

After 150 years of Darwinism, it has never been proved that a single plant or animal species evolved a single new function. Mutation as an engine for developing new functions simply does not work.
But there are so many insurmountable problems disproving evolution that one scarcely knows where to start.
Don't see them? Well, that brings us back to that business of blindness.

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As far as I know, that is true, but it is because evolution is too gradual for us to have observed it long enough to notice significant changes. We haven't been studying evolution for enough time. We could probably observe species for another million years and the changes in species would still be very subtle. So at this point in time, we can't prove evolution in that way, however the evidence for it is astounding.

If there are "insurmountable problems" why do so many scientists support the theory? And what are some of these problems exactly? You can't simply call me blind because I don't see your argument, you have to actually tell me your argument if you expect me to believe it. That ain't gonna fly.

How do I know Christianity is true? Many reasons. Consider: Against Christianity, thousands and thousands of books have been written, seeking to disprove it. Against other religions, very very few. Why? Because they're not a threat, that's why.

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If there are many reasons, why did you provide only two rather weak ones? Surely there must be something more convincing than that to make you be a christian. Have you ever though that the reason there are so many books trying to disprove it is because there are so many people following it and using it to affect the lives of people around them?

FOr example, there aren't too many books about disproving Wicca. Is that because it isn't threatening? No. It's because there aren't that many people following Wicca (relatively) It's because Wiccans don't use their belief systems to justify prejudice against others. It's because Wiccans don't use their beliefs to try and get tax breaks or to try and change laws. It's because people's belief in Wicca doesn't affect their lives enough to write a book about it. Also, in countries where Islam is more common than Christianity, oftentimes writing a book against Islam would be dangerous. Their countries tend to be less free and writing such a book could be risking their safety and the safety of their family. So, no, you're not really right on that one.

And I didn't use any "blankie" argument, whatever that is, but thanks for sharing I guess.

[Jesus'] life and teachings and miracles and sacrificial death and resurrection and subsequent influence in the world through his people simply cannot be explained away, in naturalistic terms, as can every other religious founder or guru

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His life, teachings, sacrificial death and influence on the world certainly can be explained away. Perhaps he was a prophet. A mortal man like any other. He taught his values to the people and lived his life by them, eventually dying for what he believed. He accumulated followers who formed a religion based off of him and it spread to much of the modern world. Bingo. THis is not an uncommon explanation. See: Judaism.

As for his miracles and resurrection, that only matters if you believe in them. I can explain it away thus: It never happened. It is a falsity. Bingo.

Oh really? Please explain away all religious founders and gurus in naturalistic terms. How about Muhammad? In the teachings of Islam, he performed miracles. How do you explain that away? The same way you explain Jesus' miracles. They didn't happen. So again, your reasoning doesn't really work.

I'm sorry you are so angry, with Christians, the bible, God, Christ, and the world. But I guess I'd be upset too if I thought I was just a machine with an expiration date stumbling through a mindless purposeless world gradually losing its hopeless battle against entropy, among billions of other expiring machines all trying to scratch out a few fleeting pleasures before the batteries run down.

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Excuse you, but I'm not angry with Christians, the bible, god, christ, OR the world. I resent the fact that you assumed I was upset, because I'm not and I didn't say I was. I'm a little upset with you now, if that makes you happy. And please do not ruin my respect for you by claiming that all people besides christians think they are "machines with an expiration date stumbling through a mindless, purposeless, world..." because that's just ignorant and rude. Not to mention untrue.

TheParticlePerson said:

How can you reject God if you don't think he exists?

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Well if there is no God there surely would be no atheists.

An apologist for Wicca? That explains a lot. Maybe you're not blind after all. But beware. There are worse conditions than blindness. Wicca doesn't worry me though, because I know it's only one of Satan's shabby little side shows. Not mainstream at all. I'm sorry that I was not smart enough to realize sooner what's really going on in this thread.

Kennesaw42 said:

An apologist for Wicca? That explains a lot. Maybe you're not blind after all. But beware. There are worse conditions than blindness. Wicca doesn't worry me though, because I know it's only one of Satan's shabby little side shows. Not mainstream at all. I'm sorry that I was not smart enough to realize sooner what's really going on in this thread.

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What on earth are you talking about? I am not Wiccan, nor am I attempting to support Wicca in any way. I was using it as an example to explain to you why anti-Christian books are written more frequently than books denying other religions. Substitute the name of any other smaller religion besides CHristianity and the argument still stands.

Uh...what about the rest of the post?

<<Staff Edit>> I'm just an old Christian guy, glad whenever I'm able to give some word of encouragement or comfort to someone in need. <<Staff Edit>> But I do of course see overwhelming evidence for God in all creation <<Staff Edit>>, and ample evidence of the truth of the gospel of Christ, in my own life and the lives of other believers <<Staff Edit>>.

<<Staff Edit>>
I am sorry if I offended you in some way and I wish we could continue to discuss because I was sincerely interested in the discussion.

Kennesaw42 said:

Wicca doesn't worry me though, because I know it's only one of Satan's shabby little side shows. Not mainstream at all. I'm sorry that I was not smart enough to realize sooner what's really going on in this thread.

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In mainstream Judaism there is no concept of a devil like in mainstream Christianity or Islam. In Hebrew, the biblical word ha-satan means "the adversary" or the obstacle, or even "the prosecutor" (recognizing that God is viewed as the ultimate Judge).

Much "Satanic" lore does not originate from actual Satanists, but from Christians. Best-known would be the medieval folklore and theology surrounding demons and witches.
Jeffrey Burton Russell, Lucifer, the Devil in the Middle Ages (Cornell University Press, 1986), p. 128

What is the Devil? a synonym for Satan / Ha-Satan, which descends from the Middle English devel, from Old English de-ofol, that in turn represents an early Germanic borrowing of Latin diabolus (also the source of "diabolical"). This in turn was borrowed from Ancient Greek diábolos, "slanderer", from diaballein "to slander": dia- "across, through" + ballein "to hurl".
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus

Saul&#8217;s attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you.

1 Samuel 18:10
The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did.

Job 42:11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him:

Deu 32:39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

I wouldn't say fools I'd say misguided or narrow minded, in some ways they are closing the door on other theories that could be opened for them.

TheParticlePerson said:

"The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good."
Psalms 14:1

This verse seems very clear to me, and yet I know there are many non-believers who seem to be very intelligent and morally righteous. How can these two conflicting ideas be reconciled?

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David wrote all sorts of things in that book and while they may all be generally useful, they are not all necessarily true.

Jesus said there was a GOOD Samaritan... that means the idea that unless you are a Christian you are immoral is false according to Jesus. But obviously false period as well... God is something people learn and the conclusions your brain comes to are not morally relevant anyway.

You do not know what you do not know and it is absurd to blame people for what they have not learned.

Christians stand upon their faith and testimony and their belief... when they in turn look upon the conclusions of non-believers with contempt they are entirely hypocritical.

Further more belief is not a choice... no one chose to believe in or not believe in god, their brain came to the conclusion and then they became aware of that conclusion.

Believers cannot choose to stop believing and non-believers cannot choose to believe. When their brain comes to a different conclusion they will change. Beliefs are not morally relevant, actions are the only thing that are morally relevant.

edit:

David, Job, Solomon.... all of them said things that weren't true but useful, this doesn't deny the inspired aspect of the book.

TheParticlePerson said:

"The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good."
Psalms 14:1

This verse seems very clear to me, and yet I know there are many non-believers who seem to be very intelligent and morally righteous. How can these two conflicting ideas be reconciled?

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Hi there, I will get round to reading this thread at some time, I have just noticed this question and I would like to mention an idea I have to understand it. Please if it has already been mentioned, can you link me to it, and I will try to make time for this a bit later. I already owe another person on this website some attention, and I have more demanding stuff to deal with in life otherwise.

So I have noticed those who doubt seriously enough the reality of, or likeliness of God being real, will assume that if they can alter the past (therefore, they will lie about what has happened), then they also assume that if there is no way to prove it then they will get away with it. From the perspective of someone who believes God is real, and in particular that God being YHWH and knowing what is said of Him, then they will respect the truth, knowing instinctively that He does know what really happened. For an example something Jesus has said is

"So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known."

and what was observed by apostle John in his vision:

"The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done."

Therefore, people who have this kind of respect for the truth who observe those who do not, will naturally view people as foolish if they think they can get away with doing the wrong thing. God is one that we cannot escape.

It is foolish to deny the existence of God. But that doesn't mean they lack wisdom or knowledge of the physical world.

TheParticlePerson said:

Hmm, perhaps. How would you define wise?

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Knowing how to build an H bomb makes you clever.

Prefering the human race not to have that knowledge makes you wise.

Unfortunately, arrogance tends to win out over wisdom.