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What benefits do I have by all the amputees being healed? I gain nothing really, other than that I would be glad that all such people were healed.
What characteristics would I ascribe to? I would ascribe to a God that possibly exists. I would still put no value in any holy text, nor any "prophet" or organized religion. It is a fantastic leap to go from "There is a God", and "These are the exact qualities of such a God".
I hope I have answered your question in a desirable manner.
-Atheist Alan
If God were evil, what do you think would be different about us?Knowing that a God exists, would you attempt to know God better, despite lack of evidence of God's existence? Also, do you think an evil God would make us the way we are?
Would you agree that this is an odd answer? Imagine that I say, "I know of a doctor named Dr. Lin who treats people." Then you respond, "Why has Dr. Lin never treated an amputee? Are they not worthy of his treatment?" What would be the point of that?For instance, if it is that supernatural, or non-natural things are can happen, then I submit: why do amputees never regenerate their limbs? Are they not worthy of supernatural events or miracles?
Childs' case breaks down when you consider that Buddhist atheists exist, and they follow none of the supposed tenets of the "religion" of atheism laid out in your quote. As do radical-free market atheists, as do spiritual atheists as do many other atheists of all stripes that don't fit into the mold some random person thinks he's figured out. The only think all atheists have in common is a lack of belief in gods, which is no more a religious world view than a lack of belief in unicorns.
As nice as it would be to be able to tell other people what they believe and then attack that straw man, life is more complex than black and white.
If God were evil, what do you think would be different about us?
We wouldn't be like what we are today.. An evil God would be torturing us for his own pleasures, just like Satan does with all the souls he wins!
Would you agree that this is an odd answer? Imagine that I say, "I know of a doctor named Dr. Lin who treats people." Then you respond, "Why has Dr. Lin never treated an amputee? Are they not worthy of his treatment?" What would be the point of that?
If we wish to have the right answer to the question of whether miracles exist, surely the right approach is to look at the evidence for claimed miracles and see whether it stands up. I would recommend the book Remarkable Recovery, by two doctors who investigated thousands of claims of incredible healings.
But they are still included under the tenets of the Buddhist faith, the religion of the Buddhists, are they not?
I'm sure what I posted shows that atheists do, indeed, have more in common than their lack of belief in a god outside of themselves. Even so, wouldn't their commonality of a belief that they are the "higher power" in their lives also fit into the parameters of religion? I think so.
To rephase, I wonder why these people do not ask why these direct communications with "God" do not appear to rise above the level of personal anecdote. Do you wonder why that is so?AlexBP: What do you think about people who claim to have had personal experiences with God, such as holy visions, locutions, or direct communications from God?The question was not what you would ask these people. The question was, what do you think about these people?
Davian: I would ask why these direct communications with "God" do not appear to rise above the level of personal anecdote.
You failed to demonstrate that they would not have done them if they were not religious.AlexBP: What do you think about people who, because of their religious beliefs, worked hard for social reform and did a great amount of good in the world, such as John Wesley, George Fox, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Rev. Martin Luther King? Do you think it would have been better if they hadn't been religious and thus hadn't done what they did?I believe I can demonstrate that quite easily. It's only necessarily to look at what those individuals laid down as their reasons for doing the good works that they did. Have you read Rev. King's Letter from Birmingham Jail? I think it says quite clearly that King was driven to lead the Civil Rights movement for religious reasons. Have you read Gandhi's autobiographical writings? He said plainly that his political views were based on, and inseparable from, his beliefs about God, and also that God had spoken to him and told him to perform certain actions. Likewise for the individuals that I listed or countless others, their words testify clearly that their faith shaped what they did.
Davian: I do not accept the premise of the question. You cannot demonstrate that those individuals did these things because they were religious, or that they would not have done them were they not.
If God were evil, what do you think would be different about us?
We wouldn't be like what we are today.. An evil God would be torturing us for his own pleasures, just like Satan does with all the souls he wins!
I am here to hear any conceptions you may have about atheism. I will then attempt to either confirm, correct, elaborate, or debate.
-Atheist Alan
Without the power of God you can not convert me.
Son of God.
I'm not here to convert anyone.
-Atheist Alan
Who converted you?
I converted myself.
I don't want to speak for AtheistAlan. But seeing as this thread is Atheism. What are your thoughts? And not "A deconstruction of AtheistAlan's atheism." Maybe you could refrain from attempts at character deconstruction? Or start a new thread on the subject perhaps.So when they ask you why you did not believe in God, you have no one to blame but yourself.
Is this correct?
I don't want to speak for AtheistAlan. But seeing as this thread is Atheism. What are your thoughts? And not "A deconstruction of AtheistAlan's atheism." Maybe you could refrain from attempts at character deconstruction? Or start a new thread on the subject perhaps.
So when they ask you why you did not believe in God, you have no one to blame but yourself.
Is this correct?
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