The difficulty of talking to Atheist

[bhsmte]

If all you get out of it is that part, then of course it's not going to look pleasant. Maybe you could look at some part of a war we participated in with Iraq when we attacked them, blowing up entire convoys on the roads, leaving the roadside littered with blown-apart and burned bodies. But you have to look at the big picture.

BlueLighteningTN.....how did we get to this topic? I was just pointing out before about how the church used to be and the types of settings where people can actually question and learn things--even today.

What has the war in Iraq, have to do with what is written in holy book over 2000 years ago?

 

[Aldebaran]

What has the war in Iraq, have to do with what is written in holy book over 2000 years ago?

Nothing. That was my point. We were off topic. We were talking about church buildings versus home bible study and which one allowed questioning.

 

[BL2KTN]

Now, that was a pleasant story.

Note that every time it says "LORD" in all caps, the original word is Yahweh.

If all you get out of it is that part, then of course it's not going to look pleasant. Maybe you could look at some part of a war we participated in with Iraq when we attacked them, blowing up entire convoys on the roads, leaving the roadside littered with blown-apart and burned bodies. But you have to look at the big picture.

The difference is that there were never any commands from humans, little alone gods, for the US military to enslave or pillage cities. The campaign was intended to help people, not harm them.

BlueLighteningTN.....how did we get to this topic? I was just pointing out before about how the church used to be and the types of settings where people can actually question and learn things--even today.

Because if the church used to be a place where people could actually question and learn things, and if you attended such a place, then why do you have no answers for what I just asked?

 

[Colter]

"The God-knowing individual is not one who is blind to the difficulties or unmindful of the obstacles which stand in the way of finding God in the maze of superstition, tradition, and materialistic tendencies of modern times. He has encountered all these deterrents and triumphed over them, surmounted them by living faith, and attained the highlands of spiritual experience in spite of them. But it is true that many who are inwardly sure about God fear to assert such feelings of certainty because of the multiplicity and cleverness of those who assemble objections and magnify difficulties about believing in God. It requires no great depth of intellect to pick flaws, ask questions, or raise objections. But it does require brilliance of mind to answer these questions and solve these difficulties; faith certainty is the greatest technique for dealing with all such superficial contentions." UB 1955​

 

[Loudmouth]

"The God-knowing individual is not one who is blind to the difficulties or unmindful of the obstacles which stand in the way of finding God in the maze of superstition, tradition, and materialistic tendencies of modern times. He has encountered all these deterrents and triumphed over them, surmounted them by living faith, and attained the highlands of spiritual experience in spite of them. But it is true that many who are inwardly sure about God fear to assert such feelings of certainty because of the multiplicity and cleverness of those who assemble objections and magnify difficulties about believing in God. It requires no great depth of intellect to pick flaws, ask questions, or raise objections. But it does require brilliance of mind to answer these questions and solve these difficulties; faith certainty is the greatest technique for dealing with all such superficial contentions." UB 1955​

If we replaced God with any of the thousands of other deities that have been worshiped by man over the years, I doubt that you would find it that convincing. Seeing the same faith in other people but for a deity you don't believe in does not cause you to accept their claims or convert to their religion. Atheists are no different when it comes to your religion.

 

[Belk]

"The God-knowing individual is not one who is blind to the difficulties or unmindful of the obstacles which stand in the way of finding God in the maze of superstition, tradition, and materialistic tendencies of modern times. He has encountered all these deterrents and triumphed over them, surmounted them by living faith, and attained the highlands of spiritual experience in spite of them. But it is true that many who are inwardly sure about God fear to assert such feelings of certainty because of the multiplicity and cleverness of those who assemble objections and magnify difficulties about believing in God. It requires no great depth of intellect to pick flaws, ask questions, or raise objections. But it does require brilliance of mind to answer these questions and solve these difficulties; faith certainty is the greatest technique for dealing with all such superficial contentions." UB 1955​

Really? Because it seems to me to ask good questions and point out issues one takes a certain amount of intellect.

 

[keith99]

Really? Because it seems to me to ask good questions and point out issues one has takes a certain amount of intellect.

Still he is sort of right. It does not take much intellect to point out flaws in the way many American Christians interpret Scripture and it requires someone skilled almost beyond the ken of mortal man in doublespeak to make any sense out of those same interpretations.

 

[Colter]

Still he is sort of right. It does not take much intellect to point out flaws in the way many American Christians interpret Scripture and it requires someone skilled almost beyond the ken of mortal man in doublespeak to make any sense out of those same interpretations.

I would take the character of the least of Gods children over those whose motive is to destroy their faith.

 

[Chany]

I would take the character of the least of Gods children over those whose motive is to destroy their faith.

Pointing out logical flaws, inconsistences in stories, factual errors, and just plain wrongness of a story is not intellectually vapid.

Putting fancy sounding words into a coherent sentence and expecting others to jump up and down from sheer amazement is intellectually vapid.

 

[Colter]

Pointing out logical flaws, inconsistences in stories, factual errors, and just plain wrongness of a story is not intellectually vapid.

Putting fancy sounding words into a coherent sentence and expecting others to jump up and down from sheer amazement is intellectually vapid.

I agree, it's not "intellectually" vapid, it's immoral, not motivated by goodness but by evil.

 

[Chany]

I agree, it's not "intellectually" vapid, it's immoral, not motivated by goodness but by evil.

Sure, and you trying to point out flaws in materialism, atheism, and Humanism is not immoral because...

 

[Colter]

"Religion, the conviction-faith of the personality, can always triumph over the superficially contradictory logic of despair born in the unbelieving material mind. There really is a true and genuine inner voice, that “true light which lights every man who comes into the world.” And this spirit leading is distinct from the ethical prompting of human conscience. The feeling of religious assurance is more than an emotional feeling. The assurance of religion transcends the reason of the mind, even the logic of philosophy. Religion is faith, trust, and assurance."UB 1955
​

 

[PsychoSarah]

I would take the character of the least of Gods children over those whose motive is to destroy their faith.

You might want to reconsider, seeing as that would mean you favor the Westburo Baptist Church over an angry Internet antitheist

 

[Colter]

You might want to reconsider, seeing as that would mean you favor the Westburo Baptist Church over an angry Internet antitheist

When I said "the least of Gods children" I envisioned an impoverished humble person serving their God in faith gladly. The Westburo people have no truth in them.

 

[PsychoSarah]

When I said "the least of Gods children" I envisioned an impoverished humble person serving their God in faith gladly. The Westburo people have no truth in them.

Well no duh then, even I would prefer the presence of a humble believer with good intentions over any antitheist, however, their likability has nothing to do with their validity as far as the arguments they use.

 

[Colter]

Well no duh then, even I would prefer the presence of a humble believer with good intentions over any antitheist, however, their likability has nothing to do with their validity as far as the arguments they use.

The morality of any act is determined by a persons motives.

 

[PsychoSarah]

The morality of any act is determined by a persons motives.

Both of those individuals could have equally good intentions.

 

[Belk]

The morality of any act is determined by a persons motives.

It is? So if I kill someone but I had good intentions for doing so it is a moral act?

 

[Colter]

It is? So if I kill someone but I had good intentions for doing so it is a moral act?

Depends on the motive, if you kill an intruder in defense of your family that's one motive, if you kill someone at the mall because its Monday that another.......don't get any ideas.

 

[Colter]

Both of those individuals could have equally good intentions.

Its all about motive.