Posts by StrongHaiku

89

Problems with Common Atheist Arguments

by FusionTheism in

the reason i entitled this "problems with common atheist arguments" instead of "the case against atheism" is that many atheists claim that atheism is not a belief system, makes no claims, and has no requirements to follow, so there's no way to argue against atheism itself.

i will go along with this idea, and argue against the most frequently used arguments of atheists instead of atheism itself.disclaimer # 1: this is not an argument against atheism or all atheists.

no, rather this is an argument against the most frequently used claims and arguments made by the atheists i speak to on twitter.

StrongHaiku

FusionTheism - Many atheist arguments boil down to this (once you remove all the fancy words and hyperbole):

1:) I don't like the idea of God.
2:) I don't like the Bible.
3:) I hate the morals found in the Bible.
4:) I believe you should only accept science, even though I accept other things in my life.

Fixed...

Many atheist arguments boil down to this (once you remove all the fancy words and hyperbole):

1:) I have not been provided good evidence that there is a God (or any other deity).

The rest are not particular with atheism, but may be responses to theist arguments to their propositions...
2:) I have not been provided good evidence that the Bible (or any other holy book) is the unerring word of God (or any other deity).
3:) I find many of the morals of the Bible to be questionable if not immoral ((e.g. slavery, subjugation of women, treatment of gays, etc.) by modern standards

4:) The scientific method is the best process we currently have for understanding our universe. But I need not apply the scientific method in every facet in my life (e.g. My girlfriend loves me and I need not squeeze her into an FMRI machine to validate that)

57

Are atheists more likely to be morally good than Christians?

by FusionTheism in

i have no problem saying atheists and christians are equal.. but some people seem to have the belief that atheists are more likely to be morally good, or more likely to change the world for good, than christians and theists.. but what evidence do you have to support this claim?.

if atheism is what causes people to do great positive things for the world, then why weren't martin luther king, jr., william wilberforce, isaac newton, francis collins, barack obama, mother theresa, abraham lincoln, or john f. kennedy atheists?.

StrongHaiku

I have no problem saying atheists and Christians are EQUAL.

Not sure what you mean by "EQUAL". I am assuming you mean that "atheists and Christians" are two groups that are both "equally"capable of good and bad. If that is the case, sure, I'll play along.

But some people seem to have the belief that atheists are MORE likely to be morally good, or MORE likely to change the world for good, than Christians and theists.

But what evidence do you have to support this claim?

I am an atheist, and I do not make the claim that an atheist is likely to do more good than a Christian. Other atheists may disagree.

What I would claim is that a person that is a <insert preferred religion here> that gets their marching orders from <insert preferred deity here> from their <insert preferred holy book here> and follows unquestioningly, is likely to do more bad. And, if people can't grasp that by looking at history and current events, I don't know what to tell you.

If atheism is what causes people to do great positive things for the world...

I do not agree with that proposition. Atheism, again, is not a world-view or a religion, etc. All it tells you is what I don't believe in on a very specific issue (i.e. God's existence). It does not tell you anything about my morality, what I fight for (e.g. social equality), how I make decisions (e.g. critical thinking), or inform you on my motivations for doing "good" or "bad", or tell you what is my favorite flavor of ice cream, etc.

..., then why weren't Martin Luther King, Jr., William Wilberforce, Isaac Newton, Francis Collins, Barack Obama, Mother Theresa, Abraham Lincoln, or John F. Kennedy atheists?

So, should my response be a long list of non-Christian believers and atheists, and then debate who has the longer list or who has better/more famous people in it? In reality, I don't know why any of the above were not professed atheists. If I could answer that I would probably have the cure for religion.

7

Who's will is it?

by freemindfade in

in our super cappy fallacious public talk today.

i kept hearing "we do jehovahs will" "do jehovahs will" "not our will...jehovahs" there was a lot of crap in the talk to be irritated by.

but this got me thinking.... if you are required under penalty of death!

StrongHaiku

It is "free will" in the same way the Mafia comes to you and offers you a deal you can't refuse. "You have a nice life. I'd be a shame if something happened to it..."

34

JW terminology

by punkofnice in

paradise earth after god kills all non jws.

StrongHaiku

Reaching Out - The sisyphean treadmill of activities and positions that is designed to keep male JWs busy and obedient through guilt and ambition.

25

An interesting theory on Stephen Lett

by joe134cd in

interesting theory i thought on stephen lett.

if anything i would of thought tomo3 would of caused them more grief with his comments.. http://insidethewatchtower.com/governing-body/stephen-lett-dumped-from-governing-body/.

StrongHaiku

Vidiot - Now I have this bizarre image stuck in my head of the GB as an aging, over-the-hill boy-band.

Then my work here is done...

"We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine..."

67

All Christians Should Accept EVOLUTION

by FusionTheism in

it is time for christians to accept evolution, in my opinion.. there are many reasons why i think it is long overdue for all christians to finally accept what science says about evolution.

below i will show these reasons.. .

the bible tells people to pay attention to nature to see the glory of god (psalm 19; romans 1:19-20).

StrongHaiku

FusionTheism - Atheists WANT the Bible to be interpreted literally so they can have something to attack.

I am an atheist, and it is not that I "WANT the Bible to be interpreted literally". It is that I am not arrogant enough to think I know what God (if he exists) may have meant or is thinking. Instead, I listen to a number of interpretations from theists. What I find is that the number of divergent interpretations (and denominations) leads me to believe that the Bible does not seem to have a clear objective mechanism that can be used to determine what is an allegory and what is not.

Historically, it seems to me that often an idea in the Bible is treated as literal up until the point that science, history, or modernity have left the claim no wiggle room, then "voila", it becomes an allegory. If the Bible is the vehicle for God to communicate with humans, it would seem to me that having it open to interpretation is a recipe for disaster.

So, that begs the question, other than personal interpretation, what exactly is the objective process to determine what should or should not be taken literally, or seriously, or relevant in the Bible?

25

An interesting theory on Stephen Lett

by joe134cd in

interesting theory i thought on stephen lett.

if anything i would of thought tomo3 would of caused them more grief with his comments.. http://insidethewatchtower.com/governing-body/stephen-lett-dumped-from-governing-body/.

StrongHaiku

Ah, Stephen Lett... The Ringo Starr of the GB...

61

God loves Gay, Lesbian, and Transgendered People

by FusionTheism in

god's view of gays and lesbians.

why should anyone care what i have to say on this topic?

i am not a priest.

StrongHaiku

FusionTheism - I am a little confused as to how I can "offend" atheists by saying I support gay rights and gay marriage???

Just wanted to comment as this as still shows a bit of confusion of atheism as a world-view. It is possible to be atheist and be against LGBTQ rights. As it so happens, I am an atheist and I am for LGBTQ rights. Atheism is a response to one proposition regarding the belief in a God(s). That's it.

It is good that we no longer stone people for being gay or children for mouthing off or advocate slavery, etc. But that seems to be a product of working around and past the Bible (and other "holy books") and religions.

On a side note, it often amazes me that God could set down a large number of rules about everything including not eating shrimp or wearing mixed fabrics, but could not set down clearer and better guidelines about the treatment of children, women, LGBTQ, and about not owning another human being, etc.

182

The Case for Theism

by FusionTheism in

"theism" here means "belief in a god" or "the worldview that an intelligent designer created the universe and life.

" ("god" here means a being with a mind who initiated and/or wound-up the universe, and designed life on earth)the most common claim that i see atheists making on twitter, is that "no evidence" exists in support of belief in a god.this post will remove any excuse atheists have for claiming "no evidence exists" in support of an initiator.

atheists can still reject this evidence as "weak," but they cannot truthfully say it does not exist.now, it is true that we do not have "observable, repeatable, falsifiable, empirical, scientific" evidence conclusively proving that an initiator exists, but we do have many lines of philisophical, experiential, and logical evidence.and... here... we... go:1:) many leading scientists, including stephen hawking, say that the space-time-matter universe had a beginning at the singularity/big bang.

StrongHaiku

I think one of the challenges I have had is explaining to people that atheism is the response to one issue and is not the totality of who I am, what I believe, stand for, fight for, etc. Atheism is not a world-view. I am an atheist. I am also a secular humanist. I am also a skeptic. I am also a critical thinker. I am also a feminist. I am also Latino. I am also a person of color...and on and on. I think at times many people attach a number of world-views to atheism incorrectly.

34

JW terminology

by punkofnice in

paradise earth after god kills all non jws.

StrongHaiku

The Truth - (a) The body of the most current beliefs held by JWs at any given time. (b) The state of being a JW in good standing.