Quote:You clearly aren't following my advice. How you wondered why Christians want you to convert?

Because they are arrogant busy-bodies with a penchant for sticking their nose into other people's business....


And your advice is worth shit.

(May 26, 2011 at 10:53 am)Emanuel Wrote: I don't think insulting is the most effective way to communicate with people.

Oh, so now you want to start thinking? Don't strain yourself.

(May 26, 2011 at 10:53 am)Emanuel Wrote: So you're demand for me to prove my religion 100% true is impractical for you are giving me a task impossible to complete.

You are right - it is impractical to ask you to prove your religion is 100% true. How about if you "prove" that it is .000000000001% true? That seems like a less impossible task for you, doesn't it?

(May 26, 2011 at 10:54 am)Doubting Thomas Wrote:

(May 25, 2011 at 11:28 pm)FaithNoMore Wrote: And if they actually want to make people more open to the Christian philosophy, they shouldn't be pestering strangers just trying to go about their day as that tends to have the opposite effect.

I'll never, ever understand why the evangelical types don't get this. I understand that they think they have a mission to save as many souls for God as possible, but they just seem completely oblivious to the fact that they're being completely ineffective at it. I don't know if it feeds into their persecution complex when people rudely brush them off, but you'd think if they really wanted to save people's souls they'd find a different way to do it. Shouting bible verses on a street corner or trying to pass out pamphlets to people who don't want to be bothered is not the way to win converts, let alone knocking on people's doors at 8 AM on a Saturday morning.

Maybe it's that they think the word of god is so powerful all they have to do is introduce people to it in any circumstance, no matter how bothersome it is, and people will just convert. I do think they get a bit of a thrill of being rejected though, like somehow spreading the word and getting rejected gets them closer to god.

Emanuel Wrote:Can you provide an example? Also, I'm not defending a particular form of evangelism, but it as a whole.

Yes, every time someone comes up to me to tell me about Jesus either at my home or while I'm on the street pushes me closer to being proactive in ridding the world of this virus.

(May 26, 2011 at 1:29 pm)Napoleon666 Wrote: So Stue Denim.
Say I paraded around telling everyone they were going to suffer for eternity because they didn't believe that the invisible pink unicorn who rules the earth existed.
Are you saying you'd give me the time of day? or would you be inclined to tell me to fuck off?

As i said, depends on how you go about it. I'll think you an idiot for going about it in that fashion, but if I think your trying to help people i'll be more forgiving.

I was lucky not to have too bad of an experience with theists thus far in my life, the closed minded ones happened to be people I hated long before atheism became a factor in my thinking. My friends are pretty open so far, have not had any problems.

That said, listening to fox news and other related shit, along with those dumbshit programs like jesus camp really makes me despise religion the more I see them. In every argument on shows like the atheist experience, the theist is right, everybody else is wrong. To christians reading this forum, look up videos of debates, this arrogance that is spoken of is very real, very true to life. Christians try to make it seem like they care, like they are trying to help you for the sake of helping. Did they forget to tell you they have a higher chance to go to their magical summer resort in the sky depending on the sect or denomination for every person they save? It seems lately, even before the rapture threat, theism is on the rise in the US, and I do not like my country sinking deeper into that hole and I am starting to despise everything relating to religion including the religious themselves because of it.

Quote:But, given the scenario I presented to be true, the friend who would want to share the water would be doing a good thing, wouldn't he?

It is nothing but a belief, you could be wrong.
You see, as an atheist. I'm standing on the outside looking into your beliefs and viewpoint, and carefully judging and examining it. Seeing if it has any truth to it or not. Looking for ways to verify your claims before passing judgement. Not only are you christians telling us that you're the right ones and it's your god and beliefs that are true, muslims and other faiths are saying the exact same thing.
I've withheld judgement until I can verify/confirm one claim over another. So whether you think it's a good thing or not, I'm in the interest of what's true and real. I want to see reality for what it really is, and if reality is a world without a god and afterlife then I'll accept that as reality. I go where the evidence points. I don't just take people's word for it.

Anyway, here's my counter scenario: The theist finds a well and drinks from it without hesitation, he's now refreshed. He finds the thirsty atheist and tells him of the well. The atheist quickly tastes the water to see if it's ok but notices that it has high concentration of lead in it and that it has a few unknown chemicals in it. The theist dies 30 mins later and the atheist finds a road that leads to civilisation.

(May 26, 2011 at 7:26 pm)Stue Denim Wrote:

(May 26, 2011 at 1:29 pm)Napoleon666 Wrote: So Stue Denim.
Say I paraded around telling everyone they were going to suffer for eternity because they didn't believe that the invisible pink unicorn who rules the earth existed.
Are you saying you'd give me the time of day? or would you be inclined to tell me to fuck off?

As i said, depends on how you go about it. I'll think you an idiot for going about it in that fashion, but if I think your trying to help people i'll be more forgiving.

Going about it in what fashion? The fashion which bible bashers in city centres go about it? The fashion which jehovah's witnesses go about it knocking on everyone's door?

Yeah you're right, you would call someone an idiot going about 'it' in that 'fashion'.
Thanks for backing up my point.

Heh, when it comes to preachers, I see the water scenario this way...

A group of friends split in the desert, knowing that one oases should be near. After some time they get back together, and everyone tells that the oasis is in another way. The only thing I could conclude is that everyone had been staring at a mirage...especially if they all claim they have seen in at a distance, but haven't actually been there.
Because y'know, not every religion can be right. I think none of them are anyways.

(May 26, 2011 at 1:29 pm)Napoleon666 Wrote: So Stue Denim.
Say I paraded around telling everyone they were going to suffer for eternity because they didn't believe that the invisible pink unicorn who rules the earth existed.
Are you saying you'd give me the time of day? or would you be inclined to tell me to fuck off?

People are judged by God according to the things they did. They are not condemned just for not believing He exists; that is just one sin in a very long list.

Now, does the invisible pink unicorn (which is a contradiction anyway, since he cannot have a color and yet be invisible at the same time) has some sort of expectations from us? Does he want us to live in a certain way? Does he have a moral code for us? And why does the invisible pink unicorn want to punish us? What is his motive?

(May 26, 2011 at 1:54 pm)Jaysyn Wrote: Oh, so now you want to start thinking? Don't strain yourself.

I do not think I've understood correctly what you're trying to say. What did you mean when you said that I "want to start thinking" now?