Dear all,

I would like to run a debate titled God Exists. I would like two teams to be involved. One team is affirmative that argues for God; the other team argues against God. It is not a requirement to be a theist or atheist for either team. You may want to treat this debate as a hypothesis and an opportunity to cultivate your own critical thinking and argumentative skills.

Each team may comprise of more than one member but both teams must have equal numbers of members.

Would anyone be interested to get started?

Thanks and regards

You don't interact with anyone here. Why should any of us want to play with you?

Which God are you talking about ?

Zeus or Thor ?

(February 23, 2017 at 6:45 am)Adventurer Wrote: Dear all,

I would like to run a debate titled God Exists. I would like two teams to be involved. One team is affirmative that argues for God; the other team argues against God. It is not a requirement to be a theist or atheist for either team. You may want to treat this debate as a hypothesis and an opportunity to cultivate your own critical thinking and argumentative skills.

Each team may comprise of more than one member but both teams must have equal numbers of members.

Would anyone be interested to get started?

Thanks and regards

I have done a debate before. I'm not sure this kind of "tag team" format would be instructive. Writing for a debate requires focus to address each point in order and in full. Secondly, the thesis "God exists?" is far too broad. My debate was confined to the Five Ways of Aquinas and even that was probably too broad. I was considering a debate on ethics with a thesis of "Can an ethical system be adequately grounded in reason and natural instincts?" That seems about right.

Also, you seem like a new member. You many want to spend more time participating on threads you find interesting and build a reputation first.

We could just discuss it here. Frankly, we could probably spend a whole thread on the first thing that comes to your mind as a reason to believe God exists.

I don't believe God exists primarily because I don't think the arguments and evidence presented by believers is sufficiently robust to justify accepting the proposition as true. I'd be interested in knowing what your strongest, best reason to think God is real, is.

Unless you indicate otherwise, I'll assume that by 'God' you mean an extremely powerful personal spirit that created the universe and is directly responsible for the existence of human beings.

Can we play kickball instead?

(February 23, 2017 at 1:10 pm)Mister Agenda Wrote: We could just discuss it here. Frankly, we could probably spend a whole thread on the first thing that comes to your mind as a reason to believe God exists.

I don't believe God exists primarily because I don't think the arguments and evidence presented by believers is sufficiently robust to justify accepting the proposition as true. I'd be interested in knowing what your strongest, best reason to think God is real, is.

Unless you indicate otherwise, I'll assume that by 'God' you mean an extremely powerful personal spirit that created the universe and is directly responsible for the existence of human beings.

And I think that is the primary problem. Non believers tend to align themselves with a discussion format used to convince someone else who is out of reach out of range to experience a species or phenomena. Here's the thing though.. God is well with in reach of everyone. Rather than approach God like religions of old where one had to subjugate themselves to a religious practice, and or high ranking religious priests or prophets, Jesus' sacrifice gave everyone the opportunity to be in direct contact with God for themselves.

This means God ceases to be out of the hands of the specialized/religious and is accessible to everyone. Meaning if you are arguing against the existence of God, you do not understand the basic fundamentals of Christianity. The whole concept is about putting all of us in direct contact with God. If you are not, then you do not worship the God of the bible.

That makes the bible, and our 'testimonies' not an argument for God, but apart of the map to find God. That is the difference between those who know God and those who do not. They do not see an argument but a path to follow. one you can do on your own without the thumb of religion pressing down on you. There should be no arguments against God's existence, but rather only confirmation that your version of God, the one you grew up with and tested that one time, and got nothing in return.. That version of God does not exist.

I've always found it presumptuous and or even insane that one can say "God" can not exist because an individual from a single point in time tested their one sided one dimensional version of God and that version failed. Think about it.. Think out of 30K+ versions of Christianity You and or your parents got the right one? not only that, but I also assume you would have to be in 'good standing with your version of the God f the bible before he granted you wishes?!?!

Again! At best all you can say is you experimented with your idea of God and it failed. How then can anyone take such limited exposure to God and very limited knowledge of God and apply it to how the universe works?!?!?

(February 23, 2017 at 1:58 pm)Drich Wrote: [quote pid='1515118' dateline='1487869808']


I've always found it presumptuous and or even insane that one can say "God" can not exist because an individual from a single point in time tested their one sided one dimensional version of God and that version failed. Think about it..

I cannot think of any variety of the god concept that I find in the least bit likely.
In fact there has been no idea of god that I've seen that I've found anything other than preposterous.

Quote:Think out of 30K+ versions of Christianity You and or your parents got the right one? not only that, but I also assume you would have to be in 'good standing with your version of the God f the bible before he granted you wishes?!?!

Over here religions aren't really a bif thing my mums was a protestant C of E and went to church some sundays and my wife is a spiritualist but faith is not a big part of life here.

Quote:Again! At best all you can say is you experimented with your idea of God and it failed. How then can anyone take such limited exposure to God and very limited knowledge of God and apply it to how the universe works?!?!?

I repeat I have never experimented with god, why should I? it is a silly idea.
[/quote]
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(February 23, 2017 at 2:09 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote:

(February 23, 2017 at 1:58 pm)Drich Wrote: [quote pid='1515118' dateline='1487869808']


I've always found it presumptuous and or even insane that one can say "God" can not exist because an individual from a single point in time tested their one sided one dimensional version of God and that version failed. Think about it..

I cannot think of any variety of the god concept that I find in the least bit likely.
In fact there has been no idea of god that I've seen that I've found anything other than preposterous.

but, in the absence of absolute knowledge that God of any kind can not exist, doesnt your statement make you extremely small minded? Don't get you panties in a twist, I'm not calling you names. I am referring to the fact that if you are not back with an absolute, you're declarative statement at the very least point to a general lack of imagination, but more prominently an absolute refusal to examine anything you do not already accept to be true.

People like that dot our history, they are usally referenced as the nay sayers who said things like the earth was flat, man could not fly, man was not built to travel faster than a good horse could run, ect.. They like you found what they did not already know to be true 'preposterous.'

So then I ask you Mr. thinker... what separates you from them?

Quote:Think out of 30K+ versions of Christianity You and or your parents got the right one? not only that, but I also assume you would have to be in 'good standing with your version of the God f the bible before he granted you wishes?!?!

Over here religions aren't really a bif thing my mums was a protestant C of E and went to church some sundays and my wife is a spiritualist but faith is not a big part of life here.
[/quote]
...And if God could not/would not openly bless those types of believers, because they worshiped religion over God?

Quote:Again! At best all you can say is you experimented with your idea of God and it failed. How then can anyone take such limited exposure to God and very limited knowledge of God and apply it to how the universe works?!?!?

I repeat I have never experimented with god, why should I? it is a silly idea.
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never look at a globe, never folded a paper air plane, never rode anything faster than a horse. got it! you only want to live where man has comfortably been. you want to be safe... So safe infact you forego what could be.

(February 23, 2017 at 1:43 pm)Crossless1 Wrote: Can we play kickball instead?

I'm all for that.

Whose balls are getting kicked first?