It's ok, I didn't expect a reply either.

(April 18, 2013 at 9:46 pm)Tex Wrote: Regardless what the parents say, the child can still place faith in them. Now, if the child investigates and realizes that a stove does not turn into a child-eating monster, the rationality wins, and the faith is no longer total. This doesn't make the parents completely untrustable, but a child may think so for a time. After maturing, the child probably understands that the parents were lying, but they really didn't want him to touch the stove. Even further down the line, he will laugh at himself for believing it in the first place. Then he'll probably tell his kids the same story at a similar age.

I quite like this analogy of yours... but let me put my own twist...
The parents/elders tell you a wonderful story about a god to make you behave in a certain way, or else you may have some nasty after-death.
You then investigate and realize that there's no such thing as god, the rationality wins.
This doesn't make your parents/elders completely untrustworthy, but you may think it for a while...
After maturing, you understand why they told you that stuff about god, they just wanted you to behave properly when they weren't around.
Even further down the line, you grow out of it and laugh at yourself for believing such nonsense...

Sadly, some people don't grow out of it...

(April 18, 2013 at 9:17 pm)FallentoReason Wrote:

(April 18, 2013 at 2:59 pm)fr0d0 Wrote: Then welcome, fellow christian!

Umm..

fr0d0 Wrote:Forget the dogma...

What's a Christian? How do I play that game..?

That's right, you've got yourself a non-sequitur, and a rather simplistic one at that (which should be a little bit embarrasing!). Go back to the drawing board.

me thinks you missed the point fallen.

(April 19, 2013 at 4:51 am)pocaracas Wrote:

(April 18, 2013 at 9:46 pm)Tex Wrote: Regardless what the parents say, the child can still place faith in them. Now, if the child investigates and realizes that a stove does not turn into a child-eating monster, the rationality wins, and the faith is no longer total. This doesn't make the parents completely untrustable, but a child may think so for a time. After maturing, the child probably understands that the parents were lying, but they really didn't want him to touch the stove. Even further down the line, he will laugh at himself for believing it in the first place. Then he'll probably tell his kids the same story at a similar age.

I quite like this analogy of yours... but let me put my own twist...
The parents/elders tell you a wonderful story about a god to make you behave in a certain way, or else you may have some nasty after-death.
You then investigate and realize that there's no such thing as god, the rationality wins.
This doesn't make your parents/elders completely untrustworthy, but you may think it for a while...
After maturing, you understand why they told you that stuff about god, they just wanted you to behave properly when they weren't around.
Even further down the line, you grow out of it and laugh at yourself for believing such nonsense...

Sadly, some people don't grow out of it...

Haha, I expected this as i wrote it. You're assuming that rationality says God doesn't exist. =p

no, silly.... I'm simply not assuming a god and using your rationalization to conjecture as to how you could have been pulled into believing the story.

(April 19, 2013 at 4:26 pm)Tex Wrote:

(April 19, 2013 at 4:51 am)pocaracas Wrote: I quite like this analogy of yours... but let me put my own twist...
The parents/elders tell you a wonderful story about a god to make you behave in a certain way, or else you may have some nasty after-death.
You then investigate and realize that there's no such thing as god, the rationality wins.
This doesn't make your parents/elders completely untrustworthy, but you may think it for a while...
After maturing, you understand why they told you that stuff about god, they just wanted you to behave properly when they weren't around.
Even further down the line, you grow out of it and laugh at yourself for believing such nonsense...

Sadly, some people don't grow out of it...

Haha, I expected this as i wrote it. You're assuming that rationality says God doesn't exist. =p

That is NOT an assumption - rationality DOES say that a "god" as defined by the xtian religion - does not exist.

THERE is simply no possibility that a single being - even with multiple personality disorder - could fulfill ALL of the claims made for the god in the religion - much less the bible alone.

THere are simply too many contradictions and conflicting claims that make the xtian god irrational - as it has always been.

(April 19, 2013 at 5:57 pm)pocaracas Wrote: no, silly.... I'm simply not assuming a god and using your rationalization to conjecture as to how you could have been pulled into believing the story.

There are different types of rationalization? Maybe rationalization is just relative. Everyone can have their own logic and it all makes sense, right?

ThomM Wrote:That is NOT an assumption - rationality DOES say that a "god" as defined by the xtian religion - does not exist.

THERE is simply no possibility that a single being - even with multiple personality disorder - could fulfill ALL of the claims made for the god in the religion - much less the bible alone.

THere are simply too many contradictions and conflicting claims that make the xtian god irrational - as it has always been.

You are so very assertive of your claims. Based on the capital letters and the intentional avoidance of the name "Christ" while simultaneously spelling "god" out rather than hyphenating it*, I'm sure your backing for those claims have very little emotional motivation. I would love to hear your logical reasoning for why Christianity is irrational, why God cannot fulfill some of the claims made, and all those totally valid contradictions that don't have a one sentence explanation.

*Means you're not Jewish

And hey, here's a secret:

"quote Wrote:There are different types of rationalization? Maybe rationalization is just relative. Everyone can have their own logic and it all makes sense, right?

That certainly is the case with theists.

(April 19, 2013 at 7:25 pm)Tex Wrote: Everyone can have their own logic and it all makes sense, right?

No, that is not right.

There is no such thing as different logic for different people. Logic is logic.

Logic is a well defined system for discerning whether a particular argument is sound and valid.

(April 19, 2013 at 7:41 pm)Simon Moon Wrote:

(April 19, 2013 at 7:25 pm)Tex Wrote: Everyone can have their own logic and it all makes sense, right?

No, that is not right.

There is no such thing as different logic for different people. Logic is logic.

Logic is a well defined system for discerning whether a particular argument is sound and valid.

We can be friends.

@Ryan

Most theists are dumb. Don't listen to most theists.