Can an Atheist argue someone out of faith?

[coffeeveritas]

Hello, I'm a Christian and I'm writing this thread by way of introduction. It seems this forum has some thoughtful people, so I thought it would be fun to hear from you.

The basic premise of this thread is that I'm interested to hear from you Atheist, since I seldom get to meet any. I was hoping that you could tell me why you don't personally believe in God. List a few if you want, and maybe give a little explanation. Whatever comes to mind is fine. Another thing I hope is that this thread will include what you think are the best arguments against Christianity, or the concept of God in general. I'd like to hear about some good authors or resources too if you have any. I don't want to sound inflammatory, but I've already read some Dawkins, Dennit, and Hitchens and found that their arguments, while well thought out, didn't do much to dissuade anyone from believing. I am of course biased, and perhaps I just don't connect with their way of thinking, so I would appreciate your recommendations.

As the title of the thread suggests, I want to see how persuasive you can be. This thread is mostly about me listening, so I will read every comment carefully, even if you write at length. Also, I'm not going to try and argue everything, but if you would like me to try and rebut your argument, just make a note of it and I'll give it a shot.

So in conclusion, I want to hear all of the best Atheist apologetics, and especially your own story of how you came to Atheism. I really hope to get some good replies and thank you in advance for your input! Can't wait to hear from my Atheist friends!

[Darwinian]

It's very simple really, I don't believe in the God of the Bible or its teachings for the same reason that you don't believe in Odin of Norse Mythology or its teachings.

Welcome to the forum

[LastPoet]

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Hello, I'm a Christian and I'm writing this thread by way of introduction. It seems this forum has some thoughtful people, so I thought it would be fun to hear from you.

The basic premise of this thread is that I'm interested to hear from you Atheist, since I seldom get to meet any. I was hoping that you could tell me why you don't personally believe in God. List a few if you want, and maybe give a little explanation. Whatever comes to mind is fine. Another thing I hope is that this thread will include what you think are the best arguments against Christianity, or the concept of God in general. I'd like to hear about some good authors or resources too if you have any. I don't want to sound inflammatory, but I've already read some Dawkins, Dennit, and Hitchens and found that their arguments, while well thought out, didn't do much to dissuade anyone from believing. I am of course biased, and perhaps I just don't connect with their way of thinking, so I would appreciate your recommendations.

As the title of the thread suggests, I want to see how persuasive you can be. This thread is mostly about me listening, so I will read every comment carefully, even if you write at length. Also, I'm not going to try and argue everything, but if you would like me to try and rebut your argument, just make a note of it and I'll give it a shot.

So in conclusion, I want to hear all of the best Atheist as apologetics, and especially your own story of how you came to Atheism. I really hope to get some good replies and thank you in advance for your input! Can't wait to hear from my Atheist friends!

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Hi, welcome, I dont believe in god(s) because there is no proof it exists, and a bunch od desert folk scriblings won't constitute evidence per se. you have some of the common misconceptions about atheists that alot of theists have, but you are polite on your approach, so I'm going to be too

We can't persuade you, despite the whole bunch of arguments we may have, because you have faith, and since faith is believing without evidence unconditionally, we can't really, YOU are the one that has to figure it out, like I did, and like many of us that grown in 'faith'(aka childhood indoctrination).

And please, do not refer to atheist arguments apologetics, the burden of proof is on the people that claim god to exist.

[solja247]

And please, do not refer to atheist arguments apologetics, the burden of proof is on the people that claim god to exist.

Why does the theist have the burden of proof?

I dont believe Santa Clause exists because I have reasons no to.

You are just trying to get off the hook.

[LastPoet]

Why does the theist have the burden of proof?

I dont believe Santa Clause exists because I have reasons no to.

You are just trying to get off the hook.

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I dont believe god because I have reason not to. derr derr derr

This proves that you really wasn't listening when we said, numerous times, that the one that say X exists is the one that has to show it? Are you really this dense? You have heard this multiple times Solja, are you trolling us?

[Ace Otana]

I was hoping that you could tell me why you don't personally believe in God.

No evidence. Theists claim there is a god (so the burden of proof is on them) and they fail to provide evidence for their claims and so I reject them. Ta-da! That's why I'm an atheist.
Well also because none of what they claim make any sense.

what you think are the best arguments against Christianity, or the concept of God in general.

Well not argument exactly. Knowledge. God exists only in the unknown. The more we know the less places people can put god. God used to be the sun, the moon, the earth, the stars, ect, ect. But as we gain knowledge, god can no longer be the sun, moon, earth or stars. Because we know what they are. If we can go further and know what and how the universe came about, god can no longer be placed as an explanation. So knowledge is the best thing we have against religion.

I want to see how persuasive you can be.

I don't persuade people from believing in the extremely improbable. They can believe in whatever idiot fantasy they wish.

and especially your own story of how you came to Atheism.

I was born atheist and I have remained an atheist. Due to lack of evidence for a god or gods. The more I learnt, the more I doubted. I've only ended up becoming a stronger atheist, not a weaker one.

Why does the theist have the burden of proof?

Because theists are the ones who claimed there is a god. There-for, it's down to you theists to prove it. We atheists aren't expected to do anything. We can just sit back and wait for you to provide the evidence for your claims.

[Tiberius]

Why does the theist have the burden of proof?

I dont believe Santa Clause exists because I have reasons no to.

You are just trying to get off the hook.

The burden of proof always starts out on the person(s) making the claim. See: Burden of Proof. The claim of theism is that "god exists", thus the burden of proof is on the theist to show that god exists. The burden of proof will only switch to atheists once a sufficient "proof" has been derived for the existence of God. So far, everyone is still arguing over whether various proofs are valid or not, or whether a proof for God is even possible.

A lot of theists say that God cannot be proved, and it requires some sort of faith in order to believe. That is all very well, but it doesn't shift the burden of proof; it is just an admission that the burden cannot be fulfilled, and that the atheist position is not impossible.

[ib.me.ub]

@coffeeveritas: Please define god as you see it.

[Paul the Human]

I don't believe in god(s), because I have never encountered a single reason to believe in god(s). That pretty much covers it. Every "reason" I have ever been presented with has not stood up to scrutiny. The question, in my mind, is... Why would I believe in god(s)?

[R-e-n-n-a-t]

We can only argue someone out of faith if they let themselves hear what we say, otherwise the faith will cover all holes in their argument.