Forum theists: when you have a moment, please...

[GrandizerII]

How about a little reverse Pascal's Wager?

What if you're wrong?

You just spent your one and only life worshipping and running around in the defence of absolutely nothing. You changed the way you live for no reason at all, and based your decisions and views of others on made up nonsense.

Studies on self-reported happiness tend to show that theists and atheists are about equal in happiness in wealthier nations, while theists are happier than atheists in poorer nations.

Depends on what one values most. I value intellectual integrity more than happiness.

[John V]

Depends on what one values most. I value intellectual integrity more than happiness.

No, you actually value a certain set of standards of evidence. A person with different standards of evidence can be a theist and have full intellectual integrity.

[Neo-Scholastic]

… man penned what God inspired them to write…When someone "cherry picks" any work they can find supposed inconsistencies and/or inaccuracies…when a supposed inaccuracy or contradiction is found does one stop and accept it or does one dig deeper and find the truth?…When anyone has stated they have found an inaccuracy or contradiction in the Bible and it came to my attention I always showed how it wasn't true and gave an explanation and sometimes other verses to support the verses as truth.

( I edited slightly for consistent noun/verb agreement and some spelling – CW)

One impediment to discussing Scripture with atheists is their expectations of what they think scripture should be rather than what it actually is. In other words, they have in mind some ideal version that 1) is so explicit that it is impervious to distortion by either ignorance or intent; 2) its content immediately and unerringly obvious to any 21st century reader; and 3) presents every biological, cosmological, and geographical reference in terms of the most recent scientific findings. Surely, the atheists say, any god worthy of the name could have given Mankind that kind of text.

John 1 teaches that the Word proper is none other than the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christians call Holy Scripture ‘the Word’ because everything in it is, in some way, about the Lord and His relationship to us. John 19:23 gives us a picture of this when the soldiers divided the garments. The Lord was clothed first in a tunic over which He wore a seamed outer garment. The inner meaning of this passage is about the Scriptures and how they are received.

The outer garment is the most literal and obvious meaning of the text. The Scriptures are a compilation of 66 books written in different styles during different periods. The tunic represents the whole council of the Bible, what is found below the surface as the themes that carry across and are found present in each of inspired texts. The text says it was woven from top to bottom as a single piece which makes the message even more profound: the many yarns of the weave (stories, poems, prophecies, and gospel) are bound by a single thread that runs through the whole. And covered outside by the literal meaning and within the deeper themes is the Lord Himself, the Word incarnate.
In application the crucifixion narrative shows how the Word gets mistreated. The literal text is torn apart by redaction (critical theory), selective reading (heretics), and endless fuss over inaccuracies and contradictions (atheists). The inner themes are removed from the living body by earthly exegesis (prosperity gospels) and lifeless symbolic interpretations (secular academics). The innermost meaning, the Lord Himself, is left to die and forsaken by the world (represented by the earthly power of the soldiers.)

Properly understood, the terms of inerrancy and infallibility refer to the Holy Scriptures as the necessary and sufficient guide to saving faith when approached with humility and earnest desire to know the Lord and be led by Him. For the simple, the literal meanings of the stories and lessons serve as a sufficient guide for life and saving faith. For the more learned, careful study and deep reading of the whole text allows them to resolve the more challenging passages to the satisfaction of Man’s higher rational faculties. In other words, God meets up where we are and provides exactly what we need if only we are willing to listen.

[Athene]

Studies on self-reported happiness tend to show that theists and atheists are about equal in happiness in wealthier nations, while theists are happier than atheists in poorer nations.

It's certainly convenient for the wealthy classes of those nations, one can't argue with that. 
There's simply nothing worse than poor people demanding fairness in this life. It's so...unseemly.

[GrandizerII]

Depends on what one values most. I value intellectual integrity more than happiness.

No, you actually value a certain set of standards of evidence. A person with different standards of evidence can be a theist and have full intellectual integrity.

Yes, do tell me what I value.

[robvalue]

I'd imagine the lesser happiness of atheists in certain areas is related to them being treated like shit or possibly killed just for having a contrary opinion.

Those are parts of the world I will probably never go to. I couldn't handle being in an utterly religion driven country.

[GrandizerII]

I'd imagine the lesser happiness of atheists in certain areas is related to them being treated like shit or possibly killed just for having a contrary opinion.

Those are parts of the world I will probably never go to. I couldn't handle being in an utterly religion driven country.

In other words, correlation is not necessarily causation.

[downbeatplumb]

It's difficult to not "cherry pick" when something is presented as the inerrant and/or infallible Word of God. Can you really fault atheists for drawing attention to Biblical inaccuracies and inconsistencies when you consider the claim of it being The Absolute Truth? Even maintaining that the Bible is simply God's infallible word, written by fallible men presents a major plot hole, doesn't it?

 Actually no, there isn't a plot hole, man penned what God inspired them to write. I asked if you would "cherry pick" school studies, I noticed you did not happen to mention that, must have been an over site. When someone "cherry picks" any works they can find supposed inconsistencies and or inaccuracies. Like I said when a supposed inaccuracies or contradiction is found does one stop and accept it or does one dig deeper and find the truth, I did when I found what seemed wrong in the Bible and always found the truth, I was wrong and the Bible was right, I'm still doing that to this day with the Bible. When anyone has stated they have found an inaccuracy or contradiction in the Bible and it came to my attention I always showed how it wasn't true and gave an explanation and sometimes other verses to support the verses as truth. When scientist run into an apparent contradiction in their work, do they stop and say well seems we are wrong this contradiction says so, no they go on looking to find the truth what ever it may be. So, again I say "cherry picking" is a cheap and dishonest way to discredit any works, period.

GC

If you don't cherry pick the bible and read it as a normal book you discover that it makes very little in the way of sense. Cherry picking is the only way to go with the turgid, begatting obsessed drivel.

[Athene]

@ Thena323, even the new atheist do the same thing, that's coming here and making insane threads, I believe those on both sides just want to get noticed, for some reason they must feel they need the attention and some probably come here with an attitude they're going to show everyone they know more than everyone else, but I think mostly looking for attention they do not get in their life outside this forums. We should feel sorry for the ones who do this and do it without embarrassing them, they probably are fairly good people, just needy.

GC

Some of them probably are fairly good people, but just as many are likely to be assholes, plain and simple; that goes for theist and atheist alike. I normally don't go out of my way to embarrass anyone, but I do have my limits as to how much I'm willing to let slide.  When someone comes here for the sole purpose of posting stupid, demeaning garbage, I have no qualm with letting them know what I think...and I probably won't be nice about it.

[Angrboda]

Properly understood, the terms of inerrancy and infallibility refer to the Holy Scriptures as the necessary and sufficient guide to saving faith when approached with humility and earnest desire to know the Lord and be led by Him.  For the simple, the literal meanings of the stories and lessons serve as a sufficient guide for life and saving faith. For the more learned, careful study and deep reading of the whole text allows them to resolve the more challenging passages to the satisfaction of Man’s higher rational faculties. In other words, God meets up where we are and provides exactly what we need if only we are willing to listen.

Everybody has got an opinion. Problem is, there's no way to show one opinion is superior to another. All you've got is a bunch of divergent opinions resting on sand.