Ok I admit it

[pocaracas]

On your second point: But that was before people could research anything scientific in an instant. But even with all this technology and knowledge, most still believe there's a God.

Most don't bother to ask, much less to search for answers.
This is one of the reasons why you appeal to amount of people who believe is fallacious.

Most people can be swayed from one point of view to another, given enough investment in advertising, even if that new POV is completely wrong!

[ThePinsir]

But over half at least believe in the Abrahamic God.

Nice response. Keep it up!

Still, remember, just because a lot of people believe something doesn't make it true.

There was a time in human history when there were zero Christians (or Jews or Muslims). Does that mean because 100% of humans didn't believe in "God", he didn't exist?

Arguments from authority or popularity are never sound in-and-of themselves.

[SteelCurtain]

But over half at least believe in the Abrahamic God.

Ah. This is a pointless assertion, JL. Because you believe that affirming Jesus' divinity is the only path to salvation. So the other Abrahamic religions who disbelieve that are wrong and are going to hell. And according to them, (at least Islam, the Jews don't believe in hell) you are going to their hell.

[JesusLover1]

On your first point: Maybe, since obviously there was something there that was converting people, I'd at least do research and see why the sudden switch.

Aha! And why aren't you doing the same sort of research on why people believe in Jesus, before you take it as evidence that he's real?
[/quote]

Because I've heard so many stories already demonstrating his power.

On your second point: But that was before people could research anything scientific in an instant. But even with all this technology and knowledge, most still believe there's a God.

Yep, and there's still a flat earth society too. The fact that we can avail ourselves of knowledge doesn't mean that everyone will, or that they'll accept it even if they do. People aren't perfectly rational.

Besides, there's still no smoking gun, definitive proof that there is no god, and there might never be, since proving a negative is really hard. So the fact that we have science doesn't mean god has been disproved; however, the time to believe in something is when there's evidence, not before. There's no positive evidence for god, so why offer it belief any more than we would another idea with no evidence behind it, like that airplanes are actually demons in disguise?

There's clearly something more at work. About 90% of the world firmly believe there's some kind of God, wheras the "Flat Earth Society" accounts for an uncalculatably small amount of the world's population.

On your third point: Well you think the rest are wrong.

Not really. I do think they haven't given sufficient evidence to believe that they're right yet, though.

Well so many people base their entire lives around it, that must be wrong right?

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I really wish I could get my parents or someone from our church on here. There's a guy my dad is friends with who spends almost every waking moment with the Bible.

[Mister Agenda]

Santa should show up at a certain time... However, he doesn't... :hmmmm:

And you wouldn't need to actually buy presents to give to your kids, if he existed, right?

It's an easier concept to falsify.

Well you could reason that maybe when Santa comes to deliver the presents, he alters your mind to make you forgot he was there and that you were the one that bought the gifts.

The simple answer is that the parents KNOW they're the ones providing the gifts, and if the kids don't find out for themselves, eventually they will let them in on it.

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We've been to the North Pole and found it lacking a workshop.

As this relates to the God question:
We've discovered the naturalistic means by which things happen that used to be attributed to him. The formation of stars and planets, geologic processes, even the evolution and complexity of life.

Does this prove God doesn't exist? No, but it makes him superfluous.

So why are you an atheist if you can't prove it?

FINALLY, an important question instead of an assumption. First of all, note the double-standard: Why are you a Christian if you can't prove it? Because that's pretty much the reason we're atheists instead of Christians (or Muslims or Hindus and so forth). No one has proved any God or god exists. Heck, no one has even proven ghosts exist, let alone super-powerful spirits that could be considered gods.

Most atheists are agnostic atheists, also know as 'weak atheists' or 'negative atheists'. We don't make a positive claim that God does not exist, we just don't believe anyone else's claim that God (any God) actually DOES exist. We don't believe in God because the people who DO believe in God have not made what we consider an adequate case to believe them.

I can't prove cold fusion will never work as a power source, but I'm so skeptical that it ever will that it would have to be demonstrated and backed up by peer review of scientists in the relevant fields before I would believe it. I don't believe in God for the same reason I don't believe in Bigfoot or leprechauns. Insufficient evidence.

[JesusLover1]

Well you could reason that maybe when Santa comes to deliver the presents, he alters your mind to make you forgot he was there and that you were the one that bought the gifts.

The simple answer is that the parents KNOW they're the ones providing the gifts, and if the kids don't find out for themselves, eventually they will let them in on it.

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So why are you an atheist if you can't prove it?

FINALLY, an important question instead of an assumption. First of all, note the double-standard: Why are you a Christian if you can't prove it? Because that's pretty much the reason we're atheists instead of Christians (or Muslims or Hindus and so forth). No one has proved any God or god exists. Heck, no one has even proven ghosts exist, let alone super-powerful spirits that could be considered gods.

Most atheists are agnostic atheists, also know as 'weak atheists' or 'negative atheists'. We don't make a positive claim that God does not exist, we just don't believe anyone else's claim that God (any God) actually DOES exist. We don't believe in God because the people who DO believe in God have not made what we consider an adequate case to believe them.

I can't prove cold fusion will never work as a power source, but I'm so skeptical that it ever will that it would have to be demonstrated and backed up by peer review of scientists in the relevant fields before I would believe it. I don't believe in God for the same reason I don't believe in Bigfoot or leprechauns. Insufficient evidence.

But the whole point of religion is to have faith, which is believing without evidence. If there was evidence, there'd be no point to faith.

[Mister Agenda]

7 Billion people on Earth.
2 Billion people believe in Jesus
5 Billion people don't believe in Jesus.

To pick a nit, about 1.3 Billion of that 5 Billion consider Jesus an important prophet. If you count them, it's 3.3 Billion who consider Jesus important to 3.7 Billion who don't believe in him as divine at all or consider him a relatively minor figure.

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But the whole point of religion is to have faith, which is believing without evidence. If there was evidence, there'd be no point to faith.

That is exactly right! Now ask yourself why every theistic relgion has in common making a virtue of believing things without evidence.

[Esquilax]

Because I've heard so many stories already demonstrating his power.

Open a book of Norse legends sometime and see how many stories there are of Odin demonstrating his!

Stories are just stories, without evidence.

There's clearly something more at work. About 90% of the world firmly believe there's some kind of God, wheras the "Flat Earth Society" accounts for an uncalculatably small amount of the world's population.

So was there something more at work in the theory of the flat earth when ninety percent of the world believed that was true? Or was it still incorrect, even then?

Well so many people base their entire lives around it, that must be wrong right?

Well, I certainly think it's irrational to do so.

I really wish I could get my parents or someone from our church on here. There's a guy my dad is friends with who spends almost every waking moment with the Bible.

We'll welcome anyone who comes on, so long as they do so in the spirit of discussion and not preaching. Your acquaintances are as welcome as anyone else.

But the whole point of religion is to have faith, which is believing without evidence. If there was evidence, there'd be no point to faith.

What's so great about faith? You can use faith to justify anything, which just means it's not useful in justifying anything. You can have faith in a giant rooster that farted the world into existence seven minutes ago, that doesn't make it true.

[ThePinsir]

If there was evidence, there'd be no point to faith.

Exactly. There is no point in faith

[JesusLover1]

There's clearly something more at work. About 90% of the world firmly believe there's some kind of God, wheras the "Flat Earth Society" accounts for an uncalculatably small amount of the world's population.

So was there something more at work in the theory of the flat earth when ninety percent of the world believed that was true? Or was it still incorrect, even then?

Well it was not a spirtual thing, they just assumed, so it was not something they based on faith but the evidence at the time, religion is based on faith and the spiritual realm.
I really wish I could get my parents or someone from our church on here. There's a guy my dad is friends with who spends almost every waking moment with the Bible.

We'll welcome anyone who comes on, so long as they do so in the spirit of discussion and not preaching. Your acquaintances are as welcome as anyone else.

Yeah but they'd all just say they want to avoid negative people, I remember that guy I mentioned once said he used to not believe because he was "an ignorant, ignorant man". They don't want they're beliefs challenged. They all think you guys are crazy and just trying to sway people away from the truth.

But the whole point of religion is to have faith, which is believing without evidence. If there was evidence, there'd be no point to faith.

What's so great about faith? You can use faith to justify anything, which just means it's not useful in justifying anything. You can have faith in a giant rooster that farted the world into existence seven minutes ago, that doesn't make it true.

I don't know, honestly it seems like a copout from questioning the existance of God.