Can an Atheist argue someone out of faith?

[coffeeveritas]

@coffeeveritas: what do you think about this as a theory.

http://atheistforums.org/thread-5223.html

Jung is familiar territory for me, I actually have a copy of Man and His Symbols here with me. The Collective Unconscious has been a very interesting theory for me, it's very handy for writing poetry, and it is odd how much of it seems to check out. Scientifically speaking you don't necessarily have to believe that there is some shared unconsciousness floating around out there, but merely that there are certain aspects to being human that we all share which manifest themselves in similar ways in our minds. For example, as humans we all have to drink water, so there will be certain themes related to water that will always appear in any human culture. Spiritually speaking I would say we are all created by the same God, and we were all made in the image of God, so there are many things we share, including a God that relates to us all. I know of course Jung would have seen this somewhat differently, but I think he was getting at something psychologically real.

I'm noticing on this thread we're getting into some blind faith stuff. Related to this we're also seeing some science vs. religion stuff. So I'm getting that you see Christianity's emphasis on faith as contrary to a modern understanding of scientific evidence. Presenting a very Modernist front I see. I can see a little Post-modernity creeping in with the admission that science is not about proof, but evidence. Still very Modernist thought in here though. @Buddy Lee, your quote was quite excellent! It helped me understand your position a lot better. So you see Atheism as the lack of any religious claims, and any religious claims would have to be made against the default position, i.e. the empty jar. Very concise explanation of the "burden of proof" stance.

I'm a bit disappointed that no one answered the question I had about how Modernists view the work of Post-Modern philosophers, but perhaps I'll raise that in a separate thread. It is something I wonder about. I'm thinking about reading either Why I am not a Christian or Society without God so I might have some questions about those soon, and I would appreciate book recommendations.