(April 19, 2016 at 9:57 pm)MysticKnight Wrote:(April 19, 2016 at 9:47 pm)Mamacita Wrote: I live in a town where everyone is Catholic and goes to the same church. Parents hate their gay sons and lesbian daughters, because they are sinners. People donate to the church and vote republican. My son has to sing Christmas carols about Jesus in the winter at school. My son is a prohibited friendship to a family down the block, because Jesus. My job is government, but meetings start with prayers. Someone scraped my Darwin sticker off my car. My co-workers sprayed "holy water" on me when they thought I wasn't looking. Must I chill at AF with other atheists? Hell to the yeah.
I started this thread really to see what everyone says in response. At the end of the issue, what seems to be true, is that there is more to it, then simply it being a case that it is a belief without evidence. It seems this idea influences society and how we act. Others also expressed there hate to be dictated on how to live. Others still express hate perhaps to the only God that seems logical out of all god claims out there, that all such expressions of his guidance have expressed an evil creator in their eyes.
Perhaps it's the problem of evil (I mean by that the newer the suffering to the degree it exists argument, not the classical evil argument), but it seems there is more to it, then simply skepticism.
The bottom line is, that the reason why we don't believe in your god is the same reasons why we don't believe in leprechauns, insufficient evidence to justify belief.
The reason why there are no aleprechaunist forums, is that belief in leprechauns is not dangerous to me or the planet.
Skepticism is the reason why we don't believe. Immoral depictions of gods, is the reason why would not follow these gods, even if they did exist.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
