Why the religious will never admit you won the argument (and why they don't care)

[Veritas_Vincit]

Who won a debate, is mostly a matter of who you found to be more persuasive.  It is subjective. I have seen debates where the Christian didn't present very well, and I would say that they lost that individual debate.  One can also win a debate, by simply being better at debating, by the opponent not being prepared, or throwing the opposition off track.  You also need to acknowledge, that who someone thinks won a debate is largely influenced by a priori worldview.

I think it is interesting, that you say that "Religious people don't actually believe for the reasons they give in defence (sic) of their faith." How did you come to that conclusion?   Lawrence Krauss came to a different conclusion after his debate with William Craig.

Also, am I allowed to paint such wide psychological brush strokes in regards to Atheist?  What am I to make, when many atheists, are presented with evidence and logic for God, and then don't even acknowledge that they where?   It is one thing, to listen to the arguments and not be persuaded by them, but to dismiss that they exist isn't reflective of reality.  I've also found some, who I feel are intelligent enough to know better, have difficulty, even accurately representing some arguments (even when corrected).   Are they not as smart as I thought, or is there some deeper psychological motives going on? 

In your list, you seem to be completely ignoring, those who come to believe in Christianity later in life, and do so because they find it more reasonable.   There are a number of apologist, that I listen to, who would fit into this category.

 Hi RoadRunner

I take your point about who wins a debate. What I'm getting at is the wider issue of why religious people actually hold their beliefs, which I main is usually for a different reason that those they give to defend it. I came to this conclusion having watched hundreds of debates and discussions, and taken part in many myself, and considered this issue at great length over many years - and I asked myself, If I believed, what would it take to change my mind? This made me think about why I would hold onto a belief, what value I would get from it, and how that could trump intellectual reasoning.

I would be very surprised if there is any evidence or logic for God that I haven't already heard and seen which holds up to proper examination and scrutiny. It has all been thoroughly debunked - although I keep an open mind and would be very interested to hear the logic and evidence for which you believe in God? Also please give me your definition of God, since everyone's is different.