Edward John Wrote:Mister Agenda Wrote:Atheism is not an opinion, it is a state of mind. The state of not having a belief that any supernatural deities are literally real. Atheists have opinions, but atheism is not itself an opinion. Neither is theism, which is the opposite state of mind. It is a fact that you are a theist, and it is a fact that I am an atheists. That what evidence there is for the existence of God is sufficient or insufficient is an opinion that largely depends on how high you raise the bar of skepticism before you'll believe it is true. I'm an atheist because I am a skeptic. I used to believe all sorts of things, just about everything: ESP, ghosts, ancient astronauts, miracles, you name it. After seeing some of those things faked, I became more skeptical, and developed an interest in critical thinking and skepticism. The belief in God was one of the last low-evidence things I stopped believing in, because I was raise to think that belief was critically important, but there was only so long that I could apply a different standard to that belief than I applied to all the other ones.
It's my opinion that you have not made your case to a degree that would sufficiently justify rational acceptance of it. How do you think your employment of the tu quoque fallacy of 'you're just stating opinions!' is going to change that? For someone desperate to convert me, you seem awfully attached to your pre-chosen approach of thinking you don't have to learn anything from us or believe anything we say in order to reach us. Wouldn't someone who really wants to reach me treat me with love and respect rather than condescension and contempt?
Okay. Then I have a request of you. I would like you to give me a better explanation for moral absolutes than God. I will propose a moral absolute to you. I would like you to demonstrate how the no God position is a better explanation for the moral absolute. "It is always wrong for people to torture babies to death merely for their personal pleasure." Can you please tell me how that moral absolute gains its validity in an atheistic worldview? I would say that an atheistic worldview, particularly in a Christian one, God has given us morals which are a reflection of his character. Because we are made in his image (Genesis 1: 26), we recognize what is right and wrong because the law of God is written on our hearts (Romans 1: 18).
Are you changing the subject because you realize you've been mistaken on the tack you've been taking and don't have the integrity to admit it, or are you just throwing out a red herring to evade dealing with my statements?
Still haven't looked up 'Argument from Ignorance', I see.
I'm not anti-Christian. I'm anti-stupid.
