(May 21, 2018 at 2:28 pm)zipperpull Wrote: I'm sure some of you have heard/used this argument in the past, and I was wondering if there's a colloquial term for it?
Something along the lines of:
Billy: I used to be a christian, but I researched my way out.
Joel: Then you were never a true christian.
Billy: I felt like I was, I prayed every day.
Joel: You have to pray more than once a day...
Billy: I did, I was constantly in prayer.
Joel: You weren't praying correctly, you have to ask for forgiveness first.
Billy: I did...every time...
Joel: But did you believe it?
Billy: Yes...
Joel: Well clearly not, because if you did you wouldn't be an atheist now.
I think this kind of argument from a theist is possibly a defense mechanism.
Deep down, they may be worried that they may loose their own belief, so they have to rationalise that anyone else that is no longer a Christian, was never one in the first place.
It's a textbook "no true Scotsman".
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.
