See, the point I think we've all come to here is that we shouldn't feel guilty, yet so many of us do. Is it because we are happy for them? "Ignorance is bliss" and all that? Do we remember those times of being deluded fondly?
...I sure don't! I look on those times and think "oh wow I can't believe I actually bought all that crap..."
To be honest, I've debated with some people who would be considered black-belts. The problem is that they are so sure of their beliefs that they begin to refuse to argue in the realms of reason. Discussions between me and such individuals lapses from a discussion about carbon dating, the dinosaurs, matter-vs-anti-matter, and the "god-gap" (the system of "I don't understand it; must be [the] god[s]!) and go into, basically, "if god is all-powerful then your point is moot, he could easily do this that and the other and could easily bend the fabric of reality because he created it!" Nevermind when I point out that just because I can paint a picture, doesn't mean I can remove and change the paint on the canvas at will and that therefore even a creator is not guaranteed absolute manipulation of reality...or that if god can change anything/everything, why doesn't he just kick Satan's ass and get it over with [especially considering just how vengeful and jealous and angry god always seemed to be; but when it comes to satan, man, he suddenly turns into a real pussy]...nevermind when I bring all that up, they flounder with half-baked ideas and begin grasping at straws; the fact it has to devolve into such uncreative, unoriginal, baseless assumptions is proof-positive of the silliness of theism.
I should stop feeling so guilty, I think. I don't wanna be one of those overly loud atheists who wants to cram it into everyone's faces, but I don't want to stay silent, either. I'm worried that mere gentle nudging will do nothing to open someone's mind to the alternatives, though.
...I sure don't! I look on those times and think "oh wow I can't believe I actually bought all that crap..."
To be honest, I've debated with some people who would be considered black-belts. The problem is that they are so sure of their beliefs that they begin to refuse to argue in the realms of reason. Discussions between me and such individuals lapses from a discussion about carbon dating, the dinosaurs, matter-vs-anti-matter, and the "god-gap" (the system of "I don't understand it; must be [the] god[s]!) and go into, basically, "if god is all-powerful then your point is moot, he could easily do this that and the other and could easily bend the fabric of reality because he created it!" Nevermind when I point out that just because I can paint a picture, doesn't mean I can remove and change the paint on the canvas at will and that therefore even a creator is not guaranteed absolute manipulation of reality...or that if god can change anything/everything, why doesn't he just kick Satan's ass and get it over with [especially considering just how vengeful and jealous and angry god always seemed to be; but when it comes to satan, man, he suddenly turns into a real pussy]...nevermind when I bring all that up, they flounder with half-baked ideas and begin grasping at straws; the fact it has to devolve into such uncreative, unoriginal, baseless assumptions is proof-positive of the silliness of theism.
I should stop feeling so guilty, I think. I don't wanna be one of those overly loud atheists who wants to cram it into everyone's faces, but I don't want to stay silent, either. I'm worried that mere gentle nudging will do nothing to open someone's mind to the alternatives, though.
