(July 18, 2012 at 10:44 pm)Selliedjoup Wrote: Of course, atheists need faith that materialsim is an appropriate way to assess the existence or non-existence of a god.
What other method would we be able to assess whether a god exists or not, if not demonstrable evidence, reasoned argument and valid logic?
Let me know what method you think works best and I will sincerely (if I haven't already) attempt to utilize it to assess the existence of a god.
Until then, the fact is, I have never been given a valid reason to justify belief that a god exists, so I continue to not have any beliefs that one does. As an atheist, I am not claiming that a god does not exist, only that I am not justified in believing one does 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.
