Assuming God?

[Esquilax]

Missed the point completely. If you debate something, on some level you acknoweledge it. If you acknoweledge God enough to debate the 'finer points' you are responsiable for the denial of God in your life.

Only it's not denial; denial implies that I know your god exists, I just don't want to admit it. Quite the contrary; I weighed the arguments for and against religion, and came to the conclusion that as yet, the evidence for god doesn't justify belief. There's no denial there, but more to the point, my response was to ronedee asking why an atheist would bother debating about god as an atheist. I get your point, Drich, but it wasn't the point I was responding to.

Nothing at all. Just have the marbles to call a spade a spade. If you hate God and those who follow Him then own up to it.

I don't hate god, Drich. It would be very odd indeed for me to hate something I don't believe in. But I hate what religion does to certain people. I hate the poison that some are determined to extract from their perfect bastion of morality. I hate the determination to ignore science and knowledge and basic equality in favor of outmoded ideals, just because those outmoded ideals are in an old book.

And I hate that it turns normal, otherwise decent people into self righteous know-it-alls who pretend to know the things I believe based on nothing more than the fact that I disagree with them.

what is wrong with wanting a sense of community with those who believe the same as you do?

The fact that there are multiple religions and atheist groups too, should tell you that a sense of community doesn't require rigid adherence to tradition regardless of whether or not it's true, Drich. You can find community anywhere.

What if you sought your wife/husband with only your 'Damn thinking?" would you be with the one your with?

Personally, yes: Luckie's too good a match. Beyond that, come on: there's a difference between subjective, emotional choices and objective facts about the universe. A more accurate reflection of the situation wouldn't be to ask me whether or not I'd be with my lady, but asking me whether or not she would exist if I'd just sought here with intellectual thought. And of course she would, because the deployment of emotion doesn't affect whether or not a thing exists, and you can find anything that does exist without recourse to appeals to emotion.

God wants to be what the Hearts wants and is waiting down that road. Not the other one.

Why would god hand over an effective intelligence and then hide himself from the avenues that using it would take one down?

The problem with trying to "Think" your way to God is none of us have that capacity or ablity to obtain that capacity on our own. Knoweledge of God is a gift given to us, so none can boast. God chose the foolish things of this world to confound the 'educated.'

What does god have against intelligence?