Atheist vs Atheist

[themonkeyman]

procaracas - I dont generally believe but these people who say there is a heaven and hell are the people I have trusted and knew my entire life so at times it really does feel that I am going out on a limb when they are so persuaded otherwise.

And yet they were unable to persuade you. Why? Surely there must be some reason, or number of reasons, why you're conflicted? In spite of apparently being surrounded by religious believers and their reinforcement for years, you've come to doubt their views so strongly that you're asking for help in fighting off their arguments.

Find the reason for that, and you'll probably realize just how weak their whole belief system really is.

In any case, people have been predicting the end of the world for a very long time. Also, keep in mind that bad news always draws the most attention and in a world where there is more media coverage and accessibility than ever, it's easy to be overwhelmed by bad news and think that things are worse than ever. And that theme has been going on for as long as there have been people making end-of-world predictions.

See I know what you are saying is correct but although I know the bible cannot hold its own weight from what I have learned here. I still have not read the bible from cover to cover so to my friend he is able to counter every argument I have.

This then slightly pushes me back into belief as I dont have enough information to blow some of his claims out of the water. He is subtle enough in these claims to make it seam that they are real without hitting the bible over my head.

I live in Northern Ireland where there is no Separation of Church and state meaning that there are many people who are religious so poking at there being no God is not the 'Done' thing because more people here believe than are willing to admit.

Ultimately what it means is that everything that is Done in this country is done by Christians / For Christians under the direction of a Christian God.

See my precdicament. This site is one of the few places where I can vent and actually speak to real people. I am an Introvert and dont have many friends so when your only friends are Christians its hard to hang out when they are constantly trying to convert me.

I did believe in God but not necessarily God of the Bible and only joined Church because I was at a new university and wanted to meet new people. Plus I wanted to find a Girlfriend which is why most people join churches.