Strong Atheism starts from faith

[tavarish]

You are being incredibly ignorant tavarish. But you are in good company, and I certainly won't hold it against you.

Jesus says hi.

You seem to have spent that entire post trying to bat away the fact that theology requires that there be no verifiable proof of the existence of any god, and explicitly the Christian God. You can't deal with that. Fair enough. But lets establish this and remember it's the focus of the problem.

I can deal with it. The fact of the matter is that it's ILLOGICAL to think that way. As long as we're on the same page with that, we're good.

How would you propose faith would work (being "belief in something there can be no proof of") should there be external proof to negate it? Sound illogical to you? If it does.... good, we can agree on something.

From the Merriam Webster's Dictionary:

(as it appears in this context)

Faith - : firm belief in something for which there is no proof

Belief - conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence

If your religion and God are true as you believe and convey in your arguments, then an answer should be abundantly clear, not only for you, but for ANYONE seeking the information. You seem to lack the understanding that you can't make up your mind about something before you examine it. It's illogical to do so.

It is a belief system, which requires evidence. Whether your evidence is personal and metaphysical is your deal, but when the religion decides to proselytize and influence people on something that is logically unfounded and unreasonable, it becomes an issue for those who hold it to the standard to which we judge all things: reality.

I understand that it is the nature of religion to dance around logic, evidence and reason. But we're out of the infancy phase and we can observe things in our universe with a much broader understanding. Thus, we need to hold our beliefs to a higher standard.

Religion makes many claims dealing with physics, chemistry, cosmology and biology. Why wouldn't we examine the claims made by those who so adamantly attest to a divine creator? Is religion above reasonable scrutiny?

This, although a central precept of mainstream (ie 99%) Christianity, seems to be a new concept to you. hence my unkind 'ignorant' label. forgive me, I'm sure it was an innocent mistake, and like I said, very well supported.

Christianity isn't a mixed message - it's a very direct one. You'll find all of us agree on the essential fundamentals.

Such a direct message that there are 33,280 denominations. What are the essential fundamentals? Jesus?

How do I know personally that my God is true? I test my notion of God every moment and it pans out. Did I dodge again?

You'll have to excuse me, I have no idea what the hell you mean.

It is even more logical for this God to need your response rather than forcing knowledge of himself onto you. The cornerstone of belief is faith... faith is an incredible thing and the catalyst for logical enquiry. A god that negated faith would be a puny god indeed to a real God, one which necessitated it.

Faith is a catalyst for logical inquiry? How about SKEPTICISM is the catalyst for logical inquiry?

Faith is a catalyst for an illogical thought process, where you can circumvent the rules of logic to fit your own personal beliefs, more often than not to make you feel fuzzy inside and hopefully not so alone in the world.

Why would he be a puny God?

Also,

Is the bible metaphorical or literal? How do you know?

Please, if not anything else, please address the questions in RED to the best of your ability.

Thanks.