(January 22, 2014 at 8:14 pm)k2490 Wrote: thanks for the replies guys. I guess there's also the fact that just because it's popular doesn't mean it's true
Exactly.
Appealing to the popularity or tradition of a belief does not offer a shred of evidence that the belief is any more true than less popular beliefs.
Only demonstrable evidence, reasoned agument and valid/sound logic should be used as the criteria to justify belief in a claim.
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.
