(March 4, 2014 at 2:44 pm)JesusLover1 Wrote: I just don't get it, why even be an atheist? I mean, what is positive about being an atheist over just having a faith?
We actually care whether our beliefs are true, or likely to be true.
I want my internal mental image of reality to map as close to reality as possible. Basing one's beliefs on evidence and reasoned argument is the single best way to achieve that goal.
If you don't care whether your beliefs are true, then base them on faith. But faith is not a path to truth.
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.
