(August 27, 2014 at 5:35 pm)Statler Waldorf Wrote: Exactly, I am pointing out the fact that atheists engage in contradictory behavior. They claim that they know that God does not exist but then exercise hatred for Him. Are you saying it’s not possible for atheists to behave in a manner that is contradictory? Why not?
Very few atheists claim to know that a god or gods do not exist.
I don't hate Yahweh, I simply disbelieve he exists. I hate what those that believe he exists do in the name of this god, though.
And that what Hitchens is talking about.
That’s not the actual philosophical definition of atheism by the way.
Quote:The evidence speaks for itself.
What evidence? That atheists do not like what is done in the world in the name of various gods?
Guilty.
Evidence that we hate gods that most likely don't exist? Nope.
Quote:Nope, and that’s exactly my point. Atheists know that the Biblical God exists. Hitchens did not write a book called, “Ahura-Mazda Is Not Great” for a reason.
He has chapters on Eastern religions, Islam is mentioned as much as Christianity, the Koran is mentioned just as much as the Bible.
Quote:I do not call those gods names, or create threads dedicated to how horrible and mean they are, I’ve never read a book that disparages them, I’ve never partaken in a “blasphemy challenge” pertaining to them, I’ve never stolen their holy books from hotels, I’ve never desecrated their imagery, nor have I ever ridiculed them. You know why? Because I know they do not exist, so why waste my time? How many atheists can say the same about the Biblical God? Very few.
First of all, most atheists posting on the internet are almost exclusively encountering Christians, not Zoroastrians or Hindus.
The Bibles in hotel rooms are supposed to be taken.
Quote: “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”
― Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion
Sounds like, “God does not exist…and I hate Him” to me.
No, he is just pointing out how the Biblical 'Yahweh' character is portrayed in the stories.
By the way, you do know that 'God' is not the name of the Biblical god, right?
God is a job title, not a name.
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.
