RE: If faith works how every religion says it works......
August 13, 2010 at 11:10 am
(This post was last modified: August 13, 2010 at 11:17 am by Thor.)
(August 13, 2010 at 1:23 am)RAD Wrote: Well actually the illegitimate birth rate went down too.
Source?
And even if true, what does this prove? Did the people pray for the illegitimate birth rate to go down? Because if not, this is evidence of NOTHING.
Quote:Anecdotally the revival also saw judges wearing white gloves because they had nothing to do, troubled boys wanting to go to church, (which is why the illegitimate birth rate went down probably), miners taxing themselves to build libraries and confusing the pit ponies with their curse-free speech
Your problem with this entire paragraph begins with the first word. "Anecdotally" basically means, "I have no real evidence, but here are unconfirmed reports from unknown people..." Try writing a college paper using "anecdotal evidence" as your sources.
Quote:I guess you never read what W.T. Stead said about the revival and how it changed the whole country of Wales and much of England.
"Changed the whole country?" How? Did poverty suddenly disappear? Did crime suddenly vanish? Did child prostitution suddenly cease to exist? Did blind people suddenly have sight? Did hunger come to an end?
Quote:I read everything, but perhaps your faith in Lord Self isn't strong enough yet to go read about Christian revivals and how they changed the world,
Christian revivals "changed the world"? How? And what evidence do you have that supports this claim?
Quote:how Christians led the Enlightenment,
Ironic how Christianity was an impediment to scientific advancement for centuries, and you want to have Christianity take credit for the Enlghtenment....
Quote:You know, so you can make a fair, balanced and rational appraisal?
My conclusions are always fair, balanced and rational. Because they are based on evidence, reason and logic. Not on the scribblings of ancient goat herders.
Quote:Anything, including revivals larger than Jesus ever saw. So the "greater works" have clearly been done, and Jesus was right. You are simply demanding the works be what you personally define as a greater work,
No, I'm merely taking what the Bible says and running with it.
Quote:and there is obviously baiting involved.
HONK! HONK! HONK!
There goes my rationalization meter again...
Quote:One reason I would never ask for him to heal all the blind people of the world
So you would never ask "Jesus" to give sight to all the blind people in the world? I guess you'd also never ask him to feed all the hungry people. Or restore the ability to walk to all the paralyzed people. Or restore sanity to all the mentally ill people. That's pretty callous of you.
Quote:(besides my lack of faith)
So you don't have faith in "Jesus"?
Quote:is that I don't believe it's his will.
How can YOU possibly know what is or isn't the will of Jesus? How would you feel if you meet Jesus in heaven and he says, "You know, I would have given sight to all the blind people on Earth if only you had asked."?
Quote:What would that gain him?
Gee, I don't know.... millions upon millions of converts. The thanks of all the people who were previously blind. Happiness from seeing the joy he has created. It would sure show us atheists a thing or two.
Quote:People whining he didn't grow out all the missing limbs in the world. Right?
So.... Jesus shouldn't restore sight to the blind because then people with missing limbs will "whine"? By this logic, doctors who travel to remote areas shouldn't treat anybody because the people they can't treat will whine. Yeah, if EVERYBODY can't be cured, then NOBODY should be cured!
Quote:I give the Koran the same credence I give the New Testament,
Then you believe that Allah is the one true god and Mohammed was his prophet?
Quote:No you didn't. You said you would believe but you hedged on serving him.
I asked what "serving him" would entail.
Quote:That means doing anything he told his disciples to do.
Now that I have an answer...
Quote:Will you or not?
If "Jesus" came to me and convinced me that he was truly the man described in the Bible then yes, I probably would do as he requested.
Now, good luck getting "Jesus" to make an appearance at my front door.
Quote:It isn't circular reasoning at all.
Using the Bible to prove the Bible is as circular as it gets.
Quote:It's a slander/libel case. The rule is you must prove the people you are denigrating, or accusing of making up stories, did what you claim they did.
So you accept anecdotal bullshit when it supports what you want to believe, but when the Bible is questioned you want to impose courtroom standards?
Quote:The burden is on the Jesus myther, not the Christian.
BZZZZZZZTTTTT!!!!
The burden of proof falls on the person making the claim. You want to claim the crap in the Bible is true. It is therefore YOUR responsibility to provide supporting evidence for this. If you have none (and you don't) it is entirely reasonable to dismiss your claims as unfounded horseshit. Otherwise, I can claim that the "Wizard of Oz" is a true story.
(August 13, 2010 at 9:59 am)RAD Wrote: I know exactly what it is, and of course atheists use the Bible itself all the time to disprove it,
Do you mean that we look at the crap that's in the Bible, examine the real world around us, and conclude that there is no evidence that supports the story of Noah's Ark (for example)? Do you mean that we examine all the contradictions in the Bible and conclude that it's far from a "perfect" book? Do you mean that we look at the horrors contained in the Bible and conclude that it is completely inconsistent with the notion of a "loving" deity? Do you mean that we take things into account (like the fact that the gospels were written DECADES after "Jesus" supposedly died) when deciding if there is any truth to it?
Because that would be true.
Science flies us to the moon and stars. Religion flies us into buildings.
God allowed 200,000 people to die in an earthquake. So what makes you think he cares about YOUR problems?
God allowed 200,000 people to die in an earthquake. So what makes you think he cares about YOUR problems?