(April 6, 2015 at 10:38 am)urlawyer Wrote: Alright, so as some of you know I've only recently been indicted into the atheist world. In between then and now I have consumed vast quantities of atheist/anti-theist/skeptic/philosophical media and believed myself to be smart because I understood the logic and agreed with the conclusions therein. Having gained confidence in my ideals from such affirmation, I thought it high time to test my merits against purely religious media and rented "God's Not Dead" (a video I had prematurely judged to be an inadequate portrayal of philosophical thought based off of reviews I had seen).
In order to fortify my resolve in not taking anything personally, I took several drinks before viewing the film (and perhaps this is where my uncertainty lies but I am fairly sure it is not the underlying cause) and slogged my way through half of it so far (I am reporting directly from my living room couch alongside my ale so I apologize if I missed any spelling errors). My reasoning has not been so effected that I can't tell good logic from bad at my so very mediocre level and yet, knowing full well before going into the movie that the arguments were faulty, I can't help but feel woefully unprepared to defend myself against its onslaught.
I know in my "heart" as well as my mind (the only time the two have even remotely agreed on something) that there is no god, but I feel as if my paper armor I once believed as strong as steel has been chipped away.
Am I wrong? Is it just the drink? Did I expect all arguments from theists to be so convoluted that they'd be simple to undermine and got knocked off my feet when I found out they weren't? Am I just too stupid think beyond what I am told?
All these questions and more have arisen within my mind and seek to throw me off balance, the strongest being that last one.
I need some insight, help, and recommendations for what I can do to improve my thought process. Has anyone gone through what I am going through right now?
First and foremost, don't go into this under the influence of alchohol, that's just...not good. Have your mind nice and prepared and clean, without anything affecting it.
Can you give a link to this 'movie' that you speak of? It may help to let other more experienced debaters than yourself (and myself, I'm not exactly a master of the art) take a look at the logical inconsistencies and fallacies, point them out, and give you a rundown of them.
As to whether you are 'stupid'...don't be so hard on yourself. You've already taken steps to educate yourself further than what you've been taught (what I'm assuming has been) all your life, you just have a little way to go before you're ready to stop absorbing and start dishing out, that's all
If you have any serious concerns, are being harassed, or just need someone to talk to, feel free to contact me via PM