Hello, Anyone interested in a debate?

[Anima]

Here are some of my thoughts, for anyone who is interested

Always

Disbelief is not a choice. If my brain does not believe a statement, that is a matter of fact. Maybe I am able to give rational reasons which my brain disbelieves it, maybe I can't. Maybe I don't even know why. Brains are complex things. But remember disbelief does not automatically equal belief in the contrary.

Interesting. But then belief is not a choice. Their brains believe a statement as a matter of fact. Maybe they are able to give rational reasons and maybe they can't. Maybe they do not even know why. So as you are not to be criticized should they?

Even if I couldn't defend my disbelief, that would not automatically change my mind and make me start believing. It may make me evaluate things again, but if nothing else has changed, it's not likely my brain will just suddenly start believing something it didn't before.

A response as acceptable as theirs. Though when they say it they are commonly called stupid, stubborn, bigot, bias, or out of touch with reality.

As it happens, it's rather easy to defend. But any given atheist may disbelieve for any reason and they have no responsibility to explain why, or to even know why. Neither do theists. I do heartily encourage critical thinking and analysis of all your beliefs, though. I would hope people care that their reasons are sound and they are in touch with these reasons, but really that is up to them to decide.

By easy I take it to mean you defend it by means of your original comment of it not being a choice. We encourage a like!!

And as people so often forget, saying "I haven't come to a belief about whether there is a god or not" makes you an atheist, and surely you wouldn't ask for reasons why someone is as yet undecided. Not every atheist makes their own claims of belief that the presented claim is in fact false. This is the default, sensible position to approach any claim with. And your position may remain that way indefinitely.

Actually I think those people are called agnostics. And as part of the understanding I would indeed ask them why they are undecided just as asked either side that is decided why they are so decided. I would further disagree that the default sensible position to approach any claim is disbelief. I would even state no one does. The first thing that any claim is subjected to is inquiry regarding its veracity. Such inquiry is predicated upon belief of the claim to an extent that warrants inspection of veracity. Were someone to say something utterly unbelievable I doubt anyone would give it a moments thought or question.

It is rather obvious that the existence of any sort of god, whatever the fuck it's meant to mean, is not obvious.

It would seem a great many people and philosophers would disagree.

"There is no argument to prove the existence of God and there is not argument to disprove the existence of God, but there is no more implied existence than that of God." - Immanuel Kant Critique of Pure Reason

Anima, make sure when you are formatting quotes you are using a forward slash "/" for the close quote rather than a backslash "\."