RE: Honest Question to Atheists - Best Argument?
July 17, 2015 at 4:37 am
(This post was last modified: July 17, 2015 at 4:55 am by SamS.
Edit Reason: Add reply to someone
)
(July 17, 2015 at 3:02 am)Rhythm Wrote: How about you, has there ever been something [insert competing religion here] said that made you doubt your "current theistic stance"?
No other religion has ever made me ever doubt Christianity. I view Judaism as incomplete Christianity; ending with the Old Testament is just a huge cliffhanger because so many of the prophecies stated in it are fulfilled by Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 18:15, as one example). OT ends with promises of great things to come, yet for Judeo-believers, never will. Islam is a corrupted extension of Christianity, whose denial of fundamental Christian doctrine (Resurrection, Christ's Deity, etc) leave the same OT prophecies unfulfilled and therefore incomplete ("pierce my hands and feet" in Psalm 22:16, yet Muslims don't even think Jesus was crucified).
What about Buddhism, Hinduism, New Age spirituality? They may have had an appeal when I was agnostic, but they don't affect me anymore partly because the Bible frequently criticizes all other gods. Even the 10 plagues were largely an attack on Egypt's false gods (Numbers 33:4). It denounces those who worship "wooden and metal statues and idols", which can do nothing for us. "Saying...Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth" (Jer. 2:27). I can't trust a religion that allows for many gods and acceptance of other religious beliefs. It's paramount to saying there are multiple truths, and "ways to your inner self, mannn", or whatever spiritual nonsense buzzwords they spout. Does the Bible make us narrow-minded? Yes, only so far as the Bible is exclusive itself.
Atheism? How about contradictions in the Bible? Those affected when I had a weaker faith, but I have never found one that cannot be resolved in context, or by the right verse sometimes in another book entirely. The Bible is not a weapon against itself. Mythology, other Christ figures in older religions? That was another good one. I've heard it repeatedly mentioned that the god Horus was also born on December 25th, even though no where in the Bible or any historic writings does it say Jesus was born on December 25th, so it's becomes a lie more than anything. In fact, most claims of similarities to other gods are made up in attempts to debunk Christianity (Source). It should be remembered that OT prophecies of Jesus are older than many of supposed Christ clones; take that as you will. The Bible doesn't stop at other religions, it has quite a bit to say about atheism, especially in the Book of Ecclesiastes.
But best argument against Christianity? Making the Bible seem fallible was a pretty big one for me, though a friend of mine once told me he was too far "into science" to believe anything. I'd say scientific arguments can be made to work against any religion.
Seriously, to Christians, the Bible is the best proof of itself. Want physical evidence of God? Have a Bible, it is both the claim and the proof of the claim. May seem absolutely stupid, but the age of OT compared to the NT, how one reveals every little secret of the other (especially if you study it), makes the entire thing completely believable. If we only had the NT, I wouldn't believe it either.
(July 17, 2015 at 4:19 am)Neimenovic Wrote: extraordinary claim and all.
