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Why do you believe in god?
April 2, 2012 at 4:43 am
(This post was last modified: April 2, 2012 at 4:57 am by Creed of Heresy.)
http://www.humanist.org.nz/letters/whygod.pdf
This little PDF is a summarization of just about every argument directed by secular humanists against all you religious individuals, particularly against Christianity but the points it brings up will apply to all the Abrahamic religions.
They're basic, but these are the most profound points, and ones I have yet to hear any kind of satisfying rebuttal against.
Again, this isn't stuff we haven't necessarily heard brought up against theists already; but they ARE the biggest issues that theists face. And they ARE the points that are completely and totally ignored, the theist en argumentia typically trying to switch tracks or use circular logic to avoid the points made.
Side note: Maybe I should be posting this on a religious board and not an atheists board but we have had enough of an influx of the kooks lately that this oughta get some bites.
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RE: Why do you believe in god?
April 2, 2012 at 2:33 pm
(April 2, 2012 at 4:43 am)Creed of Heresy Wrote: Maybe I should be posting this on a religious board and not an atheists board but we have had enough of an influx of the kooks lately that this oughta get some bites.
How does posting it here preclude posting it on a religious board too? Nay, on all religious boards you can find! Just to give them something to chew on and fight about amongst themselves.
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RE: Why do you believe in god?
April 2, 2012 at 4:35 pm
All basic stuff that is answered fully on these forums. I believe there are more difficult questions.
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RE: Why do you believe in god?
April 2, 2012 at 5:11 pm
I like 'Who told you that you were a born sinner?'....oh yeah the church, which also has the magic cure. Maybe they cut you in order to sell you the band aid.
You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.
Buddha 
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RE: Why do you believe in god?
April 2, 2012 at 5:20 pm
I have to be honest. I don't find the pamphlet terribly convincing. I think that a scientific viewpoint of the universe, a historical lack of evidence that the bible is in ANY way reflective of reality, and destruction of of any semblence of rational argument for god's existence are much stronger and are either not represented or under represented.
"A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything." -Friedrich Nietzsche
"All thinking men are atheists." -Ernest Hemmingway
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." -Voltaire
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RE: Why do you believe in god?
April 2, 2012 at 5:31 pm
(This post was last modified: April 2, 2012 at 5:32 pm by Ace Otana.)
(April 2, 2012 at 5:11 pm)Bgood Wrote: I like 'Who told you that you were a born sinner?'....oh yeah the church, which also has the magic cure. Maybe they cut you in order to sell you the band aid.
One of the first things that lightened my eyes early on. "Who told you that you're going to hell? Religion. Who told you that you are a dirty sinner? Religion. Who told you that you are immoral? Religion. Who offers the cure and way out of all things claimed by...religion? Religion. What is the cure that religion offers? Being part of a religious group, obedience".
Until something outside of religion that actually has credibility and evidence that supports religious claims, I'll continue to ignore what ever religion has to say.
Religion is the problem, the cure and the requirement. So how about we do without religion altogether? No cure required, no requirement to join and no problems to worry about. Done and done. 
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence - Carl Sagan
Mankind's intelligence walks hand in hand with it's stupidity.
Being an atheist says nothing about your overall intelligence, it just means you don't believe in god. Atheists can be as bright as any scientist and as stupid as any creationist.
You never really know just how stupid someone is, until you've argued with them.
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RE: Why do you believe in god?
April 2, 2012 at 5:44 pm
I asked this question here before and didn't get any good answers. In fact, I have never been given a reason to believe that does not presuppose the existence of a god. Conclusion: In order to believe in god, one must already believe in god.
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RE: Why do you believe in god?
April 2, 2012 at 7:05 pm
(April 2, 2012 at 4:35 pm)fr0d0 Wrote: All basic stuff that is answered fully on these forums. I believe there are more difficult questions.
Yes...answered by atheists. The religious...not so much.
I agree that this pamphlet is basic. But these are the thoughts and questions that started to break me away from Christianity in a far more absolute sense.
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RE: Why do you believe in god?
April 2, 2012 at 7:37 pm
(This post was last modified: April 2, 2012 at 7:38 pm by Oldandeasilyconfused.)
The REAL reason for the beliefs of billions:
For most people, specific religious belief is an accident of birth,nothing more.
The beliefs of their parents are inculcated,uncritically, before the age of reason. Most children believe ANYTHING adults tell them. Children begin to acquire the ability of critical thinking from age 12 or so. That is far too late for most people.For most,it is psychologically impossible to question their strongest beliefs in any rational way. If it was possible and happened, as people reached adulthood, religious beliefs would be put into the same box as the Tooth Fairy,Easter Bunny and Santa.
OF course thee are exceptions, at least in the matter of religious beliefs. However,we are a distressingly small minority. 
To this day, I am unable to understand adult religious conversion.I can only assume such people have deep psychological issues and avoid them.
Quote:If you could reason with religious people there wouldn't be any (Greg House)
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RE: Why do you believe in god?
April 2, 2012 at 11:24 pm
(This post was last modified: April 2, 2012 at 11:26 pm by Neo-Scholastic.)
It would be patronizing to say, "I used to be an atheist." because I feel atheism is a reasonable position. Nevertheless after having been agnostic/atheist for the better part of 25 years, I was unable to resolve basic questions about the philosophy of mind within that paradigm. Theism has overall provided me with a much richer field of inquiry than materialism and has at least pointed to possible solutions to problems I find interesting to reflect upon and contemplate.
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