new thread for old RE: Atheists, what do you believe is the best argument for the existence of a deity?

[Minimalist]

The senses are a fragile thing and can be easily upset by anxiety, tricks of he light, drugs, illness (both physical and mental) and of course people like to play tricks on other people.

" '...You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!'

-- Scrooge to Marley's ghost

[Mark 13:13]

The senses are a fragile thing and can be easily upset by anxiety, tricks of he light, drugs, illness (both physical and mental) and of course people like to play tricks on other people.

" '...You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!'

-- Scrooge to Marley's ghost

i watched scrooge lately and i noted the quote you give for the 1st time then and thought that quote was wonderful. I hadn't noted it before and its a sign of a great movie/book that on revisiting you can still find new gems. In the end scrooge goes with the ghost and his life is enriched in the end.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

One that supplies hard empirical evidence for its/ their existence.

[Minimalist]

In the end scrooge goes with the ghost and his life is enriched in the end

You do understand it is a novel? Just like your bible.

[Cinjin]

To answer the question ; you should not treat me differently , you should treat every one the same ( and lets not get into semantic about my wording but get my point) "This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another." 1 john 3:11

Odd isn't it? The christians and the muslims are the ones who MOST need to learn this idea.

[LastPoet]

Jesus saves? Damn, why the hell I have been doing Ctrl+S all the time?

[Mark 13:13]

Odd isn't it? The christians and the muslims are the ones who MOST need to learn this idea.

I would say there are very few people in this world that could not improve using this simple idea. The fact that christians and muslims contain a full spectrum of humanity and given the sheer numbers involved that its not hard to find pictures like these. With a few clicks I could reciprocate but what would the point be? That we should judge the truth or otherwise of an idea by the behaviour of some of its adherents ?

Acts 20: 29-31 (Jer) "I know quite well that when I have gone fierce wolves will invade you and have no mercy on the flock. Even from your own ranks their will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them. So be on your guard..."

[Mister Agenda]

If everyone with a mystic experience got the same message, it couldn't be ignored. It would be like love or anger, we would know it is at least a near universal human quality, and in the case of everyone getting 'Jesus is Lord', a good argument for supernatural involvement. What we actually have is a variety of experiences, often contradictory, and that tells us that whatever the nature of the experiences, they are not to be relied upon for information.

That does not mean that having one does not justify belief. It could be the nature of an experience that it compels one to believe. That's not a good reason for anyone else to believe another person's experience of the mystical is real contact with the supernatural; because there are plenty of other people who can testify to opposing mystical experiences.

[Cinjin]

Odd isn't it? The christians and the muslims are the ones who MOST need to learn this idea.

I would say there are very few people in this world that could not improve using this simple idea. The fact that christians and muslims contain a full spectrum of humanity and given the sheer numbers involved that its not hard to find pictures like these. With a few clicks I could reciprocate but what would the point be? That we should judge the truth or otherwise of an idea by the behaviour of some of its adherents ?

No one here questions the good in loving one another. In fact, anything good that came out of the Bible isn't original and anything that is original isn't good.
Humans figured out long before Jesus allegedly walked the earth that loving one another was beneficial to the survival and general happiness of man.
So when you use the words, "judge the truth," and imply that I'm unfairly labeling your giant cult because of a handful of pictures, it insults my intelligence.

It's more than a handful of pictures and it's far more than isolated incidents. Your religion is the polar opposite of the idea of loving one another. I'm not saying that your religion hasn't "quite figured it out yet," I'm saying that your religion actively and purposely practices the very opposite of what you are professing.

Christianity is the poster child for immorality. It is the engine that keeps evil alive and well on this planet. Don't for a second think that I was trying to imply that christianity has "a few bad apples." No no, christianity IS the disease.

[Mark 13:13]

I would say there are very few people in this world that could not improve using this simple idea. The fact that christians and muslims contain a full spectrum of humanity and given the sheer numbers involved that its not hard to find pictures like these. With a few clicks I could reciprocate but what would the point be? That we should judge the truth or otherwise of an idea by the behaviour of some of its adherents ?

No one here questions the good in loving one another. In fact, anything good that came out of the Bible isn't original and anything that is original isn't good.
Humans figured out long before Jesus allegedly walked the earth that loving one another was beneficial to the survival and general happiness of man.
So when you use the words, "judge the truth," and imply that I'm unfairly labeling your giant cult because of a handful of pictures, it insults my intelligence.

It's more than a handful of pictures and it's far more than isolated incidents. Your religion is the polar opposite of the idea of loving one another. I'm not saying that your religion hasn't "quite figured it out yet," I'm saying that your religion actively and purposely practices the very opposite of what you are professing.

Christianity is the poster child for immorality. It is the engine that keeps evil alive and well on this planet. Don't for a second think that I was trying to imply that christianity has "a few bad apples." No no, christianity IS the disease.

There's a new thread in there somewhere so don't take my lack of response now as a no response; just that you and i both know a full and proper response will need more time than I can give at present.