Critical thought is hard

[urlawyer]

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?

[Iroscato]

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

[urlawyer]

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

Believe you me, there have been plenty of people that have already torn this movie apart for its logical fallacies which is why I felt so confident going in. The problem doesn't lie in the movie unable to give good arguments, but in me unable to give good counter arguments (indeed as the alcohol wears off I can start to see the faulty logic but this does leave me at the conundrum of when I have to face real people and their arguments since I'm not so good at improvisational thought).

[watchamadoodle]

I watched "God's Not Dead" a few months ago. I thought the movie was o.k. except for the actor that played the pastor of the church. (His acting was awful IMO.) The plot gave me an insight into the outlook and hopes of Evangelical Christians. I felt a little teary at the end even though I was never an Evangelical, so that shows the movie was well done IMO.

Regarding the logical arguments for God, I was not impressed at all. I don't think that was the point of the movie; it was an escape for Evangelicals who see their world shrinking around them.

[Iroscato]

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

Believe you me, there have been plenty of people that have already torn this movie apart for its logical fallacies which is why I felt so confident going in. The problem doesn't lie in the movie unable to give good arguments, but in me unable to give good counter arguments (indeed as the alcohol wears off I can start to see the faulty logic but this does leave me at the conundrum of when I have to face real people and their arguments since I'm not so good at improvisational thought).

So for now, best thing for you to do is avoid direct conflict IMO. No need for you to fight the good fight just yet. Just relax, keep educating yourself, follow the debate as a spectator and not as a player. If it's weighing that heavily on your mind, it will do you no good to worry about how well you can or cannot construct solid arguments.
The theists are losing ground daily, and the harder they get pushed, the louder they howl. It's the natural process of an ideological system that has entered the first stages of a death spiral. Some people are best off just sitting back and watching the fireworks with popcorn and a nice cigar

[watchamadoodle]

I second what Iroscato, said, and I want to clarify that the reason I wasn't impressed with the logical arguments is that I'm not a very logical person. It wasn't that I knew the counter argument for every theist argument. I was just watching it as a drama.   I bet you are already far more educated on those arguments than I am.

[Faith No More]

I guess if you truly want to refine your thinking skills and ability to debate religion, ask some specific questions. What parts of the movie did you feel inadequate to address? From what I gather from the trailer, the movie was just littered with fallacies and misrepresentations, so just bring up whatever issues you see and others can help you.

[Iroscato]

Ah, in my haste to reply I missed it was 'God's Not Dead'. Gotta be more careful with that scan-reading  

[Alex K]

I guess if you truly want to refine your thinking skills and ability to debate religion, ask some specific questions.  What parts of the movie did you feel inadequate to address?  From what I gather from the trailer, the movie was just littered with fallacies and misrepresentations, so just bring up whatever issues you see and others can help you.

I really have to watch it some time. From what I've heard, the arguments which they let the atheist professor make are not all that bad, but they simply let the Christian guy counter them with completely silly emotional arguments which actually don't refute them, and then declare victory. The atheists in the movie are all strawmen who are bad people and/or simply angry at God, but secretly believe. In other words, they are written to nicely confirm all the prejudices of the evangelical moron in the audience.

[downbeatplumb]

I guess if you truly want to refine your thinking skills and ability to debate religion, ask some specific questions.  What parts of the movie did you feel inadequate to address?  From what I gather from the trailer, the movie was just littered with fallacies and misrepresentations, so just bring up whatever issues you see and others can help you.

I really have to watch it some time. From what I've heard, the arguments which they let the atheist professor make are not all that bad, but they simply let the Christian guy counter them with completely silly emotional arguments which actually don't refute them, and then declare victory. The atheists in the movie are all strawmen who are bad people and/or simply angry at God, but secretly believe. In other words, they are written to nicely confirm all the prejudices of the evangelical moron in the audience.

Wasn't the knock out argument that the professor actually hated god so believed in god. (inferring that all atheists actually really believe but hate god).
A silly vaccuus argument that plays to their prejudices.