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RE: Hi, I'm a Christian. Help Me Disprove My Religion!
September 22, 2015 at 9:21 pm
Whether hell exists or not, is irrelevant to Christianity. Even if no religion is true, hell maybe true. Therefore you should investigate if it's logical concept in itself. However, a lot of morality is properly basic, and what of it that is not properly basic relies on properly basic assumptions.
So what you are asking is a spiritual/moral question. Do evil people deserve hell?
RE: Hi, I'm a Christian. Help Me Disprove My Religion!
September 22, 2015 at 9:29 pm
(September 22, 2015 at 8:51 pm)Beccs Wrote: Can't disprove your religion.
Christians exist therefore Christianity exists.
The claims of the religion, however, can be disproved.
The existence of a deity, however, cannot. And that includes ANY deity.
Oh, I think that depends on the deity being postulated. For instance, if the bible is an accurate depiction of the nature and the actions of the god within it - creating light before any light source, plants before the Sun, fixing tiny lamps into the dome of the sky and so on - I think a case can be made that that deity doesn't exist.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
RE: Hi, I'm a Christian. Help Me Disprove My Religion!
September 22, 2015 at 10:21 pm
(September 22, 2015 at 8:00 pm)WishfulThinking Wrote: ... The world is filled with thousands of religions and beliefs (roughly 4,200, if google is correct), one of which is probably true. ...
What reason do you have to believe that? It is entirely possible for them all to be false. Given that most of them come from primitive people who were ignorant of the way the world works, we can be pretty sure that they got things wrong even before we start looking at the particulars.
If you were serious about wanting someone to convince you that your religion is false, you would want to tell us what your specific type of Christianity is. The approach one would take with a Catholic is different from what one would take with a fundamentalist Southern Baptist. And even within a specific type of Christianity, individuals have different beliefs. It is very common, for example, for people who call themselves "Catholic" to disagree with official Catholic doctrine in many instances (e.g., the morality of using birth control, etc.). So you would want to start by telling us the beliefs that you regard as important to your specific religion.
However, we can say that there isn't any good evidence that any type of Christianity is true. Just like there isn't any good evidence that Santa Claus lives on the North Pole. Do you think it would be reasonable to require a specific proof that Santa Claus does not live on the North Pole before rejecting the belief? Do you approach other questions that way, that you believe everything until it is proven false? If so, you must also be a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, etc., until you encounter specific proofs against them.
The idea of an afterlife is silly because your mind is pretty well known to be some processes of your brain or the result of some processes of your brain. (This is known through a variety of things, such as the study of brain-damaged people. It also explains why it is that your mind gets drunk when sufficient alcohol is introduced into your brain.) When your brain stops its processes, your mind is gone and so you are gone. So there is no possibility of an afterlife.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
Or pick one of these topics and I'll explain it to you:
1. God lies to Abraham about the covenant he makes with him. Then he lies to Moses, Joshua, and David too.
2. God is a misogynist: Women are property, only men can get divorced, and adultary means sleeping with a married woman (married men are allowed to sleep with sex slaves, prostitutes, other wives they own, and unmarried women).
3. There is no morality in the Old Testament that isn't reflective of the conventional wisdom of the age.
4. There was no Exodus.
5. There was no conquest of Canaan.
6. The Pentateuch wasn't written until the 7th century BC at the earliest - that's 6-8 centuries after the mythical Exodus.
7. While there's very good evidence that Jesus was crucified, there's almost no evidence for his supposed bodily resurrection and ascension which forms the cornerstone of modern Christianity. Paul never mentions it, James and Jude and Peter never mention it, the author of Hebrews doesn't mention it, and Mark doesn't mention it either. Mark does say that Jesus ascended, and he does say Jesus will appear to people - but that's it - there isn't any mention of a bodily resurrection or an ascension. Matt 28:17 says that "some who saw the resurrected Jesus doubted" - so by the own admission of the gospel writer there were people who saw the supposed resurrected Jesus and said "that's not him". So what makes the people who did believe right and those that didn't wrong? We have no objective way to determine that other than to ask the question "who are the ones that are religiously biased"? So the gospel writer is basing the account on religiously-biased hearsay - that's hardly convincing evidence.
8. God is not faithful to his followers: Jesus is crucified, John the Baptist is beheaded, Judas Iscariot hangs himself, Herod has James the son of Zebedee killed by the sword, Simeon and James the Just are stoned to death, Peter is crucified, Paul is executed by the Romans, Nero persecutes the Christians from 64-68AD, and in 70AD the Jerusalem Church is completely destroyed (along with the rest of Jerusalem) as far as anyone can tell. BUT Jesus promised that the Son of Man would come before they finish going through all the towns of Israel (Matt 10:23).
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50.-LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea.-LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
RE: Hi, I'm a Christian. Help Me Disprove My Religion!
September 22, 2015 at 10:51 pm
(September 22, 2015 at 8:00 pm)WishfulThinking Wrote: Salutations theists, atheists, and agnostics!
Now, before we get started, I'd like to say that I recognize that you are under no obligation whatsoever to help me out. If you don't have the time or inclination to do so, feel free to pass this thread by, and let it fade away into obscurity. However, if you would be willing to help me, I would very much appreciate it.
Right, so first off, as the title states, I'm a Christian. Second of all, I'm really hoping that my religion is a lie, and that you can prove it to me.
Why I'm Making This Thread
Perhaps I should give you my reasons for this request, just so you have a better idea of where I'm coming from. Y'see, I've been thinking a lot about God and Hell, and how incredibly pessimistic my religion happens to be. The world is filled with thousands of religions and beliefs (roughly 4,200, if google is correct), one of which is probably true. Most of these have some idea of what the afterlife is. I've been thinking lately about how my religion being true is probably the second or third worst case scenario in this regard.
If my religion is true, then roughly 68% of the world's population goes to Hell (probably more). The only possibilities that seem worse than this would be that a dead religion were true, in which case we all go to its version of Hell, or if a smaller religion with an even worse version of Hell were true. Right now, the only thing that's keeping me from giving into despair about how much reality sucks is that there exists the possibility that my religion is false.
I grew up in a Christian family, always a little unsure about whether or not I believed it. Even now, the best evidence I have that I believe it is how afraid I am of God. However, I don't have evidence to back my belief up, or to disprove it. For those of you reading that are Christians, I'm not accusing Christians of not having evidence to back up their beliefs (some of the smartest people I know are Christians who have tested their faith), I'm simply saying that I, personally, do not. I don't think I can find it within me to leave my religion behind without proof that it's false, even if I can't back my faith up. I also figure that I can't really continue life without figuring out what I believe and having good reasons for it, so I need to prove/disprove my religion as soon as possible. I decided that attempting to disprove my religion might be the best/most efficient way to start, hence my coming to this forum to seek your help (and by you, I mean non-Christians, theist and atheist alike).
Sorry about the personal details above. Again, I just want you to know where I'm honestly coming from. Also again, you don't have to help me here if you don't want to. Feel free to ignore this thread.
What I'm Asking For
This site being what it is, I imagine a lot of you have debated Christians in the past. Some of you might even be former Christians. Throughout all your investigations, arguments, and general dealings with Christianity, what are the best arguments against its truth and validity that you've encountered? What contradictions in its teachings have you found?
Please note that I'm not looking for arguments against God, but rather, arguments against Christianity specifically. Also, I'm looking for arguments towards Christianity's beliefs, not its people. I figure that there are hypocrites within every religion and/or belief system, and pointing them out doesn't say the religion is wrong, it just says some of the people saying that they follow it aren't honest.
Also, (I know I'm asking a lot of y'all, so remember you can ignore this thread) if you present evidence such as articles or historical documents, it would be fantastic if you could give me a link to them, or give me information that would allow me to find them (title, author, etc.).
It is my intention to use the information you give me that seems most convincing (that I understand and can't argue against), and present it to other Christians I know irl. If I find enough evidence that they can't successfully argue against, then, well, it's my hope that my beliefs regarding Christianity will change (and I'll be free from fear of God and Hell).
Jesus said that he was sent only to the Jews. So if you aren't a Jew then he and his message does not apply to you.
The gaudy bejeweled golden cube is called New Jerusalem and it only has twelve gates, one gate for each tribe of Israel. How do you expect to get in it if you are not a member of one of those twelve tribes?
RE: Hi, I'm a Christian. Help Me Disprove My Religion!
September 22, 2015 at 11:05 pm
If you're a Christian why should you fear God or hell, unless you're wanting to do things that go against your supposed Christian beliefs. If you're looking to jump ship let me say this, you want like, it if you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit will be convicting you at many turns, as I believe He is doing now. If conviction is what you are going through then wouldn't that mean there's a Holy Spirit and if that's true then there must be a God since He is part of the God Head, and if He's convicting you what is He convicting you about, to love and serve God or salvation. Go ask God and find your answer, He want's a personal relationship with you, one that's centered in love, not fear of Him and hell. Christians aren't going to hell so we do not worry about it, and Christians look to serve God for the redemption of the lost. When we get out of line He will correct us as any loving parent would do. So if you really do believe why worry, if you don't then I guess you have a reason to worry, because it's evident you've be introduced to Jesus. Most people who claim to be Christians and are looking for excuses not to believe anymore are doing things or considering doing things that are against God and if they are feeling bad about it they're under conviction. As a youth leader I've seen this, pressure from your friends outside church can be a powerful thing, but not if you truly love God.
If you are doing as Randy mentioned then you should be deeply afraid of God, God will protect those who love Him, you should consider with a very serious mind and heart what you're trying to accomplish here.
GC
God loves those who believe and those who do not and the same goes for me, you have no choice in this matter. That puts the matter of total free will to rest.
RE: Hi, I'm a Christian. Help Me Disprove My Religion!
September 22, 2015 at 11:12 pm
I love the threats.
I have talked to many a theist about their beliefs, why hasn't God smote me, GC?
"There remain four irreducible objections to religious faith: that it wholly misrepresents the origins of man and the cosmos, that because of this original error it manages to combine the maximum servility with the maximum of solipsism, that it is both the result and the cause of dangerous sexual repression, and that it is ultimately grounded on wish-thinking." ~Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great
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