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Atheist are like: "You are silly for believing what is written in a book by a bunch of dead men. . . things you have never seen and can't prove for yourself. Just to prove you wrong . . . here is a science book full of stuff written by a bunch of dead men that I have never seen and can't prove myself" View Quote So you're saying theists cannot believe in science? Where's Rooster when you need him? |
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I think the "everyone believes in God but some reject him" idea is due to the fact that some people do just that. Some people believe in God, are angry about something, and call themselves atheists. My life would be easier if I believed in God. I've looked for that "even a little bit deep down" and it's not there. View Quote Of course life would be easier if you left everything up to some higher power. |
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Dominant in what way? It is far from the biggest religion population wise, and it is probably loosing the largest amount of followers as time goes on. Most of Europe and the former European colonies are increasingly non-religious. As this trend accelerated, so has the quality of life (better health, lower murder rates, you name it). Islam on the other hand is growing, and for the most part it is illiterate nobodies carrying the increased growth. The chances of some industry changing tech, medical breakthrough or similar coming from a majority religious country is becoming exceedingly thin. Even the Asian countries that are prosperous have a clear divide between religion and government. Japan, Taiwan, Singapore - you name it. There is some truth in this, largely because rival religious beliefs are considered hostile. When most of the population doesn't give a damn (secular countries) they'll probably resist the least. That being said, at the end of the day, crime and whatnot carries determines what people want. Australia is though on immigration. Brexit largely took place because people were getting upset with the recent immigration situation in Europe. Then there is the Czech Republic, who recently told the EU to FOAD with it comes to gun regulations. Even secular people are getting fed up with a religion that is not compatible with the west or freedoms the developed world enjoys; whether you're in the US, Singapore (who saw this issue decades ago) or the UK. View Quote Paradoxically, Islam is growing because of two major historical developments. First, secularism failed in Islamic societies such as Iraq, Syria, Iran, etc. because secularism there tended to be based either on communist principles like Afghanistan, or fascist principles like in Iraq and Syria. Second, with the self-imposed weakness of the west, Islamic scholars can openly suggest that Islam will become the world religion through immigration conquest, using the classic argument that worldly success is proof of divine will. |
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Look at the Muslims in the Middle East. Generally low IQs in addition to poor education. Extremely religious. What is the cause?
Look at who is most religious in America. The poorly educated. Is it because of the lack of education? Or is there an actual dearth of intelligence? Intelligent people can be religious, but there is a strong negative correlation. |
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Christianity is losing followers specifically because with increased globalization the idea of a loving God who would send the nice neighbor lady to hell simply for being a Buddhist is a contradiction in the Christian world view, and it is that contradiction that is under pressure in the modern world. In the medieval world, this wasn't too much of an issue because most people lived in the village in which they grew up. The only people "going to hell" in that context were unrepentant murderers, thieves, rapists, etc. so the world view made sense to people. The point I'm trying to make here is that if you want to effectively engage in philosophical discourse on these first order types of questions, you have to do more than just spout the tenants of logical positivism while simultaneously denying that you are a logical positivist. "You should only believe in God if you see empirical proof" is a position that only makes sense within the tenants of the logical positivist world view. If a logical positivist wants to debate, say, a Christian then he needs to make an argument that addresses the world view of the Christian. Paradoxically, Islam is growing because of two major historical developments. First, secularism failed in Islamic societies such as Iraq, Syria, Iran, etc. because secularism there tended to be based either on communist principles like Afghanistan, or fascist principles like in Iraq and Syria. Second, with the self-imposed weakness of the west, Islamic scholars can openly suggest that Islam will become the world religion through immigration conquest, using the classic argument that worldly success is proof of divine will. View Quote Everyone can not be right even though that all believe they are. |
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Not to mention, much of the science they love to blather on about it conceptual/hypothesis/a stab in the dark at this point. They will tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that God did not create the universe. That it didn't just pop into existence because some sky daddy made it so. Then.....you turn around and ask them how the universe was created and their best answer is the big bang......AKA it just popped into existence for no reason. Seems legit. What is time? What is consciousness? How did the universe begin? It HAS to have a beginning....and there had to be something here before it.....where does the universe exist? How did the universe come into existence, and from what/where? These are the questions that will make you really question everything if you really think about it. And the truth is, the theist answer is just as valid as the atheist answer at this point. View Quote Good summation. I am a Christian and I have no problem with a 15B YO universe or a 4B YO Earth. To an infinite God would, its an eyeblink. I believe the mechanics of the Big Bang are valid. But who lit the fuse? Evolution does not phase me in the least. It could be a logical process by which God moves life from Point A to Point B. Until scientist can prove where the energy for the Big Bang came from, Creation and Spontaneous Generation are equally valid theories. |
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Show me an example of a successful atheist society. The Second World collapsed. The most secular states in the west like Sweden and Germany are committing suicide with their cultural marxist policies. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Leninism is a socio-political theory. Morality was subordinate to Marxist thought. Cultural Marxism is such a weird word. Is it criticizing Critical Theory? Psychoanalysis is definitely unfalsifiable garbage (though it made some good contributions). The mix of the words is honestly weird. Marxism views things in terms of economic class struggle, that's the be all and end all for them. Competing ideas/people/etc. not based on economics would be more Hegel. Look into Sam Harris - Moral Landscape for objective secular morality. |
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I think the "everyone believes in God but some reject him" idea is due to the fact that some people do just that. Some people believe in God, are angry about something, and call themselves atheists. My life would be easier if I believed in God. I've looked for that "even a little bit deep down" and it's not there. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I think deep down everyone knows that there is God. My life would be easier if I believed in God. I've looked for that "even a little bit deep down" and it's not there. |
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I am truly astonished everyday with how smart every atheist i encounter are. Ive compiled a few examples of these people here to show how smart they are. http://i.imgur.com/BKOt38d.png http://i.imgur.com/bl2psI3.png http://i.imgur.com/Bxlt65l.png http://i.imgur.com/TzkKd90.jpg http://i.imgur.com/DSK2M2t.png https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/304344/t3-4qbh0t-241174.JPG View Quote As an atheist, I say fuck those self-righteous neckbeard atheists. Your first sentence in bold is a little derpy though. You should probably fix it, lest you look like a retard while calling other people retards. |
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Rebuttal: https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/cms/content/contentnode/header_image/bios/ken-ham.jpg View Quote |
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Atheist are like: "You are silly for believing what is written in a book by a bunch of dead men. . . things you have never seen and can't prove for yourself. Just to prove you wrong . . . here is a science book full of stuff written by a bunch of dead men that I have never seen and can't prove myself" View Quote The other book, not so much. |
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Show me an example of a successful atheist society. The Second World collapsed. The most secular states in the west like Sweden and Germany are committing suicide with their cultural marxist policies. View Quote The conflating of Soviet style Gnostic-Atheism with Agnostic-Atheism is disingenuous. (Gnostic-)Atheism [what the Soviet Union used] isn't really reasoned. How do they know there's absolutely no God/Gods? Most of the West is already atheist. People may not like the label and some want to play Weekend at Bernie's with their conception of God, but Modernity was a move away from religion. Protestants were actually the first theological liberals. An agnostic-theist position is much more reasonable. Show me an example of a successful unreasonable society with a bad way of getting to truth? -------- Sweden, etc. is dealing with backwards people that have never dealt with the Enlightenment. Their religion is REEEEEing against modernity, as fundamentalist forms of religion do. I would certainly stop/limit immigration (but allow theological liberals, other religions/minorities/etc.). Like it or not though, we live on one world, which is a nuclear world (in which Pakistan already has nukes). You're not going to kill a billion Muslims, it's simply not feasible even if you wanted to (though ISIS/etc. who act out on it deserve to die). Religious fundamentalists also only get more fundamentalist when being attacked (and get more adherents - "Look the old cult-like book said we would be hated/attacked!"). If you read the information/propaganda they release (Dabiq magazine, etc.), it's plain to see that they're REEEEing against modernity. You're not going to convert them all to Christianity (they already have their own tales). Limiting immigration is a stop-gap measure. Nuclear proliferation will only persist. |
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If I, as an atheist, concede Christians are smarter, will you stop worrying what others think?
No. The only way you stop is to accept your views. |
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Vocal atheists are edgy 15 year olds or autists. Or both. Take your pick. I manage to go through the last 12 years of my life being an atheist without having to remember or actively preach that I do not think there is a higher power. Odd, that.
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Oh yes they're smart, but can they change a flat or grow vegetables? Probably not. View Quote |
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Had the thread been. Why are Christians so smart? Or Why are Muslims so smart? Or Why are Buddhist so smart? etc. The thread would have been fragged before it started. I would have to assume that in GD, Atheism is not a religion as posited by some religious posters. CoC violations? "Standards" don't stand very well in GD. |
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I'm much more for a reasoned society. The conflating of Soviet style Gnostic-Atheism with Agnostic-Atheism is disingenuous. (Gnostic-)Atheism [what the Soviet Union used] isn't really reasoned. How do they know there's absolutely no God/Gods? Most of the West is already atheist. People may not like the label and some want to play Weekend at Bernie's with their conception of God, but Modernity was a move away from religion. Protestants were actually the first theological liberals. An agnostic-theist position is much more reasonable. Show me an example of a successful unreasonable society with a bad way of getting to truth? -------- Sweden, etc. is dealing with backwards people that have never dealt with the Enlightenment. Their religion is REEEEEing against modernity, as fundamentalist forms of religion do. I would certainly stop/limit immigration (but allow theological liberals, other religions/minorities/etc.). Like it or not though, we live on one world, which is a nuclear world (in which Pakistan already has nukes). You're not going to kill a billion Muslims, it's simply not feasible even if you wanted to (though ISIS/etc. who act out on it deserve to die). Religious fundamentalists also only get more fundamentalist when being attacked (and get more adherents - "Look the old cult-like book said we would be hated/attacked!"). If you read the information/propaganda they release (Dabiq magazine, etc.), it's plain to see that they're REEEEing against modernity. You're not going to convert them all to Christianity (they already have their own tales). Limiting immigration is a stop-gap measure. Nuclear proliferation will only persist. View Quote As for Islam, no one is suggesting nuking a billion people. The way to attack radical Islam is to attack the world view. Islam is a classical religion that preaches that the success of the Muslim in this world is proof of God's favor. We can attack it the same way we successfully attacked other classical religions. No one believes in the Aztec religion anymore because Cortez prevailed on the battlefield. No one believes in Zoroastrianism anymore because the Umayyad's proved superior. No one believes in the Great Blue Sky anymore because the Mongol Empire lasted only 200 years. Up until the 1970s we were winning against radical Islam. People from Egypt to Afghanistan adopted western ways because people imitate success. The success of western civilization undermined the claims of Islamic superiority. Beginning with the cuckold Carter, we've been throwing that advantage away. Now thanks to Reichsfuhrer Merkel, we may see those nukes fly in my lifetime. |
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Same with all the religious people who somehow think their religion is the only way to get to heaven lol. I'm a Christian, everyone else is going to hell. I'm a Muslim, everyone else is going to hell. I'm Jewish, everyone else is going to hell. View Quote |
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Look at the Muslims in the Middle East. Generally low IQs in addition to poor education. Extremely religious. What is the cause? Look at who is most religious in America. The poorly educated. Is it because of the lack of education? Or is there an actual dearth of intelligence? Intelligent people can be religious, but there is a strong negative correlation. View Quote Hey fellas look what's on TV. Seriously dude you should be banned. |
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It's just your opinion, and you made a conscious decision to treat it as Fact, which you are full entitled to do so. But, please allow others to have their own opinion as it's granted by the Constitution. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Christ was a sacrifice for you and me on the cross But, please allow others to have their own opinion as it's granted by the Constitution. How is he not letting other people have an opinion? The First Amendment does not apply here in GD or anywhere on arfcom. |
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Atheists think they are so smart because they've outsmarted God.
Time will tell. |
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And I want the society of our Founders, where it was perfectly acceptable to be an atheist or deist, but where the atheists and deists respected Christianity and its beneficial role in western civilization. I don't want to bet the history of western civilization on the atheist fantasy that somewhere, there is some perfect atheist utopia out there. The atheist utopia you want doesn't exist outside of Star Trek reruns. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
And I want the society of our Founders, where it was perfectly acceptable to be an atheist or deist, but where the atheists and deists respected Christianity and its beneficial role in western civilization. I don't want to bet the history of western civilization on the atheist fantasy that somewhere, there is some perfect atheist utopia out there. The atheist utopia you want doesn't exist outside of Star Trek reruns. As for Islam, no one is suggesting nuking a billion people. The way to attack radical Islam is to attack the world view. Islam is a classical religion that preaches that the success of the Muslim in this world is proof of God's favor. You have to educate people about critical thinking/science/the scientific method and undermine the fundamentalists claims about truth. |
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Atheists think they are so smart because they've outsmarted God. Time will tell. View Quote God gave Doubting Thomas good objective evidence and regular blessings. Most would be cool with that. Instead we get ancient tales that are contradictory, go against good objective evidence (with a God that wants people to know him), in a marketplace with a bunch of other ancient tales with other God/Gods in them (that all use faith). If you're intellectually honest and say "I used my brain that you gave me. I thought about it. I didn't believe in you because there was no good objective evidence, as well as there being a bunch of other things that flatly didn't make sense/went against good objective evidence." and he sends you to hell for eternity, then he's not a very good/all-loving God anyways. |
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Atheists think they are so smart because they've outsmarted God. Time will tell. View Quote "The unbelievers love their earthly pleasures, do not pay attention to them, you'll be in heaven, they'll be in hell, and their earthy pleasures will not avail them." is a common theme in that book. Good job. |
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Sounds very similar to verses out of the Koran. "The unbelievers love their earthly pleasures, do not pay attention to them, you'll be in heaven, they'll be in hell, and their earthy pleasures will not avail them." is a common theme in that book. Good job. View Quote It's another Abrahamic religion, so it's no coincidence that there are commonalities. |
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It's another Abrahamic religion, so it's no coincidence that there are commonalities. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Sounds very similar to verses out of the Koran. "The unbelievers love their earthly pleasures, do not pay attention to them, you'll be in heaven, they'll be in hell, and their earthy pleasures will not avail them." is a common theme in that book. Good job. The Quran claims to be the absolute word of God and talks of a global flood, a literal first-person Adam and Eve (even though some more theological liberal try to dance around how the Quran says Man came from clay and the beginnings of life in science are said to come from clay; it still talks of FIRST-person Adam being made from clay in the Quran though so it's bull), semen coming from the back (Quran specific), etc. You undermine the actual truth claims and it falls apart. If you attack religious fundamentalists (especially with a broad brush), they just become more fundamentalist ("the book is true, look it says we would be hated!"). |
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We need some clergy in here. Nakedgunman get in here. Oh wait
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Christianity is actually in a better position because they can just say that the parts that don't make sense are just metaphors now, though it does away with a literal reading of the text (parables being excluded of course) and poses problems with the whole "original sin" thing. The Quran claims to be the absolute word of God and talks of a global flood, a literal first-person Adam and Eve (even though some more theological liberal try to dance around how the Quran says Man came from clay and the beginnings of life in science are said to come from clay; it still talks of FIRST-person Adam being made from clay in the Quran though so it's bull), semen coming from the back (Quran specific), etc. View Quote |
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The founders were largely theological liberal and deists. Theological liberals/Agnostic-Theists are fine. That's not what religious fundamentalists are. Most religious people can't say that they don't know. They claim to absolutely know. For religious fundamentalists, everything is proof of God. If the Muslim world is not successful, they then think they need to become more fundamentalist. Fundamentalism just doubles/triples/quad-ruples down. The biggest failures of countries are the most religious fundamentalist. If they are not successful, it's because the book said that they would be hated and they're not religious enough. Religious fundamentalists take every option. You have to educate people about critical thinking/science/the scientific method and undermine the fundamentalists claims about truth. View Quote |
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I've never advocated fundamentalism. As for radical Islam, you have to defeat them before you can educate them. View Quote Agnostic-Theists, theological liberals and deists who grapple with the issues honestly are rare (they'll also often play cover for the fundamentalists). Holistically, you defeat them by educating them. |
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I work with some very smart atheists, and they all voted for Hillary.
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." |
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