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Why Are You An Atheist? Why Do You Reject Atheism If You Are Not?

Discussion in 'Atheism & Antitheism' started by Paul Couillard, Sep 11, 2024.

  1. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Uh, once again we have a small problem with the quote you and others seem to employ. .
    First, an Atheist is still a believer by pure merit that he or she “believes” there is no eternal entity that created the universe and human kind.
    Ergo, if your script is indeed true, then an Atheist must live in a fantasy world also.

    The second thing wrong with it is the “of their own making” part. How, when the Anthology I read is thousands of years old, can my “fantasy” be of my own making? Indeed, would I not be living on par with someone else’s or rather MANY someone else’s fantasy?

    Granted, the quote is kinda fancy but in its very essence it is about as understandable as one of Kamala Harris’s speeches.
    Unburdened by the past etc, etc, etc.
     
    #31
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  2. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    I could start a thread with, "I am a wizard. Why are non-wizards threatened by those of us who are wizards when we wizards are not threatened by you non-wizards?" See how simple it is to get something like this started?
     
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  3. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    I have never called an Atheist stupid or at least, not for their belief system that is.
    In my view, foolish yes but not stupid.
    In my way of thinking, an Atheist will have to face something he or she doesn’t believe in upon their demise just the same as I will have to face that judge even though I AM a believing Christian.

    That said, the very fact that they’re willing to employ expensive lawyers to further destroy that which they can’t seem to understand tells me just how threatened they feel.
    I don’t see anyone out there burning an Atheist’s house down because the residents are Atheists nor do I see anyone’s head coming off because they are Atheists.
    In truth, claiming to be an Atheist is about the safest position to take in this world so what are they so threatened by?
     
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  4. Paul Couillard

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    On 12 August 2022 in New York, 24-year-old Hadi Matar ran (with a knife) onto the stage where Salman Rushdie was speaking and attempted to murder him because an Iranian religious leader (Khomeini) had issued a fatwa condemning Rushdie to death for committing "blasphemy" (a non-existent crime) in his novel "The Satanic Verses." Neither Khomeini nor Matar had ever read this novel.

    Hadi Matar knew that this religious order had been issued by a religious "authority" figure and that it was his "duty" to carry it out, so he tried to.

    He apparently did not ask himself: "Does blasphemy really exist ?" or "Is this what God really wants ?" or "Is it justified to murder someone for wrong speech ?" or "Where did the authority to issue this order come from ?" He let a religious "authority" figure hijack, control his thinking, do his thinking for him.

    This can be a problem in religion: "authority" figures issue "orders" which presumably come ultimately from "God," and believers, followers are expected, required to carry them out no matter how destructive they may be. There is no way to check on whether these orders really came from "God."

    Atheists don't claim to know for certain that no God or Gods exist. They say that they lack a belief in God or believe that God or Gods do not exist. Possibly in the future evidence for a God or Gods will appear, but currently evidence for the existence of God appears to be nonexistent.

    The vast age of the Earth (4.567 billion years old) and long, winding course of life on Earth (there have been 5 great mass extinctions of life on Earth) seem to indicate no God, or at least no God that guides life on Earth or human history.

    Also if God exists, why hasn't God equipped followers with the best arguments ? Why are the arguments of atheists so powerful, indeed devastating ?

    Atheists objected to school-sponsored prayer in schools because they are suppose to be institutions for education, not religious Indoctrination.
     
    #34
  5. Tony Nathanson

    Tony Nathanson Very Well-Known Member
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    A fool is someone who thinks their beliefs are the only valid ones. Ex: "In my view, foolish yes but not stupid."
     
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  6. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    That concept is based on Marxist philosophy, in that it is necessary to burn down everything that came before for people to accept that which is new.
     
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  7. Paul Couillard

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    It seems unlikely in the extreme that Kamala Harris' goal is to "burn everything down."
     
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  8. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Huh?
    A foolish person doesn’t necessarily believe his view is the only valid one but will pursue an endeavor with the knowledge that there are other options that are considered to be better.
    e.g. operating a circular saw with the guard pinned back.
    going 65 mph in a 25 mph zone
    setting up a new flag pole during a thunderstorm
    asking a cold shouldered wife what’s wrong
    A foolish person may get away with a few things for a period of time but it will eventually catch up and in some cases, catastrophically.
    A person can be considered to be a very smart person but still do foolish things.

    Some may say that having a relationship with a Creator and believing in an afterlife is foolish but yet, if I am wrong then nothing will come of it but I will still be known for being a good man.
    On the contrary, in the face of even the smallest bit of evidence I didn’t have that relationship and believe in an afterlife but upon my demise I find out that there is, the Biblical quote of “thine name is fool” would become much clearer.

    Fool: (noun) a person who acts unwisely or impudently
     
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    Last edited: Sep 24, 2024
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  9. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    You're right; she's not smart enough. But her handlers are.
     
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  10. Paul Couillard

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    One wonders who Harris' "handlers" are ?
     
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  11. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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  12. Paul Couillard

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    It seems likely to me that Kamala Harris isn't being controlled by some mysterious "handlers."
     
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  13. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Not any more mysterious than Joe Biden being controlled by the same "mysterious handlers." And Jill.
     
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    Last edited: Sep 25, 2024
  14. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    No reasonable person could believe that Joe Biden has been in charge for the past three and a half years.
     
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  15. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    If a person can truly believe that the entire universe came from absolutely nothing, then one can also believe that Joe and his DEI VPresident including his DEI cabinet have had a steady hand running this country.
     
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