I Know That God Does Not Exist

Do they even have hillbillies in Australia? I know you atheists get all bent out of shape when I label you all together, so why do you do it to Christians? #FoodForThought

ISIS? I don't think that fits. The Christians I hang with are never violent...either to gays or abortion clinics. They mainly feed the homeless and do outreaches at the local park with some laid back music.You may consider exclusivist preaching as militant, but that's because you live in this secular humanist PC world. Inclusivism is the in thing these days.

While I realize that its badf form to use "The Book" to prove "The Book" I will bring up a common apologist argument in defense of The Good Book. Allow Me..... The only evidence that we have for the book is what is written and recorded over the years. The jury is out concerning specific authors and the motives of said authors, but speculations are allowed for the purposes of this hearing. In addition, I submit that the Believers themselves are evidence for some effects claimed from the God within the book via the Holy Spirit. One side would say Spiritual Impartation while the other side would call it Mass Delusion.Edited by Thugpreacha, : No reason given.

The book is only attacking anyone who outright rejects the possibility of God and who flaunts their freedom in a flesh driven manner. We could go there, but Stile is the topic originator and (he)seems a very nice atheist, so I wont start anything. Keep in mind that one side believes the book to be inspired by this God Whom we cant seem to be able to objectively prove to your satisfaction.

All of them? I have seen some rather inspiring sermons...perhaps we can start a new topic on Inspired Sermons and you can attempt to debunk the logic of them.

I would say that it is certainly possible. But I think I understand GDRs point. What specific evidence? Frame the basic issue. The issue is knowing or not knowing whether or not an intelligent Creator exists or could exist. I would submit that Romans 1:18-28 represents the Faith based position fairly adequately. Humans themselves are both simple and complex. We were the first animals to have empathy, yet also the first animals to become aware of the possibility of God and the freedom to reject Him and to attempt to understand reality without Him. Some would call this progress, but (yes, Tangle ) the Jury is still out. Lets look at the simplicity (or complexity) of words and of word definitions, shall we? I have told everyone before about my philosophy regarding such things. I grew up knowing About God. Everyone can share this same reality, be they atheists who view God as a human mythological construct or be they sheep in one of many fields globally. And yes, we are contrasting belief and knowledge here, but an apologist would submit the idea that Romans 1:18-28 is inspired and explains a world view that was quite educated for the times it was written in. The bottom line is that we are each responsible for the world view that we choose to form. We are not slaves either to faith or to evidence...we can freely use and apply one or both to our individual world views. And I would argue that the Bible is data for some. Choice is always our right and our responsibility.

Which leads me down several rabbit trails, as I too have a different idea on "the discussion" and what specifically we are collectively trying to express.

Should humans assume that their intelligence(or simplicity) is the only contribution towards a universal consensus?

We need to ask ourselves what idea or argument we individually(and/or collectively) are trying to defend or further develop.

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Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. ~RC Sproul
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." ~Mark Twain "
~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith

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You can "get answers" by watching the ducks. That doesn't mean the answers are coming from them.~Ringo

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Subjectivism may very well undermine Christianity.
In the same way that "allowing people to choose what they want to be when they grow up" undermines communism.~Stile

Which then leads to the question (and/or presumption) that the Bible has a specific intended purpose.

Ahhh yes. Money makes the world go around, the world go around, the world go around.I would argue that human empathy (and action) go a lot further than mere tax dollars or spare change in the collection plate. I concede, however, that I am taking us off topic. I observe that Americans seem to prefer throwing money at problems rather than getting personally involved.

Perhaps if one does not believe that God exists then the Bible does not have an intended purpose. Its like Stile *knowing* that God does not exist. He accepted the evidence and thus allows himself to know.

It is only a contradiction if you assume as fact the idea that human intelligence is the origin of creativity and definition.

well if so, that answers the argument of Who Made God. People always ask where God came from. God Himself could say that such a question assumes a necessary contradiction.

The bible clearly says that not everyone will accept the belief--in fact, a minority will accept the belief and a majority will reject it or be uninfluenced nor persuaded by it. I cannot speak for anyone else but myself, but I changed abruptly and continually over the years. Leprechauns and Big Foots simply dont have the same effect on people. There are few if any convinced followers of either...apart from an odd offshoot such as the flat earth society. Christianity alone has many millions of people who can vouch for a spiritual epiphany and awareness of God that simply was not there before. ringo has a valid argument that he desperately needed to grab. Perhaps he figures that if God is unnecessary his own personal beliefs are thus logical. I cant pretend to know how any of you think or how you process belief---but it seems that evidence is required before you will believe anything. Not a bad survival trait, but a stumbling block on the path to Christ.

Touche!

Even within the church, a minority are actually honorable. This is likely true in any group that you examine sociologically.