"If God didn't exist... "

Originally posted by Tygert
My mom and I also reasoned it rationally and decided it didn't add up.

Maybe you were adding the wrong things.

The Instructor

Originally posted by RJHinds
Maybe you were adding the wrong things.

The Instructor

I think I've got them right. Did I mention I'm good at maths? 😀

Originally posted by Tygert
I think I've got them right. Did I mention I'm good at maths? 😀

Adding concepts are a bit different than adding numbers.

The Instructor

Originally posted by RJHinds
Adding concepts are a bit different than adding numbers.

The Instructor

I was just joking. Trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Originally posted by twhitehead
No. You didn't give me any good reason to do so, you merely said you like to listen to him.
What is interesting in it and why should I watch it?

The differences are enormous, but not biologically as you seem to suggest I might claim. I also recognize enormous differences within both groups.
Many of us atheists were theists at one time. But I am not c ...[text shortened]... king is superior to rational thinking even if those thinking both ways are fundamentally human.

he is a blogger in the atheist community and is popular on youtube, vimeo etc. he had some valid points that i thought you would be interested in hearing them. one of those reasons are how some atheists present themselves in their own communities, and how they react to each other
this is an example of how one atheist sees the entire community (ex: the amazing atheist)

ok, so you believe atheism is just a better idea than theism? what do you mean by "a better idea" exactly? do you mean that it is a better way to live your life by, or do you mean that it brings you more happiness, or it is a better way to fulfill your life completely? please explain

also, why can't theists think rationally due to a belief in an existence to a single, or multiple deities? it doesn't make sense, to me. if you are a positive asset to your environment, and those around you, in this life, what does it matter if you believe in god or not? that question goes to both atheists and theists, by the way. 🙂

Originally posted by empovsun
he is a blogger in the atheist community and is popular on youtube, vimeo etc. he had some valid points that i thought you would be interested in hearing them. one of those reasons are how some atheists present themselves in their own communities, and how they react to each other
this is an example of how one atheist sees the entire community (ex: the amaz ...[text shortened]... f you believe in god or not? that question goes to both atheists and theists, by the way. 🙂

If you are a positive asset to your environment, and those around you, in this life, it will not matter what you believe, unless God exists. Then it may matter to God, if He is the God described in the Holy Bible. And if He is that God, it is eventually going to matter to you too.

The Instructor

Originally posted by Tygert
Notice the word "usually". I'm an atheist. My mom was Jewish. She isn't anymore.

that's pretty funny, tygert 😀
to be clear, i do not want any atheist to think they made the wrong choice in how they live their lives. likewise with theists, and the rest. what im trying to make people realize is that we have more in common, than our differences. i see people here having debates about the validity of our beliefs or lack thereof. imho, it should be enough for you alone to believe in them, and you alone to carry them. why are we all so insecure about our own beliefs? let's just calm our bits, and break some bread

Originally posted by sonhouse
Is that what you would tell the poor folks in Somalia who are forced into being Muslim or die? Or the Aborigines in Australia who in the last century were forced to convert to Christianity or Cortez, is that what he told the tribes there, convert or die. Is that the miniscule difference you are talking about?

of course not, sonhouse
i would much rather give clean water before talking about philosophy to those poor people

notice in my previous post i said humanity creates it's own genocide
i have spoken to plenty of muslims that do not believe in jihad, or believe in harming another human. ultimately, the choice is your own to take another person's life. it is sad that some people are forcing others to kill, but that shouldn't be god's fault. it is our own fault to allow it to happen. i wish we were smart enough to come to terms with our own mortality, and respect human life whether you choose to be muslim, christian, deist, or atheist...

the world is a harsh place to live in, but it is worth fighting for peace

Originally posted by RJHinds
If you are a positive asset to your environment, and those around you, in this life, it will not matter what you believe, unless God exists. Then it may matter to God, if He is the God described in the Holy Bible. And if He is that God, it is eventually going to matter to you too.

The Instructor

i agree that your reasoning may be valid, but one should show more humility, and understanding than being combative. i fail on that part - i'm no saint, but i am human.

if god watched a theist that committed many sin's in their life and caused a lot of people pain including themselves, but asked for forgiveness at the very end, and an atheist who committed no sin's in their happily lived life, who would god be more interested in, or favored more? just a thought 🙂

Originally posted by empovsun
i have never seen god commit anything, and neither have you two

its ridiculous to argue with theists and their beliefs. i have seen plenty of threads with text book this and chapter that. what i have come to understand is that all these religious books (whether god wrote them or not) we use them for all the wrong reasons. violence. castration. death. tor ...[text shortened]... n to be christian? since there are different variations of it
there isn't a definite answer...

I just got around to looking at that video. I had a little trouble understanding what his problem was at first. But in time he made me think he was describing a couple of the atheists who post on RHP. Then I realized he was just talking about other atheists in general and it got really funny, especially at the very end. "Forgive me father, I know not what I do." 😀

The Instructor

Originally posted by empovsun
i agree that your reasoning may be valid, but one should show more humility, and understanding than being combative. i fail on that part - i'm no saint, but i am human.

if god watched a theist that committed many sin's in their life and caused a lot of people pain including themselves, but asked for forgiveness at the very end, and an atheist who commit ...[text shortened]... r happily lived life, who would god be more interested in, or favored more? just a thought 🙂

You apparently don't understand the Holy Bible. Just asking for forgiveness is not enough for God and just doing good works is not enough either.

The Instructor

Originally posted by empovsun
ok, so you believe atheism is just a better idea than theism? what do you mean by "a better idea" exactly? do you mean that it is a better way to live your life by, or do you mean that it brings you more happiness, or it is a better way to fulfill your life completely? please explain

I believe it is a result of rational thought and is the truth. I believe it is better to live your life knowing the truth.

also, why can't theists think rationally due to a belief in an existence to a single, or multiple deities? it doesn't make sense, to me.
It doesn't make sense because nobody claimed that. What my claim is, is that rational thought leads to atheism. To justify theism you must be irrational. Its not that you can't think rationally because of your belief, its that you don't want to think rationally because doing so would destroy your belief.

if you are a positive asset to your environment, and those around you, in this life, what does it matter if you believe in god or not? that question goes to both atheists and theists, by the way. 🙂
One could write whole books on that subject. Actually, they have. Try "God is not Great" or "The God delusion" for good arguments as to what difference it makes.
It has also been addressed in this thread if you care to read from the beginning.

Originally posted by empovsun
why are we all so insecure about our own beliefs? let's just calm our bits, and break some bread

I am not insecure in my beliefs, and have known some theists that did not seem insecure in thiers. I also live and work with theists without too many problems. Just because we have heated discussions on a chess website doesn't mean we are having a civil war in our home lives.
However, I believe the God delusion is generally harmful to society and would like to see it eliminated (the delusion, not the deluded). I feel the same way about astrology, and homeopathy.

Originally posted by twhitehead
I believe it is a result of rational thought and is the truth. I believe it is better to live your life knowing the truth.

[b]also, why can't theists think rationally due to a belief in an existence to a single, or multiple deities? it doesn't make sense, to me.
It doesn't make sense because nobody claimed that. What my claim is, is that rational ...[text shortened]... kes.
It has also been addressed in this thread if you care to read from the beginning.[/b]

You didn't watch the video.

The Instructor

Originally posted by empovsun
of course not, sonhouse
i would much rather give clean water before talking about philosophy to those poor people

notice in my previous post i said humanity creates it's own genocide
i have spoken to plenty of muslims that do not believe in jihad, or believe in harming another human. ultimately, the choice is your own to take another person's life. it or atheist...

the world is a harsh place to live in, but it is worth fighting for peace

I agree there are plenty of Muslims who don't believe in the extremist views.

The one thing I do note is the extremists have a power over a lot more people than the moderates, and the damage extremists do is way worse per person than any moderate. Just look at the most recent Boston bombers and the ones going on in Iraq, Sunni against Shia's. They are the same religion but still bomb each other.