I am an atheist

[_A]

Hi welcome

I feel left out everyone asking questions, so I will too

Are you a Randi fan?

I have heard of him, but have not seen his work (as far as I know).

 

[_A]

Who said anything about religion? I was only talking about the existence of God. Not really a religious principle but a philosophical/rational, one.

I don’t know much about philosophy, but I have not heard anything about any god to make me think it would be a *rational *choice. Does that answer your question?

 

[East_and_West]

I don’t know much about philosophy, but I have not heard anything about any god to make me think it would be a *rational *choice. Does that answer your question?

It sure does. For that I reason, I suggest, even more seriously than before, that you Read Thomas Aquinas, Peter Kreeft, and C.S. Lewis.

 

[East_and_West]

Maybe the bickering should stop so we can politely welcome our new forum member.

 

[_A]

Fishing is a good hobby to have. Nearly all of Jesus’ Apostles were fishermen. That means that there might still be some hope left for you yet!

zerinus

Fishing is a favoured activity for me for many reasons. It gives some peace of mind in a sometimes busy life. It gives one the opportunity to hunt, kill, slaughter and eat an animal for onesself. Today there are few such opportunities. I am not a vegetarian by any stretch, but I think knowing in your bones what it takes to put meat on your plate helps to have some respect for the animals we eat. Fishing also offers the opportunity to drink beer. (I *am *Canadian after all)

 

[East_and_West]

Fishing is a favoured activity for me for many reasons. It gives some peace of mind in a sometimes busy life. It gives one the opportunity to hunt, kill, slaughter and eat an animal for onesself. Today there are few such opportunities. I am not a vegetarian by any stretch, but I think knowing in your bones what it takes to put meat on your plate helps to have some respect for the animals we eat. Fishing also offers the opportunity to drink beer. (I *am *Canadian after all)

I can certainly respect that.

 

[_A]

If you really want to better understand theists, you should ditch the “God = Santa” bit. That argument is so old it’s got a long white beard on it.

Besides, most of us believe in “Santa” as well as God - Santa Nicolas, that is!

Sorry if I didn’t make myself clear there. That was not an argument. I was trying to describe my experience with belief. I mean that, in the same way I must have once believed in Santa (though I can’t remember it) I must have at one point believed in Yahweh (because that is what I was taught).

I don’t remember either, and that is perhaps why I lack understanding of belief.

 

[Pax]

A,

Philosophy is probably where you need to start. A very challenging read that might be helpful to you would be Peter Kreeft’s The Handbook of Christian Apologetics. This book explores every argument against the existence of God and it explores all of the arguments in favor. Likewise, the author explores the logic, strengths, and weaknesses of all of the arguments for and against. The outcome of this lengthy exercise is very interesting.

Kreeft demonstrates that all of the arguments against the existence of God either have internal contradictions or other logical problems that cause the arguments to fail. Kreeft also demonstrates that there are a number of arguments in favor of the existence of God that have no logical failings whatsoever. None of these arguments “prove” the existence of God, but taken together they form a persuasive case to that end.

The book is intellectually challenging and is powerful in its presentation. I highly recommend it.

 

[_A]

I suppose it’s a bit rude to query your description of yourself, but you sound more like an agnostic. Or even as someone who hasn’t yet had the opportunity/motivation to look into the issues.

“I am an atheist” is generally taken to mean “I have looked at the evidence and I have concluded that God is not real.”

Let’s put it this way. There is a writer/scientist named Dawkins. He has a ‘scale’ he has invented that describes different levels of belief. At one end, one knows that there is definitely a real god, that is at the ‘number 1’ end of the scale. At the other end, is a 7. Prof. Dawkins places himself at about a 6.9. He holds out that tiny amount because there is the small possibility that evidence of the real and measurable kind will be forthcoming.

An agnostic, to me, sounds like an atheist. An atheist is one that does not believe in a personal god. Many of the readers here are likely to be ‘atheist’ with respect to Zeus, or Eris. If one is a true agnostic, one really doesn’t *know *if there is a god - so that agnostic certainly doesn’t *believe *in a god. No belief in a god = atheist.

 

[ralphinal]

Welcome and hello!

Do you do a lot of small mouth fishing?

 

[_A]

I am going to try to answer your questions as clearly as I can. I would ask that you remember that this is a potentially ‘hot’ issue, so let’s try our best to remain polite to each other.

God bless!

Most Atheists

The only thing that atheists have in common is that they don’t believe in a god. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that one represents the other.

do not want to believe in God !

Why would someone want to believe in something? Do you want to believe in Allah? Is it a fault of yours if you do not?

BTW we believe in God and have many proofes but you believe that there is no God what proofes do u have ?

I have only lack of proof to cement my atheism. You say that you have proofs, please present them.

You have to answer yourself the question if there is a God ( it is absolut clear) would u accept him and woul u search for him ?

In CHRIST

What you are asking about accepting and searching doesn’t make much sense to me. Could you be more clear about what you are asking, please?

Thank you for taking the time to ask, bogoljub, I hope I have been able to clarify things for you.

 

[_A]

Welcome–I was a pretty serious chess player until our local club collapsed. I miss playing competitive chess (my favorite opening is the Benko) and have difficulty finding anyone who wants to play. I sometimes play a student in my office but the current generation of students seems uninterested in the game, or perhaps are too busy to put in the time to play regularly. So, I’ve given up studying the game and switched to jazz guitar as my main hobby. I hope you can find players willing to play regularly. By the way, I have never enjoyed the on-line chess opportunities. Chess was for me a social game.

I have never been all that skilled at it, and to be honest, not many people around me play often. If I guessed my rating I would guess it around 1150, but I don’t really understand the rating system, so I may be off there.
I like chess as a drinking game! It is pure aggression, which goes well, I think, with alcohol.

 

[_A]

Have you studied Genesis and seen how the events in Genesis match up to the way the Universe was formed from a scientific standpoint?

I can’t see how that could matter. Men (humans, I mean) wrote Genesis, and other men have been translating and changing it for hundreds of years. When you refer to the bible, which one particularly do you use? Did you know there are several out there to choose from? How do you know you have chosen the right one?

 

[_A]

A

R U an atheist by choice, or have you found evidence that convinces you there is no creator.

I am not sure I understand the question, but humans have been searching for evidence of a god for thousands of years and have nothing. Many people pretend that they know all about this or that god, while also presenting no evidence.

 

[_A]

A,

What would it take for you to believe? Would you rationalize a miracle to make yourself sleep better at night or would you allow the existence of God at that point? Good Luck!

I would not believe. Why is this valued at all?

 

[_A]

It sure does. For that I reason, I suggest, even more seriously than before, that you Read Thomas Aquinas, Peter Kreeft, and C.S. Lewis.

I read those three names you put in the post. That doesn’t cause me to change my mind. If they have written books which contain evidence of Yahweh, or one of the other popular gods, please show me that evidence here.

 

[_A]

Welcome and hello!

Do you do a lot of small mouth fishing?

I am too far north for that, unless you mean other than small-mouth bass.

 

[_A]

A,

Philosophy is probably where you need to start. A very challenging read that might be helpful to you would be Peter Kreeft’s The Handbook of Christian Apologetics. This book explores every argument against the existence of God and it explores all of the arguments in favor. Likewise, the author explores the logic, strengths, and weaknesses of all of the arguments for and against. The outcome of this lengthy exercise is very interesting.

Kreeft demonstrates that all of the arguments against the existence of God either have internal contradictions or other logical problems that cause the arguments to fail. Kreeft also demonstrates that there are a number of arguments in favor of the existence of God that have no logical failings whatsoever. None of these arguments “prove” the existence of God, but taken together they form a persuasive case to that end.

The book is intellectually challenging and is powerful in its presentation. I highly recommend it.

Thank you for the reccomendations, but I think if there were really and truly a god, he would not exclude illiterates from learning.
There is no way I would try to argue against the existence of a god. If someone says there is one, it is up to them to convince me (or not).

 

[ralphinal]

I am too far north for that, unless you mean other than small-mouth bass.

That is what i meant. What do you fish for?

 

[_A]

That is what i meant. What do you fish for?

Northern Pike (aka - Jackfish) Walleye, Trout, Burbot, Inconnue, Arctic Grayling…oh, and my sweetheart caught a Sucker in the river a while ago.

Too cold for smallies, I guess

Oh, and there are Ciscoes…I might have forgotten some…