catallus wrote: » To live with the banal philosophical security offered by the godless is incomprehensible to me. No poetry or speculation at all
floggg wrote: » As a lawyer, can I just saw we very much aren't. We are trained to know the law and legal procedure, and how to use that for the benefit of our clients. A large part of our job involves putting forth arguments we don't necessarily belive in ourselves. Efit: just to clarify, I'm not saying we are the lying conniving con men we are made out to be. But our job is to represent our clients interests not our own, so sometimes that will mean putting forward a somewhat shaky position or argument in the best way we can in the hopes of getting a result for them. We don't outright lie (at least we shouldn't), but we are often required to try and interpret the facts in a way which suits a narrative, rather than searching for an objective truth.
Brian Shanahan wrote: » Yep, it's where the christians picked up the concept of hell from. Judaism had no such concept at the time christianity got going, so they borrowed from their most numerous converts in the early days (the early days of chrisitianity being at about 100CE), former polytheistic Greeks.
J C wrote: » The Jews have always believed in Hades aka Sheol. Christians go to Heaven after death, and non-Christians (including Jews) go to Hades. Hades has been frequently confused with Hell. The two are not the same. Hades / Sheol is temporary, while Hell is final. Hell or Heaven are the final destinations after the Judgment.
Pherekydes wrote: » A guy in a sitcom on the telly got a calculation wrong and this proves huh? Is this the level of infantile argument you have slipped to? The real reason you've been arguing this stuff for 9 years is because you keeping failing Sophistry 101 in law school.
SaveOurLyric wrote: » Thanks, I wasnt aware of the distinction. Interesting, even if as others here have shown, its a distinction in story telling from a few thousand years ago. (Is mythology the correct term for this kind of stuff or has it a more specific meaning ?)
Wibbs wrote: » Christ *heads desk*. How can anyone be so ill informed. TBH when Mitochondrial "Eve" was first described it galled me that they decided the discovery of this person(rather a group of women) was to be dumbed down for the cheap seats and named "Eve". I just knew the dribblers and the fcuktards would be out in force shouting "see the Bible was right".
J C wrote: » ... there is plenty of story telling going on on this thread and elsewhere. The Atheists tell stories that suit their beliefs ... and the Theists theirs. ... the key job is to logically wade through all of the stories ... and come out the other side with something approaching the truth.:)
J C wrote: » Denial is a terrible (and foul-mouthed) thing.
osarusan wrote: » I'm surprised that so many posters still seem to under the assumption that logical argument will actually have an effect, and that a failure to be convinced up to this point is down to insufficient evidence.
J C wrote: » ... so you don't lie ... and you present the argument as well as you can ... that was what I said. ... and the lawyers on the other side do the same.
SaveOurLyric wrote: » I though the atheists meant they have no beliefs at all?
SaveOurLyric wrote: » I though the atheists meant they have no beliefs at all? They just observe evidence and test theories that explain stuff. And jetison the theory if it does not pass the test. And so they dont have stories.
SaveOurLyric wrote: » But the theists do have beliefs, i.e draw conclusions without evidence. And drawn entirely from one story, which it seems was just written a few thousand years ago by ignorant people. And so is valueless today, and the theists are just either the most stupid in society, or those whose intellect cannot break free of an obsolete human facility to latch on to an idea even when their reason can easily contradict it.
J C wrote: » The idea that Atheists have beliefs ... and beliefs that they are prepared to vociferously and strongly defend ... is proven by even a casual reading of this thread.Everyone has beliefs ... but Atheists find their erroneous claim that they are the only people in the World without beliefs a useful 'flag of convenience' to hide under ... as they spread their beliefs far and wide onto an unsuspecting public. A question ... if you guys deny and hide something that everybody can see (that ye have beliefs) ... what else could you be denying and hiding? ... could it be things that undermine a nd destroy your beliefs ... like the invalidity of Evolution? Of course Theists have beliefs ... just like everyone has beliefs... and they aren't in denial of the fact that they have beliefs ... like the Atheists on this thread areare.
J C wrote: » Of course Theists have beliefs ... just like everyone has beliefs... and they aren't in denial of the fact that they have beliefs ... like the Atheists on this thread are. Ye do your argument no favours by denying something as obvious as the fact that ye have very strong beliefs.
Tordelback wrote: » Everyone has beliefs. Atheists just don't believe in gods. As the name suggests. Some atheists come to this position through science, but many others through philosophy, through life experience and simple reflection.
Doctor Jimbob wrote: » You're equating atheism and evolution again. They aren't the same thing.
Doctor Jimbob wrote: » What about those of various religions who have no problem with evolution?
Doctor Jimbob wrote: » Isn't it? If the creationist hypothesis is indeed the one which evidence supports, surely at least one scientist from outside these religions would agree with it. But this has yet to happen.
Con-man who wants theocracy restored in Tibet* wrote: From the Buddhist's perspective, the idea of these mutations being random events is deeply unsatisfying for a theory that purports to explain the origin of life.
Doctor Jimbob wrote: » I'm going to try to deal with the repeated claim that evolutionism and creationism are equivalent in that they're both different ways of interpreting the evidence to fit a given worldview. I'll ignore for the moment which is more likely, I just want to deal with that one claim. Evolution is supported by those of all religions and none, regardless of their personal beliefs in how life, the universe, and everything came about. Creationism is supported by a select group of religions, and it fits their worldview. Which one is more likely to be based on an objective interpretation of the evidence?
J C wrote: » ... and the hapless Theists who have 'crossed the rubicon' and believe in evolution, because other people do, find that they cannot reconcile it ultimately with God ... and many abandon their faith in God as a result ... or they end up with a meaningless God of their own making ... that even they don't believe in. ... all 'grist to the mill' of Atheism.
J C wrote: » Denial is a river in Africa.:eek::)
smcgiff wrote: » Atheists believe that if they walk off a building they will fall. You believe an omnipotent being gives a damn about what an insignificant being like you (or anybody) gets up to. BIG Difference
catallus wrote: » While I'd agree with the rest of your post, this part here strikes me as being a teeny bit paranoid. The power of faith is fuelled by the internal spirit, not by external phenomena. Endowing "Atheism" with the self-knowledge to be able to plan such a thing, as ridiculous as that is on the face of it, and as attractive as it would be to create a strawman for some of those are just tired of the endless mindless meme, is just plain paranoia.
J C wrote: » ... and Theists are just the same. I came to my to my belief in Creation through science, mathematics, philosophy and reflection.
J C wrote: » 150,000 Evolutionist 'years' allright.:) The problem is that the regression equations are out by a factor of about 25. ... it happens ... Sheldon Cooper was off by a factor of 10,000!!!
J C wrote: » Practical Atheism has ruled the World ... via capitalism in the west ... and communism in the east ... so I wouldn't under-estimate the power and determination of atheism to promote its worldview at all.
Thargor wrote: » Oh please do tell us what mathematics you used to justify your delusions, or most likely just post an irrelevant Youtube video as your answer and then get back to trolling.
catallus wrote: » Maybe paranoia is the wrong word. But I do believe there's a willingness on the part of too many otherwise mindful people to attribute things such as untrammeled capitalism or communism to an underlying atheistic philosophy when such a thing is as wildly illogical as atheism itself. Tyranny cares little for religion, one way or the other.
catallus wrote: » I don't think evolution or any other scientific discoveries or developments have damaged Christianity (or any other religion for that matter). Those who facilely claim modern scientific knowledge as a victory for irreligiosity are as blind as those who reject god as being a "sky-fairy".
catallus wrote: » As for "under-estimating" the power of atheism, it is a false light. Have faith in your faith.
J C wrote: » If we all arose via purely materialistic processes ... then that is the end of Christianity ... there was no Fall ... and therefore no need for redemption ....
catallus wrote: » "Purely materialistic processes" : can you not see that argument is on a plane from which faith is elevated? You seem to have swallowed the materialist kool-aid if you are going to argue on such terms. Our redemption is necessitated by our very creation in the corporeal realm. This is our Fall. Anyways, if you're happy fighting the fight on those grounds, who am I to stop you!?:p But it's about as useful as shooting at fleas.