Religion.

Christian here.

 

No Jews lol

 

Source?

 

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/why_are_scientists_atheists.html

 

I don't exactly trust that website for accurate information. The more education you have, the more likely you are an atheist, though.

 

The website was talking about a legitimate study though in what I read.

 

Correlation doesn't mean causation.

That was a bit assuming on your part though, don't ya think?

Wars are started on many tenets, religion is usually the excuse not the cause.

Yeah, not going to be baited into a debate here but no religious person believes in any of those and even if they did it's restricted to one religion not the hundreds out there. It's funny that those who bash religion only take aim at modern Christianity.

Wrong again.

On the grounds of religion, what's right for one should be right for all?

If you really aren't educated on what you're saying, then don't say it. I don't really debate religion online because I don't have an answer for everything nor does everyone else. Atheists can instill doubt that god exists etc. but can't definitively prove he doesn't and explain how and from what the earth was created, what existed before it, and a ton of other natural phenomena and miracles that religion ascribes to a a master creator etc.

 

Please, then, what is your evidence for God?

An atheist doesn't have to prove that God exists; the burden of proof is on he who claims that such a being DOES exist. We know very well how planets form, and how our solar system formed. There is also absolutely no evidence that miracles have ever occurred. Even if we had no idea how any of these things happened, though, a theist still needs to demonstrate that their god did it; "god did it" is simply not the default position for how an event came to pass.

 

Correct however, logically speaking when one is educated and knows how things form and what not, there is a general trend towards Atheism.
Example.
Where did the first humans come from.
An un educated person may think Ahh God put them there.
An educated person may think we originally evolved over time, to what we are today.

Religion has played a factor in many of the past wars, ranging from the Crusades, to the Jihads, your right though.

I agree, most people tend to bash on Christianity. It's the Christians fault for trying to instill Christianity to everyone on Earth (Gideons Bible is a good example)
However most religions root to a common cause.
There is a God. Non believers will say, well where is your proof?

The Easter Bunny and Santa are made up, so obviously there is no proof of their existence.
God however, any proof that he exists aside from the 'proof' able to be give to the 2 aforementioned characters?

The burden of proof is on religion to prove God exists.

The reason for this is basically if I were to say a giraffe floated in the sky, well then the burden of proof rests on me to prove it. I am not going to say to someone, prove it doesn't exist, because in their eyes how can they prove something doesn't exist? They certainly can't fly around the sky and scout for such a Giraffe.
This is why such a burden rests on the person hypothesizing.

An Atheist needs not prove his position.

"Do you believe in God?"
'No.'
"Why not?"
'Theres no evidence of him existing.'

'Are you Atheist?'
"No, I'm (insert religion)"
'Why do you believe in (insert religion) which encompasses the existence of a God?'
"Because a book said so. Because we don't know where we came from therefore God exists. Because x is unexplainable therefore God is the only explanation. Because everyone else does."
The list goes on, however the point is what credible evidence is there of a God existing?

 

I'm Agnostic.

 

You said you "know" it's the right way to go, so you should be able to tell me.

 

I've seen multiple miracles in my life, actually. This has lead me to become a Christian.

 

I know exactly what I believe in. In fact, my belief structure is about as sound as they come, and has been that way for many years now. I'm not some child just discovering possibilities. I've read a great deal of information from a vast number of highly intelligent people... so no, I know exactly what I believe in.

More so, I know exactly what I do not believe in. (Which happens to be anything without a proper citation or valid source).

Also, I'm rather well-liked, or so I've been told. People still talk to me, and it is a fair judgement to say that they would not do so if there was not some form of kinship.

It's distasteful to be 'proud' to be a part of a religious group. You're creating differences amongst people, and are attempting to assert a higher authority by saying such when you actually have none. By simply stating your beliefs, you create a barrier between you and other people.

And if you really, truly believed in your religion, you'd care about your fellow man. Moreso, if you were so strong in your beliefs that you're "proud" to be such, then you would not state that it's ok for people to believe other than you.

Not to mention, Muslim is far from the right way to go. It has some interesting concepts, but I fail to see the larger appeal. If any religion were to have the highest concept of realism, it would most certainly be Druidism, or Paganism... considering every modern day religion is built up from the concepts those two religions had in the earliest ages of human thought.


<< I do agree that the more educated you become, the less likely you are to follow any religion. Einstein was a prime example of this. He always said he found religion and the belief structures fascinating, but he knew far too much to follow any religion.


To this thread, in the words of the Great and Late George Carlin: "Keep thy religion to thyself!"

I would like to just ask you why you would give credit to Christianity for any of said miracles? Not to be a jackass, or call you a liar, but were they branded with a cross or something? How can you assign value to something when you cannot show that it is because of this that said miracle occurred? To put the thought out there, maybe it was because of Allah that there was a Miracle? What led you to group them with Christianity?

 

Fair question, and I don't consider you a "jackass" in the least. I thought it was simply coincidental timing the first time it happened while praying to the Christian God. When it occurred several times after, all whilst praying to the "Christian" God, I found it to be less and less coincidental.

I suppose I was atheist before this. I really didn't think much about God period, I suppose.

 

Please state your source for exactly that.

 

I can understand how a coincidence may lead you to believe such. Again, not doubting or anything like that as you lived through them.

There was this one time, I was walking home from school... I was like 15 or something. But I was praying, as it was a long walk and I was bored, and I asked God for a ride. My sister showed up a few minutes later. I thought it was miraculous at the time, and made me question my beliefs (as I had never tried praying before).

Later, I evaluated my thoughts and came to find that in the time frame of my praying, and my sister arriving, she would have had to have left to come get me before I had even considered praying. So while to me it seemed abnormal, it was not at all an extraordinary circumstance. ^.^

 

As simple as that sounds, imaging that happening once a day for a week. Each at a different time, and location. Coincidence?

 

So, if there is a coincidence, that means God exists?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_hoc_ergo_propter_hoc

 

For you, it may seem a little unlikely. How does it look from the perspective of others, though?

Sure, I can understand a controlled experiement where I pray every day walking home, and my sister coming to get me roughly at the same time that I pray... but then it would boil down to time frames and likeliness of said result. I leave school at 3, she leaves at 3:05, I pray at 3:10, I get picked up at 3:11.

While to me it would seem... improbable to be a coincidence, from the point of view of other people, it could most likely be completely valid.

 

Christian Of course