Death - the ultimate cure for atheism.
Oh wow.
Is this a rewording of the Believe or Burn aspect of your belief?
Death - the ultimate cure for atheism.
Oh wow.
Is this a rewording of the Believe or Burn aspect of your belief?
No. It is simply that death will be a real eye opener for the atheist. The problem is that then it will be to late and there are no appeals.
Well if the evidence was forthcoming then I would believe. It's not a choice, I am unable to believe extraordinary claims without some sort of evidence.
It's a piercing clear and marvelously mind-focusing rewording of NT doctrine,Oh wow.oldhermit said:Death - the ultimate cure for atheism.
Is this a rewording of the Believe or Burn aspect of your belief?
Do you want to believe in God if he exists?Well if the evidence was forthcoming then I would believe. It's not a choice,
I am unable to believe extraordinary claims without some sort of evidence.
I submit they are simply liars - to themselves and to those they tell that to. We have all heard the saying "there are no atheists in foxholes", well I believe that is true. I believe when facing death every man knows he is facing a meeting with his maker. People simply want to be the man in charge. They don't want to answer to anyone, or anything else. They want to believe they are the ultimate authority in their life, that they run the show. I had a thought a couple of days ago - how long would it take an atheist in a space ship, after being jettisoned out the door like so much flotsam, to call on God? That thought alone makes one feel quite insignificant.
I believe I read in the bible that every creature knows the Creator. And that those without law are a law unto themselves- meaning that we all have a natural sense of right and wrong, of good and evil. Romans 1:20 " 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] so that people are without excuse." If you look at a watch it is logical to assume there is a watchmaker. If you look at creation it is logical to assume there is a creator. The odds of putting all the parts of a watch in a bag, and shaking it, and have it become a complete functioning watch, are better odds than a bang causing life. And even if it could- who or what created the things that banged, and what created them? Simply- intelligence does not come from nonintelligence, and life does not come from nonlife. And yes, I also believe that a desperate situation might shake the denial out of one's heart. [/FONT]
Hi Oldhermit, I still need to read that prophecy in Daniel you put me on to, but I will get to it.No. It is simply that death will be a real eye opener for the atheist. The problem is that then it will be to late and there are no appeals.
Hi Oldhermit, I still need to read that prophecy in Daniel you put me on to, but I will get to it.
One problem I have is that for prophecy to count as direct evidence of God one must first study it. We can’t really expect non-Christians to do this. So what direct evidence is there for God’s existence? If God is going to punish those who don’t believe specific things about him then surely, to be fair, he must supply direct evidence that would convince every person – Jew, Muslim, Hindu, animist, atheist, and so on, that he is the real McCoy. What is that evidence that simply cannot be missed that would turn every reasonable person in the world into a believing Christian? I don’t think any such evidence exists. I’ve looked for it.
Also, it is a fact that there are many competing Christian groups – perhaps hundreds, though some say thousands. If Christians themselves cannot agree then how poor must the evidence be?
Faith cannot be use as an argument to bring non-Christians on board because you can’t expect non-Christians to have faith in a deity that you can’t show them. Evidence, good evidence, evidence that no reasonable person can dismiss is crucial here. Where is it? What is it?
Hi Oldhermit, I still need to read that prophecy in Daniel you put me on to, but I will get to it.
One problem I have is that for prophecy to count as direct evidence of God one must first study it. We can’t really expect non-Christians to do this. So what direct evidence is there for God’s existence? If God is going to punish those who don’t believe specific things about him then surely, to be fair, he must supply direct evidence that would convince every person – Jew, Muslim, Hindu, animist, atheist, and so on, that he is the real McCoy. What is that evidence that simply cannot be missed that would turn every reasonable person in the world into a believing Christian? I don’t think any such evidence exists. I’ve looked for it.
Also, it is a fact that there are many competing Christian groups – perhaps hundreds, though some say thousands. If Christians themselves cannot agree then how poor must the evidence be?
Faith cannot be use as an argument to bring non-Christians on board because you can’t expect non-Christians to have faith in a deity that you can’t show them. Evidence, good evidence, evidence that no reasonable person can dismiss is crucial here. Where is it? What is it?
The watchmaker came from somewhere too.. but you won't apply that to the creator of creation, you'll make a special exception.
Intelligence doesn't come from non intelligence, again where did your God come from?
You say everything needs a beginning but you won't apply your own argument to God, you'll say he didn't have a beginning.
So either you follow the logic of your own argument and say that God also had to have a creator (after all you say everything needs one).
Or you drop your argument because by saying God is eternal you are invalidating your own case because then your saying that NOT everything needs a creator.
Pick one, and stick to it.
And yes I believe He always existed and had no beginning.
So your 'everything must come from something' argument is now negated by your own words. The only way your argument holds up is if God was created too.
But you'll never say that.
There had to be a beginning somewhere, right? Or do u suppose that matter is the "uncaused first cause"?
The New Testament finds those that are His, His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him. I suggest reading it a lot.Well if the evidence was forthcoming then I would believe. It's not a choice, I am unable to believe extraordinary claims without some sort of evidence.
Who knows? We'll probably never know how it all began. I don't pretend to know anything. And I'm not selling anything either... I'm just not buying unprovable religious accounts of any ilk.
The moment I see real evidence on anything is when I'll start taking notice.
So then...it is possible that an Almighty Being did start everything...?