An isolated atheist speaks his views on religion, politics, and the world around him.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. It is merely that when the atoms inside my skull happen, for physical or chemical reasons, to arrange themselves in a certain way, this gives me, as a by-product, the sensation I call thought. But, if so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true? It’s like upsetting a milk jug and hoping that the way it splashes itself will give you a map of London. But if I can’t trust my own thinking, of course I can’t trust the arguments leading to Atheism, and therefore have no reason to be an Atheist, or anything else. Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God.
C.S. Lewis (via imonlylovingyou)
This is a variant on the Argument for Failure of Imagination. Lewis’ argument is that because he cannot imagine that his mind could evolve in the way it has, the only other solution would have to be God.
There are several inherent flaws in this argument, the greatest of which being that just because you don’t know how something works, doesn’t mean that you must automatically relegate its existence/function to divine involvement. I’m certain that if Lewis had actually studied some academic journals in his time, he would have had a relatively decent understanding of how the brain works. The very wording of this quote dictates that he has only heard of vague generalities about how the brain works, and hasn’t delved into the subject to achieve a greater understanding of it.
Even if the brain were something we didn’t or could not understand, there is no reason to suppose that it was the god of the Bible that created it. There is no link in this quote between the brain’s functionality and its relationship to God as opposed to Allah, Shiva, or Gaia. Until Lewis actively defines what “God” is, there’s no way for him to demonstrate that God is what created the human mind.
Also, the Argument for Very Unlikely Things (or the Gambler’s Folly for you FORMAL logicians out there…) explains that even if the brain is just as likely to have developed the way it has as for milk to spill and make a map of London does that really matter? No matter how many times you flip a coin, the odds are always equal that it would have been something else; same with rolling a die, drawing a card, or selecting a grain of sand. No matter how unlikely it was for that event to happen, it would have been equally likely for something else to have occurred.
Finally, Lewis demonstrates a critical misunderstanding of Evolutionary Theory that befalls most Creationists— believing that evolution happens by chance. To keep this from becoming a lecture in genetics and biology, I will simply say that mutationis a random process, but natural selection is not, making evolution a clearly defined process where the organisms that best fill their ecological niche are most likely to pass on their inherited/learned traits and survive.
#atheism #christian #christianity #ravizacharias #defendersvoice @defendersvoice @pallayi
The problem with Ravi Zacharias’ assertion about “infinite knowledge” is that one does not need infinite knowledge to recognize that if a proposed subject has mutually incomparable characteristics, it cannot possibly exists.
To simplify, I propose that somewhere in the universe there’s a rubber ball that is both entirely red and entirely blue. Such a thing cannot exist because any item can be entirely one color or another or partially one color and any number of parts any other of colors, but not entirely one and another.
To apply this example to the proposition of God, the generally-accepted hypothesis on God is that it both omnipotent and omniscient— both of which are mutually exclusive characteristics. For an omniscient being would know all future events and be unable to change them (otherwise, it would not be omniscient) thus, it would lack the power to change the future it knows about, making it omnipotent.
If the definition of God were amended to be “quite powerful” and/or “quite intelligent,” those characteristics would be compatible… But very few believers are willing to compromise on that issue; preferring to believe in a deity that cannot possibly exist.
That’s right, they are playing Russian Roulette, yet unknowingly to them, the revolver is absolutely fully loaded.
Stop the silly game of suicide. Your soul is worth much more than a fake SHORT life of pride. Allow Jesus to free you from this deadly game satan is putting you in hostage!
“And it shall be that whoever calls on the name of THE LORD Jesus shall be saved.’ “~Acts 2:21
Jesus said, “I am THE way and THE truth and THE life. No one comes to the Father except through me”~John 14:6
If the evidence does not give you 100% proof that God doesn’t exist then based on your argument God may exist. If He does exist and you choose to disregard Him, then it shows you do not fear Him nor respect Him as the Ultimate Authority. If you choose not to fear Him nor respect Him, albiet knowing He may exist and is angry with you the sinner, does that mean you do not understand the immensity of the punishment or that you believe you can bare it? If there is a mere chance of 1% of you going to hell for eternity, do you not fear and wish for His mercy? Would you rather experience such suffering and not submit to Him who is due all fear, respect and honor (Infinite wisdom and power - Creator of everything seen and unseen)? Without the blood of Jesus washing away your sins you cannot be reconciled back to God and His wrath abides in you. Atheists are people who do not care if God exists or not, given as much evidence as required. They only care to continue being their own gods, choosing in their hearts to never submit/surrender to the Creator, even if that will send them to everlasting hell. Now that last bit of reasoning I do not get. Do they think that somehow they will get out of it? That maybe God will say, “OK, no justice for you - you are exempt”? God already gave us the exemption in His Son Jesus Christ who unjustly paid for our sins so that we do not have to - He is the innocent sacrificial Lamb of God. He is the reason we can be exempt.
Now, all the above is for an atheist to think about and come up with his own percentages regarding his belief in the existence of God. I have encountered God Himself and know that He exists 1000%. I do not just believe, I know. The difference is belief always requires more evidence (doesn’t reach an absolute) whereas knowledge doesn’t because it is already absolute. Jesus Christ is the Ultimate Truth.
Refutation 1: One does not have 100% proof that Ra does not exist, and like God, Ra punishes those who do not believe in him when they are judged in the afterlife. If such a thing as the “lack of 100% certainty of non-existence” can be applied to anything, ANYTHING at all, why shouldn’t we believe in the existence of every imaginable thing ever brought up? Because what we call “the burden of proof” lies on the ones making the positive claim. We atheists take the stance of skepticism in regards to the existence of any deity. It’s up to you, and others making the positive claim of its existence, to provide strong evidence (as in, repeatable, measurable, demonstrative, tangible, and relevant) for its existence.
Refutation 2: If a proposed subject (in this case, God) has mutually exclusive qualities— for instance, omnipotence and omniscience— we can clearly determine, with 100% certainty even, that such a thing could not exist. It would be similar to disproving a proposed object that is both completely blue and colorless.
Refutation 3: All the evidence you’ve provided for the existence of God have come from heavily biased/unreliable sources (the Bible,) are anecdotal evidence (your personal testimony) and a reliance on fear-tactics (believe, or burn in Hell.) These not only fail to build up your argument’s for God’s existence, but rather, tear them down due to their inherent fallibility, and intellectual dishonesty. As I stated in Refutation 1, acceptable evidence has to be measurable, repeatable, tangible, relevant, and demonstrable.
These are the inherent flaws in the arguments you have put forth. Please do not expect these to turn any atheists to the side of Christianity, as many of us have left it after actually studying the Bible, Biblical hermeneutics, and Christian apologetics— and found them all lacking in substance as to REAL evidence towards the existence of God, or any sort of deity/supernatural entity. Since these flaws have been pointed out, I would ask that you not use them again in any sort of argument positing the existence of God pending the arguments be refined and reinforced with evidence fitting the criteria explained earlier.
I thank you for your sincere concern for the well-being of your fellows and for taking the time to put forth this argument to us. I’m sorry it didn’t work out as you had planned, but it is through discourse and finding out what is false, we find ourselves left with what is true.
All the best,
~Colby
To sustain the belief that there is no God, atheism has to demonstrate infinite knowledge, which is tantamount to saying, “I have infinite knowledge that there is no being in existence with infinite knowledge.” Ravi Zacharias
(via hallelujah7)
On the contrary; recognizing that the proposition of any being (in this case, Allah) has mutually exclusive characteristics (omniscience/omnipotence or omnibenevolence/wrathful nature,) one can logically conclude that such a being could not exist. You can tell me with finite knowledge that nowhere does there exist an object that is both entirely red and entirely blue— the two conditions are mutually exclusive.
However, if one were to refine the definitions of god to “extremely powerful,” and/or “extremely intelligent,” then one would be able to say that such a being might exist somewhere, but still should not expect others to believe in the existence of such a being until such a time as evidence is collected and published.
Evidence of God
Do you believe in God? Just look around you! Nature proclaims God’s existence.
Questions in regard to the video:
1. What created God? If all things created inherently have a creator, what created God? Is it more powerful than God? What other characteristics does it have?
2. How do we know it was God who created? What evidence do we have that points to specifically the Judeo-Christian god rather than Allah, Shiva, or some other deity that we don’t know of yet?
3. If we have evidence that things such as life, planets, stars, etc., can come about through natural means, why do we have to believe that they were “designed” or “created” in that fashion?
4. How does one “suppress the truth” through honest questioning of statements put forward without evidence? This video claims with no evidence (merely speculation) that all things were created by God. How are we to verify this statement? What in this video would convince a skeptic of its accuracy?
5. Is this video meant to change minds, or merely to reaffirm the beliefs of those already under the sway of Christianity, and possibly shepherd in those who may be straying?
Questions in regard to your post:
1. How does nature proclaim God’s existence? More specifically, how does it proclaim the existence of (presumably) the Judeo-Christian god?
2. Why would you ask “Do you believe in God?” when tagging this post to #atheism? The obvious answer from those who would read it would be a resounding “no.”
3. Most importantly: Are you looking for an honest, two-sided conversation regarding the existence of your choice of deity, or are you coming onto this page to simply talk at people and espouse your beliefs, telling others that they’re egregiously wrong without making the concession that you might be incorrect? If it’s the latter, I kindly request that you take some time off, delete this post, and reconsider your techniques and proselytizing methods; especially when it comes to atheists. The majority of us are for honest discourse and the presentation of facts and evidence, rather than scare tactics and unfounded assertions.
Please take the time to answer these questions. I hope to hear from you soon!
All the best,
~Colby
The Neighborhood Atheist: sun-era: i believe in god. fuck atheism. Allow me to tag my post with...
i believe in god. fuck atheism.
Allow me to tag my post with the name of the group I hate so that I may be sand-blasted by them and appear to be the poor, oppressed, but outstandingly brave person I am.
No one here cares that you’re a believer, friend. We think you’re…
people do care if i’m a believer to be honest with you “friend”. and the great thing is i don’t actually give a shit if you start using complex arrangements of sentences to attempt to baffle me. i see through all your lies and i’m not afraid to admit that. sure you’ll wax poetical and say a few things here and there regarding pascal’s wager and such. but you miss the point. i can be whatever i want to be. and at the same you can’t. because you’re still stuck on the premise that god doesn’t exist.
Please note my bravery in standing up to this person by insinuating that words he used may have been used sarcastically. He will attempt to baffle and confuse me with… complex sentences and poetry.
Since you insist, I will keep these sentences simple. You are a believer. I am not a believer. You’re free to believe in what you want. I think you are incorrect in your beliefs. You appear to be trying to play the victim. You are doing this by insulting people who disagree with you. You are also doing this by bringing your insults to their home page. These are immature actions that will not garner anyone’s respect.
Please tell me what “lies” I’ve put forth.
Belief in a god does not determine one’s potential. You can be what you want to be with belief. I can be what I want to be without belief. I refute your original assertion with the information that people have achieved greatness regardless of their beliefs. Bill Gates and Rick Warren have achieved success as nonbelievers. Barack Obama and Billy Graham have achieved success as believers. Your argument has been clearly refuted. This means you may not use this argument again.
I wish you the best in your future endeavors. However, I kindly request that you keep your religious-based hate-speech off the #atheism page. We do not appreciate it. It doesn’t get anyone anywhere. Again, you’re free to believe whatever you want. Again, we’re free to know that your beliefs are erroneous.
All the Best,
~The Neighborhood Atheist
P.S. Apologies for the double-reblog. I posted to the incorrect blog the first time.
i believe in god. fuck atheism.
Allow me to tag my post with the name of the group I hate so that I may be sand-blasted by them and appear to be the poor, oppressed, but outstandingly brave person I am.
No one here cares that you’re a believer, friend. We think you’re incorrect, and your vitriol towards us in confusing and unfounded, but you and the majority of the world “…believe in god. fuck atheism” too. So… yeah, today’s Tuesday, the sky is blue, and bears poop in the woods.
Jeremiah 1:4-5
(TW: Abortion)
Really? THIS is the Biblical verse that is used to justify the Christian stance on abortion?
“most of them don’t even read the bible”
Fellow Atheists, care to comment?
Oh dear, baseless assertions are going to bite Anon in the ass if they’re not careful. The fact of the matter is that many atheists have studied the Bible thoroughly, and in many cases it is why many of them became atheists. The literally unbelievable nature of the events posited in the Bible in conjunction with the lack of any sort of supplementary secular information on the events has led many of us atheists to disbelieve the Bible, and in the Christian god.
As for religion being a replacement for science/logic, I used to be a big contender for the notion that “Science is the ‘how,’ and religion is the ‘why’.” in terms of where we came from, where we’re going, and what our purpose is in the universe. However, as I’ve studied more and more, I’ve leaned away from that notion to the belief that religion is a crutch; to explain important matters that could not have been easily explained before we had the ability to analyze and explain it. In the age of information, religion is becoming more and more archaic as its comforts and explanations based on faith are being replaced more readily by testable, demonstrable explanations put forth by science and reason.
Vertabrae: Jesus the God with Everything!
More powerful than Zeus; more radiant than the Unconquerable Sun.
A mother more pure than Artemis, more virginal than Vesta; a human AND a heavenly Father.
At his birth the credulous shepherds of Adonis and the adoring priests of Mithras – the Magi.
Healing powers more wondrous…
…but fully incapable of forgiving innocent people for the wrong-doings of two people generations ago without a pretentious and bloody self-sacrifice of himself, to himself… and still requires people to be “purified” through Baptism millennia later. Way to go, God… your powers of not holding a grudge are surely… unmatched.
