I haven’t bothered read the linked page, but don’t go to Zaragoza (Spain) around October 12 and tell the locals that you don’t believe God heals amputees…
the Miracle of Calanda happens to be a double amputee growing back both legs. And the Fiestas del Pilar are a time when even the most atheist local is inflamed by either alcohol or religion and not likely to look kindly upon outsiders coming “to tell us what to believe”.
[QUOTE=Fear Itself]
Hard to have a relationship when one of the parties remains silent, relies on blind faith, works in mysterious way and throws you into a lake of fire if you guess wrong about his will.
[/QUOTE]
Touché.
Or maybe God really only likes salamanders.
[QUOTE=SuaSponte]
There is another, obvious problem with the site; it overreaches. The author may have a strong argument against the efficacy of intercessionary prayer, but he conflates response to intercessory prayer with the existence of God.
Sua
[/QUOTE]
It is logically supported by the verses where Jesus says prayer WILL work. Accepting Jesus’ words in the bible as authoritive and acccurate is the piece which makes this logical leap possible. Jesus says intercessory prayer can literally move mountains, and moreover, that it WILL if it is asked. Yet it does not work. How can an aspect of the godhead be wrong, given the model for god laid out on the site? Answer: If that person is not an aspect of the godhead, or if there is no godhead.
Enjoy,
Steven
[QUOTE=Fear Itself]
The connection was with your position that the purpose of prayer was interaction with God. I pointed out that interaction is a two way street. Until someone can show that God interacts with people in an unambiguous way in response to prayer, I would say the interaction is rather one sided.
[/QUOTE]
Heck, for the most part, you can’t even show that that one side exists either.
[QUOTE=John Mace]
I’m an atheist myself (or agnostic, if you want to be precise), but I think it’s pointless trying to reason someone out of their religious beliefs.
[/QUOTE]
John, were you rasied an atheist?
Even if you were not you must be aware that many people were raised in one religion or another and decided to become an atheist/agnostic based on a rational look at the evidence. Why should we think it pointless to reason someone out of their unjustified beliefs when reason is the way so many others left behind their unjustified beliefs?
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal]
I have to ask – did you write “once” for “wants”?
[/QUOTE]
Yes.
Slap me upside the head with a wet dictionary, please.