So what are your intellectual reasons?
No, I wouldn’t “settle” for that. Diogenes the Cynic has said that all or almost all Christians in this country wanted to commit genocide and that only the Constitution prevented them from doing so. Given how atheists constantly tell me that they have evidence for their beliefs, this seems like an excellent opportunity to put a factual claim by an atheist to the test. Diogenes the Cynic either can provide evidence for his claim or else he can’t. (It’s a rather odd assertion given that, if I recall correctly, his wife and daughter are Christians. One wonders how the household functions when two members are plotting genocide against Muslims and the outlawing of atheism and the other member spends his every waking moment on the internet insulting Christians.)
To point out that genocide is not the same thing as restrictions on buildings is an exercise in stating the obvious.
No. Are you?
I’ve never once made a post saying I hate Christians. I’m married to a Christian. I don’t say that Christians, if left unfettered, would do those things because they were Christian, but because they are the majority, and the majority religion always tries to steamroll the minority. It happens in majority Muslim countries, and it happens in Israel. That first item on my list is a historical reality, by the way, and there are schools where it still happens.
I didn’t say there were any such pieces of legislation. I’m saying the Constitution is the only thing that prevents them from being written. The last item was hyperbole, but I don’t think for a second the second item was.
No I didn’t. I didn’t say “all” or almost all," and I was being hyperbolic anyway. Even with the Constitution in place we see how pandering politicians and other powerful fanatics try to deprive minority religions of their civil rights, codify their own religion into law and enshrine it in public buildings. It doesn’t take a majority, just a motivated minority, which becomes self-feeding. We’ve seen it happen innumerable times in the past when religion gains political power. We can see it right now in the Middle East.
There’s a remarkably good fit here between the user name and the assertion in the post. Studies have shown that level of education either has no relation or a positive relation with religiosity:
I can just as easily cite Religiosity and intelligence - Wikipedia and all inclusive studies. Gallup polls have been pretty explicit, too. Smarter people tend to be less religious. I attended an Ivy League school and have worked at both Wall Street and a top engineering firm, and I can tell you from experience, too, that smarter people tend to be atheist.
That being said, what’s your intellectual justification for Christianity? What do you think we need religion for that natural explanations cannot offer?
I firmly believe the best way to uncover ignorance is to ask really, really dumb questions. They tend to result in better explanations. So, ask me something back.
I like how Mosques are just ‘buildings’. It’s not even a real religion according to Herman Cain.
I just realized that the Atheist responding to this thread are showing something about their way of thinking. It seems as if they are making this an issue of politics vs. one of religion. Or at the very least, tying political views in the arguments they are using. Interesting to say the least. No hate like Liberal hate.
That’s what I admire about conservatives, they never mix religion with politics.
Religion by itself is harmless. I don’t care what you believe as long as you don’t go sticking it in areas (like politics, economics, government, education, social codes, human rights, etc) that impinge on me.
It’s the religionists try to make things political, and the issue only matters to me to the extent that they want to politicize it. Calling a reaction against theocratic politics “liberal hate” is well poisoning at its worst and shows an insincerity about your intentions.
The best answer I can give is to tell you to read the book Orthodoxy, by G. K. Chesterton. It’s his autobiography describing how he moved from atheism to Christianity, and his experiences are quite similar to mine. It’s a short book that you could probably read in an hour or so. I do think that if you want to discuss this further we should start a new thread, as we’re diverging from the original purpose of this one.
If you really understood your reasons, you’d be able to articulate them. Asking someone to read a book is a dodge.
Why don’t you try posting your own arguments. This isn’t a book club. For the record, I’ve read Chesterton and he provides no real convincing arguments that I could see. he certainly offered no actual evidence.
I would like to know what your evidence is that Jesus came back from the dead. That’s a pretty simple request. You said you haven’t seen an intellectual argument that can overcome the evidence for Christianity. I gave you one. It’s physically impossible for dead bodies to come back to life after three days. What evidence can you present which overcomes that empirical obstacle?
I asking questions; I don’t recall posting anything in this thread that could even vaguely be construed as an opinion on the intelligence level of anyone, let alone Hindus or Buddhists. I’m curious what you think you read in my posts that would make you ask that of me.
But the reason I asked you, is: How do you figure that Hindus and Buddhists aren’t stupid, in your opinion, since they haven’t been convinced by the “intellectual argument” in favor of Christianity?
Do you think that none of them know of the argument(s) you’re talking about, and so they’re not stupid, just ignorant? Or is there some other explanation for their not being convinced of the correctness of Christianity? Could you explain what that might be?
Maybe you didn’t, but many have. Don’t you remember the Damon Fowler story?
Why do (many) Christians want to impose prayer on everyone? Why do they react so cruelly to anyone who objects?
Seriously?
I link to a piece that calls atheists “Ignorant, Truth-hating, Credit-theiving, Hypocrites”, and then someone follows me from there, and joins the SDMB specifically to further insult atheists.
And this in a debate that posits that “atheiest (non-believers whatever name they give themselves) go absolutely ape-shiat when they encounter someone who believes or expresses an opinion that God exist.”
And that’s all you have to say about it?
Huh.
??? How am I expressing Liberal hate here obbn?