BadBadBad

We're not saying we can find any meaning in the Bible at all. We're not arguing that all christians are morons.

Don't hold your breath waiting for rational explanations of prayer. You'll get an answer alright, but it won't be rational.

Wayne Delia

To claim that either argument was actually made in this thread would be even sillier.

I'm sure intelligent Christians have a perfectly reasonable answer for all of these criticisms, but I don't happen to know what it is.

In the absense of a perfectly reasonable answer, why do you assume that it's necessarily perfectly reasonable?

WMD

Wyrdsmyth

Okay, how about a revised version of the God Test, where religions are only tested according to their claims, and not all religions are given the exact same test?

Shouldn't we still see a statistically significant difference between the priests of a "real" god and "false" gods? Wasn't that the whole point of the episode with Elijah and Baal -- to demonstrate WITH A TEST which god is real?

Wyrdsmyth

I find it odd that you keep emphasizing how you're an atheist, and not a Christian, yet get so defensive and insulted by a thread that is not specifically anti-Christian in the first place. And now you're responding to things we didn't even say: No one said all Christians are morons, or that we atheists can interpret the Bible "better" than Christians can.

Then why did you assume the role of "Christian defender" in the first place? I find these last remarks of yours extremely odd. Let me repeat: No one is specifically attacking Christians -- if anything, the spotlight of skepticism is being aimed at all theism and supernaturalism alike, as a whole.

Hawkingfan

Perhaps he is referring to when I said this: "[Prayer is...] A complete waist of time to an intelligent person." But if he takes the position that one cannot change the mind of god or have any influence whatsoever over any desired future outcome by asking god for it, then I can't see how any rational human being could say that praying to god for a desired future outcome (which is already pre-determined) is remotely worth the time of an intelligent person.

Philosoft

How so? If the supernatural claims of the Bible do not describe factual events, then Christians who believe those events did happen are wrong, whatever interpretations they take. Thus, the common atheist claim that those parts of the Bible are mythological is going to be much closer to the truth.