Dark Jedi

Well, the most prevalent today is Kent Hovind.

Other common example: "They have taken prayer out of school."

"They" Have done no such thing. Children are still free to pray to whatever gods they see fit. What has been taken away is the ability of an authority figure to force their religion on a captive audience. Those children can no longer be forced to pray.

Dark Jedi

Creationism, and the effort to introduce it as a valid scientific theory.

Their duplicity would come to the fore if it were accepted, and taught in mythology along with all the other religions' creation stories.

RufusAtticus

Breez,

In my experience, electrical engineers do not seem capable at all of following facts to their conclusions. They seem very capable of convincing themselves that the facts do fit their a priori beliefs, even when they don't. EE doesn't prepare anyone to evaluate facts. If they weren't capable before, EE doesn't fix it.

Of course this opinion has been formed in interacting with EEs who think they know better than biologists because they have "looked at the facts." Please, that's like biologists telling EEs that electricity doesn't exist because they have "looked at the facts."

To answer your questions.

1. I stay dead.

2. Because hoping that life has a happy ending won't make it so. If any religion has the answers, they shouldn't require hope to find.

3. LOL, Atheists aren't threatened by Christianity, in fact we ownz joo. We counter Christianity becase that is the religion we are most familiar with.

4. Without Christianity, we wouldn't be Christian. Depending on what replaces it, it could be an improvement or worse. Heck, it'll be an improvement if all the True Christians (TM) would just shut up.

[ October 06, 2002: Message edited by: RufusAtticus ]

[ October 06, 2002: Message edited by: RufusAtticus ]</p>

Albion

And knowing that, you still needed to ask what atheists found threatening about Christianity? I don't suppose you'll be finding many atheists who make it their business to convert people away from Christianity; on the whole, non-theists see people's faith as a personal thing and don't have any problem with it as long as it remains personal. When that faith is rammed down other people's throats and shoehorned into the law of the land, then of course non-theists (and probably non-Christian theists) feel threatened. With good reason. Just read about Ferdinand and Isabella and their attitude to the Spanish Jews, and contrast that with the lives of those Jews under the previous Muslim rule in the same area. The history of the Jews in Christian Europe since then has been rather similar until recently.

As far as your personal peace and joy and wanting to share it, you can share it by telling other people about it and just leave it at that; you don't have to badger them to convert too. Some people don't find peace and joy in Christianity.

DMB

I don't define myself as an atheist; I am a humanist and I find peace and hope in humanism.

Eudaimonist

Good point. Too often, Christians think of atheism as a way of life, which it isn't. It's important to ask any atheist: "Beyond being an atheist, what are you philosophically? Do you have a way of life, and what might that be called?"

Rusting Car Bumper

My sympathies. Perhaps one day you will get better.

I don't know.

Best given answer yet by leaps and bounds: nothing. Lights out... the party is over.

Meaning to life is chosen. It is not imposed from the outside.

Your life is made up of your memories, you fears, your belifs, your desires and all those innumerable things that define you. If then one claims that the "meaning" of all of this is imposed from the outside (say by a god) then what this implies is that all those memories, fears, etc are then irrelevant. Thus, when the meaning of life is imposed from the outside by a god then your life is meaningless.

As explained, if a "higher force" creates that meaning then this implies your experiences and opinions have no value. Your life is meaningless

Try hard? Its not hard. Its hard to believe in god. There simply is no evidence that a god exists. There isn't even a shred of claimed evidence that is in dispute. If evidence of god is like getting an object from the earth to the moon, then evidence of god is at the stage of a small child throwing his rocket up in the air hpoing to hit the moon.

You need evidence. Since there is none....


Christianity is not "targeted by atheists." Christianity is the religion which knocks on our doors, tells us we are defective, tries to get the state to violate our rights, and so on. I've never has a Jew stop me on the street and ask me to convert to tell me that I'm going to hell.

I don't think Western society has an extreme bent toward Christian beliefs.

Most of Western society's basis is Greek and Roman.

Most all of which (in the society at large) that was found in the superstitious beliefs of Christianity has died out. Now its just mostly a group of holdouts trying to find its way and/or impose itself on others.

DC

[ October 07, 2002: Message edited by: DigitalChicken ]</p>

Starboy

Did Breeze ever present her evidence for god?

K

Starboy:

Not yet, but it was only requested last night. Breeze indicated that all questions would be addressed but that those answers would probably be posted sporadically.

Starboy

My bet is we have YACCD.