To atheists and agnostics:

Do you find theism (Christianity particularly) to be too pessimistic or too optemistic in its views? If so, why?

If it was true that God exists, would you believe it?

-WT


To theists:

I think it is important not to become too pessimistic in the expression ...

Dear mr. incrediball,

I am not sure if I entirely agree that everything must have a beginning. The concept of beginning seems to imply the existance of time. But anything "before" the beginning of time might not have to have a "beginning". Even if they did have a beginning it would not be ...

Dear Backglass,

I apologize, it was Mirak who said it.

-WT

Dear Backglass,

It actually isn't silly at all in everyday life. It is the way that it must be in order for everyday life to go on as it has. If the police pulled me over for speeding, then it is true that I was going slower than a comet, but the comparison is not between me and a comet, but ...

Dear Backglass,

You seem to have misunderstood opposites of relation. I do not mean that tall is the absence of short, but only that tall is only tall when related to something shorter than itself. You are tall in relation to an ant, but you are short in relation to a skyscraper. If you have ...

God created man kind along with the earth, and it was "good". He created free will and gave it to man. Free will implies a choice. A choice implies things to choose between. The basic choice seems to be between doing the good God wants, and choosing one's self over God by doing the good that the ...

If God's existance depends on faith, then man created God and God did not create man. God's existance depends on nothing. This is what makes him God. He is the one thing that exists in and of Himself, all other things depend on something other than themselves to exist.

God did not create sin.

A thought can be "good" or "evil" by certain definitions certainly, but I still hold that these definitions are derived from our interpretation of the World. When I said that without material action nothing can be classed as good or evil I did not in fact mean that only material things can be ...

... which was what I was accusing you of assuming.

What I was trying to say, was that I believe that morality is one of the self-evident truths. You could probably argue that morality is not a self-evident truth because it implies that good and evil exist. So, to put it simpler, I believe that ...

I'm sorry that you can't see past the illusion of Sin and the threat of Hell and all of these other things that push you to fear God rather than love God.

I've read the Bible, I've prayed, and I've recieved not forgiveness but understanding.

I could be wrong, but it seems that you place at ...

Although I am a convinced atheist, I don't want to get into a big argument because it usually get me mad and makes me say bad stuff. I just want to point out, regarding the begining of the universe, that it is possible for something to pop out of nothing; as long as an exact opposite is created ...

If I may be so bold as to say so, I noticed that the name of this thread is "Logic dictates that there is a God!". I have read some logical conclusions and some illogical ones. What I have not seen much of, is the logic behind the conlcusions drawn by the participants. I do not think that it is very ...

To say there is a line between good and evil, implies the existance of good and evil, an assumption.

When I said that there was a line between good and evil, I meant that there is a separation between good and evil. By a separation between good and evil, I meant that good and evil exist.

To me ...

Hmm... what I'm trying to get at is that the understanding generated by those molecules is not purely random.

I think Haldane would agree with you.

But... if something is an assumption, how can it be a truth? You say it's self evident... but what's self evident? Logic is a method of argument ...

... I don't get the "I have no reason to suppose my beliefs are true" part. Just because your brain is made of atoms or not, doesn't really affect the truth of something or not. It's just as likely that those atoms will have generated a logical understanding of something, as it is that some ...

On the contrary, if people can debate such a subject in a civilized manner, much good can come of it. Perhaps not always to ones engaged in the debate, but sometimes for those who view or listen to it. Of course, it also helps if both sides are open-minded and are not overly agressive. I know that ...

I am afraid that this may be turning into a matter of semantics, but here are the definitions of "believe" and "know" (According to Dictionary.com):

Believe:
v. tr.
1. To accept as true or real
2. To credit with veracity
3. To expect or suppose; think

v. intr.
1. To have firm faith ...

You say you BELIEVE in God???....."Even demons KNOW there is a God and shudder"

I believe that you were refering to James 2:19; "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that -- and shudder." (NIV version). I think that the way you have used it is out of context. It here ...

lilwdlnddude wrote:
And how does some matter coliding (sorry about the spelling) explain how life came to be about.


Through a long complex chain of events... sorry but I'm low on time right now.

I am sorry, but I had forgotten to point out that qeee1 had stated earlier that complex things ...

To battletroop27:
4). Do we really have a soul? Or is it just our brain directing our actions? Maybe we just die and we just stay in the ground. No ressurrection or anything.

"If my mental processes are determined wholly by the motions of atoms in my brain, I have no reason to suppose that my ...

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the name, "Areyouincahoots", can easily be condensed (using common internet jargon) into the shorter form, "RUNcahoots". (i.e. 'Are' can be represented by the letter 'R'; 'You' can be represented by the letter 'U'; and 'In' can be represented by the ...

I will try to rephrase the sentance. "I was actually trying to make a case to show why I believe in the existance of God, but no one seemed interested."

That is exactly what I meant. Thank you, Rocksolid.

And I know that you, WinterTwilight, are not listened that easily from the "other" camp as your conversation style is more aggressive & less ready to hear what the others have to say.

I am in fact very ready to hear what others have to say. The concern that I was voicing was that you have not ...