Why do you engage in the atheist / believer debates?

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"I just like a good argument or to play devil's advocate".

Mostly because I find this stuff to be interesting to debate and to kinda contemplate different points of views in a subject, although it is not that easy sometimes, to explore two different worlds if you will. I also play devil's advocate though.

"I have an open mind and listen to all the arguments for and against" - nothing can change my opinion, but I can learn more about other points of views. And maybe become even more confident in mine

well, in my case, I can and I believe I should be able to change my opinion, because, I should question myself if I question everything else, I should not think of myself to be irrefutable.

After all, as Socrates is often quoted saying: "All I know is that I know nothing".

Yes? So? How do I get disciples without tearing out all of their other notions? Besides, why despair? Why have hopelessness? My ultimate hope is to tear about and sink your beliefs, wishes, and hopes to the point where despair and hopelessness are beyond your conception.

Yes, basically, and I do this to every position.


Interesting, my response to that would be pretty straightforward as to the fact that God has been examined by the theologians, and should be up for further examination.

Most people have feelings like that. You are free to do what you want, reductionist logic and scientific reason do not give themselves the power to impel people to do anything. My major issue is making sure you are never so certain as to believe you can prove anything.

Nice point, how many disciples you got so far?


Well, that state would likely be the after 'despair and hopelessness' state, which it would be beyond that, a state in which conscience would not have a comprehension of such things as you stated, anymore.

Not enough, I'll tell you that much.


True.

Religion can give people a sense of hope. It would be cruel to take that away, and leave people naked to the potentially dreadful thought of complete, utter death.
I would rather die in hope(even if it were false hope) than in despair.

You know, that state of mind, in a way, seems to be something to envy, now that I think about it.

how about just quit worrying about the end of the sentence? it's gonna happen when it happens no matter what and it'll probably suck. enjoy life as best as you can in the mean time. bollocks to the gods you're here with humans. make the most of it. plan for the living, not the dead.

well, I agree with Anubis in a way here, in which there are people who have the hope that the afterlife would be better than this one, they have imagined an utopian world in their minds and are set into it, then they will die happy, especially for some whose lives are stressful or not being happy with some things.

An example, I met a JW a while ago, which he seems to have a disease, I don't know which, he was confined to a wheelchair, I can speculate that he must believe that he will be able to walk and run in heaven, after this life, if that makes him happy, then I believe that's good.

Sometimes, it's something to envy to have that conviction.

I argue with religion cos I am sick of it pissing on people that dont fit the club rules. I agree that religion can provide solace to a great many people, it can also do the opposite. I certainly would never consider walking up to someone in grief and tell them that they are delusional to think their loved one is now safe in heaven. My grievance is with those who use their religious belief to influence laws, if this did not happen I would happily co-exist with believers.

I engage in debate on religion because people with religious positions (pro and con) are annoying, and why let them have all the fun?

Why not plan for both? Live a good life, be happy in death. It gives people that feeling. You don't have to be a prude, either. Most christians don't live by the book. They say that Christianity is a religion for sinners, who are... forgiven... for their sins should they ask for it.
It's often hard to face mortality and the inevitability of death. Life is hard for most people, and if religion gives them hope and makes them more pleasant towards other people, then let it be so. There are various flavours of theists, just as there are various flavours of atheists. There are the bigots and the pacifists, the tolerant and the intolerant. Why do some atheists feel that they have a duty to rid the world of religion? Often the same pseudo-intellectuals who denounce religion as "intolerant" and irrational, and yet are intolerant and irrationally prejudiced against religion themselves, often towards believers who do nothing to force their religious beliefs down others' throats. What need is there to go on a crusade against religion? It's just sad, especially for teenagers who think that they have the answer to everything all wrapped up in a few beliefs, yet are sheep themselves.

On a lighter note, lulz.



That's what some radical atheists want, no doubt.

I'll take one side, the other, both sides, or neither, against anyone who doesn't have their facts straight. This pretty much pits me against everybody.

Personally, I'm anti-religion, no matter what the religion may be. Faith is the belief in intangible things; if something is intangible, then its existance can not be proven. Religion is the political expression of faith. Thus, religion is all about trying to convince others that something with no physically measurable properties actually exists, that faith alone in the existance of the intangible is all that's necessary to prove its existance, and that if you have no faith in a particular intangible thing, then you are worthy only of derision and scorn of those who do have faith.

Show me evidence of your god, and I will believe. Argue with me over the need to show evidence, and I will know your religion for what it really is; another way to intimidate, discriminate, and oppress those whose beliefs are different from yours.

I'd rather have my delusions stripped away, exposing me to harsh reality, than live under the delusion that some intangible, all-knowing, and all-powerful being gives even a passing thought to my own existance for lack of anything better to do.

I am agnostic, by the way.

No matter what the religion may be?

Of course, on the grounds that it cannot be proven outright. Would a little faith hurt though? One could have faith in another person, or faith in their driving skills. Both theists and outright atheists have faith in something. Atheists have faith that there is no God. No-one can prove that there is no God in some form. A lack of proof does not mean that something does not exist. That is down to faith. You might have an encounter with aliens, and yet be unable to prove it. Then it is down to faith in your senses. You CANNOT prove or disprove the existence of a being or force beyond the detection of human technology, or beyond human comprehension. Again, that's what faith is about.
I do not believe that a lack of proof alone disproves something. Then it is all down to likelihood, and human knowledge. In the very infinite case of the existence of God, the possibilities are infinite. It's not like the search for the Loch Ness Monster, or Bigfoot. If you search the whole of Loch Ness and find nothing, indeed, the possibility of such is negligable, and it seems insane to believe in such. People looking for Nessie are searching for a giant creature which lives in Loch Ness. Which is supposedly limited to that lake. The possibilities are supposedly finite. There might be a small group of devout followers, but Nessie is just a myth.
The search for God is different. What are you supposed to do, search all the dimensions and space for something far superior to human technology? If he/she/it wants to avoid detection, they can. Yet, people still have faith that such does or does not exist. The debate will rage on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on until the end of the universe, or through some miracle, such a force/being exposes itself, or through some method incomprehensible to 21st-century humans, science finds a way to absolutely disprove God.
We are but insignificant beings, on a spherical rock, in a vast universe. Humanity does NOT know everything. Far from it.