Atheists with Autism

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Atheists with Autism, what would it take for you to change your beliefs about religion? Christians try all kinds of evangelical techniques, some persuasive, some not. What would have to happen? Only thinking answers, no flames.

It would take a personal appearance by a god willing to demonstrate its power by bestowing that power upon me. As most theists claim that their god is omnipotent, such an ability would be within its capabilities

Or perhaps a blow to the head, lobotomy, mental illness, etc..

A demonstrative result that is repeatable under controlled conditions and cannot be explained any other way. Even then, proving a deity is different than proving that a certain religion is correct (which is one point that every theist fails to connect).

Humm, the Autistic Atheist Society... how's that for a name of an organization?

WrongPlanet is fine for me.

That's actually more accurate than I wish to consider.

Autistic Secular Society is a better acronym. We'd let anyone buy shares and then you too could own a fine piece of A.S.S.

This.

I'm afraid you're not going to get anywhere here.

The problem with WP AS Atheists is they will consistently demand empirical evidence or some silly miraculous appearance. They make fun of us Christians because we believe in, as they put it, a "smoky ghost magician" or some kind of invisible fairy that grants wishes. Never mind the fact that this isn't what we actually believe, it's their perception of Christians and how we relate to God.

The problem of the "ghost magician" is that atheists reduce God to, instead of working miracles for the benefit mankind and to reveal Himself, a skilled illusionist performing some kind of quantum parlor tricks. Such a God has miraculously appeared several times as documented by the written record, sometimes for sustained periods of time, and the people to whom He appeared simply refused to believe. If God Himself actually DID appear, it would be no different today. God does not FORCE people to believe, whether performing supernatural miracles or whether intervening through nature.

The wish-granting fairy is another more obvious and immediate failure on the part of atheists. A God who is the all-powerful creator of all things, ourselves included, cannot be manipulated into granting our every whim. An atheist may ask for a sign. But because the atheist lacks faith either 1) the sign will not be forthcoming because of the atheist's insincerity or 2) the sign will not be seen or believed if it IS granted. God allows us to test Him to see whether those things He reveals to us are actually FROM God (like Gideon), but once again the recognition of such is dependent upon our willingness to see and believe.

Another thing that often comes up is the idea of putting God under a microscope or some kind of experimental lab condition. There are actually two problems here: First, God cannot be manipulated (as I've already said) into bending and conforming to us and our standards, especially our standards of investigation. For one, how many times do you have to ask God to repeat some kind of spiritual work in the lab before you believe it? God feels no need to appear as such because it's already been done (and disbelieved). Second, God's wisdom and existence is too big for the human mind to comprehend. The only way to know the mind of God is through prayer and by studying the text of the Bible to see how God has related to people in the past. But once again, the only way to understand this is through an act of faith. I'm not saying that logic and reason have no place in relating to the existence of God. I'm just saying that logic and reason alone are bounded by the human mind.

Atheists demand evidence that human beings have been demanding for thousands of years. It's not so much, I think, that there is lack of evidence. I think that it's more about willingness to believe and face the consequences of faith. People who do believe are different, and a lot of things about a person's life change when they come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. My opinion is that all people (not just atheists) are aware of this on some kind of subconscious level. And I think that this is a tremendous source of fear or anxiety for atheists in particular. Given that people on the spectrum are generally resistant to change, the implications of accepting God/Christ are daunting. Demanding evidence they know good and well either has already been demonstrated or is impossible (meaning those things which violate God's nature) is a convenient and "safe" way to avoid facing a God who does exist.

Quite so. Even if very advanced god-like beings existed it would not prove the correctness of any of the religions of mankind. Religion is made up out of custom and whole cloth.

ruveyn

.. and how do you know this?

IF you know this to be a fact then SOMEBODY has manipulated god to reveal all of this... and thus contradicting what you just stated.

the concept of a god is always defied of logic.... as once more is demonstrated.

sorry.

Just because you have convinced yourself that you can feel the presence of God does not make it so. Your entire argument reads like a panto actor compelling the audience to clap their hands whilst repeating "I believe in fairies".

No compassionate god would condemn a good man to an eternity of torture just for refusing to ask forgiveness for sins that were not his own. An omniscient god would not give man free will and then drown all but a minute percentage of planetary life in a hissy-fit because people were not living their lives the way he wished.

Religion is a man-made tool devised for the control of other human beings and to 'justify' despicable acts such as burning 'witches' or wholesale slaughter of non-believers. Your beliefs are illogical and unsubstantiated.

Sorry, this is invalid. You have the false assumption that God needs to be manipulated to reveal anything, but this is not the only option. God need not be manipulated whatsoever if He so chooses to reveal anything.

I didn't notice AngelRho even mention anything about "feeling the presence of God" in his reply.

Depending on which members of the Autistic Secular Society receives the revenue, such may not be fine at all but instead rather nasty.

Besides, I think an Autistic Theological Federation would be way cooler.

Sounds good to me.

That way a really annoying atheist could be told to stick his comments up his A.S.S.