Silly arguments that atheists use; and of course I
had to respond. You post it on the internet so it’s up for grabs.
That Jesus
never existed.
This one takes
the cake. The simple answer to this claim is that the historical textual
evidence for Jesus is convincing. It is convincing in its earliness and
abundance… it is really that simple. Professor Paul Maier remarks that “The
total evidence is so overpowering, so absolute that only the shallowest of
intellects would dare to deny Jesus’ existence.”
Let’s apply logic and critical thinking here. The
same reasons you’ve listed here for the existence of Jesus could be used to
argue the existence of Lucy the dancing goddess. I have textual evidence of her
existence and it’s more than enough to convince you that she exists. I don’t
have to show you actual empirical data to back up her existence, all I have to
do is wave my book and shout this is the word of Lucy!
Secondly, it’s quite easy for intellects to deny the
existence of Jesus because the Bible makes a lot of radical claims about Jesus.
We all know that radical claims require radical proof. You can’t just pull shit
out of your ass and expect people to not question you.
Agnostic
scholar Bart Ehrman compares those who deny Jesus ever existing to six-day
creationists: “These views are so extreme (that Jesus did not exist) and so
unconvincing to 99.99 percent of the real experts that anyone holding them is
as likely to get a teaching job in an established department of religion as a
six-day creationist is likely to land on in a bona fide department of biology.”
The late non-Christian scholar Maurice Casey is most direct:
(Here’s a fun fact: each religion has the story of a
‘god’ having a son or coming down as human form claiming to be the son of a god
and is here to save the sins of the world. Each one of these stories talks
about how the son is tortured and killed for the sins of the world. It further
makes it hard to believe that Jesus existed.)
We may not have an answer for when our universe was
actually formed. However, it’s completely stupid to think that our universe and
our earth were formed in only six-days. Also, our earth isn’t 2,000 years old.
We don’t live on a young earth we live on an old earth (3.8 billion years old)
and our universe is almost 5 billion years old. Secondly, it’s completely
stupid for anyone to teach in a religious school if you don’t believe in the
holy text.
“This view [that Jesus didn’t exist] is
demonstrably false. It is fuelled by a regrettable form of atheist prejudice,
which holds all the main primary sources, and Christian people, in contempt. ….
Most of its proponents are also extraordinarily incompetent.”
The view that Jesus didn’t exist is false? There is
no actual proof that Jesus existed. The bible makes tons of radical claims
about his existence and not to mention the number of other religions that have
a similar ‘character’ like Jesus with a similar story makes you wonder if the
story of Jesus was hijacked and rewritten into the bible.
Secondly, in all honesty I really do believe that
atheists are more open-minded than most you Christians. Here’s why I say this;
I don’t know any atheists (I am a bad example) that goes out of their way to
disprove the existence of Jesus or have any prejudice towards the idea of a
Jesus existing. In fact it’s the complete opposite. We are open to the idea of
a Jesus existing, however the evidence presented to us makes us skeptical
minded. Let’s go back to Lucy the dancing goddess. My holy text describing here
is more than enough proof to suggest that she exists and if you don’t believe
she exists you are pushing a form of atheist prejudice.
(Fun fact: Christians are atheists towards any other
god but theirs. The bible tells them to be this way. In fact most religions
tell their follows to be atheists towards other gods. So in some shape or form
religious people are atheists.)
In agreement
with Maurice is atheist historian Tim O’Niell who argues that he “can safely
claim that most atheists are historically illiterate… [when] atheists comment
about history or, worse, try to use history in debates about religion, they are
usually doing so with a grasp of the subject that is stunted at about high
school level.”
Here is what you are failing to understand. The
difference between empirical data and exaggerated claims is simple; we all know
that George Washington was the first president of the United States. We have
empirical data and proof to back up this claim, now when you look at your bible
there are tons of exaggerated claims. We have no proof of talking snakes. We
have no proof of a magical boat that was able to carry every single animal on
the planet for an extended period of time. We have no proof that Jesus is the
son of man, there’s no proof of Jesus existing at all!
Please apply simple logic and critical thinking when
reading the exaggerated claims of the bible and you’ll see why skeptic minded
people find it hard to believe.
It would
appear that many atheists like to drive the point home that many Christians
reject, for example, evolutionary theory; something, they correctly claim, runs
counter to the overwhelming consensus of scientists. However, out of the other
side of his mouth the same atheist gives credence to the idea that Jesus never
existed as a historical figure. This claim, it is worth noting, would be
laughed out of professional circles everywhere. In other words, this atheist
only likes the data that he thinks agrees with him but not that which doesn’t.
This is the definition of a double standard.
I don’t even know where to start with this.
Okay, Evolution doesn’t make any claims about the
existence of ‘God’ or Jesus. What Evolution means is change over time. I don’t
know how many times I have to say this. We as a species have evolved over the
years. Flowers have evolved over the years. Certain species have evolved over
the years to adapt to their environmental changes.
We have more proof of evolution than we do of Jesus
existing. I want to know if Jesus existed. I would love to see actual empirical
data to support the existence of Jesus, but every time I ask for proof I am
presented with the same bible and blind faith tactic. Science changes its
opinion when new discoveries are made while your bible doesn’t.
That the Bible
is not historical.
Whether one believes
the Bible to be God’s inspired word or not, morally repulsive or morally
exemplary, cool or weird it remains a historical set (one may argue library) of
documents that stretches some 1500 years over history. As a result we have
entire disciplines known as Biblical Studies/ Biblical archeology/ New or Old
Testament Studies/ Theology etc. that emphasize studying the Bible through an
academic lens. In fact, some 8500 members from more than 80 countries represent
the Society of Biblical Literature. These people, often professors and experts
in the fields, make their living as a result of this line of work. This would
not be the case if professional historians would take the same view of
fundamentalist atheists who argue the Bible is analogous to a questionable
works of the likes of the Life of Apollonius of Tyana.
(Fun fact: the bible is claimed to be the exact word
of ‘God’ despite being written by man.)
“See now, I
have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to
you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since
this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.” Genesis 19:8
Basically, Lot is okay with protecting these ‘men’
or angels he doesn’t even know but is willing to put both of his daughters in
danger.
“And if a man
beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he
shall surely be punished. Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he
shall not be punished; for he is his property. Exodus 21:20-21
You can beat your slave to almost near inches of
death but as long as you don’t kill him/her you won’t be punished.
And as for
your male and female slaves whom you may have — from the nations that are
around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. Moreover you may buy
the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are
with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property.
Leviticus 25:44-45
This is proof that the bible is perfectly okay with
human trafficking.
Servants, be
submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but
also to the harsh. 1 Peter 2:18
Basically, be a slave and know your place.
But if the thing
is true, and evidences of virginity are not found for the young woman, then
they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the
men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done a
disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father’s house. So you
shall put away the evil from among you. Deuteronomy 22:20-21
Apparently women can’t have sex, can’t speak in
church and must be submissive at all times. The bible has such wonderful
guidelines for women.
“He who is
emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of the LORD.
Deuteronomy 23:1
And Circumcision isn’t mutilation?
Your junk must be in tip top shape men or you won’t
be allowed into heaven.
If two men
fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the
hand of the one attacking him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the
genitals, then you shall cut off her hand; your eye shall not pity her.
Deuteronomy 25:11-12
Uh what? I guess this is the verse that Donald Trump
took literally, but instead applied the grabbing part to women.
I guess ‘God’ only likes men who balls are in tip
top shape; which explains why the woman’s hand is being chopped off. Crushed
balls don’t get you into heaven.
For any man
who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face
or any limb too long, a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, or is a
hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab,
or is a eunuch. Leviticus 21:18-19
(Fun fact: Lame (of a person or animal) unable to
walk normally because of an injury or illness affecting the leg or foot; (of a
leg or foot) affected by injury or illness; unconvincingly feeble; uninspiring
and dull; naive or inept, especially socially; halting; metrically defective.)
Crushed balls don’t get you into heaven. Okay, all
fun aside if you are ill and as a result of your illness become cripple. ‘God’
doesn’t want your crippled ass is what I’m getting from this. I mean it would
be easy for ‘God’ to heal you so you can be fresh and ready for heaven but nope
– you are not allowed at all. Dwarfism is something someone is born with, which
means that ‘God’ created you as a dwarf and well he’s saying he doesn’t want
you in his kingdom. It’s like the ultimate fuck you.
For everyone
who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed
his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him. Leviticus 20:9
Any parent that thinks that it is okay to stone your
child to death should be cursed out; or have their child taken away from them.
It’s like ‘God’ hates children and sides with the parent.
Then he went
up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from
the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you
baldhead!” So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on
them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and
mauled forty-two of the youths. 2 Kings 2:23-24
I understand that children should be punished for
teasing and mockery. It’s not okay to tease and mock people who have done
nothing to you. However, the punishment for this is being mauled to death by
two bears. Why are forty-two kids being killed? Where were the parents of these
kids? How on earth did every single parent in town think it was okay to watch
their children march outside of a town teasing a bald man? Let alone a prophet!
They should’ve known ‘God’ wasn’t going to stand for the mockery of his
prophets.
Happy the one
who takes and dashes Your little ones against the rock! Psalm 137:9
Thus the origin of dead babies jokes.
The reason I listed these verses is to illustrate
what exactly you are studying when you are getting an education in biblical
studies. These verses are horrid and further validates why the Bible historical
accuracy is questionable. It’s hard to believe any of this actually occurred
when the only form of evidence we have is the Bible. Again, applying logic and
critical thinking here you’ll see why none of these makes any sense. Well, if
you look at the creation of Adam and Eve you’ll realize that we are supposed to
be naïve and stupid.
That atheists
don’t have faith.
When an
atheist use the word “faith” he usually means belief in the face of evidence.
This, argues the atheist, constitutes “religious” belief, as if one can simply
define the human phenomenon of religion as a single entity. However, this is
blind faith, the atheist is not mistaken by noting that. However, what the
atheist does fail to note is that blind faith is not the only definition of the
term. Faith can mean “evidence based.” This is to say that I have enough faith
to put trust into something for sufficient reasons. I believe the plane will
get me to my destination in alive. I come to this conclusion from interacting
with flight-crash statistics, passenger testimony, professional opinion, and so
forth. However, I cannot prove, in the sense of mathematical certainty, that
the plane will get me to my destination. In other words, I have “faith”
believing that it will. This is what Christians have argued is the correct
application of the term to their beliefs. This is what atheists also have.
Okay, I’m going to stop you right there. There’s a
difference between ‘faith’ and ‘blind faith’ which I don’t think you
understand.
Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or
something.
Faith is strong belief in God or in the doctrines of
a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.
Faith is a strongly held belief or theory.
Blind faith is blind faith is the belief without
true understanding, perception, or discrimination.
My question to you is who do you put your faith in?
It surely would be make sense to put your trust in your pilot who is trained to
fly the plane safely. If you put your trust in ‘God’ you may not even make it
to your destination. ‘God’ has allowed many plane tragedies to occur and yet
people constantly put their trust in him; if ‘God’ really does exist you
wouldn’t have to worry about dying in a plane crash or a car crash. He would
help deter you from a life threatening obstacle, not put you in direct path and
say ‘I work in mysterious ways’. I call bullshit!
How do we know
that the atheist has this kind of faith? Simple. He has faith in his naturalism
(most atheists are naturalists). Naturalists believe that the physical universe
is all that there is. That is a faith position; he cannot prove it, he argues for
it and assumes it. Philosophers have persuasively argued that even though we
believe we exist in a world as conscious creatures such a belief requires a
level of faith. There is no 100% airtight piece of evidence that we can use to
show that the external world exists external to our own mind. This is an
unprovable metaphysical truth that we all assume is rational to hold, namely
that the external world of trees and tables really exist. In fact, there are
philosophers who have denied this, they are known as solipsists. Philosophers
who believe the external world exists are known as objective realists.
Therefore, without even considering atheism, Hinduism, theism, Taoism, or
whatever else, we are all exercising faith.
This is the ‘God’ that we are arguing the existence
for:
“I do not
permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.”
(1 Timothy 2:12)
(Fun fact: (Women) if a man tells you he wants a
Christian wife, run! Run away as fast as you can!)
“This is what
the Lord Almighty says... ‘Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction
all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and
infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” (1 Samuel 15:3)
(Fun fact: some could argue that Christianity was one
of the reasons for the downfall of the Roman Empire.)
“Do not allow
a sorceress to live.” (Exodus 22:18)
(Fun fact: ‘God’ spoke the earth and universe into
existence, yet he hates sorceress?)
“Happy is he
who repays you for what you have done to us – he who seizes your infants and
dashes them against the rocks.” (Psalm 137:9)
(Fun fact: ‘God’ loves children so much that he’s
forced people to eat their own children. What a ‘God’ of love.)
“So the man
took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused
her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. At daybreak the woman
went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and
lay there until daylight. When her master got up in the morning and opened the
door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his
concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold.
He said to her, ‘Get up; let’s go.’ But there was no answer. Then the man put
her on his donkey and set out for home.” (Judges 19:25-28)
(Fun fact: a concubine is a woman who lives with a
man but has lower status than his wife or wives. However, Christians opposed to
gay marriage cry one man one woman.
Clearly there was one man several wives.)
(Fun fact: adultery was met with harsh punishment.
However, the simple fact that this concubine was raped by multiple individuals
and no one was punished is clear proof that women weren’t even seen as ‘people’
more like mere objects.)
“In the same
way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with
passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in
their own persons the due penalty for their error.” (Romans 1:27)
(Fun fact: The oppressive nature Christians had (some
still have) towards gay people is utterly sad. It’s even sadder that in some
countries being gay is punishable by the death penalty.)
“And Jephthah
made a vow to the Lord, and said, ‘If you will give the Ammonites into my hand,
then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return
victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord’s, to be offered up by me as a
burnt-offering.’ Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and there was his
daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. She was his
only child; he had no son or daughter except her. When he saw her, he tore his
clothes, and said, ‘Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low; you have
become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the
Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.’” (Judges 11:30-1, 34-5)
(Fun fact: despite murder violating the Ten
Commandments; ‘God’ seems perfectly okay with human sacrifices. Also, Jephthah
should’ve just lied to ‘God’ and said his daughter was the second visitor.
There are several prophets who have lied to ‘God’ and got away with it. This
further validates the bible’s stance on women.)
‘Take your
son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and
offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.’
(Genesis 22:2)
(Fun fact: ‘God’ sure does love the sufferance of
children. It’s like his second favorite thing next to slavery and genocide.)
“Wives, submit
to your husbands as to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:22)
(Fun fact: women might as well be labeled baby
factories; that’s the only good thing the bible says about women; if you can
even call that a good thing.)
“Slaves,
submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and
gentle but also to the cruel.” (1 Peter 2:18)
(Fun fact: ‘God’ loves slavery and so does Jesus. It
makes you wonder if some of these verses were written by the pro-human
trafficking and pro-slavery group.)
Jesus not
being very ‘Jesus-like’
Matthew 17:27
27 “But so
that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the
first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin.
Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
(Fun fact: The four-drachma (or shekel) coin would
be exactly enough to pay the temple tax (two-drachma coin) for two people. It
is usually thought to be a Tyrian shekel.)
(Fun fact: four-drachma coins equals to $1.18 in
USD. However, Jesus preaches against wealth and greed. He often tells people to
give all their money and belongings to the poor. However, he seems very
reluctant to pay a tax to pray in a temple. So why did Jesus get mad and
overturn tables in the temple?)
Matthew
21:12-13
Jesus at the
Temple
12 Jesus
entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there.
He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling
doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house
of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.”
(Fun fact: Jesus thinks that everyone has the
ability to make money magically appear in fish mouths. Also, he is clearly not
down with people buying and selling at the temple. Despite the temple having a
pray tax that he was reluctant to pay himself. What a jerk!)
Mark 11:12-25
Jesus Curses a
Fig Tree and Clears the Temple Courts
12 The next
day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a
fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it,
he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he
said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples
heard him say it.
(Fun fact: a fig tree was lethally harmed in the writing
of this verse. Secondly, ‘God’ hates sorcerers and yet Jesus just spoke a curse
onto a fig tree. Also, wouldn’t this be seen as murder?)
15 On reaching
Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were
buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and
the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry
merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is
it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’?
But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
18 The chief
priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to
kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his
teaching.
(Fun fact: Jesus once again throwing a tantrum and
insulting a group of people for simply trying to work for their way of life.
Also, I’m confused by Jesus actions. He can heal people and make money appear
out of fish’s mouths. Why couldn’t he make money appear for these people who
clearly have to work for a living? The priest and teachers of the temple seem
perfectly okay with the activity in the temple taking place, so why is Jesus so
upset? If it were a real problem wouldn’t ‘God’ made it vocally clear? He has
done so with everything else.)
19 When
evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.
20 In the
morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21
Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has
withered!”
22 “Have faith
in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain,
‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but
believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore
I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything
against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you
your sins.”
(Fun fact: Jesus loves pulling shit out of his ass.
Also, what he’s said about pray is completely false. It’s just a distraction so
he doesn’t have to justify his actions for killing an innocent fig tree. The
fig tree didn’t deserve to die. #Figtreelivesmatter!)
Admitting He’s
Making This Hard on Purpose (Mark 4)
And when he
was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
And he said
unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but
unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
That seeing
they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand;
lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven
them.
(Fun fact: Jesus once again pulling shit out of his
ass.)
Refusing to
Wash His Hands (Matthew 15)
Then some
Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
“Why do your
disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before
they eat!”
(Fun fact: the Pharisees have a point here, washing
your hands is common courtesy prior to eating.)
Jesus replied,
“And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
(Fun fact: What commandment is that? Thy shall not
wash hands before eating?!)
For God said,
‘Honor your father and mother and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is
to be put to death.’
(Fun fact: So basically you’re dishonoring your
father and mother when you wash your hands before you eat?)
But you say
that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or
mother is ‘devoted to God,’
(Fun fact: So basically you’re helping your mother
and father by not washing your hands before you eat?)
They are not
to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for
the sake of your tradition.
(Fun fact: So instead of just washing your hands
before you eat. You throw ‘God’ in and make shit up about dishonoring parents
to justify not washing your hands?)
You
hypocrites!
(Fun fact: I’m failing to see the logic here. So
instead of just washing your hands, you make up false information and insult a
group of people?)
Spitting on
Blind People
(Mark 23-24)
23 So He took
the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then He spit on the
man’s eyes and placed His hands on him. “Can you see anything? He asked. 24 The
man looked up and said, “I can see the people, but they look like trees walking
around.”…
5 While I am
in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 When Jesus had said this, He spat
on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes. 7 Then He told
him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So the man went and
washed, and came back seeing.…
(Fun fact: Seeing as Jesus could heal people with a
touch and kill trees with a word, was it 100% necessary to do all that
spitting, too?)
Murdering a
Whole Bunch of Pigs
When he
arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed
men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass
that way.
(Fun fact: demon possessed men knew Jesus was coming
and thus became overly violent for no reason.)
“What do you
want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us
before the appointed time?”
(Fun fact: I know demon possession means you’re ‘evil’
and violent. However, does it mean that you also have to be stupid? Clearly these
two men are blocking the way and won’t let anyone by. Yet have the nerve to ask
what they want with them?)
Some distance
from them a large herd of pigs was feeding.
(Fun fact: Pigs are unclean animals.)
The demons
begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
(Fun fact: the demons thought they had a chance of survival.
Pigs are unclean animals and they figured Jesus would just let them live as possessed
pigs.)
He said to
them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed
down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.
(Fun fact: Jesus clearly wasn’t going to let this
filthy demon possessed pigs live.)
Those tending
the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had
happened to the demon-possessed men.
(Fun fact: It is wise to just run away when you see
Jesus. Confronting him results in damnation of your mother and father and being
disrespectful to ‘God’.)
Then the whole
town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to
leave their region.
(Fun fact: I don’t blame the townspeople for wanting
Jesus to leave. He killed a whole herd of pigs for no reason.)
4. You can’t
prove that something doesn’t exist.
Yes you can.
William Craig explains that “of course you can prove something does not exist.
We can prove, for example, that there are no living tyrannosaurus Rex on the
face of the Earth, we can prove that there are no Muslims of the United States
senate, or as Dr. Shook’s says if you can show that something is a
self-contradiction, that there are no married bachelors. So, this is an atheist
line that you hear on a popular level all the time, but that the sophisticated
atheists don’t take, because it is easy to prove that things don’t exist.”
Here is what you are failing to understand. We want
to know if a ‘God’ does or doesn’t exist. The facts that you present to us lead
us to being skeptical of the claims that you are making. You can’t make radical
claims without radical proof. Ultimately, what it boils down to is your
religion is all based on blind faith. You only know one thing and that’s what
the bible tells you.
(Fun fact: the burden of proof rest on the one
making the radical claim; not the one denying it.)
5. That
philosophy is dead.
Famous
scientist, and atheist, Stephen Hawking made the claim that “Why are we here?
Where do we come from? Traditionally, these are questions for philosophy, but
philosophy is dead.”
(We are still trying to figure out the origins of
mankind. However, that doesn’t mean fantastic story!)
This is a
powerful statement… the only problem is that it is entirely self-refuting. To
argue that “philosophy is dead” is to make a philosophical statement. It is to
argue that life is meaningless and that, as a result, asking big existential
questions is a pointless exercise. However, that is a philosophical position,
it is a philosophy. It is a viewpoint that, one may argue, parallels the
philosophy of nihilism. The point being is that Hawking’s entire view of reality
is constructed upon a philosophy of naturalism. In other words, he maintains a
framework of beliefs, a philosophy, of reality. We needn’t say much more than
Professor John Lennox:
“For any
scientist… to disparage philosophy on the one hand, and then at once adopt a
self-contradictory philosophical stance on the other, is not the wisest thing
to do – especially at the beginning of a book that is designed to be
convincing.”
Here is my closing statement. Science and scientist
are steadily learning new things about our earth and our universe. When a new
discovery is made that contradicts what we previously though, we adapt to that
new discovery and it instantly re-writes everything that we know. Scientists
are willing to adapt to new discoveries. The same can be said about atheists.
We are eager to learn new things and are willing to adapt to the idea of a ‘God’
existing if there was proof of this ‘God’ we would change our opinion about ‘God’.
However, ‘God’ isn’t going to float down from his cloud and we are going to
continue are skeptic minded views of religion.
