tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post2693221120579198887..comments2023-09-02T07:14:49.753-04:00Comments on Atheism And The City: "God Is Plain To Them, Because God Has Made It Plain To Them." An Atheist RepondsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-29979318077658602882013-08-01T14:46:30.909-04:002013-08-01T14:46:30.909-04:00It's important to respect people.
Beliefs dese...It's important to respect people.<br />Beliefs deserve no respect by default. Crazy beliefs, like a personal walking on water, or coming back from the dead, even less so :-)Rianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08021810579773953296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-85739293721391513362013-08-01T14:45:24.745-04:002013-08-01T14:45:24.745-04:00Separate accounts, written by different people. Th...<b>Separate accounts, written by different people. The important part of the account is not changed by the fact that the narratives differ on peripheral details.</b><br />They're not seperate accounts - GMark is the only gospel account which doesn't rely upon others (while it does rely upon existing scripture). Matt and Luke rely upon Mark (with Luke likely relying upon Matt), while John appears to be written as a response to the synoptics.<br /><br />What is the important part of the account, Frank?Rianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08021810579773953296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-40916149687095454742013-07-28T05:36:17.359-04:002013-07-28T05:36:17.359-04:00Frank, if we lived in a world where everyone was r...Frank, if we lived in a world where everyone was rational and kept their religious beliefs to themselves, then I could envision a world in which we do not pass judgement on one another. But since those with religious faith use their faith to pass laws over other people and start wars and other things, it is an important matter of concern who's right.The Thinkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303015383137218932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-74369549427072338582013-07-28T02:35:33.460-04:002013-07-28T02:35:33.460-04:00I think it's important to respect the religiou...I think it's important to respect the religious beliefs of others, without passing judgement or trying to "be right".Frank Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12118227330790264088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-88220325007124058242013-07-26T09:29:44.848-04:002013-07-26T09:29:44.848-04:00Frank, how can you rationally respond to a Hindu w...Frank, how can you rationally respond to a Hindu who invokes his/her personal experience of Vishnu as evidence to support the rationality of their religious faith?Rianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08021810579773953296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-13670822984335179202013-07-26T09:28:26.379-04:002013-07-26T09:28:26.379-04:00The real question you should be asking is what rea...The real question you should be asking is what reason(s) do you have to actually accept this account.<br />Scepticism should be the default position :-)Rianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08021810579773953296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-81375760488144538622013-07-26T09:27:02.021-04:002013-07-26T09:27:02.021-04:00Science may not be able to "disprove" it...Science may not be able to "disprove" it in the strong sense, but science and history leave us very little reason to think it actually happened, and assent to something as unlikely as the resurrection cannot be rationally maintained.Rianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08021810579773953296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-14566535856622328592013-07-25T09:24:44.585-04:002013-07-25T09:24:44.585-04:00Agreed.Agreed.Frank Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12118227330790264088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-40077440051756052972013-07-25T08:15:47.878-04:002013-07-25T08:15:47.878-04:00At heart I think all religious belief is emotional...At heart I think all religious belief is emotional, not logical. The Thinkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303015383137218932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-47515126519948633012013-07-25T01:29:28.998-04:002013-07-25T01:29:28.998-04:00I would probably be very critical of such discrepa...I would probably be very critical of such discrepancies, had I no personal experience of God in my life. I think that I, like yourself would be very skeptical of the Bible as an authority. Christianity is more than reading a book, and trusting its authority just because it was written long ago. Frank Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12118227330790264088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-86987382392769123012013-07-25T01:12:52.921-04:002013-07-25T01:12:52.921-04:00I would think that it matters since some of the pe...I would think that it matters since some of the peripheral details and utterances are what's trying to be shoved down our throats via the Christian right. <br /><br />Well if you consider the resurrection an important part of the account, then in Mark's account the tomb is open, empty and a man tells them to tell others, but they tell no one. There are no post-mortem appearances at all. No earthquake, no dead coming back to life, no darkness falling over the world - details unlikely to be missed by any author. Other accounts have them. This is a clear sign of embellishment and since Mark is the first gospel, the others seem suspect. Hardly anything one should base their entire worldview on. The Thinkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303015383137218932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-83525644833075683922013-07-24T19:58:03.582-04:002013-07-24T19:58:03.582-04:00Separate accounts, written by different people. Th...Separate accounts, written by different people. The important part of the account is not changed by the fact that the narratives differ on peripheral details.Frank Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12118227330790264088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-39834026067152815132013-07-24T17:21:43.871-04:002013-07-24T17:21:43.871-04:00How do you personally deal with the contradictions...How do you personally deal with the contradictions, like for example, who went to Jesus' tomb, who was there, whether there were 2 angels, 1 angel, no angels, guards, no guards, an earthquake, no earthquake?The Thinkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303015383137218932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-45610302368995506692013-07-24T11:23:04.640-04:002013-07-24T11:23:04.640-04:001 Samuel 18:27 I have no reason to doubt this acco...1 Samuel 18:27 I have no reason to doubt this account.Frank Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12118227330790264088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-28103919983596797602013-07-24T11:00:56.196-04:002013-07-24T11:00:56.196-04:00No - I believe in Jesus resurrection. I don't ...No - I believe in Jesus resurrection. I don't think science can disprove that.<br /><br />I don't remember the story about the philistines that you refer to. I'll look that one up.Frank Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12118227330790264088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-85244233074988352662013-07-24T10:08:54.200-04:002013-07-24T10:08:54.200-04:00So you don't believe in the resurrection? That...So you don't believe in the resurrection? That I believe conflicts with science and is the most important part of Christianity. <br /><br />Do you believe that David collected 200 Philistine foreskins to marry Saul's daughter since it didn't technically violate science? The Thinkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303015383137218932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-63377388938672436442013-07-24T09:10:35.382-04:002013-07-24T09:10:35.382-04:00The parts that conflict with science are obviously...The parts that conflict with science are obviously not literally true. That is actually only a small portion of what is in the bible.Frank Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12118227330790264088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-54922561076438802622013-07-24T07:24:22.388-04:002013-07-24T07:24:22.388-04:00I'm glad you don't take the fundamentalist...I'm glad you don't take the fundamentalist approach. But I'm curious now, how do you tell which part of the Bible is meant to be taken literal, and which part is meant to be taken metaphoric?The Thinkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303015383137218932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-81028650703791691322013-07-24T07:21:17.487-04:002013-07-24T07:21:17.487-04:00Bloody well right!Bloody well right!The Thinkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303015383137218932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-31945205805731768972013-07-24T04:59:59.803-04:002013-07-24T04:59:59.803-04:00What has the Romans ever done for us?...
http://w...What has the Romans ever done for us?...<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9foi342LXQEJonathan MS Pearcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281228447185474180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-7080572327324671792013-07-24T00:18:05.925-04:002013-07-24T00:18:05.925-04:00I was raised in the Baptist church. After studying...I was raised in the Baptist church. After studying science in school, and after reading Julian Jaynes' "The Origin of Consciousness", I became an agnostic when I was in high school. I remained in that frame of mind for many years. I've had some personal experiences over the years that have led me to believe that God does exist. I now attend an independent bible church that is conservative, and the doctrine that is taught there is that the bible is literally and completely true. For myself, I can't accept that, with respect to the story of creation particularly. I think the scientific evidence about the cosmos and the development of life on our planet is rather overwhelming, and can't be refuted by the bible. But I do believe in God as the creator.Frank Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12118227330790264088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-19225629892332094972013-07-23T23:49:38.105-04:002013-07-23T23:49:38.105-04:00Well I don't mean that in a literal sense that...Well I don't mean that in a literal sense that all theists are exactly alike. But I get that verse from Romans thrown at me by almost every Christian I deal with and their Muslim counterparts do the same thing with Islam: they outsource at least part of their argument for their god/religion using their scriptures in a way that is often oblivious to the fact that this book holds no authority over non-believers whatsoever. <br /><br />But let me ask you, since you seem to be saying your a more thoughtful and reasonable theist, what denomination are you and what Christian philosophers/theologians inspired you?The Thinkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303015383137218932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-59778343222992972782013-07-23T22:49:44.096-04:002013-07-23T22:49:44.096-04:00I don't fault anyone for not believing in God....I don't fault anyone for not believing in God. It's really none of my business - their beliefs about the existence of God. I am willing to bet that many Christians feel the same way - they want you to believe as they do, but they personally don't condemn you for your disbelief. So, how can you say that all Theists are the same??Frank Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12118227330790264088noreply@blogger.com