Faith in whom

Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 1:00 am

It seems so obvious to me that religion is a trick, a whole lot like astrology or any other scam that make claims of the supernatural. When someone talks to me as if I would be foolish enough to believe that stuff I feel just as offended as if someone tried telling me a bald faced lie. This is the conversation I had with a young delivery truck driver who tried giving me a religious tract one day.

Me: No thanks. To tell you the truth, I actually feel insulted that anyone would think that I would fall for that ridiculous story about an all powerful, invisible entity.

Theist: Well! Look around you. Where did this come from? All this couldn’t have just happen?

Me: We weren’t here when this all started. I don’t know where it came from and neither do you. Our ignorance doesn’t prove that there is a God.
There is no way to prove that any god exists. If there was any proof of a God everybody in the world would know about it and everybody in the world would believe in that same god.
There is no proof that a god exists. To believe in a god you have to have faith. That is the only way.

Theist: with big smile and look of satisfaction: YES YES! You got to have faith!

Me: Faith in who?

Theist: Faith in God.

Me: Who says there is a God? You? I’m not going to believe in some invisible guy just because you say it is true. I don’t have faith in you.

Theist: Faith in the Bible.

Me: Who wrote The Bible? Nobody knows. Just some guys. I’m not going to believe that bizarre story on the word of just some guys . Have you read that book? Very few people have because it is little more than gibberish. The third chapter in the bible starts out with a story about a talking snake. I don’t have faith in just some guys who write a poorly written book that starts out with a story about a talking snake.

Theist: Walks to truck mumbling something like: some day that talking snake and you…

Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 6:48 am

Awesome story Very Happy

Kenoel wrote:

When someone talks to me as if I would be foolish enough to believe that stuff I feel just as offended as if someone tried telling me a bald faced lie.

The problem is, generally speaking, the people that are expecting you to believe this stuff are actually foolish (I think perhaps a better word would be gullible) enough to believe it. Most of them actually believe it’s true and as such what they’re telling you shouldn’t be considered “lying” on their part, even though what they’re telling you may in fact be an untruth.

Take for instance a conversation I was having with my niece just a few days ago. She and her very intelligent husband actually believe humans are not having an affect on our climate. She told me straight out humans are not affecting climate on a global level. Now while I think this is an untruth unsupported by the facts, I still don’t believe she was lying to me about what she and her husband believe. I think they’re wrong, but not lying. In some sense, this is the way most religious people approach their beliefs.

Resident Joined: Mar 26, 2008 Posts: 381

The whole idea of faith is silly. According to Christians, faith isnecessary to genuinely believe in God and Jesus. Every religion is pretty much demanding the same thing!

Oh, have faith in our god! Have faith in Buddha, in Allah, in Yahweh! Why should I count on something I don't know is true, especially when there are many other systems like it all asking for the same thing?

Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 12:24 pm

Some other arguments they like to bring up:

"What if there is a God? You'll regret it when you die and find out he exists." Okay, which of the gazillion or so gods should I put my money on? Odin might be really pissed off at all the people who didn't believe in him.

"The Bible is God's word! We know this because of the many truths it contains." As I often point out, anybody can write anything and say that God told them to, but that doesn't make it true. There are shelves full of books by religious authors who all claim to have received their wisdom from God. So what? Why should I believe just any old thing someone writes in a book? Almost any book contains truth of some sort, so that proves nothing about the existence of God.

"Christianity is the most popular religion!" They say this as if numbers mean anything. Just because a whole bunch of people believe in something, doesn't make them right. No matter how sincere they are, no matter how many of them die for their faith, they could still be wrong. Besides, the statistics always include Catholics, whom Protestants don't generally consider to be "Real Christians," and when you factor in all the other varieties of Christians accusing each other of being false Christians--well, just who is a "Real Christian," anyway? Laughing

"Just look at all the Bible prophecies that have come true!" The thing about prophecy is that it is so vague that any meaning can be applied to it. The Bible never gives specific dates, times, locations, and names, only scary, symbolic imagery that can be made to fit any time period or situation. Biblical prophecies are about as accurate as the predictions of Nostradamus or Jeanne Dixon.

"[Insert name of famous person here] is/was a Christian!" Oh, well, that settles it, then, I should believe in BibleGod because of some random person who also believed in BibleGod. Laughing

"God miraculously cured my cancer/heart disease/constipation/sinus headache." Big deal, miracles are a dime a dozen. They always turn out to be helped along by modern medicine, though, or are simply the body healing itself over time. Every day, Hindus get to witness the miracle of a statue of Ganesha drinking milk, but I'm willing to wager that it's capillary action.


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