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What would it take for the atheist to believe in God?

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  • Hypatia_Alexandria
    replied
    Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

    Yes
    And as such remains subjective. It also fails to address the question as to which is the "right direction" for religious belief.

    Leave a comment:


  • Cow Poke
    replied
    Originally posted by Hypatia_Alexandria View Post
    Precisely. That is your belief.
    Yes

    Leave a comment:


  • Hypatia_Alexandria
    replied
    Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

    Yet you feel the need to constantly state that.
    Some people seem to forget that fact.



    Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
    When you ask a question, you always seem to have a predefined answer in mind that will not line up with whatever answer somebody gives you.
    On this issue there is only subjective opinion.




    Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

    The "right direction" would be an acceptance of Christ as Savior, and a choice to live for him.

    Yeah, that's my opinion, but it's pretty much what the New Testament is all about.
    Precisely. That is your belief. Adherents to other religions [particularly the Abrahamic faiths] would make a similar comment as to the validity of their beliefs. So called "revealed religious texts" also play a major part in adherents believing that they and they alone follow the true god.

    The fact of the matter is that there is no "right direction" regarding religious beliefs. It is all subjective.

    Hence the diversity found in polytheistic cultures of the past.

    Leave a comment:


  • Cow Poke
    replied
    Originally posted by Hypatia_Alexandria View Post
    And which direction is the right direction?
    The "right direction" would be an acceptance of Christ as Savior, and a choice to live for him.

    Yeah, that's my opinion, but it's pretty much what the New Testament is all about.

    Leave a comment:


  • Cow Poke
    replied
    Originally posted by Hypatia_Alexandria View Post

    Well of course it is an opinion. That is glaringly obvious.
    Yet you feel the need to constantly state that.

    And many religious believers would make a case for why their particular religion and their specific belief was the "right direction".

    However, none of that actually answers the question as to what actually is the "right direction"?
    When you ask a question, you always seem to have a predefined answer in mind that will not line up with whatever answer somebody gives you.



    Leave a comment:


  • Hypatia_Alexandria
    replied
    Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

    I came really close to predicting that the response would be "that is your opinion"...
    Well of course it is an opinion. That is glaringly obvious.

    And many religious believers would make a case for why their particular religion and their specific belief was the "right direction".

    However, none of that actually answers the question as to what actually is the "right direction"?

    Leave a comment:


  • Cow Poke
    replied
    Originally posted by Hypatia_Alexandria View Post

    That is your opinion premised on your religion and your religious beliefs. Followers of other religions would offer their opinions premised on their religious beliefs.

    However, that still leaves unanswered the question "which direction is the right direction?"
    I came really close to predicting that the response would be "that is your opinion"...

    Leave a comment:


  • Hypatia_Alexandria
    replied
    Originally posted by Sparko View Post

    John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
    That is your opinion premised on your religion and your religious beliefs. Followers of other religions would offer their opinions premised on their religious beliefs.

    However, that still leaves unanswered the question "which direction is the right direction?"

    Leave a comment:


  • Sparko
    replied
    Originally posted by Hypatia_Alexandria View Post

    And which direction is the right direction?
    John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

    Leave a comment:


  • Hypatia_Alexandria
    replied
    Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
    That would all be the second step or challenge after getting them to realize that God exists -- pointing them in the right direction.
    And which direction is the right direction?

    Leave a comment:


  • Hypatia_Alexandria
    replied
    Originally posted by seer View Post
    Here is a recent and clever atheist meme...



    Any thoughts?

    Leave a comment:


  • Mountain Man
    replied
    Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
    I'm reminded of an old joke about two atheists and a Christian arguing over the existence of God. No matter what argument the Christian brought forth it was dismissed with a handwave and smug quotes from Dawkins and the like. The Christian was growing visibly frustrated and the atheists began mocking him by saying that it was two to one in favor of atheism so he lost.

    Starting to feel discouraged the Christian looked toward the sky and prayed for some sort of inconvertible evidence for God's existence while the two atheist kept laughing that it's "two to one -- you lose."

    Just then, the clouds parted and a celestial visage appeared in the sky and roared "Do not mock my servant for I am God and I exist!"

    Stunned the two atheists turned and looked at each other.

    Finally one turned, and after glancing heavenward, looked at the Christian, shrugged and said, "Fine. It's two to two. A tie."



    I'll be leaving now. No need to get up. I know my way out.
    Reminds me of this:

    After Eden show me a sign.jpg

    Leave a comment:


  • Mountain Man
    replied
    Originally posted by seer View Post
    Here is a recent and clever atheist meme...

    "I don't know what it would take to convince me that God exists. But if God does exist, then He would know what it takes to convince me of His existence (and He should also be capable of accomplishing this task)."

    Any thoughts?
    My answer is "How do you know this hasn't already happened, but you're proud and stubborn to accept it?"

    Leave a comment:


  • Machinist
    replied
    Originally posted by seer View Post
    Here is a recent and clever atheist meme...



    Any thoughts?


    Maybe God has more leniency during times like these...like during this information age where there is so much conflicting information.

    Leave a comment:


  • rogue06
    replied
    Originally posted by Juvenal View Post

    If you use indent tags, the quote won't disappear when folks are trying to reply. And by recent, looks like ya mean a formulation I remember from twenty years ago, and yeah, it was just as true then as it is now.

    But the real problem isn't winning the war, it's winning the peace. So now the atheist believes God exists. Which God? The Jewish God, maybe, a God that doesn't take kindly to folks elevating a human to a position of co-divinity? Or maybe the God of Islam, that starts out declaring God doesn't have partners. Or maybe my God, the Platonic ideal, a God that exists as an idea because all ideas exist.

    What about the God of Bob Tilton, or Joel Osteen, or Creflo Dollar?

    Or even the God of Heinlein's Fosterites?
    .
    “He should have known better because, early in his learnings under his brother Mahmoud, he had discovered that long human words (the longer the better) were easy, unmistakable, and rarely changed their meanings . . . but short words were slippery, unpredictable, changing their meanings without any pattern. Or so he seemed to grok. Short human words were never like a short Martian word—such as “grok” which forever meant exactly the same thing. Short human words were like trying to lift water with a knife. ― Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
    That would all be the second step or challenge after getting them to realize that God exists -- pointing them in the right direction.

    Leave a comment:

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