Faceless Atheist
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If one religion does indeed have a monopoly on the truth than how do we know which one? It’s like playing Russian roulette with only one empty chamber, and the stakes couldn’t be higher, the fate of each everlasting soul is on the line. How does one choose? How did you choose? or did you allow the decision to be made for you by merely accepting the beliefs handed to you at birth. If you did the latter your betting your eternal soul on the hand you were dealt. Better pray you had a lucky draw. Read More
March 25, 2009 | In Belief
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A question for you christians.
How would a christian convert a muslim? Or to put it in more chrisitan terms, how would you go about saving the soul of a muslim? Say you discovered the man/woman you loved, or, god forbid, you’re your own child, had joined islam, how would you save them from eternal torment? How would you go about proving that jesus was god and mohammed was a false prophet, or that the bible is the word of god and the qur’an is merely a mythology book like the odyssey, ramayana, or book of mormon. It is your duty as a christian to attempt to save the souls of your loved ones, so how would you appro… Read More
March 25, 2009 | In Belief
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Daniel Dennett says we have free will.
Take that HP! Read More
March 12, 2009 | In Belief
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I was so fed up with not being able to view my idea that i decided to post it again. I saw the first two comments, and was about to post a response to them when the idea went down. I didn't see the last two (sorry)but please repost them. Read More
March 12, 2009 | In Belief
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I saw Bill Maher's documentary Religulous on Friday and I loved it. The girl who was sitting next to me, a Catholic, was very offended and became teary eyed afterwards when talking about it. I was wondering what anyone else thought about the movie. I agree almost completely with Maher, an anti-theist, and strongly recomend the movie to anyone interested in religion, particularly other "new atheists." Read More
October 6, 2008 | In Belief
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Someone please justify my belief in free will
Firstly I was wondering how many of you believe that humans have free will.I believe we do, but this seems to be unjustifiable. Whether approached from a theistic or atheistic point of view, free will seems unable to exist thanks to an omniscient omnipotent creater and/or the unbreakable laws of physics. Which leads me to Secondly, if yes, how do you justify such belief? Read More
August 4, 2008 | In Belief
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We can debate the existance of god for another four thousand years without completely exhausing the subject, but do you "believe in belief?" I took this quotation from Daniel Dennett's interview on The Atheist Tapes (recommended). "I think religion, for many people, is moral viagra. 'Some people need help being moral and don't deny it to them.' Well, if thats true, if religion does help people lead moral lives than one should take very seriously the proposition that we're going to eliminate it and let the devil take the hindmost. Becasue the hindmost may be a great many people, and … Read More
July 25, 2008 | In Belief
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Sorry to belabor this topic, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it! Does the fact that each person is different, both from the nature side (except identical twins) and the nurture side, mean our decisions are unpredictable? The arguments that our decisions are the result of electro-chemical processes seem unassailable; we can’t escape the laws of physics after all. When presented with a decision the brain will go through predictable processes, reviewing memories of similar choices and weighing the benefits/dangers of each possibility, undoubtedly triggered by electro-chem… Read More
June 4, 2008 | In Belief
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Will science explain away philosophy too?
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/guy_dammann/2008/05/sciences_dark_glasses.html Science is close to explaining away theology, and some, myself included, would say it already has. Is philosphy next? If science can explain away our free will and prove that our consciousness is nothing more than electric pulses and chemical reactions will philosophy suffer the same fate as religion? Will all philosophy start to be viewed as childish fairy tales (to steal a phrase from the article) of litt… Read More
May 17, 2008 | In Belief
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Dostoevsky is my favorite author. Part I of Notes From Underground is one of my favorite things concerning philosophy and religion he wrote (also The Grand Inquisitor chapter in Brothers Karamazov, both must reads). In it he talks about the possibility of science explaining away free will, and his opinions have greatly influenced mine on the subject. These are some excerpts, I'd like to know what you think about them and the topic at hand. "All man wants is an absolutely free choice, however dear that freedom may cost him and wherever it may lead him to. Well, of course,… Read More
May 17, 2008 | In Belief
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How do creationists account for the appendix?
How do creationists account for vestigial organs? Wings on an ostrich, eyes on blind fish/moles, the arm/leg bone structure in whales. The tailbone, wisdom teeth, and (the all-time favorite) the appendix in humans. Extra parts and spare organs seem an odd design for a divine creater, especially an omnipotent one, and there are numerous examples throughout nature. Evolution neatly ties up such loose ends, can creationism? Read More
May 16, 2008 | In Belief
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Some thoughts on moral relatisism.
Moral relativism is a fact in the world we live in. Each person inevitably constructs his own set of morals, his own system for judging what is "good" and "bad", "right" and "wrong". Even if one were to believe that morality was not relative, that there was "objective morality" of a divine presence, he would not know what those"objective morals” were. He would not be able to definitively state what acts were "objectively good" or "objectively bad" since we have no way of divining god's morals. This leaves us in a world of moral relativism even if we believe there is a divine moral s… Read More
May 15, 2008 | In Belief
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If the bible was published today would you still think it is the 'word of god'?
Peoples faith in the bible astounds me. Believing it is the word of god makes as much sense to me as believing the guy at the street corner yelling that the world is going to end in a few years. Why are people sceptical about everything but their 'holy' book?If the bible was published today would you think it was as important as you do now? Would you consider the possibility that it was 'the word of god'? How much of the bibles 'authority' is related to its age? When people today say god tells them to do things they are instantly thought of as crazy, yet most people accept that some… Read More
May 13, 2008 | In Belief
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Does anyone see a contradiction in believing that god is both the source of all morality and the creator of every species on earth? There are so many animals that act completely amoral. Many animals eat their young while others eat their mates after mating. How can these animals be considered the handcrafted creatons of the same completely good god that gave humans our moral insticts? Read More
May 12, 2008 | In Belief
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Why would god make us moral? Did he have a reason for morality? If he had reasons for making us moral than what were the reasons? Was morality intended to help the human species as a whole? to help individuals act better toward one another? to help people realize that all humans are equal on some base level? If there were such reasons than we can remove god from the equation with Occams Razor. We dont need god if there are reasons for morality. If god had no reasons for making us moral than why would we be moral? To conform to his whim? If god had no reason for making us moral t… Read More
May 5, 2008 | In Belief
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Can moderates pacify fundimentalists?
In Sam Harris's book, End of Faith, he makes a strong point about how moderate believers allow the extremists to exist by validating the holy books which they literally interpret. My question of those moderate members of religions is how would you attempt to argue against a fundamentalist? If you both accept that the bible/koran is the word of god, or inspired by the word of god, how can you argue that the fundies are wrong? Espicially when they are more faithful to the text in question, not attempting to explain away the more vicious excepts by saying they are exagerations or metaphors? Read More
May 5, 2008 | In Belief
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Do missing links weaken the theory of evolution?
NO!!!!!!!Some people try to point to the missing links in the fossil record, especially regarding the evolution of the human species, as though this is a flaw in the theory itself. This is not a valid point, in my opinion, because of the overall rarity of fossils. The fossilization process only occurs only certain conditions, the result being that many species that quickly died out or lived in a small area would not be fossilized. Darwin himself commented on this supposed hole in his theory. I took this straight from wikipediaFossilization is an exceptionally rare occurrence, becaus… Read More
May 3, 2008 | In Belief
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I know that the two are completely different theories relating to completely different issues, explaining complex life vs explaining some of the mysteries of our universe. In a few posts I have mentioned the two in conjuction and been rebuffed by those who rightly say the two have nothing to do with each other, but does anyone believe in one and not the other? Like I said in at least one post, I think it is hard to believe that the universe was created in the big bang, but that god came along one day and put humans and animals on of of the planets, or to believe that all complex life … Read More
April 30, 2008 | In Belief
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Religious and Rational? I say impossible.
Can anyone who believes in any of the major religions (Buddhism the possible exception), or any codified system of belief, be considered a rational person? The amount of excuses used by the religious to defend their beliefs in the face of logical problems, historical atrocities, or factual evidence that contradicts their beliefs is seemingly unending. If they ever have their back against a logical wall they fall back on the 'thats why you have to believe' line. To me anyone who is religious can not be considered a rational person (dont worry spiritualists, I seperate you out from tha… Read More
April 29, 2008 | In Belief
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What is your favorite novel? I've been trying to read the top novels according to lists like The Modern Libraries top 100 or the Novel 100 but I also wanted to get your guys take. Not on the top 100 of course, but maybe the top 5 or 3 or just your personal favorite. PS Sorry for posting in Faith, how about what do you believe is the best novel of all time? Read More
April 21, 2008 | In Belief
