Win Prizes Ask an Atheist II

[Gethelred]

Welcome to the Ask an Atheist thread II.

Previous part:

Win Prizes - Ask an Atheist - Shoe's on the other foot now!

Alright, we're going to have a change of tack. As I'm sure you can see, the thread title has been changed to Ask an Atheist. People who have a question to ask of the atheists who populate this thread - more than the christians do - should feel free to ask questions of them. If you've still got...

www.bigfooty.com

Standard board rules apply.

 

[Vdubs]

God was created in man's image.

some gods maybe, but not the God of Creation, the God of The Bible. Your choice to not believe it.

 

[western royboy]

Man was created in God's image (man=humankind)

I believe you have got that around the wrong way

God was created by Man…

 

[Vdubs]

I believe you have got that around the wrong way

God was created by Man…

so you guys keep saying.
who created man?
there we have this perpetual circular argument which all boils down to faith, but when Christians are asked to justify their faith, it is rapidly dismissed by the aforementioned arguments, whereas when atheists are asked to prove that Jesus is not God, and that God does not exist, and could not create mankind etc.... the argument is all about evolution, discovered by....man!

 

[Roylion]

but not the God of Creation, the God of The Bible.

I'm afraid so. The god of the Bible (Yahweh) was created in man's image.

Anything invented needs to have its' form established by its inventor.

"God: An Anatomy" by Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou describes the evidence which traces the development of the minor storm deity Yahweh into the God of Judaism and Christianity. She concludes that the Jews clearly saw Yahweh as a godlike man, in the same vein as many ancient civilisations attributed human characteristics to their deities.

The man-created Bible plainly describes an image of God as a human-shaped deity, who walked and talked and wept and laughed.

A deity who also supposedly crafted god-shaped humans from clay…and a "god who wept and talked and slept and sulked. A god who felt and fought and loved and lost."

In Genesis, Adam and Eve hear Yahweh’s footsteps approaching as he walks in the Garden of Eden. Later in the same book, Abraham sees Yahweh standing with two other divine beings beneath a group of sacred trees, and subsequently goes for a walk with him.

God is clearly male too. When Ezekiel describes his glimpse of God, for example, he describes God’s motnayim, a Hebrew word term traditionally rendered as 'loins' or 'waist,' but which more accurately refers to the groin and its genitals.

The God of the Bible was never a formless, imageless, invisible deity, who in the New Testament became flesh (‘incarnate’) in Jesus Christ.

He was already flesh with human form and human emotions. God’s image changed as cultural preferences and tastes have changed and he’s truly been created in man’s image by man’s imagination, rather than the other way around.

Imagine your own 'God' in any way you like, but in the end whatever image you derive is still an invention of man.

In the end 'God', if it exists beyond time and space as is claimed, is unknowable.

Your choice to not believe it.

Indeed it is my choice. I have good reasons to make the choice that I have.

 

[western royboy]

so you guys keep saying.
who created man?
there we have this perpetual circular argument which all boils down to faith, but when Christians are asked to justify their faith, it is rapidly dismissed by the aforementioned arguments, whereas when atheists are asked to prove that Jesus is not God, and that God does not exist, and could not create mankind etc.... the argument is all about evolution, discovered by....man!

Like you…i am entitled to believe whatever i like. I grew up and was indoctrinated into believing in the sky fairy. For far too many years I wasted far too much time praying and attending what is effectively a cult, remaining silent when I should have spoken up. That almost cost me my life and in some senses it did. To get out of the place I was in I had to go deep into religion and ultimatelyI came to the conclusion with the help of some detailed reading that it was all a massive lie. I believe the Atheist position had been put to you many times and I wish you well.

You are entitled to believe whatever you want.

Personally I believe it is total bullshit

 

[evolved2]

so you guys keep saying.
who created man?
there we have this perpetual circular argument which all boils down to faith, but when Christians are asked to justify their faith, it is rapidly dismissed by the aforementioned arguments, whereas when atheists are asked to prove that Jesus is not God, and that God does not exist, and could not create mankind etc.... the argument is all about evolution, discovered by....man!

There's two ways to answer this question
1. Scientifically, we know that man was created through evolution. There's evidence for the theory of evolution in anatomy, embryology, geology, molecular biology, biogeography, ecology, paleontology, and paleoclimatology.
2. By faith you can believe whatever you want including literal biblical creationism or that the world is 10,000 years old. There's no scientific evidence that god created man or that the world is 10,000 years old. The US Supreme court ruled that creationism is a religious belief rather than science and shouldn't be taught alongside evolution in science classrooms.

The circular reasoning is yours. Why is creationism true? Because the bible says so. Why is the bible true? Because the bible says so.

The bible was written by, voted on, and translated by man, yet you accept it as evidence for god. Why? The only evidence for the truthfulness of the bible is that some of the people and places exist(ed), though that doesn't prove any of the magic. Why doesn't prayer get answered? Why no regrown amputated limbs?

Asking us to disprove god is pointless when the basis for your belief is faith (belief without evidence). There's no means of disproving a supernatural claim that is accepted by faith alone. Faith is an unreliable means of determining truth - that I can prove. People believe all sorts of mutually exclusive things by faith and you can't all be right.

 

[Vdubs]

Like you…i am entitled to believe whatever i like. I grew up and was indoctrinated into believing in the sky fairy. For far too many years I wasted far too much time praying and attending what is effectively a cult, remaining silent when I should have spoken up. That almost cost me my life and in some senses it did. To get out of the place I was in I had to go deep into religion and ultimatelyI came to the conclusion with the help of some detailed reading that it was all a massive lie. I believe the Atheist position had been put to you many times and I wish you well.

You are entitled to believe whatever you want.

Personally I believe it is total bullshit

so you've said, and your reasons, but as an atheist you must then believe that atrocities that occur and have occurred, in the words of Bruce Hornsby, that's just the way it is, and what you've come to expect in a Godless world- so absolutely no need to think that the concept of God should invoke anger, or frustration

 

[Roylion]

who created man?

Where's the evidence "God" did so?

but when Christians are asked to justify their faith, it is rapidly dismissed by the aforementioned arguments,

Faith is usually invoked when there is an absence of evidence. By its very definition, faith is the belief in something, despite insufficient knowledge and evidence to be certain of its' veracity.

whereas when atheists are asked to prove that Jesus is not God,

I see no good reason to believe that Jesus is 'god'.

and that God does not exist,

I can't disprove God. Nor do I wish to. God, if it exists at all, is unknowable. By you. And me. However given it is you and your ilk, that are making claims to truth, I ask for supporting evidence for your claim. Otherwise all you are doing on here is proselytizing your belief system. Why should I believe that your belief system has any validity?

and could not create mankind etc.... the argument is all about evolution, discovered by....man!

There is no supporting evidence that "God" created mankind. That it did so, is merely an unsubstantiated claim based on a body of written works one of which outlines a particular creation myth.

Yet there is a considerable body of existing supporting evidence (which continues to grow) which suggests that man evolved from earlier species which in turn evolved from other species all the way back the last universal common ancestor, (LUCA) about 3.6 billion years ago.

 

[western royboy]

so you've said, and your reasons, but as an atheist you must then believe that atrocities that occur and have occurred, in the words of Bruce Hornsby, that's just the way it is, and what you've come to expect in a Godless world- so absolutely no need to think that the concept of God should invoke anger, or frustration

Just sadness in the poor people that still believe in bullshit.

Disgust in the turds who know its bullshit and still peddle it.

Horror in the seemingly educated people who never actually put into evaluating what they’ve been “told” to be true

 

[Vdubs]

There's two ways to answer this question
1. Scientifically, we know that man was created through evolution. There's evidence for the theory of evolution in anatomy, embryology, geology, molecular biology, biogeography, ecology, paleontology, and paleoclimatology.
2. By faith you can believe whatever you want including literal biblical creationism or that the world is 10,000 years old. There's no scientific evidence that god created man or that the world is 10,000 years old. The US Supreme court ruled that creationism is a religious belief rather than science and shouldn't be taught alongside evolution in science classrooms.

The circular reasoning is yours. Why is creationism true? Because the bible says so. Why is the bible true? Because the bible says so.

The bible was written by, voted on, and translated by man, yet you accept it as evidence for god. Why? The only evidence for the truthfulness of the bible is that some of the people and places exist(ed), though that doesn't prove any of the magic. Why doesn't prayer get answered? Why no regrown amputated limbs?

Asking us to disprove god is pointless when the basis for your belief is faith (belief without evidence). There's no means of disproving a supernatural claim that is accepted by faith alone. Faith is an unreliable means of determining truth - that I can prove. People believe all sorts of mutually exclusive things by faith and you can't all be right.

What is your explanation for the reality of atrocities and horrendous events that have occurred through history by the hands of man?
How do you know it's not part of the norm in this Godless world?

 

[Vdubs]

Just sadness in the poor people that still believe in bullshit.

Disgust in the turds who know its bullshit and still peddle it.

Horror in the seemingly educated people who never actually put into evaluating what they’ve been “told” to be true

so it's only God believing people who inflict atrocities on others?

 

[liz]

Man was created in God's image (man=humankind)

If we’re back to God creating man in his image, why do you need time and evolution?

 

[evolved2]

What is your explanation for the reality of atrocities and horrendous events that have occurred through history by the hands of man?
How do you know it's not part of the norm in this Godless world?

Nature and nurture. Is there any reason to add supernatural entities into the equation?

 

[Vdubs]

Nature and nurture. Is there any reason to add supernatural entities into the equation?

I like the idea of atheists explaining everything that's ever gone wrong WITHOUT the notion of God- nature/nurture, very insightful.

 

[Vdubs]

If we’re back to God creating man in his image, why do you need time and evolution?

We are here today as a result of TIME, EVOLUTION, and CREATION from my pov.

 

[Roylion]

I like the idea of atheists explaining everything that's ever gone wrong WITHOUT the notion of God

Why does the notion of "God" have to be involved in any explanation?

 

[Vdubs]

Why does the notion of "God" have to be involved in any explanation?

That is the question.Say it's a given- no God- so how do we know things are atrocities and why do they occur?
I read anger here all the time about what God has done, what He allows.
If no God ever existed, explain please

 

[evolved2]

I like the idea of atheists explaining everything that's ever gone wrong WITHOUT the notion of God- nature/nurture, very insightful.

Gods are typically used as an argument from ignorance, which is a logical fallacy. If you can't explain something, goddidit. There's no predictive or explanatory power.

We know that secular societies are generally more peaceful than religious societies which shows that a lack of god is good for humanity.

 

[evolved2]

That is the question.Say it's a given- no God- so how do we know things are atrocities and why do they occur?
I read anger here all the time about what God has done, what He allows.
If no God ever existed, explain please

No atheist is angry with god. He's just another fictional horror movie character like Freddy Krueger or Buffalo Bill afaic.

 

[western royboy]

so it's only God believing people who inflict atrocities on others?

Where did i say that? You are the one referencing God so I addressed that. But while on topic, I’d suggest to you that your crew (God Botherers and the like) are responsible for more atrocities than us non believers

 

[Obese Arachnid]

The bible was written by, voted on, and translated by man, yet you accept it as evidence for god. Why? The only evidence for the truthfulness of the bible is that some of the people and places exist(ed), though that doesn't prove any of the magic. Why doesn't prayer get answered? Why no regrown amputated limbs?

Whoa, whoa, whoa have to stop you right there!

I've actually seen film of this happening.

Watch Jaws backwards.

 

[Roylion]

That is the question.Say it's a given- no God- so how do we know things are atrocities and why do they occur?

Whether events are 'atrocities' depends on the cultural mores of the groups involved in said atrocities.

I read anger here all the time about what God has done, what He allows.

Not from me. I see no evidence 'God' 'allows' or 'disallows' anything.

If no God ever existed, explain please

Explain what exactly?

 

[travelli]

Some are worse than others as judged by negative impact across the globe. I'd say Islam is the worst followed by Christianity.

Do you mean strict dogma on the followers?

 

[Total Power]

Trump is the antichrist

He wants every American to have a copy of the Bible. He wants America to be a Christian nation..he said that many times publicly. He is just being a very good evangelist by playing on peoples fears. Oldest trick in the book

 

[Total Power]

Show us the Greek words He spoke. That may appeal to your CC mate.

What part of what i wrote you didn't understand? I said the GOSPELS were written for a Greek audience (Jesus didn't write the Gospels, neither there were any eyewitness'). The Armaic words were preserved to carry over the oral tradition that existed long before Jesus. If you see writings during that time and age it was very common