Christians are easily startled, but they'll soon be back. And in greater numbers 36:11

[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.

 

[Total Power]

Listening to Did Jesus Exist? Bart Ehrman Q&A - Unbelievable? | Everand

www.everand.com

At least Bart Ehrman believes Jesus existed AND interestingly, Total Power, he quotes your mate Paul, of all sources, as his evidence, in his new book. He certainly stirred up many atheists with his findings and comments.

And yes, I get that he does not believe Jesus rose from the dead, and that he was not divine.

Where did i ever say this individual never existed? Just like Krishna, Rama, Mohammed and everyone else, this individual absolutely existed. So did the fraud, Paul. Is this what you make out of our 5 year argument? Just read his book before commenting ffs. The dispute is over the narrative that the stories surrounding this individual, like him being god or the resurrection story, which has zero evidence backing it up and has a big gap. Believers will believe but historians do their best to provide an unbiased view..that's what Bart does and he is hated.

This is how you misinterpret scholars..and people. Please pay attention next time

 

[Total Power]

Could be true. And?

From Tarantino to Squid Game: why do so many people enjoy violence?

Simon McCarthy-Jones, Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, asks why we are drawn to watch violence, in this piece first published on The Conversation.

www.tcd.ie

None better than YWH, than the original god. No one killed more than him. From drowning to raping to infanticide to genocide...he had it all converted. Hitler has nothing on YWH

 

[Frank Bunn]

I suspect there's enough scary passages in the NT to make most Christians nervous about where they'll land in the afterlife.

I thought all sins could be forgiven by three Hail Marys and an How's your Father?

Maybe there needs to be a 'Will I go to heaven' app. Heaven-O-Meter on a Smartwatch tells you you're in positive territory - whoopsie, drive off a bridge.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

I thought all sins could be forgiven by three Hail Marys and an How's your Father?

How terribly Catholic of you.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

I personally think this whole End Times mindset speaks to a fundamental misanthropy, a dismaying pessimism about the wonderful potential of the human race.

Lord knows (LOL) there’s much about the world today and what we’ve done to the planet to make us pessimistic, but I dunno, at the end of the day, despite all the terrible things humans have done, I still love the human race. We’re effing incredible.

I don’t know that End Times believers display anywhere near the same sort of love for humanity. Fair bit of self-loathing driving them, I suspect.

 

[Boston tiger]

What are your thoughts on the Quran being less violent than the Bible?

View attachment 2202186

Basically Judaism and Islam were both founded by warlords. Christianity was founded by a hippie. Peace out man.

 

[Ghost Patrol]

Basically Judaism and Islam were both founded by warlords. Christianity was founded by a hippie. Peace out man.

Is it true that Jesus wanted to annex Greenland and Canada?

 

[Boston tiger]

Is it true that Jesus wanted to annex Greenland and Canada?

God is my ruler . You have chosen Herod to rule you. Good luck with all that .

 

[Roylion]

God is my ruler . You have chosen Herod to rule you. Good luck with all that .

This was always my favourite song from Jesus Christ Superstar.

 

[Ghost Patrol]

God is my ruler . You have chosen Herod to rule you. Good luck with all that .

Never heard of them. Were they goat herders as well?

 

[Vdubs]

Where did i ever say this individual never existed? Just like Krishna, Rama, Mohammed and everyone else, this individual absolutely existed. So did the fraud, Paul. Is this what you make out of our 5 year argument? Just read his book before commenting ffs. The dispute is over the narrative that the stories surrounding this individual, like him being god or the resurrection story, which has zero evidence backing it up and has a big gap. Believers will believe but historians do their best to provide an unbiased view..that's what Bart does and he is hated.

This is how you misinterpret scholars..and people. Please pay attention next time

Quoting Paul as part of your evidence, as Bart does, and I have been listening to a lot of his debates, does NOT portray him- Paul- being the fraud you keep describing him as.

 

[Total Power]

Quoting Paul as part of your evidence, as Bart does, and I have been listening to a lot of his debates, does NOT portray him- Paul- being the fraud you keep describing him as.

You have again misquoted me. I never mentioned Paul in context of what Bart states OUTSIDE of the fact he states Pauls letters were forgeries. Many other scholars refer Paul as a fraud. Bart doesn't state what Paul is..either way but he is clear that Christians have ulterior motives in regards to forgeries with Paul's letters. This is why he states much of the Bible is nothing but a forgery to present Jesus is a better light.

more than half of Pauline letters were forgeries. He presents this evidence which no apologist have given a conclusive reply to outside of abusing him.

You can listen to his podcast here

You have to understand one thing. Bart is a historian, not a theologian. He is fighting the apologists who claim Jesus is God. He writes his stuff carefully so that he doesn't come across a hater like so many militant atheists do. But apologists still hate him. Bart's main point being Jesus not being God. Period. And much of the Bible is basically a forgery.

But regarding the question of Paul being a fraud and there are differences between what Jesus taught and what Paul taught. He had reasons to lie.

Bart lists them here:

The Messages of Jesus and Paul: Basically the Same or Fundamentally Different? | The Bart Ehrman Blog

I have been talking about the relationship of Jesus’ proclamation of the coming Kingdom of God to Paul’s preaching about the importance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the previous post I argued that the fundamental concerns, interests, perspectives, and theologies of these two were...

ehrmanblog.org

Bart refuses to answer this question and says there's no right answer in this but he is clear,, there ARE many differences between what Jesus taught and what Paul taught...but i am not quoting Bart here. I made my case on why Paul is a fraud.

However this is the point i wanted to make, Jesus was a non factor back in his days, he was basically a nobody, hence no one wrote about him. Jesus became Jesus (or god), a lot later.

 

[Vdubs]

You have again misquoted me. I never mentioned Paul in context of what Bart states OUTSIDE of the fact he states Pauls letters were forgeries. Many other scholars refer Paul as a fraud. Bart doesn't state what Paul is..either way but he is clear that Christians have ulterior motives in regards to forgeries with Paul's letters. This is why he states much of the Bible is nothing but a forgery to present Jesus is a better light.

more than half of Pauline letters were forgeries. He presents this evidence which no apologist have given a conclusive reply to outside of abusing him.

You can listen to his podcast here

You have to understand one thing. Bart is a historian, not a theologian. He is fighting the apologists who claim Jesus is God. He writes his stuff carefully so that he doesn't come across a hater like so many militant atheists do. But apologists still hate him. Bart's main point being Jesus not being God. Period. And much of the Bible is basically a forgery.

But regarding the question of Paul being a fraud and there are differences between what Jesus taught and what Paul taught. He had reasons to lie.

Bart lists them here:

The Messages of Jesus and Paul: Basically the Same or Fundamentally Different? | The Bart Ehrman Blog

I have been talking about the relationship of Jesus’ proclamation of the coming Kingdom of God to Paul’s preaching about the importance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the previous post I argued that the fundamental concerns, interests, perspectives, and theologies of these two were...

ehrmanblog.org

Bart refuses to answer this question and says there's no right answer in this but he is clear,, there ARE many differences between what Jesus taught and what Paul taught...but i am not quoting Bart here. I made my case on why Paul is a fraud.

However this is the point i wanted to make, Jesus was a non factor back in his days, he was basically a nobody, hence no one wrote about him. Jesus became Jesus (or god), a lot later.

View attachment 2202941

Tbh, i have listened to many podcasts with BE featuring, and all I can say is my faith in God , and Christianity, is enhanced. To reference CS Lewis,
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
That is exactly what I believe.
I do not need to debate with you what BE thinks or says.
As I have repeatedly said, and you have no time for it, as Christians, what we have is deeply personal, how Christianity gives us meaning, clarity, purpose, direction, showing us that each individual is worthy of love. In so doing, it is expected that we do not live for ourselves, that we are here for service for all people we come in touch with.
You bring up other faith systems and ask me to comment all the time- not sure why, but what I do say is, that other faith systems will have elements of worthwhileness, but there are things missing. In Christianity, I have everything I need that makes sense and therefore is the best explanation to me of why we are here, how we got to be here, and what the future holds.
If you think it's all about me-centric luxury living, you are mistaken.
Some people are searching for this, and what I say will resonate with them.
For those who have no need for any of this, I keep saying, great, why persist in asking for more proof or evidence than what I have offered. Not accepting the Word of God, testimonies, how Christianity positively affects individuals, and long term faith means a stalemate.

 

[Total Power]

Tbh, i have listened to many podcasts with BE featuring, and all I can say is my faith in God , and Christianity, is enhanced. To reference CS Lewis,
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
That is exactly what I believe.
I do not need to debate with you what BE thinks or says.
As I have repeatedly said, and you have no time for it, as Christians, what we have is deeply personal, how Christianity gives us meaning, clarity, purpose, direction, showing us that each individual is worthy of love. In so doing, it is expected that we do not live for ourselves, that we are here for service for all people we come in touch with.
You bring up other faith systems and ask me to comment all the time- not sure why, but what I do say is, that other faith systems will have elements of worthwhileness, but there are things missing. In Christianity, I have everything I need that makes sense and therefore is the best explanation to me of why we are here, how we got to be here, and what the future holds.
If you think it's all about me-centric luxury living, you are mistaken.
Some people are searchin g for this, and what I say will fresonate with them.
For those who have no need for any of this, I keep saying, great, why persist in asking for more proof or evidence than what I have offered. Not accepting the Word of God, testimonies, how Christianity positively affects individuals, and long term faith means a stalemate.

You brought up Bart and misquoted me, now i replied to you and reply with C.S Lewis again. (relevance????). Shifting goalposts for the 128373737th time again

I do not give a tosh about what you BELIEVE IN, i only care about the evidence and there's clear forgery in the Bible as Bart mentioned.

 

[Vdubs]

You brought up Bart and misquoted me, now i replied to you and reply with C.S Lewis again. (relevance????). Shifting goalposts for the 128373737th time again

I do not give a tosh about what you BELIEVE IN, i only care about the evidence and there's clear forgery in the Bible as Bart mentioned.

True that, you don't give a tosh.
Most of you succeeded in getting Christians off this thread.
And now it's for the Atheists.

Meanwhile back in the year one
When you belonged to no one
You didn't stand a chance, son
If your pants were undone....

Evidence is that 'we' have messed up this world and existence we have, but it does not and will not be like that for eternity. Much to look forward to while we continue to be the best custodians we can be in this brief life we have here.

 

[Ghost Patrol]

Most of you succeeded in getting Christians off this thread.

Christians are easily startled, but they'll soon be back. And in greater numbers 36:11

 

[Vdubs]

Christians are easily startled, but they'll soon be back. And in greater numbers 36:11

Unlikely- not an enticing Thread Title

 

[Roylion]

Evidence is that 'we' have messed up this world and existence we have,

No we haven't.

A raft of measures ranging from longevity to literacy suggests humanity is in better shape than ever.

• Life spans are improving with global life expectancy is at an all-time high of 73.3 years.
• Child mortality is falling - children dying before reaching the age of five has halved since 2000 and continues to fall.
• The overall number living in extreme poverty has fallen sharply – in 1990 there were almost 2 billion people living on less than $US2.15 a day, but in 2023 that number was down to 693 million.
• Medical advances are saving and enhancing millions of lives.
• Global literacy rates are at record highs.
• The share of households with access to electricity is at a record 91 per cent.
• CO2 emissions that contribute to global warming have plateaued on a per-capita basis.

 

[Vdubs]

No we haven't.

A raft of measures ranging from longevity to literacy suggests humanity is in better shape than ever.

• Life spans are improving with global life expectancy is at an all-time high of 73.3 years.
• Child mortality is falling - children dying before reaching the age of five has halved since 2000 and continues to fall.
• The overall number living in extreme poverty has fallen sharply – in 1990 there were almost 2 billion people living on less than $US2.15 a day, but in 2023 that number was down to 693 million.
• Medical advances are saving and enhancing millions of lives.
• Global literacy rates are at record highs.
• The share of households with access to electricity is at a record 91 per cent.
• CO2 emissions that contribute to global warming have plateaued on a per-capita basis.

What do you perceive as the sequelae of billions of people living into their nineties?
War?
Famine?
You honestly think sustainability is not at risk here in a dramatic way?

 

[Roylion]

What do you perceive as the sequelae of billions of people living into their nineties?
War?
Famine?

While peacefulness worldwide has declined in the past five years, on just about every other measure life for millions of people is better than ever.

You honestly think sustainability is not at risk here in a dramatic way?

As I said, life spans are improving, child mortality is falling, medical advances save millions of lives, literacy rates are at all time highs, access to electricity providing lighting, heating and cooling is available to 90% of the world's people and of course knowledge is at record highs. 'We' haven't messed up this world and existence we have.

So the coming years will come with the lowest chances of dying in history, the best chances of surviving childhood, the best chances of getting educated, the best chances of avoiding extreme poverty and the best chances of having access to electricity.

It's a good time to be alive. Probably the best time in history to be such.

 

[Total Power]

True that, you don't give a tosh.
Most of you succeeded in getting Christians off this thread.

Ah yes, how dare we, ask for evidence! silly us...just let us believe in Allah, Krishna, Thor, Jesus and every other weirdo claims you people make.

Yeah apologies

And now it's for the Atheists.

Meanwhile back in the year one
When you belonged to no one
You didn't stand a chance, son
If your pants were undone....

Evidence is that 'we' have messed up this world and existence we have, but it does not and will not be like that for eternity. Much to look forward to while we continue to be the best custodians we can be in this brief life we have here.

The world is just fine, SOME people have messed up this world. I have faith in humanity and i don't have a negative approach of life. I love every moment of my life, i love my family, friends, my dog, those who mean to me and help people unconditionally, maybe you should start to love too.

We are living in the most peaceful period in human history. So moving away from religion has helped us and it wasn't for religious nations like Israel/palestine/russia, middle east and America, we would be a lot more peaceful.

Your approach to life really sucks, brighten up...the world is beautiful. No wonder you guys are hungry for the afterlife cookie...you forget to live, trying to live for false promises.

 

[Total Power]

What do you perceive as the sequelae of billions of people living into their nineties?
War?
Famine?
You honestly think sustainability is not at risk here in a dramatic way?

Nature will take care of overpopulation, that's how evolution works...nature is a great equalizer.

Fertility rates are dropping alarmingly. In Japan there's more 84 year olds than 1 year olds. Same in Europe, Korea and even sperm count has dropped by 50% worldwide. Even in India the most populous nation of earth, it has dropped alarmingly. No magic man needed.

Population will peak and star to go down, some brilliant scientists predicted this decades ago. This is what the guys in white jackets predicted 40 years ago and it's coming true.

You really need to look outside of your fairy tales.

 

[CM86]

Basically Judaism and Islam were both founded by warlords. Christianity was founded by a hippie. Peace out man.

It's interesting to see you accept that Christianity was created, not observed.