Ask an Atheist

[Jim Johnson]

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
-Colossians 2:8

ie... "Don't try to make any sense of what I'm saying.  I don't even know what I'm saying.  So I can't explain it to you.   If you want to be part of this group, just sit there and listen.  Other wise your not going to be part of this group and your eternal soul will burn in everlasting damnation."

[MaineShark]

Exactly how does that correlate?  You cannot logically derive an absolute statement from your lack of knowledge.

I don?t know what the current temperature is in Calcutta, but that doesn?t give me license to arbitrarily declare that Calcutta is currently existing at absolute zero (lacking all temperature heat).

Don't try to play physics.  I used the word "temperature" for a specific reason.

You can arbitrarily declare that, 'Calcutta is currently existing at absolute zero'.  There are no rules limiting assertions, except that ones credibility suffers upon making incorrect assertions.

You didn't just say that you could choose to make such an assertion; you declared that it is proper to make such an assertion.

Calcutta does exist and at any given moment it does have a current temperature.  With those pieces of evidence one could prove your assertion either right or wrong depending on the current temperature in Calcutta.

You're setting this up based on the notion that god does not exist and, hence, cannot be subjected to the same standard.  That's circular logic.  You can't declard the nonexistence of god, and then use that as part of your proof that god does not exist.

As well, one can declare that, Zorbdy on the Continent of Soupes on the Planet Torweck currently enjoys a warm sunny 82 degrees.
One could not prove that statement wrong, because there is no evidence of the Planet Torweck or evidence of the Continent of Soupes or evidence of Zorbdy.  So properly one should say, that since there is no evidence of the existence of these places, no statement about them can be true.  That means that the statement about the weather there is wrong.  It is not directly proved by going to Zorbdy and taking a temperature reading that is different than 82 degrees, but it does show that the statement is wrong.

Maybe I have a subspace radio that picks up the Zorbdy Weather Channel?  You can't use your personal lack of knowledge as proof that something does not exist.

Maybe John Doe has gazed upon the naked face of God Almighty.  Maybe not.  You can't prove that he hasn't and, as a result, you cannot claim to be grounded in reality if you make such a claim.

There can not be a direct proof either for or against something that does not exist.  It can not even be shown, with a high degree of assurance, that something does not exist.  That is why the burden of proof is on the person who asserts existence.

Uh, you may want to clean this up, unless you're trying for the circular logic again...

One must have evidence to say that something does exist.

John Doe has gazed upon God's sacred Visage.  He knows that God exists.  Can you prove otherwise?

Can you say, for a fact, that he hasn't?  I can't.  I can say that I think it much more likely that he is suffering from delusions, rather than having actually viewed God's face.  I'm not inclined to believe that the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God exists, from the evidence that I've seen.  But there's a wide step between "I think that unlikely" and "I know as Revealed Truth that no god can possibly exist."  Because that's what you're claiming: that you somehow have god-like knowledge of the nature of the universe.  Else, you cannot know what does and does not exist, except through direct experience.

Joe

[Russell Kanning]

I don't see Jesus or Mary in tortillas .... but some people do.

[TackleTheWorld]

Mmmm tortillas.

[Russell Kanning]

I finally have a question for an atheist ..... do you feel quilty if you eat food that resembles Mary?

[Lloyd Danforth]

No, I always start with the food on my plate that most resembles Mary

[Russell Kanning]

Now that is an interesting answer.
How do you recognize her? .... or is any human looking face good enough?

[Lloyd Danforth]

I go for the most serene face on my plate and hope for the best

[Raineyrocks]

Now that is an interesting answer.
How do you recognize her? .... or is any human looking face good enough?

Recognize her but there's pictures of her all over the place, do you know.  Just kidding I know exactly what your saying!

[Lloyd Danforth]

I couldn't get this to play in 'image'

http://www.comics.com/comics/ripleys/archive/ripleys-20070322.html

[Russell Kanning]

that is funny .... I wonder how long the ice lasted .... did it keep growing and look more like someone else?

[sandm000]

As of January 2007 it's still there I googled Virgin Mary Ice



It doesn't look anything like the Virgin Mary

It does however resemble this bong

[ChiMoHe]

I thought Athiest was not belief in Religion ... not that there was not higher power other than ones self ... or is that agnostic?  teach please

[Braddogg]

I thought Athiest was not belief in Religion ... not that there was not higher power other than ones self ... or is that agnostic?  teach please

Atheist: a-theist.  "a" is a negator, and "theist" is one who believes in a god.  So, an atheist is one who does not believe in a god.

[MaineShark]

I thought Athiest was not belief in Religion ... not that there was not higher power other than ones self ... or is that agnostic?  teach please

Atheist: a-theist.  "a" is a negator, and "theist" is one who believes in a god.  So, an atheist is one who does not believe in a god.

Atheist: one who believes that there is no god

Which is significantly different from "one who does not believe in a god"

Atheism isn't a lack of belief; it's the specific belief that there is no god.

Joe