Losing Your Religion: brown townytic Thinking Can Undermine Belief

[Visage]

Except I'm not the one making the claim.

Are you trolling or something?

[Ad Bot]

[RagnaTheBroedge]

Except I'm not the one making the claim.

...i...
...what...

[xXBeibsFan119Xx]

Except I'm not the one making the claim.

True. You've never said your deity of choice exists. But I'm not arguing that. I'm arguing that the 'both ways' thing is wrong. It's hypothetical.

[Sheath]

I was raised in a family that was Christian.

It wasn't until 2008 that I started thinking about it. During 2009 I constantly thought about it, and naturally, the argument for a God and religion became more and more bogus the more I considered it.

Late 2009 I considered myself an atheist, but it wasn't easy. I wanted to believe in an afterlife and a God because I am human and I found it safer and more comforting. Admittedly it was hard at first to abandon religious views which were part of my life for so long. Part of me thinks you are similar Aces, in that you'd rather believe it because you want to, not because you actually do.

Now my views are completely clear, I am an atheist and I wouldn't ever look back. In hindsight, religion was always so ridiculous. I guess you don't understand how ridiculous it is until you are external from it.

Aces, I suggest you do what I did and sit on it for a year. Think about it for as long as you need to. Nobody can tell you what to believe except yourself. Think about why you believe what you do, and deconstruct your beliefs to the core.

I'm happy I dropped religion early in my life. Religion used to feel "safe" but it just seems so twisted to me now.

[Aces]

He said anyone who made a claim had to show evidence.

Where did I say "God exists"

True. You've never said your deity of choice exists. But I'm not arguing that. I'm arguing that the 'both ways' thing is wrong. It's hypothetical.

I'm saying that the person to state "God exists" or "God doesn't exist" had to give the evidence.

Not just the people saying "God exist"

[Visage]

I don't understand why people will believe in a God without requiring proof but then they will require proof about other claims in life like if someone told them the sun was actually a baseball a giant demon lit on fire and knocked out into space, they would probably not believe it until there was substantial proof of it. How can people have expectations and logic and reasoning for every single claim they ever run across except 1. It seems kind of hypocritical.

[RagnaTheBroedge]

how do you give evidence that something doesn't exist.
i mean, wouldn't the complete absence of any tangible form be evidence enough.

[Sheath]

how do you give evidence that something doesn't exist.
i mean, wouldn't the complete absence of any tangible form be evidence enough.

It isn't as black and white as that, unfortunately. :(

Religion is very old. Its weaved itself around people and it adapts to challenges. Religion is an intricate network of fallacies that is designed to be impossible to prove, but impossible to disprove.

[Aces]

how do you give evidence that something doesn't exist.
i mean, wouldn't the complete absence of any tangible form be evidence enough.

How do you prove that a supernatural being does exist?

I don't understand why people will believe in a God without requiring proof but then they will require proof about other claims in life like if someone told them the sun was actually a baseball a giant demon lit on fire and knocked out into space, they would probably not believe it until there was substantial proof of it. How can people have expectations and logic and reasoning for every single claim they ever run across except 1. It seems kind of hypocritical.

To be honest I can't answer every logical and persuading argument that comes toward me from an atheists viewpoint, mainly because my thoughts are very general; my religion isn't specific at all.

Okay, proof is the most logical thing to go by, but lack of proof isn't anything to be ashamed of.

Does lack of evidence make something unreal?

[RagnaTheBroedge]

How do you prove that a supernatural being does exist?

well i mean ignoring the whole "supernatural" thing (which is in itself an indicator of not existing), let's say, a prayer, like, working?

Does lack of evidence make something unreal?

yes

[Visage]

How do you prove that a supernatural being does exist?To be honest I can't answer every logical and persuading argument that comes toward me from an atheists viewpoint, mainly because my thoughts are very general; my religion isn't specific at all.

Okay, proof is the most logical thing to go by, but lack of proof isn't anything to be ashamed of.

Does lack of evidence make something unreal?

If you are incapable of proving if something does exist then you can only claim "I don't know if it exists." You can't claim something does exist and then say that just because its impossible to prove doesn't make it not true. The claim that it does exist can be proven false without having to prove it doesn't exist.

[xXBeibsFan119Xx]

How do you prove that a supernatural being does exist?

If you can't prove that it exists, why would you believe it in the first place?

Does lack of evidence make something unreal?

If a tree falls in a forest with nobody around, does it make a sound?

[Aces]

I was raised in a family that was Christian.

It wasn't until 2008 that I started thinking about it. During 2009 I constantly thought about it, and naturally, the argument for a God and religion became more and more bogus the more I considered it.

Late 2009 I considered myself an atheist, but it wasn't easy. I wanted to believe in an afterlife and a God because I am human and I found it safer and more comforting. Admittedly it was hard at first to abandon religious views which were part of my life for so long. Part of me thinks you are similar Aces, in that you'd rather believe it because you want to, not because you actually do.

Now my views are completely clear, I am an atheist and I wouldn't ever look back. In hindsight, religion was always so ridiculous. I guess you don't understand how ridiculous it is until you are external from it.

Aces, I suggest you do what I did and sit on it for a year. Think about it for as long as you need to. Nobody can tell you what to believe except yourself. Think about why you believe what you do, and deconstruct your beliefs to the core.

I'm happy I dropped religion early in my life. Religion used to feel "safe" but it just seems so twisted to me now.

I guess I wanted to be in some way irreligious, but I didn't want to upset my parents.

I believe in a deity but not a specific one, mainly because it sounded like the best way to go. Not to get out of going to Hell or anything like that, but so I could conclude my belief.

Currently I don't belong to any belief and it's been like that for a while.

[xXBeibsFan119Xx]

I guess I wanted to be in some way irreligious, but I didn't want to upset my parents.

I believe in a deity but not a specific one, mainly because it sounded like the best way to go. Not to get out of going to Hell or anything like that, but so I could conclude my belief.

Currently I don't belong to any belief and it's been like that for a while.

Why believe in something without proof?

[Aces]

Why believe in something without proof?

It seems natural to rely on something for existance, but it kinda seems natural.