<p>
[Quote]
He is, IMO, what DOES exist, what IS.
[/Quote]
um... you mean nature?</p>
<p>
[Quote]
It's not like what happened before the Big Bang would disprove God.
[/Quote]
</p>
<p>It would disprove him as he is described in the Bible/Quran, which is the only god that has been described.</p>
<p>Didn't you just basically list every religion that's the least bit known out there? And even some religions I would have never heard of in a million years</p>
<p>CC is the only forum where I post, so I don't know how to put quotes in boxes.</p>
<ol>
<li>"religion does not encourage people to think for themselves"
Is there not a religion that does not encourage people to follow the scripture?</li>
</ol>
<p>"Not all religious people supported Prop 8; not all Prop 8 supporters were religious."
Noooo really?</p>
<p>"That law passed because of more than just religion in general."
Church of LDS played a vital role in passing Prop 8. Don't ******** me.</p>
<ol>
<li>"Most of the people who judge me take pride in that they "were raised that way" but I thought for myself and chose atheism.</li>
</ol>
<p>People who have judged me said that they "were raised that way" and you are not in a position to call this a generalization.</p>
<p>3.
"Deism isn't the opposite of the God in Christianity."
A deist God is different from the concept of a personal God. Next time I will think twice before I use "opposite."</p>
<p>4."(From a distance, I hear "Do you not believe in air just because you can't see it? Atheist fool!)"</p>
<p>I like to call this a joke.</p>
<p>5.
"Not everybody uses this argument against Atheism."
Do I need to explicitly state that not everybody uses this argument? Give me a break.</p>
<p>"And not all terrorists are motivated by religious thought. Often they have been persuaded by people that are just evil and out for their own gain."
I used terrorists who cited religious faith as an example that the incentive of going to heaven fails in reinforcing morals, not all terrorists. Again I am smart enough to know that not all terrorism is fueled by religion and see no need to state this explicitly.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Actual facts in reliable evidence that there is a God.</p></li>
<li><p>"Is it just me or is this a contradiction?"
I am entitled to an opinion.</p></li>
<li><p>"Most people could choose their school if they complained."
Or not. This rebuttal is so meaningless.</p></li>
<li><p>Obviously as in the fact that Santa Claus does not exist.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>12."But when anything good happens, it is a miracle from God? Praise the Lord."
Yes it was a snide remark. I was speaking from the time when I heard from people who defended disasters like the holocaust.</p>
<p>@Nick017: So your say Catholicism isn't a "more bad than good" religion? </p>
<p>EDIT: perhaps you just forgot to put it then? oh.. and Mormonism?</p>
<p>@ stone_cutter: She's (kind of) a Deist, she doesn't believe holy texts.</p>
<p>lol, it seems to me deists are just atheists afraid to call themselves atheists or are reluctant to admit that they believe there's no god...</p>
<p>In response to Nick's post on the long list of religions whose bad outweighs the good- </p>
<p>Confucianism definitely has more good aspects than bad. It's the same case with Daoism. Animism is kinda neutral. I've never heard of most of the other religions.</p>
<p>Well Deists aren't exactly atheist cop-outs, we still believe in a God but we just don't believe in the supernatural. </p>
<p>"Isn’t an agnostic just an atheist without balls?"- my man Stephen Colbert.</p>
<ol>
<li>Following scripture =/= not thinking for oneself. </li>
<li>You're still implying that deism and Christianity are contrary. They're not.</li>
<li>Jokes are still used to make a point.</li>
<li>Very few terrorists decide to kill people based on their own religious convictions. They're convinced by others that are using them for another purpose.</li>
<li>I don't follow.</li>
<li>An opinion based on what, your own experience? An opinion can be a generalization.</li>
<li>I thought you were trying to analogize Santa and God. My mistake.</li>
</ol>
<p>Oh, I forgot PETA-ism. That's the worst because it involves bestiality, animal worship, and overall (I would say gayness if we were back in time a few years.)</p>
<p>Uhoh, I missed mormonism? I don't know how i managed that.</p>
<p>Especially since Joseph Smith is a prime example of ******baggery convincing people of dumb sht for power and money.</p>
<p>I'm willing to bet the Christians here are in <top 25% </p>
<p>ok just kidding :P</p>
<p>
[quote]
Here is a list of all of the religions whose bad outweighs the good. In alphabetical order
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Kinda ignores the historical role of religion in human civilization.</p>
<p>
[Quote]
Well Deists aren't exactly atheist cop-outs, we still believe in a God but we just don't believe in the supernatural.
[/Quote]
A god that's not supernatural? Well, then you can't really call it a god...</p>
<p>
[Quote]
11. I thought you were trying to analogize Santa and God. My mistake.
[/Quote]
What's wrong with that? The chances of god existing are no more than the chances of santa claus existing.</p>
<p>What I meant about the supernatural was stuff like miracles or Jesus Christ or God interacting with humans</p>
<p>Very few terrorists decide to kill people based on their own religious convictions. </p>
<p>And you understand the mindset of a terrorist... mhmm. When some Islamist /fundamentalist/cultist twat convinces you to blow something up, saying God wills it, and you agree, it becomes your religious conviction, since religion is the tool used here by said twat.</p>
<p>@Nick: Wait... so are you saying that Catholicism isn't included?
@Bothwings: Haha I love that! I called agnosticism the "safer" atheism but... that's blunt in a hilarious way :D</p>
<p>agnoscticism is the smarter atheism. you cant prove or disprove anything but i do agree its about 98% god doesnt exist imo</p>
<p>
[quote]
And you understand the mindset of a terrorist... mhmm. When some Islamist /fundamentalist/cultist twat convinces you to blow something up, saying God wills it, and you agree, it becomes your religious conviction, since religion is the tool used here by said twat.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>And that reflects on religion in general how? Some people are evil. They would be evil if they were religious or if they were atheist.</p>
<p>I'm Christian.
If you want to get more specific, I'm actually Mormon.
Let the flaming begin.</p>
<p>Actually, what most people find about me that's even more odd, is it's 100% been my choice. My family isn't Mormon. </p>
<p>I have friends that tease me about it. :) Which I can see in different aspects is fully deserved.</p>
<p>My thought on the matter is I find joy in my beliefs. Even if they weren't true, I do believe they are, don't get me wrong, to a certain extent, I'd be fine with it, because I can find hope and solidarity in them when I can't find it anywhere else. </p>
<p>One of my friends has given me the title of the "Accepting Christian". I'm kind of a do-what-you-want-you-have-that-choice-I'll-do-my-best-not-to-judge-although-I'm-not-promising-anything kind of person. lol :)</p>
<p>agnosticism is hedging your bets and being to scared to take a stand.</p>
<p>Catholicism is not overly prevalent in my neck of the woods and the Catholics i know havent educated me overly in their ways. I really only know what I know from classes in European history, and reading some books about it. I would say the bad outweighs the good from looking at the sheer amount of sht the Church did in European history. And the fact that they only admitted Galileo was right and mandated that he indeed wasnt going to hell in... the 1900s? ***? </p>
<p>And... hello, if you are a smart parent you'll keep your children the hell away... Whenever a catholic priest or minister comes under fire, you know it was because they were with a live boy or dead girl. </p>
<p>But honestly, I don't know enough about catholicism to pass a judgement - I just lump it into christianity, which is a step above islam, but still bad.</p>