A beginner's guide to being an atheist, by Richard Dawkins

[domer76]

You seem really stressed out about 3,500 year old Mesopotamian deities.

Hardly. Pretty interesting stuff to me. It reinforces the fact that deities are all man made creatures.

 

[Uncensored2008]

genocide is cool!

From the river to the sea, Arab lands will be Jew free.

Yep - you support genocide alright.

you're a fucked up racist fidiot and you don;t even understand christianity.

LOL, Jesus was a Jew.

and you're legion and itn and whoever the fuck else lie bag persona.

eat shit.

Sure Dutch - you've got it all figured out.

 

[Cypress]

Hardly. Pretty interesting stuff to me. It reinforces the fact that deities are all man made creatures.

You're only interested in reading things you already know your going to agree with.

That's not being "pretty interested" in stuff. That's just confirmation bias.

 

[Cypress]

Yahweh = Jehovah = LORD was a minor storm and war god. Live with it.

The intellectual foundation for the Christian faith is based on the historical evidence for the resurrection of the historical person Jesus of Nazareth.

That's history; the only question is whether you think the witnesses were lying or mistaken about what they claim to have seen.

Going back four thousand years into the Mesopotamian myths really does nothing to undermine the intellectual historical foundation of Christian faith.
It's such a weak argument that I have never seen leading atheist influencers try to use it as a real knock out punch against their Christian interlocutors.

 

[Freddy Figbottom]

From the river to the sea, Arab lands will be Jew free.

Yep - you support genocide alright.



LOL, Jesus was a Jew.



Sure Dutch - you've got it all figured out.

i I don't support genocdie against anyone.

you should be less evil.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

You're only interested in reading things you already know your going to agree with.

That's not being "pretty interested" in stuff. That's just confirmation bias.

Agreed on confirmation bias.

One thing the extremists refuse to admit is that most Christians agree that the Bible is a perception and not to be taken literally. I've posted the facts before and every single Atheist ran from it. Like MAGAts, militant atheists dislike facts in favor of "alternative facts". Weird!

Fewer in U.S. Now See Bible as Literal Word of God

Coinciding with a general decline in religiosity in the U.S., a record-low 20% of Americans now say they believe the Bible is literally true.

news.gallup.com

A record-low 20% of Americans now say the Bible is the literal word of God, down from 24% the last time the question was asked in 2017, and half of what it was at its high points in 1980 and 1984. Meanwhile, a new high of 29% say the Bible is a collection of "fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man."

 

[Cypress]

Agreed on confirmation bias.

One thing the extremists refuse to admit is that most Christians agree that the Bible is a perception and not to be taken literally. I've posted the facts before and every single Atheist ran from it. Like MAGAts, militant atheists dislike facts in favor of "alternative facts". Weird!

Fewer in U.S. Now See Bible as Literal Word of God

Coinciding with a general decline in religiosity in the U.S., a record-low 20% of Americans now say they believe the Bible is literally true.

news.gallup.com

A record-low 20% of Americans now say the Bible is the literal word of God, down from 24% the last time the question was asked in 2017, and half of what it was at its high points in 1980 and 1984. Meanwhile, a new high of 29% say the Bible is a collection of "fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man."

Good point.
God did not write the Bible.
He didn't even dictate it.
People in the Near East two thousand years ago did not write analytical history or biography.

You have to honor literary style if you're going to be an honest literary critic of the New testament.

I recently heard a Lutheran minister say that we can't take everything in the Bible literally true, and that there are even passages in the Bible we are free to disagree with.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

Good point.
God did not write the Bible.
He didn't even dictate it.
People in the Near East two thousand years ago did not write analytical history or biography.

You have to honor literary style if you're going to be an honest literary critic of the New testament.

I recently heard a Lutheran minister say that we can't take everything in the Bible literally true, and that there are even passages in the Bible we are free to disagree with.

Agreed. It's evidence that militant atheists are dishonest and/or ignorant.

Good on the minister!

 

[domer76]

You're only interested in reading things you already know your going to agree with.

That's not being "pretty interested" in stuff. That's just confirmation bias.

I came across the history of YAHWEH when I was researching the history of Israel and Palestine after the Hamas attack on Israel, pally boy. Prior to that, I was unaware of that history.

So, it looks like you stepped in it again. You seem to want to look foolish with all your assumptions here.

 

[domer76]

The intellectual foundation for the Christian faith is based on the historical evidence for the resurrection of the historical person Jesus of Nazareth.

That's history; the only question is whether you think the witnesses were lying or mistaken about what they claim to have seen.

Going back four thousand years into the Mesopotamian myths really does nothing to undermine the intellectual historical foundation of Christian faith.
It's such a weak argument that I have never seen leading atheist influencers try to use it as a real knock out punch against their Christian interlocutors.

The foundation of the Christian faith goes back to the Old Testament and the god of Abraham. Deny that truth all you want. It changes nothing.

 

[Cypress]

I came across the history of YAHWEH when I was researching the history of Israel and Palestine after the Hamas attack on Israel, pally boy. Prior to that, I was unaware of that history.

So, it looks like you stepped in it again. You seem to want to look foolish with all your assumptions here.

Who cares when you read it.
It's obvious you only read what you already know you're going to agree with. Your talking points demonstrate that.

Confirmation bias is a a terrible way to learn and understand any topic.

I read the seminal atheist authors as well as reputable Christian apologists, and attempt to do so with an open mind. That was profitable to me.

 

[domer76]

Who cares when you read it.
It's obvious you only read what you already know you're going to agree with. Your talking points demonstrate that.

Confirmation bias is a a terrible way to learn and understand any topic.

I read the seminal atheist authors as well as reputable Christian apologists, and attempt to do so with an open mind. That was profitable to me.

Funny, dude. I just can’t find ANYTHING that contradicts the history of YAHWEH as I’ve posted.

Go ahead and refute what I’ve posted. I’ll wait.

 

[Cypress]

The foundation of the Christian faith goes back to the Old Testament and the god of Abraham. Deny that truth all you want. It changes nothing.

I said the intellectual foundation, not the cultural foundation.
The intellectual foundation of Christianity is the evidence for the historical resurrection of the historic person Jesus, Christ. You could get rid of the story of Genesis, Noah's ark, book of Job, and it would change nothing substantive about Christian belief and practice. Corinthians openly states that if the resurrection isn't true then there was no point being a Christian, they would just be fools.

 

[Cypress]

Funny, dude. I just can’t find ANYTHING that contradicts the history of YAHWEH as I’ve posted.

Go ahead and refute what I’ve posted. I’ll wait.

It's the way you're using it.

Your using the Mesopotamiam mythology to mock Christianity. I've seen plenty of other atheists do that, so you did not just innocently stumble across this well established talking point.

If you don't relentlessly practice confirmation bias, please tell me honestly which reputable Christian apologist authors you have read.

 

[domer76]

I said the intellectual foundation, not the cultural foundation.
The intellectual foundation of Christianity is the evidence for the historical resurrection of the historic person Jesus, Christ. You could get rid of the story of Genesis, Noah's ark, book of Job, and it would change nothing substantive about Christian belief and practice. Corinthians openly states that if the resurrection isn't true then there was no point being a Christian, they would just be fools.

Odd how the Christians push the display of the 10 Commandments and cite Leviticus for their moral
direction. Nothing intellectual about those, I guess.

The resurrection is a physical impossibility. Nothing intellectual about that, either.

Corinthians is nothing more than the opinion of Paul.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

Who cares when you read it.
It's obvious you only read what you already know you're going to agree with. Your talking points demonstrate that.

Confirmation bias is a a terrible way to learn and understand any topic.

I read the seminal atheist authors as well as reputable Christian apologists, and attempt to do so with an open mind. That was profitable to me.

Agreed on confirmation bias. Like MAGAts and other extremists, militant atheists only see what they want to see and ignore what they dislike.

The fact @domer76 makes false accusations against you is also the actions of an extremist as are the fact militant atheists all run from discussing the origins of the Universe and questioning on why it exists as it does. Those are scientific questions they run from. I can understand if they don't want to discuss the afterlife even though many "atheists" who disbelieve in a deity also believe in a post-mortem existence such as the Buddhists they love to claim among their numbers.

Examples:

The foundation of the Christian faith goes back to the Old Testament and the god of Abraham. Deny that truth all you want. It changes nothing.

I came across the history of YAHWEH when I was researching the history of Israel and Palestine after the Hamas attack on Israel, pally boy. Prior to that, I was unaware of that history.

So, it looks like you stepped in it again. You seem to want to look foolish with all your assumptions here.

Can’t help you, dude, on your need for some deity or religion as a source for human moral behavior. You’ll have to argue with cultural anthropologists who say you’re full of shit. The same experts will tell you that murder, selfishness, greed, non-cooperation, etc. are traits not conducive to the survival of the clan, so moral codes against those behaviors developed. Argue with them, not me.

Moral behavior comes naturally to us as a species. It’s actually one of man’s inventions - religion - that is a major flaw in that behavior.

Your entire body and being is one mass of biochemical reactions. To deny that is absurd. The fact that species have evolved with traits that increase their odds of survival, including that motherly love, is undeniable. Motherly love is common across many species of animals.

Different emotions stimulate reactions in different parts of the human brain. To deny that is absurd. If you do, you’ll have to argue with neuroscientists who will say you’re full of shit.

 

[domer76]

It's the way you're using it.

Your using the Mesopotamiam mythology to mock Christianity. I've seen plenty of other atheists do that, so you did not just innocently stumble across this well established talking point.

If you don't relentlessly practice confirmation bias, please tell me honestly which reputable Christian apologist authors you have read.

I don’t need Mesopotamian mythology to mock Christians. There is plenty in the NT and after to do so.

I merely marvel at the ignorance of Christians of their own faith. Not to mention their denial once they’re made aware of the history.

I’ve read plenty of Christian apologists. I’ve watched their debates with Biblical scholars. They fall flat every time. In the end, all they ever have is faith for their argument. But, if you find one that denies the history of YAHWEH, I’ll be glad to entertain it.

 

[domer76]

Agreed on confirmation bias. Like MAGAts and other extremists, militant atheists only see what they want to see and ignore what they dislike.

The fact @domer76 makes false accusations against you is also the actions of an extremist as are the fact militant atheists all run from discussing the origins of the Universe and questioning on why it exists as it does. Those are scientific questions they run from. I can understand if they don't want to discuss the afterlife even though many "atheists" who disbelieve in a deity also believe in a post-mortem existence such as the Buddhists they love to claim among their numbers.

Examples:

Find the false allegations, Festus. I’ll wait.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

It's the way you're using it.

Your using the Mesopotamiam mythology to mock Christianity. I've seen plenty of other atheists do that, so you did not just innocently stumble across this well established talking point.

If you don't relentlessly practice confirmation bias, please tell me honestly which reputable Christian apologist authors you have read.

Agreed he loves to mock Christianity and also agreed that confirmation bias is as far as he goes.

Maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen anyone on this thread deny that the Abrahamic religions have a basis in even older religious beliefs. I've seen you agree that it's an evolution of religion and I've posted agreement on the history, yet @domer76 keeps beating his strawman. Weird!

You and I disagree that the orderliness of our Universe indicates an intelligence at work, I've never seen you standing around with your finger in the air saying "Jesus is Lord". OTOH, I've seen at least two militant atheists with their digital fingers in the air mocking those who disagree with their unprovable theories.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

Find the false allegations, Festus. I’ll wait.

Read the post. Thanks for continuing your juvenile insults. It's additional proof of your inability to debate with adult logic. Sad.

It's why I see both you and Matt as the two sides of the same coin.