Theism vs. Atheism ... will it ever be settled?

After 81 pages, there is definitely gonna be some shrapnel flying around This is after all a religious thread.Collateral damage I am afraid.

Most atheists are trolls.
How come at least half of Christians are just cool, while so many atheists have the need to spread it?
Is it the nature of the belief? Is it because religion is so established in society one has to try to get the atheist message out?

And I still maintain some key word some....atheists are just "edgy" people looking for attention.
But that is not you Mike. Those people would never have the will power to keep this going.

JJLehto wrote: Most atheists are trolls. How come at least half of Christians are just cool, while so many atheists have the need to spread it?

Really? "Most atheists are trolls" - seems like a statement that's pretty difficult to prove. Jusging by this thread, even if you see me and Textbook as trolls, you still have atheists like Dean or The T who certainly qualify as "just cool".

As for the "need to spread it": It's one thread in a forum about progressive rock - it's not like I'm trying to mobilize the masses.

JJLehto wrote: Is it the nature of the belief? Is it because religion is so established in society one has to try to get the atheist message out? And I still maintain some key word some....atheists are just "edgy" people looking for attention. But that is not you Mike. Those people would never have the will power to keep this going.

In my case it's really just an honest fascination with the topic.

I don't mean you only Mike. In general. Why do so many Atheists get all intense about it.

Lots of Christians do as well of course, but I know just as many that...well just live. If it comes up or whatever sure, but they don't go around just talking about it all the time.
While most atheists, even if they are cool, logical, sane all that...tend to be more out with it.

I just wonder why.
And yes I'm generalizing people but its easier, since we all know we are individuals...no need to say it.

Like it or not, but such people exist, and they are in power in some countries. If I lived in Illinois and witnessed such events, I would most certainly try to educate people about Atheism.

Or might the question already have been answered?

A few days ago I watched yet another interesting video (actually a whole series of videos) which presented - among other things - a really good line of reasoning that disproves Christianity. I'll post a summary of it - and a link to the video - later today, so there might be a chance to continue the discussion on topic.

Mr ProgFreak wrote: Or might the question already have been answered? A few days ago I watched yet another interesting video (actually a whole series of videos) which presented - among other things - a really good line of reasoning that disproves Christianity. I'll post a summary of it - and a link to the video - later today, so there might be a chance to continue the discussion on topic.

Some aspects of Christianity are indeed unfalsifiable, but others aren't. Well, here's the thing in a nutshell:

Many modern, moderate Christians tend to accept Evolution as a scientific fact. This means that they also reject the story of Genesis as a literal account of how the world was created. Specifically, if you accept that we are the result of evolution by natural selection, there can't have been a single pair of humans (Adam and Eve) in the beginning.

So far, so good. Now fast forward to Jesus. What was the whole point of his dying on the cross? The answer: To redeem Adam's sin, when he ate from the tree of wisdom.

Now: If the whole story of Genesis is just a myth and not to be taken literally (which follows from accepting Evolution and the "old earth" theory, which should go without saying since it is required by Evolution), the whole foundation for the relevance of Jesus simply collapses. There is no original sin, and therefore no need for the whole idea of vicarious redemption.

For details I'll refer you to the following two videos, which are episodes 2 and 3 of an ongoing series.

Episode 2: Young Earth


Episode 3: Purpose of Christ



NOTE: I know that most of you (including Iván) would not claim to believe in the young earth theory (Creationism). The key point is really that the purpose of Christ requires the story of Creation to be literally true.

BTW: I wouldn't really describe what I'm doing in the above post as trying to "disprove Christianity". I'm merely trying to show that the concepts that Christianity is built upon are not reconcilable with the scientific facts that we today know about the world. This is all the more important when you also take into account that many moderately religious people - or even the Vatican itself - accept these facts (e.g. old earth, evolution), probably not realizing the devastating implications that I outlined above.

If you watch the rest of the episodes the list of irreconcilable problems goes on, and of course these also apply to Islam and Judaism, since all these are based upon the Abrahamic tradition.

Edited by Mr ProgFreak - August 15 2010 at 13:19

Christians can believe in evolution. That does not mean they admit the ape evolved into homo sapiens. You can seperate them. They have still not found the missing link.

Edited by Chris S - August 15 2010 at 13:24