Whenever I have dinner at a house where they say a prayer of thanks before dinner, often specifically for the food in front of them, I have to wonder the following. Why would you thank god for the food that he put in front of you while he deprives all the starving people in the world of the...
1 in 5 Americans think the sun revolves around the earth. Whatever hope I had for the people in this country just got divided by a hundred. Is there anybody here in that category? And if so, why?
I like to think of myself as a person that has heavily adopted "to each their own." But I am going to step outside of that for a second to ask, how can anyone give a crap about watching sports, especially the most popular ones such as basketball, football, etc.?
Basically its a ball moving...
Regardless of what you believe, assume for the sake of argument that god exists, evolution is how the diversity of life, including man, has emerged on this planet, and that god has guided this evolution in order to obtain certain results from it (given that evolution could never be guaranteed to...
If he's anything like me, its a toss up between Knob Creek and Jim Beam Black. Is there any other bourbon out there that, say if god did not have a lot of money, he would need to have a sip of?
All the theists I have ever encountered suggest that faith is necessary in order to see and believe in their god. But then they all give reasons to believe in their god, such as arguments from things like design or historical accounts of their holy books and miracles. So do they really place...
Can somebody give me the best reasoning for why the Bible is divinely inspired? What sections or verses are the most compelling evidence for this, in your opinion, and why? What is there that best indicates communication from a being with any of god's attributes such as omni-potent...
I've never heard a good argument for why its a good plan. Why pick a plan that involves having a messiah appear to only a few people to ever exist? And why does his sacrifice, and it isn't even really a sacrifice, accomplish anything?
If say a group of terrorists represent all humankind, and...
Personally I don't understand the point of meditation. Other than the fact that its relaxing, what is more enlightening about meditation than actually expanding knowledge with books for instance? How does sitting and doing nothing foster higher consciousness?
In my opinion, there is nothing differentiating a pantheist from an atheist. I had a thread about this a while back, but I really want to see a vote. And of course, I'm sure an argument might arise as well.
What is virtuous about holding something to be true without evidence or reason? What reasons are there for acclaiming such a thing? Because I have never heard any, and I can't think of one.
Edit: I suppose I might as well throw forward a definition of religious faith:
The confident belief in...
Has anybody come across something similar to the following statement from anybody other than a Christian?
"But Christianity isn't a religion! Its the one true path to god / personal relationship with christ / some other property of the religion Christianity."
Apparently anybody making a...
In what ways is pantheism any different than naturalism and atheism? I see no clear distinction but for word games. Is it that pantheists believe that there are supernatural elements to the universe, but they still just consider them part of the universe?
Why are many of the religious opposed to drug use? Can any of you give an argument based solely around your scriptures?
The bible seems to be opposed to drunkeness, but I've never seen it have anything to say about other specific drugs, which goes along with it being completely inexhaustive...
I sincerely believe that nobody chooses to believe what they believe regarding religion and gods. How can you choose to believe something that ultimately boils down to what arguments and/or tradition your mind accepts as true?
If free will exists, I certainly believe that is exists much...
UnChristian - What A New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity . . . and Why It Matters | Future Majority
The results of this study pleasantly surprised me. Yes many Christians are not antiscientific, antihomosexual, etc. But many are these things, and it because of their Christianity. If...
Another thread reminded me of the child abuse by religious parents that deny medical treatment for their children based on their beliefs. It is one thing to avoid medical treatment as an adult, because it is taboo to a person. But I find it to be gross child abuse to transfer those same...
What do people think of the movement? I support a movement to do its stated goals. But the name brights, and the suggestion that atheists should be called brights or supers, is in my opinion, ridiculously pretentious and pompous.
Atheists, agnostics most knowledgeable about religion, survey says - latimes.com
Based on all my online discussions and debates, it does not surprise me. However, one could argue that level of education plays heavily into it, as there is an inverse relationship between education and...