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Question for atheists

Spiderman

Veteran Member
So, if you were burned from head to toe in a car crash, disfigured by scar tissue, had no ability to grow hair, and two amputated limbs, but while in the hospital somebody laid their hands on you and prayed over you, and the scar tissue left, your limbs were restored, and your baldness replaced with a full head of hair, would you consider the possibility that God exists, especially since you used your new limbs to run around the hospital twice, and heard a voice loudly and clearly say, “I am God”, and proceeded to tell you some of what is true about him, and there was no one else to be seen nearby.

Would you still be an atheist? Would you start praying?
 

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
So, if you were burned from head to toe in a car crash, disfigured by scar tissue, had no ability to grow hair, and two amputated limbs, but while in the hospital somebody laid their hands on you and prayed over you, and the scar tissue left, your limbs were restored, and your baldness replaced with a full head of hair, would you consider the possibility that God exists, especially since you used your new limbs to run around the hospital twice, and heard a voice loudly and clearly say, “I am God”, and proceeded to tell you some of what is true about him, and there was no one else to be seen nearby.

Would you still be an atheist? Would you start praying?

Two things.

First it would depend on what this "God" entity said. Second, if I could also go about healing people by laying my hands on them, I probably would do whatever was required for this ability.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
So, if you were burned from head to toe in a car crash, disfigured by scar tissue, had no ability to grow hair, and two amputated limbs, but while in the hospital somebody laid their hands on you and prayed over you, and the scar tissue left, your limbs were restored, and your baldness replaced with a full head of hair, would you consider the possibility that God exists, especially since you used your new limbs to run around the hospital twice, and heard a voice loudly and clearly say, “I am God”, and proceeded to tell you some of what is true about him, and there was no one else to be seen nearby.

Would you still be an atheist? Would you start praying?

If that could happen and doesn't is an excellent reason to believe that if a god exists he/she/it is one mean, spiteful, vindictive monster who does not deserve worship.

The fact it (and similar) does not happen is one of my several reasons for not believing a god exists.
 
So, if you were burned from head to toe in a car crash, disfigured by scar tissue, had no ability to grow hair, and two amputated limbs, but while in the hospital somebody laid their hands on you and prayed over you, and the scar tissue left, your limbs were restored, and your baldness replaced with a full head of hair, would you consider the possibility that God exists, especially since you used your new limbs to run around the hospital twice, and heard a voice loudly and clearly say, “I am God”, and proceeded to tell you some of what is true about him, and there was no one else to be seen nearby.

Would you still be an atheist? Would you start praying?

If the god also told me which religion was the right one then I'd become an adherent.
 

Polymath257

Think & Care
Staff member
Premium Member
That would be enough to say that we don't understand some aspects of how humans heal. I'm not sure why it relates to the existence of a creator of the universe.

Hearing the voice would make me wonder if I am hallucinating.
 

Laika

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
So, if you were burned from head to toe in a car crash, disfigured by scar tissue, had no ability to grow hair, and two amputated limbs, but while in the hospital somebody laid their hands on you and prayed over you, and the scar tissue left, your limbs were restored, and your baldness replaced with a full head of hair, would you consider the possibility that God exists, especially since you used your new limbs to run around the hospital twice, and heard a voice loudly and clearly say, “I am God”, and proceeded to tell you some of what is true about him, and there was no one else to be seen nearby.

Would you still be an atheist? Would you start praying?

All God has to do is say hi and just talk for a bit, and I might reconsider.

I may get pissed for a while and storm out a few times for getting it that wrong, but I will probably come around.

The truth is what it is, after all.
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
So, if you were burned from head to toe in a car crash, disfigured by scar tissue, had no ability to grow hair, and two amputated limbs, but while in the hospital somebody laid their hands on you and prayed over you, and the scar tissue left, your limbs were restored, and your baldness replaced with a full head of hair, would you consider the possibility that God exists, especially since you used your new limbs to run around the hospital twice, and heard a voice loudly and clearly say, “I am God”, and proceeded to tell you some of what is true about him, and there was no one else to be seen nearby.

Would you still be an atheist? Would you start praying?

For me, to have a revelation god exist it would need to be direct personal experience. Connecting that person's prayer to my cure is a huge inference. I've had things happen and I tell my Catholic friend and she says it came from god. I thought it came from somewhere else. Yet, we all have the same human experiences; so, I wouldn't expect my views to change because someone else prayed for me in their faith.

It would literally have to be my direct personal experiences. I know a lot of people believe by reading, seeing miracles, and following testimonies; but, those things just doesn't work for me.
 

Left Coast

This Is Water
Staff member
Premium Member
So, if you were burned from head to toe in a car crash, disfigured by scar tissue, had no ability to grow hair, and two amputated limbs, but while in the hospital somebody laid their hands on you and prayed over you, and the scar tissue left, your limbs were restored, and your baldness replaced with a full head of hair, would you consider the possibility that God exists, especially since you used your new limbs to run around the hospital twice, and heard a voice loudly and clearly say, “I am God”, and proceeded to tell you some of what is true about him, and there was no one else to be seen nearby.

Would you still be an atheist? Would you start praying?

If I was in a hospital with no one around, I would wonder if I was dreaming or hallucinating. Even more so if I "loudly and clearly" heard a voice that no one else could hear.
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
So, if you were burned from head to toe in a car crash, disfigured by scar tissue, had no ability to grow hair, and two amputated limbs, but while in the hospital somebody laid their hands on you and prayed over you, and the scar tissue left, your limbs were restored, and your baldness replaced with a full head of hair, would you consider the possibility that God exists, especially since you used your new limbs to run around the hospital twice, and heard a voice loudly and clearly say, “I am God”, and proceeded to tell you some of what is true about him, and there was no one else to be seen nearby.

Would you still be an atheist? Would you start praying?

If all that happened to me, I would not think I was hearing god, I would think I was in a matrix created by the mind of a circus clown.
 

A Vestigial Mote

Well-Known Member
So, if you were burned from head to toe in a car crash, disfigured by scar tissue, had no ability to grow hair, and two amputated limbs, but while in the hospital somebody laid their hands on you and prayed over you, and the scar tissue left, your limbs were restored, and your baldness replaced with a full head of hair, would you consider the possibility that God exists, especially since you used your new limbs to run around the hospital twice, and heard a voice loudly and clearly say, “I am God”, and proceeded to tell you some of what is true about him, and there was no one else to be seen nearby.

Would you still be an atheist? Would you start praying?
I would ask the person how they did it. If they insisted that it was "prayer" and "God" answering the prayer, I would ask them to teach me how to do it, or how to commune with God such that I could gain His favor and begin to do these things myself. If I was denied this or if the person told me they were unable to do that, then I simply wouldn't have a reason to believe the account. I would understand that it had happened, sure, but without a valid explanation of the process behind it, or even a hint that there is the possibility to learn the knowledge on one's own, there is no reason to believe what the person says is the reason outright.

In other words, I would remain entirely skeptical ESPECIALLY if the person told me they couldn't explain it, or show me, or teach me. I would be inclined to take that plus the cover story as the hallmark of a charlatan.
 

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
If all that happened to me, I would not think I was hearing god, I would think I was in a matrix created by the mind of a circus clown.

How's that different from the concept of Christianity except with maybe a little more reverence for the circus clown?
 

Altfish

Veteran Member
So, if you were burned from head to toe in a car crash, disfigured by scar tissue, had no ability to grow hair, and two amputated limbs, but while in the hospital somebody laid their hands on you and prayed over you, and the scar tissue left, your limbs were restored, and your baldness replaced with a full head of hair, would you consider the possibility that God exists, especially since you used your new limbs to run around the hospital twice, and heard a voice loudly and clearly say, “I am God”, and proceeded to tell you some of what is true about him, and there was no one else to be seen nearby.

Would you still be an atheist? Would you start praying?
Well if such an unlikely scenario happened, I'd have to accept that this 'God' existed. BUT, would I pray to it? I'd be very thankful, buy it a beer, offer to take it for a meal ... but pray to it. Why?
 
Hearing the voice would make me wonder if I am hallucinating.

Even contingent upon it occurring directly after a completely miraculous healing event that goes against everything we know about the human body?

In normal circumstances I'd agree, but after an event that is so out of the boundaries of probability I'd be of the opinion that it was more likely to be Divine intervention than 'natural' healing followed by a hallucination.
 

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
For me, to have a revelation god exist it would need to be direct personal experience. Connecting that person's prayer to my cure is a huge inference. I've had things happen and I tell my Catholic friend and she says it came from god. I thought it came from somewhere else. Yet, we all have the same human experiences; so, I wouldn't expect my views to change because someone else prayed for me in their faith.

It would literally have to be my direct personal experiences. I know a lot of people believe by reading, seeing miracles, and following testimonies; but, those things just doesn't work for me.
YES
 

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
So, if you were burned from head to toe in a car crash, disfigured by scar tissue, had no ability to grow hair, and two amputated limbs, but while in the hospital somebody laid their hands on you and prayed over you, and the scar tissue left, your limbs were restored, and your baldness replaced with a full head of hair, would you consider the possibility that God exists, especially since you used your new limbs to run around the hospital twice, and heard a voice loudly and clearly say, “I am God”, and proceeded to tell you some of what is true about him, and there was no one else to be seen nearby.

Would you still be an atheist? Would you start praying?
You try to extract the hard core Atheists on RF, aren't you?:D
 
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