I could answer that for you if you wish. Quite simply, I don't know. I was raised in a catholic household, spent 12 years in a catholic school system, I have been baptized, have received communion, and been confirmed, and even though back then I didn't know what an atheist was, I can now quite confidently say that not once have I ever been a believer. It wasn't a conscious choice, because I didn't even know there WAS a choice to not believe. To me it was just some kind of procedure, some kind of ritual to follow, and I followed it, that was all. It had never occurred to me that people thought of religion more than just rituals, and that they actually took it seriously. That was the 'moment' if you wish of my 'spiritual awakening', or rather to my awakening of the spirituality of others and my lack thereof.
Excuse me? Have you ever met a person who would willingly go to jail? And now you're telling me I willingly want to go to a place that is a hundred thousand times worse, for eternity!?! I certainly don't want to go to hell. I just don't think it exists, anymore than I believe dead souls arrive to the underworld on the river Styx by giving a piece of gold to Charon the boatman ferrying dead souls. I don't want to go to hell, I just don't think it exists.
I could take this analogy and say that thieves send themselves to prison, but you would immediately see how flawed that is. Thieves don't put themselves in prison, they do everything they can to avoid that. The police put thieves in prison. Now in your religious metaphor, who plays the part of the police?
I've never met a person calling Jesus a liar and a lunatic. Quite frankly, if I met one, I'd ask him why he thought that.
I almost agree. There are only two (2) things I am unclear about. One being virtual particles, the other being the origin of the universe itself. Excluding virtual particles, from the moment the big bang happened, nothing was ever created nor destroyed, and that was 13.4 billion years ago.
Surely I can find the opinion of a christian which agrees with me and with which you disagree. Notice also the link you post to has Carbon Based (the atheist you are talking about) explicitly says that he thinks current opinion (not just his own) is that half of what Paul wrote was a forgery.
This is called a false dichotomy fallacy. Basically, the "you are wrong, therefore I am right" argument. Well, no, if I am wrong, you might be wrong too. It might just be that you are less wrong than I am, which does not mean you have the truth. You're saying that if the answer is not A, then it can only be B. Well, I ask you, why not D? Or C? Or gamma, theta, upsilon, or any other letter in any other alphabet? It is not Christianity vs Atheism, it is theism vs theism, and Christianity vs all the other religions that have existed and continue to exist today.
According to your religion, yes. According to Hinduism or Buddhism, no. Again, those are the particular beliefs of not even your religion, but your denomination within the Christian branch within the Abrahamic religions branch within the branches of theism. So, a fraction of a fraction of a fraction.
I fail to see how this is good in any way.
No, there are close to an infinity. Just because you refuse to see them does not mean they aren't there.
In my case, it would be more like disowning an absent parent who was never there, whom I never really cared for in the first place, and whom never showed me he cared too much about me either.
You do realize you just have to switch "atheists" with "jews" and you're getting dangerously close to Nazism, right?
Do not take this lightly. How you respond to Buddha in this life will determine where you spend eternity.
Do not take this lightly. How you respond to the Dharma in this life will determine where you spend eternity.
Do not take this lightly. How you respond to Allah in this life will determine where you spend eternity.
Do not take this lightly. How you respond to Krishna in this life will determine where you spend eternity.
Do not take this lightly. How you respond to Karma in this life will determine where you spend eternity.
Do not take this lightly. How you respond to YWHW in this life will determine where you spend eternity.
Do not take this lightly. How you respond to Odin in this life will determine where you spend eternity.
Do not take this lightly. How you respond to Jehovah in this life will determine where you spend eternity.
Do not take this lightly. How you respond to Osiris in this life will determine where you spend eternity.
Do not take this lightly. How you respond to Hades in this life will determine where you spend eternity.
Do not take this lightly. How you respond to Mithras in this life will determine where you spend eternity.
It is easy to elevate one religion above all others when one is an adherent to that religion. But when one places them side by side, the picture is a lot less dramatic.
Alex the friendly atheist :)
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