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Old 02-14-2013, 06:35 PM
 
279 posts, read 482,694 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jojajn View Post
I don't need the fear of hell or the belief that I will get a big reward to motivate me to be kind to others. I have something called genuine love, empathy, and concern for my fellow man and I don't expect a reward for this.
Please answer the rest of the questions. I'm curious as to what you think.
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Old 02-14-2013, 06:39 PM
 
Location: Midwest
38,496 posts, read 25,849,201 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zombieApocExtraordinaire View Post
That is incorrect. The collapse of the Roman Empire in the west was the cause. The church was behind the reformation.
Exactly what did the church do to bring order and structure to society in times of chaos (collapse of Rome & The Dark Ages)? I know of the inquisition which was pretty nasty.
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Old 02-14-2013, 06:40 PM
 
Location: Midwest
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pknopp View Post
In the same way governments are responsible for genocide.
Only when religion infiltrated the governments.
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Old 02-14-2013, 06:41 PM
 
Location: Midwest
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nei View Post
What has atheism done to improve mankind?

Help to prevent the oppression of a theocracy.
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Old 02-14-2013, 06:41 PM
 
Location: southern california
61,286 posts, read 87,483,906 times
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religion is the teacher of moral law. without it we are nothing but crocodiles.
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Old 02-14-2013, 06:41 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jojajn View Post
Only when religion infiltrated the governments.
I don't think the Soviet Union was infiltrated by religion.
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Old 02-14-2013, 06:45 PM
 
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Religion gave humanity something other than it obvious animal nature intrinsic to itself something else to look forward to.

Emperors, kings, tyrants and thugs saw opportunity and humbled minds did too. The result is progress.
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Old 02-14-2013, 06:46 PM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
9,701 posts, read 5,120,508 times
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As a non-believer/agnostic, I will say I'd rather live in a world w/ religion than one w/o it. Religion, if nothing else, keeps a good segment of the stupid under control. I'm not saying that every believer is stupid, but there are many followers who I believe w/o the staying influence of religion would terrorize their neighbors.

I find it funny how people point to atheists as the ones that would over run the world w/ their evil way w/o religion, but in actuality it's the believers who would be the most dangerous if that sudden motivation for good behavior was removed from their life. At least an atheist believes in doing good as an end in and of itself. They aren't good as a quid pro quo for getting into the afterlife. It's the people who are weighing fulfilling their basest instincts vs an eternal afterlife that you need to worry about. The more they pray & believe in the truth of Heaven & Hell, the further they'd have to fall if that motivation was removed.
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Old 02-14-2013, 06:47 PM
 
Location: Midwest
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VirginiaMountainMan View Post
Please answer the rest of the questions. I'm curious as to what you think.
The rest are all loaded questions of which there is no proof concerning the assertions within them. Kind of like asking someone if they are still beating their wife. The bible cannot prove the bible. No historical account of Jesus outside of the bible whatsoever. No historical account of the Exodus, dead walking after Jesus died (which would be kind of a big deal), etc...........
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Old 02-14-2013, 06:47 PM
 
279 posts, read 482,694 times
Reputation: 85
Quote:
Originally Posted by jojajn View Post
Help to prevent the oppression of a theocracy.
Please answer these questions.

Why do human beings have this moral compass and other animals don't?

Why are human beings able to create a symphony, and build a city like New York or Hong Kong, why can humans find cures for disease and other animals can't?

Why is it wrong for me to kill a person and take what I want from him the way a lion kills a buffalo?

Why can a man and a woman have a child and not a man and a man?

Why is planet earth fine tuned for life?

Why are we SO different than all the other animals?

If man is nothing but the random arrangement of molecules, what motivates you to care and to live honorably in the world?


Can you explain how personality could have ever evolved from the impersonal, or how order could have ever resulted from chaos?


How can something as small as a brain understand extremely complicated aspects of the universe, even though it is (supposedly) just a bunch of chemical reactions and electrical signals? But at the same time, this brain can’t create another brain like itself, so how can nature, that has no brain, create a brain?

When you look at a lot of creatures such as zebras, turtles, butterflies, bees, lady bugs, leopards, etc., you will notice amazing color patterns designed into them. Who came up with those? Does nature have a “taste” in colors , and does it know which colors go together nicely?

How do you account for the origin of life considering the irreducible complexity of its essential components?

Why does the Bible alone, of all of the world's holy books, contain such detailed prophecies of future events?

Does your present worldview provide you with an adequate sense of meaning and purpose?

What do you say about the hundreds of scholarly books that carefully document the veracity and reliability of the Bible?

How do you explain the empty tomb of Jesus in light of all the evidence that has now proven essentially irrefutable for twenty centuries?

If Jesus did not actually die and rise from the dead, how could He (in His condition) have circumvented all of the security measures in place at His tomb?

If the authorities stole Jesus' body, why?

Why would they have perpetrated the very scenario that they most wanted to prevent?

If Jesus merely resuscitated in the tomb, how did He deal with the Roman guard posted just outside its entrance?

How can one realistically discount the testimony of over 500 witnesses to a living Jesus following His crucifixion (see 1 Corinthians 15:6)?

If all of Jesus' claims to be God were the result of His own self-delusion, why didn't He show evidence of lunacy in any other areas of His life?

Is your unbelief in a perfect God possibly the result of a bad experience with an imperfect church or a misunderstanding of the facts, and therefore an unfair rejection of God Himself?

Because life origins are not observable, verifiable, or falsifiable, how does the theory of "evolution" amount to anything more than just another faith system?

What do you make of all the anthropological studies indicating that even the most remote tribes show some sort of theological awareness?

If every effect has a cause, then what or who caused the universe?
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