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False, we consider circumstantial evidence all the time. It is just that the arguments for a god have much better explanations, arguments that you dismiss by misrepresenting them as inexplicable, assumptions, opinions, usw.
If it rained and a rainbow appeared ahead of me, and after walking in that direction for some time I happened upon a pair of little green shoes and a small sack of gold, I wouldn't consider that evidence of a leprechaun. Sorry, you're going to have to catch one of those little buggers and present it to me; until then, I'm an aleprechaunist.
The same goes for Zeus and Odin and Ra and Vishnu. Oh, and that God thing, too.
Why can't it be evidence of Satan? Why can't Satan ever get some credit?
Satan is a tough one. For three reasons...
1) Satan isn't omnipresent. I'm not sure how fast he can travel but apparently he can only be one place at a time.
2) Because of number #1, you never know if it was actually Satan that tempted you are if it was just a demon. You probably have to be pretty important to take the time for Satan to bother you.
3) Apparently there are sins of "the flesh"... We know that most of your sexual sins and maybe stuff like eating too much or drinking to much might be "sins of the flesh"... and I don't think Satan or the Demons even have to be involved in those. I think they could be involved but apparently you can do those sins on your own. Don't need any outside help.
Actually, I would. But it would have to be REAL evidence, and not just, for example, YOUR personal experience.
I wonder why you think anyone would take your representation of atheists seriously, because anyone who reads this forum knows you are a theist.
Yes, in the same way that "the neighbor's dog told me to kill all those people" is, technically, evidence of that happening - but it's pretty weak sauce (to put it mildly).
Now, a claim that the neighbor's dog chased a squirrel up a tree would reasonably accepted, because dogs are both capable of doing that and known to do so. But talking? Not only are dogs not known to talk, but only one species is known to be able to speak a language. Yet for all the incredulity of dogs talking should evoke, at least dogs are known to exist - which gives "That dog talked!" a leg up on "That deity exists and wants us to do certain things and has communicated these desires!" because dogs - unlike deities - have actually been demonstrated to exist.
Yes, in the same way that "the neighbor's dog told me to kill all those people" is, technically, evidence of that happening - but it's pretty weak sauce (to put it mildly).
Now, a claim that the neighbor's dog chased a squirrel up a tree would reasonably accepted, because dogs are both capable of doing that and known to do so. But talking? Not only are dogs not known to talk, but only one species is known to be able to speak a language. Yet for all the incredulity of dogs talking should evoke, at least dogs are known to exist - which gives "That dog talked!" a leg up on "That deity exists and wants us to do certain things and has communicated these desires!" because dogs - unlike deities - have actually been demonstrated to exist.
Extraordinary claims, and all that.
Ahh, David Berkowitz, who not only recanted the Talking Dog story but became a Born-Again Christian, to boot.
Ahh, David Berkowitz, who not only recanted the Talking Dog story but became a Born-Again Christian, to boot.
While spinning a tale about a Satanic cult which, while less implausible than the whole Son of Sam shtick, is utterly bereft of any actual evidence. Except for Berkowitz's claim. And we see how much that's worth.
But, hey, if you want to believe a mass murderer is saved and gets an eternity in paradise despite all the lives he ruined, knock yourself out...
[I mean, the reality is that when he's dead, he'll never experience anything again, for the obvious reason that he won't exist in any way. But is certainly is a perverse thing to spin tales of fancy, and in those tales someone who ends six lives, harms a dozen others - several with permanent disabilities - and shatters who knows how many other lives as a result, gets endless reward for being sorry and 'believing']
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