Why can't religious people defend their beliefs?

basilmarket.com forums : Chat | 15 posts archived

thread starter Vertebraille Aug 19 2010 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

I'm not atheist, but I am militantly anti-religious. I'm against the institution (churches, mosques, synagogues.. any kind of congregation where the many are made to kneel at the feet of the few) and against the notion of "holy texts" and "the word of God." The concept of religion is based on blind faith and that doesn't sit well with me - I take a much more logical approach to the subject. Call me old fashioned, but I'm a bit of an empiricist - I'll believe it when I see it. In any case, I'm always trying to find religious people (specifically Christians) to discuss the subject with. Unfortunately, they tend to be an incredibly ignorant and closed-minded sort, and can never stick out the length of a debate. It always ends one of three ways. 1) They end up yelling obscenities at me, calling me a heathen and saying I'm going to burn in hell for not believing in the Lord 2) They use cyclical arguments that never allow a progression of ideas, always "believe in God because he exists so we have to believe in Him" or something similar to that effect. 3) They drop the discussion altogether and leave. Now my question to you religious folk is: why can none of you truly defend your beliefs? If you believe so wholeheartedly in your religion, why don't you educate yourselves on The Bible and its alternatives (other religions, nontheism, atheism, etc.) so you can better understand your own faith? I'm not a troll, I don't mean to incite flaming. I try to take a respectful approach to religious debate, and I do not mean to attack any person or any group of people. I simply wish to have a logical debate with a person of strong religiosity until we can come to a common understanding, even if our beliefs vary drastically.

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Hyperstep 08/19/10 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Because they have a book to point everyone to.

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NineCrimes 08/19/10 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Empiricists only believe things to be true if and only if they can be verified by their senses, right? Is that what you believe?

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lawlerskates 08/19/10 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Because the religious people that you're talking to are 13 years old.

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Shulynch 08/19/10 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

I'm religious, but I don't like discussing topics about religion with Atheists. It usually ends up as them calling me a "fool", or an "idiot". Simple as that.

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remorse 08/19/10 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Cuz they have different logic, can't argue with them

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Regulus133 08/19/10 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

You are expecting something they cannot provide, at least based on your standards for logic and evidence/proof.

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RaggleFraggle + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Good thing I'm agnostic. EDIT: In before butthurt religious people.

skittlesmoo 08/19/10 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Because you're asking them to prove something that is not real.

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tomshv + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Wow TS you are such a cool and smart guy (sarcasm). Why won't you leave the religious people alone, and let them believe whatever they want. I'm atheist too, and I respect everyone as long as they won't force their beliefs on me and are good people. Those people say you'll burn in hell, because you try to argue with them and force your view of life on them which is annoying. Honestly if it was me, I'd probably get mad too. If anything anti-religious people like you TS, make the most noise. We all got it, you find it dumb that people believe there is a god. Big freaking deal most people couldn't care less about what you think, I think it's wrong too, and you don't see me going around arguing with people telling them it's stupid.

Vertebraille 08/19/10 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

[quote] Shulynch : I'm religious, but I don't like discussing topics about religion with Atheists. It usually ends up as them calling me a "fool", or an "idiot". Simple as that. [/quote] That's because a good number of atheists are just as ignorant as the fundamentalists they seek to disprove. I think there can be a good intelligent discussion about it, if not frustrating, as long as both members are mature and as respectful as possible.

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Fearless 08/19/10 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Does anybody smell that? Yup, its the smell of flame war.

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bluqaur 08/19/10 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Here's why. This post answers your thread. Religion is explained by faith, not logic. Rhetoric uses logic, so you can't have a debate where religion is logically supported. However, for the same reasons, religion cannot be disproven by rhetoric.

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iSmashBugs 08/19/10 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

[quote] bluqaur : Here's why. This post answers your thread. Religion is explained by faith, not logic. Rhetoric uses logic, so you can't have a debate where religion is logically supported. However, for the same reasons, religion cannot be disproven by rhetoric. [/quote] this. Faith=/=logic.

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dojokillu 08/19/10 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

You post this question on a forum based around a video game designed for kids and you expect a good answer? God you people are damn annoying.

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