Believers,

[nailit]

is there ANYTHING that would make you think that you may be wrong?
And in the interest of equality, sceptics, is there anything that might make you think you may be wrong?

[RATTER15]

If someone were to offer me a shred of evidence to suggest there is or ever has been a God, I would be willing to look and learn, until that time, its all just poppycock of the highest order! and I really do not understand why any intelligent person would believe it.

[JollyJapes]

I sense the people that regularly ask these sorts of questions have a deeper need to believe in something

[naomi24]

JollyJapes, // If their belief brings them happiness and comfort. why should it bother you so much?//

People can believe what they like but when their belief impacts negatively upon others, it should bother everyone.

//I sense the people that regularly ask these sorts of questions have a deeper need to believe in something //

You sense wrong.

[RATTER15]

JollyJapes //I sense the people that regularly ask these sorts of questions have a deeper need to believe in something //

Wrong! I think non believers like myself are just baffled and confused by people believing in Gods etc. when there is absolutely no supporting evidence for such a belief but a lot of evidence to suggest that their is no God.
Also the fact that almost every person believes that there is only one God and coincidently, it is the God that is worshipped by the majority of the population in the area they are born into.

[JollyJapes]

you are so concerned about other people's beliefs that you constantly hang around places like religion and spirituality despite having no beliefs whatsoever, you are here to point fingers and troll basically.

Your rants are no different to the pro religion people.

[Khandro]

jolly; I think the answer goes like this; throughout history, the arrogant have attempted to coerce those having the temerity[i to think differently from themselves into [i]changing their minds] often resorting even to torture. That is why we have so many saints and martyrs. This is why I have said it is a dumb question and one which could only be asked by someone who does not understand, for it would be like asking, say St Lawrence, being burnt on the gridiron, " What would it take for us to do to you make you "unbelieve" in that in which believe (a similar attitude today exists in ISIS Islamism).

This is why I gave the analogy of riding a bicycle. it is no different than from saying, "I will argue with you and if I cannot convince you to see it my way, I will torture you until you unlearn how to ride a bicycle".

But this is probably beyond the comprehension of most on here.

[RATTER15]

JollyJapes, Im not ranting, I'm just trying to explain why some non believers enter in to these discussions/debates.

Others beliefs do not concern me in the slightest! its only when they try to convince the rest of us to believe in silly fairy tales, especially when they teach children about Gods as though it is fact! that is child abuse! then it becomes a problem for me.

[RATTER15]

"Khandro "This is why I gave the analogy of riding a bicycle. it is no different than from saying, "I will argue with you and if I cannot convince you to see it my way, I will torture you until you unlearn how to ride a bicycle".

I see what you are saying now! Once you become a believer, you will never become a non believer! That's why we call it brainwashing!

Actually there are quite a few people that have been devoted Christians, but on studying the bible and religion in great detail have come to the decision that religion is all just stupid nonsense and through such education have become atheists.

[modeller]

I believe the answer has got to be No! for believers because they have a need, a want to believe .
It is their crutch. It is also fear . That is particularly the case with RCs .
Fear is three fold , fear of the supernatural fear of the priests and fear of their fellow believers. Of course this is true for all faiths not just Christianity.

As a sceptic I could be persuaded to believe if there were Repeatable tests
that proved a supernatural influence was involved.

[Khandro]

Ratter; //I see what you are saying now! Once you become a believer, you will never become a non believer! That's why we call it brainwashing!//

Not only are you incapable of embracing religion, hampered as you are by your constant demand for "proof", you don't even understand your own terminology;

#brain•wash•ing
(ˈbreɪnˌwɒʃ ɪŋ, -ˌwɔ ʃɪŋ)
n.
1. a method for systematically changing attitudes or altering beliefs, esp. through the use of torture, drugs, or psychological-stress techniques.#

This is not the method by which I came to it, quite the opposite, more like that employed by the uncomprehending, I describe above.

[naomi24]

Khandro, from Ratter. //I see what you are saying now! Once you become a believer, you will never become a non believer!//

Is that what you’re saying?

Allow me to ask you – and JollyJapes a question. Why don’t you care about the negative effect that religion has on the weak and vulnerable?

[LyndaB]

No. I have always had faith in God and will continue to do so - he has been very good to me. I don't need proof of anything. I can't see electricity either - but I know it's there when I need it

[naomi24]

LyndaB, but the existence of electricity can be demonstrated, so a poor analogy.

[LyndaB]

No need to be rude Naomi - like I said, I don't need any proof that God is with me. Nobody is forcing you to believe anything you don't want to

[Khandro]

naomi;// Why don’t you care about the negative effect that religion has on the weak and vulnerable?//

The weak and the vulnerable suffer many kinds of "negative effects", what is it that makes you so arrogant as to presume that I don't care?

[naomi24]

LyndaB, // No need to be rude Naomi//

How on earth is stating the fact that you can’t compare the proven existence of electricity to the unproven existence of God rude?

Khandro, //The weak and the vulnerable suffer many kinds of "negative effects",//

One injustice doesn’t negate another.

//what is it that makes you so arrogant as to presume that I don't care?//

Well, do you? And if you do why won't you criticise those aspects of religion that are responsible?

[RATTER15]

LyndaB "he has been very good to me." How do you know he has been good to you?

Perhaps you could also explain why he was being so good to you, but let babies and children get raped, abused and die horrible deaths every single day of the year! Was he too busy looking after you?

I have had quite a few remarkable things happen in my life and some dreadful things. I dont suppose any God had anything to do with any of them.

[atalanta]

How can "not having any belief" be "wrong" ?

[mrblear]

I'm puzzled about the concept of prayer. Now these gods are omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, so we're told by their priests, so by definition they know when Mrs Smith's ill or Mr Brown could do with a bit of help but choose not to intervene. Do their followers really believe that by going on their knees and begging they may actually persuade these entities to change their minds? That would appear to be the case.

[wildwood]

It is always the old chestnut mrblear. Something good is a gift from god. Something bad is the work of the devil. If people want to believe that, than I have no problem with that.. until they try to express the venerable wisdom of the faith in their pseudo belief on here and resent intelligent reasoning.