@doubtingthomas Said 1st off I want to say that I enjoy talking with you Warlock. Its not often that we have people who put honest and goodness thought into thier responses, me being one of them sometimes.
You say there are simply not enough facts to PROVE a religion wrong. I ask you, how many facts would it take? What is the final fact that would put a nail in the coffin, and put religion away for good?
I personaly feel that you will never have all the facts. But what you will have is a realistic estamation of a given collection of facts that point in a common direction.
There is no fact in this universe that is 100% irrefutable. There are just consistancies that have not been disproved. The world is round because we havn't figure out what it is other than round. But to simply say that its something else because you have faith in it being something else is just silly.
Religion is the very same thing. You have so many consistancies pointing the fact that is bogus and yet you have so many people treating like its fact. The thing about it is, it seems like no matter how many consistancies you may find there will never be enuff. There will never be that nail that puts religion away for good.
To me to argue about if there is a god is the same arguement for other people that the world is flat.
I don't think I'm really disagreeing with you as a whole. I'm just disagreeing with the reasoning that we need to treat religion any diffrent than any othe assumed consistancy we take on a day to day level as being fact.
Thank you, I have enjoyed this discussion as well. I enjoy an intelligent discussion, especially on religion. I guess I tend to defend people's right to religion (so to speak) because the subject is very close to home. My parents are very devout Apostolic Pentecostal, and I am not a Christian at all. I claim no religion, including atheism. But I have had so many arguments, both with my parents, and in defense of them. Odd, but true. However, I have seen my Mom and Dad get through some extremely hard times simply by their faith in God. They believe, and it gives them strength.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this: if someone has a belief that enhances the quality of life for them, and in turn the quality of life for those around them, then how can we say they are wrong? It's similar to the placebo effect, if you believe it's real, then it will be real and work for you. If you believe it's fake, then it will be fake to you, and you will get nothing from it. So much is going wrong in the world today, and many people are just looking for security. If they find it in religion, then let them have it. AS LONG AS they are NOT using it to harm others, or undermine the faith and beliefs of others. I hope this helps clear up my standpoint on the issue a bit.
Jun 20, 2008 @ 21:28:15
