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Permalink Reply by Nelson on April 14, 2011 at 5:26pm

what sort of response are you interested in giving her? i'm happy to see if i can help (as i'm sure others are) but could you be more specific about what you're looking for?

 

i mean, i could respond to say that i congratulate her on admitting that the notion of hell is disgusting to any modern moral sense and that she's done well to refuse to associate herself with it.

 

but i could also respond to point out that the NT, and indeed Jesus himself, is quite clear that hell exists and it is where non-believers end up. that she has decided not to believe in it is great but it doesn't change the fact that the NT and Jesus still say it.

 

i could also respond to point out that if she's going to ignore whole chunks of the bible because she simply doesn't agree with them then she's using her own sense of morality to decide what she will and won't follow of what is supposed to be god's word. and if she's comfortable doing that then why does she need the bible at all? and if she's fine with dumping whole chunks of the bible then on what basis does she say that it accurately describes god and/or Jesus's divinity if it doesn't even get the existence of hell right? who gets to decide the accurate parts and the inaccurate parts? are we all just justified in picking and choosing?

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Permalink Reply by Aaron A on April 14, 2011 at 8:19pm

Good points thanks for the input.

 

Sorry I was not specific. I guess I was looking for a response that would make her think twice about her whole faith as a whole. Since she already is able to dismiss the notion of hell I want to challenge her belief in heaven, God, and that whole religious concept. 

 

I like starting religious/philosophical arguments with people with strong beliefs to plant the seed of doubt, so I was just looking for that type of response.

 

And I will definitely use your advice to point those problems you stated out to her! Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Reg The Fronkey Farmer on April 14, 2011 at 6:29pm

I would not be too concerned about a response. It is written in such a way that it she may read it again in a few months and see how silly it actually is. Getting Theists to write down what they profess to believe is a great way for doubt to take hold and for them to start thinking about their beliefs more critically.

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Permalink Reply by Aaron A on April 14, 2011 at 8:25pm

I feel like she is a pretty rational person and very open minded that I do agree with you, however I just want to plant that seed of doubt in her mind so it will grow. That's why I needed a response. Also many strong theists I know actually would still believe strongly in what they would write their believes are. I think many of them are so brainwashed and close-minded they do not even attempt to rationalize when it comes to religion. They just believe what they've been taught.

 

But the way I look at it is you can never convince or de-convert people that are so close-minded. My goal however is to convince the rational people out there of their irrational beliefs. Hopefully, those that choose to be irrational will end up just dying off over time and become the minority. Sad thought but that's how it will be when religion eventually diminishes in a rational world.

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