Quick Arguments Against Religion

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Do you think I'm going to hell? If yes, why? Why would God condemn me to eternal torture just for not believing him in the face of a huge lack of evidence? Why did he create me with my questioning, rational mind ...

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Quick Arguments Against Religion

ALWAYS point people who use the "open mindedness" argument here to this video

Mine goes like this (assuming I'm talking to a christian): Your religion teaches that if you do not accept Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior you will burn for eternity in hell. More or less. No matter if you are a good person, or are equally devout in another faith. The religion you have as an adult is hugely dependent on the time and place of your birth. If God chose to have you born today to a poor family in India, your chances of converting to christianity to be saved are near zero. If you were born in South America before the conquistador's came, you were not going to hear about Jesus. In essence, God chooses certain people to burn for eternity and they have no say in the matter.

Religion is like football. Everyone wants to believe their home team is special, but the fact is they only think so because they were born there.

there is no credible evidence for the existence of god. two things are generally proffered as evidence of god, scripture and the natural world (argument from perceived design).

1) scripture is mere hearsay, or as more accurately stated by thomas paine: "hearsay upon hearsay". hearsay is generally inadmissible in state and federal court because it is notoriously unreliable. if hearsay isn't reliable enough for use to adjudicate simple disputes, it certainly isn't reliable enough to prove absurd stories about a god upon which you think i should base my life.

2) the natural world provides no more evidence for the existence of your god than it does for the thousands of gods imagined throughout history, which is to say, none. our ignorance relating to precisely how this all came about doesn't justify your speculation that a wizard did it.

I like to play the morality card, e.g. what motivates you to be a good person? If the answer is religion, cue argument about people with different religions (or no religion) still being good people, thus morality does not come from religion. So, what's the point of religion then?
If they bring in heaven and hell, I counter by saying that if there is a god, I would hope that he would judge people on their actions (i.e. morality) rather than their superficial beliefs/practices.

Do you think I'm going to hell? If yes, why? Why would God condemn me to eternal torture just for not believing him in the face of a huge lack of evidence? Why did he create me with my questioning, rational mind if I was going to be punished for exercising it? If no, then there's no reason to bother believing in him anyway.

Do you believe in Zeus? Do you believe in FSM? How about unicorns or fairies? How about Xorplax, a god I just made up? Why not?... Well that's why I don't believe in your god, and why you shouldn't either.

I want to believe as many true things as possible and not believe as many things that aren't true as possible. The best way to do this I have come across is the scientific method. I require evidence to substantiate claims, and a preponderance of evidence to substantiate extraordinary claims.

Faith is a weakness. Faith is the excuse we give ourselves to believe something when there is no good reason to. Faith actively stands in the way of looking for evidence and seeking further knowledge. Instead of faith, let us use reasonable expectation based on observation, and use hope for the things we cannot control.

All religious beliefs are so far objectively unjustifiable. If you can justify yours, please do so. Personal experience is fine for you, but know that if that is your only basis for belief, you have no footing on which to convince others your religion is valid; it is entirely possible you have misinterpreted your experience, or that your senses were unwittingly impaired at the time.

These were found via Reddit. Please share your own here :]

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Comment by Morgan Matthew on September 13, 2009 at 8:42pm

Comment by Morgan Matthew on September 13, 2009 at 6:39pm: haha Paul I am going to make a We Think Atheist out of your line :]

Comment by Paul Tourville on September 13, 2009 at 5:02am: I prefer to completely bypass the "religion" and go straight for the god:

"Ultimately, you can believe whatever you want. If it's inconsistent with reality, eventually, you will be disappointed."

Sweep the leg, Johnny!

Comment by Morgan Matthew on September 7, 2009 at 1:23am: lol

Comment by Happy Tikiman on September 7, 2009 at 1:07am: I agree totally unfortunately for them they feel that they are saving your soul by forcing their morals on you giving them a sense of justification

Comment by Happy Tikiman on September 7, 2009 at 12:59am: This is my brother's response to your question Morgan (he is studying to be a preacher)

(11:45:07 PM) happytikiman: you never replied to my e-mail i sent you
(11:45:23 PM) Will: yeah its takes a lot to tackle
(11:45:36 PM) Will: you have to understand alot about God before that can be answered
(11:45:47 PM) Will: or at less some info here and there
(11:46:47 PM) Will: like we call it a plan.. cause we see it unfolding... but god didn't Plan.. or scdule how things would work.. i already knows how things are going to work and end.
(11:47:22 PM) happytikiman: you do? how so?
(11:48:06 PM) Will: God already knows.. sorry miss type
(11:48:11 PM) happytikiman: ah
(11:49:21 PM) happytikiman: it wouldn't be a plan though
(11:49:22 PM) Will: thats the simple answer
(11:49:36 PM) Will: depends how you use the word plan
(11:49:42 PM) happytikiman: ...
(11:50:06 PM) Will: one that you followed... or what the your planned and it worked out
(11:50:15 PM) Will: it was min plan
(11:50:24 PM) Will: Gods done at the end of the race
(11:50:39 PM) Will: God is*
(11:51:08 PM) happytikiman: Definitions of plan on the Web:

* have the will and intention to carry out some action; "He plans to be in graduate school next year"; "The rebels had planned turmoil and confusion"
* make plans for something; "He is planning a trip with his family"
* a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished; "they drew up a six-step plan"; "they discussed plans for a new bond issue"
* make or work out a plan for; devise; "They contrived to murder their boss"; "design a new sales strategy"; "plan an attack"
* design: an arrangement scheme; "the awkward design of the keyboard made operation difficult"; "it was an excellent design for living"; "a plan for seating guests"
(11:51:18 PM) Will: so yes we call it a plan... but thats just how we look at it
(11:51:34 PM) happytikiman: the word plan doesn't work in the future tense
(11:51:56 PM) Will: but it works in past tense
(11:52:10 PM) Will: I don't think the bible says he planned
(11:52:12 PM) Will: it may tho
(11:52:19 PM) happytikiman: he has a plan
(11:52:27 PM) happytikiman: or thats what i'm told all the time
(11:53:00 PM) Will: well in his mind its already finshed
(11:53:05 PM) Will: we are just seeing it unfold
(11:53:58 PM) happytikiman: how do you know what he thinks?
(11:54:22 PM) Will: the bible shows us
(11:54:24 PM) Will: how he things
(11:54:27 PM) Will: thinks*
(11:54:37 PM) Will: thats why we have it.. to understand the mind of God
(11:54:44 PM) happytikiman: ah
(11:54:52 PM) Will: and to shape our lives accordingly
(11:56:07 PM) Will: yeah well thats it in a nut shell

Comment by Morgan Matthew on September 7, 2009 at 12:57am: Some people feel better about themselves by demonizing others. Those people who are truly interested in morals begin by looking for immorality within themselves, not others.

Comment by Morgan Matthew on August 31, 2009 at 6:35am: Why would an omnipotent being have a plan?

Comment by Happy Tikiman on August 19, 2009 at 6:40pm: Ok last one so i don't over flow a bunch of e-mail inboxes. THis guy is a personal hero of mine. He has always made really good arguments and he's geeky to boot. his website is www.coffeeghost.org

Comment by Happy Tikiman on August 19, 2009 at 6:34pm: you guys will appreciate this one i'm sure

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