Comment by Milos Cakovan on September 5, 2012 at 3:05pm

It's just you.

People sometimes argue in the comments, but the general population on this website is great. Debates sometimes get ugly, such is life.

But I would say that complaining about the negative behavior of some of the members of this website, and in the same sentence insulting them, paints you either as a troll, or an example of the stupidity you write about.

As you said it yourself, "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar." You aren't exactly making a strong case for people to be nicer, with a one paragraph, two sentence post, in which you manage to insult the reader three times.

Comment by Reg The Fronkey Farmer on September 5, 2012 at 3:34pm

Your argument is poorly constructed so it is probably just you. Care to make another attempt at it ?

Comment by Ed on September 5, 2012 at 6:08pm

@ warofages

How exactly would you recommend we go about "proving ourselves", whatever that means? 

Comment by Logicallunatic on September 6, 2012 at 12:59am

How can the disbelief in gods fall?

Comment by kOrsan on September 6, 2012 at 1:13am

You can catch even more flies with manure. What's your point?

- Dr. Sheldon Cooper.

Comment by warofages on September 8, 2012 at 11:30pm

ouchies, not very welcoming. i apologize if it sounded kind of harsh but goodness, i just wanted to know why you think what you think, and why you react how you react. 

Comment by warofages on September 8, 2012 at 11:32pm

i mean, why not believe in God? or a god? What is there to look forward to after you die? Do you guys believe in an afterlife or is it just nothing?

Comment by Kris Feenstra on September 9, 2012 at 1:35am

i just wanted to know why you think what you think

coupled with:

 ...or has the complex design of human intelligence been reduced to stupidity?

Whom are you trying to kid?  Maybe you should have tried using a bit of honey?  Well, whatever.  To each their own.  There has been an influx of theists lately, so a lot of this has been addressed recently, but I'll give you brief answers all the same.

• Why not believe in God?  

Insufficient evidence.  You seem to like the 'design' argument; however, if you really look at biology and evolution, the 'designer' is either not competent or not there.  There are plenty of evolutionary dead ends, and even if we set aside evolution for a sec, there are plenty of defects in homo sapiens sapiens alone.  In particular, there are hereditary disorders that are part of some individuals genetic coding (or from your perspective, perhaps, "design") which serve no discernable purpose.  

These disorders make sense from an evolutionary perspective in which we expect a gamut of genetic variations from beneficial traits to fatal traits.  If we want to talk about the hallmarks of design, outside the realm of art and marketing scams, designers do not intentionally introduce defects into their designs.  Realistically, designers do introduce defects, but it is typically owing to their limitations, not intentions.  Homo sapiens sapiens does not appear to be designed in the sense that human intelligence designs, so apparent design fails as an argument.  At best one can say that God isn't human so he doesn't design the same way human intelligence does; however, that invalidates the premis behind Intelligent design.

So one has to wonder if God designed humans, is genetic disease the product of God's limitations, or was it intentional?  If it was intentional, what was the purpose?  If you cannot discern the purpose, is it hidden?  If God hides purpose in things, how can we reliably talk about purpose at all?  If you do know the purpose of genetic disorders, how did you determine this purpose independently of faith in God (which would just result in a tautology).

Honestly, that's just the tip of the iceberg, but I'm not going to go on all night.  

• What is there to look forward to after I die?  

In the sense you are probably asking that question, my answer is 'nothing'.  That said, I will raise two points:

1. My consciousness will cease to exist when my body dies; however, I am capable of anticipating the future to a certain degree.  I can understand the consequences of my actions. Keeping that in mind, when I act in life, I know that my actions will carry consequences after I die, and I can take some joy in the positive consequences of my actions which others will enjoy after my passing.
2. Why look forward to what happens after death when I can fondly recall the past, enjoy the present, and hope for my future still to come in life?  I don't need a spare life; I'm using the one I have fairly well.

• Do I believe in an afterlife?

No.  You will find very few atheists (if any) on this site who truly believe in an afterlife.  Death is the end of my self-awareness, but the universe keeps going all the same.

Comment by Nate Lundgren on September 9, 2012 at 1:48am

No worries :)

Comment by Heather Spoonheim on September 9, 2012 at 1:50am

@Warofages

You said, "i mean, why not believe in God? or a god? What is there to look forward to after you die? Do you guys believe in an afterlife or is it just nothing?"

By that line of reasoning, why not believe in a reset button on my credit card?  I mean, what do I have to look forward to after I reach my credit limit?  Does it mean unresolvable financial crisis?

The appeal of an idea does not attest to its veracity.  I don't believe in a god because the reality that I, and billions others, have observed does not behave in a capricious manner.  Statistically speaking, the weather does not bend to my will no matter how good I am and/or how badly I desire it to do so.

Why do you believe in a god?

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