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0

I oft use this synopsis by Bertrand . . .

Proof of God

"“Here there comes a practical question which has often troubled me. Whenever I go into a foreign country or a prison or any similar place they always ask me what is my religion.

I never know whether I should say "Agnostic" or whether I should say "Atheist". It is a very difficult question and I daresay that some of you have been troubled by it. As a philosopher, if I were speaking to a purely philosophic audience I should say that I ought to describe myself as an Agnostic, because I do not think that there is a conclusive argument by which one prove that there is not a God.

On the other hand, if I am to convey the right impression to the ordinary man in the street I think I ought to say that I am an Atheist, because when I say that I cannot prove that there is not a God, I ought to add equally that I cannot prove that there are not the Homeric gods.

None of us would seriously consider the possibility that all the gods of Homer really exist, and yet if you were to set to work to give a logical demonstration that Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, and the rest of them did not exist you would find it an awful job. You could not get such proof.

Therefore, in regard to the Olympic gods, speaking to a purely philosophical audience, I would say that I am an Agnostic. But speaking popularly, I think that all of us would say in regard to those gods that we were Atheists. In regard to the Christian God, I should, I think, take exactly the same line. ”

Bertrand Russell

I know that I am 72 years old and have never had a god in all that time - I remember as a child being a brownie, as the lady next door to us was involved and asked if I would come .I didnt realise at the time that it went against my own sense of who I was .And I was castigated for not going to church parade so I left and felt good about that choice. Much later on I found the woodcraft folk which was very much what I would have loved as a six year old, I became a woodcraft folk leader when asked if I would do it and yes it's a very kind and caring movement which embraces all ages and creeds. And yes I am still an atheist.

0

Great at math but buried Atheism with too many words

@Cavalloscuro I would rather read the bible again for the gawd ordered crimes against humanity....watered down Atheism by Lord Russell is boring

2

I'm not a Christian because in all likelihood Christ was not an actual historical person.

@mathman27 I'm really aghast that you even ask that question.

@mathman27 Since you ask, it is quite simple,
a) ALL religious belief systems rely and depend on the gullibility of the consumers ( the Congregations),
b) ALL religions expect/demand that their consumer base accepts what they are told without doubt or questioning the source/s,
c) All religions are based upon NO proven, empirical facts or evidences what-so-ever and should such facts, etc, be requested they are merely shrugged off or responsed to with platitudes, etc,
d) Man creates Gods/Deities, NOT Gods/Deities create man,
e) FYI, the word Gospel is a 'portmaneu of 2 words, Good and spell, which came from times when magic, witches, wizardry where thought to be big things and any Spell/Hex, etc, that did no harm was called a Goodspell,
f) Genesis,the book of the bible ( bible coming from the Greek meaning nothing more than a BOOK), tells that " and God said let US make man in our own image," if then that be so WHY are we all different from each other?.
I could go on and on for almost an eternity listing copious reasons, etc, but I will not since you may, most likely, choose to ignore the facts proffered anyway.

@mathman27 I've read a lot about it and came to that conclusion. I'm sure you are familiar with all the arguments...

@Storm1752 I have read my share about it too, and you might be right. But more likely it seems to me, that Jesus was an actual person, just not at all the character that has been constructed to prop up and evolve the religion named for him. There were apparently many would-be holy men, wandering around back then, much as there currently are in India. It is certainly possibly, really rather likely, that one character would end up getting more attention over time than the rest, at least once the Roman emperor jumped on his band wagon. Adherents would eagerly pile on accolades and attribute qualities and teachings they wanted to promote.

@MikeInBatonRouge I think the Flavian emperors, possibly through the penmanship of Josephus or someone very much like him, fabricated the myth after Masada in 70 A.D.
The Jews were beaten and dispersed, no longer a threat, not even a presence, and they filled the vacuum by creating a more placid and compliant religion complete with a figurehead savior, based loosely on many real zealots, but not real himself in any way, shape, or form.
It seems obvious to me, based on my research, and is the reason I'm not a Christian.

@Storm1752 Interesting. Yeah, he could be very much like a Robin Good figure, a fusing of various traits. I still think we will never know for certain. There are not enough trustworthy historical documents to confirm one way or another, despite adament insistence from both sides of the debate.

I am not a Christian for more reasons. Reading the Bible for substance and then hearing it rationally critiqued pretty well blasted away any semblance of believability. I left church because of their hypocrisy. I left the Bible because of its flaws and contradictions. I left the general Christian paradigm when I realized it was oxymoronic, essentially no loftier than any other religion, and that religions are essentially amalgums of fear-based ideas for controlling people and magical thinking coping strategies for people wrestling with fears and insecurities. I am really not much for magical thinking. Science is awe inspiring enough!

2

Never really thought about it.

Same reason I am not a Moslem, Jain or philatelist.

No real interest.

I do love snooker and soccer though. Perhaps they fit there somewhere!

You little Beauty, another Snooker Player out there.
I learned to play from my Dad when I was about 8 years old, he even made a special extension that fitted on to his cue and a set of strap on extensions for my shoes just so I could reach up to the tables.
Sadly, haven't played a frame for at least 19 years now though.

@Triphid Haha been a long time for me as well. Probably about 25 I would guess.

Won’t play pool. It’s an abomination of a game!

@Geoffrey51 Me too, give me Snooker or Billiards anyday.

surely there is a god of pool ,darts, snooker and soccer

2

I am not a Christian because I finally grew up at a late age. I did study the bible and have read it cover to cover.

3

I am not a believer of bullcrap. That's why I do not believe in any god or religion.

2

Thanks for the link. I just read the first discourse: "Why I Am Not a Christian." It is very well thought out and very well written. I look forward to continuing through the book. 🙂

4

I'm not a christian, because I read the bible cover to cover.

5

I read it when I was 18 years old! ...It was part of the cementing of my forever atheism...

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