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With their backs against the wall, in discussions about gods, religious people often tend to use the most ignorant phrase as a cowardly escape: "Isn't that what 'Faith' is all about? You don't have to see it to believe it"! I often finish them by giving them the example of me being a judge/jury in a trial where they are accused in of Rape, Murder or anything for that matter. They have a pile of material evidence to prove their innocence but I chose to say: "I 'Feel' you're all guilty, I don't have to see it to believe that!"
What's your favorite argument in that regard!

PabloNeruda 6 May 21
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0

Faith is the enemy of reason

Leetx Level 7 June 7, 2020
1

Faith is belief in the absence of evidence. Science is knowledge based on evidence.

1

Is there anything you can't justify by faith?
There's an invisible green Martian sitting on your shoulder.
Oh, by the way, she's weightless.
I have faith she's there...

2

When I come up against a Faithfool using that comment, I usually resort to doing pretty much similar as to what the attached meme shows except I hold out my bare arm say to him/her/them " This is my tattoo of God BUT you can only see it IF you are faithful enough."

0

I have never heard this one you quoted, "Isn't that what 'Faith' is all about? You don't have to see it to believe it"!"

I would not know what sort of faith or definition of faith is being used in your discussion, but the faith I am aware of means knowledge. Knowledge can be acquired by hearing, not specifically requiring seeing.

Word Level 8 May 22, 2020

So you first hear, then have the 'knowledge' of that and then have faith it what first was a 'hearing'? I don't base my 'faith' on what I hear nor on what I see. It should be supported by research based on (at least some objective) facts, Not feelings, and in particular material evidence. The people, which I never look for but often encounter, who say such things like '"Isn't that what' Faith' is all about? " are mostly religous people who can't provide an argument or answer a question. A long discussion about the Bible, the Thorah or the Quran where you can use the statements of the very same books against the defenders of the books ends up with" I believe cause Faith is Faith, isn't that what Faith is all about"! Richard Dawkins has a nice one in that regard about some highly educated, I believe Harvard and Chicago, scientist who happend to be a Christian too. And that guy uses something like:" Even though all evidence in fossils, sediments and C14 proves that the age of the earth is at least 4.54 billions years, I'd still believe what the bible says that its about 10000 gears old, just cause the Bible says it" "And there you go"! 😂

@PabloNeruda I would not have equations worked out, but time dilation would explain observation of a "young" Earth creation from one point of observation. Do you understand time dilation where that one observer goes really fast and time from an observation not going so fast experiences a different time?

So the biblical fast creation could be explained given it was observed by a cognition capability going a time dilation speed as compared to the rest of the speeds of those things observed to have been created.

@Word I known that trick in both the 'Bible' and the Quran! I could debunk everything thinkable this way without a single piece of evidence! You can't make up excuses for made-up stories and try to interpret them the way that suits you. What you say can only be executed with basic facts.
Fact 1. Creationists count years just like you and me and when it comes to evolution and the age of humans and the earth they deny the scientific evidence. They say 10 or 11 thousand years! Show me their thought out scale where you can calculate 1 year in their Bible to be equal to about 454000 years of ours!
Fact 2. Creationists refuse the Evolution Theory completely! They refuse anything else than the stories in the 'Bible'! There hasn't been ONE single misplaced fossil to debunk the Evolution Theory. They just take 1 of the 2 explanations any old dictionary gives you about the word 'Theory', one is still based on thoughts and the other one based on facts. The Evolution Theory is based on a lot of facts, so the second explanation applies.
I could go on and on with a lot of examples. Muslims by the way have a verse in their Quran that says "'God' does something in a day which was 1000 days of what 'you' count" TLE took unfortunately its toll on Muhammad and there was as you know no cure for that at that time so a lot of these nonsense contradictions are common in old 'religions', surely to add some 'Mysterious Touch' to the dish, the scripture!
If we take their idiotic ways of thinking as true then we can also assume thay this conversation never took place! This also means that your assumptions in your reply and in fact all what you've said and who you are for that matter could also be the imagination of a flying monster or a bug on another planet!

@PabloNeruda 1 Possible explination I have found for your first "Fact". Those who argue that the word "day" means "long age," point out that the Hebrew word, yom, can have a number of meanings, only one of which is "day of 24 hours."1 They further seek to strengthen their position with the use of Psalm 90:4 and II Peter 3:8, comparing a day to a thousand years. Both of these verses, however, are simply using figures of speech (similes) to show that God is not constrained by the same time parameters as are humans. These verses are really irrelevant to the discussion of the meaning of "day," in Genesis 1. [icr.org]

@PabloNeruda For your fact 2: I know nothing of Islam writings or teachings, I could not comment properly on that.

How ever, I do not see biblical text being intended as a precise scientific document for detailed account of all aspects of creation like the big bang myth might try to purport. It can use metaphor and analogy to tell stories that may have closeness but does not have precise accuracy to be taken as a strict scientific account. I do not try to get into a lot of apologies about aspects of biblical text, it did serve as something for a people for a time.

@PabloNeruda if I were to make my own analogy the biblical text is like unto NOT giving a 4 year old all the graphic details of sexual intercourse. Early peoplekind had well enough information to appease goat herders without a lot of exactly scientific details.

@Word True but it still gives no specific though-out scale of time and space that 'God' uses to make a 'day' of 'His' 4540000 of ours(to make appointments for example)! Conclusion is: 'They' are free to believe in whatever 'they' like, but why they always need 'interpretations as an escape, threats as a solution,' mysterious words that has different meaning at every different era of history', and most importantly why do 'They' need violence to impose their Wrong? I know why! Cause they can't Reason!

@PabloNeruda you think, "Cause they can't Reason!". But no, there is reason. It's called "the kingdom of God ". Like unto hierarchy of other creatures. Kingdom of mankind, kingdom of monkeys. Their are those that for their reason put their ideology upon or on top of others. The reason is for such as power and control over other people especially the mass with such as capitalism wage slave labor.

@Word
reasoning
/ˈriːz(ə)nɪŋ/
noun
the action of thinking about something in a logical, sensible way.
Are you saying that their 'reason'(ing) is correct?
For me arguing and calling that 'reasoning' without basic facts is nonsense. That also goes btw for Atheists/Agnostics /Freethinkers,, Once 1 forces others to (massively) follow him( his favorings) he is ironically enough proving the Evolution Theory of the poorly devoloped creature that he is!

1

Thank time, I no longer have to engage with them on a daily basis. Lately, I’ve had to seek them out on the sidewalks of town 🙂 They’re deniers, game players, hucksters and followers, with well worn methods of dodging reality, no matter how well it’s delivered. Keep at em, though, I will too 😉

Varn Level 8 May 21, 2020
2

I believe in miracles you sexy or not.

3

Can you name one case were facts require faith?

JimG Level 8 May 21, 2020
2

Faith, like you used to have in Santa.

1

But why do they "have to have faith"/ That alone makes no sense at all.

2

Believe what you want it's your choice

2

Religious Faith: Believing something absolutely preposterous when there is no evidence to support it and mountains of evidence proving it is false.

BD66 Level 8 May 21, 2020
2

Yeah, I stopped banging my head against that wall long ago. I only ever bait.. sorry debate with them if I'm stuck next to them at weddings etc and I want to amuse myself. I don't expect to achieve anything other than my own entertainment.

0

Well, of course you’re Christian. You’re from the United States.

3

I follow Mark Twain's advice.

Thank you. I've used that quote often but I didn't know the source. Off topic but one of my favourites of his is, it doesn't matter who you vote for, you still get a bloody politician. 😀

This is an unattributed quote. There is no evidence that points to Mark Twain as the source. It is being taken at face value as something that he said. That is faith not evidence.

@shivasregal i will not argue with you either.

@Mofo1953 good choice. This quote BTW closely mimics something from the Bible.

0

I'm not much for debating other people's faith with them. It's a side issue and I'd prefer to focus on facts that we can agree upon.

However if I did then I'd explain that I too have faith.

I take it on faith that the universe operates according to fixed rules
I take it on faith that that these rules may be discovered from observations and experimentation

I'd explain that I'm aware of many people who declare similar articles of faith and have ascribed many positive outcomes from doing so. Broadly speaking, science. These positive outcomes may be seen as representing some sort of value to these articles of faith.

I'd also explain that I take it on faith that society as whole by and large operates to a similar moral code as my own.

I'd explain that I'm aware of many people who declare a similar articles of faith and have ascribed many positive outcomes from doing so. Broadly speaking, ethics. But also that expectations from this article of faith can and have often been dashed. As such perhaps the outcomes from holding this faith represent less value in doing so than the first two I mentioned.

I also explain that I take it on faith that this is the year that Arsenal will win the double and deserve to do so. There are may people who share this faith but unfortunately are expectations have been dashed much more often that not. As such perhaps the outcomes from holding this faith represent very little value to me but nonetheless I have the right to keep that faith despite it all.

Then I ask whether they can similarly articulate the limits of their own faith and what sort of outcomes they feel are generated by the people who hold those expectations. Finally ask themselves how well they might empathise with my position. Ask what value do they think I should ascribe those outcomes and why that might be different from their own subject assessment of the value of their own faith.

4

Should I have "faith" in an email sent by a "Nigerian Prince" who offers to transfer a million dollars to my bank account? Should I send him my account number and password so he can do that? NOOOOOOO!!!!! I would find my account empty! The world is full of scams. I must see sufficient evidence to back up a claim before I accept it as true. Though I have spent years searching for evidence that gods exist, and that the Bible is true, I have found none. Nobody who believes has been able to back up their claims with sufficient evidence. My conclusion is that anyone who claims I must have blind faith in a religion is a scam artist.

4

As an atheist since age 13, I keep four sentences in my back pocket:

"I don't believe in an invisible being that resides somewhere beyond the clouds."

"We are ALL atheists here," I tell Jehovah Witnesses, grandly waving my arm to include the entire neighborhood. They give up.

"I stopped having imaginary friends at age four."

"I chose rational thought, not magical beliefs." This upsets people, even pastors.

While they puzzle, I say goodbye and shut the door.

0

It can be painted in any light. One could easily flip the situation to be an innocent person on trial with tons af evidence against them, but the judge having faith that the person is innocent.

Though, I’d be more concerned with what the jury thought.

0

I feel your characterization is incorrect. If there was material evidence of a God... Then pretty much everyone would believe... Just as if you had material evidence of a rape or murder. But there is no such evidence so the judge would dismiss the case. However... even if someone bore false witness or in some other way tried to influence the judge... Someone would walk away believing the opposite.

Like I always say... I only have faith in family and friends... I only worship the woman I love! (Position currently open)

I suggest you read the post better again! In what you described there is at least 'something' objective science can relay on, even IF later it turned out to be 'deceived'! So even if the judge/jury would FEEL otherwise, the 'defendant' wouldn't only realy on the FEELINGS and ASSUMPTIONS without any base of reality! Would you find it Just if YOU were judged only by what OTHERS FEEL?

@PabloNeruda I am still seeing your post as a non-sequitur. If there was evidence either way... Then a proper case could be made based upon evidence, If evidence is shown... Then people don't rely on their feelings as much. Not to say that doesn't happen in US courts today (using your example) where jurors go with their gut instead of letting evidence lead their way... That's why judges set aside verdicts... Because the jurors DO fail on occasion.

Simple fact is... YOU have faith too! As an Atheist one has faith in oneself instead of a god or gods.

@RiverRick

  1. If it was "non-sequitur" then you wouldn't follow!
  2. "If evidence is shown... Then people don't rely on their feelings as much" :That's not what you were saying in the first place (not that it doesn't happen?) AND people DO tend to "rely on their feelings as much"! So it 'Happens'! That's unfortunately the reason why Agnostics/Atheists feel the need for a platform such as this one to discusses matters. You wouldn't be here neither if they used Reason!!!
  3. Making judgments based on known facts is better than using your 'feelings'!
  4. If I have faith in myself then it's because I question my knowledge, compare and improve! But just by using loose words and making assumptions you wouldn't go anywhere! My 'faith' in myself didn't replace any other 'faith'! Iook up the word 'Objective' in a dictionary if you have one!
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