A comparison that's on my mind tonight...

It says something about the religion as well as the religious.

It's not about knowledge, just belief.

Asking too many questions is not encouraged.

Oh, and then there's politics.

 

"too many" is regarded as too much by anyone But I was raised in a christian community and when I was not simply provoking they actually encouraged me to ask about all my doubts. That they couldn't convince me is another thing. So in these days, it says more about the society. We still have a traditional christian culture or at least elements of it and some people are simply christian because of it. That's one obvious reason why so many atheists are so terribly annoyed by christians that don't wanna play their argument game to their extent: the people they regard as religious sheep can't be bothered with all those dogma's and theological jibberish, they rather live their life (but without rejecting the traditions they grew up with). Perhaps this is what makes those kind of atheists so pissed off: they find out the hard way that all that research they did to debunk other peoples belief had no point in that regard

 

Point.

What pisses me of is the politics and manipulation.

 

I don't know any pissed off atheists. But I do know a number of religious people who are exactly like what you described. They accept religion without question because it's always been there (not that all do but some do.) I think the only time the atheists and agnostics I know get irritated is when religious people try to "save" them and don't back off.

A dude came up to me at work last summer asking me all kinds of questions. I was amused at first and then quickly annoyed. He was all like "Have you met Jesus? When did you meet him? I met him on July 23rd, 1979!" On and on and on. I had to be nice because he was a customer but I really wished I could just tell him to get the fuck away from me.

 

I guess you're relatively new to Hip Forums then.

 

Must be But I see them in real life too. I really get tired of that kind of atheists. They are doing exactly the same as evangelical christians.
The atheists I mentioned are by the way generally the ones that start religious arguments, Wizard! Then they discover that the christian they talk to can't be bothered with the in depth arguments such atheists deliver (because it really isnt a religious christian, but a cultural traditional one) and the atheist get pissed and calls them a hypocrite or even more silly: proof of everything that's wrong with religion

 

Good and evil are human concepts. So at the most it was check, not checkmate And why exactly can't God be God anymore if He wouldn't be willing to prevent evil? Human logic I guess?

 

Ah...yes. I'm sure there are atheists like that. Most of the ones I know are pretty mellow about it though. I know what you mean about the in depth points though. I don't consider myself an atheist and I love discussing religion in depth and I find that atheists and agnostics are much more able to have that kind of a discussion than many of the Christians I know. But you may be surprised to know that many of those discussions are not about God not existing but more about history, theories and philosophy....more about what could be than what isn't.

 

My question would be: What if everybody stopped believing? Would god simply vanish and never be seen or heard again?

 

Because science is controlled by the hands of the powerful few, just like religion is. And, just like religion, many people have blind faith in science even though it can be (and is) used to control and manipulate (and enslave) the masses on a daily basis. Science is often the religion of people who claim to be non-religious. I say these people are just as gullible, though they often fashion themselves to be more intellectual and critical thinking than the "other side." Sometimes those high in the world of science, who often work for the government and the military-industrial complex, are referred to as the "white-coated priesthood." This is rather ironic, since, in much earlier times, science was controlled by priesthoods. It's no different today, except they don't go by the same name (call them elites or whatever). The general public hasn't a clue of what's really out there and has been kept from them (free energy, the cure for cancer, etc.) Science can only explain as much as what has been revealed to the public. What the public doesn't know about can be used for control purposes or to keep humanity from reaching its true potential.

 

Yes, you must have had the experience a lot of atheists who like to discuss seem to have. A lot of people are just not interested in that so when atheist try to converse with christians about these subjects they might think 'not this again'. I know both a lot of reasonable and mellow christians and nonbelievers so I get a bit tired when one side gets a thread started once again where the accusations already lie in the OP.
Fact of the matter is most christians are more into science and respecting and accepting of it than a lot of the atheists that are eager to discuss religion are about christians and christian beliefs.
A lot of atheists generally adress the most hysterical aspect of the religion and accuse christians of being hypocritical or plain retarded for being a christian, while actually most christians are not busy with those aspects in their daily life but they are with science.

 

Do you experience Him directly right now?

 

Nah. He usually doesn't come to the basement.

 

So it wouldn't make any difference if there's (n)one or a billion believers.

 

Asmo, you are one smart cookie :2thumbsup:

 

If there's only one the others will burn him at the stake for believing the wrong thing.

If there's a billion they'll need to find some other minority for their bonfire parties.

If there's none then maybe this whole thing will just go away.

But it's more likely that all the "non - believers" will just create a new religion so they can deal with life.

 

I ment it wouldn't make any difference to God

 

Yeah what has science ever done for humanity anyway? I mean besides medicine, biology, electronics, aeronautics, oceanography, thermal dynamics, satellite communications, vitamin therapy etc... damn the shackles of science!

 

He's not claiming science doesn't have any importance or benefits.... Just because we incorporate and apply science in most activities we partake in doesn't mean it should be trusted blindly, like it is done by many people.