Topic: I challenge you...

[drphilgood]

to make me not believe in God.  You WILL NOT offend me in any way shape or form so don't hold back.

I will defend my belief to any and all replies as often as I can check the forums.

This is a win win for me.  If you convince me then I wont waste any more of my time believing in God and if you don't then I'm gonna go chill in heaven for eternity when I die.

Don't bother with evolution talk, I completely believe in evolution.  It's God at work.

[klintistvud]

What god do you believe in? Why?

[drphilgood]

<--- Pseudo-christian

I basically have my own take on Christianity.   

[Plastique]

And on a slightly different tack, http://sguforums.com/index.php/topic,42025.0.html.

[ting-bu-dong]

What god do you believe in? Why?

The first step is to realise that belief in a god is a positive claim, and to distinguish between strong atheism (the positive claim that there is no god or can be no god) and weak atheism (the negative claim that the god claim has not been established). The latter is the default and both positive positions need evidence to establish them. Most people here would argue for weak atheism, i.e. that there is no rational reason to accept a god as true, and that using social and political pressure to enforce that belief is wrong.

From there it would be useful to know why you believe in a god. Every major argument for a god I have come across in years of following atheist vs. theist arguments has involved some factual falsehood or very basic logical fallacy (usually appeals to emotion, final consequence, antiquity, ignorance or popularity), which includes leading theologians and apologists. Once we know that we can comment on the specifics of the argument.

<--- Pseudo-christian

I basically have my own take on Christianity.   

It will also help to clarify whether you are talking about practising Christianity as a religion, or whether this is about belief in the Christian god or some variant thereof, i.e. theism. The two are very different things and not being on the same page will lead to a lot of wasted pixels.

[arthwollipot]

What was it that led you to believe in the Christian god, rather than any other?

[drphilgood]

A basic definition of the word "soul" is the immortal essence of a person.  I can't really explain why I believe that I have a soul.  Its more of a feeling.  With that being said, most people would agree that having insurance on their vehicle is a good idea.  I want insurance on my soul, it just seems smart compared to the alternative.  If there is no God than who am I hurting by living a good and decent life, if there is a God... I don't wanna burn in Hell for eternity.

I guess the real question you probably will want answered is why I believe I have a soul.  Let me ponder that a bit and I will post again later.  Until then, what is your opinion about the word "soul"?

[Caffiene]

if there is a God... I don't wanna burn in Hell for eternity.

Thats unfortunate, because there are many Christian denominations and non-Christian religions which teach that adhering to the wrong religion or denomination will cause you to go to hell.

And in fact on the other hand there are some religions and denominations in which atheists do not go to hell. In many they in fact are left to an "in-between" or limbo which in is essentially a thoughtless state of nothingness - basically what atheists already expect and accept to be waiting for them, yet adherents of "incorrect" religions do go to hell.

With so many religions that teach that believing in the wrong religion will send you to hell, why do you feel that your current "own take" would save you? To me personally it seems that you are investing time and effort into practising something which, when we consider how many religions there are, has an almost infinitesimally small chance of having the effect you desire, and that given the religions which preach that atheism does not result in hell your chances are at best no better than mine.

Do you have a reason to believe that your particular take on christianity is correct compared to the others?

edit: To address the insurance analogy - If the insurance had for example a 1% chance of paying out, but also a 1% chance of making your car catch on fire while youre in it... Im going to guess that less people would consider it such a good idea.

[Desert Fox]

Umm, what is a Soul?

[klintistvud]

With that being said, most people would agree that having insurance on their vehicle is a good idea.  I want insurance on my soul, it just seems smart compared to the alternative.  If there is no God than who am I hurting by living a good and decent life, if there is a God... I don't wanna burn in Hell for eternity.

What if there is a god who particularly dislikes people who believe in him in order to get in heaven?

[Dionysus]

If there is no God than who am I hurting by living a good and decent life, if there is a God... I don't wanna burn in Hell for eternity.

http://www.iep.utm.edu/pasc-wag/

There are many religions and many versions of each religion, most of which are incompatible with each other. Pascal's wager is a losing bet pretty much anyway you slice it.

[drphilgood]

With that being said, most people would agree that having insurance on their vehicle is a good idea.  I want insurance on my soul, it just seems smart compared to the alternative.  If there is no God than who am I hurting by living a good and decent life, if there is a God... I don't wanna burn in Hell for eternity.

What if there is a god who particularly dislikes people who believe in him in order to get in heaven?

Sorry to answer a question with a question but it seems appropriate.  Is this what you believe?

And if there is such a God I would ask what the punishment is for doing so.

[drphilgood]

If there is no God than who am I hurting by living a good and decent life, if there is a God... I don't wanna burn in Hell for eternity.

http://www.iep.utm.edu/pasc-wag/

There are many religions and many versions of each religion, most of which are incompatible with each other. Pascal's wager is a losing bet pretty much anyway you slice it.

I'm not gonna lie, its late and I'm not going to read this whole thing tonight.  I will read it tomorrow and get back to you.

[TalkingBook]

 

[drphilgood]

if there is a God... I don't wanna burn in Hell for eternity.

Thats unfortunate, because there are many Christian denominations and non-Christian religions which teach that adhering to the wrong religion or denomination will cause you to go to hell.

And in fact on the other hand there are some religions and denominations in which atheists do not go to hell. In many they in fact are left to an "in-between" or limbo which in is essentially a thoughtless state of nothingness - basically what atheists already expect and accept to be waiting for them, yet adherents of "incorrect" religions do go to hell.

With so many religions that teach that believing in the wrong religion will send you to hell, why do you feel that your current "own take" would save you? To me personally it seems that you are investing time and effort into practising something which, when we consider how many religions there are, has an almost infinitesimally small chance of having the effect you desire, and that given the religions which preach that atheism does not result in hell your chances are at best no better than mine.

Do you have a reason to believe that your particular take on christianity is correct compared to the others?

edit: To address the insurance analogy - If the insurance had for example a 1% chance of paying out, but also a 1% chance of making your car catch on fire while youre in it... Im going to guess that less people would consider it such a good idea.

I dont adhere to any particular "denomination" (i dont like words like this).  I'm not opposed to the idea, but none seem to fit my beliefs.  I cant sit here and type out all of my beliefs but I can answer questions on what I believe about certain topics if you would like to ask. 

Your first 3 paragraphs are hard to respond to when you use words like "religion" and "denomination".  The "in-between" or "limbo" that you speak of sounds a lot like purgatory.  Is that what you mean?