How to Convert an Atheist Part 1

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Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qmcOG-na4E In several years of debating atheism and theism, I have made an observation. Ask any believer what would convince him he was mistaken and persuade him to leave his religion and become an atheist, and if you get a response, it will almost invariably be, "Nothing - I have faith in my god." Although such people may well exist, I personally have yet to meet a theist who would acknowledge even the possibility that his belief was in error. Many theists, by their own admission, structure their beliefs so that no evidence could possibly disprove them. In short, they are closed-minded, and have been taught to be closed-minded. In light of this, it is ironic that atheists are often accused of being the closed-minded ones. Fundamentalist very frequently claim that we have hardened hearts, we are dogmatic and irrational, and that we reject God based on preconceived bias. Such claims result from psychological projection. Incapable of coping with the fact that there are some people who genuinely do not believe in their god, these theists simply deny that such people exist, and instead insist that everyone thinks the same way they do. Therefore, people who reach different conclusions than them must have some secret ulterior motive for not believing. This is truly ridiculous, but unfortunately, some people really believe it. Thus, in the spirit of proving that the atheist's mind is not closed, I've assembled a list of what I would accept as proof that a given religion is true. Also included are things that I would accept as circumstantial evidence of a particular religion's truth and things that would not be acceptable to me as proof of anything. While I do not claim to speak for all atheists, I would confidently say that any religion that could produce one of the things from the first list would probably gain a great number of converts. To be fair, I invite all theists to respond by preparing a list of things that they would accept as proof that atheism is true. If any theist prepares such a list please post it. The first category deals with things that would absolutely convince me of the truth of a particular religion. If shown any of these, I would convert on the spot. Verified, specific prophecies that could not have been contrived. If the prophecy is vague, unclear or garbled (like Nostradamus' ramblings, for example). It must be detailed, specific and unambiguous in its prediction and wording. If the prophecy is trivial, anyone could predict that it will be cold next winter, or that this drought/plague/flood will eventually subside. The prophecy must predict something surprising, unlikely or unique. If the prophecy is obviously contrived for other reasons, No official seer or court astrologer ever predicted that the king he worked for would be a brutal, evil tyrant who would ruin the country. If the prophecy is self-fulfilling; i.e., if the mere fact of the prophecy's existence could cause people to make it come true, The Jewish people returned to their homeland in Israel just as the Bible said they would, but this isn't a genuine prediction - they did it because the Bible said they would. The predicted event can't be one that people could stage. If the prophecy predicts an event that already happened and the writing of the prophecy itself can't be shown to have preceded the event. If the prophecy predicts an event that already happened and the happening of that event can't be verified by independent evidence. For example, Christian apologists claim that Jesus fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies, but the authors of the New Testament obviously had access to those prophecies also; what would have prevented them from writing their story to conform to them? The extra-biblical evidence for the existence of Jesus is so scanty that it is impossible to disprove such a proposal. And finally, if the prophecy is the lone success among a thousand failures, anyone can throw prophecies against a wall until one sticks. The book or other source from which it comes must have at least a decently good record on other predictions. These conditions, are reasonable, and are only what would be expected of a true prophet with a genuine gift. Scientific knowledge in holy books that was not available at the time.

Channel: Howto & Style
Uploaded: April 18, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Author: FightingAtheist

Length: 0:08:24
Rating: 4.05
Views: 402,717

Tags: atheist atheism religion jesus church bible god faith christian satan science creationism evolution islam mormon

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swag3001 (Friday 5th of September 2008 01:05:30 AM)
"If we are the supreme race of monkeys, did we kill off the not-so-supreme monkeys?" Okay one last time, because else you'll accuse me of evading the discussion and claim victory yourself. In recent years in the UK, grey squirrels of apparently American origin have almost totally replaced the red squirrels that used to live here. Do you think any of the supreme grey squirrels killed off the not-so-supreme red squirrels? No? How else could they have driven them out?
maadcat (Friday 5th of September 2008 01:04:29 AM)
It wasn't an argument, merely an observation. And if you don't want to answer questions, then that's fine :) I think my 'what is the point of your life' question may have scared you...
swag3001 (Friday 5th of September 2008 12:59:51 AM)
"It's a pretty slim argument if everything rests on one neandertahl man." I never said anything like it. What a poor strawman argument that is. Either you are thick or you've wilfully misunderstood me. "If we are the supreme race of monkeys, did we kill off the not-so-supreme monkeys?" Wilful ignorance again, or you're really clueless. Do me a favour and read a book other than the Bible every now and then. And use your brain. I don't think I will waste any more of my time on you.
maadcat (Thursday 4th of September 2008 09:18:08 PM)
It's a pretty slim argument if everything rests on one neandertahl man. If we are the supreme race of monkeys, did we kill off the not-so-supreme monkeys?
hoopajoo88 (Thursday 4th of September 2008 08:13:57 PM)
andrew671q directly copy and pasted his information from Wikipedia. Go ahead, look up "miracle of the sun." The Miracle of the Sun is an alleged miraculous event witnessed by as many as 100,000 people on 13 October 1917 in the Cova da Iria fields near Fátima, Portugal. Those in attendance had assembled to observe what the Portuguese secular newspapers had been ridiculing for months as the absurd claim of three shepherd children that a miracle was going... I copy and pasted that from Wiki.
andrew671q (Thursday 4th of September 2008 07:24:48 PM)
In addittion the sheperd children predicted the exact time of the miracle, they predicted WWII in 1917, and predicted communist Russia was going to persecute christians and was going to fall.
andrew671q (Thursday 4th of September 2008 07:22:50 PM)
The Miracle of the Sun is an alleged miraculous event witnessed by as many as 100,000 people on 13 October 1917 in the Cova da Iria fields near Fátima, Portugal. Those in attendance had assembled to observe what the Portuguese secular newspapers had been ridiculing for months as the absurd claim of three shepherd children that a miracle was going to occur at high-noon in the Cova da Iria on October 13, 1917
andrew671q (Thursday 4th of September 2008 07:21:21 PM)
Four words: miracle of the sun, it fulfills all your criteria: a. 3 prophecies which came true b. the person giving the prophecy had a perfect track record c. the miracle was witnessed by 50,000 people
knoxy231 (Thursday 4th of September 2008 05:59:01 PM)
i was brought in a christian school my father believed in god. my mother did not but as a child growing up she never shared her religiouse beliefs with me.so how do you explain the fact that i dont believe in god. well you could come up with an excuse and tell me that my mother didnt need to tell me about her beliefes and that i could sense them in the atmoshphere.... we all know thats not true.what is true is that there is no point in arguing over religeon we should accept each others beliefs
GodIsFake69 (Thursday 4th of September 2008 05:32:27 PM)
the only proof you gave is how gay u r