Convinceing others

[JustAJ]

I have a friend who is a very casual catholic who I discuss religion and politics with.  She's considering becomeing an atheist and has heard all my ussual arguments.  I'm wondering if u guys could tell me what u would say when trying to convince people or when you are discussing religion with people and trying to "sell" atheism.

[pinkocommie]

I have a friend who is a very casual catholic who I discuss religion and politics with.  She's considering becomeing an atheist and has heard all my ussual arguments.  I'm wondering if u guys could tell me what u would say when trying to convince people or when you are discussing religion with people and trying to "sell" atheism.

I never try to convince anyone or "sell" atheism, I just answer people's questions as honestly as I can.  If they don't ask me, I don't bother them about it.  It sounds like she's interested in atheism, so I would recommend some books.  The End of Faith by Sam Harris or The God Delusion by Dawkins are both good books for deconverts or even the casually curious.  Good Luck!

[Ellainix]

The first command says that you should have no other gods before God, yet Christianity is about putting Jesus before God.

How did Noah get penguins and polar bears for the Ark?

I recall the story of the philosopher and the theologian. The two were engaged in disputation and the theologian used the old quip about a philosopher resembling a blind man, in a dark room, looking for a black catâ€"which wasn't there. "That may be," said the philosopher: "but a theologian would have found it."
-- Julian Huxley, The Creed of a Scientific Humanist

[The Magic Pudding]

If I was talking to a thoughtful person, I think the explanation of life the universe and everything, by use of a god is really dodgy.
So where did god come from?
Many average people ask them selves this question at a very young age, unprompted.
The so many gods, why is this one "the one," argument is pretty good.

For the less sophisticated I would point out the bad things god seems to let happen.

There is a lot of weird stuff in the bible.
Is it blasphemous to use a highlighter on the funny bits?

[Tank]

I think if I were asked I would simply reply that I see no need to complicate existance with the addition of a deity. I can appreciate there are naturalistic solutions to all that is around us, my ancestors could not. Therefore my ancestors filled the emotional 'cause and effect' gap with superstition which over the millennia evolved into gods and then God.

This post expands a little on my thoughts in this area viewtopic.php?p=70915#p70915

[Guittars]

I'm with the first poster: I generally don't aim to convince people - just explain my own views.

The books recommended above are excellent - and Sam Harris - Letter to a Christian Nation is another great addition to the list. I'd even recommend reading the response to it Letter from a Christian Citizen by Douglas Wilson as it highlights the inherent weakness in religion once you get into a rational debate (count the number of sneering/mocking statements by Wilson, none of which are backed up by actual evidence).

Personally, I find one of the most powerful arguments to be along the lines of the sheer volume of relgions (for more (written in a fairly humourous style): read Joel Grus - Your Religion is False) over the many years of human existence.

For every devout Christian, there is a Muslim who feels just as strongly that they are right - they 'believe' it. Then there is a Hindu, a Jew, a Mormon, etc. etc. who believe that their god(s) is the only true way.
So in fact, everyone who is religious, just us atheists take it one god further (I stole that quote from Dawkins I think - it certainly isn't mine).

Finally, a great book for any 'doubter' to read is 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God by Guy P Harrison - logical, rational analysis of the reasons why people give and then proposing an alternative view.

As you can see, I guess the common theme in my advice is knowledge - get this person reading. I'd even get them reading the Bible and the Koran so that can see for themselves the good, bad and ugly.