Happy Atheist Forum

i'm doing a debate and exactly how should i go about dispproving god?

Kazoos and streamers tend to help.

You can't disprove it. That is why religion exists. You can, however, put forward a very eloquent case as to why following religion is ultimately foolhardy and a waste of time.

It is probably best to look back over many of the threads created here. This forum contains stunningly intellectual users who possess genuine literary talent. You'll have a great time reading, I'm sure.

Quote from: "curiosityandthecat"Kazoos and streamers tend to help.

Ack! Pipped to the post by the anti-troll troll!

 

Quote from: "karadan"Ack! Pipped to the post by the anti-troll troll!

 

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In all honesty, though, it's about marketing. Calling upon religious folk to use their logic and reason to try to disprove God is like calling upon cooks to use their understanding of Kantian imperatives to disprove the Maillard effect: useless. To them (the religious folks, not the cooks), God is not simply a causal aspect of life to be proven or disproven. It is life, much like they believe the Bible is the word of God, or the Eucharist is the body of Christ (sure, that's Catholics, but you get my point).

I've found that external forces very, very, very rarely, if ever, "turn the tide" of religious folks' thought. All we can do is plant the seed and hope it grows. Suggest books that will change how they think without advertising the fact. It's like night-vision: if you go straight for the God-center of their brain, you'll miss it, but if you go just to the side...

Quote from: "athiest12"i'm doing a debate and exactly how should i go about dispproving god?

Which one?

i keep tryin to persuade my friend to agree with me that religion is a joke. but he just won't listen. hyow would u go about trying to convice someone that the idea of an omnipotent god is impossible?

Get smarter friends and this won't be an issue.  

Why are you trying to convince him?

i dunno its just something we've been doin for awhile now. but its mainly because he never shuts up about jesus and how i'm gonna burn in hell for being a god hating bastard

So... is he actually your friend?

Just tell him you're not interested in his message.  Walk away when he starts going on about it.

If you don't want this guy converting you, why try to convert him? If his talk about his faith is too much, ask him to stop. If he doesn't, be done with him. But don't stoop to his level.

Atheist12 (btw, welcome to the forum) please try to not start new topics on essentially the same subject.  I'm going to combine the two threads.

okay sorry about that i"ll keep it in mind

It is claimed that God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent.

But evil exists

- If God doesn't know about evil he is not omniscient.
- If God knows about evil but cannot stop it, he is not omnipotent.
- If God knows about evil and he can stop it but doesn't, he is not omnibenevolent.

QED: God does not exist.

Apologists have come of with dozens of explanations for this "problem of evil" (as it is known) but all of them have been refuted and the conclusion holds good: God does not exist.

F

Atheist12,

From a Scientific stand point. God cannot be proven nor disproven. If you find someone who has disproved God.. then you have found the very first person in history that can prove a negative. Impossible. Atheists are fighting a losing and on-going battle with God's existence.

Quote from: "Psalm23"Atheist12,

From a Scientific stand point. God cannot be proven nor disproven. If you find someone who has disproved God.. then you have found the very first person in history that can prove a negative. Impossible. Atheists are fighting a losing and on-going battle with God's existence.

This is something I see here all the time. People making the thoughtless statement that you cannot prove a negative. That's not strictly true, although I really don't waste my time trying to prove negatives, I simply ask for evidence of claims that people make.

Here's a link to a PDF file that discusses "Proving a Negative". I read it years ago, and bookmarked it. Even emailed the author and wrote back and forth a few times. Nice guy.

http://departments.bloomu.edu/philosoph ... ative.html (http://departments.bloomu.edu/philosophy/pages/content/hales/articles/proveanegative.html)

Quote from: "McQ"

Quote from: "Psalm23"Atheist12,

From a Scientific stand point. God cannot be proven nor disproven. If you find someone who has disproved God.. then you have found the very first person in history that can prove a negative. Impossible. Atheists are fighting a losing and on-going battle with God's existence.

This is something I see here all the time. People making the thoughtless statement that you cannot prove a negative. That's not strictly true, although I really don't waste my time trying to prove negatives, I simply ask for evidence of claims that people make.

Here's a link to a PDF file that discusses "Proving a Negative". I read it years ago, and bookmarked it. Even emailed the author and wrote back and forth a few times. Nice guy.

http://departments.bloomu.edu/philosoph ... ative.html (http://departments.bloomu.edu/philosophy/pages/content/hales/articles/proveanegative.html)

I will read your PDF file later today, i'm kinda busy right now.

I encourage you to visit Youtube and watch the "Bill O'Reilly vs. Richard Dawkins" debate.

Bill O'Reilly; "You sir cannot prove to me that Jesus wasn't God, can you?"
Richard Dawkins; "No, I cannot prove Jesus wasn't God."

Ok, after that being said, please allow me to jump in and attack Mr. Dawkins' reply to O'Reilly.

How can someone like Richard Dawkins claim, "God is a Delusion" and then say on National TV that he cannot fully disprove God? Where is the common sense in the atheist argument?

Anyone can say, "I don't believe in God," but where is your evidence to back up your statement? I thought atheists demanded evidence before they can believe in something?

Quote from: "Psalm23"I will read your PDF file later today, i'm kinda busy right now.

I encourage you to visit Youtube and watch the "Bill O'Reilly vs. Richard Dawkins" debate.

Bill O'Reilly; "You sir cannot prove to me that Jesus wasn't God, can you?"
Richard Dawkins; "No, I cannot prove Jesus wasn't God."

Ok, after that being said, please allow me to jump in and attack Mr. Dawkins' reply to O'Reilly.

How can someone like Richard Dawkins claim, "God is a Delusion" and then say on National TV that he cannot fully disprove God? Where is the common sense in the atheist argument?

Anyone can say, "I don't believe in God," but where is your evidence to back up your statement? I thought atheists demanded evidence before they can believe in something?

Celestial teapot.

[/thread]

Quote from: "Psalm23"Anyone can say, "I don't believe in God," but where is your evidence to back up your statement? I thought atheists demanded evidence before they can believe in something?

Considering the overwhelming lack of evidence for your god, "I don't believe in god" is a perfectly acceptable stance.
I demand evidence for your god, or I will continue to believe that something other than your interpretation of events was the cause of the universe. What that cause was? I don't know. But I'm as close to 100% sure as I can get that it wasn't your god that did it.

Quote from: "Psalm23"

Quote from: "McQ"

Quote from: "Psalm23"Atheist12,

From a Scientific stand point. God cannot be proven nor disproven. If you find someone who has disproved God.. then you have found the very first person in history that can prove a negative. Impossible. Atheists are fighting a losing and on-going battle with God's existence.

This is something I see here all the time. People making the thoughtless statement that you cannot prove a negative. That's not strictly true, although I really don't waste my time trying to prove negatives, I simply ask for evidence of claims that people make.

Here's a link to a PDF file that discusses "Proving a Negative". I read it years ago, and bookmarked it. Even emailed the author and wrote back and forth a few times. Nice guy.

http://departments.bloomu.edu/philosoph ... ative.html (http://departments.bloomu.edu/philosophy/pages/content/hales/articles/proveanegative.html)

I will read your PDF file later today, i'm kinda busy right now.

I encourage you to visit Youtube and watch the "Bill O'Reilly vs. Richard Dawkins" debate.

Bill O'Reilly; "You sir cannot prove to me that Jesus wasn't God, can you?"
Richard Dawkins; "No, I cannot prove Jesus wasn't God."

Ok, after that being said, please allow me to jump in and attack Mr. Dawkins' reply to O'Reilly.

How can someone like Richard Dawkins claim, "God is a Delusion" and then say on National TV that he cannot fully disprove God? Where is the common sense in the atheist argument?

Anyone can say, "I don't believe in God," but where is your evidence to back up your statement? I thought atheists demanded evidence before they can believe in something?

Are you serious, Psalm23? If not, then get serious. You have claimed to have debated with (in your words) "literally thousands" of atheists. Yet this is the argument you make. You are either lying about having debated atheists, or you found the fabled ancient lost city of stupid people and debated them.

Don't waste people's time when you don't have a clue about their beliefs. You are clueless when it comes to understanding what atheists believe and don't believe. It has been explained, so rather than continue to post, how about take the time to read up in the forum on what atheists believe and don't believe.

For one thing, no one here speaks for Dawkins. You want to debate him, go ahead. But stop making Straw Man arguments like "atheists have to have evidence for not believing in god". That is pure bunk. Do you believe in the god, Zeus? Why not? How about Odin? Why not? What proof do you have they don't exist? See the issue? It's not up to you to prove Zeus and Odin don't exist, it is up to those who claim they do exist to prove it. Just like it is with you and your particular sky daddy.

You want to debate, then do it right. Learn about those you are debating with first, and don't waste their time or yours.

Quote from: "Psalm23"From a Scientific stand point. God cannot be proven nor disproven. If you find someone who has disproved God.. then you have found the very first person in history that can prove a negative. Impossible. Atheists are fighting a losing and on-going battle with God's existence.

The burden of proof is not on us. I can't prove Big Foot. Does that mean you should believe in him until he is disproven? Of course not. Instead you should use reason to form an opinion on Big Foot.

Quote from: "McQ"You are either lying about having debated atheists, or you found the fabled ancient lost city of stupid people and debated them.

Laughed for twenty minutes at that. Honestly.

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