Is an _intelligent_ critique of atheism too much to ask?

Question

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjFHFWLHVe.xHYT2fIIrta7zy6IX?qid=20060711142107AAiFGZX

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AkhnlNPxORQUzkRiLDFYn3_zy6IX?qid=20060711141631AARMJJG

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ag_JrtZuGHWwnTWH2ZNsf67zy6IX?qid=20060711141119AALV1qJ

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ApfDPT5qlFgD58kJV9gnAbfzy6IX?qid=20060711140404AAp8WrQ

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Am2hNeOZcJKJNd4X1byAs7jzy6IX?qid=20060711140311AAq9vH5

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Amn2pLBmu25ZKCOUK_8XMujzy6IX?qid=20060711135959AAofydd

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ApZ1uAys8BGBufjjSCDLfpnzy6IX?qid=20060711134255AAYjBkb

Answer 1

for some it is! people who have a deep and unabiding beleif often base their critique of atheism on fear rather than knowledge. I would say that generally they are afraid of anything that undermines a belief set that has sustained them through most of their lives. They dont seem to grasp the fact that being an atheist is not about a lack of spirituality but rather a belief that something other than god created the universe and, for most atheists I think, that we control our own destiny. It is that fear that that causes unintelligent coment and downright derision and hate.

Answer 2

There's plenty of evidence of God.

At times there have even been miracles and signs associated with Him.

Take Lourdes, for example. The Virgin Mary appeared there several times in the middle of the 19th century, and the well-springs in that French town have been documented to effect miraculous cures.

In many cases, these cures have involved medical conditions which medical science had pronounced as hopeless.

There's a medical board at Lourdes. It consists of any doctors who happen to be visiting Lourdes, and who wish to sit on the board.

Not all of these doctors have been Catholic. In fact, many have been atheists or agnostics.

The medical board over the years have documented hundreds of cures by God through the spring water, about 70 or so of which have been formally recognized as miraculous by the Catholic Church.

(In fact, the Church is more demanding of proof as far as recognizing miraculous cures at Lourdes than is the medical board.)

Also, look at what happened at Fatima, Portugal in 1917. Over 50,000 people witnessed the "miracle of the sun" there, following a series of appearances by Mary.

Some have dismissed this as a hallucination -- but hallucinations are individual phenomena. There's not a shred of evidence that even two people, let alone 50,000, can hallucinate the same thing as the same time.

Lourdes and Fatima are just two of many, many examples of "hard evidence" that God exists.

Answer 3

Intelligent critique of atheism is easy.

Atheists believe that science is true. Science is the assertion that the world is observable, and that what you observe is tentatively true until you observe something else that disproves what you previously observed. Science asserts that you can only speculate about, but cannot know, that which you cannot observe. They also believe that the world is repeatable, and that incompatible observations indicate a problem with one of the observations, or with a hypothesis, not a contradiction in the universe.

Atheists positively assert that God does not exist. God, by definition cannot be observed. Therefore, the existence or lack of God cannot be proved, and a positive assertion that God does not exist by someone who believes in science is illogical.

An intelligent critique of agnosticism, on the other hand, is much more difficult.

No offense intended, but the content of your links is mostly drivel.

Answer 4

"I contend that we are both atheists.  I just believe in one fewer god than you do.  When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."  ~ Stephen Roberts

"An Atheist loves himself and his fellow man instead of a god.  An Atheist knows that heaven is something for which we should work now - here on earth - for all men together to enjoy.  An Atheist thinks that he can get no help through prayer but that he must find in himself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue, and enjoy it.  An Atheist thinks that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find the understanding that will help to a life of fulfillment.  Therefore, he seeks to know himself and his fellow man rather than to know a god.  An Atheist knows that a hospital should be built instead of a church.  An Atheist knows that a deed must be done instead of a prayer said.  An Atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death.  He wants disease conquered, poverty vanquished, war eliminated.  He wants man to understand and love man.  He wants an ethical way of life.  He knows that we cannot rely on a god nor channel action into prayer nor hope for an end to troubles in the hereafter.  He knows that we are our brother's keeper and keepers of our lives; that we are responsible persons, that the job is here and the time is now."  ~ Madalyn Murray (later O'Hair), preamble to Murray v. Curlett, 27 April 1961

Answer 5

just because they have a different opinion than you doesnt make them unintelligent.
if anything that's imperialism and the kinds of questions that atheists ask/answer can't be fully answered by anyone anyway.

I'm not an atheist, but I don't like how religions think that in the end there's is the one with ALL the absolutely right answers and if you don't think like them then you believe what is not true. I find that to be total bullcrap.

Answer 6

lemme read those, hold on

well what youve got there are a bunch of idiotsattacking people theyve been told are their enemies. these people have grown up and taught that thse who think differently are evil and have no morals.

what youre seeing there is a product of intolerance and stupidity. im not surprised at all. if you want an intelligent critique or opinion on atheism...ask an atheist. christians are hardly a source of good information. theyre nto a source on information at all actually...unless you need to see hatedm bigotry and intolerance in action.

Answer 7

I totally agree.

I understand what you mean, since I have seen this happening to us too many times. YA is full off self righteous people. But it cuts across all groups.

I read at an atheist site "Hinduism is illiteracy".

I doubt that atheist knew anything about Hinduism at all, but that did not stopped him from making a comment.

Many atheists too keep posting questions about Hinduism directly copying from Proselytising sites of other religions.

This short cut only proves their own ignorance.

Answer 8

An intelligent critique? Sure, there can be an intelligent critique just as a very unintelligent fighting match between two groups of people who hold certain beliefs strongly but neither can be proved...well how about this, we'll critque atheism and christianity (religion in general is too broad)...first atheism, okay explain how so many people have felt the strength of god in their souls...just because you haven't (just as I) should you deny it? you probably haven't experienced many things but to assume that because you haven't felt it that its not there is unwise....okay so then atheist says to christian...well how is it that in christianity you can be condemned by a god who you say loves you but put you in a situation with so many ways to fail? would you send your child to a failing school full of crime and drugs and hold him to blame for low grades or bad behavior? ....and so forth, now the grounds have been set for an intelligent critque of both atheism and christianity

Answer 9

Apparently.
You have to understand, when these people pretend to be intelligent, It doesn't make them intelligent.
They can only pretend you see. And that is why they fail.

Oh and Kitten, the reason you haven't recieved an intelligent reply from an atheist, is because you wouldn't recognize an intelligent reply if it bit you in the a$$.

Answer 10

I challenge all atheists to read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. It is easy to understand and sound logic, and doesn't use the Bible to prove that God exists. By far the best logical argument against atheism I've ever seen, anyway.