Rational atheist?

Question

I will give ten points to the one with the most rational explanation for christian faith.

Answer 1

'Kay!

People are naturally faithful becuase we naturally see patterns in the world around us. Psychologists can corroborate this, but I am too tired to look for sources now. We see shapes instead of parts; letters instead of scrawlings, words instead of letters, etc. We see faces in clouds, for crying out loud! Something that isn't there itself, but we see it! And, after all, seeing is believing, so we have the beginnings of faith in pattern-recognition. On to some examples!

You have a parents. Your parents have parents. You can trace your family tree back generations, even back in the stone ages. You discover that some people are actually distant relations if you go back in the tree far enough. It's not hard to believe that there really is a single pair of ancestors from which all modern people came. So we come to the tale of Adam and Eve (a main part of Zorostrianism, a pre-Jewish proto-monotheistic faith). This is taken as a matter of faith before or perhaps coinciding with early breeding practices in human history, which indeed gives evidence supporting this basic idea.

People when they were animals used to live in harmony with nature, not questioning it's whims. Nature "provided" for man, and he didn't know any better. As agriculture began somewhat accidentally, around 4,000-8,000 years ago I might add, man began to take for himself what was once the domain of nature and those random faiths (in cloud-spirits for example) alone. Hence, the exile from the Garden of Eden, where people ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and were therefore cast out. This sort of idea of knowledge as destroying innocence is definately around today and usually given reasonable consideration. There might concievably have been an actual tempter to cause the people to abandon Eden, which might have been an actual figure in history that through the ages stories have cast as the Serpent, a genius who started mankind on farming. I can only guess that the negative connotations around the Serpent were because expanding farmers would make war against non-farming neighbors for land, and that this version of the Christian myth actually originated from pagans before being coopted.

When people finally realized that they've been exiled from this paradise, which was of course idealized in relation to the mundanities of farming in Mesopotamia, they linked the long-lost paradise with the ultimate ancestors, so they said that Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. No big problem here, just putting two stories together for ease in the telling.

Let's see. The Jewish idea of monotheism can be seen as an evolution from existing ideas from Zorostrianism, which held that there were two opposing but equal forces in the universe (good and evil), which might have also played into ideas about heaven and hell. However, ancient Jewish texts don't really mention heaven or hell, just God and relative closeness to Him. Also, most of the 10 Commandments were proscriptions that the ancient Egyptians already held, so those cultural values were absorbed into the burgeoning Jewish faith.

The last main point I want to touch on is the idea of Jesus. Prophets are just like oracles, in that they have an especially good ability to see the supernatural (they see faces in clouds all the time, a really good imagination). They are therefore perfectly natural, and not uncommon among ancient Jews especially in times of unrest. Prophets claimed the leaders of the day were doing things wrong and that they had the answers to fix them, just like politicians do today, except that prophets used even more religious justification. Jesus claimed he was the literal son of God, which was interpreted in a literal sense, so that he was seen as more than merely a prophet. Why he did this, I don't know.

My main point is that faith is a part of the human condition, a byproduct of human perception, and therefore can be explained in terms thereof. Furthermore, religion is fairly predictable, in that it mostly does the same things the world over. The mythology of christianity might be false, but faith is only a byproduct; the main gains humans get by being able to recognize patterns are so large, even if faith is entirely negative it would still be worth it, so therefore faith's existance can be rationally accepted. I think I'm rambling because it's 2 am, so hopefully this might answer something.

Answer 2

It's easy to be an atheist. An atheist has to believe in nothing. Paradox: Lets say a person living in a cave in some jungle has absolutely no exposure to the outside world. This person is found and brought to America. Upon his first hearing a radio could fully believe that there are little people inside that little box playing all that music. He could believe that someone just found a way to capture the light of the sun and put it in a little glass enclosure (light bulb) He would have to come to the truth of these matters, and MANY more before he would no longer be an atheist to modern day inventions, the truth of the matter, and way of life. An atheist could reject right from wrong. He could feel "who and when did someone say what is right and other things are wrong?" If God said so and as an atheist not believing in God, could reject all that not killing, not stealing stuff and do as they please . Christian faith/atheist beliefs...Is there a "here after?" Is this present life as good as it gets? Is there such a thing as salvation and eternal life? Is the Bible just some big fairy tale? Did all life just start from a rock a long time ago? What Jesus did, what it accomplished, and all for us...is that all untrue? Answer these questions and you might see a reason for faith. Is there hope for an atheist? Yes Try religion, try faith in God, and you might see why. It's easy to believe in nothing and that's just what it will get you...nothing!

Answer 3

Christian faith is based of a book. That was written by some guy to teach us morales. And to tell us a good story. What christians believe is that Jesus will come again and take all those who are loyale to him and leave the rest. So out of fear that this may possibly happen they all go to church. The christian faith is based of fear.

Answer 4

My Son1of3 is an Atheist. I am not. This leads to spirited discussions over text msg routinely. He is rational ALL THE TIME. Too rational. He can destroy my best arguments with Occam's razor in a flash. Fortunately he is very patient with me who, as he puts it, believe in the supernatural. But I can retaliate with quantum entanglement. That usually works :)

Answer 5

Human need for answers to the difficult questions no matter how bizarre? Humans are blessed/cursed with curiosity. It helped us understand our environment, find food, etc... With our big brains, that curiosity extended to things that aren't so simple like "Where does mommy go when she dies?" etc... So religion was created.

When children are asked about inanimate objects or where things come from, they often apply an intelligence or purpose to things. Like "The earth is here for us to live on" or "Rain is so we can eat the food it makes" and other simplistic views. Some of us outgrow this need, many don't.

Answer 6

Christains believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God, the saviour and our Lord. They believe everything in the bible, and believe that one day, the ratprue will come and the Anti-Christ will rise to take over the earth. But God will come to earth and save us and give us a new home when that comes. P.S. they also believe that if they do God's will and do not sin they will be granted eternal life.

Answer 7

Easy...a compilation of 66 books, written over a 1500 year period by 40 different authors, that can be plausibly evidenced to be what it claims to be...the Word of God.

This book has been scrutinized, amplified, criticized, and examined to death...and one scholar after another who has honestly sought to prove that it is myth and legend has come to precisely the opposite point of view.

Answer 8

Trick question: "Rational" and "Christian Faith" is an oxymoron.

Answer 9

christian faith is based off of Judaism and paganism. for one. so it is not original.

Judaism is based off of Zoroastrian, Sumerian's and Egyptian's mythology

So how could it be true if it wasn't the original religion? and everyone laughes at the thought of any ancient religion of Ra being true (or any other ancient religion for that matter)

Answer 10

1 GOD became a man !
2 HE was perfect in all ways !
3 HE was seen by angels as HE was
originally (THE GOD), and as a man !
4 HE taught the non Jewish ( as well as many Jews) !
5 HIS teachings were (and are) believed by MANY people !
6 HE returned to HIS place - we call that place heaven !

This is The Entire Story required to become
A TRUE CHRISTIAN.