Why do believe that Plato, Socrates, etc. existed but say ridiculous statements like Muhammad is a fictional character? They know exactly where the Prophet Muhammad is buried in Madinah.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwEWWkdntmM
2006-12-06 13:04:50 · 20 answers · asked by ? 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Because miracles were not attributed to Plato and Socrates. (Most deny the divine status of Jesus and Muhammad.)
2006-12-06 13:10:11 · answer #1 · answered by MyPreshus 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe that Homer was a real person even though he lived nearly 3,000 years ago, because somebody clearly wrote the Odessy. However, I am not so sure about Odysseus. While somebody must have had the idea for the Trojan Horse (I think they found remnants of it in Turkey) I certainly don't believe that the king of Ithaca got the idea from a conversation he had with Athena, Goddess of Wisdom.
Do you see where I am going with this? It doesn't take a leap of faith to accept that some guy lived, especially when he wrote a bunch of books. It takes a lot more to believe that someone not only lived but performed miracles and had conversations with supernatural beings. And when such people failed to write anything themselves and are only reported in the writings of others who have clearly biased agendas, then it is not so much of faith as it is gullibility.
BTW, I am also skeptical about Socrates. Contrary to belief, he never actually wrote any books. Instead he is mentioned as the main character in all of Plato's dialogues. So even if he did exist, it is unlikely that he was exactly like how he's portrayed. But there is no doubt that Plato existed because somebody had to write Plato's books. If it wasn't Plato but rather another man with the same name, it makes no difference whatsoever.
2006-12-06 13:44:54 · answer #2 · answered by abram.kelly 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because Plato was just a guy like any other. To be fair, I think most atheists will not rule out the existence of the person Jesus and Muhammad. However, they may have problems with the supernatural aspects of these two people; they probably think Jesus is just another philosopher, for example.
And the female atheists probably really admire Mary's ability to explain away the circumstances surrounding Jesus's birth.
2006-12-06 13:27:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
As an atheist I believe that Jesus and Muhammad existed, but they were just men. Good men with something to say but men, not the son of god or his prophet
Plato and Socrates were men too, we have a lot of records and writing from them.
You're arguement is totally based on the fact that just because it happened a long time ago then you can't believe it.
We have the actual writing from that time with evidence that it is orginal. Can you say the same for Jesus and Muhammad? Can you say that every word in the bible is what he said? Even if the bible wasn't written until hundreds of years after Jesus' death?
2006-12-06 13:10:44 · answer #4 · answered by Karce 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
First off, I am not an atheist (Deist), and I believe that all mentioned did exist. First, there is documented proof of both Mohammad and Plato, but not Jesus (outside the Bible). It is highly unlikely, though, that Jesus did not exist as the religion of Christianity rose too quickly from his death for him not to exist, not to mention that the first gospel written, Mark, is believed to have been written in 60 AD (less than 30 years after the Crucifixion).
Many atheists do believe that all of the above existed, but as pointed out above, they deny their divinity and/or prophethood.
2006-12-06 13:09:57 · answer #5 · answered by The Doctor 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am an atheist.
I have heard other atheists say that. Socrates, plato, etc can have their existence corroborated from mutliple independent sources. Jesus, for example, can not.
I believe that there is sufficient reason to believe Jesus and Muhammad existed.
2006-12-06 13:07:46 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
they admit that they existed but not that they were messengers of god because they dont believe in god. they also believe that Plato and Socrates existed based on the fact that they wrote books and as far as anyone knows they were the actual author, and if not, someone else wrote the book under the pen names of Plato and Socrates, so someone used that name to come up with very inteligent ideas which means that they existed.
2006-12-06 13:26:43 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would go as far as to say they existed, but no further. I wouldn't call them devine, no more than I consider Plato to be divine. But then, we have many outside sources that confirm that Plato did, indeed, exist. Only one (?) outside the Bible for Jesus.
2006-12-06 13:09:15 · answer #8 · answered by eri 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
"The fool says in his coronary heart there is no God" and that similar fool typically says that Jesus by no skill existed even even with the truth that there's a large number of evidence that He did. there are a selection of scientists (those beings that atheists look to worship) who understand and not using a shadow of a doubt that Jesus lived in this earth only over 2000 years in the past and became crucified by Roman squaddies.
2016-11-24 20:00:43 · answer #9 · answered by melgoza 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe most educated atheists will not deny that Jesus existed, or that muhammed existed. Those who deny their existence on this page, are either uneducated in the subject (they may be very educated in other topics) or children playing on the internet.
2006-12-06 13:10:00 · answer #10 · answered by Mr Ed 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋