It seems to me that most of these atheist vs. Christian debates are straw man arguments. Pick a few crazy radicals out from either side and attack them as being representative of the entire group. Any thoughts?
2007-06-19 10:02:32 · 18 answers · asked by LG 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Suuure, people on both sides do that. Though whether it's that way most of the time I doubt. I've listened to a good number of debates between them, and not all of them are riddled with straw man arguments.
My personal encounters with other atheists on the net have been straw man arguers for the most part, but then again, there are always more straw men than anything else.
2007-06-19 11:55:28 · answer #1 · answered by mat_is_green 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a quite simple debate, so I disagree with your premise about the straw man arguments. The question is so fundamental and straightforward.
Quite simply either there is enough evidence for a reasonable person to support the theory of supernatural omnipotent beings who always existed and were never created, or there is not.
Christians say there is enough evidence, and they go even further as to say that these supernatural beings actually intervene in the affairs of men and the universe.
2007-06-19 17:11:18 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's fun to read the extremes of each groups answers. Somewhere in the middle I believe is where the truth really lies. I wonder sometimes where in the world they got these crazy ideas stuck in their heads...although I'm more on the side of atheists.
2007-06-19 17:09:31 · answer #3 · answered by colorguy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, it's more like Open Minded vs. Christian Fundies.
I'm not atheist, neither are most of the more unusual religous adherants here, and we generally side with atheists against fundies because of a rare trait called....
intelligence.
2007-06-19 17:05:51 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes there are so many of these arguments that even I tend to lose sight of the fact that there still really are non-generalizing individuals out there, on both sides. Thumbs up to you for taking a moment to remind me!
2007-06-19 17:07:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably. But I think it stems from the fact that the forum seems to lack the middle ground. There aren't a lot of christians posting here who take the bible figuratively. There aren't a lot of moderate non-theists or pan-theists (like agnostics or unitarians). Instead what we get is the fundamentalists and Atheists bombarding each other's philosophical castles.
2007-06-19 17:05:41 · answer #6 · answered by Dave P 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
the christians are the worst thay want to turn this planet in to a borg planet full of drone that only think the way the church thinks and the worst part is thay have been conned by a 2000yrs old fairy tale
2007-06-19 17:08:11 · answer #7 · answered by andrew w 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is what happens when people with hot heads, no debating skills, illogical thought processes, and an outlook on life that is based on stereotypes, try to get others to "see things their way/."
2007-06-19 17:17:27 · answer #8 · answered by angietangerine17 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To much of it, yes. A couple of Theist did offer interesting variations on St Thomas's proofs, but a lot more name calling than thinking going on.
2007-06-19 17:14:43 · answer #9 · answered by Herodotus 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is one reason why I mostly only answer. I am going after the specific idea in the question and I don't get drug into the generalizations.
2007-06-19 17:09:05 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋