Just to pose a random question that will make Christians scream about me going to hell?

Question

"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 Henry Roberts

How do you argue that Roberts is incorrect? To put it in a percentage, any religion is very, very unlikely to be correct, sinply because one of them (supposedly) has to be. The infinite amount of unthought of possible religions must also be taken into account.

who cares? Basically every person who considers themself religious or atheist should care. It is alook into the futility ofreligion and how unlikely ou are to have picked the "right" one out of the literally infinite possibilities.

To all the religious people who claim I'm "talking out of my *ss", and who apparently "know where their final destination is", you have missed the point. The fact is, you do not know. The one God you chose to believe in is most certainly incorrect. The chance that you have correctly guessed the background of a cosmic entity that creates and controls all life and matter is literally impossible. Books such as the Bible prove nothing, other than that the people who wrote them where unadvanced and did not have an understanding of modern science. The reason religions like scientology are written off as lunacy is because in the 21st century, there is no excuse for making up random stories about ancient aliens and spirits. It is simply illogical. In the same sense that someone understanding God is illogical. This is not even saying that God definately does not exist, simply that it is impossible to claim that you are right. Being even .1% sure is an impossibility.

Where do you peopel think he says atheists believe in God? Never. He says he believes in one less God than whoever he is speaking to, who presumably is like 99% of the English speaking world and believes in the Judeo-Christian model of one God.

Eh, actually forget that last comment from me. He was talking about atheism as an idea and was teporarily leaving the exact definition of the word out. He was simply saying that Sinethey both dismiss an infinite amount of Gods, they are equal in their atheistic beliefs.

Answer 1

Problem - Xians don't think - they've been Programmed to believe that there has only ever been one InvisibleSkyPixie and all the others were as childish as Santa.

I know there's little logic in that but that's the problem we're dealing with - they don't understand LogicReason.

LogicReason was not used to infect them with Theism and therefore LogicReason will not be successful in healing them.
Faith appeals to the emotion of fear - Pascal'sWager - they'd rather believe in an InvisibleSkyPixie who tells them to 'suck up to me or I'll send you to hell' than take a chance on going to hell cos they know it's a bad place.
They don't realise that most people are going and have gone and will continue to go to hell much to their chagrin - if only it existed.
The bogeyman threat works on children and the gullible.

Answer 2

This whole, "picking the right religion" thing is an interesting trick... I don't think it works exactly like that.

Also that quote was from an idiot. Did he not know what atheist meant? How can I be an atheist if I believe in God? I can't be... the word would freaking be meaningless if I was even though I did.

That doesn't make sense... I can't be right BECAUSE the chances are so small that I might be?

First off, how many religions are there? 50? 300? 10,000? Of those how many of them cross over each other? Like if you are baptist, and God is methodist, chances are you are ok? Right, so the number keeps getting smaller until you have 100 or fewer... I don't see this exponential thing that you do.

Hindu believe in reincarnation, so IF they are right and I am wrong then two things, I come back (no real loss) OR I move on because Christian ethos of helping and so on... I mean, it isn't as if every religion is HELL OR HEAVEN.

In the Viking religion we all go to a great hall, drink eat and fight...

Anyway, you are out thinking yourself here. Mathmatical progressions exist, but not in religion.

Answer 3

Well, perhaps I started out the same as most atheists. I started eliminating the existence of other gods one by one. I thought I had covered the Christian God in that too, but...I was wrong.

I didn't dismiss them primarily because they're "fairy tales" (which is why most atheists deny the existence of God); I deny them because:
1. They didn't do anything for me. I didn't find what I was looking for in Wicca, Buddhism, Islam, or Hinduism. I looked into other things, too, and THEY didn't help me find what I was looking for.
2. People are really going to hate me for this. But Buddhism and Hinduism are both philosophical religions, for the most part. A person can be an atheist AND a Buddhist, for example. Philosophy does nothing for me, even if it is fascinating.
3. I found Islam to be false teachings, though many Muslims DO strive to be good people, and they are.
4. I'm not going there on Wicca.

Becoming a Christian, for me, was something that took most of my life to get around to. I had to do EXTENSIVE research to get to that point, and I also had to recognize that science could neither prove nor disprove the existence of God. I had to let go of the physical, and search after the spiritual...after I discovered that there IS a spiritual realm. There IS more to this world than what we can see, touch, and feel.

So I contend, because of that, that Roberts is incorrect, though I probably didn't express WHY I believe that as well I wish I could.

Answer 4

I used a similar argument on my final paper for Philosophy of religion class last semester, got an A. I made the argument that an athiest in the afterlife was like someone wandering through south central LA in a black hoodie, where as a thiest was all decked out in red, and may well be walking into crypt territory without even suspecting it.
all y'all feel free to use that, just cite S. Hauerwas "With The Grain Of The Universe" c. 2001 Brazos Press.

Answer 5

I am a Christian and I believe in My God by faith, I won't scream at you about going to hell, I'm sorry if you just don't get it, if you chose to take mans thoughts over Gods will and if you believe in one fewer God than I do than you believe in none because I only believe in one, Yes there are many religions most of them serve the same God but just have different views in some of the Scriptures what the Bible says, that dose not mean we serve a different God. Religions of any church are not perfect God finds fault in them all but he still forgives, The Bible says not to bicker over small things that man gets a different understanding of verses, the mane thing to understand is that the only way to heaven is through his son Jesus and if you seek him the Holy Spirit will show us the way to understand his word, Now if you chose to dismiss God just because there are many religions and you chose not to have a personal relationship with Jesus than you serve Satan, You can only serve one if you do not serve God than you serve the other, no matter what man says and thinks he is wise of what he says will make no difference on Judgment day, God will forgive those who seek him and keep true at heart to serve him, the little falls and stumbles through life won't make a impact on his judgment, God looks at the heart not the ones that think they are wise.

Answer 6

The Bible tells us that there ARE other gods. They are just not the real, everlasting, almighty, forgiving, God. Some people worshiped the sun as their god, some the moon, some worshiped a golden image of a calf. The Bible tells of "fallen" disobedient, anti Christian, evil angles (gods.) Satan is called the god of present day earth. There are forces in the world that can do miraculous things, such as demons, powers of darkness, etc.. As you might know, some people are their followers , worship and pray to such as these. They do have powers...all of them evil. The God of the Bible/Jesus Christ, as far as I know, is the only God to offer Heaven, redemption, forgiveness, by His (Gods) own doing. Jesus give His life for us. We don't have to give our life for Him. We could never do enough good and not sin, to gain Heaven on our own accord. Many other religions put salvation, Heaven, forgiveness, on the person him/her-self. They feel that how much good the person does gets them to their heaven and they are rewarded there. The 9/11 terrorists thought they were doing enough good, doing the will of their god, to merit their salvation and their heaven. Suicide car bombers, etc. feel the same way. Are these religions right? Are these religions (such as that of the 9/11 terrorists) good? NO. There is one true, good, actual God. He can be found in the Bible=Christianity.

Answer 7

Read the Bible, it has all the answers! Every word in the Bible is true, from front to back, and everywhere in between!
The Christian religion is the only religion that goes exactly by the Bible, word for word. Every other religion will either add to, or take away from, the words in the Bible, they twist them around to make it sound right to them, they basically have their own Bible!
Bottom line: Other religions are nothing more than CULTS, straight from the pits of HELL!!!

Answer 8

I do not find anything right in Roberts comment. If a begger say to a wealthy person, "We are both beggers, I just have one fewer house than you do." would it be correct?

No, because the difference with the beggar and the wealthy person is not just the house, it also has to do with wealth, car, refrigerator, t.v etc. Accordingly, the difference between an atheist and a believer is not only about God, it is also about belief, religion, principles, loyalty etc.

If one religion is correct, then it is not necessary that the others be incorrect. Christians and Muslims both believe in the same God, so one being true won't debunk the other.

Answer 9

Roberts was correct... that was his contention. Nobody can argue that that was his contention. To do so would suggest that we could read his mind and knew that he was lying or confused or really tired when he said it.

That doesn't make him right.

I, unlike many people of various faiths, recognize the fact that even in the best-case scenario, about 90% of the population has made the wrong decision and is destined for a less-than-ideal afterlife.

But at least for me, the question of the existence of some higher power is not even up for debate--it is the only rational explanaiton.

Answer 10

UBETCHA! Any religion is very, very unlikely to be correct.
Your premise concerning the unlikelyhood of any being correct because of infinite possibilities raises the question:
does anything really exist, or is everything we perceive just illusion?
As soon as you consider the 'infinite amount' you must consider God as an equeal possibility.