Religious Discussion Required...10 Pts Best Answer....?

Question

Why do you believe that it is so imperative that we debate what it is that we believe? Why do you feel that Christians cannot be just like everyone but with a solid foundation of faith. Equally why atheists or agnostics cannot be great people with an equally founded belief of behavioral right and wrong. Why must it be in your opinion that one is better than the other when it has been said that even in death the non-believers will Jesus and have one final opportunity to believe.

F.Y.I. This discussion is going to group home discussion so be frank, honest and clear. BTW this is not about my beliefs. No attacks on me please.

Answer 1

I agree. You make good points so maybe we need to quit falling into answering and asking questions thats ONLY purpose is to spark an argument.

Answer 2

Actually, you are on the issue of whether or not there is a "Universal Truth" or not. You are positing the theory that everyone has their own "truth," and each "truth" can be as real and valid as the next. This is logically a self-contradiction. If I say the sky is blue, but you say the sky is yellow, while another says the sky is green, we cannot ALL be correct... for the "nature" of the sky's color is blue. It it a Universal Truth that the sky is blue (Of course, we are talking about it's "natural" color, not nighttime, nor the colors of clouds, rainbows, etc!)

There is an very good article written in the "gotquestions.org" cited below which addresses this issue. Please read it, print it out even, for your discussion. It is frank, honest, and clear, and contains no INSULTS or attacks whatsoever.

As an example from the article...

The question that begs to be asked is why are those that promote tolerance so intolerant of people who believe in absolute truth? And why are people so willing to embrace a belief system that threatens to destroy the very fabric of society and is at its very heart both irrational and illogical? The simple reason is that people do not want to be accountable for their actions. If there is absolute truth then there are absolute standards of right and wrong, and we are then accountable to those standards. This accountability is what people are really trying to deny in their rejection of absolute truth.

I think you will find this a great basis for your group home discussion. Have a blessed day!

Answer 3

Very interesting question! My first reaction was that debate is not imperative...that it isn't "necessary" or "required". However, imperative also means "unavoidable" and when I saw that definition on dictionary.com, I began to think that debate is imperative. The more I thought about it, the more I came to see that it isn't just unavoidable, debate is necessary and required in the pursuit for knowledge!

Certainly it is a basic part of our nature to debate with others about our knowledge and beliefs. Debate takes place in virtually all arenas related to the acquisition of knowledge and understanding. Debate allows us to test our own knowledge and convictions and expand our understanding of the universe. If scientists did not debate their findings, they would become stagnant and narrow-minded...savants who can't see anything beyond the limits of their own knowledge.

Why dooes my opinion have to be better than another one?...simple, because I believe it is true. If I didn't think what I believe is "the truth" or "correct" or "right" it wouldn't be much of a belief would it? Yes, I believe that Christians and non-Christians (atheists and agnostics) can all be "great people with well-founded beliefs in right and wrong. I also accept that many people, Christians and others alike, have never taken the time to question and openly debate their own beliefs. If I have to choose between being a person who enjoys and benefits from debates about what I think and feel and a person who blindly accepts some belief and ignores or dismisses all arguments to the contrary, I'll take the former every day.

Debate allows us to test the validity of our own beliefs and knowledge. Sincere, honest debate not only allows me to test my own beliefs and knowledge, it allows me to learn about the beliefs and wisdom of others. Learning to formulate strong debating points strengthens our beliefs and our faith that we are right AND it can strengthen our beliefs by expanding them with new knowledge or beliefs we hadn't thought of before. I can think of quite a few times when something another person said to me in a debate caused me to reevaluate or revise something in my own belief system. Without the input for that other person, I might still be ignorant about the truth they told me!

Answer 4

>Why do you believe that it is so imperative that we debate what it is that we believe?

One of the greatest strengths of our relatively advanced intelligence- indeed, perhaps its single greatest strength- is our ability to pass information between each other, to learn not just from what we have thought and done but from what others have thought and done. The very existence of truth, and the way it works, means that if two people disagree about an objective statement (like the existence of God), at least one of them must be wrong (God cannot both exist and not exist at the same time). Discussion and debate about our differing beliefs is what allows us to refine our beliefs, to learn from what others know, so that we can strive towards the common goal of everyone knowing the truth and no one following false beliefs.

>Why must it be in your opinion that one is better than the other

It is not a matter of belief in God or lack of belief in God being AUTOMATICALLY better than the other. No, what's important isn't what you believe in itself, but rather than what you believe matches the truth in the real world. The benefits of knowing the truth are obvious: People who believe that square wheels are better than round wheels will encounter more difficulties in life than those that believe the opposite, people who believe that eating a big red poisonous mushroom can kill you will survive longer than those who think it's good for your heart, and so on. Similarly, if God exists, those who do not believe in God may encounter more failures (miracles that happen against them, eventual damnation in Hell, etc), while if God does not exist, the theists may encounter more failures (praying in vain for a sick relative's recovery, refusing to develop new drugs because the diseases 'can't have evolved', etc). Believing the truth can help us in many ways, but believing falsehoods does not help us, it only hinders our progress as we try to do things that don't work. There is no such thing as 'ignorance is bliss': In the long run, those who know the truth will succeed and those who believe falsehoods will fail. This is the importance of the truth.

Answer 5

The reason I debate is because the athiests always talk about wanting proof that God exists, science and all that. They try to make it seem like they are smarter than Christians.
First of all, any proof or illeged proof of God's existence would defeat the purpose of faith. Also, I challenge any athiest or anyone to disprove the existence of God. It can't be done. Therefore athiests have a belief that God doesn't exist. Just like I have a belief that he does exist.
Science is not foolproof. God is. Everyone thought Newton had fully explained the laws of gravity until Einstein came along. Scientific theories and so called laws are changed constantly. In summary, my need to debate this issue is to prove to the athiests that they are not as smart as they think they are.

Answer 6

I do not judge people by their religion, race, gender, etc. I may make jokes but that is called having a sense of humor, which is something that many uptight people in this world do not have. No one knows the answer and cannot be right or wrong when it comes time to whether God exists or not. This is just a theory. However we can prove that God does not affect our lives. People can kill others and medicine can help them live longer. Life originated some how but we control our lives now. I chose not to follow religion because I feel like I should be a good person without a book that can be proven scientifically incorrect or some one else telling me the ways of life that cannot be proven. I look at life in a scientific way. But that is just my opinion.

Answer 7

I don't believe those things.
Nobody is better then anyone else because they call god by a certain name. The same goes for someone who believes god doesn't exist. I try to judge people by their actions and attitude rather then religious denomination. My problem is with theocracy, not individual Christians.

It is disrespectful though to say that it is ok if people are atheist because they will have the opportunity to accept Jesus in the end. You have projected your own beliefs onto others and have completely disregarded their point of view. It is that sort of self-centeredness that people do not like.

I think it is still important to debate and have an open dialog though. How else are we to learn more about ourselves and one another if we do not reflect and discuss?

Answer 8

What is belief without disbelief? In order to believe in someTHING, don't we have to disbelieve whatever does not validate that thing? Of course this is obvious in the religious. But look at atheists, don't they do it too? There are those who simply don't believe in god, and accept it as an imaginary father figure for the immature mind. Then there are those who DISbelieve. What is disbelief without belief? Haven't they taken the science of evolution and turned it into a pseudo religion?
And where does "acceptance" fit in there? Is it possible for "either believer" to be accepting of others?

Answer 9

I don't really believe in "debating" what we believe. As a Christian I try to be a light to those around me, but I'm not going to argue and try to one up another religion or belief. I would love to see everyone accept the Lord, but that's just not going to happen. I don't think that Jews, Muslims, or even athiests are bad people. There are evil people in every religion including Christianity. I cannot judge you and won't try.

Answer 10

I can't speak for anyone else, but I enjoy discussions as I may learn or discover something I may be lacking, and visa versa. I don't believe in shoving my belief on anyone. I just like to share it because it's so far off the typical religious path. I hope it will make people think about their beliefs. I don't really understand the urgency to convince anyone about God one way or the other. God is all grown up and capable of taking care of God.

Blessed Be

Answer 11

I don't think we have to fight at all. I'm Agnostic-Pagan-- I have my ideas but I won't claim to have all the answers because I simply don't. No human being on the planet has all the answers, and only fools claim that they do. I don't believe that anyone has all the answers, but I think we should just be happy that others believe as they do and accept that. As long as we are not forced to live by the belief systems of others (as we are in the US with some things) then we're fine.

That said, if someone attacks my beliefs outright, or tries to push their religion onto me ceaselessly, I will defend my beliefs. Look at all the fundies on here-- they constantly attack me and others that believe like me. I will defend myself and I have a right to. But I will also defend the right others have to their beliefs, even if I don't agree with them. To each his own-- as long as "his own" doesn't mean pushing that belief onto others that aren't willing to hear it.

Peace )O(