'Angel' cloud appears over Texas skyline

You can argue against facts,,,,,,but then,,,it's still a fact,,,,,,,

 

^Is it fair to say God says “no” to soldiers praying for help in said foxhole?

 

It’s all good by me anyway. Some in my family worship Buddha. He probably hears quite a few prayers from foxholes as well.

 

It's possible God does say no at that time. Who's to say God wouldn't have taken that person at that time , even if he was back home playing golf at that time . I guess I'm a non practicing believer. I don't go to church , but I try to live by the context of the bible. If everybody did , it would be a nicer world , I believe.
But you make a fair argument.

 

I don’t want to debate about Atheists in a foxhole. It was already chatted about. Besides I like your posts.

 

Fair enough , I missed that previous foxhole debate,,,I don't want to drudge up old debates. Thanks..

 

Perhaps all dogs DO go to heaven.

 

That is amazing!!!

 

The beotch is having to throw a redwood tree every time he wants to play fetch

 

My objective here is not so much as to try to de-convert you arliegh, (which according to your testimony, is likely to be a fruitless exercise) as to reply to some of the things that you have said and if possible correct some misconceptions introduced by you in your post.

1.

By nay sayers, I am assuming that you mean those people who do not believe as you do. This could mean atheists, and theists who do not share the particular god beliefs that you do. (just checking) If I have assumed incorrectly, please enlighten me.

2.

I don't think any reasonable rational person would dispute that the image is just a dry tree stump, the patterns with which it is shaped may resemble any number of things, depending on a person's individual perceptions, culture, prevailing light conditions, orientation in relation to the object and so forth...The tree stump markings could resemble:

A gargoyle creature;

A monkey with Bell's Palsey;

A distorted humanoid skull (if the image is inverted 180 degrees);

There is also a smaller 'creature' to the left of the large 'creature' resembling a ghast or wraith or some other mythic creature;

and of course “An Angry Lion”.

But these resemblances, although unusual, are not extraordinary manifestations of supernatural activity, and the well understood phenomenon of pareidolia provides an ordinary reasonable explanation, for a naturally occuring effect. No need to further elaborate upon pareidolia as that has been explained earlier in this thread in some detail. An ordinary claim, can be satisfied by ordinary evidence.

However, if the claim was made that god was so annoyed by a lion, that he had an angel turn it into wood, in much the same way that Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt (through Divine intervention), then that would be an extraordinary claim, requiring extraordinary supporting evidence to explain it.

3.

Some naysayers love god...just that they love a different god than you do, but I'm doubtful that many, if any atheists are angry at a god that they do not believe exists...in the same sense that you and other Christians are unlikely to be angry at a god, or gods that y'all don't believe in either, such as Odin, Zeus, Jupiter, or Brahma et al....most theists focus their attention and worship on the god(s) they do believe exist, not on the ones that they don't believe exist. Just that atheists don't accord any belief in any god (else they would be theists ).

The trope that atheists are angry at god, specifically the Christian triune god, is nonsensical, and laughable. It is a silly claim, usually made for the benefit of fellow Christians (theists), as a trite explanation for atheists' disinterest in belief in Jesus / Yahweh/Holy Ghost trinity.

It also has to be said that Christians also wore the naysayer / atheist label, back in the day, when Christianity in Rome was seen as an emerging bizarro Jewish sect; Christians were seen as cooky monotheists in a polytheistic world, and were persecuted as atheists (relative to Roman polytheism). https://larryhurtado.wordpress.com/2016/12/13/when-christians-were-atheists/

If atheists express any ire, it is at the behaviour of the imagined Christian god's fan club, and the toxic beliefs that they act upon in promoting their religious hegemony over non theists and people of other faith traditions.

The 'atheists are angry at god' trope is an excellent example of the Bulverism logical fallacy...Bulverism - RationalWiki. Why explore actual reasons why atheists don't believe in god, when some lame reason will do?



4.

This claim is deserving of a whole thread of its own, but suffice it to say, that the claim is a misuse of the ordinary understanding of the words 'hope' and 'future'. Christians (and theists of other religious flavours) imbue 'hope' and the 'future' with specific theocentric meanings... which is somewhat different to the way in which atheists might refer to those words. I would contend that atheists do have hope/hopes and also share the same kinds of temporal futures as theists.

5.

Agreed, that is true of theists, agnostics, and atheists.

6.

You have just described confirmation bias....it is a tendency that can affect theists and atheists alike...if not controlled for.

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias



7.

You seriously misconstrue the scientific method, and atheists. Theism, and atheism, have only one proposition in contention...belief or a lack of belief in the existence of at least one god, or gods. Nothing more or less...other beliefs stemming from that primary epistemic commitment is a matter of theology and philosophy, viewed from differing human world views. Again, a discussion on how the scientific method of investigating facts in the material world, is deserving of its own thread.

8.

See quote #4 above

9.

Even the Christian Bible? How did you come to know about your god, by direct communication with your deity, and/or through others, from infancy?

10.

It is a sound way of keeping one's money in one's wallet and out of some scammer's pocket, but that is a quality that is not exclusive to theists. My credulity is tempered by the degree of trust in the source of the information (corroborated or disconfirmed by other sources) that I am exposed to...provisional skepticism and due diligence are generally good practices for long life, good health, maintaining material comfort and enjoying some degree of wealth.

https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/wi-phi/wiphi-history/wiphi-hume/v/humes-skepticism-part-1

https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/wi-phi/wiphi-history/wiphi-hume/v/humes-skepticism-and-induction-part-2

11.

Although this may feel compelling to you, others don't have access to what is inside your head...they must rely on your testimony, and just as you take what others say with a grain of salt, there is no reason to offer any more to you than you of others. Anecdotal evidence, although sometimes useful for exploring interesting ideas, and certainly anecdotal evidence has inspired scientists to investigate “why is it so” when exploring natural phenomena, the anecdotal evidence itself needs to be evaluated rigorously before it is of any use in scientific investigation.

Anecdotal evidence - RationalWiki

Substitute belief for Reiki in the following video.





12.

Refer to quote #11 above.

13.

Refer to quote #11 above

14.

My objective is not to sway you, or others....each must work out for themselves what life is about, I just point out that a certain degree of skepticism is warranted in examining the truth claims of beliefs...

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/An_Enquiry_Concerning_Human_Understanding

15.

It is just as possible (indeed probable) for a theist to be swayed by the lies and deceptions of other theists.

Pious fraud - RationalWiki





It is also possible that Atheists actually are telling the truth.

 

I still enjoy God's intervention and instruction and healing in my life, despite the bashing of those ignorant of his Love.

 

I have no doubt that that is your belief...but i don't feel that I am being bashed...

As to god's love? That begs the question of the existence of a deity that is capable of 'love'. Various sacred texts would seem to indicate that gods tend to exhibit baneful humanlike emotions as much as benificent ones...