Faithless

perfectly said.

NewWorldMan.

You seem to not understand what an Atheist is. Nor do you seem to understand the basics of logic and burdens of proof and critical thinking. I do not mean to insult you by saying that but you really to take a moment to think.

NO atheist says "I know there is no God". An atheist says "I don't believe in God". Why? Because there is no reason to. No evidence, no proof, no logical reason why a god must exist.

An atheist doesn't say "God doesn't exist" for the same reason he doesn't say "unicorns don't exist" or "leprachauns don't exist". It is impossible to prove a negative. The believer can always say "oh, well, it's invisible, it's mysterious... you just haven't tested in the right way.. you aren't asking the right questions"

The logical, THINKING person says "prove to me that something exists and I will believe in it".... That is why atheists are atheists. Because they ask that question... they require that proof. And there is none for god. Just myths and old books and stories. The burden of proof is on the theists, not the atheists.

You need to adjust your understanding of what an atheist is. It's just someone who only believes in things for which there is a objective REASON to believe. Someone who doesn't take things on faith.

I appreciate what you're saying. Please know that thought the same way for the longest time. If it's evidence you need, then I encourage you to approach the following with an open mind:

First of all, any genuine proof that God exists must come from the Bible. Yes, it is an ancient book, but there is a reason that the Bible has stood the test of time (3000+ years). The Bible is unique in its continuity.
If just 10 people today were picked who were from the same place, born around the same time, spoke the same language, and made about the same amount of money, and were asked to write on just one controversial subject, they would have trouble agreeing with each other. Yet, the Bible was written over a period of 1,600 years by more than 40 writers from all walks of life. Some were fishermen; some were politicians. Others were generals or kings, shepherds or historians. They were from three different continents, and wrote in three different languages. They wrote on hundreds of controversial subjects yet they wrote with agreement and harmony. They wrote in dungeons, in temples, on beaches, and on hillsides, during peacetime and during war. Yet their words sound like they came from the same source. So even though 10 people today couldn’t write on one controversial subject and agree, God picked 40 different people to write the Bible–and it stands the test of time.

The Bible is unique in its circulation.
The invention of the printing press in 1450 made it possible to print books in large quantities. The first book printed was the Bible. Since then, the Bible has been read by more people and printed more times than any other book in history. By 1930, over one billion Bibles had been distributed by Bible societies around the world. By 1977, Bible societies alone were printing over 200 million Bibles each year, and this doesn’t include the rest of the Bible publishing companies. No one who is interested in knowing the truth can ignore such an important book.

The Bible has also been translated into over 1,400 languages. No other book even comes close.

It is unique in its survival.
In ancient times, books were copied by hand onto manuscripts which were made from parchment and would decay over time. Ancient books are available today only because someone made copies of the originals to preserve them. For example, the original writings of Julius Caesar are no longer around. We know what he wrote only by the copies we have. Only 10 copies still exist, and they were made 1,000 years after he died. Only 600 copies of Homer’s The Iliad exist, made 1,300 years after the originals were written. No other book has as many copies of the ancient manuscripts as the Bible. In fact, there are over 24,000 copies of New Testament manuscripts, some written within 35 years of the writer’s death.

It is unique in withstanding attack.
No other book has been so attacked throughout history as the Bible. In A.D. 300 the Roman emperor Diocletian ordered every Bible burned because he thought that by destroying the Scriptures he could destroy Christianity. Anyone caught with a Bible would be executed. But just 25 years later, the Roman emperor Constantine ordered that 50 perfect copies of the Bible be made at government expense. The French philosopher Voltaire, boasted that within 100 years of his death, the Bible would disappear from the face of the earth. Voltaire died in 1728, but the Bible lives on. The irony of history is that 50 years after his death, the Geneva Bible Society moved into his former house and used his printing presses to print thousands of Bibles.

The Bible has also survived criticism. No book has been more attacked for its accuracy. And yet archeologists are proving every year that the Bible’s detailed descriptions of historic events are correct.

Again, I was standing in your position not too long ago. But once I finally admitted that I didn't know whether there was truly a God or not, the evidence of which I just spoke made perfect sense. As a former atheist, I encourage you to investigate these claims pertaining to Bible and its authenticity before automatically dismissing them. Be a seeker of the truth. The truth is what thinking people are ultimately after.

I'm thankful that not everyone sees the Bible as their moral compass...


Leviticus Chapter 25, verses 44-46 "Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever : But over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor [harshness, stiffness, inflexibility]."

Exodus Chapter 21, verses 20-21: "And if a man smite his manservant, or maidservant, with a rod, and he (or she) die under his hand; he shall be punished. Notwithstanding, if he (or she) continue a day or two, he shall not be punished, for he (or she) is his money.

Exodus Chapter 21, verse 32: "If an ox gore a manservant or maidservant; he [the owner of the ox] shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver and the ox shall be stoned."

Luke Chapter 12, verse 47-48: "And that servant, which knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes."

1st Peter, Chapter 2 verse 18: "Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the fro-ward [unjust, cross, contrary, unreasonable].

Exodus Chapter 21, verses 2-6: "If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.



Deuteronomy Chapter 13, verses 13-19 "If you find out some people living in one of the towns God has 'given' to you are worshiping other gods, you should set every person, young or old, and every beast and all the property on fire and never allow that town to be rebuilt." Joshua Chapter 7 verse 15 prescribes a similar fate for anyone attempting to take spoils from the condemned town: "And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel."



Judges Chapter 11 verses 29-40 "And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering." Funny thing that the first thing to come out from his home was his daughter... his only child.

"And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he wrent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man."



Deuteronomy Chapter 22, verses 28-29: If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.

Deuteronomy Chapter 22, verses 23-24: If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.

Deuteronomy Chapter 22, verses 20-21: "If the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: Then they shall bring the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die."

Deuteronomy Chapter 21, verses 10-14: "When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, and seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house, and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; and she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her."

Where was god during WWI, WWII, Viet nam, Cambodia, China, Columbine, Sandy Hook Elementary. Rwanda, The Japanese occupation of China, The Holocaust, These are all proof the so-called merciful and loving god DOES NOT EXIST. What loving and merciful god would sit back and let all these atrocities happen. The savage killing of the innocent. NO there is no loving merciful god.

I like and share your opinion, mostly because it's right.

There was no ONE factor that caused the holocaust. But there was a religious factor. The crushing economy lead most Germans into impoverished conditions while many wealthy families (most of which were Jews) remained well off, causing tension between the upper and lower class. This is one of the most influential reasons for which the Jews were targeted out of any other group. But it is always easier to point the finger at someone who does not think the way you do, hence religion was a factor.

Hitler is quoted saying, “I am now as before a Catholic and will always remain so.” And, “I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the almighty creator; by defending myself against the Jews, I am fighting for the Lord.”

One of my favorite Rush songs.