May i just ask, if there's a "ask a atheist forum" shouldn't there be a ask a christian/jewish/insert religion here- forum? or is there already one? Plus no abuse to any christians who are asking questions either, i just thought i might add that. :)

It is up to people of those other religions or belief systems to make their own forums. It would be wildly inappropriate for me, as an Atheist, to set up a forum on behalf of a belief system that I do not believe in. If other people choose to set up those forums in those other clubs, I fully support that. Having those forums in this spot, however, does not seem appropriate.

The respect thing is for everybody. I never said that only the Atheists should be respected. I only gave example questions because I am inviting people of differing belief systems to into an Atheist space. From experience, religious people who have come to this spot have been quite offensive in their interactions with us. But my guidelines here clearly require that everyone is respectful if they choose to participate in this forum.

Hey misanthrope86, thanks for starting this forum. Just to throw it out there, I've just started a new audio project at link. If you're interested, I'd be happy to exchange links with you to help up both spread the "good word." Cheers!

Alrighty then
What is you beleif on evolution?

Personally, my belief about evolutionary theory is that it is the most likely explanation for the universe that is based upon tested hypotheses. I think that there are gapping holes in evolutionary knowledge that will never be filled in, but I support the fact that scientists are working on gathering evidence that helps me make sense of the universe and how it works.
I do not believe that one day their was a monkey who one day wore a hat and became a businessman. In other words, evolutionary theory is not as simple as monkey = man. It is a massive and complex theory that is, of course, constantly evolving. Its not perfect, and it doesn't claim to be. But is it a tested scientific theory that makes sense to me. I don't believe that it the only only explanation for the way that life exists, but I believe that it is the best supported theory that we have right now.

Thanks for asking a question, thetacoman.

Welcome. Many Christians (I should know) say that evolution is degreding to humans for the very reason you stated, the monkey=bussinessman theory.

Well, that ain't the theory, so feel free to enlighten your christian friends.

"What is you beleif on evolution? "

Well, it depends on who you ask. it varies. Some would say they totally believe in it, and others might say--- "actually, i believe something else". Some christians believe in evolution, just that god created evolution. it really depends. For me, well--- i don't really think it matters. we're here aren't we? why should we worry about the past?

"I do not believe that one day their was a monkey who one day wore a hat and became a businessman. In other words, evolutionary theory is not as simple as monkey = man."

Missy's right. Especially because man didn't even evolve from monkeys at all. Just to make that super duper clear. I know missy knows that but it's such a common misconception... Humans are apes. We evolved from a common ancestor shared by other apes. Monkeys are an earlier branch off of the evolutionary tree.

Apes and monkeys are NOT the same thing. Look it up.

I find the Christian view on how humans were made more degrading....simply because Evolution says we came from apes, but The Bible says that God made Adam out of the dirt, I think The Bible telling me I am made out of dirt is a bit....weird. I'd rather come from an ape then from the dirt

What are your thoughts on the Big Bang theory?

Well, I love the tv show, but as for the scientific theory, I think that it makes sense and is a as good a theory as any. But the reality is we don't know how the universe began, and I'm not convinced that scientific exploration will ever tell us. We can't even prove that we all aren't just brains in vats or that our reality is artificially created in some way.
So I think that the big bang theory is a great scientific theory that I believe is the most likely explanation for how our universe was created, because the theory is based upon hundreds of years of investigation, scientific or otherwise. But science is fallible and unless we were there when the universe began, we, at this point in time, simply do not have the answer to that question. And thats ok with me.

But I mean it's gotta bug you sometime right? Believing in something you can't explain. Hmm.... I have another question for you. If science is fallible why believe in the in the other ascpects of it if you know some things are wrong about it? Wouldn't you be believing in something of an opinion rather than fact? If one thing is wrong in science couldn't things that many believe be incorrect? So do you choose to believe in the possibility that some parts are correct rather than other? How do you distinguish what is correct and incorrect?

Scientific theory is always a best guess based on evidence. We're pretty sure it's right, but there's always the possibility that someone will come up with better explanations. It's a better guide to understanding the universe than faith, which is belief with no evidence or in spite of contradicting evidence.

Dragonclaws since I can't debate about religion here I'll talk about it on the Ask a Christian forum.

Like I said, I don't believe in it. I think it makes sense, but that doesn't mean I shape my worldview around it. My core belief is that I cannot know. If I let that belief bug me, my brain would explode.

Personally, I'm a science hater of sorts. The scientific method is based upon hundreds of years of tweaking. A lot of people have spent a lot of time improving upon it. But it is far from infalliable. Science has caused harm, just as religion has. Science taught us that women were stupid, that black people were stupid, that asians were stupid etc etc, when all we really learned is that white men are stupid (I'm talking about the IQ testing dibacle, of course). Science told us that only men could be gay and that being gay was a mental illness. Those things stick with a society.
The big difference, as I see it, is that science works to fix those wrongs. Science is always updating itself. Science admits when it is wrong and works to re-shape knowledge. Science continually tests and retests itself in order to check and improve upon what we can call knowledge. This is why I trust science more than I trust religion.
Here is an example: You know the vaccine/autism debate? Long ago, Dr Andrew Wakefield did one study in which he gave fraudulent results that supported the theory that certain vaccines cause autism. He spread his false report and parents, no doubt scared out of their minds, continued to spread the word and many stopped vaccinating their babies from deadly diseases. This cause a boom in vaccination studies throughout the world. No recognised study has ever backed Wakefield up. Every other study (not performed by one of Wakefield's followers, that is) has confirmed that if there is a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, it is no minute it is indetectable (and therefore would not account for the incidence of autism). Wakefield has been found guilty of a whole bunch of things, but unfortunately he can't really be charged with abusing scientific knowledge. This one man now has a religion-like following, which continues to try and spread his false word, never mind that his crap has cost children their lives. Point is, science found the issue and confirmed the knowledge we had prior to Wakefield's "study". So science is both hero and villain here: Wakefield used science for his own gain, while other scientists worked to clear up the issue.

I think we all need to be critical of all the information that we receive, no matter what the source. We need to research our world, but we need to do it critically.

Are you against Jesus Christ and all He stands for and represents? Do you have Christian friends?
Would you be willing to go to church?
Have you read the bible or any bible verses?
Have you ever listened to the radio station called "Klove"?
Do you think it's more logical that the universe just came to be out of no where than having someone actually create it?
Do you like the idea of someone loving you all the time with a perfect, unconditional, never ending love?
Do you not believe, because you see no logic in God or because you were hurt really badly and didn't see God working in your life?
Would you mind if I shared some bible verses with you in our discussion?

Answer one or all of them please.

Are you against Jesus Christ and all He stands for and represents?

Pretty much; I see him as tyrannical. Though I agree with some basic ideas like respecting one another and not killing each other, these are set within a larger context that is problematic. I find it better to base morals off of modern philosophers who are more relevant to this society.

Do you have Christian friends?

Yes.

Would you be willing to go to church?

Only if there's some other group that meets there that's not strictly religious but takes advantage of the social housing. Otherwise, there's no point in going to a place of worship. Would a Christian go to a mosque or temple? Probably only if not to perform the standard practice there.

Have you read the bible or any bible verses?

I've read most of the Old Testament and part of the New Testament. As a person of Ashkenazi descent, I often feel as unnerved reading the Bible as I do reading excerpts of Mein Kampf.

Have you ever listened to the radio station called "Klove"?

No. Granted, the only radio I've listened to is the oldies stations my parents put on.

Do you think it's more logical that the universe just came to be out of no where than having someone actually create it?

Yes. Where did the someone come from? Did that someone just pop into being? If it's more logical for the universe to have a creator, then it follows that the creator didn't just pop into being but had a creator himself. This meta-creator then in turn must have had a creator. No, it's much simpler to have the universe just appear on its own.

I actually think the idea of the universe's life being infinite makes more sense than either. It doesn't have to have a meaning, just facts about it that can be discovered.

Do you like the idea of someone loving you all the time with a perfect, unconditional, never ending love?

Kind of, as long as they behave in a respectful manner. Stalkers may very well love, but they can infringe on rights and then they're problematic. God doesn't just love; God says "Love me, or I'll torture you for eternity". That's a stalker action.

Would you mind if I shared some bible verses with you in our discussion?

No.

~ I don't believe in Jesus, so I can't really be against him. All I believe about him is that he is a fictional character employed to extend and demonstrate the metaphors that the bible uses to exercise social and political control.

~ Yes, I have Christian friends. Also catholics, a Jehovah's Witness and a couple of Mormons.

~ I have been to churches, both for sunday services and just random visiting for the hell of it.

~ I have read far, far too much of the bible XD

~ Klove? I live in NZ and I'm pretty sure we don't get that station. You don't work for them by any chance? LOL.

~ I don't believe the universe just came out of nowhere. But if I did, I would find that more believable than a god of any kind just deciding to make a person out of nowhere.

~ "Do you like the idea of someone loving you all the time with a perfect, unconditional, never ending love?" - WOAH, what a loaded question. Pretty sure my mum loves me like that anyway.

~ As I answered in the Question you posted, I haven't been hurt by something I don't believe in. And it isn't about logic. I don't believe in any gods because their existence doesn't make sense.

~ The problem with the use of bible verses when talking with Atheists, is that you tend to dig your own grave. For me, and I know other Atheists around here too, bible verses do nothing but support Atheist arguments. The bible holds a totally different meaning for me compared to christians. So you can use biblical references here if you wish, but you have to be prepared for those verses to be torn to shreds and/or totally rejected.

Are you against Jesus Christ and all He stands for and represents?

Not necessarily. I've heard that there's proof he existed, but all that "son of god" stuff I don't believe at all. I don't know much about him, but generally, there are plenty of good Christian morals, so what he was preaching can't have been all bad.

Do you have Christian friends
Yes. My two closest real life friends are both Christian. one of them calls herself a "non-practicing" Christian, basically she isn't hard core, doesn't go to church or obsess over it, she just basically believes there's a god and that's it.
The other one is a little more "devout", I'd say, but she doesn't go to church on a regular basis either. I don't really talk about religion much with them.

Would you be willing to go to church?

I've been to church before. One some relatives took me to a Christmas service years ago, and for a wedding, and of course, visiting famous old churches in Europe, :P but that's about it.
I honestly don't really have any urge to go, nor do I see any real point to going. I might go someday just out of curiosity, possibly.

Have you read the bible or any bible verses?

I'm actually reading the Bible right now, because I'm curious, and for research purposes. A cousin of mine majored in Theology in college, and I met up with her once to talk about it, I prepared a list of questions about things that didn't make sense or that I thought didn't add up, and we had a really informative discussion. I'm still on the Old Testament, but I do plan to finish reading.

Have you ever listened to the radio station called "Klove"?
Never heard of it.

Do you think it's more logical that the universe just came to be out of no where than having someone actually create it?
What I dislike about this question is that you seem to be ignoring the fact that this is probably how God came into being too. He just appeared there. It seems a lot more likely to me that the universe just came out of nowhere, (even though there are theories about it), than that a magical, supernatural being just came out of nowhere.

Do you like the idea of someone loving you all the time with a perfect, unconditional, never ending love?
Isn't that what parents do? And besides, someone just automatically loving you for no reason when they haven't even met you or talked to you? Seems kind of shifty to me.....

Would you mind if I shared some bible verses with you in our discussion?
Please go ahead. I would warn you, but misanthrope86 has already said it all.