Hopefully at least questioning his thinking will get somewhere.
His away message had the following quote
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.
Here is the conversation that followed. To protect the ignorant, I took out his screen name...
ryanhoward1pro (10:44:41 PM): what’s with your away message?
M (10:46:43 PM): what don’t you understand?
ryanhoward1pro (10:47:20 PM): Doesn't really make sense
M (10:47:28 PM): sure it does
ryanhoward1pro (10:47:41 PM): How so
M (10:47:53 PM): god r u really that stupid
M (10:48:01 PM): its pretty straight forward
ryanhoward1pro (10:49:23 PM): Not really
ryanhoward1pro (10:50:09 PM): An atheist says there are no gods, so how could you say someone is an atheist when they believe in God?
M (10:50:29 PM): because they discard the possibility of all other gods
ryanhoward1pro (10:51:01 PM): that doesn't make them an atheist...
ryanhoward1pro (10:51:35 PM): and what "other gods" are you referring to
M (10:51:48 PM): omfg
M (10:52:04 PM): this is going right over your head and its such a simple concept
ryanhoward1pro (10:52:13 PM): give me a decent answer if you believe it
ryanhoward1pro (10:52:18 PM): No it's not
M (10:52:54 PM): a·the·ist // a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.
ryanhoward1pro (10:53:17 PM): A Christian doesn't
M (10:53:42 PM): yes they deny the existence of all other supreme beings except for god
ryanhoward1pro (10:54:20 PM): all other, but they still believe in one.
M (10:55:06 PM): but it still fits the description
M (10:55:29 PM): it doesn’t say all supreme beings just a supreme being or beings
ryanhoward1pro (10:55:38 PM): ok whatever
ryanhoward1pro (10:56:21 PM): so do you do this because you believe, or is it because you are SO AGAINST conforming
ryanhoward1pro (10:57:02 PM): *believed it*
ryanhoward1pro (10:57:27 PM): dang it........ *believe it*
M (10:57:29 PM): I’m not against conforming I'm just for raising questions that challenge others beliefs
ryanhoward1pro (10:57:45 PM): For what reason?
M (10:57:49 PM): because it will either weaken or strengthen their belief
M (10:58:02 PM): both being beneficial
ryanhoward1pro (10:58:24 PM): So what do YOU
ryanhoward1pro (10:58:28 PM): believe
M (10:59:17 PM): That god as Christians view him doesn’t exist
ryanhoward1pro (11:00:01 PM): and what evidence do you have for that?
M (11:00:43 PM): what evidence do u have for Christianity
ryanhoward1pro (11:00:50 PM): I see it all around me
(At this point I was checking my email quickly, and he decided to leave)
M (11:01:03 PM): tell me
M (11:01:50 PM): ok w/e
M (11:01:51 PM): bye
Lord,use me to point him to you. Change his heart. MAKE HIM believe
2 comments:
First, your crack about "protecting the ignorant" was condescending but since he was condescending to you I guess he deserved it. Calling you stupid was not very nice. However, I am not sure he missed the mark by much. Perhaps ignorant is a better description. Maybe not willfully so. Which mitigates the transgression somewhat.
People with a rational world view must justify their beliefs. Even Christians can be rational in most things but when it comes to belief in God, that is where lots of people depart from the rational.
In logic and science it is the claimant that must prove their claim. To all who live here the earth obviously exists. If one were to claim that the earth does NOT actually exist we would demand that he back up his assertion with evidence. On the other hand, God does not obviously exist. We cannot see, touch, or feel him/her/it. It is the theist that makes the claim that goes against the findings of superficial examination. Therefore it is the theist that must present the evidence.
What your "friend" was trying to say is that you, I assume, do not believe in Zeus. You may understand that the Greeks once worshiped Zeus but you do not believe that he exists or that worshiping him would give any particular benefit. You have the same attitude toward all of the 1000s of Gods that man has or still does worship(ed). Therefore you are atheistic as opposed to those Gods. 1000s of them. Atheists go one more god further than you.
What people believe is free from logic. To put it simply: you believe in it, and all you need to focus on is yes or no. Do you believe in God The Almighty, the I Am, Jesus Christ, the Holy Trinity, or don't you? People say that Christianity isn't just a religion, its a way of life, but so is every other religion.
The Greeks believed in Zeus, yes, but they also beleived in about 20 other "gods." Such is the way that people live: they are afraid of what they do not know, so they try to protect themselves from the unknown. People want warranties on their purchases, because it makes them feel like, no matter what happens to the product, they can fall back on the warranty.
That's what I believe people truly want out of life: a warrantee; a guarantee. And they will spend their entire life looking for it.
I know who the "M" IMer was, and I can say that I pity him immensely, because he has lost sight of what he once saw clearly. I can only pray with John and the others praying for this individual that God will open their eyes.
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