Is it worth reading if you're an atheist?

>>9876784
>is it worth reading the text of a religion which was core to western civilisation for about 2000 years

Gee I dunno, you tell me?

No, only read what you agree with. Why spend time trying to understand things that don't align with your worldview?

>>9876784
I'd recommend reading some amount of Christian Apologetics first if you have an absolutely minimal understanding of Christianity.

CS Lewis's Mere Christianity gives a decent insight into Christian philosophy and belief and will give you a better grounding when going into the Bible.

>>9876793
"no"

>>9876793
>>9876796
>>9876797
Can't you just take it as fiction?

>>9876784
Atheism is for the emotionally retarded. You can't prove God doesn't exist. Read the book, it's a good philosophy and the greatest story ever told. Your piddly skepticism is holding you back, brainlet.

>>9876797
Nah it's better to go in blind with a good translation so that you can see how idiotic christian theology is and come to the obvious conclusion that 'jesus' was not the Messiah.

>>9876806
>You can't prove God doesn't exist.
- The world is not 6000 years old, thanks to some very old Zircon rock, we know it's at least 4.543 billion years old.

- We now know there was no Adam and Eve,
Evolution has been proven on a genetic level.

- The Big Bang happened, its afterglow can be seen today.

- Out of body experiences and near death experiences occur in all cultures regardless of one's faith.

- They can be induced in a lab using the God Helmet (google it, it's pretty cool). It's now understood as a product of human biology.

Your move, brainlet.

How are you an atheist if you didnt read the bible along with every other religions holy book?

>>9876817
>He thinks Christians doesn't believe in the Big Bang.

>>9876828
They don't.

reminder that humans are incapable of discovering or even understanding the ultimate "truth" and agnosticism IS the only correct path

>>9876784
No. Get off this board if you're an atheist.

>>9876834
>>9876828
Im an atheist and i think there is enough contradiction in the bigbang theory to put it back on the shelf of theorys.

>>9876837
Sorry, I don't believe in fairy tales.

>>9876834
>>9876817
>when amerilards try to understand religion
lmao what an embarrassment

>>9876817
The Big Bang theory and the expansion of the universe concept were discovered by a Catholic priest, religion and science are not mutually exclusive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lema%C3%AEtre

>>9876858
>Doesn't contradict any of the points and spouts 'MUH MURICA' instead
Then again, what should I expect from a third world subhuman.

>>9876854
No, you do. We don't.

Atheists are the worst

>>9876835
Agnosticism is for radical centrist faggots.

>>9876865
Yes they are, c*tholics are just heretics and incredibly prone to STEMspergery.

>>9876869
Alright. Prove that god exists, then. Go on.

>>9876873
excellent argument, brainlet

>>9876799
Of course you can, no one's holding a gun to your head telling you to believe it wholesale.

>>9876872
>People who don't believe in lies are he worst

>>9876876
Bible and life in general.

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>>9876880
I wasn't trying to argue, I was just describing.

>>9876883
Stop baiting.

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>>9876885
>he posted the fedora pepe
d-dumb frogposter k-kek

>>9876876
>proof
Doesn't exist, sorry brainlet

If anything, being an atheist makes it MORE worth reading

So you actually know what you're debating, unlike 99% of self-proclaimed atheists

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>>9876890

>>9876892
Should I pick up an old version or a new one?

>>9876884
Bible is fiction.
Life is a coincidence.

>>9876898
Most people seem to like KJV. Just don't read it with the mindset to disapprove or mock Christianity.

>>9876891
>Not believing somehing with no proof makes you a brainlet

>>9876903
CENTURIES OF THEOLOGY BTFO

THOMAS AQUINAS BTFO

>>9876906
>Just don't read it with the mindset to disapprove or mock Christianity.
Now I'm going to read it with that mindset to piss you off.

>>9876868
(You)

>>9876903
>Life is a coincidence.
This sounds retarded.

>>9876911
>No argument

>>9876910
Doesn't really make you any different from others, eh?

>>9876913
It's the truth, life came to be after a certain string of events.

>>9876921
And that certain string of events are coincidence?

>>9876914
>expecting me to engage in a a dialogue with someone from a country where the average iq is 89
it's like this is your first time baiting

>>9876930
I'm dutch you retard.

>>9876808
Judaism is just as "retarded" as Christianity

>>9876926
In the seemingly endless universe its bound to happen based on statistics.

why do Americans poo themselves in supermarkets?

>>9876933
my mishtake the average dutch iq is sheventy shix

>>9876949
Where the do you come from, then?
Also, fuck you.

>>9876940
Could be true, but before that?

>>9876956
Troll county

>>9876956
culturallyandintellectuallymoresophisticatedthanyouistan

>>9876959
Before what

>>9876817
I guess atheism is for the mentally retarded as well. You didn't prove God doesn't exist. And I don't mean Jeeeeezus, I mean the first principle. The prime mover. The unknowable that made your shitty dull life possible.

You should definitely only read things you agree with and never challenge your world view.
Even on a more practical level, you should read the other side so if some draws you into an argument you're not talking from a standpoint of ignorance.
I'm an agnostic atheist, I've read the bible, torah, Qu'ran, Mahabharata, Vedas and some buddhist scriptures. Even if you don't believe in god, there's still value in them, even as talking points.

God do Americans really try to teach their kids god and morality and shit? Don't they know god doesn't exist and it's scientifically proven and people should just do whatever they want?

>>9876978
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from god.

>>9876993
So you are telling me that my toaster is indistinguishable from God? Or does 'sufficiently advanced' mean nothing after all?

>>9877011
ignore him he's just roleplaying as an edgy speed addict robot worshiping cuck

>>9876993
You are an example of why I really hate Dutch people. You pretend to know better but you're really just as unironically vapid as the people around you. Go tag a brutalist apartment building, Daan.

>>9877011
If its sufficiently advanced for you to not understand how it works,then obviously,yes.
>>9877035
Back to troll county,kid.

>>9877044
His toaster can give his life meaning and support him on hard times? I guess eating works n some people but I wouldn't put on the same level as God.

>>9877044
>>9876993
>>9876903
>>9876817
t. actual 15 year old from reddit

>>9877135
>I have no argument so I'll call you reddit instead

>>9877139
>my shitty worldview warrants a refutation
>pls spoonfeed me things I will learn when I graduate highschool
this is what you sound like right now

>>9877130
You are mixing faith with god.Its not god that gives meaning and support at hard times,but faith.
You can have faith in yourself just as much as in a toaster,whatever suits you.
>>9877135
You know what they say.If religious people would know reason,they wouldnt be religious.

>>9877135
> ad hominem is a legitimate way to counter a statement

>>9877163
>I learned about fallacies yesterday on wikipedia

>>9877156
I have a shitty worldview? You are a grown man that believes in a fairy tale. A fairy tale that has been disproven over and over again, yet you still believe it because a website you don't like doesn't. Do you know how fucking retarded that is?

>>9877176
shhhh it's ok sweetie don't cry it's all gonna be ok. the bad man is gonna go ow he probably doesn't even believe in le science!

>>9877171
>I learned about fallacies today when I had to look it up

>>9877197
>I learned about getting BTFO today when that one anon roasted my pseud ass in the christfags vs fedorafags meme thread

>>9876834
>He doesn't realise the theory was put forward by a Belgian cosmologist/priest who worked for the Vatican.
>He doesn't realise that the Vatican approved the theory

really gets the noggin joggin ;^)

>>9876784
>I don't know what I claim not to believe in, but I am extremely vocal about it and even made it the core of my identity

is there anything more childish and pathetic than atheists?

>>9877200
>he's still at it, the absolute madman

>>9877186
You have confirmed yourself mentally challenged, I'm done arguing with you.

>>9877207
Probably, but it might overlap a great deal.
>autists (the worst ones)
>furries
>new pronoun folk
Etc.

>>9877207
Yeah, theists.

>>9877209
>after losing the argument the fifteen year old atheist declared himself the winner, and proceeded to announce to everyone that he was closing the thread to go jerk off to furry porn and watch richard dawkins videos
lmao see you in the next thread you reddit tourist faggot. I hope the isis rapes your dutch ass

>>9877214
>the people who built civilizations were and are totally pathetic, unlike my group that isn't a group that has the backbone to promote equality and ignore the need for biological offspring

>>9877209
Don't waste any more time on him dude, he's a lost cause.

>>9877219
>you don't get it mom
>i built western society

>>9877217
Wait, there was an argument? All you posted was memes and delusion.

>>9877231
yeah there was an argument and you got BTFO but don't worry kid you should probably get used to things going right over your head.

>>9877219
I think you forgot that every scientist who matters is an atheist, and an atheist made the device you're using right now.

>>9877227
I am pretty much an atheist. I just want to preserve the good in the world. I have broken my world with analysis. I live in absolute sin, too, and won't be expecting children.
Hence we are not a group, but we are.
Or should I say that there is a conflict, where my faith shows itself in my words and outward actions but those directed at myself promote atheism.

>>9877238
>every scientist who matters
Every bronze age king who mattered was a pagan or an occultist. Let them be what they are.
They are not building civilization.

>>9877237
>BTFO
>>>/reddit/

>>9877219
They didn't know any better.

I'm a proud atheist who is new to this website but I just have to ay that all the bible thumpers and religious nuts in this thread remind me of the kind of people who back in prison we called "punks"

one time a punk came up to me asking me if i heard the good news and all that, I socked him right in the cake hole, then I held him down and made him suck all my friends dicks. so just think about that next time you post you religious punks

>>9877261
Go home, you're drunk.

>>9877253
oh you want some more do ya? one verbal thrashing wasn't enough for you fedoralord?

I'll tell you what why don't you put your money where you mouth is. I am willing to drive 5 hours from my hometown in western Maine. if you can meet me at a time and place of your choosing I will personally bet you until you start to believe in God and his everlasting mercy. alternatively you can pay for a roundtrip flight and I will come to get you anywhere in the world.

balls in your court champ

>>9877283
Sorry, I have no time to talk about fairy tales.

>>9877259
>we who know better are abolishing age old institutions like marriage for ideological reasons so that a few individuals can in ideological theory be happier
The question isn't about knowledge. It never was. Hume made points, good points, against the world view of before. Kant returned Europe to Logos. So it goes.

>>9877290
Marriage is shit, worst thing to happen to humanity.

>>9877289
oh this won't take long and the only talking I'll be doing is with my fists.

I know you're scared you're probably some fat overweight nerd piece of shit and all you know about fighting is that it's kinda like exercise, but don't worry, because you will be unconscious almost immediately. And you might wake up or you might not, but if you do, know it will be because God wills it. He has taken mercy and seen fit to extend the life of a wretch like you who denies him here in his forums.

you're in for a world of pain son. tell me where and when.

>>9877304
>t. Homosexual
Marriage is great. Divorce, sexual liberation, abolition, world wars... Those ruined it.
A healthy marriage pushes both parents toward the ideals of their sex, has them producing and training new children...
It's a more complex form of what goes on in your body.

>>9877305
44.795179, -69.338437
Right, fucking, now.

>>9877317
Single mothers also ruin children. Less so than being an orphan, but still.
Government has been unable to grow functional individuals.

>>9877319
you better be there nigga I called out of work for this shit. if you punk out I'll be making a thread letting everyone know you a bitch.

>>9877261
lmao another atheist here, and i just have to say my hat ges off to you sir! I love it! I bet you were screaming at him I can only imagine (I've never been to prison)
>"Suck their dicks!"
>"Where's your god now?"
oh goodness I'm in tears JUST thinking about it.

>>9876949
Kek

>>9877330
I'm the homeless guy. Don't worry, I'm just roleplaying.

>>9877372
i knew all along the mods were reddit fedora cucks and now I have the proof!!!

>>9876968
Before anything. All things have a cause what caused everything.

>>9877396
What do you mean, what is your proof?

>>9876784
We have this thread every fucking day.
The answer is still yes.

I have a serious question that some of you may make fun of me for but, how does one go about reading the bible? Do I read it like a philosophy book and analyze every sentence? Do I read it as a primary book? Break it up into portions for several years? Any help would be nice

>>9877632
Read it like you would read any other book. You don't need any special techniques, just enjoy the ride.

>>9877632
>>9877661
I should add that you should probably pay attention to the footnotes though, because there are a few cultural differences between us and Israel from two-thousand years ago.

>>9876888
I'm not, brainlet.

>>9876982
>Even on a more practical level, you should read the other side so if some draws you into an argument you're not talking from a standpoint of ignorance.
>I'm an agnostic atheist, I've read the bible, torah, Qu'ran, Mahabharata, Vedas and some buddhist scriptures. Even if you don't believe in god, there's still value in them, even as talking points.
Amen

DO NOT READ THE BIBLE without a bit of knowledge to back it up. It is an ancient collection of texts written over 1500 years by numerous authors. Study Bibles are not good enough, because the notes are infantile and not written by qualified scholars. The key is hermeneutics - interpretation. The why, when, how,what, where questions. I've studied the Bible - it is a vast undertaking and every single word has paragraphs devoted to them.

>>9877661
Wrong. This is a huge no-no. You will never "enjoy the ride" if you don't know how to "ride" it. On the surface interpretations yield innumerable false ideas about the Bible. For example - when you read in Joshua about the Israelites slaying "all" the Amalekites you would think "Oh! Horrible! Genocide!" And you would think that because you would be unfamiliar with ancient Near Eastern lingo - they had their idioms as we do. "All" was a way of saying "many" or "a lot". There's an ancient Moabite pedestal where the king of Moab boasts of killing "all" the Israelites - in other words he killed a lot. It wasn't literal - it was hyperbole. We know this in the Bible reference I used because the Amalekites are mentioned much later, alive and well, fighting King David. This is just one of many tools that you need to read the Bible properly.

>>9876817
You can't use material things to disprove the non-tangible.

>>9876875
>is Protestant
>believes religion and science are mutually exclusive
really gets the old noggin joggin

>>9876982
Only reasonable response in this thread.

>>9877739
So how should I go about reading the bible?

>>9877826
you should definitely study theology and become a priest to get a deeper understanding of what you are trying to refute should the occasion possibly arise.

>>9876799
it falls outside of the category of fiction because of the societal relation to the text

>>9877899
fiction
[fik-shuh n]

noun
1.
the class of literature comprising works of imaginative narration, especially in prose form.

The bible is a comprising work of imaginative narration, making it fiction.

It's only worth reading if you actually study it and put in the effort to understand what's being said. Otherwise don't bother. If you do actually start studying the languages, the literary genres employed, the authors, the intended audiences, and so on you'll quickly realize how stupid the vast majority of biblical criticism is. It's not a book that will convince you to abandon atheism but it will make you hate internet atheism because of how ignorant they are.

>>9876784
Absolutely, it's had a profound impact on western culture and is a fascinating insight into ancient near eastern thought.

Plus some of the stories are fun.

>>9877923
Not all of it though. St. Paul's Epistles are not fictional. There are also plenty of books of aphorisms that wouldn't count as fictional because they have no narrative.

>>9877925
>It's not a book that will convince you to abandon atheism but it will make you hate internet atheism because of how ignorant they are.

They do plenty of that on their own but any amount of reading into legitimate Christian thought makes it seem completely ludicrous.

The main problem is that the majority of Christians arguing against them are equally moronic.

>>9877945

Stay away from Protestants and you'll be fine.

>>9877949
Do you have an issue with protestants or Protestantism?

>>9876982
>Mahabharata
>implying you actually read the entire thing

>>9877925
>>9877945
>Studying a fairy tale from 2017 years ago
Just shows how mentally challenged religious "people" are.

>>9877956

Yeah I think they're dumb. There's no underlying logic to support anything they believe. Their view of the bible is circular and their views on tradition is often contradictory so they can never truly explain the things they believe.

>>9877963
>needing to agree with something to read it

bet you're fun to talk to

>>9877975

I honestly don't know enough about it to comment.

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>>9876898
Depends what you're reading it for. If you're interested in the original texts, get a good modern translation. If you're interested in its impact on English lit, get the KJV.

And as always, there's a /lit/ guide for that.

>>9877982
Yeah, that's why you call atheists retarded because they don't study your precious fairy tale.
Religion is something you grow out of, time for you to do the same.

>>9876784
Yes! Translations are important though. I'd avoid the KJV and try something more literalist. I'm only familiar with hebrew so this just applies to the old testament, but most translations are really God awful.

Make sure to read the deuterocanon.

>>9878003
i haven't called anyone retarded. you're just making a bunch of assumptions about my character and inane comments about "fairy tales" rather than actually defending your own point of view. i don't know why you bother getting involved in a discussion you've no interest in engaging with properly.

is it just so you can feel intellectually superior to someone without having to do any actual work?

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>>9878012
>but most translations are really God awful.

>>9878014
I already am intellectually superior to you.

>>9876835
Taoism is basically a more refined agnosticism

I can give you an example. For Catholics and Orthodox the bible is assumed to be a merely human document that records the creation of the divinely instituted church. This church then had the authority to pronounce which human writings also had God as their author. But Protestants reject this apostolic authority and believe that the bible alone is their ultimate authority. This view ultimately becomes circular, where an inspired bible is used to prove the church's authority and the church's authority is used to prove that the bible is inspired.

Another problem with this is view is that there's no infallible table of contents to let us know which books belong in the bible. This leaves a cloud of suspicion over whether each book is actually inspired. If as Luther taught and Protestants believe, the Catholic church was wrong about the the seven books that Luther removed from the OT--isn't it reasonable to suspect from that perspective that the Catholic church made other errors? That perhaps other books should be rejected from the bible? Protestants have no answer to this. They can't explain why they believe the bible is inspired.

>>9878043
meant for >>9877985

>>9877923,
Not all things that lack literal truth are fiction. The instruction manual to build flat pack furniture does not contain truth claims but it is not fiction.

A book of possible baby names is non fiction despite the fact that it doesn't even describe events in the real world.

>>9878346
Bt the bible is nothing like the examples you mentioned, the bible is pure fiction.

>>9878378


Would you consider the platonic dialogues fiction? What about outdated science journals that have been proven wrong.

The fiction/non fiction divide isn't about whether something is true, but about whether it's presented as truth.

>>9876817
>The world is not 6000 years old
You will not find that anywhere in the Bible, which actually claims there was an "Earth" before ours on this planet so obviously it's very old
>We now know there was no Adam and Eve, Evolution has been proven on a genetic level
No one knows the actual factors that were written about as Genesis, but most take it to be symbolic. Furthermore many geneticists believe that there must be an "Eve", look it up. Also evolution was purported by a Catholic.
>The Big Bang happened, its afterglow can be seen today.
Not contradictory with text, also discovered by a Catholic
>Out of body experiences etc.
No idea what this has to do with anything

It's much easier to refute something when you read the actual texts, not pretend you understand it because you're annoying aunt is a Christian

is the bible the most popular unreaded book of all time?

Everyone and their pet quotes it but I don't know any one IRL who has read it completely.

>>9878394
And the bible is not presented as truth..

>>9878414
>Also evolution was purported by a Catholic.
Darwin wasn't catholic.

>>9877261
for a literature board this is awfully written bait

>>9878532

I don't see how you can seriously believe that, but if you do I think it's fair to say it's counterintuitive enough to need more than one sentence to explain it to me?

>>9878378
woah buddy check out this guy over here you know hitchens died six years ago you dont need to keep it up

>>9876784
Not immediately, no. You need to understand how people come to understand Christianity so you don't confuse concepts. Further - and in respect to the texts themselves - you need to have some grasp of how Christians understand the biblical texts along with necessary elements like genres, structures, and context.

If you want a general introduction to Christianity then this is not the right book for you. There are far better books.

>>9878378
Reddit, stop being stupid.

>>9876806
you don't prove a negative

>>9876797
>CS Lewis
>responsible for worst apologetic concepts ever like "Liar Lunatic or Lord" that keep being repeated for whatever reason

pfft

>>9878537
This is true, Darwin was a Unitarian Christian and lost his Christianity later in life after being unable to connect evolution to the Protestant understanding of the creation story he knew.

>>9876806
I can reasonably ascertain JHVH doesn't tho

>>9878619
>ANYTHING THAT GOES AGAINST MY SHIT WORLDVIEW IS REDDIT REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

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>>9878659
Of course not, just views akin to mainstream anti-theism are closely associated with Reddit and specifically r/atheism. Anti-theists generally tend to be next to Evangelical Protestants in terms of foolishness and ignorance so I call you out for what you are:

1. Stupid.
2. Reddit.

You have an issue?

>>9876828
They don't. I was at my cousins house who has young kids, and they were watching the Big Bang Theory (yes god awful I know). Then when the end of the theme says it all started with a Big Bang, she turned to them and said "don't listen to that, no it didn't". Keep in mind this isn't some backwoods missippi bitch either, this was someone well adjusted that lives in Washington state. So no christians don't believe in it because they think it somehow contradicts creationism, which I don't understand. Both that and evolution I would argue actually support creationism because they're missing pieces like what made them do that, a god putting those things in motion would make complete sense.

>>9878681
>one person anecdote
Why don't you look up the official Roman Catholic church's official position on evolution first, while keeping in mind that this denomination has over 1 billion adherents.

>>9876784
Actually reading that garbage is what will make someone an atheist.

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>>9878681
It would be important to note that one Christian person in Mississippi is likely of the religion popular in Mississippi (Baptist) and that denomination isn't representative of Christianity as a whole, let alone close to a majority. Baptist is a kind of Protestant. Protestantism itself isn't even the majority of Christians out there.

>>9878709
If they were to assume large swathes of what they read like most laypeople mistakenly do. Assuming genre is the most foolish thing of all but terribly common. I reference that >>9878591

>>9878709
This. Why would the inerrant word of God need idiots like Craig to contextualize it?

>>9878681

Why would any Christian reject the Big Bang? It implies a beginning of the universe, and if the universe had a beginning it must have a cause. This cause would have to be immaterial and eternal since the creator or cause of space and time couldn't be bound by space and time. It's this implication that led most atheists of the past to reject the Big Bang as "religious nonsense" and accused Father Lemaître of letting his Christian bias taint his work.

>>9878679
>Atheists are stupid
You're saying this when you believe in a fairy tale about a giant man in the sky who gets angry hen you touch our penis.

>>9878779

Nobody believes in a giant man in the sky.

>>9878681
>Washington State
>Not Backwoods
Riiiiight...

>>9878785
Except for theists.

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>>9878779
I didn't say atheists are stupid. I said anti-theists are very foolish and ignorant. Please don't put words in my mouth.

>You're saying this when you believe in a fairy tale about a giant man in the sky who gets angry hen you touch our penis.

See? This is the nonsense I'm talking about. You bullshit an understanding of God, God's relation to nature, and Natural Law in relation to both to try to attack me.

Your comments have nothing to do with me, let alone any of the traditional churches (of whom one is the largest denomination in the world and the majority of Christians), or significant theologians down Christian thought. At best, you're criticizing a subsection of Protestants called Evangelicals. Many mainstream anti-theists at the moment do just that and fight Christianity as if were all Evangelical Protestantism or "religion" as if it were Evangelical Protestantism and Salafi Muslims. This is just the ignorance I talk about when I said >>9878679

>>9878825
>This is just the ignorance I talk about

"This is part of the ignorance I talk about", I should say. My bad.

I am mostly agnostic but God in Heaven most atheists are insufferable. Why are you like this? Why are you such jerks?

What does /lit/ think about televangelists? I personally cannot stand any of them and wish to see them hanged. I hate Jimmy Swaggart the most though.

>>9878892
Personally find them all disingenuous thieves.

>>9876799
Can't you just form your own opinion? Right, you are an atheist.

>>9878779
Jesus Christ anon at least try to contain your cuckoldry

>>9878023
No, because you are an atheist and because you are here.

>>9878881
They never grew up.

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How can yu believei n god with so much suffering in the world?

>>9878987

Because the existence of evil is a actually a good reason to believe that God exists. The concept of evil is unintelligible without a transcendent standard of objective good. As CS Lewis would say a man does not call something crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. We can't call something evil unless we a notion of the ultimate good to compare.

An ultimate good cannot just be an idea. It must be, in effect, a personality with consciousness and free will. The rain isn't morally good even though it makes the crops grow; a tornado that kills isn't morally evil--though it may be an evil for those in it's way. Happy and sad events, from birth to death, just happen, and we ascribe moral qualities to them as they suit us or don't. But true, objective good and evil, in order to BE good and evil, have to be aware and intentional. So an ultimate moral good must be conscious and free; it must be God.

nah

not unless you want to understand 90% of the Western canon

>>9879066
>The concept of evil is unintelligible without a transcendent standard of objective good.

fuck off lol

>>9878987
Redemptive suffering.
Suffering can be a path towards virtue in various means. It could allow an important good, it could break your heart so that it be more open, it could be a method of transformation, or it even could be repercussions of sins playing out to persuade you or others away from it.

>>9879095

You've convinced me to repent of my folly with this well crafted rebuttal. I am now an atheist. Praise Dawkins, fuck funDIEs.

>>9878821
A giant man in the sky wouldn't be God retard, it would just be a giant man in the sky.

>>9878967
Atheists are always intellectually superior to theists.

>>9879512
Which is god.

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Don't degrade yourself to their level.

>>9876784
>Is it worth reading if you're an atheist?
It matters to what degree. Many atheists read the Bible and try to find as many disagreements with it as possible which leads to many misinterpretations.

As long as you read it to actually understand it and aren't trying to support your world-view, then you'll be good. Take time to learn about hermeneutics and read interpretations and commentaries on the passages, and you'll enjoy it much more.

>>9876835
Hmm... Idk about that. Agnosticism could be the only correct path, or it might not be.

>>9879525
No, it really isn't. I'm an agnostic but jesus fuck no, that is NOT what god is lmfao.

>>9879562
>Episcopalians on top

H O W

>>9876784
Reading and understanding the Bible will vastly improve your understanding of western literature. This reason alone makes it more than worth reading.

Also, you atheists kill me. Simply admitting that god doesn't exist isn't the silver bullet against spirituality and faith. Atheism is the most vapid and immature ideology. The worst part is you all act like you hold some moral and intellectual high ground because you don't believe in a deity. Consider the possibility that proving or disproving existence of God isn't the point of religion. Once you accept that, it becomes much harder to grapple with the ancient texts. Dostoevsky does a great job of legitimizing Christianity.

>>9880444
>it doesn't matter that it's all made up bullshit
>you still need to structure your entire life around my fairy tales

>>9880444
Atheism isn't an ideology but a lack thereof. The issue of mainstream "atheism" is that it hides behind vague language without defining itself. Atheism is a lack of theism. Anti-theist currently are just big on attacking mainstream religions as it becomes politically opportune or are positivists

>>9880490
>if I just keep calling it a fairytale, I'll never have to analyze the text critically or enter a rational dialogue.

Isn't high school back in session soon?

>>9880507

You know what's worst than "anti-theists?" Shoe atheism. If atheism is just a "lack of belief" then a completely devout Christian who gets into a car accident would be a considered an atheist while while he's in a coma. He is incapable of having beliefs while in this state after all. Instead of redefining atheism to include the agnostics and undecided people, how about you just call yourself undecided?

>>9880444
>Atheism is the most vapid and immature ideology
i would agree and both disagree

>>9879514
If this was true you wil be theist, which is not the case, see?

>>9880549
Good criticism, actually.

>>9876784
Yes, if only for the beauty of of it at its best (Book of Samuel, the Psalms, the Song of Songs, etc.) and for its historical value. It is a foundational text, like it or not.

>>9876806
>it's a good philosophy and the greatest story ever told
I'll admit, this made me chuckle.

>>9876907
Yes it does, and it also makes you a basic bitch. Proof doesn't exist, it's an enl*ghtenment meme.
>>9876921
Truth doesn't exist, that's a gr*ek meme

>>9876817
The world is 6000 years old. Muh STEM meme is irrelevant
Evolution does not happen or exist. Muh STEM meme is irrelevant.
There was no 'big bang'. Muh STEM meme is irrelevant
Muh comparative anthropology is irrelevant, it is also a STEM meme
'product of muh STEM meme' doesn't exclude outside sources.

Sorry child, you're the brainlet for presupposing 'muh STEM meme'. You're stuck in ancient logic.
>>9876835
Agnosticism is fence-sitting with the pole a few inches up your ass, and a foot in your mouth.

>Is it worth reading if you're an atheist?
>209 replies
>"patricians"

fucking kek

>>9877238
Science is irrelevant. WE WUZ FAGS N SHIEET is irrelevant.

>>9877261
WOW UR SO TOUGH
Fucking adolescent.

>>9877806
I'm not pr*testant. Science is Satanic. It is built upon false logical/metaphysical grounds, similar to John Milton's depiction of Satan's rhetoric against Eve in PD. That is, the following 'follows', but the presumption(s) is all wrong. It's a lie made to damn souls. "Believe this, it is obvious, do not believe those superstitious tales!"
Disgusting.

>>9878003
>its a fairy tale becuz i sed so
really churns my butter

>>9879562
IQ is a nonmetric made up by STEMspergs.

>>9880507
No child, atheism is the strongest ideology.

>>9881197
Please go ahead and try to defend such a view in response to my criticisms.

>>9881551
The fact that you feel the need to defend 'atheism' is ideological. The fact that you consider atheism 'the lack of ideology' is ideological.

>>9881586
I do not defend atheism. I state the definition of the term so it is not misapplied.

>>9881597
That is not the definition, that is your ideological perversion.

>>9881607
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/learner-english/a_2

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/theism?fallbackFrom=learner-english&q=Theism

Literally "not theism".

>>9881642
'not theism' doesn't mean 'the absence of ideology', you ideologue.

>>9881650
When the definition of something is just dependent on what it lacks, there is no inherent substance for what it is. All that is inherent is what it lacks. There are atheist ideologies, but atheism itself isn't one.

>>9881656
Atheism is an ideology, get over yourself. Atheism is a lack of theism, not a lack of atheism. You're spewing blatantly false linguistic memes to defend your sick ideology, also.

>>9881662
>resorts to restating your claim without counterargument
There is no shame in admitting you are wrong. I'm done tending to your bullshit however.

>>9881680
I did make an argument, you illiterate ideologue. Now you're even blinding yourself.

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>>9876806
Sort your shit out mate, this post was like a compilation of retardation.

>>9876865
>discovered
>individuals being relevant
That's not how science works.

>>9876978
The prime mover is an empty concept. When you ask yourself why there's something instead of nothing, you're assuming you come from the position of something. But sapience is so clearly the echo chamber of nothingness. You came from nothing and go toward nothing. No one moved you. You aren't moving, you are indistinguishable from the massively unmoved universe around you.

>>9876808
He was a very naughty boy

>>9877186
Ironic shitposts are still shitposts. Do you do it for attention? Reconsider life

>>9881747
Science doesn't work, though.

>>9877789
Oh yeah? Then why religion uses the non-tangible to impose material things?

>>9876784

Honestly, no, the Gospel of Thomas by itself is 1000x better as a moral guide than the entirety of the canon.

>>9877398
>Applying the human "causal thought" to the abstract concept of Being
>Doing it to prove the existence of a god
>He believes his comment was a poignant statement

>>9879066
>The concept of evil is unintelligible without a transcendent standard of objective good
I'm an atheist and this guy is right

>>9880444
In fact I, as an atheist, have nothing against religion nor faith. Only thing I hate is when people use religion to justify their actions, or aren't open to debate their faith like most of the brainlets in this thread

>>9881795
The converse isn't always true you idiot. God is omnipotent.

>>9881830
>religion cannot justify actions
t. brainlet
>faith is to be debated
t. brianlet

>>9876984
>scientifically proven
Where?

>>9877957
Not in Hindi, but I read a fairly comprehensive version. I'm a very boring person who spent/spends most of their time reading.

>>9876784
>Is it worth reading The Lord Of The Rings if I don't believe in magic ?

>Is it worth reading The Divine Comedy if I don't beleive in the afterlife ?

>Is it worth reading The Communist Manifesto if I don't believe in Satan ?

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>>9876784
Read: Genesis, Exodus, Ecclesiastes, Job, Psalms, Song of Solomon, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and Revelation

Then/at the same time: Robert Alter, and Frank Kermode, eds. The Literary Guide to the Bible (1987)

>>9876817
Hold up a sec, are you trying to say that someone proved that we have the abilty to feel out of body expirences rooted in our brain chemestry, if anything this is a point in favor of god's existence

>>9876834
You realize the theory was formalized by a Catholic priest right?

>>9877176
Holy shit I cringed when I read this. I cringed all the more because I used to be like that.

>>9877304
It's ok to go through that stage, but it would be nice if you people refrained from posting until you're out of it

>>9878378
Even a hardcore atheist has to admit that much of the bible is at least partially historically accurate

>>9882900
>Archaeological discoveries since the 19th century are open to interpretation, but broadly speaking they lend support to few of the Old Testament's historical narratives and offer evidence to challenge others.

Not that 'much at least partially' means anything.
>Ben begat Ben Jr.
yeah probably at some point in time that did happen.

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>>9878378
Found your sorting hat.

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>reading the canonical books
plebs

>>9881824

I don't see how anyone can disagree with it. One thing that everyone who uses this problem of evil in an effort to disprove God has in common is that none of them can actually define what evil is. The only way that I know to define it is as a deprivation of good, but if they were to use this definition it would completely undermine their argument.

>>9878378

>the bible is pure fiction.

Not even the most fedoracore secular biblical scholar would say something like this.

>>9876784
Yes, even if you don't believe in it. Job and Ecclesiastes is some of the best philosophy you will ever find. First Samuel to Second King is the greatest historical epic you will ever read. Revelation and Daniel is the trippiest shit you will ever read. Psalms are the best poetry you will ever read. Gospels are the greatest literature you will eve find anywhere. Proverbs is the greatest collection of proverbs and moral teachings, ever. etc

>>9883777
>Gospels are the greatest literature you will eve find anywhere

Literature isn't a genre. The gospels are Greco-Roman biographies.

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>>9876806
>You can't prove God doesn't exist
lmao
>Implying people should have to disprove your one of infinite un-provable fantasies.

>>9876784
>Is it worth reading if you're an atheist?

yeah man, some good stuff in there, parables and what not. Its also fun to quote back at theists the parts that contradict whatever point they are trying to make just to rustle their jimmies. I recommend you go with the old kings james new and old testament, cover to cover baby!

>>9884247

How old are you? Be honest because this is a no judgement zone.

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>>9884276
>implying atheism is something people grow out of instead of religion being something people ditch when sufficiently educated.

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>>9876806
this

>>9884286

That sounds like some insecurity because I didn't imply anything, in fact I made it explicit that I was not judging you. I was legitimately wondering how old you are.

In a way you actually did answer the question.

>>9884247
>quote back at theists the parts that contradict whatever point they are trying to make
And when they refute your claim of contradiction, you go on a sperg on how God is evil. At least read the whole passage if you're trying to find contradictions. You can't really claim to be an intellect when you're only capable of focusing on one verse at a time, little Johnny.

>>9884286
Education is indoctrination.

>>9884247
wow u mus be epic gaymer!
Eat shit.
> Its also fun to quote back at theists the parts that contradict whatever point they are trying to make just to rustle their jimmies.
An atheist cannot interpret scripture. What you assume is contradictory is totally out of context. You're wrong, now go eat a turd with your Mountain Dew, gaymer.

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>>9884299
>Thinks I don't see every argument theists try to trap you into from a mile away. lmfao

>>9884315
Keep telling yourself that, /b/tard preadolescent.

>>9884315

We don't speak in greentext on this board.

>>9884325
We do but we don't do it like absolute newfags straight outta reddit.

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>>9884305
>>9884310

I wont be casting any more of my pearls before you swine today ;)

>>9884341
Go back to /r/eddit please. The only pearls you gots are YA NUTS AHAHAHAHAHAHHXDDXDXDDXD
This is what you sound like, now back to /b/

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Reminder that not believing in anything for which there is no evidence whilst recognising certain moral truths in biblical teachings and incorporating them into your life in such a way as to be morally impacted as though you are a sincere believer is the final redpill.

>>9884362
Psychobabble is blue pilled. Evidence doesn't exist.

>>9876846
the big bang theory is basically just an atheist meme

>>9884362

There are no moral truths in a universe without God. In the atheistic worldview, the concept of a moral wrong only means "something I don't like," because if it meant "something that ought to not be," that would imply there is a way that our actions "ought to be." But if our actions, or even the universe itself "ought to be" a certain way, that further implies that there is a cosmic plan for human beings, their moral behavior, and even the universe itself. And if there is a cosmic plan then that implies the existence of a cosmic planner, or what we call God.

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>>9884369
>Evidence doesn't exist.
I can't keep up with memeing of this intensity. I shall bow out before I get truly outclassed.

>>9884397
Actualities are not 'memes' you redditor.

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>>9884401
I have literally never seen Reddit before. Most of my time is spent on Youtube absolutely crushing credulous insects like yourself.

>>9884421
Now you're just baiting.

>>9884421
Shitposting doesn't crush anything but your ego mate

>>9884448
Shitposting can coincide with a very large ego actually.