Why are so many people capable of believing anything?

[The Black Swordsman]

1) "Not eternal" is unproven, unless you limit the universe to our spacetime continuum. Even then, "not eternal" =/= "created".
2) The puddle describing how the hole was perfectly made to suit the puddle, so the hole must be designed.
3) Y-chromosome Adam lived some 200,000 years ago, Mitochondrial Eve some 800,000 years ago. Both were part of a large population of human ancestors.

1) Now its time for my own puddle analogy. If you saw a Pond full of water and someone told you it is bottomless and full of infinite water would it be true? No, you will know it won't be true because you would ask "why does the water level stop here and not overflow" It is the same thing with time, if someone told you time is eternally old you know thats not true. I can't find the Quote right now but I read it clearly from Steven Hawkins the Grand Design in which he states that the time of this universe was created at the big bang. He proposes it came from a different universe somehow however.

2) This is the biggest misconeption that atheists love using. I am not saying you should be surprised you are alive, I am saying you should be surprised the universe is fine tuned. This is a famous analogy. Imagen you are in a room full of like 20 swat members all having their gun pointed at you with lasers. They countdown 5..4..3..2..1 boom. They all shoot. What??? You are alive? Now you shouldn't be surprised you are alive because if you weren't you wouldn't be able to think it that you are alive. However, you should be surprised that the room full of 20 trained swat members all with laser guided guns missed. You shouldn't be surprised that you are alive in this fine tuned universe, but rather the universe is "fantastically fine tuned" taking the words from the atheist noble prize winning professor Steven Weinberg.
3) No it is as recent as 60,000 years and as late as 142,000 years according to wikipedia and thats around what I rememberd learning it when I did evolutionary research as an undergrad. Also I didn't want to get into specifics but in Islam he wasn't the only man alive at the time or anything, he was the first prophet and we are all descendents of him "Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of 'Imran over the worlds descendents, some of them from others... " this imply's there were other descendents as well.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

When I was in Middle School I went to church just because their youth group had awesome snowboarding trips for really cheap each year. Does this mean I'm going to hell?

 

[Scat]

When I was in Middle School I went to church just because their youth group had awesome snowboarding trips for really cheap each year. Does this mean I'm going to hell?

I'm sure your ticket is punched and simply awaiting the ticket master to collect it.

 

[PearlWatson]

And to think, I just gave you my first pos rep in another thread. Sad, really. I do love how you lump every single person into your "Mormonz are teh DEVILS and are brainwashed Trunk Or Treaters!!@ loL!!1" mold.

Deadbeat dad isn't exactly what I was thinking, but along the same lines. That is, I will happily watch my kids from a safe distance as they do stupid things. I watch and I laugh. When they fall and get hurt, I laugh. When they boo-hoo about something, I boo-hoo right back to them in baby talk just to let them know how annoying it is. Then we both laugh. My point is, as a father, I'm always watching, but I rarely let them know I'm watching.

I wasn't talking about Mormons with that statement seeing as no Mormon alive today knows Joseph Smith personally. I was talking about the Waco people that Reno torched, Haley's comet suicide people, End of the World people, Warren Jeff's followers. All the cults that depend on the charisma of their leader to lure people in. I don't think their belief system has anything to do with real faith but idolization.

I wasn't saying I believed God was a deadbeat dad. I was playing Devil's advocate.

 

[Gameface]

One brow your responses sucked lol.

Typical Atheist "doesn't mean it is god" or "who designed the designer." That is when you know an atheist loses a debate.

As for Christian apologetics the best ones are John Lennox (who defeated Richard Dawkins) and Dinesh D'Souza (who defeated Christopher Hitchens). Hamza Tzortzis a muslim apologetics defeated Dan Barker in debate btw.

Those atheist apologetics you just mentioned are not smart btw. I can see why you would think that but I expect you to think that due to your irrational beliefs.

If anything could make a religious person sympathetic to atheism it would be listening to TBS argue against it.

 

[Stoked]

If anything could make a religious person sympathetic to atheism it would be listening to TBS argue against it.

He makes me want to get some quality bathsalts.

 

[Gameface]

When I was a kid and I'd do something really naughty I'd get a massive sensation in my chest. I liked it and found it exhilarating. Was that God telling me to cause trouble?

 

[Stoked]

When I was a kid and I'd do something really naughty I'd get a massive sensation in my chest. I liked it and found it exhilarating. Was that God telling me to cause trouble?

That's what we feel when God is laughing at us.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Do you think God ***********?


EDIT: I seriously can't believe for self pleasing is *****'d out.

 

[One Brow]

It is the same thing with time, if someone told you time is eternally old you know thats not true.

Time is a function of our spacetime continuum, and hence is finite. That does not mean some ontologically prior existence had it's own version of time. As a theist, do you believe God made a decision before the creation of the universe? If so, you believe in causality before time, and therefore it is inefective to complain of atheists accepting causality before time.

... I am saying you should be surprised the universe is fine tuned.

I'm saying whatever would have existed under any specfic conditions might make the same claims. When you can prove the universe is fined tuned by a formal argument, or conduct an experiment validating such fine tuning empirically, I'll pay attention. Emotional screeds about how nice things are and how not-nice they might be, not so much.

3) No it is as recent as 60,000 years and as late as 142,000 years according to wikipedia

I stand corrected. Current estimate of Y-chromosome Adam are about 142,000 years; current estamates of Mitochondrial Eve are about 190,000 years. That's still 48,000 years apart.

The existence of such beings is a mathematical necessity in a sexually reproducing population, not a surprise.

 

[Duck Rodgers]

When I was a kid and I'd do something really naughty I'd get a massive sensation in my chest. I liked it and found it exhilarating. Was that God telling me to cause trouble?

That was clearly God warning the future you not to ever get into the homebrewing game, lest you become the one responsible for giving massive sensations in the chest. Seems pretty clear, I can't believe you missed it.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

When I was a kid and I'd do something really naughty I'd get a massive sensation in my chest. I liked it and found it exhilarating. Was that God telling me to cause trouble?

Probably just cancer. Have you gotten it checked out yet?

 

[Siro]

Arguing with TBS is totally worthwhile One Brow. Let me know when you're done. My dog disagrees with your opinion and would like to have a word with you as well.

 

[Stoked]

Arguing with TBS is totally worthwhile One Brow. Let me know when you're done. My dog disagrees with your opinion and would like to have a word with you as well.

Hahahaha, awesome.

 

[The Black Swordsman]

Arguing with me is worthless because your defeat is inevitable.

 

[Siro]

Arguing with me is worthless because your defeat is inevitable.

There is a general consensus on these forums that you're about the biggest idiot around. Do you honestly believe this perception is due to jealousy? Or maybe inability to comprehend your greatness? I am serious. How can you think you're smart when you think childish concepts like "Pascal's Wager" will shatter our world view? Do you know how old I was when I heard those silly cliche arguments you uncritically stole from others?

You sir are an idiot.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

There is a general consensus on these forums that you're about the biggest idiot around. Do you honestly believe this perception is due to jealousy? Or maybe inability to comprehend your greatness? I am serious. How can you think you're smart when you think childish concepts like "Pascal's Wager" will shatter our world view? Do you know how old I was when I heard those silly cliche arguments you uncritically stole from others?

You sir are an idiot.

Fight.

 

[Siro]

Fight.

Maybe not? Maybe I drove him away? Oh god please make it so!

 

[Gameface]

There is a general consensus on these forums that you're about the biggest idiot around. Do you honestly believe this perception is due to jealousy? Or maybe inability to comprehend your greatness? I am serious. How can you think you're smart when you think childish concepts like "Pascal's Wager" will shatter our world view? Do you know how old I was when I heard those silly cliche arguments you uncritically stole from others?

You sir are an idiot.

TBS is a prime example of a person able to believe anything.

 

[franklin]

When I was a kid and I'd do something really naughty I'd get a massive sensation in my chest. I liked it and found it exhilarating. Was that God telling me to cause trouble?

Standard intro to every serial killer documentary and CSI/Mentalist/Criminal Minds episode.