Qi, I'm an atheist because it feels more logical in my own mind. Just because a few non-religious individuals aren't spewing out rhetoric that will be quoted for centuries to come doesn't mean they are unwise or unscientific. I personally believe there have been many valid points made from Aranka to Warlightvet to yourself. This thread is at least stimulating thought in my own mind, and that's more than most can expect from the forum of an online game.

Back to the subject of reality:

*Morality I meant

"If there are exceptions and 'every' should, in reality, be 'sometimes' or 'usually', how do you expect others to take you seriously when your quote has flawed logic?" - Qi

"If you copy and paste the picture of a dead guy when he was old and crusty and has his fingers intertwined as if he is mentally handicapped, your argument gains infinitely in value." - Qi

"If you are an old geezer with disheveled hair, whatever you say in your lifetime is merely opinion. But, upon dying, your words transcend the realm of opinion and become facts, especially if parrotted by someone who probably never read your books." - Qi

You're wrong there QI....I actually did read his books.

But you can go on with your crusades all you like :D

Crusade? A little hyperbole every now and then doesn't harm anyone.

I'm asking for a a coherent argument in favor of atheism that is backed by logic, reason, and science.

What you provide is not it. If a high school student wrote that as an essay answer to a question about the role of religion in history, I wouldn't give the student full credit. Maybe such ideas blow your teenage mind. But I'm not interested at all with faulty logic and subjective tunnel vision from an angry old man who does not understand history.

why does anyone believe in god?
because they were told to, that's the only possible reason except if you saw him yourself or had some sort of a revelation.
most likely it was parents and people close to them, in their community.
My reason for not believing is that there is absolutely no reason for there to be a god, there is no evidence whatsoever and i can imagine how the idea of one could have come through fear of the unknown, for example death and what comes after it.

As for believing in god i have absolutely nothing against it, but i am strongly against the church because they've used their power, that people believe that they'll suffer eternal damnation if they don't do whatever they say, to gain wealth, for example when they were selling the watchamacallits that were supposed to reduce people's time in purgatory.

I certainly don't think i'm more intelligent than anyone else qi, i just have had a different education in which i was taught to be cynical, tbh if i believed that there was even a slight possibility that i could suffer for eternity if i behaved badly i seriously would never behave badly xD. :)

Yes, I believe that a major reason people believe in god is due to a fear of death. God allows these people to not fear about death because they believe they will live for all eternity. This is the main reason people get more religious the older they get.
Also God is a no better way to explain the start of our Universe than the Big Bang Theory. Just like Christians ask what came before the Big Bang Theory, what came before god? Where did god come from? Are you expecting me to believe that he just decided one day to create the entire universe?
Also the burden of proof is on Christians to show whether god exists. We Atheists say nothing exists while they say something does exist. ( Also I feel that people are getting kind of angered talking about this, so lets try to have a peaceful discussion.) :)

TL, DR;

both christians and atheïsts have no proof that what they (don't) believe is the truth and the best arguments are about the effect of this (dis)belief upon morality.
(i also think that "being an atheist" basically just means "being" without having to add any kind of belief to it)

/discussion

still nobody answered my question, why did it have to be about christianity in the USA ?
(except naomi, but i don't think many people take those legal documents literally in regards to christianity, plus most countries have added words like "in god we trust" to various legal documents, and most of that has aged too much)

so why not talk about life-philofies in any(well, every) part of the world ?
(this is a rhetorical question btw)

i already said, i can prove that god does not exist
but first prove that unicorns don't exist

point being it is not possible to prove that something doesn't exist :)

now, give any single piece of evidence that he does please :p

As for the usa i don't know what the maker of the thread meant, but that's where it's the most radical i think, for example where i live in France if i recall correctly less than 10% of people practice their religion.
One example of this is the bs about not teaching evolution

I actually think Christianity is becoming more extreme, but in very small steps due to attrition of members that question churches. As I said, I left the Catholic church because I don't like their message on social issues. I know at least a dozen other people that basically don't go to catholic church anymore either for similar reasons. What that does is leave behind more people that are unwilling to question the church at all. Basically it makes the church less diverse. I don't think the Catholic church's message has become more extreme, in fact it is a lack of evolution that drives young people away.

This all has to be placed in context with where Christianity was in the middle ages in Europe. There are no Christian holy wars going on.

As for believing in god i have absolutely nothing against it, but i am strongly against the church because they've used their power, that people believe that they'll suffer eternal damnation if they don't do whatever they say, to gain wealth

That's why myhand meant when he said rulers find it useful, which I agree. But this has nothing to do with God, or the religion, but merely the organization (or church or whatever you want to call it) that chose to use this religion or God for their own purposes. That was probably one of the reasons for the protestant reformation. But then again, it didn't really get any better.

However, I'm sure there are genuine pastors/preachers/leaders out there that actually teach based on the bible, not based on their own opinions. You just have to find them.

"The ontological argument is sound" - Bertrand Russell

Tee hee hee.

(I memorised this one so I didn't have to Google it. Sorry it wasn't in the form of a jpeg.)

How patronising can you be Catbus? Could you be more?

Yes, but moderation is a virtue.

Christians ask what came before the Big Bang Theory

Two and a Half Men. We can all agree on this.

huhhh this argument has been going on, on warlight for at least three years nobody cares bruh

Hellbender does not care, so nobody cares. Simple solution for all of humanity's pproblems: when in need of an answer, seek the great oracle Hellbender.

I actually did read his books.

Oh you did, didn't you? I liked his lectures on logical atomism. Much easier to read and wrap my head around than the Tractatus, don't you think? That was my first 'serious' seminar I had at Uni. Aah, good times. I really hope you skipped PM though - it's obsolete, you know...

Wordsworth: I believe that you misinterpreted my comment. I stated that there was a wide variety of culture within the U.S. as a whole. I am not saying that there is any less culture outside of the U.S., simply that there is a wide diversity of languages, peoples and cultures. I was saying that I feel as though foreigners (from my perspective) tend to have one solid or at least something close to one solid impression of an American. I have a much easier time relating to someone from London than someone from Biloxi, Mississippi.

I believe Christianity has evolved. We used to kill non-believers now we just call them names. Unfortunatlly Islam has not evolved at a simular rate. How many Christian suicide bombers have you heard of. tagg! The protestant reformation made a huge difference:

* It broke the mononpoly of the Cathlic church* It said individuals could intrepret the bible for themselves and not rely of priests to do it

* Many scientists are believers in God because they do not see how the complexities of nature can be explained by random chance even given that there were billions of years of evolution.

*Most non-scientists are awed by nature. *Isolated groups of people throughout history have "worshiped nature" hence Neptune god of the seas ect. Gaia or Mother earth is the latested incarnation. * I myself feel closer to God when I am in nature

Are the best scientists believers? It would be interesting to see how many Nobel prize winners for either of the science categories are believers or athiests. Same for mathematicians?