Posted by J.H. [JH] on October 25, 1999 at 04:26:09 {DjTI9F5X/Y0MqZp34U2.HR5JhS9/hc}:
In Reply to: Atheism posted by Taita on October 24, 1999 at 11:54:06:
Taita,
: Is it forcing atheism on children to have them taught evolution in school?
Evolution does not imply atheism.
Evolution is a fact of nature. If you want to teach children about nature and science, teach them about evolution.
By denying evolution, certain Christians brand themselves as ignorant fanatics far beyond a retional and factual discussion.
: Some athiests view a faith in God as something akin to belief in fanciful fairytales. They promote their belief structure based on science. Yet at the end of the day the reality is you cannot prove God does not exist.
Exactly. At the end of the day the reality is you cannot prove that fairies or unicorns do not exist. Ergo, you have supported the position that faith in God is akin to belief in fanciful fairytales.
Anyone can think up any crazy idea and proclaim that this idea can't be disproven, and the claim is as meaningless as it is true. Lack of positive evidence is sufficient reason for a rational person to assume non-existence.
That aside, the particular "God" claimed by Christians can easily be disproved. An all-loving and all-powerful God cannot coexist with evil. Evil exists, ergo does not an all-powerful, all-loving God exist. Christians also claim God is all-powerful and all-knowing. These attributes are mutually exclusive and impossible. Ergo, this God does not exist. Before the universe, there was no time. Without time, there can be no causation. God as a "first cause" cannot possibly exist. And so on. While nobody can disprove all possible gods, the specific arthodox Christian God has been disproved long ago.
: There is in many a heart the deep hunger to know God.
There is a deep hunger for pleasant stories that hide ugly facts, as you effectively demonstrate in your posting. You want to believe in some big, cute Daddy in the sky. Well, fine for you. But some of us want to deal with reality as it is, even though it's not always very pretty. And the fact that we all as individuals will one day perish and be gone is one of those ugly facts. Wishful thinking doesn't change that. It's time to grow up and accept reality as it is.