Atheist claim: War is caused by religion if participants are religious.

[Kidlicious]

Do you get to tour heaven and hell and make an informed decision? Or are you supposed to guess which one will be better?

The information is in the Bible and you use your experiences. Beyond that is faith.

[giblets]

Let the record stand that I think heaven sounds better than hell. However I do not believe in any god or afterlife. If I'm wrong surely God will respect my preference

[Kidlicious]

Let the record stand that I think heaven sounds better than hell.

Why?

[giblets]

Why?

I prefer not to be burned alive.

[Alexander's Horse]

God is dead. Hitchens

Hitchens is dead. God

[Kidlicious]

I prefer not to be burned alive.

And you would prefer to live in the Kingdom of God?

[giblets]

And you would prefer to live in the Kingdom of God?

Sure, why not?

[Kidlicious]

Sure, why not?

Some people like sin.

[DaShi]

I believe that all wars are because of religion, because God created everything, even war.

[Alexander's Horse]

*DaShi lights fuse, stands back..*

[DaShi]

[Kidlicious]

*DaShi lights fuse, stands back..*

By Dashi's logic, God did it, not him.

[Dinner]

If one of the combatants says something like "we're going to war because we don't like their religion" then, yeah, religion caused the war.

[kentonio]

I'm sorry to tell you but the theory of evolution is not important to theology. I'm not aware of any theology concerning it. The Bible says that God created man from dust, which means that He alone created man. He created everything. There is no problem with believing that and believing in the theory of evolution.

Yet so many religious people in the US have a problem with evolution. Why do you think that might be?

Also kentonio, there is no problem with theology changing. It does, and there is no problem there.

If you're happy with religion just making **** up as it suits, then no I'm sure there isn't a problem.

No, it wasn't. Especially when it comes to the sciences; St. Augustine spoke out very strongly against using the Bible against science, and he was before the fall of the Roman Empire. Really, Biblical literalism didn't come into play until quite recently, historically speaking--the past couple of centuries.

Really, that must be why he said..

Let us, then, omit the conjectures of men who know not what they say, when they speak of the nature and origin of the human race. For some hold the same opinion regarding men that they hold regarding the world itself, that they have always been... They are deceived, too, by those highly mendacious documents which profess to give the history of many thousand years, though, reckoning by the sacred writings, we find that not 6000 years have yet passed.

I really have no idea how you can paint a picture of biblical literalism being a recent phenomena.

Re: Hitchens, his revolting moral positions make it quite unnecessary to bash him for any weird historical opinions he might have had.

Such as what? Hitchens was far more of a moralist than most of the religious people I've ever read. He usually displayed a genuine affection for humanity as a species, while recognizing and often embracing the supposed frailties that often provide much of the joy in peoples lives. He was an alchoholic, often an intellectual bully, but through it all shone a man who genuinely loved life and despised those who preach that people should live lives of guilt and repression. If we had a few more Hitchens and a few less priests the world would be a far more fulfilling place.

[Kidlicious]

Yet so many religious people in the US have a problem with evolution. Why do you think that might be?

There's a lot of problems that aren't solved by the theory. If you don't think so, it's you who have the problem.

If you're happy with religion just making **** up as it suits, then no I'm sure there isn't a problem.

Theology isn't just making stuff up. It's reason.