Yet another damn terrorist attack

[I AM MOBIUS]

Indeed. It is like they have no interest in understanding the religious mindset whatsoever (my Islamic mother would agree with you, Jon, on God and morality).

I do, actually. I want to know what powers a belief mechanism that flies in the face of all common sense.

Specifically I want to know why a particular individual chooses to worship one faith over another - how do you know you are worshipping the right faith and that from a logical POV everyone worshipping all the other faiths are wrong?

Surely the mere fact that there are so many different religions in the world is proof that there is no divine being or beings and it really is a case of the blind leading the blind?

If you refuse to adequately address the reasons why I think you're, erm, misguided in your beliefs, then it stands to reason that I'm going to continue to 'believe' the same thing...

Why Christianity over Scientology for example - they're both equally as likely as far as I'm concerned.

I can't disprove your god exists as much as you can't disprove that a huge pink fluffy unicorn that can fly and shoot rainbow laserbeams from its eyes exists.

But both seem utterly unlikely when you begin to apply science to the equation...

[I AM MOBIUS]

Yeah, I'm with Sava, the no evidence is much better. There is no discussing with a person that believes in god when your position is he doesn't exist. There is when your position is that there is a lack of evidence.

OF course I would love to hear the definitive evidence that he doesn't exist.

Yes I agree with those statements, hence my longer reply to Imran.

(However my logical conclusion is that he doesn't exist - I just can't prove it yet... )

[Sava]

Why Christianity over Scientology for example - they're both equally as likely as far as I'm concerned.

A hardcore atheistic stance has as much supporting evidence as both Christianity and Scientology.

(However my logical conclusion is that he doesn't exist - I just can't prove it yet... )

xpost:

Fair. But it is always nice to have an argument with a little more weight.

For our purposes, it is only necessary to point out the lack of evidence... not prove what may be the more logical conclusion. In such matters, a recognition that our brains are ultimately puny sacks of flesh is important, imo.

"I don't know" is an acceptable answer.

[rah]

You can't say "I can't disprove your god exists" and "your god doesn't exist" choose which one. Or say it's unlikely that your god doesn't exist.

[I AM MOBIUS]

Good job I'm not a hardcore atheist then

As I've previously said, I don't even self-identify as an atheist in the first place...

[Sava]

Good job I'm not a hardcore atheist then

As I've previously said, I don't even self-identify as an atheist in the first place...

Okay. Just speaking in general terms, not necessarily giving my impression of your beliefs.

[I AM MOBIUS]

You can't say "I can't disprove your god exists" and "your god doesn't exist" choose which one. Or say it's unlikely that your god doesn't exist.

[Lorizael]

Surely the mere fact that there are so many different religions in the world is proof that there is no divine being or beings...

This is exceptionally bad logic. This is akin to saying, "Surely the mere fact that there are so many different fad diets in the world is proof that you can't eat healthily or lose weight."

But both seem utterly unlikely when you begin to apply science to the equation...

Science has nothing to say about supernatural entities, basically by definition.

[Elok]

Well, it finally happened; some lunatic just killed three Muslims. Just as predicted, except for the part where he was a rabid atheist who hated Christians as well as Muslims, and followed Richard Dawkins, ah, religiously.

[ricketyclik]

I wasn't expecting that! Really!

[Sava]

Well, it finally happened; some lunatic just killed three Muslims. Just as predicted, except for the part where he was a rabid atheist who hated Christians as well as Muslims, and followed Richard Dawkins, ah, religiously.

If you want to quantify hate crimes against Muslims and sort by the attacker/perpetrator's religious affiliation, be my guest. I doubt you'll like the results, though.

[DinoDoc]

If you want to quantify hate crimes against Muslims and sort by the attacker/perpetrator's religious affiliation, be my guest. I doubt you'll like the results, though.

The hate crime qualification appears to be up in the air atm.

[Sava]

The hate crime qualification appears to be up in the air atm.

Yes.

on a side note, why are conservatives more apt to be soft on crime when it comes to attacks motivated by race, gender, sexual orientation, etc... ?

[SlowwHand]

I guess that's personal opinion, since you don't post photos...or a cite.

[DinoDoc]

on a side note, why are conservatives more apt to be soft on crime when it comes to attacks motivated by race, gender, sexual orientation, etc... ?

That doesn't appear to be the case here based on the evidence thus far. So far it seems that someone like the typical liberal Poly OT poster snapped over a parking dispute,