Atheos Expect Curveballs, Part 1

Believers say the most bizarre things.

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The fact that we can see ourselves reflected in the eyes of others proves there’s a God.

Reflections are caused by light. There’s nothing divine about them.

How does the fact that we see ourselves reflected in the eyes of others prove there's a God?

No, it proves there is a reflection.

Why posit a deity to explain our sense of commonality with other people?

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There would be no need for separation of state & religion if everyone didn’t believe in God.

Do you mean that there is a need for separation of state & religion because people have different beliefs about God?

Not all religions posit deities.

Um yeah, what is the problem you see in that?

I'm not sure I understand. How does that relate to the claims of your faith tradition being true?

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Believing in something greater than myself is vital so that I can strengthen my faith.

Why would you need to believe in something greater than yourself without sufficient evidence that your belief was true? Isn't that circular?

But is there any actual evidence that something greater than yourself exists?

The sun is 'greater' than you. Does it strengthen your faith?

Isn’t having faith only important if one’s theistic beliefs are in fact true?

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I thought that atheism is just an excuse for homosexuality. I’m not gay.

Your claim seems to imply that people are capable of picking & choosing beliefs for their own ends.

Atheism is the position that insufficient evidence exists to justify belief in a God or Gods. It has nothing to do with homosexuality. Let's get back to your God belief.

Someone is denying their true self.

Most atheists would likely change their position if sufficient evidence existed for God. Being gay isn't dependent on a God belief, is it?

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You're one of those Liberals, aren't you?

Does my political persuasion have an impact on how you might answer questions about your God belief? If so, why?

Yes.

My political leanings are not relevant. Can we get back to our conversation?

No.

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You're one of those Conservatives, aren't you?

Politics is of little interest to me right now. I enjoyed what we were talking about before, so let's get back to that.

No.

Yes.

I'd rather not get too off track from our discussion, if that's all right with you.

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Human creativity comes from our supreme creator.

You're just trying to sound profound with your choice of words.

Your creator wasn't very creative, was he?

Why wouldn't creativity be the kind of trait that could emerge through a natural process?

That sounds like a word game. Unless you have some relevant evidence, can we discuss something more substantive?

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I'm not from this dimension. I personally know God.

What does being from another dimension have to do with knowing God?

Why did he send someone so annoying to spread his message?

Can you explain what you mean by 'dimension'?

I don’t know, I’m assuming your birth certificate would indicate otherwise.

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You can’t prove that God doesn’t talk to me. Are you a psychic?

I'm not a psychic. But I'd love to understand why you think God talked to you if you are honestly open to doing so.

No, but I’m just as qualified at reading minds.

Yes, I am.

No, I don’t have access to your thoughts. Please ask God to tell you the cure for bladder cancer or the solution to Goldbach's conjecture.

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Where are you in your relationship with God?

That presupposes that I hold to a God belief, which I do not. Though I'd be happy to speak with you about the perception of your relationship.

Is God the sort of thing you can have a relationship with?

Recently divorced.

I don't have relationships with any Gods. But I'd love to understand why you think you do.

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Dark matter proves the existence of God.

Dark matter is a poorly understood aspect of physics. It isn’t really evidence of anything, let alone proof.

How does dark matter prove the existence of God?

How did you come to that conclusion?

Why would God create something so dark? It must be evil.

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You're only an atheist because you don't care about the truth.

Let's try not to assume. The truth is very important to me. How can we go about determining what's true?

I’m atheist because there's insufficient evidence to justify belief in a God. I'm willing to revise my position, are you?

Truths which cannot be demonstrated—for which there’s insufficient evidence—cannot be called truths.

Isn’t it more intellectually honest to admit when one doesn’t have good reason to believe something?

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Bacteria have no brains & yet they manage to fight back our best antibiotics. How could they do that without God?

How do you determine who exactly is guiding the bacteria?

Are you familiar with how natural selection works?

Isn't it possible that there is a purely scientific explanation for this phenomenon?

This is a simple argument from ignorance.

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Have you experienced a miracle? Sometimes we need things & we get what we need without even asking or knowing what those things are.

You can't always get what you want. 'But if you try sometimes, you'll get what you need.'

If I could come up with a non-miraculous explanation for your examples of miracles, would you still believe?

Have you experienced a bad day? Quit being so optimistic.

How do you differentiate a 'miracle' from an unanticipated-but-still-possible event?

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Quantum physics proves that God exists.

To look at quantum physics & derive the existence of a God is to not understand quantum physics.

What do you mean?

Have you taken any classes in quantum physics?

Interesting, please explain.

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Science can't explain aspects of quantum mechanics like 'spooky action [objects being moved without interaction]', but God can.

Can you please tell me how God can explain 'spooky action at a distance'?

That is something I would like to hear explained, please tell me how you know God causes this.

What did God say about it?

Then why haven’t scientists given up all hope of finding a naturalistic explanation yet?

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I don't have enough hatred in my heart to stop believing in God.

I don't have enough hatred in my heart to punch you in the face.

Apparently you have enough to make blanket statements about atheists.

Why would one think that a lack of belief in something for which there’s insufficient evidence is related to hatred?

What does hatred have to do with thinking there's not enough evidence to warrant belief in a God?