What is atheism?

[Menelope]

The Bible is not made up, but it doesn't prove God's existence.

very true, the Bibe does not even try to prove God's existence, it is taken as a given.

What it proves, is that long time ago, a bunch of people walked the earth and some were recorded. We also deny the possibility of God being able to walk the earth and write books, so we believe that humanity wrote it. We also cannot grasp the idea of God talking to people.

There are certain characteristics of the Bible that show it is more than a mere book. Things like the evidence of fulfilled prophecy, given in specific detail. There is the accuracy of it, no archeological discovery has ever proven false a Biblical reference and 1000's of finds have backed it up time and time again. And the structure of it, it is a collection of 66 books, written by 40 or more different men over a period of 2,000 years. And yet it is clearly one Book, with perfect unity and consistency throughout. Many of the people writing what they were writing did not know about each other or what was being written.

Also, I would have to ask if there were a God with the power to create the entire universe out of nothing, why would walking on the earth and talking to people be so off the wall?

Personally, I think people should find themselves on their inside, and when they are clear about their own identity, then they should ask themselves if they believe in God, or not. If they do believe, then they can pick up a religion, but I don't think it's necessary for achieving happiness in life.

This seems the backwards way to do it. It is like reading the instructions after you have built your model airplane.

Religion is not something you pick up, it is a relationship with God.

You are right, there are tons of happy people that don

[Guest]

We also deny the possibility of God being able to....

Oh Noooooooo

Dear One

Have You Not Heard

Swelling Words Of Denial

Every word of God is pure:

he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee,

and thou be found a liar.

Proverbs 30:5-6

Will Echo Back At Trial

But I say unto you,

That every idle word that men shall speak,

they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Matthew 12:36

So Choose The Lord Jesus With Joy

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men,

him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 10:32

And Do Not Let That Tongue Destroy

But whosoever shall deny me before men,

him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 10:32-33

Just Call Upon The LORD God High

And it shall come to pass,

that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Acts 2:21

Repent And Let That Old Pride Die

And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,

hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves,

neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

Matthew 23:12-13

Or If To You This Holy Book Is Just A Toy

And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written,

That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Luke 4:4

Do Know The Bible Is God's Words Of Life And Joy

Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart:

for I am called by thy name,

O LORD God of hosts.

Jeremiah 15:16

Eat And Live.....

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Or Not

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

John 3:36

Be Blessed Beloved

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:

The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. Numbers 6:24-27

Love, Joe

Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalms 106:1

Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers. Jeremiah 20:13

Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD. Psalms 135:1

[katraan]

According to the Oxford Dictionary, atheism is defined as:

atheism |ˈāθēˌizəm|

noun

the theory or belief that God does not exist.

Let's look at the word 'theory' a little closer. As described by Oxford...

theory |ˈθēərē; ˈθi(ə)rē|

noun ( pl. -ries)

a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, esp. one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained : Darwin's theory of evolution.

[katraan]

Sidenote: Though this may or may not contribute to discussion, I will also add that the wording of the Bible has been changed from time to time. King James edited the Bible at sometime in order to make it more poetic and easier to memorize. He, unfortunately, also took the liberty of crossing out parts that he didn't like and thus, some parts of the Bible are inconsistent at times (as some skeptics and Christian historians will point out). Also, know that the Bible was not originally written in English and may suffer some mistranslations. If you wish to read the Bible in its unaltered form, I would suggest you read the Bible in one of its most original formats, Hebrew (not Latin). Do understand that you would have to know how to read Hebrew to make the interpretation (yourself) to not suffer from any translation or bias (from the translator).

[katraan]

Sidenote: Though this may or may not contribute to discussion, I will also add that the wording of the Bible has been changed from time to time. King James edited the Bible at sometime in order to make it more poetic and easier to memorize. He, unfortunately, also took the liberty of crossing out parts that he didn't like and thus, some parts of the Bible are inconsistent at times (as some skeptics and Christian historians will point out). Also, know that the Bible was not originally written in English and may suffer some mistranslations. If you wish to read the Bible in its unaltered form, I would suggest you read the Bible in one of its most original formats, Hebrew (not Latin). Do understand that you would have to know how to read Hebrew to make the interpretation (yourself) to not suffer from any translation or bias (from the translator).

Correction: "...thus some parts of the translated and edited version of the Bible are inconsistent at times."

[mizzdy]

Hm. I don't deny the Bible, because that would be stupid. Of course people passed on a heritage, their ancestors' lives, who WOULD deny that?? But it still does NOT prove that God exists. I think you're missing the point. Just because someone says one thing, it doesn't mean anything, just like we read the Bible, the history part we don't deny, but the God part, we don't trust.

Well, if you didn't feel complete without God, then how would you have felt, if the Bible didn't exist (I assume you believe it is proof of God's existence)(Would you believe in God, without "proof")? Those are interesting questions I think.

First if there were no bible none of us would be having these conversations would we? And we all would be going around like so many today trying to 'find oneself'. I do believe and think that the bible proves God but thats me and you must make up your own mind and I nor anyone else will ever convince you, you must come to that conclusion on your own. I absolutely understand where you are coming from and what you mean about one person saying something and someone saying another. Christians themselves disagree on a myriad of verses in the bible but to me thats mans mind getting in the way and not anything to do with God's Word.

As I said if there were no bible then none of us would be having any of these conversations but we would be having talks about which method did you use to make your guilt/emptiness or insert any human emotion or problem, into that converstation. What I think is that us humans would be wondering around in some sort of confusion all the time with no hope of understanding the whys and wherefores of this world. Ya have to admit atheist nor agnostics have any of the answers at least none that I have talked to.

[katraan]

I just like to add that some atheists and agnostics were once Christian. Perhaps if you spoke to them, maybe they would give out reasons why they turned away from the Bible and God. I just want an evenhanded approach towards things. It would contribute to this discussion greatly if we got their (Christians turned atheist/agnostic/another religion not having to do with a Christian sect) points of views on things.

[Floatingaxe]

The Bible is not made up, but it doesn't prove God's existence. What it proves, is that long time ago, a bunch of people walked the earth and some were recorded. We also deny the possibility of God being able to walk the earth and write books, so we believe that humanity wrote it. We also cannot grasp the idea of God talking to people. Further, we know that when humans are involved, things tend to go wrong, so the Bible is no exception to that idea.

We believe in how we want our life to be, we are all expressing our selves. If you dedicate your life to God, then that is your path, but not everyone can or want that.

Personally, I think people should find themselves on their inside, and when they are clear about their own identity, then they should ask themselves if they believe in God, or not. If they do believe, then they can pick up a religion, but I don't think it's necessary for achieving happiness in life.

Knowing God has nothing to do with religion. It is only through a relationship with one's Maker, that one can truly know themselves--who they are. Everything worth knowing starts with knowing God, first.

How are you to have a relationship with someone, without knowing yourself first? I believe you need to take a look inside, before adding things from the outside. And if you believe that God exists in everyone, then I don't think it's Christianity.

You cannot know yourself properly or completely until you know Jesus Christ. It is who we are in Christ that embodies all that God has in mind for us. God is our Creator and He has a distinct plan for each of us. Knowing Him puts us in touch with it. Denying Him will cause us to miss it.

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Knowing God is no adding something to the outside. Knowing God is bringing about a total renewal from the inside out.

Colossians 3:10

Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

[SoulGrind]

Your ideas are well stated. However, I put forth the idea that many of these agnostics and atheists have reasons to doubt the Bible or the existence of God. One of the questions most commonly asked is, "If God existed and if He really is a loving and forgiving God, then how come He let so many die in the concentration camps of Aushwitz, Bulchenwald, and Treblinka?" Understand that many such people have reasons to ask such questions and it is only human to do so. Once you start seeing things in their points of views, you will begin to understand why they do not believe in God's existence or do not know if God exists. I have seen a variety of bad responses by "Christians" given to the question above, from "Because God willed it" to "They all deserved to die."

I might add that the question provided above only remains valid in arguments in which both sides believe that the Holocaust actually happened (if you're Holocaust denier, this question won't mean anything to you.).

Yes, I believe that the holocaust did happen. It is a historical fact. To refute that is akin to putting one's hands over their ears and screaming, "BLAH! BLAH! BLAH!..."

Now, onto the bigger question...

"If God existed and if He really is a loving and forgiving God, then how come He let so many die in the concentration camps of Aushwitz, Bulchenwald, and Treblinka?"

I know it's become clich

[Floatingaxe]

Sidenote: Though this may or may not contribute to discussion, I will also add that the wording of the Bible has been changed from time to time. King James edited the Bible at sometime in order to make it more poetic and easier to memorize. He, unfortunately, also took the liberty of crossing out parts that he didn't like and thus, some parts of the Bible are inconsistent at times (as some skeptics and Christian historians will point out). Also, know that the Bible was not originally written in English and may suffer some mistranslations. If you wish to read the Bible in its unaltered form, I would suggest you read the Bible in one of its most original formats, Hebrew (not Latin). Do understand that you would have to know how to read Hebrew to make the interpretation (yourself) to not suffer from any translation or bias (from the translator).

Correction: "...thus some parts of the translated and edited version of the Bible are inconsistent at times."

Correction: Inconsistencies in Scripture are merely due to man's imperfect perception.