EverDemon

Does God -really- love the children who, on a daily basis, starve and die of disease all over the world in third world countries? If he loves them, why does he allow them to suffer so much? Why doesn't he ask Christians to stop investing so much money in converting others to their religion and instead instruct his believers to have compassion and alleviate this? Case and point: Churches spend more money buying land and buildings to convert more people to 'worship' rather than donating for charities. Is praising God more important than keeping innocent children from dying of disease and starvation?

So there seem to be conflicting definitions of Agnosticism floating about. Well, not entirely, but rather, what qualifies one to be an agnostic, and how exclusive agnosticism truly is. Dan Barker seems to make a great deal of sense on the subject of agnosticism when he claims that one can be an agnostic theist or an agnostic atheist, since agnosticism deals with the subject of knowledge and theism deals with the subject of belief.

I have a good friend who would call himself an agnostic theist. I would call myself an atheist. Theism or Atheism is about belief, so since I don't believe in God, I am an Atheist. So why do some people declare themselves agnostic? Aren't most agnostics merely agnostic atheists, since they don't claim to hold a belief in a deity?

So a little over a month ago I went to a party and had beer for the first time (I am 21). I have on prior occasions drunken alcohol such as vodka but this was my first time with beer. I had about 14 beers (I was drunk at 9 of them) and went home. Woke up, vomited a lot, had a bad hangover. Well a week ago I went to party again and couldn't even stand the smell of beer. I had two beers then vomited it back up immediately. How do I fix this problem? I don't really like beer but I like playing beer pong with friends so I need to be able to drink beers normally again. Is there any way I can overcome my repulsion to beer?

So I like this girl. I've told her I find her attractive but she's been "seeing" this guy for a while. We're both over 21 and she's not really dating the guy, and I am worried about it. She's made some jokes in the past that made me question if she was interested in me or not. Would it be inappropriate for me to tell her how I feel even though she's sort of with a guy? She talks about him a lot.

So there is a girl I like. She is 23, I am 22. We're sort of casual friends but we have talked a fair bit. I know that shes "talking" with some guy who is like 19. Still, I've had a thing for her for roughly 6 months. I sent her a text today that said I thought she was hot. She sent back "I only like men who wear tight dresses." It was kind of funny but I think it was an attempt to deter me with a joke.

What should I do?

If so, I invite you to provide your best conversion answers here.

Oh, and I'm pretty bored of bible quotes, so if we could avoid those, it would be fantastic.

Thanks!

- is a support site for Christians? Every day we have posts about bible questions, 'please pray for me', etc. That's all good and fine, but why do (some) christians pretend that they'll be able to ask and answer exclusively other christians? Why do they get upset when someone with a differing view (atheists) pop in and give their two cents? Is their anger justified, considering the thousands upon thousands of christian websites, forums, and chatrooms they could have alternatively visited? Do they realize that "religion and spirituality" does not mean "christianity"?

What justifications can you make that you should be allowed your own little exclusive club on here when there is nothing indicating such?

(This is not a generalization, I specified which type of christians this is targeting.)

In the Old Testament God was all active. He flooded the world, called down fire, slaughtered and slew and performed all kind of things that break the laws of science. Why is it that we haven't heard from this guy in so many centuries? No plagues or anything? Is he taking a break or what?

And by that I mean, has anyone ever specifically caused a confrontation with you-- meaning they brought up the subject?

If so, what was the situation? Feel free to provide plenty of details, and your feelings on the subject.

So after my latest debate challenge ( http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Aj8Lf... ) I received a number of messages, and now all of the debates are unfortunately done.

One such debate was literally over this fast:

ShoyruWarrior (7:37:33 PM): So, you claim God exists.

ShoyruWarrior (7:37:36 PM): Got any proof?

angelnameedited (7:37:44 PM): Can you see the wind?

ShoyruWarrior (7:38:56 PM): Of course not. The molecules aren't in our visible spectrum. But I understand what it consists of. Oxygen, carbon, etc. All of these molecules can be seen in a laboratory, so yes, with technology, you CAN see the wind.

angelnameedited is offline (7:39:50 PM)

...

First off, if you don't have AIM, I'm not interested. I have enough debates going on via youtube, email, etc. Therefore I am specifically searching for an IM debate on AIM.

That said, I am looking for people with a fair amount of time to debate with. I am an Atheist. The topic can be of your choosing as long as it is related to your religious beliefs.

So what do you say? Do you want to spend some quality one-on-one time debating me? My AIM is ShoyruWarrior, drop me an IM.

Earlier tonight I did this with results that were unsatisfactory. I am looking for a Christian who is willing to have some one-on-one debate time with me.

I am an Atheist.

You need:

-A fair amount of time

-The ability to think and type coherently

My AIM is ShoyruWarrior. Send me an IM!

To RUG: I am in my 20's. I am making a parody of the "Why are there still monkeys?" concept.

If so, will we eventually be able to return the U.S. to its secular roots? Please give your opinion and the reasoning behind it.

(By the way-- Atheism is the fastest growing religious identification here. Look it up!)

Why is it that when I find threads addressed to Atheists I see all sorts of Theists butting in and giving their two cents? Isn't it odd when Christians ask only other Christians to give their opinion on things? (The opposite is also probably applicable)

So does addressing a particular religious group or a group of people with a view on religion automatically exclude the other members of the community from answering? Why or why not?

Furthermore, if the inquiry is addressed to one group but the question is actually about another group, does that imply that the group in question is prohibited from answering? Why or why not?

Thanks.

Have you ever examined your religion truly objectively? I did, and that is how I became an Atheist 13 years ago. I believe the problem with accepting subjective reasoning is that it is an entrapment.

So my question to you is, do you use objective or subjective reasoning when examining the validity and truth of your religion? And secondly, how do you know?

God experiences human emotions as evidenced in holy scripture. Things like his anger and wrath, for example, where he kills thousands of people and again millions of people. Why would a being that is omnipotent and omniscient have such human emotions?

Is it that humans emulate this deity in our emotions? If so, why are things such as anger and revenge portrayed as negative emotions by the Christian faith? God himself clearly possesses these emotions.

I've heard that a lot of mormons were working to prevent gays from being able to marry. What is the church's official stance on homosexuals?

The bible claims God made man in his own image. Why, therefore, must God exist as an irrational entity in this world full of rationality and logic? Why then, is God illogical, when man is a creature of logic, when this world can be defined by logic?

Should not God's order reflect God? Should not his creation reflect his own intricacies? And yet it does not, for God cannot be by proven by any rational means. In order to believe in God, one must possess "faith"-- which is believing in something without any evidence. In other words, there is no reason to believe God is real.

Is it stupid, therefore, to assume that there is no God?

According to the definition of most Christians (and I'd guess Muslims as well), God knows everything and he is all powerful; he is omniscient and omnipotent.

But if God is omniscient, he knows everything-- including what God himself is going to do. Yet, if God is omnipotent, he can do anything, which would include being able to NOT do what he knows he is going to do. But if he doesn't know what he is going to do, he can't be omniscient!

Therefore it is safe to assume that God is not BOTH omniscient and omnipotent. It's self-contradicting by its very nature. Why? Because the absolutes of those definitions are breached when combined.

What do you think?