Atheist, Agnostic, and Christians what do you think about this?
I received an email from my former Atheist friend, who is now a Christian answering questions that I had. Below is how he responded, what do you think about what he said?
Atheists and agnostics enjoy baiting and ridiculing Christians because too many people who call themselves Christians have acted so cruelly or hypocritically, because many uneducated Christians have views that are anti-scientific or because the atheists and agnostics are themselves so ignorant that they truly are blind to God.
Think of the historical cruel acts performed by people who called themselves Christians. They murdered millions across the globe and across the US: the murder of the Indians and enslaving of blacks. So a big part of the problem has been that anyone can say they are a Christian. There is no way of "excommunicating" these people and officially saying that they are not and never were Christians.
Atheists and agnostics tend to forget the fact that millions have been murdered in history by people who said they were atheists. Think of the millions murdered in the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact, in communist China, Cambodia, and elsewhere. Atheists don't think these cruelties invalidate atheism. The whole line of thought is never given serious consideration.
Then think of the many uneducated Christians that live today. Too many Christians are almost reflexively anti-scientific. I have done this research on the use of adult stem cells to treat Alzheimer's. I was discussing it on the bus with some people and one of them immediately said she was probably opposed to it. She is a Christian. Just saying the words "stem cells" caused a hostile reaction. I explained it had nothing to do with destruction of embryos but it made little difference. She was not capable of engaging in a logical, reasonable discussion. She had never studied logic and was not capable of understanding or making a logical point.
Of course there are plenty of atheists that are just as illogical and uneducated. You know this for yourself.
It would be very helpful if more Christians studied science and had advanced scientific degrees. There are powerful scientific reasons that can be given in support of God. Albert Einstein believed in God. Many of the recent scientific theories about "dark energy and dark matter" confirm the existence of invisible matter and energy that make up over 95% of the mass of the universe. Ordinary matter only makes up about 4.6% of the mass of the universe. So the atheists that joke about our "imaginary" God have to face the fact that they are blind to the vast majority of existence.
2011-03-07T08:00:16Z
Daken: Come to Ohio and I will allow you to meet him personally.
1) Albert Einstein didn't believe in God. To quote him " my god is the God of Spinoza". Google Spinoza and you'll see what that means. Vvveerrrrryyyyy different from your standard God.
2) Even if Albert Einstein did believed, it wouldn't mean anything. That's an appeal to authority and it's a logical fallacy.
3) speaking of logical fallacies, this person complains that an angry Christian hasn't studied logic but it seems like this person hasn't either.
4) invisible and imaginary are two very different things. Atheist don't contest that there are things we can't see, just that there is no God. What he's saying here is also a red herring(another logical fallacy for our logical Christian)
5) Regarding what was said about crimes and cruelties committed by atheist, it's true that people have done terrible things and were also atheists. Any atheists who doesn't know this should learn. However, many atheists already know this. When bringing up the fact that Christians have done horrible things it's often just our way of pointing out the fact that, for a group of people that get guidance directly from the source or morality and law, your an pretty average bunch when it comes to actually being moral.
Other then these 5 things I see no problem with this. I think it's mostly true.
The problem with this is that you're creating a group of people that doesn't exist. Atheists are not like Christians. We don't go to meetings, talk about what we believe in, or spend time together JUST because we're atheists. As a matter of fact, being atheist doesn't require anything besides not believing in a god. People who are atheist can do bad things, but it's not because we have some sort of code that says "If you're atheist, go bomb a christian's car! that'll show em!" On the other hand, Christians DID have a conduct code that basically said "if they're not Christian, kill them". Especially in the crusades and stuff like that. Christians like to corral atheists into a group so they can make atheists out to be a bad group even though there is no such thing.
Wrong wrong wrong. Just more proof of the blatant ignorance of Christians. 1. Einstein was a Pantheist and vehemently against organized religion like Christianity 2. Slavery and murder is perfectly ok with god. In fact, God regularly condoned slavery in the Bible. He even said it was ok for fathers to sell their daughters into sex slavery. Read the book of Joshua. God demands the Israeli army kill every man, WOMAN, and CHILD in dozens of cities. Killing innocent children and elderly is not only ok with god, it is demanded by him. 3. Over 90% of scientists are Atheists or Agnostics. 4. "Think of the millions murdered in the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact, in communist China, Cambodia, and elsewhere." That was done under Communism ideology. Communism is a political/economic ideology. Not atheism. That is like saying the KKK is Christian because it has some minor Christian components in its racial ideology. The goal of the communists was not to spread atheism. Also, Stalin was a devout Christian who was nearly about to become a priest. Look it up.
More flawed arguments from ignorant Christians. Your friend is simply an "apologist".
There is no moral problem with the use of adult stem cells.
Pro-Life advocates (like Catholics) believe that life is a sacred gift from God and needs to be treated with all human dignity from the moment of conception to the point of natural death.
For this reason, the destruction of living human embryos to harvest embryonic stem cells is immoral. • The end never justifies the means • A moral good can never come from a moral evil
Here are just a few of the common myths about Stem Cell Research:
Myth: Stem cells can only come from embryos.
Truth: Stem cells can be taken from: • Umbilical cords • The placenta • Amniotic fluid • Adult tissues and organs including bone marrow, fat from liposuction, regions of the nose and even dead bodies up to 20 hours after death
Myth: The Catholic Church is against stem cell research.
Truth: The Catholic Church approves three of the four types of stem cell research: • Against Embryonic stem cells • For Embryonic germ cells (from miscarriages) • For Umbilical cord stem cells • For Adult stem cells
Myth: Embryonic stem cell research has the greatest promise
Fact: Up to now, no human being has ever been cured of a disease using embryonic stem cells. Adult stem cells, on the other hand, have already cured thousands. There is the example of the use of bone marrow cells from the hipbone to repair scar tissue on the heart after heart attacks. Research using adult cells is 20-30 years ahead of embryonic stem cells and holds greater promise.
Based on the “The Ten Great Myths in the Debate Over Stem Cell Research” by Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. http://www.ncbcenter.org/10Myths.pdf
Adult stem cells are currently used for the medical treatment of: • Anemias • Cancers (multiple types) • Child Leukemias • Cornea Regeneration • Crohn´s Disease • Diabetes, Type I • Heart Disease, Acute & Chronic • Krabbe Leukodystrophy • Liver Cirrhosis • Lupus • Lymphomas • Myelomas • Multiple Sclerosis • Paralysis • Osteopetrosis • Parkinson´s Disease • Rheumatoid Arthritis • Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Syndrome • Sickle Cell Anemia • Spinal Cord Injury • Stroke • Systemic Vasculitis • and more
For more information, see the National Catholic Bioethics Center’s resources on stem cell research: http://www.ncbcenter.org/stemcell.asp And: http://stemcellcures.org/ http://www.stemcellresearch.org/
Here is "Instruction Dignitas Personae on Certain Bioethical Questions" that Pope Benedict XVI gave to President Obama: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20081208_dignitas-personae_en.html