Suppose your building was on fire and you had absolutely no evidence that any door or window would open. Wouldn't you search for an exit with the belief that you would succeed (because not succeeding means death)? Or would you just sit down and bravely resign yourself to death because there is no evidence that you would succeed?
2015-06-04T12:47:57Z
"Of course you would, but only if you actually believed the building was on fire and an emergency exit is necessary. That's a big part of the problem." Yes, thanks for that lead-in. Yes, evidence is of far less importance in this scenario than is the goal. If you don't want or need God, then what good is it to show you evidence? As many of you demonstrated, you would just make fun of the one trying to present the evidence.
?2015-06-04T12:32:19Z
"If you don't want or need God, then what good is it to show you evidence?"
You forget that some of us were prior Christian and can see right through your argument. If you can understand why you don't believe in Zeus - its the same reason why I don't believe in yours. No one needs imaginary friends. And you can not "want" something that you have no sufficient justification to assume even exists. You can only pretend to.
Perhaps this is why the religious yield to pretentious belief ("faith"). Because you have nothing else.
"As many of you demonstrated, you would just make fun of the one trying to present the evidence."
Thing is - you have not presented -anything-. You are trying to set up an argument, and any time you are corrected to the -actual- scenario, you ignore it. Your story does not relate to what is actually happening here :
10,000+ different denominations all interpreting things differently; not a single one of you can present a consistent and coherent story. And many of you guys contradict -yourself-.
I would search for an exit in your scenario because there is evidence of success as evident by the number of potential exits and the fact that many have in the past. It is belief based on evidence -- don't need faith. If I knew that no window or door would open, I would sit by and try to help others until firefighters arrived.
However your scenario isn't what is actually reflected in your theology. The more correct scenario would be that many people within the building would be claiming an exit somewhere -- but they would all be claiming all others are wrong and that they have the One True Exit™ - despite all evidence suggesting that there is none.
-- According to your theology, your God is what started the fire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSZqH0Ms4ds
Oki, let's use your analogy. Our building is on fire, and there are multiple people who say that they are near an exit, and some who say there's no fire in the first place.
You are of the belief that we ourselves set the fire by disobeying the landlord's rules about not eating a fruit under trickery by some guy who happens to hate the landlord and wants to be the landlord himself.
You believe that all the other exits are lies by this same enemy and that the others claiming that they are near an exit or that there is no fire are either working for or are tricked by the enemy.
You want everyone to know that the landlord should leave us to burn, but in his mercy, let someone else take the fall. By believing this, the landlord will let the door open to those who comply under the condition they work for him.
He will return later to open the door(because he wants to wait for everyone to come around). When he does, he'll kick out the others and you'll live forever in the building.
People count out the most important, but hardest to accept kind of evidence, which is spiritual evidence. The world doesn't handle that kind of evidence very well. Only God's chosen are being influenced by spiritual evidence in that way.
Your building on fire is a bad analogy on so many levels that i wont get inside your building, to not die laughing... If you will think your door will open and you will be safe is your choice, I usually confirm my complete exit route from a building i will be around a lot, if doors are open, if the route is marked, if the fire alarms are working, if the fire extinguisher are tested, i will look for elders and people with trouble so someone can keep and eyes on them if something happen before they go out, my skeptic brain like to be prepare because you should not think about who will help an be sit down...
I am sure that I would try to get out regardless of the evidence of no exit. Fighting for life is an evolutionary trait. Nothing to do with belief, it would, perhaps, be hope.
Surely a Christian should just sit down and pray to God to put the fire out?