Will the real atheist please stand up?

What do they believe? What do you think? Talk about religion as it exists today.

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John T
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Re: Polemic re Carrier Craig etc

Post by John T »

I did not "flag" this thread.
I did not ask for it to be pulled down.
I did not ask for it to be put back up under my name.

I can only assume the 'why' and it was not due to the profanity directed at me nor the ad hominem attacks, not even the lies.

I suspect it was because I touched a raw nerve.
Did I broach that forbidden subject while exposing the flaws/motives of Richard Carrier's latest vain attempt to disprove the historical Jesus?
Could it be this forum is a one way street, that atheists like Carrier can bash Christians but apologetics from Christians like Craig are not allowed?

Perhaps.

However, I suspect it was something much more than that.
I suspect it was because I uttered the name of 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'.
The Lord Voldermort of the atheist realm, Gary Habermas.

Gary Habermas is a renowned and prolific author, lecturer, and debater on the topic of the Resurrection of Jesus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Habermas

Habermas is probably best know for his 12 historical facts about Jesus that was so compelling that he is credited with converting the "foremost contemporary philosophical, atheist scholar of the 20th century, Antony Flew", into a theist.

http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/garyhabermas.htm

For that, Flew was despised as a traitor to the faith and Gary Habermas became; He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

"To be aware of one's own ignorance is true wisdom"..Scorates

Regards,

John (Harry Potter) T
"It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into."...Jonathan Swift
perseusomega9
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Re: Polemic re Carrier Craig etc

Post by perseusomega9 »

lolno

but keep inventing more fantasies to tilt at
The metric to judge if one is a good exegete: the way he/she deals with Barabbas.

Who disagrees with me on this precise point is by definition an idiot.
-Giuseppe
bcedaifu
Posts: 197
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Re: Polemic re Carrier Craig etc

Post by bcedaifu »

John T wrote:Gary Habermas has worked with a clinical psychologist for over 20 years trying to understand why skeptics (atheist/agnostics) doubt the empty tomb theory. They found out that about 85% of doubters do so not out of factual reasons but for emotional reasons. They are God haters. They hate God for not answering their prayers the way they wanted,...
Atheists are not "God haters". Atheists deny theism, that's what the "a" in front of theism signifies.

There is no connection to love or hate. This is a simple matter of data. No data, then, no belief.

A blind man in Tokyo knows when to cross the street because of the sound made, once traffic has been halted, so that it then becomes safe for pedestrians to cross the intersection.

We have no such system here in USA. I do not "hate" the government, or religion, or education, or the members of this forum, for failing to establish an equally intelligent method to assist blind people in USA.

However, I do believe that the evidence shows that our government, and other social institutions in USA, are markedly inferior to those of other countries, like Japan. As a nation, we are poorly educated, superstitious, and unimaginative. To a certain extent, the same can be written about this forum, in my opinion.

The topic of this thread is whether or not it makes sense to write about an "historical" Jesus of Nazareth. Historical anything, or anyone, requires evidence to those who require some kind of sensory input before crossing the street. I suppose one could argue that a blind person is just as safe, crossing fifth avenue, absent an auditory cue, as with one, but, as I am a believer in sensory information, I respectfully disagree with that hypothesis. If you want me to accept that Jesus of Nazareth "rose from the dead", I need something more than a nudge from a bystander, to guide my forward movement. A good starting point, would be physical evidence of Jesus' existence, prior to his death. I have no such evidence for Jesus' cousin, Herakles, another demigod, whose father also lived on a mountain top, and I also deny that Herakles rose from the dead. Dead animals, of any species, do not return to life.
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Peter Kirby
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Re: Polemic re Carrier Craig etc

Post by Peter Kirby »

And back it goes.
"... almost every critical biblical position was earlier advanced by skeptics." - Raymond Brown
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Blood
Posts: 899
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Re: Polemic re Carrier Craig etc

Post by Blood »

DCHindley wrote:
Blood wrote:It's more accurate to say that what (some) atheists "hate" is not the concept of a God, but the senseless exploitation, manipulation, mental and physical abuse, and a thousand other ills that are committed by people compelled to do those things (and often given a free ticket to do so) based on their concept of a God and their religion.
Blood, can I ask whether your Avatar is a picture of you, or of Joseph Alvin "Joey" Gladstone (portrayed by Dave Coulier) of the TV series Full House?

Jus' kurios.

DCH (and yes, my Avatar is a picture of me)
Was that a joke? It's me.
“The only sensible response to fragmented, slowly but randomly accruing evidence is radical open-mindedness. A single, simple explanation for a historical event is generally a failure of imagination, not a triumph of induction.” William H.C. Propp
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Blood
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Re: Polemic re Carrier Craig etc

Post by Blood »

John T wrote:I did not "flag" this thread.
I did not ask for it to be pulled down.
I did not ask for it to be put back up under my name.

I can only assume the 'why' and it was not due to the profanity directed at me nor the ad hominem attacks, not even the lies.

I suspect it was because I touched a raw nerve.
Did I broach that forbidden subject while exposing the flaws/motives of Richard Carrier's latest vain attempt to disprove the historical Jesus?
Could it be this forum is a one way street, that atheists like Carrier can bash Christians but apologetics from Christians like Craig are not allowed?

Perhaps.

However, I suspect it was something much more than that.
I suspect it was because I uttered the name of 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'.
The Lord Voldermort of the atheist realm, Gary Habermas.

Gary Habermas is a renowned and prolific author, lecturer, and debater on the topic of the Resurrection of Jesus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Habermas

Habermas is probably best know for his 12 historical facts about Jesus that was so compelling that he is credited with converting the "foremost contemporary philosophical, atheist scholar of the 20th century, Antony Flew", into a theist.

http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/garyhabermas.htm

For that, Flew was despised as a traitor to the faith and Gary Habermas became; He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

"To be aware of one's own ignorance is true wisdom"..Scorates

Regards,

John (Harry Potter) T

Oh look, a Christian with a persecution complex. How novel, I've never heard of that before.
“The only sensible response to fragmented, slowly but randomly accruing evidence is radical open-mindedness. A single, simple explanation for a historical event is generally a failure of imagination, not a triumph of induction.” William H.C. Propp
theomise
Posts: 119
Joined: Fri May 30, 2014 4:20 pm

Re: Polemic re Carrier Craig etc

Post by theomise »

Some background on "Gary Habermas":

"Gary Habermas is Distinguished Professor of Apologetics ... at Liberty University."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Habermas

"The university was founded as Lynchburg Baptist College in 1971 by Jerry Falwell, who was also Senior Pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church. The name was changed to Liberty Baptist College in 1976 before settling on its current name, Liberty University, in 1984, when it obtained university status. Liberty University describes itself as a Christian academic community."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_University

--------------
For those interested in more rigorous, non-apologetic arguments for theism, I would recommend reading the following philosophers of religion:

Peter van Inwagen
Alvin Plantinga
Robert M. Adams
William P. Alston
Richard Swinburne
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Blood
Posts: 899
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Re: Polemic re Carrier Craig etc

Post by Blood »

Professor of Apologetics.

I don't know whether to :lol: or :facepalm:
“The only sensible response to fragmented, slowly but randomly accruing evidence is radical open-mindedness. A single, simple explanation for a historical event is generally a failure of imagination, not a triumph of induction.” William H.C. Propp
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DCHindley
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Location: Ohio, USA

Re: Polemic re Carrier Craig etc

Post by DCHindley »

Blood wrote:
DCHindley wrote:Blood, can I ask whether your Avatar is a picture of you, or of Joseph Alvin "Joey" Gladstone (portrayed by Dave Coulier) of the TV series Full House?

Jus' kurios.

DCH (and yes, my Avatar is a picture of me)
Was that a joke? It's me.
Jus' possibly. But you do bear a resemblance to Dave Coulier.

Image

There are not a lot of Avatars with real pictures around.

You'll note, I hope, that I made a humorous jab at my own Avatar of the cross eyed fanatic wagging a boney finger in the air, saying it was a real picture of me.

I'm sure there are plenty of folks who think I am lecturing them when I point out what I feel are obvious flaws in thinking, and perhaps, that I am actually always cross eyed with rage, pointing my finger at transgressors while accusing them of grave error.

My Avatar is a caricature of myself, exaggerating my natural tendency to demand a higher level of intellectual discussion (although without the insults and apologetics in either direction).

DCH
Clive
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Re: Polemic re Carrier Craig etc

Post by Clive »

Are they related?

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/habermas/
Jürgen Habermas currently ranks as one of the most influential philosophers in the world.
"We cannot slaughter each other out of the human impasse"
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