A Mormon Argument Against Atheism

[_Ernst Blofeld]

Basically, you don't demonstrate anything. You just believe certain things and announce that your beliefs as true. We are apparently to take your word for it merely because you say so.

There is no error in the reasoning, you can laundry list a bunch of fancy names you got from your Ed Decker book, but all you've managed to do is say "this is false because I don't like it" TRY AGAIN

[_Equality]

you can laundry list a bunch of fancy names you got from your Ed Decker book

What does this even mean?

[_SteelHead]

False. your'e demonstrating that you've never lived where people are not even able to eke out survival.

I wouldn't visit such a place because there would be no people there to visit, since no one could survive. Try writing something that isn't self refuting and we'll do this again.

Look at sub-Saharan Africa. The population rates are declining, just not everyone dead yet.

[_NorthboundZax]

( D ) If man is the measure of all things, there is no intrinsic value to apes that came from slime. THIS IS TRUE

What an ugly and unsupported assertion. Sentience has meaning for itself no matter the origin.

A quick thought experiment: Suppose a race of sentient beings evolved from slime over the course of 3 billion years. A passing God sees the race and copies it to populate a neighboring planet before heading off to visit a neighboring galaxy. Does the second race really have an intrinsic value that the first doesn't?

[_Themis]

Basically, you don't demonstrate anything. You just believe certain things and announce that your beliefs as true. We are apparently to take your word for it merely because you say so.

There is no error in the reasoning, you can laundry list a bunch of fancy names you got from your Ed Decker book, but all you've managed to do is say "this is false because I don't like it" TRY AGAIN

I'm failing to see how you have done anymore then said "it is True because I like it".

[Guest]

( A ) Humans have intrinsic dignity. THIS IS TRUE

( B ) Any worldview that cannot explain why Humans have intrinsic dignity fails to be correct. THIS TRUE

( C ) If atheism is true, man is the measure of all things. THIS IS TRUE

( D ) If man is the measure of all things, there is no intrinsic value to apes that came from slime. THIS IS TRUE

( E ) In Mormonism, all humans have to the potential to be divine beings of the highest quality if they enter into the correct covenants. THIS IS TRUE

( F ) Mormonism is a better belief than Atheism THIS MUST BE TRUE

This has to be one of the most juvenile and illogically strung together sets of assertions to come up on this board in a long time. Here is a set of assertions that can be supported by objective evidence:

- Some humans believe that they have dignity. THIS ASSERTION IS SUPPORTED BY WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE.

- This belief is but one of the many that arises because the human brain has evolved to be demonstrably self aware. THIS ASSERTION IS SUPPORTED BY WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE.

- Science has provided humankind with a theory of evolution, a theory that provides a great deal of explanatory and predictive power in the development of biology, medicine and other areas of science beneficial to humankind. THIS ASSERTION IS SUPPORTED BY WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE.

- Science, which based on evidence, reason and logic, is diametrically opposed to Mormonism, which is based on unfounded belief and can be sustained only by ignoring reason and logic. THIS ASSERTION IS SUPPORTED BY WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE.

- Because of science, humankind has progressed from pre-historic hunter-gatherer clans barely able to survive off the land to develop advanced technological societies with extended lifespans and freedom from hunger and ignorance and many of the diseases that killed our ancestors. THIS ASSERTION IS SUPPORTED BY WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE.

- Religion, which is what humans used to explain their world before the development of science, was incapable of providing humankind with freedom from hunger, disease and ignorance. THIS ASSERTION IS SUPPORTED BY WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE.

- It is therefore clear that a worldview based on evidence, reason and logic is vastly superior to a worldview based on religion. (The imaginary gods of religion have never, ever, revealed a single objective fact or bit of useful knowledge to humankind.) THIS ASSERTION IS SUPPORTED BY WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE.

- Mormonism is a prime example of a religion centered worldview based on unfounded belief which, in order to remain intact, must ignore not only reason and logic, but deny much of science itself. THIS ASSERTION IS SUPPORTED BY WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE.

- Atheism is simply the absence of belief in any supernatural, magical god that may be conjured up by religion, including Mormonism. Science, by necessity, operates in the absence of belief in magic and the supernatural.
THIS IS SIMPLY A STATEMENT OF DEFINITIONS.

- By definition, Mormonism represents a worldview that is the opposite of atheism and incompatible with science, and therefore militates against the longterm best interests of humankind.

.:. The evidence shows that Science and its associated Atheism are far better for humankind than is Mormonism

[_Spektical]

There is no error in the reasoning, you can laundry list a bunch of fancy names you got from your Ed Decker book, but all you've managed to do is say "this is false because I don't like it" TRY AGAIN

I'm failing to see how you have done anymore then said "it is True because I like it".

This was exactly my thought. His first premise is unsupported; therefore nothing logically follows from it. Until that premise is substantiated, one needn't even address any of the others.

[_Sophocles]

( A ) Humans have intrinsic dignity. THIS IS TRUE

( B ) Any worldview that cannot explain why Humans have intrinsic dignity fails to be correct. THIS TRUE

( C ) If atheism is true, man is the measure of all things. THIS IS TRUE

( D ) If man is the measure of all things, there is no intrinsic value to apes that came from slime. THIS IS TRUE

( E ) In Mormonism, all humans have to the potential to be divine beings of the highest quality if they enter into the correct covenants. THIS IS TRUE

( F ) Mormonism is a better belief than Atheism THIS MUST BE TRUE

Looks good to me. Add it to the list.

(Might be substantially equivalent to #351, but I don't think anyone will notice.)

[_DrW]

( A ) Humans have intrinsic dignity. THIS IS TRUE

( B ) Any worldview that cannot explain why Humans have intrinsic dignity fails to be correct. THIS TRUE

( C ) If atheism is true, man is the measure of all things. THIS IS TRUE

( D ) If man is the measure of all things, there is no intrinsic value to apes that came from slime. THIS IS TRUE

( E ) In Mormonism, all humans have to the potential to be divine beings of the highest quality if they enter into the correct covenants. THIS IS TRUE

( F ) Mormonism is a better belief than Atheism THIS MUST BE TRUE

Looks good to me. Add it to the list.

(Might be substantially equivalent to #351, but I don't think anyone will notice.)

Thanks for posting the link to this extensive and well thought out list of reasons why God exists.

<http://www.godlessgeeks.com/LINKS/GodProof.htm>

Made my day.

[_son of Ishmael]

I liked this one:

ARGUMENT FROM FEAR
(1) If there is no God then we're all going to not exist after we die.
(2) I'm afraid of that.
(3) Therefore, God exists.