Presuming that none of you religious folk out there do not believe in the North American Indian creator-god Tirawa, may I ask: why don't you?
This is a serious question, for if you are not convinced that other gods exist (gods in whom thousands of others have believed), how may I be convinced that yours does?
My advice would be to not worry yourself with such meaningless questions.
There are no gods, life is much simpler when you realise this.
Excellent question. I have always found that this sort of question is the most effective line of discussion with theists of any flavor. It requires them to actually think and offer up a response as to why we should believe their specific truth claims when every other follower of every other god is claiming the exact same thing they are. Who are we to believe? No matter what evidence is pointed to: "miracles", a burning in ones heart, a "changed" life or what have you, every other religious group makes the same claims. Why do one group's "miracles" superceed the "miracles" of another group as far as truth claims are concerned?
I'm looking forward to seeing what sorts of answers you get from theists on this one. My guess is that they are not going to swim in these waters. :)
Again, excellent question.
Regards,
Rich
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That's the question I ask first, but there is an answer. Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete, a Catholic, has an interesting interview on MeaningofLife TV. He basically says that all religions have an essence of truth to them. A Hindu can come to god the same way a Catholic can, even with different beliefs in the Mystery. All religions are a form of truth. I'm not sure how many other Catholics believe that way. You are much more likely to find that sort of attitude in a Unitarian.
If you can drag someone religious at least this far you have at least opened up their minds to the possibility that they might not have the exclusive truth. Then you can talk about the degrees of influence god has on everyday life. Do we have any control over our lives or is everything predetermined? If everything is predetermined what is the point of doing good? If we do have control, how much control do we have? Are there restrictions on what god will do? How about what he can do? Sometimes you can take this argument all the way to 'Yes, there is a God and that God is the rules of physics.' They may still believe there is something spiritual about that. That's when you introduce Humanism.
There is a purpose to life. It's what we choose to make it.
First, I notice that some of the other replies engage in a bit of poisoning the well with regard to believers. Also, with the bit about a burning in the bosom and miracles being evidence, I'd have to point out that this is at the least a straw man if not a total distortion of what historic Christianity asserts. Whether that was intended or not, I'm not sure.
I think the question is a good one, but a little bit loaded as if a believer had never heard the question before. It also assumes that the Indian creator god and the Christian God have an equal amount of evidence for them: none. This is clearly not the case; if you study the evidence for the person of Jesus, I think you'll find it solid that the Christ of scriptures really live and do the things reported of him. That may not completely convince you, though. Whether you are convinced or not may depend on what you'll except as evidence and your presuppositions. Some evidence is fulfilled prophecy and the uniformity of scripture all pointing to the person of Jesus Christ. Many may reply that the authors of scripture just made up all the fulfilled prophecy (such as all the material from Isaiah 53 coming to pass in the life of Jesus). However, it could be replied that they all died for what they believed and also continually taught others to tell the truth. You may find some other possible explanations for Jesus but are those explanations probable or only possible? It would probably take some time to really look into, but for something from a believers standpoint I recommend the book The New Testament Documents by F.F. Bruce. Of course non of this is absolute proof and if that's what you're looking for then I imagine you can't find that for your own views either.
There are many other arguments from the uniqueness of the Christian faith compared to other faiths. However, I think theism is superior to non-belief as well, since naturalism does assert unprovable claims such as that matter is all that is.
Christianity is unique in that it is the only faith in which people cannot attain their own salvation by human works by only can receive it as an absolute free gift through the cross of Jesus. I hope I get some replies. Thanks.
Actually, there is no evidence for the god of the bible either. I suggest you read up on the literature (not Josh McDowell) before making claims that are unsupported. Here is a good resource to start with:
http://www.pocm.info/index.html
Now, if you want to make headway on this forum, you need to refute the evidence on that website. Notice, I said "refute the evidence", not give your opinion on how wonderful your world is with "god" in it. Until you do that, you are just another used-car salesman selling the same POS story that no one here believes, not even you. After all, you don't believe the world is flat, at the center of the universe and around which everything rotates, now do you? :)
thanks
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