[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by terrazoids

Wow there are all kinds of folks on this thread. I have the feeling that a lot of people who do have strong faith are afraid to speak up about it because of the viscous attacks from some of the more vocal members.

Don't say "faith" when you mean "Christianity." I am deeply religious; religion is, perhaps, the central point around which the rest of my life revolves. People of strong faith who aren't monotheists likely aren't much speaking up because this kind of discussion bores most of them; arguments about whether one particular deity exists are fairly pointless. (I have no aversions to pointless arguments, when I've got time for them.)

Originally Posted by terrazoids

I won't talk about my personal experiences on this forum, but suffice it to say that I've been through trials and doubts in my life, but now I know. God speaks to people personally.

You have evidence that a god speaks to *you* personally. Do you have evidence that the same god speaks to *everyone?*

Originally Posted by sweevo

Using logic:

There's zero evidence any gods exist.

There's zero evidence the specific god you believe in exists.

That makes the belief in the god you believe in... well... insane.

Anecdotal evidence is still evidence. So are eyewitness accounts & personal experiences. They're not considered reliable evidence in court, but they aren't necessarily false.

If I claim that (1) I have a spouse, (2) whose hair is longer than yours and (3) could beat you at chess -- what evidence do I have? What evidence could I provide, over the internet, for this person's existence?

Disproving claims 2 & 3 doesn't disprove claim 1. If, in fact, I do not have a spouse, but have been living with a single person for so long that all our friends call us husband & wife, that doesn't mean the person doesn't exist, just that I've described our relationship inaccurately. (I have a spouse. I'd be willing to bet his hair is longer than yours because that's the way the statistics go. Few women and almost no men have hair longer than his. It is not unlikely he could beat you at chess, but I wouldn't make bets in that direction against a totally unknown person.)

I'm always fascinated by atheists' willingness to claim that the majority of humanity throughout history has been entirely delusional on a matter that affected their lives deeply, rather than accept that their descriptions might be inaccurate.