Atheism VS Christianity

2: Why are you a Christian?

Mckenzie; I am not a Christian because of the usual reasons, while I was raised in a Christian home, I didn't really care to follow my parents' beliefs.

But when I was 9 years old, I discovered what pure fear and anxiety was. I was being abused verbally and physically by a school teacher. The situation was messy, and about three months before the school year ended my parents pulled me out of school and started homeschooling me.

By this point much damage had already been done; I was having panic attacks every night, high anxiety whenever things happened that we not part of my daily routine (like church, birthdays, christmas..), I also had no self worth, and felt like I could do nothing significant. I remember my parents would let me have friends over nearly every day. My mom even asked me 'what would it take to make you happy again?' But I had no answer. A friend of mine now says that I was like an entirely different person, never happy, never relaxed.

So one evening I suddenly wanted to watch the sunrise, which is amazing because I never wanted anything anymore (plus I am not a morning person). So I set my alarm and actually went outside. I brought my recorder (instrument), since that was the only thing I felt I was good at, and for some reason I also took my Bible and journal. To this day I have no idea why I did most of this, the only explination I can find is that God put the desire on my heart.

But regardless, as I sat there, an empty, depressed shell of the kid I used to be, suddenly I heard a gentle whisper in my heart. I remember getting goosebumps. I had never heard that voice before, but I knew immediately Who it was. He said 'I love you. I made you. You are precious to Me.' A simple message, but one that made me know that God knows me personally. That message has reversed so many lies I'd been taught by my teacher in the years since. It is because of the value that God restored in my heart that I am alive today. He is the reason I walk in confidence.

Ariador; That's a good story.

Technically I can claim that the lack of evidence in your case is against you, because the burden of proof is on you. Until you prove that there exists a god, and that that god is exactly as your book discribes, and also that there is a magical place called hell, and that symbolically eating the flesh and drinking the blood of a medieval zombie will save us from going there... I am not choosing to have a hint of faith in your words. The lack of evidence only proves how much imaginary this thing is.

As for the scriptures, I don't think accurate descriptions of blood and just a passage saying 'thousands of people saw this' is able to prove anything. In The Hobbit the author describes Bilbos house with beautiful detail, so does that mean hobbits actually exist?

As a final note: people of the middle ages had no knowledge of science. They thought that lightning occures because of Thor or Zeus, they thought dinosaur fossils to be dragons, and so on. We cannot rely on one thing by them, except when investigating by ourselves.

Actually, hell or not, it doesn't matter. The world doesn't work by human rules. If today humans get wiped out because of some great accident, the universe will still remain the same. Nothing will change, because humanity is insignificant. As for that sake, I don't want to think there is a magical place called hell just because it feels good. Until we have scientific evidence, nothing can be said.

Mckenzie; You are right, my testamony doesn't have much for evidence, yet; How would you explain a total, overnight change in my life? An imaginary 'friend' cannot possibly restore a crushed self-esteem. I believed that I was worth absolutely nothing, and that nobody loved me. Then, in seconds, I knew just the opposite. Maybe I didn't have what you would call 'real' proof, but what do you expect from a twelve year old who had no previous interest in God? I didn't believe or even wish that God would speak to me, so you can be sure that I didn't imagine it.

I think you are underestimating the proof of the blood detail. When someone is being crucified, they die from exhaustion and asphyxiation. Asphyxiation causes a layer of water to form over the heart. This is a detail that John couldn't have known, yet he described it. You said that people back then had no knowledge of science, so how do you explain the fact that the apostel John descriped blood and water coming from the wound? If the followers of Jesus simply made up this story, that detail would be absent.

I have many other facts that prove this, such as Roman writings about it, but this is the simplest to explain.The Hobbit author may be able to describe in great detail the things of his imagination, but he cannot describe things he does not know.

As for the 'one' (It's actually said multiple times) passage saying that hundreds saw Jesus after his death, it is considered a fact by National Geographic that ten out of the eleven remain disciples after Jesus' death, were killed violently by both Jews and Romans. If this was a figment of their imagination, they would not die for it. Nobody would willingly die for something they know is a lie.

I actually don't need to prove that God exists, because this universe is a testamony to that. The scientificly impossible theory that everything came from nothing... I cannot believe in that. I need real evidence, a real explination for how everything came to be.

Ariador; When I said the burden of proof is on you, I wasn't replying to your story of why you are a Christian. But for that purpose... anecdotal evidence is not valid. No, I'm not underestimating the details, what I'm saying is that just a detail of blood doesn't prove a thousand year old bok based on the imagination of middle-eastern shepherds and nomads to be true. As for the scientific part, I believe the only reason they would've thought this was a miracle is because they saw blood and water and didn't know the science that's after it.

Uh... no, Roman or Greek or Norse writings do not prove anything, to be proof there needs to be scientific evidence that is based on modern science, not the imagination of people who lived thousands of years ago.

I have some problems with: "If this was a figment of their imagination, they would not die for it. Nobody would willingly die for something they know is a lie." To us, all the wars between ISIS and America, all the crusades, ect, are conflicts between two people who want to prove who has a better imaginary friend.

You cannot 'believe' in the fact that everything today came from the Big Bang, that there is no evidence of a god existing, and so on... and that's your problem. Unfortunately, the world doesn't work by your laws, there's science governing it. No matter what you say or claim, science will be science, and gods will remain imaginary. And yes, you need to prove that a god exists, you need to give physical evidence or else what you say will be deemed fantasy...

Also, sorry if that last sentence was a bit offensive... I'm against religious narcissism. You have to prove your point in order to make it. Anyway... are you interested in knowing how the universe appeared out of nothing? It's scientificly proven.

Mckenzie; Yes, in fact that was my next question. While I do have answers to your reply, I would like to turn the attention to atheism. If you would still like to discuss Christianity when it's your turn to ask the question, I have no problem with that...