Nonbelievers to Hell!

[Reptillian]

I could argue that in some respects belief makes reality, but I am not sure that I am mentally up for it right now.

As for the intangibles of things like religion, sure, belief makes reality iow a number of worshipers is all that is required for a deity to exist. No particular number of worshipers required, just a number of them.

To quote Galileo, "In matters of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." People who say that belief makes reality must not believe in absolute truth...but wait, if enough people believe in absolute truth, does that make it real? If enough people clap their hands will Tinkerbell live?

 

[AxisMundi]

Personally, I don't reject belief in Yahweh, He has too many followers to not exist, so I totally believe in Yahweh. Worshipping him on the other hand...Nope, not since I was 16. I will stick with the Hammer wielder, thanks.

That is called an argumentum ad numerium, the appeal to numbers fallacy.

Much of the world's population thought the planet flat at the time the Abrahamic scriptures were written, which is another example of this popular fallacy if one wishes to use that to claim the earth is flat.

 

[PolyHedral]

Much of the world's population thought the planet flat at the time the Abrahamic scriptures were written...

Much of Europe maybe, but probably not. The Greeks, Persians, and Romans all knew that the world was round. (Greek scholars had tried to work out the circumference.)

 

[sandy whitelinger]

That is called an argumentum ad numerium, the appeal to numbers fallacy.

Much of the world's population thought the planet flat at the time the Abrahamic scriptures were written, which is another example of this popular fallacy if one wishes to use that to claim the earth is flat.

Wow, using a popular fallacy to prove popular fallacy. Very clever. Not!

 

[Quiddity]

Have no idea.

 

[ChristineES]

If enough people believed George Washington was a horse, must he have been a horse?

You never know how many people named their horses George Washington. (Sorry, I just couldn't resist).

 

[McBell]

You seem to want to ignore the Biblical concept that God does not believe that anyone is good and that human goodness is not the key to entering into heaven.

Intersting that god makes us all bad then condemns us for HIS creation...

 

[AxisMundi]

Much of Europe maybe, but probably not. The Greeks, Persians, and Romans all knew that the world was round. (Greek scholars had tried to work out the circumference.)

Those were individuals, not whole peoples.

 

[AxisMundi]

Wow, using a popular fallacy to prove popular fallacy. Very clever. Not!

Would you mind explaining how pointing out a common fallacy, and then providing an example, are a fallacy in and of themselves?

Or were you merely trolling, perhaps?

 

[Klaufi_Wodensson]

Personally, I don't reject belief in Yahweh, He has too many followers to not exist, so I totally believe in Yahweh. Worshipping him on the other hand...Nope, not since I was 16. I will stick with the Hammer wielder, thanks.

Allow me to restate. I do not reject that people believe in Yahweh, but I do not believe in him. I believe in the Gods of my ancestors, as you do, The Hammer Wielder, the One Eyed God, and all the Æsir and Vanir

 

[Dan4reason]

The concept that fear is a response illicited response only from the young or uneducated is ridiculous . Regardless hell is not a threat but a description offered out of fairness. To live a life based on the tenet of loving one another and loving God should be enough. However, for some this reason is not sufficient. Some do not desire to live by these morals or concepts and for these people God informs them of the risk of the decision they have made. It is no different than a jail penalty for a crime. The jail is not used as a fear tactic against the general population but does exist as a warning to those who chose to break the rules.

Infinite punishments should never be instituted for finite infractures and crimes. Rational skepticism, and belief in other religious ideas should never be punished by infinite torture.

 

[Dan4reason]

You "debunked" my example as for the answer of the OP and your purpose, but I wasn't posting it for that, I was trying to show you (and maybe others), as I said earlier, that anyone can find different meaning to anything written, including verses from various holy books. I go off on tangents most of the time. And I am not really trying to convince anyone of anything.

There are many ways to interpret bible verses. Some are more clear and practical than others. Some are more true than others. There are many unorthodox ways of interpreting this post but hopefully my real message is clear just like the bible's message is clear in those three verses.

 

[Dan4reason]

I don't believe in a literal hell, anyway (most of you already know that). I believe that what is called hell is actually of separation from God. I don't know what that entails. But it kind of makes sense (to me) that if you don't believe in God then you can't be in a "union" with God.
I have to admit that some place of eternal torment by roasting over fires is not something I would want to send my worst enemy to. And really, if you think about it, there is really nothing outside of parables that say that people will roast in some eternal fire- that includes Revelation, the entire book is in symbolic form. And saying that, if I wouldn't send my worst enemy to some eternal torment, why would I believe that the God I worship would?

You probably know way more about the bible than I do. For curiosity sake, do you have any verses that claim that hell is a separation from God and is not a place specifically for torment and eternal punishment? Am I making any mistakes about your opinions on hell?

 

[sandy whitelinger]

Intersting that god makes us all bad then condemns us for HIS creation...

God does not condemn you for being bad, only for not believing in the name of His only begotten son.

 

[sandy whitelinger]

Would you mind explaining how pointing out a common fallacy, and then providing an example, are a fallacy in and of themselves?

Or were you merely trolling, perhaps?

Using the example of a belief that most thought the world was flat is a popular fallacy.

 

[Misty]

God does not condemn you for being bad, only for not believing in the name of His only begotten son.

How do you know?

 

[sandy whitelinger]

Infinite punishments should never be instituted for finite infractures and crimes. Rational skepticism, and belief in other religious ideas should never be punished by infinite torture.

Obviously God disagrees with you (if indeed The Lake of Fire is an infinite torture).

 

[Father Heathen]

God does not condemn you for being bad, only for not believing in the name of His only begotten son.

And that doesn't strike you as twisted? Desiring to torture those for all eternity simply who did not caress and nibble on his ego? How is that not petty and infantile? Why did he give humanity the ability to reason when reason naturally leads people away from the unsubstantiated and irrational? And why exactly would something that's supposedly an important truth be unsubstantiated and irrational?

 

[Misty]

And that doesn't strike you as twisted? Desiring to torture those for all eternity simply who did not caress and nibble on his ego? How is that not petty and infantile? Why did he give humanity the ability to reason when reason naturally leads people away from the unsubstantiated and irrational? And why exactly would something that's supposedly an important truth be unsubstantiated and irrational?

I agree.

 

[AxisMundi]

Using the example of a belief that most thought the world was flat is a popular fallacy.

How so. It is simple historical fact.

It simply illustrates that mere popular opinion without evidence is not in and of itself evidence.