Subject:
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Re: The Brick Testament parts the Red Sea
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 20 Dec 2002 19:09:36 GMT
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Viewed:
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2043 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Nathan Todd writes:
>
> SNIP of unprecedented preportions.
>
> Since this debate has almost trailed off and I don't forsee either
> side convincing the other I'll just say one last thing.
>
> I think the greatest proof of God's existence, and love, are the
> millions of people that believe in him.
Hmm... If popular opinion is all that's required to establish "proof" of
a metaphysical entity's existence, then I'd say that the Christian God had
better watch over His Shoulder. According to one set of statistics,
Christianity can lay claim to 1.9 billion adherents, but right behind it is
Islam with 1.3 billion and Hinduism with 900 million.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/88/story_8830_1.html
By your yardstick, Islam is at least 68% as well "proven" as Christianity,
and Hinduism is about 47% as well proven. What happens when the number of
Muslims outstrips the number of Christians? Does the Christian God then
become "untrue" while Allah becomes King of The Mountain of Truth? What if
301 million Christians convert to Islam? Would that tip the Scales of
Divine Existence?
> It is not an easy road and if God
> wasn't real it is the last thing I would spend my time doing (I am not the
> kind of person who would always have to have religion or a substitute). As
> Paul said "If what we preach is not true then we are to be pitied more then
> all men". The mere fact that Christianity endures despite many hardships
> says more then I ever could about what people see in God and whether it's
> good.
I understand and accept your choice to withdraw from the debate, but I
thought it worthwhile to point out the flaw in your basic premiss re:
number-of-believers. If your intent is to validate Christianity by some
statistical or scientific reasoning, it is imperative that you get your
methodology straight.
However, if (as I suspect) you don't base your faith on majority opinion,
then you're obviously welcome to continue to believe as you choose. But
don't think that appeals to statistics are effective evangelizing!
Dave!
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: The Brick Testament parts the Red Sea
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| (...) It would still be the same God. Jesus would be demoted fom avatar of God to prophet of God, however. What happened to Buddhists on this scale? God help us if L. Ron Hubbard preached breeding as swiftly as possible to Scientologists. :-) (...) (22 years ago, 20-Dec-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: The Brick Testament parts the Red Sea
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| (...) existance, than one must acknowledge the probability that the "Christian God" will be facing extinction in the near future. The nations that are Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist (not in the article above presumably because it is more a philosophy (...) (22 years ago, 20-Dec-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: The Brick Testament parts the Red Sea
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| (...) Perhaps Nathan meant it in the reverse-- if it truly were a bogus religion, it probably would have faded into the past by now (a sort of twist on Occam's razor?). Since Christianity is still going strong after 2,000 years, *something* is (...) (22 years ago, 20-Dec-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: The Brick Testament parts the Red Sea
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| SNIP of unprecedented preportions. Since this debate has almost trailed off and I don't forsee either side convincing the other I'll just say one last thing. I think the greatest proof of God's existence, and love, are the millions of people that (...) (22 years ago, 20-Dec-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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