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Debate Info

23
18
Of course No, it always ends the same
Debate Score:41
Arguments:20
Total Votes:49
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 Of course (12)
 
 No, it always ends the same (8)

Debate Creator

pvtNobody(645) pic



Is debating religion worth the time and effort?

Can debate really change belief?

Of course

Side Score: 23
VS.

No, it always ends the same

Side Score: 18
4 points

While debating religious people is often futile, it is not always for naught. I myself was born and raised Jewish, and now I am an atheist. If anything that means it IS possible to convince people. The key is to evaluate the probability of persuading someone. Some people are fanatic and will never change in the face of all evidence in the world, others can change much easier.

With some people you can present all the evidence and they will nod their head mumble something and remain silent, and it may seem like they are ignoring you. They are not! They are thinking, and allow them to think, given time these types of people come around.

Other types will say "That is your opinion and you are entitled to it" when you present evidence, usually these people will not be convinced. Usually I hear that sentence when the person thinks I am dead wrong, but doesn't want to debate me or doesn't know how to defend their point.

The people who argue (not in a crazy fanatical way) want to be right, they want the facts on their side, but as soon as you point out that they are wrong, if they value truth they change their views.

I don't know where I would be if it weren't for my atheism. It saddens me to think that if all atheists had given up that I would still be a theist.

Side: Of course

Although religion debates usually end the same way, it is extremely important to debate it. For instance, there may be scientific evidence behind one religion that you did not know about. Even simpler, you may think of one religion that you do not currently belong to as more believable.

Not to mention, most kids take after their parents when it comes to religion. That isn't what society should be teaching. Thus, it is important to see other points of view.

Side: Of course
1 point

I agree heartily with you. Not debating something because you think you know what the outcome will be is giving up before you've even started. My parents are christians, and my father is now a priest. They encouraged me to ask questions about things when I was a child, and because they didn't stifle my curiosity about things, I questioned their beliefs. The end result is we live together comfortably, despite my being an atheist, and I doubt this would be the case had everyone come out swinging and refused to discuss and debate.

Side: Of course
2 points

If men truly wished to seek some kind of answers regarding spirituality and morality, then religious debate is imperative. As a Christian, I personally am not satisfied with a lot of things that my religion teaches, though I do believe several key points that men ought to hold ideal. When I hear the atheist side, I hear some thoughts that men should understand, but I still have my reservations against some key issues and beliefs. My personal experience and overall dissatisfaction with popular belief leads me to question all sides in hopes of refining my own personal morality and state of mind. Men should debate as a form of mental exercise and as a path to further understanding of mankind as a whole.

Side: Of course
1 point

Indeed. In a world with open discourse people would at least understand WHY they believe what they do. I feel like a lot of problems arise when people believe things because they are told to or are afraid not to.

Side: Of course
2 points

Debate changed belief for me. I was raised to be devoutly Catholic. I even attended Catholic school for several years. As I grew older and became more aware of logic and rationality, I found much value in debating religion.

Side: Of course
2 points

Alongside debating religious beliefs in and of themselves, debates over religion also often have the possibility of becoming debates over the applications of religion in the modern world. And while debates over, e.g., abortion, prayer in schools, religious freedom and tolerance, and generally the separation of church and state are subject to many of the same sort of endless-loop issues as debates over religious beliefs, they're still worth having, as they do have the potential to become constructive discussions that might lead to better understanding of the other side, and possibly ideas for solutions that people on both sides can live with.

Side: Of course
1 point

If anything it is one of the best ways to test how strongly someone believes in their choice. And it is a good way to try out our debate skills.

Side: Of course
4 points

Normally there is always merit in rehashing the same debates over and over again, if only to touch base every once in a while and see if views have changed. But religion is one of those topics where debate will inevitably end the same. That is there will inevitably be two sides, for and against religion. One side will say that because God cannot be proven to exist He does not. The other will say that God can be seen everywhere in ordinary life. Neither side will provide any proof for their arguments and there will likely be as many in favor of one side as the other.

No matter what the exact topic is, whether it be the existence of a god, whether evolution has produced humanity or whether we sprung up fully formed, whether there was a big bang or God blinked and there was a universe, the trend is mostly the same. I could provide several theories on why this occurs, but I think that I have adequately made those theories known in other debates and I do not have the time or the will to reiterate here, perhaps just reinforcing the idea that in the end religious debates are nothing more than a tedious exercise in futility.

Side: No, it always ends the same
jessald(1915) Disputed
2 points

Sites such as this one have the potential to make debates more useful. Debates are archived and organized and can be quickly and easily referenced.

For example, the "Do you beleive in God?" debate demonstrates that there is no solid argument for the existence of God, or at least not one that is convincing to most of the people who visit this site.

Supporting Evidence: The "Do you believe in God?" debate (www.createdebate.com)
Side: Of course
pvtNobody(645) Disputed
2 points

I have participated in the debate you referenced. In fact that debate is probably the single most important supporting evidence for my argument. The arguments found there can be summarized into two categories (not just sides but the actual content of the arguments). That is I believe in God and I can't understand why others don't and I don't believe in God and anyone who does is ignorant. There is no decisive proof that can settle the issue once and for all in this. Perhaps debate within a group of believers might be useful and enlightening but debate between believers and unbelievers and amongst different religious groups can have only one outcome, the various parties agree to disagree and often even that cannot be accomplished.

Side: No, it always ends the same
1 point

The thing with God is that you either believe in his existence - and thus you don't need any proof of his existence. Or you do not believe and you can rage bla-bla-bla there is no God whatsoever.

There can be no normal discussion between those who believe and those who do not.

The first will never prove that the god exists.

And the second won't ever prove that he does not. There is no possible way of proving either point of view right.

Arguements like:

- Bible is not a historical document

- Evolutionist theory

and stuff are inconsistent.

I mean come on guys Bible was written 2 thousand years ago. You really expect it to contain information about space, evolution theory and stuff? There was no science, no education, most people could not even read.

So even if God existed he had to talk on the language of metaphors and simplifications so people could understand him.

And the same way we can not prove that God exists. We can not measure God. We can not see God. He lies beyond our understanding by this time.

So the whole discussion is pointless.

But we can still argue some idiotic things like wether Darwin was right or not)

Side: No, it always ends the same
jessald(1915) Disputed
1 point

If God is beyond our understanding than what's the point of religion? If we are incapable of understanding God then aren't religions just a bunch of silly rules attempting to explain something that by it's nature cannot be understood?

Side: Of course
PassingBy(33) Disputed
2 points

The trick is that God has nothing to do with understanding.

Faith =\= understanding.

What is more faith is like love - when you try to understand it logically it becomes the "chemical process" in your brain instead of deep emotional feeling.

You do not understand God - you Believe in him. And only when you do Believe - the Bible, the rules and other stuff begin to make any sense.

That is why the discussion is pointless.

Side: No, it always ends the same
1 point

While I admit that there are ways to turn people away from religion, it does little good anyhow.

Religion is based on faith and beliefs. As soon as you start messing with someone's beliefs, you are in deep shit because ones beliefs are their passions. It's like messing with the very root of their consciousness, and that is why it gets us nowhere.

One thing that we all do naturally is try to preserve ourselves. We don't do things that hurt us because we naturally want to best for ourselves. The same goes for a belief like that. People are stubborn and you could show them all of the proof in existence for this or that, and they will still tell you that you are the one that is making the mistake.

Also, arguing religion is nearly impossible because you simply cannot know either way. You can't say that religion is false, but you cannot say that it's right either. It's all about faith.

The only good that could come from it is, if someone who is not debating, would come in and read everything and pick things up, certain bit and pieces of everything... Just give them the tools to make up their own minds... you know?

Side: No, it always ends the same
1 point

I honestly don't think it's worth it.

You're not going to change someone's beliefs on religion through arguing, it's something people have to figure out on their own. Like if you're someone who believes in God you most likely grew up believing in him and so did your family. Why would you change your view on something you have believed in all your life just because of a argument you had? And then if you're someone who doesn't believe in God someone trying to push their religion on you is just going to piss you off.

Religion is something that comes up frequently in a chat room I run. In the end of the argument there's no one who has changed their views, everyone is just pissed off and had just wasted an hour or so on a pointless argument.

Side: No, it always ends the same
0 points

people are dumb. end of story.

Side: No, it always ends the same