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18
2
Yes. No.
Debate Score:20
Arguments:15
Total Votes:20
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 Yes. (12)
 
 No. (2)

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SitaraForJesus(3819) pic



Is it the No True Scotsman Fallacy to say that theists can't be skeptical?

I say yes because: You can be a monotheist or a Christian and be a skeptic. When people tell me that things will get better, I demand proof. When people tell me to have faith, I ask why, and if the reason sucks, I say so. One can have faith in one area, and in another area be skeptical. I am a skeptic when I question how God can be all good, all powerful with the existance of evil. I question why the Bible says that women are the weaker sex when women have the babies. Every day I question pretty much everything. I am quite annoyed by the No True Scotsman Fallacy that theism and skepticism are mutually exclusive. I am like this in politics as well. When i was a consertvative, i questioned why do people have to hate Arabs or gays or want to ban contraception. If I start to feel that a belief is wrong for me, I change it until I find the right one. I find it ironic that people talk about change and then shit their drawers when they see it. I'm here to say skeptical theists do exist, and i'm not the only one. My awesome friend Mark is another skeptical theist. The No True Scotsman Falllacy is defined as: You made what could appear to be an appeal to purity as a way to dismiss relevent criticisms or flaws of your argument. In this form of faulty reasoning, one's belief is rendered unfalsifiable because no matter how compelling the evidence is, one simply shifts the goalposts so that it won't apply to a supposedly "true" example. This kind of post-rationalisation is a way of avoiding valid criticism's of one's argument. Example: Sally is a a prochoice libertarian. Susie is a prolife libertarian. Sally says that Susie is No True Libertarian because she is prolife. This is a very classic example of the No True Scotsman Fallacy. Conclusion: Two viewpoints are not mutually exclusive. Second conclusion: I invite the person who inspired this debate to take part. This is a serious debate, and I want to prove that logical theists do exist. 

Yes.

Side Score: 18
VS.

No.

Side Score: 2

tldr; of course theists can be skeptical.

Side: Yes.

Thank you. That was my general assumption as well. .

Side: Yes.

Of course it is. Even the biggest skeptic isn't skeptical of everything, after all, and I don't believe there is anyone who is skeptical of nothing.

Pretty much every theist is skeptical of claims made by other religions and the scientific community where they clash with their own religious beliefs as well.

Skepticism is not a binary state, and theism/skepticism is a false dichotomy.

Side: Yes.

Of course it is. Even the biggest skeptic isn't skeptical of everything, after all, and I don't believe there is anyone who is skeptical of nothing. You hit the nail on the head.

Side: Yes.
2 points

It's related to the No True Scotsman fallacy. Theism and atheism describes whether one is inclined towards believing in God or not. To be a theist you don't have to have some additional quality other than a belief in God. So theism doesn't say anything about the how strongly one feels about one's belief. Theistic beliefs are not necesarilly faiths. So theists don't have to be skeptical.

On the other hand I am not so sure that a Christian can be skeptical about the existence of God. The uttermost central dogma of Christianity is that Jesus is the son of God. Everything revolves around this idea. If you are skeptical towards this then you aren't really a Christian anymore. It's like saying that "I am a sports fanatic, but I am not sure if I am fanatical about sports". If you need to believe that Jesus is the son of God, the logically, you have to believe that God exists as well.

Side: Yes.

I see what you are saying but I feel you can be skeptic in nature and still hole belief in Jesus.

Side: Yes.
1 point

I think you are right, and to be skeptic is probably the a more beneficial stance to take. It's reasonable to be skeptical towards the idea that Jesus is the product of virgin birth induced by some kind of divine seed. It's reasonable to question this.

It's always hard to give a good definition of a culture. It's hard to define what it means to be a Christian. But given what I have learned, it really does seem like that the definition of a Christian is one that believes that Jesus is the son of God. So for me, that means that you can't question it. You aren't really a Christian if you oppose the definition of what it means to be a Christian. So I think what you are saying is true, we should be skeptical, yet the definition of Christianity requires that we aren't. So this dialogue could probably be extended to a criticism about the very idea of Christianity it self.

Side: Yes.
Nebeling(1117) Clarified
1 point

Theistic beliefs are not necesarilly faiths. So theists don't have to be non-skeptical.*

Side: Yes.

Welll said. I was just tired, and I was trying to paint a picture.

Side: Yes.

Yes, we can be skeptical.

Side: Yes.
1 point

You clearly aren't.

Side: No.
1 point

If you make claims, you must [prove it. Please/ .

Side: Yes.

I say no because a christian can be a skeptic...I guess...but a true skeptic would not be a christian. I think this is you being a christian and skepticAL not being skeptic in full.

Side: No.
1 point

That is the No true Scotsman Fallacy though. Just because YOU don't agree, does not mean that you are right. It is a fact that theists can be skeptical because I know that I am.

Side: Yes.