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Christians - What would it take?
Ok, so this is a kind of dated thing that I'm referencing here, but in the somewhat recent debate between scientist Bill Nye and creationist Ken Hamm contained one question that I've been thinking about since. The question was this:What, if anything, could ever change your mind?
Bill Nye was quick to answer: He'd just have to see any one piece of evidence that suggested that God existed and that the science he knew was wrong. He would immediatly change his view of the world, jsut as scientists do whenever a new discovery is made.Ken Hamm, on the other hand, evaded the question slightly and ultimately gave his answer: Nothing.
I think this is an important question, and the answers I tend to get when I pose this question to religious people tend to be pretty much in line with Hamm's response, and that continues to drive me away from religion in general. When I made the point to RightWing11 that I believed that "if no proof, logic or reasoning could ever change your thoughts, then you are not mentally well.", they responded by claiming my argument was "so abusive that I do not really wish to chat about your comment much more."
I do not think my point was abusive, and the lack of an actual response helps back that up in my mind. But hey, maybe I'm wrong. If what I said was abusive, I would like to correct my actions.
The fact that people beleive things so unconditionally is very scary to me because to me, that is a sign of mental illness, or perhaps mental inhibition is a better term. Or simple-mindedness. If you believe something so wholly that no logic or reasoning will ever convince you otherwise, then it seems to me that you are being extremely close-minded, illogical, or just plain foolish. Because most people's religions come from their upbringing and not by their choice, the fact that people refuse to even look at reasons not to believe what they have been told to believe I think is very dangerous.
So to Christians, and all relgious people, I'd like to ask the same question: What, if anything, would ever change your mind about the existence of God? If the answer is nothing, can I hear some justification for that? I don't want to be rude, I'd seriously like to here the reasoning behind this.
Note: Just to be clear, I have no problems with following the moral guidence of a relgion or group. I think many of the valeus that many religions espouse are very valuable, I just take issue with the justification of these morals coming through a 'God.'