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BigBlue2
March 28, 2004, 09:55 PM
An hour or three ago, I had some bible thumpers come to my door which rarely happens in largely secular Australia. Anyway, the two ladies went into their spiel about all the nastiness in the world and how they wanted to share some "Good News" with me. They quoted Psalm 37:10-11:
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Once I got a word in I stated bluntly: "That's all very well, but I'm atheist".

They did a bit of a double take and I used the opportunity to add: "There are too many contradictions in the bible for me to take it seriously". They said words to the effect that all contradictions could be explained. I mentioned Ecclesiastes 9:5 which states:
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. To me that says that when you are dead, you are dead - no heaven, hell or anything like that. They said it merely states that the vast majority of people are forgotten after they die, but that they still live on in heaven. I didn't know what to answer to that. Score 1 to the fundies. I should have left contradictions alone and mentioned the barbarity of the deity they worship of which there are numerous examples, Psalms being full of them. Damn! :mad:

They were big on the theme of trust and asked whether I trusted that the sun would up in the morning. I said that trust had nothing to do with it, there are solid scientific reasons for a sunrise. They stated that science can't explain everything, for example what creates grass (don't ask me why they used that as an example). I said grass comes from a seed, like most other plants I know, and that it was "created" (for want of a better word) through evolution. At this point they realised that they weren't getting anywhere and extricated themselves from the conversation. Final score 1-1, I guess.

Anyway, that's my whinge for the day. Thanks for reading.

Cheers,
BB2

Chicken Girl
March 28, 2004, 10:04 PM
I think this is an SL topic.

The Bearded One
March 28, 2004, 10:20 PM
I haven't argued with fundies in a long long time (aside from the II philosophy fora). You seem to have done all right. Remember, you're probably not any more likely to deconvert them than they are to convert you.

-- The Bearded One

Stacey Melissa
March 29, 2004, 05:40 PM
There are a number of options with the door-to-door type of proselytizers. You could keep a few copies of "Kissing Hank's Ass" (http://www.jhuger.com/kisshank.mv) on hand. You could run through Yahzi's excellent rebuttal (http://www.iidb.org/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=77284). Or here's another rebuttal I just came up with:

Christian: "Can I share the Good News with you?"

Me: "Why? It says in Romans 3:19-20 that everyone already knows it. Why would you tell me something I already know, and call it 'news'?"

Christian fumbles through Bible and reads the verses. Hopefully they give up at this point. But if not...

Christian: "I think that's only talking about some other group that was worshiping idols."

Me: "So if not everyone knows the gospel, then what happens to people who never hear of it before they die?"

Christian: "I suppose God would let them into heaven."

Me: "So why do you go around telling people about the gospel?"

Or maybe the Christian will answer:

Christian: "They get sent to hell."

Me: "I would never worship such a cruel god. Goodbye."

BigBlue2
March 29, 2004, 08:12 PM
There are a number of options with the door-to-door type of proselytizers. You could keep a few copies of "Kissing Hank's Ass" (http://www.jhuger.com/kisshank.mv) on hand. You could run through Yahzi's excellent rebuttal (http://www.iidb.org/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=77284).
I made the mistake of making a statement ("the bible is full of contradictions"). That gave them something solid to attack. I should have just asked questions, the way you or Yahzi suggest. Eventually they will run out of sensible answers, at which point I would say "See, this is why I'm an atheist.". I'll remember that for next time, if there is a next time.

Cheers for the advice and support.
BB2

Face
March 30, 2004, 07:52 AM
If you really want to befuddle door-to-door preachers and sow the seeds of doubt, you almost certainly need to brush up on the Socratic method. No finer system for debating the religious exists.