Scott,

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To those considering themselves Atheists - have you ever convinced a believer in any religion by asynchronous communication of any of your tenets?


I would never WANT to convince a believer to become an atheist. It’s one thing for me to take a chance with my own soul, but it’s another thing entirely to be responsible for someone else’s.

The only thing I would want to convince a believer of is that it is possible to have faith and believe in science at the same time. All it takes is not insisting on a literal interpretation of Biblical stories. Here’s just a handful of churches that officially support evolution and old Earth theories:

Catholic
http://catholicism.about.com/b/2007/08/04/evolution-and-catholicism-compatible-pope-says.htm

Episcopalian
http://ncse.com/news/2006/06/episcopal-church-reaffirms-evolution-education-00949

Methodist
http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/conte...121&notoc=1

Many people are turning away from Christianity because they are being told by the fundamentalists that unless they believe in Creationism and a young Earth, then they’re going to Hell. This view that was taught to my son in Christian school was the primary reason he lost his faith. He saw insurmountable physical evidence to the contrary and he’d been told he was going to Hell if he believed it, so he chose to give up on all of Christianity and any other religion.

I was still a Christian when he made his decision so I tried to convince him he could have faith and knowledge, but it was too late at that point. It was only later that I became an Agnostic/atheist.

The only reason I even care about the issue is that I think it’s child abuse to teach Creationism to a child and then threaten them with Hell if they don’t believe you. So rather than trying to convert believers to my views, I’m just pointing out a way to have faith and enjoy the wonders of science.

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It's my opinion that quoting scripture to those who don't trust it is rather pointless.


Amen brother. You might as well be quoting the phone book.

Bob
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http://soundcloud.com/bobcflatpicke/music-in-the-mountains