Mercenary wrote:@Scheherazade idea of civilized is my idea of savagery.
Indeed, walk into almost any Christian church in the U.S. and see the "savagery". They will welcome you, and shake your hand. They will wish you well, pray for you, give you hope and smiles.
Men whose lives have been devastated and end up in prison don't convert to atheism. They don't leave with new attitudes and hope, proclaiming "I've seen the light! Nothing has saved me." They proclaim their faith in Christ.
“Has anyone provided proof of God’s inexistence? Not even close.
Has quantum cosmology explained the emergence of the universe or why it is here? Not even close.
Have our sciences explained why our universe seems to be fine-tuned to allow for the existence of life? Not even close.
Are physicists and biologists willing to believe in anything so long as it is not religious thought? Close enough.
Has rationalism and moral thought provided us with an understanding of what is good, what is right, and what is moral? Not close enough.
Has secularism in the terrible 20th century been a force for good? Not even close, to being close.
Is there a narrow and oppressive orthodoxy in the sciences? Close enough.
Does anything in the sciences or their philosophy justify the claim that religious belief is irrational? Not even in the ball park.
Is scientific atheism a frivolous exercise in intellectual contempt? Dead on.”
― David Berlinski, The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions
"Nothing will prevent me from eradicating totally, root and branch, all Christianity in Germany." - Adolph Hitler, April 7, 1933
"Christianity is an invention of sick brains. ... The best thing is to let Christianity die a natural death. ... We commence hostilities against the so-called Ten Commandments; the tablets from Sinai are no longer in force." --Adolf Hitler
In the nineteenth century, Charles Bradlaugh, a prominent atheist, challenged a Christian man to debate the validity of the claims of Christianity. The Christian, Hugh Price Hughes, was an active soul-winner who worked among the poor in the slums of London. Hughes told Bradlaugh he would agree on one condition.
Hughes said, “I propose to you that we each bring some concrete evidences of the validity of our beliefs in the form of men and women who have been redeemed from the lives of sin and shame by the influences of our teaching. I will bring 100 such men and women, and I challenge you to do the same.”
Hughes then said that if Bradlaugh couldn’t bring 100, then he could bring 50; if he couldn’t bring 50 then he could bring 20. He finally whittled the number down to one. All Bradlaugh had to do was find one person whose life was improved by atheism and Hughes - who would bring 100 people improved by Christ - would agree to debate him.
Bradlaugh withdrew! (The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, by Josh McDowell, page 156)