re : i have a dilemma, page-23

‘point one - prove it's false’

You can’t prove a belief to be false. You can’t prove a belief in dragons to be false. You can’t prove a belief in Harry Potter and the return of Lord Voldemort to be false. You can’t prove a belief that life was created by a magical hippopotamus to be false. You can’t prove that a belief in an afterlife where we are all Lemurs competing in an eternity of limbo competitions to be false. You can’t prove any of these beliefs to be false; no matter how ridicules they are.

Fortunately, something doesn’t exist simply because you can’t prove it doesn’t exist. If that were the case, you must believe that every fictitious character/creation/belief every imaged or that ever will be imagined is real. That is madness.

Think of an imaginary character. Peter Pan for example. Try to prove that Peter Pan isn’t real. You can’t. Try this as many times as you like with fictitious characters until you are convinced.

I can’t prove that a belief in a god or an afterlife is false. But you cannot claim that something is true until there is sufficient evidence to support it and evidence to support that belief only. If the evidence also supports another belief, then you still have no way of knowing which belief is the correct one, thus your belief still hasn’t been proven.

point two and three

I am using the word meaningless to mean an action that does not lead to anything constructive.

I am using the word constructive to mean an action that leads to an improvement in standard of life for all and does not discriminate against, harm or take advantage of others.

‘thank you for your permission, didn't think we needed it, but thanks anyway’

You don’t need my permission. You are missing the point. People should be free to do what they want without needing somebody else’s permission if their actions are not harming or disadvantaging others.

‘so when atheists beliefs have adverse affects on Christian lives, do you have a problem with that? are you going to march up and down the street and complain when the government forces churches to marry gays against their beliefs?’ ‘

Yes I would have a problem with that. But if somebody believes that eating bananas is wrong, I am not going to stop eating banana to make them happy.

The government shouldn’t be able to force a church to do anything they don’t want to do. If they don’t want gay couples getting married in their church that is entirely up to them and within their right. Fortunately, I don’t think a gay couple would want to get married in a church that frowns on same-sex-marriage. There are plenty of other places to get married (a garden, the beach).