What kind of explanatory power does atheism have for the existence of the universe?  Zip.

Your placebo, brainwashing mumbo jumbo is actually quite hilarious.  From my perspective, you really don't care to have an honest discussion with anyone contrary to your opinion and are just looking to tick people off.  So, I'll leave you to it.  By the way, I'm 40 and male.

I was talking about the origin of the universe, not the purpose of the universe...btw.  Not that atheism can explain that either.  There is no purpose in atheism.  Yet...everyone pursues it and lives to achieve it.  You cannot even explain your own morality without appealing to something immaterial.

No problem, but I have no idea what you are talking about.

Ba-da says: ".......you want to make changes with our government and dictate that same sex marriage is illegal, keep 'in god we trust' on my money, prayers in schools, ten commandments in courthouses...etc,"

 

Please tell me, as a pastor, that this is not true - that you are not personally seeking these kind of changes using any religious influence you may have.        Morality or issues of conscience are one thing, but theocracy is not what this country was built on --- and certainly is not the direction this country should be headed in.            Government is so corrupt now (and has been in the past) that the church needs to keep it's distance .... if anything, the true body of Christ - the Church - should keep government out, maintaining and supporting it's own religious liberties from within.

There you go again twisting things around..... What I said was: it's the likes of you who can't get over your superstitious beliefs that ticks me off, you want to make changes with our government and dictate that same sex marriage is illegal, keep 'in god we trust' on my money, prayers in schools, ten commandments in courthouses...etc

 

oh -- okay -- my bad -- guess I should delete my post to kidspastor ?   nahhhhhh.

I think I'm going to require some expensive therapy now... thanks a lot. :-)

 

BTW - I seem to recall recommending this to you a while back. ;-)

That's one of your problems, you think you were 'created' by this god of yours so clearly in your mind, you have some kind of special 'purpose'... right?  Not so with an atheist such as myself, I have no more 'purpose' than those tiny shrimp-like creatures that I brush off my wet suit so that they won't die after a dive, that's true 'morality' and compassion without any threats of eternal hell... maybe people like you just can't find any semblance of natural empathy or kindness for other life and you need a placebo all powerful god to keep you in line? 

If you are just a product of nature and have no purpose, then where does this universal morality of your's come from?  Where does this immaterial, universal moral standard (you don't let the shrimp die and neither should I) come from? 

Not so with an atheist such as myself, I have no more 'purpose' than those tiny shrimp-like creatures that I brush off my wet suit so that they won't die after a dive, that's true 'morality' and compassion without any threats of eternal hell...


Also, if you have no purpose, the shrimp nor anything else has any purpose, then what value does any of it have?  Why spare shrimp if they have no purpose?  What's the point? 

See, you have me all wrong here... I'm not looking to tick people off... it's the likes of you who can't get over your superstitious beliefs that ticks me off, you want to make changes with our government and dictate that same sex marriage is illegal, keep 'in god we trust' on my money, prayers in schools, ten commandments in courthouses...etc,  in the past you would have fed those fires that burned innocent people alive because you have a circular feel-good feedback mental imbalance that must have it's religious mumbo jumbo fix every Sunday and sometimes even sooner at home, it's very much like a drug addiction. I wish you luck. ;-)


What I find amusing is that you are willing to let some shrimp go about it's business and show compassion, empathy, whatever else you mentioned, but you seem either unwilling or incapable of doing the same with other humans. 


You don't think our government needs changes? 


I'm not after some kind of theocracy.  I just want a moral and just government.


Mental imbalance...religious fix...drug addiction...LOL.  Getting worked up, huh?