Religion

[Spider-Dan]

Everything was put together too well to just be a random event.

This is like being issued a license plate for your car and then saying that there was only a 1-in-78-million chance of receiving that exact (random) plate number, therefore someone must have picked it for you intentionally.

There is an infinite number of possible ways a universe (and its laws of physics) could function.  Only the versions of a universe that have laws of physics that allow for intelligent life to exist... are capable of producing a conversation in which lifeforms claim that universe must be designed for them on purpose.

There is also a shitload of examples as to why our "intelligently designed" universe has extremely poor design and is not very well put together at all.  Why does cancer exist?  Why is everything so far away from each other?

Atheism claims the Universe and the laws of physics were not designed but a random event.  Theism claims it was designed on purpose.  Neither side has more evidence than the other and both positions are equally arrogant.

Again, this is like saying it is equally arrogant to claim "fairies exist" and "fairies do not exist."

Every specific definition of a fairy doesn't exist.  Making some broad, vague definition of "fairy" that is too unspecific to be disproven is also too unspecific to be meaningful.  The exact same thing applies to theism and the supernatural: you can only avoid being directly disproven if you are too vague to say anything of substance.

People have no problem saying "Magic spells aren't real" without this same kind of mealymouthed "Well technically you have only proven THAT spell isn't real" silliness, because people don't have the same kind of emotional investment in magic spells as they do in sky gods.  You would never apply this sort of hyperspecific standard of proof outside of religion.

[Dave Gray]

As stated here in many ways, Hoodie -- your concept of faith is flawed.

I don't disbelieve in God for any reason other than there's no evidence of God.  Not believing in something for which there is no evidence is not a faith-based belief.

It doesn't take faith to not believe in Thor.  It's the same thing.

Atheism claims the Universe and the laws of physics were not designed but a random event.

No, it absolutely doesn't.  Atheism isn't a belief in anything.  It's a single answer to a single question and anything else you take from it is coming from you.

[CF DolFan]

Honestly, look around the world, look at every country you can find. The more religious a country is, the more fucked up it is. Overarching, dominant belief systems are hazardous to prosperity.

I know the whole right wing blames tragedies on the lack of god in school or government or whatever, but the opposite is in fact true. The less influence religion has in a society, the better off it is. The proof is in the worldwide pudding.

Seems to me that everything bad that has been done under the guise of religion was actually "people" using religion to get what they want. Just like everything else it's the few who get the notoriety while the Mother Theresas of the world are just a footnote. A crazy religous person is the same as a crazy atheist. They are just crazy people.

[Dave Gray]

Seems to me that everything bad that has been done under the guise of religion was actually "people" using religion to get what they want.

Exactly.  All religion is, is people exercising their own will, and justifying by divine means.

Ask youself -- is there anything that God thinks is right that you think is wrong?  Or do your values just happen to line up exactly?

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Seems to me that everything bad that has been done under the guise of religion was actually "people" using religion to get what they want. Just like everything else it's the few who get the notoriety while the Mother Theresas of the world are just a footnote. A crazy religous person is the same as a crazy atheist. They are just crazy people.

That is laughable. 

First off Mother Theresa is probably one on the 100 most recognizable historical names. 

Second and more importantly.  It isn’t one crazy.  The inquisition wasn’t carried out by one religious fanatic.  It isn’t one religious fanatic that is going to force women to die from placental abruption, it is 5 religious fanatics empowered by many other religious crazies.

It is just that some religious people are crazy, it is religion is the favorite tool of psychopaths to reign destruction.  Granted religion can be used as a tool for good.  Many foodbanks are run by churches. But far too often it is used for bad. 

In many was religion is comparable to an AR15.  The favorite tool of a psychopath  who wants to kill children in a school is an AR15.  The favorite tool of a psychopath who wants to start a war is religion.  Killing school children isn’t the only role of an AR, you could use one to get rid of a fox killing your chickens.  But killing foxes isn’t what an AR15 typically gets used for, nor is it the only tool one can use to get rid of a fox.  Likewise you don’t need religion to have a food bank.  Neither religion nor an AR15 is inherently evil, but because of how dangerous each can be and how often evil people use them we need to be careful with both.