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[Phantom of The Library]

Look, if this turns into a flame war, I will lock it myself, assuming an Admin doesn't lock it before me.

Don't worry, theists stay far away from threads like these. Staying away is so much easier than defending your position.

And so it begins.

Please lock the thread, whether you intend it to or not, someone will post something that they find humorously stupid that someone else will find legitimate, flame wars will erupt, people will get banned and the thread will be deleted.  Please just close it now for everyone's sake.

((Ninja'd))

[GoombaGeek]

I don't think you understand the magnetic nature of these threads. All it takes is one person who only reads the OP before posting a reply and BLAM! inb4 lock.

[10ebbor10]

I don't think you understand the magnetic nature of these threads. All it takes is one person who only reads the OP before posting a reply and BLAM! inb4 lock.

All it takes is 2 groups with completely opposed viewpoints, and by the very nature of the discussion you have those.

[MonkeyHead]

This thread will attract the minority here - the flaming/trolling idiots, who often are driven away from more serious threads discussing material such as this. I echo the sentiments of those suggesting a pre-emptive lock.

[Detahramet]

Look, i'll go check with a mod, and see what they thing.

[LordBucket]

Since nobody's actually participating yet, I'll start:

Please only post the stupid arguments

For theism
 * God exists because the bible says so.
 * Maybe God exists, maybe He doesn't. What if He doesn't? Then, if you believe in Him or not, you cease to exist when you die. Doesn't matter whether you believed. But now let's say He does. If you believe in Him you go to heaven and if you don't, then you spend eternity in hell. So...either way you lose nothing by believing, but stand to gain a great deal if you do.

Please only post the stupid arguments

For athiesm
 * Scientists have proven that that Big Bang happened. So obviously the creation myth didn't.
 * If god is just, then it doesn't matter what I believe so long as I'm a good person.

[Criptfeind]

Whelp. I am offended already. If god is just, then it doesn't matter what I believe so long as I'm a good person. And the creation myth is obviously false.

[kaijyuu]

* If god is just, then it doesn't matter what I believe so long as I'm a good person.

This one's a bad argument? The only ways I can think of that would make it folly involve God having a wacky system of law/morality, such as "just" meaning "following a set of rules to the letter" and having the laws include "must be a member of X religion."

Or God not actually being just, which goes against one of the stated premises.

And the creation myth is obviously false.

Depends which creation myth. Deism's essentially states "however it happened" which immediately falls in line with whatever science will ever prove about the origin of the universe.

[LordBucket]

A few more:

Please only post the stupid arguments

For theism
 * God is omniscient and omnipresent. To really know that God doesn't exist, you'd have to look everywhere all at once, and as a finite being, you're incapable of it. For example, if you look on the moon and God is hiding on Mars you wouldn't know. Therefore it's impossible for you to know for sure that God doesn't exist. Only God can know whether God exists, because God is omniscient and omnipresent, and is therefore the only being capable of knowing for certain whether He exists. So ask Him.
 * Atheists claim that humans are the most powerful creatures in the universe. But this is obviously untrue. For example, lions are stronger than humans and can eat them. Therefore, since there are more powerful creatures than humans it's reasonable to guess that there are more powerful creatures than lions, and something more powerful than whatever is more powerful than lions, etc. And the most powerful creature is what we call God.

Please only post the stupid arguments

For athiesm
 * A just god wouldn't allow evil to exist. Evil exists. Therefore god does not.
 * Religious people are murderers and child molesters just like non-religious people. Believing in god does not make one a good person. Therefore it makes no difference whether one believes in god.

[Criptfeind]

Once again. The problem of evil is a real thing, and I am sorta offended that you think it is stupid.

[Scelly9]

This is a very, very bad idea.

[kaijyuu]

Once again. The problem of evil is a real thing, and I am sorta offended that you think it is stupid.

Maybe the "stupid" part is the initial assumption of God being just. All those arguments DO fall apart if God happens to be a dick.

[Loud Whispers]

Inb4 Hitler was Catholic/Atheist therefore God/No God

[Detahramet]

Wait was that an application of godwin's law?

Also, just so you all know, updated OP

[LordBucket]

* If god is just, then it doesn't matter what I believe so long as I'm a good person.

This one's a bad argument?

Yes.

From the perspective of an athiest:
That logic being used could be applied to anything, not just religious belief. For example, believing that oranges secretly rule the world from inside Elvis' left nostril. Sure...maybe believing that oranges secretly rule the world from inside Elvis isn't going to hurt you, or cause you spend eternity in a fictitious hell, or anything like that...but saying that it's ok to believe "whatever" is basically silly. Imagine a scientist conducting an experiment and then ignoring the results and thinking it's ok because he's a nice guy. That's not a reasonable way of doing things. You can't ignore fact based on morality.

From the perspective of a thiest:
You're assuming that "being good" is fundamentally a measure of reality. And ironically, that only makes sense if one has a religious outlook. For example, if there is no afterlife, and we simply cease to exist when we die, then what does it matter whether we are good or bad? Billions of years from now when the human race is gone and our planet has been consumed by the expansion of our sun, there will be nobody left to remember or care or be affected at all whether we were good or bad.

Why would you believe that "being good" has value unless there were some sort of measure for it? If there is no God, if there is no afterlife, then the most logical measure of value would probably be survival. And being "good" is not necessarily an effective survival strategy. Now...you could hypthetically argue that extreme selfishness can be counterproductive in the long run, from the perspective of a species instead of an indiviudal. If we're all backstabbing opportunists, then our species might die. It's practical to be "good to each other" in so far as it promotes over overall survival, since the individual can't survive if the species dies. But...even if you make that argument, it's not an argument in favor of good. It's still the same: survival is the measure of value, not "being good." Either way, being a "good person" is not important, survival is. Placing value on "being good" is fundamentally a religious argument, whether or not one brings God into the equation.