The ‘Holy Spirit’ is a character in the Christian mythos. Even among those theists who believe it exists, there is widespread disagreement about what it is and what it does.
Category Archives: Religious figures
What do most atheists find unconvincing about the teleological argument for the existence of God and the resurrection argument for the theological truth of Christianity?
If I claim there is an elephant in your bathroom, and I want you to believe me, then what I need to do is simple and obvious: show you the elephant. If I take you into the lounge instead and say: “Look, isn’t the lounge lovely! Could it possibly have got this way if there wasn’t …
Did something extraordinary happen while I wasn’t paying attention which made worldwide headlines and changed the course of history?
Almost certainly not. So many people on Quora keep asking questions of the form ‘Has this happened?’ where ‘this’ is something which would break physics. Obviously they haven’t thought things through. Stuff that breaks physics is important, and important stuff makes headlines. If ghosts, or ESP, or an afterlife are proven to exist, you won’t …
‘Demonic possession’ — what’s the point supposed to be?
Like many issues relating to religion, the notion of demonic possession entails a fundamental silliness which reveals its own implausibility. Demons are, according to Christian folklore, wicked spirits with tremendous magical powers. They’re sentient and rational. They can go anywhere and do anything. Yet we are supposed to believe that they sometimes take up long-term …
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On ‘witnesses’ to Biblical ‘miracles’
It’s quite common when debating theists to start off with what seems like a reasonable and lucid exchange of ideas, only to have your opponent suddenly come out with some claim so staggeringly bizarre or naive that you’re at a loss to respond. And one of the most common of these is the claim that …
What are the scientific hypotheses behind the miracles of Christ?
The most popular and most credible hypothesis behind the ‘miracles of Christ’—and any other ‘miracles’—is that they didn’t happen. This is supported by the very common observation that people like to make stuff up, particularly when they find it entertaining, and believe that they’re supporting a benevolent cause. Every religion has miracle stories, and every …
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As an atheist, how can you prove Christ never existed?
It’s not necessary to ‘prove’ it. There may well have been one or more itinerant preachers in first-century Palestine who said or did things on which some details of the Jesus stories are based. There is some, slight, evidence for this. But that’s irrelevant to the truth of Christianity, which claims that one of these …
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What does atheist think of exorcist who heals diseases and disabilities by removing demons from the body?
Atheists in general don’t think there are any. But there are plenty of: Unsubstantiated stories of people healing diseases and disabilities. Cynical fraudsters who make money by persuading gullible people they can heal diseases and disabilities by removing ‘demons’. Genuinely deluded people who actually think they can do this. Sick and distressed people who are so desperate that they …
As an atheist, how do you prove that Gautama, Mohamad, Jesus, are not a prophet who deliver word from God?
Atheism is merely a state of disbelief. Atheists as such are not obliged to ‘prove’ anything. But most atheists will point out that where there is no evidence, it is rational to withhold belief. And there is no reliable evidence that any of those people, or anyone else, has ever delivered ‘words’ from any god. …
What logic do atheists use to refute the resurrection of Christ?
It’s not necessary to use ‘logic’ except in the trivial sense of pointing out that where there is no reliable evidence that an extraordinary event took place, it’s reasonable to assume that it didn’t. People in the ancient world weren’t stupid. They knew how the universe works. If a miracle-working superhero had genuinely lived and …
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