Excellent question...

I would like to share an article that specifically addresses your question
and raises issues that cut to the very core of this topic. An unworldly
viewpoint expressed throughout an ancient book, built on the rock solid
foundation of pure logic, the Holy Bible,

"William Wingstedt" <William_Wingstedt@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:4546409b.336535672@Newsgroups.Comcast.net...

On Sun, 29 Oct 2006 20:25:40 -0800, "Precision" <precision@usenet.com>
wrote:

"William Wingstedt" <William_Wingstedt@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:4544b14f.234306935@Newsgroups.Comcast.net...

On 28 Oct 2006 00:14:17 -0700, "Precision" <precision@usenet.com>
wrote:

In a fascinating article I found while surfing the Internet titled 'Why
Atheism Is Illogical' the writer Rick Cutter has five questions for
Atheists that explain why Atheism is completely illogical.

I'm going to take a sampling from the first of the five defining
questions that explain why logic and Atheism don't mix. You can read
the five questions and answers in their entirety at this URL location:
http://www.rinconhosting.net/users/bibletest/articles/Atheism.htm

Rick starts out with a thought provoking fact and a very salient point
in the form of a question that summarizes the fact:

"It's been reported that nearly 19 out of every 20 human beings - 94%
of humanity - billions of people - believe in God.

Why so many?

They have to believe it because they can't know it. Believing the god
exists is an admission of a lack of knowledge. If they knew the god
exists, they would simply say so and it would become evident.

Is the majority of humanity simply following senseless
traditional superstitions?

Yes

Are God-believing people - the "theists" -
just too weak to function without their make-believe mental crutches?

Who knows?

Or is there more to it than that?"

Probably

Rick's first question out of the five and an answer that will make even
the most hardened Atheist stop and appreciate this logic:

"Question #1: How Did Life Get Here?"

Answer:

"Let's examine for a moment at the obvious facts: We are here.
We are alive. We are amazingly well organized. But how?

Is it reasonable to conclude that life was accidentally created
out of mindless nothingness?

Your answer contains 2 questions. Where is the answer? Also, where is
the logic?

The Theory of Chemical Evolution

Atheists believe every life form on earth sprang into existence
accidentally.

Atheists lack belief in deities. Whatever else they may or may not
believe is not a function of their atheism.

Every life form was self-formed by chance. All the
animals, plants, insects, bacteria, viruses. In fact, it is this
belief that drives some atheistic scientists in their quest to locate
life on other planets. After all, if it happened on earth it could
happen elsewhere too. Sounds logical, doesn't it?

Parts of it do...

Atheists defend their "accidental life formation" position by
proposing the so-called "theory of Chemical Evolution." Chemical
Evolution is the theory that life - in its simplest form - was created
by chance in a "primordial oceanic soup" due to an inadvertent
combination of already-existing chemicals which happened to unite in
just the right conditions and combinations and timing to form life.
That life then began to inexplicably reproduce itself, and, eventually
(by means of "macro evolution") all life forms were ultimately created.


Let's try to be as logical and fair as possible: Superficially
it sounds possible. Our bodies, after all, are composed entirely of
highly organized molecules. One would think that if all these chemicals
were randomly placed into a large vibrating barrel, and that barrel
were allowed to vibrate long enough, eventually the proper combinations
of chemicals would occur that would put our bodies back together
exactly as they are now. It seems mathematically possible, right?

And insert into that barrel the molecules of a mere little speck
of life - a "simple" one-celled organism - and it seems more plausible
still. Surely, given several billions of years, a quaking barrel
containing all the component parts of a tiny little bacterium or amoeba
could eventually re-form itself?"

Hmmm, giant hands reaching down from the clouds and pinching us up out
so much clay is beginning to sound much more reasonable now.

It gets even more interesting as the next four questions and answers
help expose the illogical underbelly of the Atheism worldview:

http://www.rinconhosting.net/users/bibletest/articles/Atheism.htm


I welcome your comments and encourage a robust point-counterpoint
discussion on this important issue!

For those who don't know what side of the fence I'm on, let me close by
making my stance crystal clear by stating emphatically that Atheism is
illogical.

Even more emphatically, I will state with confidence that I seriously
doubt even the most brilliant scientist on this planet would dispute
the conclusion that Atheism is illogical. However, in the spirit of
free speech and open-mindedness, I would like to hear anyone who
believes otherwise... and those who want to add support to my argument
that Atheism is illogical.

Take care and have a great weekend! :)

I notice you haven't found your way back in here for the debate. When
is that going to happen?

Many people have raised good points. Although I wanted to point out the
illogic of atheism, wouldn't you agree this is a very difficult and
complex
issue to debate?

No, because atheism is not illogical. What is illogical is to go
around believing things just because you don't know the answers to
questions. An answer of "I don't know" does not mean the gods you
believe in exist.

I was hoping to offer some "food for thought" and interject
any comments that I felt would move the discussion forward. Right now
there
is so much negativity. Some topics are like cars stuck in the mud on a
rainy
dirty road, where a push will give the proverbial wheels some traction to
drive forward. So far this topic reminds me of a car that has driven into
a
marsh and is sinking in quicksand. Anyone trying to assist such a car will
sink along with it...

One negative poster accused me of posting Rick Cutter's web site because I
was trying to promote official Watchtower literature for the purpose of
proselytizing. That is a classic example of the blind ignorance that
surfaces when controversial topics like this are posted. Many reading this
topic are unaware that Rick Cutter is NOT one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and
the web site posting his questions are not official Watchtower literature
I'm trying to somehow promote.

Rather, I posted this topic as a Christian trying to share an interesting
series of questions and answers that I believe will give many atheists
food
for thought. If the topic veers into an interesting discussion that's
great... and if it sinks in quicksand then it is not the first time, but
the
common fate of controversial topics that hit a raw nerve.

So how is atheism illogical?

Excellent question...

I would like to share an article that specifically addresses your question
and raises issues that cut to the very core of this topic. An unworldly
viewpoint expressed throughout an ancient book, built on the rock solid
foundation of pure logic, the Holy Bible, is discussed in the May 8, 1986
issue of the Awake! magazine (pp. 16-17) in the article 'Did God Have a
Beginning?' as follows:

"The Bible's Viewpoint

"Did God Have a Beginning?

"THE skeptical Frenchman, standing ramrod straight in front of his home,
looked one of Jehovah's Witnesses directly in the eye and said: "If you can
tell me where God came from, I'll listen to you." Unperturbed, the Witness
replied: "Some very logical people have come to the same conclusion as
18th-century French philosopher Voltaire, who stated: 'If God did not exist,
it would be necessary to invent him.' Have you ever reflected on why a man
as intelligent as Voltaire would make such a statement?"

"The man admitted he had not but asked the Witness to step in. The Witness
developed his argumentation along the following lines.

"Let's Be Logical

"Like Voltaire, many people are of the opinion that life and the universe
must have a cause. To be sufficient to produce the things we see, this cause
would have to be endowed with certain powers and qualities, such as energy,
organizing ability, artistic taste, love, and wisdom. Why? Because the
things observable in the universe, particularly on our planet Earth, reflect
these characteristics. Now, these are not the attributes of things, but of
persons. So we end up with the concept of a Supreme Being-God.

"'Fair enough," replied the incredulous Frenchman, "but where did God come
from?'

"No Absolute Beginning

"We are faced with the observable fact of a material universe and many
different forms of life on earth. Where did they originate? Some scientists,
although not all, say these life-forms have come about by chance. But the
divergent theories of scientists always presuppose the existence of
something, no matter how they name it. They say, and rightly so, that matter
is a form of energy. On that basis, they feel that the material universe
could have come about accidentally. But they do not explain how the initial
set of circumstances came to be. There is always a preexistent something the
origin of which they are incapable of explaining.

"So atheists presuppose the existence of a thing, whereas believers in God
presuppose the existence of a person. In view of all the natural laws,
mathematical precision, organization, and wisdom observable on earth and
throughout the universe, Jehovah's Witnesses see that it is more logical to
conclude that the First Cause is a Person rather than a thing, an
intelligent Creator rather than a blind force. To atheism's premise, 'In the
beginning something,' they prefer the Bible's opening words, "In the
beginning God."-Genesis 1:1.

"'I knew you would get around to quoting the Bible,' said the inquiring
Frenchman.

"The truth is that Jehovah's Witnesses find the Bible's viewpoint on basic
facts to be logical and in harmony with observable realities. Let us examine
a few.

"Something Cannot Come From Nothing. No scientist has been able to produce
something from nothing. Man can only transform or build up existent
materials. Similarly, no one possessed of his senses would suggest that a
manufactured article just happened. The Bible states as a self-evident
truth: "Of course, every house is constructed by someone." Then it continues
with the logical conclusion: "But he that constructed all things is God."
(Hebrews 3:4) To recognize that a house needed an architect and a builder
and, at the same time, claim that a complicated atom, molecule, or cell
sprang out of nothingness simply does not make sense from the Bible's
viewpoint. The Bible asks logically: "Should the thing made say respecting
its maker: 'He did not make me'?"-Isaiah 29:16.

"Life Comes From Life. Although some people persist in believing that life
sprang spontaneously from nonliving matter, we have yet to see factories
converting carloads of chemicals into manufactured living cells. If life
happened spontaneously, why cannot man repeat and develop the process?
Simply because the facts show that all known living things come from
preexisting living things. The Bible recognizes that the primeval First
Cause must have been a living Being, stating: "From time indefinite to time
indefinite you are God." "With you is the source of life."-Psalm 90:2; 36:9.

"Matter Is a Form of Energy. The Bible is in perfect agreement with the
scientifically proved fact that matter is a form of energy. Man has
discovered how to release energy from matter in his atom bombs and in his
nuclear power stations. The Bible shows God to be the source of the energy
locked up in the material universe. We read: "Raise your eyes high up and
see [bodies of the solar system, stars, galaxies]. Who has created these
things? It is the One who is bringing forth the army of them even by number.
. . . Due to the abundance of dynamic energy, he also being vigorous in
power, not one of them is missing." (Isaiah 40:26) "He is the Maker of the
earth by his power."-Jeremiah 10:12.

"The Universe Gives Evidence of Purpose. In human experience, order never