Lee Strobel, a former atheist, holds a Master of Studies in Law degree from Yale Law School, was an investigative newspaper reporter, and was the award-winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune. Currently, he is a teaching pastor at Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif., and a board member of the Willow Creek Association. An all-around religious skeptic born in 1952 (notions of God represent wishful thinking), his wife stunned him in the autumn of 1979 with the announcement that she had become a Christian. "I rolled my eyes and braced for the worst, feeling like the victim of a bait-and-switch scam. I had married one Leslie...the fun Leslie, the carefree Leslie, the risk-taking Leslie...and now I feared she was going to turn into some sort of sexually repressed prude who would trade our upwardly mobile lifestyle for all-night prayer vigils and volunteer work in grimy soup kitchens." At age 28 and after almost two years of intense investigation Jesus, he converted on 8 Nov. 1981. He published The Case For Christ in 1998 and The Case For Faith in 2000. I've read both and think that each of these less-than-300 pages books has excellent information for those who think they will not find intelligent evidence in favor of faith and Jesus. Strobel's case can be found in link below: http://www.theeffectivetruth.info/testls.html
At the very least Atheism isn't any worse than Deism, except the burden of proof is on the latter, of which they have failed miserably
There are good cases on both sides of the argument...which means that anyone who is dogmatic for either side has a mental illness...
What the hell is so wrong with Humanism: is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal human qualities, particularly rationality, without resorting to the supernatural or alleged divine authority from religious texts. as a rational alternative for mature intelligent beings in this universe
Would that argument also apply to anyone who is dogmatically against either side? That would certainly make your statement regarding mental illness more, shall we say, inclusive by your own standards.
Humanism is great, it is greater when faith in God is added, but if the best a human can do is be a good human, I am all for it... The Golden Rule doesn't require faith in God to be practiced. If over the course of many many lifetimes a man becomes a good man through humanism, then maybe he can then progress to thinking of God and then begin to think of God's love, and then actually seek to find that love... Buddhists are humanists, and they "is" good people from my experience...at least the good Buddhists are "good people" because they understand the consequences of their actions for the long run... They don't seek God's love, but heck, that's their choice. They will get plenty of chances for that going forward on the wheel...
If the best a human can do is be a good human, you're all for it? Are you suggesting that a faith in God elevates man beyond his humanity to, say, divinity perhaps? If so, that is a tad presumptuous, wouldn't you say? And aren't those Republicans that you abhor a tad presumptuous with their holier-than-thou attitude?