How do you handle unwanted evangelists who knock at your door?

[bullyforme]

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I agree. They can coexist, peacefully!

 

[Q9]

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That's why so many people are agnostic, it takes guts to be an atheist. I'm usually pretty annoyed by agnostics. Either believe, or don't...get off the fence, you know?

I totally understand - there's evidence and claims on both sides. Take a few days, even over the course of a year, to study, then make your stinkin' decision. It's one thing to be open-minded (good), but quite another to be empty-minded (bad).

 

[Q9]

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I agree. They can coexist, peacefully!

They go together like Oreos and milk. Galileo was a Christian. Copernicus was a Christian, even a member of the clergy. Newton was a Christian. Heck, even Einstein gave the impression of being a Deist (a person who recognizes the scientific necessity of a creator, but believes that he created the universe and then let it go on its own course. Jefferson was one of these.).

 

[Jeffross1968]

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That's why so many people are agnostic, it takes guts to be an atheist. I'm usually pretty annoyed by agnostics. Either believe, or don't...get off the fence, you know?

I know what you mean, but I have to out myself as one of those agnostics. I find it hard that anyone can be anything other, because the answer has not shown itself. You can have faith in religion, or lack of faith in religion and believe the scientific explanation, but frankly, I don't think either of those hold enough merit to believe wholly in them. But then, that is what "faith" is all about. It's not logical at all.

 

[Jeffross1968]

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Well if you have studied as you say, then you should know just how much of the Christian religion was stolen from older pagan religions, including the virgin birth and the resurrection. All occurred before Jesus. IMHO, religion is a comfort mechanism, to deal with the unknown and the loss of loved ones. We don't know why that tornado hit our house but not the neighbor. We don't know why our perfectly healthy mother was taken from us at an early age by a horrible brain tumor. But if you believe in Christianity (along with some other religions), it's ok, because she is in a "better place" now, and we'll see her again someday. And that "feels" good. So why wouldn't that be popular? It's not a mystery why religion exists, or why so many believe.

Always keep one thing in mind about the religion you so strongly and completely believe in...had you been taken at birth and raised in another part of the world (Isreal, India, China, Afghanistan, etc..), there is very real chance that you're beliefs would be drastically different. Shows you how geographically driven religion can be.

Read "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist." Written by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek. There's more to religion, especially Christianity, than you think, and it really does take a crapload more faith to be an atheist. Translation: you really expect anyone to believe that somehow matter/energy had existed for an infinite amount of time in violation of the laws of physics? And then exploded, forming the universe? And then, by a freak chance, a perfectly-sized planet formed around a perfectly sized star, with a moon just the right size to give it the amazing tides, at just the right distance from the sun, in the habitable zone of the Milky Way galaxy? Even better, we're supposed to believe that by sheer luck this planet had loads of H2O, in addition to an atmosphere with just the right levels of oxygen and other gases? And then, somehow, some way, nonliving chemicals happend to combine in just the right way to form a living cell, which is so complicated and fine-tuned that it makes any of our machines look primitive? THAT, my friend, takes a lot of faith.

Wait, so this is harder to believe than the invisible, all powerful being that has always existed, the un-caused cause, who created everything we see and watches over us like...well, like a loved flock of chickens, unless we don't believe or unless we are bad, then we are sent to a place of fire and damnation for all eternity....huh?

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

The op wasnt asking for a whole religous debate....they were asking how to stop someone from repeatedly coming to their door to stuff their beliefs down her throat. Kinda like having the Kirby salesman coming once a week to make sure you hadnt changed your mind!
Post no tresspassing signs on gate or fence and another no soliciting or tresspassing on the door....and if they come again..go to the door with cell phone in hand and call the police right in front of them!

 

[ChickenAlgebra]

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Our dogs LOVE the pizza man! They aren't doing the noise, and they are sitting nicely - but you can just SEE the puddles of drool on the floor and hear the tails going a mile a minute.

They also love the mail man and the UPS guy.

 

[Dunkopf]

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Read "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist." Written by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek. There's more to religion, especially Christianity, than you think, and it really does take a crapload more faith to be an atheist. Translation: you really expect anyone to believe that somehow matter/energy had existed for an infinite amount of time in violation of the laws of physics? And then exploded, forming the universe? And then, by a freak chance, a perfectly-sized planet formed around a perfectly sized star, with a moon just the right size to give it the amazing tides, at just the right distance from the sun, in the habitable zone of the Milky Way galaxy? Even better, we're supposed to believe that by sheer luck this planet had loads of H2O, in addition to an atmosphere with just the right levels of oxygen and other gases? And then, somehow, some way, nonliving chemicals happend to combine in just the right way to form a living cell, which is so complicated and fine-tuned that it makes any of our machines look primitive? THAT, my friend, takes a lot of faith.

Wait, so this is harder to believe than the invisible, all powerful being that has always existed, the un-caused cause, who created everything we see and watches over us like...well, like a loved flock of chickens, unless we don't believe or unless we are bad, then we are sent to a place of fire and damnation for all eternity....huh?

Exactly.

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

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Hello? anyone listening?

 

[Q9]

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Read "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist." Written by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek. There's more to religion, especially Christianity, than you think, and it really does take a crapload more faith to be an atheist. Translation: you really expect anyone to believe that somehow matter/energy had existed for an infinite amount of time in violation of the laws of physics? And then exploded, forming the universe? And then, by a freak chance, a perfectly-sized planet formed around a perfectly sized star, with a moon just the right size to give it the amazing tides, at just the right distance from the sun, in the habitable zone of the Milky Way galaxy? Even better, we're supposed to believe that by sheer luck this planet had loads of H2O, in addition to an atmosphere with just the right levels of oxygen and other gases? And then, somehow, some way, nonliving chemicals happend to combine in just the right way to form a living cell, which is so complicated and fine-tuned that it makes any of our machines look primitive? THAT, my friend, takes a lot of faith.

Wait, so this is harder to believe than the invisible, all powerful being that has always existed, the un-caused cause, who created everything we see and watches over us like...well, like a loved flock of chickens, unless we don't believe or unless we are bad, then we are sent to a place of fire and damnation for all eternity....huh?

Considering that a significant portion of what atheists MUST believe are in blatant violation of the laws of physics, yeah. Deductive reasoning. There is either a creator, or there is not. Clearly, there cannot not be a creator.

ETA - let's continue this via PM, that way we (translation: I

) don't get on everyone's nerves.