Quote Originally Posted by Gandalf View Post
Why does an atheist have to prove anything? It is on the theist to prove that God exists. All an atheist asks is for some evidence. I can provide you with evidence for most of the things I argue. I can prove that we are born, that we live and that we die. A religious person can prove nothing beyond saying 'Ah, but it is about faith'. If you are going to talk of heaven then prove it. Any person who thinks Jesus was actually the Son of God and not the son of ordinary peasants has to be at best naive. People making extraordinary claims need to back them up. Of course more rational people will be 'cynical'.

It is healthy and good to be cynical. It is not healthy to fall into nihilism. Cynicism means to question and that is why we call something 'criticism' when evaluating art or scientific research. You should be cynical and question things. The results can be uncomfortable for others, but one should not care about that.


As an atheist it wouldn't hurt to have your own theories about how life originated. But it's cool. No one's holding anyone else's feet to the fire about it. I believe each person is entitled to their beliefs and should show the human decency to respect others' beliefs. You'll notice I've never engaged in discussions in threads about religion in here. I choose not to, as I will continue to choose not to in the future.

I already said it's healthy to question things to a degree. As with most things in life though, too much of anything is rarely a good thing. Being an overly cynical person just makes you less sociable out in the real world. People avoid conversations with jaded and overly cynical individuals, just like they avoid most unpleasant personality characteristics. BTW I know what cynicism means but thanks for the definition just the same.