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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]I don’t know where you are drawing any of these points.   [/quote]

Really?  Would you like me to outline them one by one?

What Atheists Believe and Burden of Proof : [i]But atheists CANNOT scientifically prove that there isn’t a God either[/i]
Pascal's Wager: [i]If you are intellectually honest as an atheist, you have to admit that there is at least some small chance that you might be wrong[/i]
Hard Solipsism: [i]We make all kinds of decisions in life without 100 percent belief[/i] and the rest of that dopey paragraph

[quote]My argument was in response to his claim that you can’t rationally assert that there is a God, when, in fact, you can.   [/quote]

Well then why haven't you done that?

[quote]I am a former atheist.   I know very well what most atheists believe.   I used to believe these things myself.   I used to mock people of faith until I realized how all of my own beliefs were based on faith.   I couldn’t prove any of them.  [/quote]

This is stupid and false.  What other beliefs did you have on faith?  That your marriage was a good idea?  Most people make those decisions based on evidence.

[quote]All we can do is rationally examine the evidence and different people land in different places after doing that.  But it is entirely rational for an individual to reach the conclusion that they think it is more likely than not that God exists and they are going to live their life accordingly.   Just as it is entirely rational for an individual not to believe that.   But neither side has a monopoly on rationality.   That’s my main point. [/quote]

And I think your point is completely incorrect, evidenced by the fact that you don't hold any other beliefs to that standard.  You don't believe in Leprechauns.  You don't believe rubbing a talisman will make your lottery numbers come out.  You don't believe I have a heard of tiny flying pink elephants in my garage, even though I assure you, I do![/quote]

Actually, almost all major decisions in life are held to that same standard and involve some combination of looking at the evidence and then having faith in your ultimate decision.   You have no real rebuttal to my marriage example (you can gather all the “evidence” you want but it’s always a leap of faith when you walk down the aisle), my example about my wife being under deep cover, or my example about legal standards.   I served on a jury once and our decision led someone to go to prison for a very long time.   Do I scientifically know that he did it?  No.    I looked at the evidence and faith filled in the gap.  That’s how all legal decisions are made in fact — reasonable doubt, preponderance of the evidence, etc.

It’s also very interesting how the response immediately jumps to juvenile name-calling — “stupid” — which is how I have found many atheists tend to debate these issues.  
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