For years, I participated in discussions about religion, science, and perceptions about God. At one point, I frequented a board supposedly devoted to the debate until I figured out that it was merely a place to ridicule any theist.  Every sound or logical point I made was always ignored. Instead they told me what I believed, why it was wrong, and why that made me stupid and narrowminded. It was very frustrating. The arguments against religion by atheist and agnostic activists are often very narrow and don’t apply if a person has different beliefs and actions than the ones being demonstrated against.

At that point, I decided that participation in such discussions was fruitless and I stopped debating with people. I’m not an apologist, really. I understand where a lot of people who believe differently are coming from. But I still have a hard time leaving this alone, so I’m not going to try. So, from now on, when I see something that I think is in error, I will point it out, no matter the subject.

My good friend Clark Bartram, of Unintelligent Design recently made the observation that “God always wins” because people will just believe no matter the evidence presented. His specific problem was in regards to the age old question of suffering, but also touched on “god of the gaps”.  Both of those inquiries are something I feel passionate about. Or maybe it is more accurate to say that Clark inadvertently pushed my buttons.

That is a lot to cover in one go, so I’ll break it down into two posts. This will also help me get what I write published faster.