Lest we forget

[TomOfSweden]

Although I'm not a believer, I will forward that logic is pretty worthless for disproving religious possibility. You can't prove something doesn't exist; and

You're starting in the wrong end. Nobody ever proves that something doesn't exist. It's impossible. I hear it all the time in the religious debate and it's rediculous. This is me proving you're gay. I have no evidence you're not, so you must be gay. In logic it's called "argument from ignorance" and is a logical fallacy. Even Aristotle knew that.

you can't prove that something you don't know about has no effect on anything. Indeed, the fact that we constantly find new forces and phenomena is actually a very strong argument in favor of the existence of "things beyond our understanding."

Now it's getting interesting. Yes, there evidently is things beyond our understanding. A very valid point. But that's saying absolutely nothing. Litteraly. The error in supernatural religions is that they draw conclusions from this where the evidence is at best hearsay or according to science, pure fantasy. It gives no suport what so ever for god. Nothing.

Just saying it's a matter of faith isn't good enough. We all need evidence to believe. All of us. It's just that we often need to accept other peoples words as evidence rather than to work it out ourselves. Most of us do. I don't know for a fact that the world is round. I'm just hoping that science isn't lying to me. After we have gathered the evidence or collected explanations from authority figures we draw conclusions. This is how all people function.

Using supernatural religions as a way to explain the world is the old paradigm, because we today know that they don't have the answers. We can work that much out for ourselves. Religious people are turning to obsolete authority figures to explain the world. That is the basis for religion. When people stop it'll dissapear, but it doesn't seem like it's going to happen any time soon.

Hope is generally the biggest appeal, I would expect: we all fear death and the unknown it contains, and the promise of a heaven (and threat of a hell) are pretty strong motivators. In the same way, it gives a purpose to life, something everyone struggles with at some point. It also gives a morality and method for a stable society. Also, the existence of a benevolent being willing and able to work in favor of its followers was one of the original big selling points: precursors like Zeus were followed because their wrath was feared, not because they were swell personalities.

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Yeah. Sadly you might be right. People needing a big daddy in the sky is an amusing thought. The proffesor, (a European proffesor. You call teachers proffessors in USA and I don't know what you call the heads of departments) of philosophy at Stockholm university has "christians are really childish" on his car. Funny.

edit: sorry for falling asleep. Now I'll activate my brain. You have explained why people might turn to religion as such. But not why people would turn to monotheism or christianity specifically? Which was my question to begin with. Why would somebody convert from, lets say mithraism or sol invictus, (the two dominant faiths of the time) to christianity. Especially if they in the begining where persecuted. It needs a bit more advanced argumentation.

God told them to isn't a valid argument