Deconstructing the house of Christianity

[Lullaby Chainer]

What can Christianity lose while maintaining validity?

At what point does Christianity become false?


What I mean by this..

Would Christianity become false if something minor like virgin births was disproven?

Would Christianity become false if something major like God was disproven?

How much can you pull from Christianity before it becomes a disproven religion? Before if becomes false. Invalid. Ect.

[ZNFYRH]

First you have to define Christianity.

I think the quickest, simplest, and shortest definition is that Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ was the Messiah and imparted the way to live your life so that when you die you will be in paradise.

Therefore, to disprove Christianity, you don't even need to disprove God.

You just need to prove one of the following:

1. You didn't live according to the word of Christ but you still end up in paradise after you die.

2. You live according to the word of Christ and you don't end up in paradise after you die.

Prove either of those, and you've proved that Christianity is false.

[Nigh Eve]

As far as I'm concerned, Christianity has already been taken down. That is why I am not a Christian. Since some people fail to take the evidence into account, perhaps nothing.

I would suggest the very base of Christianity; Jesus Christ.

Him and his story disqualified = no literal Christianity.

Unless of course the whole of Christianity is based on the allegory or symbolism of Jesus' story, then that would do it. Since it is taken as symbolism at times (I'm not so sure about the Jesus story or not), then disqualifying God as you suggested. Then again, that's already been done because there is no evidence to suggest the God of the bible exists. So again, perhaps nothing will convince them that it has lost validity or rather that there was no validity to begin with.

[Nigh Eve]

1. You didn't live according to the word of Christ but you still end up in paradise after you die. 2. You live according to the word of Christ and you don't end up in paradise after you die. Prove either of those, and you've proved that Christianity is false.

On the contrary, in order for Christianity to have validity, they must prove their claims on this subject. It is not valid until evidenced.

EDIT: Then again, if you did prove one of the following, that would do it.

[Jack]

When I was a kid, there used to be a joke, Hey everybody. Easter has just been canceled. The body finally washed up."
That would do it.

[5010]

For #1 to destroy it, you need to insert only:

Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ was the Messiah and imparted the only way to live your life so that when you die you will be in paradise

[HelioPrime]

You'd need to define what everyone agreed to as the terms.

The same evidence can be viewd by different people. For instance the none theist could say no body of jesus means historical jesus was a fraud so chrisitanity would be a fraud as well.

The same lack of a body would evoke a "well duh" from a christian theist.

The bible isn't a fact filled text either. It was written by human hands, and depending on your what church you belong to, the bible is either strict word for word fact, or more of a general guide with a few odd entries.

[ZNFYRH]

Nigh Eve

The OP seemed to be asking for a more active method of disproving Christianity.

Not the passive, evasive, "it's conclusively false because they failed to prove it."

[Nigh Eve]

Quote by: ZNFYRH Not the passive, evasive, "it's conclusively false because they failed to prove it."

I understand what you're saying which is why I added the edit. But I would like to add that the concepts you pointed out were a step too far as they were. You don't need to go so far proving one or the other so much as you can simplify it to whether or not there really is paradise. If you can make it to one of your points then the simplified can already be answered. And if it exists then it would branch into your two points from there.

So how am I to disprove the spaghetti monster or the pink unicorn ideas if I am forced to find a way to prove that a non-existent idea does not exist in a way other then I have?

If you want me to elaborate on why there is no evidence then I could but that is astray from the topic.

Quote by: Nigh Eve I would suggest the very base of Christianity; Jesus Christ. Him and his story disqualified = no literal Christianity.

I suppose I could mention that the story of Jesus Christ - the base for Christianity - including many more stories of the bible could be nothing more then a plagiarism made monotheistic. If so, would that be enough?

[HelioPrime]

How many licks does it take to get to the bottom of a totsie pop?

[freefallife]

Quote by: ZNFYRH First you have to define Christianity. I think the quickest, simplest, and shortest definition is that Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ was the Messiah and imparted the way to live your life so that when you die you will be in paradise. Therefore, to disprove Christianity, you don't even need to disprove God. You just need to prove one of the following: 1. You didn't live according to the word of Christ but you still end up in paradise after you die. 2. You live according to the word of Christ and you don't end up in paradise after you die. Prove either of those, and you've proved that Christianity is false.

Or 3. Prove that Jesus was NOT the messiah.

That would make christianity false. As you said, its the definition of the religion, basicly.

[ZNFYRH]

freefalife

YUP! That would also be a good one.

I guess, in relation to what Nigh Eve said, it depends on what it is about Christianity you want to invalidate.

Do you want to prove it isn't the one true religion?

See my original two and (nods to freefalife) third condition above.

Do you want to prove it isn't a valid way to live your life?

Good luck on that.

[Zhavric]

Quote by: Lullaby Chainer What can Christianity lose while maintaining validity? At what point does Christianity become false? What I mean by this.. Would Christianity become false if something minor like virgin births was disproven? Would Christianity become false if something major like God was disproven? How much can you pull from Christianity before it becomes a disproven religion? Before if becomes false. Invalid. Ect.

The resurrection is the cornerstone of Christianity. If Jesus didn't die for your sins on the cross, it's a meaningless story. Unfortunately for Christians, this has already been proven.

[Lullaby Chainer]

Why is it that if we disprove virgin births it wouldn't invalidate Christianity yet proving Jesus didn't die on the cross would?

[Zhavric]

Quote by: Lullaby Chainer Why is it that if we disprove virgin births it wouldn't invalidate Christianity yet proving Jesus didn't die on the cross would?

If you're looking to sink a sailing ship, which would you rather do? Burn down it's sails and watch it limp along as the sailors desperately try to put out the fire... or would you rather put a dozen holes below the water line and watch it go down to Davy Jones' locker?

The virgin birth is necessary to the christ myth, but it's not critical. The place to attack Christianity is the resurrection. Like I said earlier, Christians see Jesus' sacrifice as something that benefits them personally because he's redeeming mankind.

If he didn't redeem mankind, then Christianity sinks.

EDIT: There's also a lot more evidence against the resurrection than the virgin birth.

[Lullaby Chainer]

Quote by: Zhavric If you're looking to sink a sailing ship, which would you rather do? Burn down it's sails and watch it limp along as the sailors desperately try to put out the fire... or would you rather put a dozen holes below the water line and watch it go down to Davy Jones' locker? The virgin birth is necessary to the christ myth, but it's not critical. The place to attack Christianity is the resurrection. Like I said earlier, Christians see Jesus' sacrifice as something that benefits them personally because he's redeeming mankind. If he didn't redeem mankind, then Christianity sinks. EDIT: There's also a lot more evidence against the resurrection than the virgin birth.

But if Jesus was born of an earthly man, then he wasn't God's son.

[J. Askiloupos]

EDIT: There's also a lot more evidence against the resurrection than the virgin birth.

Zhavric, or someone with a similar viewpoint- please provide for me, via a Personal Message, a listing of the evidence against the resurrection of Jesus. Now you've just got my curiosity going.

[Zhavric]

Quote by: Lullaby Chainer But if Jesus was born of an earthly man, then he wasn't God's son.

I see where you're going with this, but remember that a lot of Christians A) like to hedge their bets and B) invoke special rules of logic when addressing their own claims.

Ultimately, we have no evidence for the virgin birth and it's a very common story in mythology from before and after (in regions removed from where Christianity was).

The birth, however, is a small event witnessed by a handful of people and is easy to chalk up to myth (if your honest) or literally true (if you're Christian). There isn't a lot of evidence to throw against Christians beyond common sense and a lack of evidence on the Christian side.

The resurrection is different because it was a much flashier affair. We're talking about an incarnate godman who was mobbed by throngs of people and performed big flashy miracles. Nothing as subtle as being born from a virgin: bringing people back from the dead, walking on water, healing the sick, etc. Thus, it's a lot easier to point out how ridiculous it is.

[grandpa]

Quote by: Zhavric I see where you're going with this, but remember that a lot of Christians A) like to hedge their bets and B) invoke special rules of logic when addressing their own claims. Ultimately, we have no evidence for the virgin birth and it's a very common story in mythology from before and after (in regions removed from where Christianity was).

True. Some Christians do not try to defend their claims because, at leats in some cases, they feel it's morally treasonable to even debate the Bible's word.

Grandpa h.

[Chimera]

Would Christianity become false if something minor like virgin births was disproven?

Virgin births are completely impossible....No Christian denies this....For the slow: The very fact that it is impossible is the reason why it's a miracle.....

Would Christianity become false if something major like God was disproven?

Yes, if God was disproved, then you would destroy Christianity. Unfortunately for religion-hating people, that's impossible.

How much can you pull from Christianity before it becomes a disproven religion? Before if becomes false. Invalid. Ect.

For the slow: You can't disprove things that are beyond science. It's impossible. The very notion of God is impossible to disprove because he is beyond human comprehension......I'm going to be real blunt here....This topic, and the very question which is brought up in like every religious debate in the forum, is so retarded.

Also stop generalizing so much. And stop acting like Christian's are some kind of mutant outcast race of people below your obviously superior intelligence. You aren't better than any Christian, and you're not better than anyone that believes in any other religion either. Christian's aren't better than atheists either. Stop being such arrogant idiots.